Mystery—the strength of the hidden power wielded by gods—depended on the age of the span of time that god could encompass. Before this, Yu Mei-ren had already drawn that strange "blood" from Rovi's enormous form, and she had long since understood just how ancient this "person" before her was.
Supreme. Primordial. The so-called Authority of "Donghua" was, to Rovi, no more than insignificant icing on the cake.
But Yu Mei-ren had not expected that merely being this close would make her sink into it unconsciously... even if older Mystery suppressed lower Mystery, and even if older Mystery drew other Mysteries toward itself.
Yet Yu Mei-ren understood even more clearly that the true reason was because this aura was extremely similar to her own.
It felt like that of a born "planetary Elemental" like herself... and yet it was warmer than hers, carrying more heat.
As if there were a seed of fire that filled Yu Mei-ren's entire body with an extraordinarily pleasant sensation.
"Mm..." Even so, she still shifted slightly with a soft groan, swaying as she gritted her teeth and forced herself away.
Rovi's lowered eyes opened. A delicate, rippling sensation brushed across his hand, making him pause, though he did not pay it too much mind.
They were both adults, after all...
"Are you all right?"
"Of course I'm all right. Hmph. What could such a tiny influence possibly do to me?" Yu Mei-ren tried hard to put on a disdainful, tough front, though her pale face, flushed faintly red, did not make it very convincing.
By now, the Outer God's gaze had vanished. The sound of wind and waves over the vast sea remained as before. The giant tree swayed and stirred, and warm sunlight fell gently upon her.
The girl in the fur coat took a deep breath and shifted her slender waist, her flat, soft abdomen swaying slightly. She still seemed a little unsteady on her feet, but it did not look as if there was any real problem.
Rovi nodded. "Good."
Those many Outer Gods had come because of him, after all.
It was better not to involve anyone else.
He sensed the power of the Outer Gods he had just acquired in his mind. It manifested within his consciousness in chaotic, indescribable form, inverted, disordered, madly releasing wave after wave of ravings.
Just as Yu Mei-ren had described, it was indeed an aura capable of driving people mad.
Even so, Rovi still felt somewhat dissatisfied. It was not enough.
Too weak?
Perhaps he should not say it was too weak. Rather, relative to the scale of an existence like Rovi, the influence it could exert was far from sufficient.
After all, the Outer Gods beyond the universe had only paid him a tiny bit of attention. It was like a roadside view that happened to enter the corner of their eye; they had not even looked at it directly.
However...
"Why aren't you angry?" Rovi suddenly asked.
Yu Mei-ren froze. "Why would I be angry... hm!?"
She abruptly realized that her mood had suddenly become especially peaceful.
In the past, if she had run into such a huge "accident," even if she did not become irritable, she would definitely have been displeased. But now, she was not.
Her mood was exceptionally calm. Exceptionally tranquil.
All her irritation seemed to have vanished.
"So that's how it works?" Rovi lowered his brows and discovered that the Outer God power within his consciousness had strengthened by an insignificant amount.
Outer God power—or perhaps it could also be called a "seed of chaos."
It could absorb negative emotions, or rather, emotions defined as "chaos," in order to strengthen itself.
Indescribable Outer Gods ultimately belonged to the side of "disorder."
Yu Mei-ren grew dissatisfied. "What are you talking about? Did you do something again?"
Dissatisfied, but still not angry.
"Nothing, nothing." Rovi laughed it off. "We're both safe and sound anyway. Isn't that good?"
"Hah..." Yu Mei-ren glared. Though dissatisfaction still lingered between her delicate brows, she did not ask further.
Rovi felt the "chaos" within him grow another fraction stronger, and could not help feeling delighted.
But judging from this, relying on Yu Mei-ren alone did not seem enough to strengthen it to the point where it could influence him and drive him toward his end.
As expected... he still needed to go to the mainland of the Divine Land.
"Speaking of which, Qin still hasn't unified the six states." Based on Xu Fu's arrival earlier, Rovi could easily infer this much. And if the Warring States had yet to be unified, that meant war was still raging there.
War would inevitably breed many negative, chaotic emotions—greed, wrath, slaughter, and more.
If he used that as a furnace, surely he could make this power within him develop rapidly until it reached the point where even he would inevitably be affected and die...
After death, once he ascended to the Throne of Heroes, the power of the Root would also be able to remove the influence and leave him undisturbed.
Yu Mei-ren glared. "Why did you go quiet again?"
"What should I say?"
"What should you say... Mm, anything." In truth, Yu Mei-ren herself did not know what she wanted him to say. She simply suddenly wanted to speak, wanted to talk.
Was it loneliness from all the long years? Or perhaps the shared origin she had felt in that accidental embrace just now made her feel close to him?
