Sister...
So, is this child also Tang Chen's great-grandchild?
Bo Saixi's gaze, gentle and loving, turned towards her. "Child, come here, I will begin the Sacred Pillar assessment for you."
This sudden kindness, an uninformed observer might think it was due to Tang San.
But Tang Sui knew it was because she was also a direct descendant of the Clear Sky School, sharing a half-blood kinship with Tang Chen, thus receiving favor by association.
Tang Sui nodded and stepped forward.
The golden scepter in Bo Saixi's hand trembled, and the rhombus-shaped gem inlaid five inches from the tip of the spear emitted a golden-blue light.
Soul power, as boundless and profound as the sea, was injected into the Sea Horse Sacred Pillar.
The ancient, dim patterns on the Sacred Pillar, awakened by the influx of soul power, lit up all the way to the top.
A blue pillar of light shot into the sky, and the next moment, it fed back another colorless pillar of light, which pierced through layers of clouds and enveloped Tang Sui.
Tang Sui felt her mind go blank for an instant, as if a voice was asking her, "Do you accept my trial?"
A powerful aura, deep and surging like the sea, enveloped her soul. A sensation of being scanned from the inside out welled up from the depths of her heart.
The five masks within her spiritual space vibrated in unison, and even the pitch-black space itself seemed to shake as if it were about to collapse.
"I do not wish to."
Innumerable chaotic voices, for the first time, spoke with such unified clarity.
Like crashing waves, they resonated upon her soul.
The divine sense, belonging solely to the Sea God and residing within the Sea Horse Sacred Pillar, paused. It seemed surprised that someone would refuse his trial after coming before the Sea Horse Sacred Pillar.
Then why did you still stand before the Sacred Pillar?
The answer was soon revealed.
The time that passed here was but a second for the observers, perhaps even less, but for Tang Sui, it felt like a long while.
It had taken immense effort just to regain her will and utter her refusal.
Outside, Bo Saixi, standing diagonally in front of Tang Sui, her gaze narrowed. She glanced at the slowly dimming Sea Horse Sacred Pillar. Just as her brow furrowed, the entirely translucent Sea Horse Sacred Pillar trembled, and its azure light was replaced by a more crystalline glow.
"Buzz—"
The Sacred Pillars scattered across Sea God Island, formed by different archipelagos, emitted a resonant tremor.
No one had injected soul power, nor had anyone touched them.
In an instant, all seven Sacred Pillars were covered by a resplendent light, almost colorless. They stood as if connecting heaven and earth, true pillars reaching the sky, with the pillars themselves as the focal point, erupting with indescribable beams of light that soared into the firmament, linking this world together!
Tang Sui, her will regained, her eyes suddenly burst with dark light. The immense energy she had accumulated instantly erupted, injecting into the colorless Sacred Pillar, embedding her unique will. Su Dan Novel Network
She wished— to question the Great Dao with the soul of a demon, with her mortal flesh!
The light of the seven Sacred Pillars, connecting heaven and earth, intensified. The space leading to a hidden existence was opened. The eternal, ever-turning existence felt the call and cast its gaze towards this world, upon the minuscule being who dared to knock upon the door of "the Dao."
Everything at this moment seemed to enter absolute stillness. The wind ceased to flow; the entire world hit pause. The scene before her changed, returning to the vista of four pillars standing in formation that Tang Sui had seen before receiving the divine trial.
Only this time, the light of the four prisms was subdued, all arrogance and wildness restrained.
In an instant, the Sea God's divine sense and will, like withered leaves, dissolved before Tang Sui, suppressed by another existence that could not be spoken of, an existence that evoked immense pressure and heart-stopping dread the moment the thought surfaced in her mind.
—Indescribable, unseeable.
Like an iron-clad law etched into the soul.
Yet, Tang Sui stubbornly raised her head, staring directly at this existence.
"Crack, crack."
Her bones emitted sounds of cracking under unbearable strain.
That invisible energy seemed intent on crushing her indomitable spirit, forcing her to retreat.
Be it human, soul beast, or demon, why should a non-human form be destined to endure so much injustice?!
What is a god? What is calamity?
The Great Dao is impartial, the Heavenly Dao is just, and all beings are treated equally. Then why, in the current world, can those not of human form not become gods?! Are demons, soul beasts, and other races inherently inferior, deserving to be suppressed by humans?
These questions, like voices suppressed in her soul for ages, were awakened and transformed into hands that knocked upon the 'door' of the Great Dao, striking it again and again.
One by one, jade-white masks materialized around her, like gradually lit candle frames.
Their faint light connected, eventually illuminating this prolonged darkness.
Whether seeking greater power or constantly plundering the strength of others, all living beings strive to survive and welcome a brighter tomorrow.
The Great Dao has three thousand paths, each leading to the same destination.
What all beings seek is merely eternal life.
What she desired was to be born from the brink of death!
The next second, a vast radiance bloomed from beneath Tang Sui's feet, instantly enveloping her and the masks.
This radiance was not a sacred light.
It was a turbid black and red.
It contained a terrifyingly dense darkness, yet it was mixed with astonishing nascent life, forming a more profound existence. Contradictory yet not conflicting, like the Yin and Yang of Tai Chi, ceaselessly generating, mutually dependent, like rain nourishing all things, her riddled body was instantly repaired, restored to perfection.
This was— "Dao Intent."
The words "Dao Intent" inexplicably appeared in Tang Sui's mind. The moment she understood why Dao Intent had manifested within her, her pupils constricted sharply.
The Great Dao had acknowledged the path she sought.
From this moment on, even the laws of this world, fixed in their original trajectory, could not reject her existence!
Excitement surged, but was quickly doused by the cold water of reason.
Currently, she had merely obtained a ticket, no longer considered an "evil spirit" or "heretic," nor subject to innate suppression.
However, to completely remove the suppression of divine power over energy mixed with blood fiends and negative darkness, she still needed to carve out a glorious path for herself amidst this intense competition filled with formidable enemies. Otherwise, if she were to face Qian Renxue again in the future, she would still be at a disadvantage.
But, she had, after all, successfully taken the first step, hadn't she?
"Plop."
Hot teardrops spiraled and fell onto the ground.
Tang Sui only then realized the wetness on her cheeks. She raised a hand to touch her face, only to discover she was weeping profusely.
"I never imagined you would dare to question the Dao with a non-human form."
A steady voice entered Tang Sui's ears.
She turned her head. A faint blue light drifted from the Sea Horse Sacred Pillar, which had now returned to its azure transparency, coalescing into a very diluted phantom.
A dignified and handsome countenance, clad in blue and gold robes, azure hair, and the divine power familiar to Tang Sui, all indicated the identity of the being before her—Sea God Poseidon.