No-Food curled into herself, suppressing the surging tide of desire. "Will we meet again in the future?"

The longer she stayed with him, the worse it became. The urge to devour him grew almost uncontrollable. She had to restrain her nature. Revealing it wasn’t an option since she was too weak.

Thankfully, he had left. If he had remained one more day, she did not know what she would have done.

When we meet again, will I be able to eat him? wondered the girl.

***

Qi Yuan swept his gaze across the vast land and sighed. "Such a dull and uneventful journey."

He had met No-Food Goddess once again, when she was still a child. At first, he thought he would uncover hidden secrets—some earth-shattering ancient legend, but it turned out to be plain and simple. Watching a little brat catch and eat fish. Nothing particularly extraordinary had happened. No deep entanglements, no bad blood—it was as though he had simply watched a movie.

Without dwelling on it further, he entered the Visualization Realm. "Time to visualize."

He had plenty of evil god spiritual power this time, and an equally staggering roster of gods he wanted to summon.

"Of the Six Imperial Lords, I've only visualized one so far. The other five must come out as well. Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li, Yang Jian, the Monkey King, Fire God Zhu Rong, the Ancestral Witch, Hou Yi, and the Three Pure Ones. Perhaps even Pangu!"

Much of what had been recorded on Blue Planet in his previous life was inaccurate or distorted. Even so, the gods he visualized appeared exactly as he remembered. Qi Yuan was greatly surprised and could not explain it.

If he had to force an explanation, there were two possibilities. First, these gods truly existed. Which was why, even with an imperfect visualization, the God Visualization Art remained unaffected. Second, the Primordial World could create infinite possibilities. These gods existed because he visualized them.

Either way, it did not affect his plan, so he stopped thinking about it. "Often, the most absurd-sounding things turn out to be real. After all, reality doesn't follow logic. But jokes have to."

Qi Yuan's gaze settled into focus. The first god he would visualize was the Ruler of the Underworld, Empress Earth. Abiding by heaven and modeling herself after the law, she possessed boundless virtues and radiant light.

He had also planned Qi Qi's path. She would become a True God through the Phoenix, then a Great Venerable through Empress Earth. His goddaughter deserved the best, after all.

As for Thunder, Qi Yuan intended to visualize one of the Six Imperials: the Great Emperor of the South Pole of Longevity. The Nine Heavens Primordial Thunder Corresponding Deity was originally his incarnation.

Although most of his followers would be rewarded with suitable visualization arts to maximize overall benefit, those closest to him would receive even more. He could not be impartial. For he was, after all, only human.

Driven by such an agenda, Qi Yuan began to visualize. "Master of Yin and Yang, Sovereign of the Myriad Things, Pacifier of the Nine Provinces, the Mother of Earth!"

A sacred woman appeared in his mind. Seated within the netherworld, she was myth itself, shrouded in mystery in every legend. She was even more exalted than the Nine Heavens Primordial Thunder Corresponding Deity. Perhaps even a mere wisp of her aura could topple a Yang Spirit from heaven to the underworld.

However, it was also his first time visualizing a deity of this caliber. "I hope it works."

Countless memories and images swirled in his mind. As with his previous visualization, her figure did not appear beside him. The entire Visualization Mountain fell into silence.

A chant seemed to echo from antiquity itself. "Return, O’ soul... Do not descend into this dark city..."

The mountain shook. Just as before, there were no Heart-Questioning Trials.

At that moment, a majestic female voice rang in Qi Yuan's ear. "Condense!"

Joy flashed in his eyes. "I did it!"

If he could visualize the Five Imperial Lords, then what about the Three Pure Ones?

***

By a lakeside, No-Food suddenly looked toward a distant mountain. She spotted the Heavenly Pillar he had mentioned.

"It's shaking." She lowered her head, her clear eyes fixed on the fish she held tightly. "I promised him."

If he gave her a fish, she would guard the pillar for him. Her pale hand pressed against the ground. The Heavenly Pillar, which had been trembling moments before, stilled.

Her small face turned pale, brows tightly knit. "Eat fish..."

***

Within the Visualization Realm, Qi Yuan's voice resounded endlessly.

"With breasts as eyes, with the navel as mouth, wielding shields and axes in dance!"

"A divine pearl descends into the world, position stabilizing the primordial..."

"Boundless in divine power... Heeds commands but not proclamations!"

"To the left of the Northern Pole Emperor's throne, master of spirits, holder of the Ten Thousand Gods' Register!"

"The Nine Stars are the spiritual roots of the Nine Heavens, the beams of sun and moon, the source abyss of all beings—"

***

The Heavenly Pillar shook violently. All gods across the Mortal Heart World were startled awake. They had no idea what was happening. Shock filled their faces as confusion clouded their minds.

The tremors lasted an entire hour. Even so, the pillar stood firm.

However, within the Ancestral Land of the Ancient Clan, tower after tower vanished inexplicably. Still, who among the gods would pay any attention to the Ancestral Land now? Even if the towers disappeared, they would not notice.

***

Meanwhile, Qi Yuan’s eyes shone with a sharp brilliance. He had almost visualized all the powerful gods in his memory, condensing them into God Visualization Arts.

One scripture after another floated beside him. Densely packed, Mythic upon Mythic! Moreover, each emitted vast, star-like auras—ancient, profound, and mysterious. If any ancient god saw this scene, they would be blinded.

Among them, three stood out. Profound beyond measure, encompassing all things. Stars revolved within them like ornaments. Life and death, yin and yang, entwined at their sides. On a closer inspection, they appeared only as three simple, flawless points of light. Still, anyone who sincerely visualized them would know that even all other arts combined fell short of one of these three.

They represented the supreme deities of Daoism: Jade Pure One, Supreme Pure One, and Great Pure One.

Qi Yuan drew a deep breath. "I’ve visualized all the Three Pure Ones!"

Not only that, he had visualized every god he recalled. The Three Pure Ones, the Six Imperial Lords, the Five Directional Elders, the Three Officials Great Emperors, the Six Ministries...

He was brimming with excitement. Most surprising of all, one god he visualized this time was outrageously absurd, surpassing even the Calabash Brothers. The Gatling Bodhisattva[1].

Qi Yuan was utterly baffled. "There are actually people who worship him?"

1. The "Gatling Gun Bodhisattva" is a modern internet meme and artistic creation rather than a figure from traditional Buddhist scripture. It originated on Chinese social media and in Japanese pop culture as a, likely satirical, personification of advanced weaponry as a tool for "exorcising" evil ☜