Honestly... inexplicable.
She curled her lip, suddenly somewhat dissatisfied with herself.
"Say what you want, then." Although Rovi also found it inexplicable, he had no particular doubts and spoke leisurely. "In the end, living is nothing more than following your own will as you live and survive."
Rovi sat down again beneath the enormous trunk of the Fusang Tree. Though his human form seemed extremely tiny compared to the giant tree, his existence was always impossible to ignore.
It was as though the giant tree behind him was the insignificant thing instead.
He closed his eyes slightly, feeling the wind come toward him and brush gently past.
"Why are you talking in such a strange tone?" Yu Mei-ren furrowed her delicate brows. Her ruby-like eyes suddenly turned, and a sly smile appeared on her vermilion lips.
Her mind had gained a rare peace and tranquility. At this moment, many thoughts she had never had before suddenly surfaced within Yu Mei-ren.
All this time, Rovi had acted with extreme calm. Though he was full of humanity, he also carried a sense of having seen through worldly affairs while remaining unwavering.
Yu Mei-ren suddenly grew curious.
Could Rovi panic?
She really wanted to know...
A rustling sound rang by his ear. Rovi opened his eyes and looked at the girl who had suddenly moved closer.
She stood prettily before him, bending down slightly, her lovely face lowered in front of his. Her vermilion lips were moist, gleaming faintly in the dim light.
Her slightly lowered figure appeared graceful and beautiful, her exquisite body pale and faintly pink.
"Rovi... right?" Yu Mei-ren reached out a finger and lifted Rovi's chin, laughter in her eyes.
"What madness are you up to now?"
"..."
"If you don't want to sleep anymore, go sunbathe." Rovi's words were blunt. "Don't block my view of the sea."
Yu Mei-ren wanted to get angry, yet found she could not. She only felt stifled.
This man...
Rovi could tell at a glance what she was trying to do.
With a proud planetary Elemental like this, he could more or less guess what was going on... Yu Mei-ren felt gloomy, but instead of moving away, she leaned even closer.
Not only close. She even pressed her body directly downward...
Soft roundness settled onto Rovi's crossed legs, fullness pressing against his chest, while her bent legs fell on either side.
Now you can't possibly stay calm, right? No matter what, the humanity Rovi had shown was absolutely real.
Hmph, hmph, hmph!
Yu Mei-ren's vermilion lips lifted.
That was right. This was only teasing, only an attempt to win back some ground. It was not because she herself wanted to get close to Rovi!
Still... he really was warm...
Rovi glanced sideways. There was no denying that his body had reacted somewhat.
The problem was, Yu Mei-ren's reaction was clearly even greater. Layers of red flushed across her face, and her exposed body could not stop trembling.
She raised her slender jade-white fingers and slowly traced them across Rovi's face.
"If you don't know how to play, don't play." Rovi sighed. He reached out, caught the coat draped over Yu Mei-ren, and lifted her up.
Just like lifting a child, he swung her left and right.
Rovi stood.
"You... let go of me!" Yu Mei-ren froze, then grew somewhat embarrassed and annoyed. She reached out, wanting to grab Rovi's face. It was clearly right before her eyes, yet she could never quite reach it.
So near, yet so far.
As expected, he could not let her become too calm. If she became too calm, things would go wrong.
Thinking this, Rovi set Yu Mei-ren down. The girl took a deep breath as her body touched the slightly cool ground.
Then she got angry, her cheeks puffing up slightly.
"If you have nothing to do, why not look at the sea?" Rovi glanced at her.
Yu Mei-ren curled her lip. "What's there to see about the sea... I've seen it countless times."
"There will be something soon." Rovi shook his head.
His long sleeves fell and stirred. The Pure Yang Sword hung high at the top of the Fusang Tree, absorbing the heat of the sun falling from the sky and using it as energy to temper the sword and its edge.
Rovi closed his eyes, facing the incoming wind and the vast, boundless sea.
The world seemed to become extraordinarily quiet.
Yu Mei-ren's mood also became very calm. She sat on the ground, her legs bent, gazing at the sea before her, and also at Rovi's back.
At this moment, this vast sea seemed to be responding to Rovi's breathing.
He had many identities. He was the Lord of Greece, the God of All Machines; the Great God of the Norse; and also Yahweh, the one true God of religion.
But here, upon this land, he was even more the "Fusang Great Emperor," "Donghua Dijun."
The Fusang Great Emperor dwelled on the shore of the East Sea and governed the divine tree where the sun rose and the moon set. He was the god of sunrise and moonset, and more than that, he was the Water Official Great Emperor who governed the cycle of the Three Waters.
The land where the sun rose was his territory, and the sea was even more his domain.
