Chapter 177: Chapter 177: I Have Heard Your Devout Prayer, Now Serve Me Well

"With a heart full of devotion,

I beseech you to rekindle the dying flame of faith within me.

I pray that under your supreme protection, no matter how the storms rage or the waves churn,

I may remain as firm as a rock, unshaken by the turmoil of the world.

May your hands be my strongest shield, defending me from all the evil and suffering in this world..."

Ji Shengyue didn’t know what was happening, but she dared not stop now.

She pressed her palms together, closed her eyes again,

and continued to pray ceaselessly, ignoring the strange sights and sounds around her.

The surrounding candlelight flickered ever more frantically.

...

"Hello, everyone. The building constructed up ahead is the Divine Hall where the deity, the Great Celestial Dog, is enshrined.

To awaken the still-slumbering Great Celestial Dog as soon as possible,

Her Majesty the Queen of our Great Jing Empire has personally entered the Divine Hall ahead.

She will remain here to worship and serve for twenty-four hours.

Everything Her Majesty the Queen is doing is so that our Great Jing Empire may have its own deity as soon as possible..."

A reporter and numerous cameramen from the Great Jing Empire were shouldering their equipment, conducting a live broadcast.

These people had all been arranged by Ji Shengyue and Zong Yajuan,

with the goal of reshaping Ji Shengyue’s image as a great and noble Queen.

"Your Great Jing Empire is ridiculous,

you stole that statue of the Great Celestial Dog from our White-Red Empire,

and now you have the nerve to claim it as your own. I think the Great Jing Empire already has a deity—the God of Thieves."

"I just love watching you people from the White-Red Empire fly into an impotent rage. If you have the guts, come and take it back."

"What’s there to argue about? We’re all lapdogs of the Lighthouse Empire now."

"What do you mean, ’lapdogs of the Lighthouse Empire’? The Great Jing Empire is just biding its time, leveraging the situation. You don’t know a thing!"

"History is written by the victors. If our Great Jing Empire regains its former glory, the history of the Great Celestial Dog’s ownership will be permanently rewritten. HAHAHAHA, suck it, you people from the White-Red Empire."

"Still dreaming of regaining your former glory? You people from the Great Jing Empire are the biggest dreamers, lost in fantasies all day long.

Back then, the only reason your Great Jing Empire enjoyed peace and security was because of one man, Chu He.

But you idiots drove him away. Without Chu He, your Great Jing Empire will never regain its glory, not even in death."

"..."

In the live stream chat, countless netizens were arguing endlessly.

Some felt it was shameful, some didn’t care, and others believed that as long as they were strong, nothing else mattered.

There were also people from other empires chiming in with cynical remarks, but the most furious of all were the citizens of the White-Red Empire.

This was because the Great Celestial Dog statue had been stolen from the White-Red Empire by someone from the Great Jing Empire.

If it hadn’t been stolen, the White-Red Empire could have had one more deity.

But now, with the Lighthouse Empire mediating,

the people of the White-Red Empire knew full well that they could no longer hope to get the statue of the Great Celestial Dog back.

However, they were simmering with a rage they couldn’t suppress, so they flooded the live stream chat,

hurling the most vicious insults they could think of at the Great Jing Empire.

...

CRACK, CRACK, CRACK...

On the altar, the statue of the Great Celestial Dog, once standing tall and inviolably majestic,

was suddenly stirred by an invisible force, beginning a silent yet shocking transformation.

At first, there was a tremor so slight it was almost imperceptible,

like the rustling of leaves in an ancient forest at midnight, heralding some unspeakable change.

Then, hairline cracks slowly appeared on the statue’s surface.

They were like fissures spreading beneath the ice of a winter lake, or the most secret stellar paths in the night sky,

silently weaving an intricate web that bound the entire statue.

These cracks seemed to multiply as if alive, each one deepening, widening, and intertwining with the others,

until the whole statue was divided into countless fragments about to fall away.

Accompanied by a faint but distinct shattering sound, stones and debris of all sizes began to flake off the statue,

as if an hourglass of time had been inverted, stripping away past glory and faith, bit by bit.

The temperature inside the Divine Hall seemed to plummet as the statue shattered, the air condensing into frost.

Even breathing became heavy and audible.

Dressed in magnificent robes, Ji Shengyue, despite having her hands pressed to her chest and muttering prayers, still couldn’t resist the sudden chill.

Her teeth chattered uncontrollably, making a soft but rapid sound,

a stark contrast to the surrounding silence.