In that instant, following that Authority and that power, Rovi extended his influence over the entire East Sea.
In that moment, the sea wind rippled and breath flowed.
He had decided to go to the Divine Land.
But before that, Rovi would use his own "seed of chaos" to contain the filth upon the East Sea. With himself, he would purify the immeasurable weight of this endless volume of water that had cycled for hundreds of millions of years.
This was also a trial he had decided upon after sitting in silence just now and grasping the hidden power clearly.
Beneath the sea, toothed sharks leapt and rose. A Kun let out a long cry, transformed into a Peng, and soared up through the nine heavens. Countless schools of fish moved beneath the sea, gathering like a vortex as they advanced in the same direction.
"The Emperor-Lord is calling."
All living creatures in the sea heard such a voice.
And so the seawater seemed to boil. On the surface of the sea, multicolored scaled fish could be seen leaping up, while in the sky, soaring birds swept through the sunlight like white lightning.
All living things vied to move forward. Yet whether they were toothed sharks or tiny swimming fish, all of them peacefully occupied the same line.
The wind was clear, the air was bright, and everything was lucid.
All "evil" was drawn in, absorbed, and purified.
...
On the shore of the East Sea, someone stood atop a reef. His elderly figure was tall and upright, and the crown upon his head made him seem like a straight-standing monument. His broad sleeves were clasped behind his back.
He looked up at the vast, cloudless sky and the boundless, tranquil sea, and sighed with emotion. "The Master stood by a river and said: 'If the Way does not prevail, I shall take a raft and float upon the sea.'"
"With such a grand sight before me, no wonder the Master once spoke those words."
"Master Xun, the world is chaotic now and urgently needs the aid of the wise. How could you float away upon the sea?" someone below the reef said. "Senior Brother Li Si still wishes to invite you to the state of Qin!"
"The world is chaotic, but what it needs is not the aid of the wise. What it needs even more is brave souls to press forward and open the path ahead." Master Xun laughed aloud. "As for Li Si's words, I have already refused them. My Mandate of Heaven is approaching, and it is not far off!"
"Master Xun, you..." That person froze and still wanted to say something. To Confucians, the approach of the Mandate of Heaven meant the approach of the end of one's life.
As the last sage of Confucianism in the present age, Xunzi had long since reached the realm of knowing the Mandate of Heaven, equivalent to immortals and gods.
What he said could not be inaccurate.
But Xunzi cut him off, stroking his beard with a smile. "This old man was still worried before whether that Donghua Dijun might be some treacherous, wicked being. But now that I behold this—without being a righteous god, there could be no such bearing!"
"To witness this once before death makes this journey worthwhile!"
"The Master said: 'What passes away is like this, never ceasing day or night.'"
"The Master said: 'When the water of the Canglang is clear, I can wash my hat-strings in it; when the water of the Canglang is muddy, I can wash my feet in it.'"
"The Master said..."
...
Line after line echoed amid the wind and waves, then scattered with them.
The old master removed the crown he wore, his white hair and beard still flying, and walked along the coast.
Water roared as waves surged and struck the shore. Countless evils accumulated within the sea were devoured by Rovi.
Chaos churned within his consciousness, yet Rovi's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"CREEE!"
With a single call, a goshawk swept in.
The giant tree swayed, and countless swimming fish circled around it.
The Water Official Great Emperor governed all waters and marshes. In heaven, it is cloud; between heaven and earth, it is rain; upon the earth, it is rivers.
And now, Rovi used it to cleanse the vast sea.
Within his heart, a sea of chaos sprouted.
Yu Mei-ren's eyes widened slightly as she watched the sea full of boiling fish, watched the rippling waves glitter beneath the sunlight.
She was somewhat dazed.
This truly was a scene she had never seen before...
"Rovi... Donghua Dijun..."
She murmured softly, staring in a daze.
Perhaps this world really was just as he said. Perhaps there were many things she did not know, many beauties she had never known?
"The Water Official Great Emperor dwells beneath the Fusang Tree in the East Sea. He is known as the Fusang Great Emperor, Donghua Dijun. With the cycle of the Three Waters, he washes the qi of heaven and earth, drawing all living things to guard him. Fish leap glittering from the sea like an army in formation. Xunzi saw this and said: 'As a god, he is good; his mandate is orthodox.'"
"With a heart for the people, he deserves a bow from this Master."
"From Xunzi's Late-Life Journey to the East Sea."
Rovi swept his sleeve and fixed his gaze on the shore across the sea.
The Master cupped his hands and bowed in respect.
Rovi straightened his crown and returned the salute.
---
T/N: yeah idk much about chinese history soooo this arc might be unpolished like nrose
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