She mustered her courage and slowly opened her eyes, which were slightly moist with fear.

Her gaze passed through the blurring light and shadows, finally landing on the ruin upon the altar.

In that instant, her pupils dilated, her eyes filled with disbelief.

All that remained there now was a messy pile of rubble.

Ji Shengyue’s heart was instantly devoured by panic and despair.

She shot to her feet, her body trembling from the shock, and frantically looked around, trying to find some hope amidst this sudden turn of events.

She knew that her actions today, meant to solidify her position and quell external doubts by reviving the Great Celestial Dog, had unexpectedly ended in such a disaster.

Inside the great hall, the candles that had been swaying in the breeze, adding a sense of mystery and solemnity,

now seemed to sense the despair and unease permeating the air, and one by one, they grew still.

Only a dead silence remained.

Ji Shengyue paced in the silence, each step feeling unnaturally heavy, her heart filled with fear of the unknown and anxiety about the consequences.

However, just as she was about to give up and turn to flee the suffocating scene,

an unexpected figure quietly appeared in her line of sight.

It was a tall being with a peculiar appearance: a red nose, a red face, and a round fan in its hand.

The wings on its back beat gently against the air, as if it had just descended from another world.

Its eyes were hollow and cold, exuding an aura that did not belong to the Mortal World.

"Human woman?"

The hoarse, slurred voice echoed in the empty Divine Hall like a whisper from the abyss, making Ji Shengyue’s heart leap into her throat.

If Ji Shengyue hadn’t listened carefully, she wouldn’t have been able to make out the two words "Human woman?"

"You... Are you the Great Celestial Dog?"

Ji Shengyue’s mind raced as she asked cautiously.

"Great Celestial Dog is indeed my name."

The figure lifted its chin with extreme arrogance.

A glint of excitement flashed in Ji Shengyue’s eyes.

’All my efforts weren’t in vain after all! I actually managed to summon the Great Celestial Dog from the statue.’

The false alarm from moments ago was now replaced by overwhelming joy.

’The Great Celestial Dog had been brought to the Great Jing Empire so long ago, yet it couldn’t be revived. But I walked into this hall, knelt, and prayed for a short while, and the Great Celestial Dog awakened. This undoubtedly proves that I am the chosen one!’

"Human woman, you are quite beautiful. Judging by your status, you must be of high nobility among mortals."

The Great Celestial Dog sized Ji Shengyue up and down.

"Yes, I am the Queen of the Great Jing Empire, a being above all others."

Ji Shengyue nodded in response without hesitation.

"Excellent!"

An indescribable, strange smile slowly crept onto the Great Celestial Dog’s face.

Its eyes glittered with a sinister, cold light, like the chilliest stars in the night sky. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Suddenly, it transformed into a swirling cloud of black energy and shot up from the altar,

rushing fiercely toward Ji Shengyue like a tornado.

The black energy billowed, accompanied by a soft CRACKLING sound,

as if it were tearing through the silent night, staining the surrounding air with an oppressive, heavy hue.

"Ah? Ah!"

Ji Shengyue stood frozen, watching the cloud of black energy approach, her heart filled with terror and confusion.

The terrifying blackness was reflected in her eyes, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably.

The color drained from her face, which was now a mask of panic.

’She couldn’t understand why the Great Celestial Dog would suddenly act like this. Could her prayers have gone wrong?’

The black energy rapidly condensed in front of Ji Shengyue into the solid form of the Great Celestial Dog.

It took the form of the original majestic statue, only now it was larger and more real, looking as if it could destroy anything at any moment.

Then, it slowly opened its arms,

as if to embrace a beloved treasure, and wrapped them tightly around Ji Shengyue’s slender waist.

The force was staggering, as if it intended to crush Ji Shengyue and absorb her into its own body.

Ji Shengyue felt an intense sense of suffocation. Her body was bound tightly by the Great Celestial Dog, unable to break free.

Her lovely face instantly turned crimson, her chest squeezed tight.

She could no longer draw a single breath, and her vision began to blur.

"I have heard your devout prayers. Now, serve me well."

The Great Celestial Dog’s voice echoed in the air like some bizarre command.

Its cold, hollow eyes were locked onto Ji Shengyue, proclaiming an inescapable fate.

In this terrifying and eerie atmosphere, time seemed to freeze.

Only the Great Celestial Dog’s cold laughter and Ji Shengyue’s ragged gasps echoed in the empty Divine Hall.

Everything around her grew hazy. Only the cold embrace and those emotionless eyes

became Ji Shengyue’s most profound memory of this moment...