The next day.
Su Nian pressed her face deep into the soft pillow, trying to block out all light and sound from the outside world.
The secret she had blurted out in the Illusion Realm, along with the thought of whether she should release her Horned Demon master—these things had haunted her mind all night, tossing and turning.
Release him?
Or keep him locked up?
These two thoughts rampaged wildly through her consciousness.
‘So annoying.’
Just then, a glimmer of light flashed through her chaotic thoughts.
‘Oh, right!’
It seemed the System had rewarded her with something earlier.
It was the reward the System gave her when she lost in the Illusion Realm…
‘What a scam of a System! Who gives good rewards only when you lose!’
‘Whatever, let’s just check it out. At least it’ll help distract me.’
Su Nian focused her mind, and the azure-blue System interface silently unfurled in her field of vision.
She skimmed past the Humiliation Value, her gaze locking directly onto a special icon glowing with golden light.
[Sanctum Space]
The moment her consciousness touched it, everything around her twisted and peeled away.
All sensory feelings vanished in an instant.
The shabby inn room, the rough pillow, the sticky nightgown…
The next second, she found herself in an entirely new world.
Beneath her feet was no longer the solid bed, but a sea of clouds flowing with radiance.
Holy Light hung silently, casting an eternal, gentle glow.
A single breath washed away the boredom and anxiety that had entangled her all night.
Every step she took rippled outward in rings of golden light.
Above her head stretched a brilliant galaxy within arm’s reach, countless stars twinkling silently.
An aura of pure, extreme sanctity filled every inch of space, and her soul felt an unprecedented peace and elevation.
This place was beyond the reach of mortals, above the heavens.
A world belonging solely to her, the newly ascended goddess.
Vast golden Divine Power naturally surged from within her, resonating with the entire space, gathering and weaving before her, filled with the joy of creation.
A cold electronic voice sounded at the right moment.
“Ding-dong. Within the Host’s personal Sanctum Space, Divine Power recovers at double the speed, and you possess the authority to create life within this realm.”
“The Host may, according to their thoughts, create the fantastical beings you envision.”
Create life?
Su Nian was briefly stunned, instinctively touching her flat stomach.
Wasn’t a new life currently gestating inside her body right now?
Of course, she understood the System was referring to a higher level, a divine authority belonging to gods.
Using Divine Power to shape life from nothing.
Create… what kind of fantastical being?
Su Nian looked around this holy sanctuary resembling heaven, with rolling clouds and winding rivers, magnificent and majestic.
Her mind, uncontrollably, conjured images of beings often appearing in myths and legends from her previous life’s memories.
Holy, beautiful, bearing pure white wings—the most loyal servants and warriors of the gods.
Angels.
‘Having a group of angels following and flocking around me would certainly be impressive.’
‘This newly ascended, breathtakingly beautiful goddess, surrounded by countless gorgeous angels… just imagining that scene is beautiful enough.‘
More importantly…
The threat of the Demon Race was always a thorn hanging over her head.
It would make things much easier in the future war.
If she could have an angel army, that powerful combat force would be both beautiful and strong.
The perfect creation!
The moment this thought was confirmed, Su Nian didn’t hesitate.
Her will drove Divine Power.
The golden torrent pouring from her fingertips began to weave, reshape, and mold upon this sea of clouds, following the blueprint conceived in her mind.
Light coalesced.
Silently suspended above the cloud sea, enormous eggs emitting a soft halo appeared out of thin air.
Within each egg of light, a sleeping holy life was gestating.
She could sense the faint yet steadfast rhythm of life slumbering within every egg.
However, creating life took time.
Looking at those quietly sleeping eggs of light, Su Nian’s mind once again uncontrollably drifted back to that icy castle.
Drifted back to the question that had tormented her all night.
Whether… to release that Horned Demon bastard.
These nine days of “real dreams” had made her increasingly aware of a fact she was extremely unwilling yet unable to deny.
She didn’t want to kill that man.
She didn’t even… want to leave her Horned Demon master.
Though hard to say and embarrassing to admit, that was the truth.
An Illusion Realm, after all, was just an Illusion Realm.
Although it could perfectly simulate the five senses, and the Horned Demon pulled into it possessed real consciousness, the illusory feeling veiled by gauze, that sense of “security” from having everything under control, could never compare to the real touch in reality, full of the unknown and excitement.
And besides… standing alone on the Giant Dragon’s back, overlooking the magnificent mountains and rivers from high above; during the day, patrolling the vast territory alone.
Sitting alone in the spacious dining hall, enjoying the delicacies respectfully served by the maids.
The joy of victory had long faded, leaving only emptiness and loneliness.
In those quiet moments, she would always uncontrollably think…
‘If only master were here. He’d look at me with that teasing yet domineering gaze.’
‘He’d also, when I’m pretending to be cold, use an irresistible kiss to make my mind go blank, completely lost.’
‘He would…’
Su Nian’s cheeks suddenly burned.
She felt utterly ashamed of the images appearing in her mind, of this shameless longing.
‘Find a suitable, not-so-embarrassing excuse to release Horned Demon master.’
‘And then I’ll…’
‘Hmm… What kind of excuse would make me, the lofty goddess, not seem like a pet who, the moment she breaks free from her chains, actively wags her tail begging for her master’s favor?’
Oh!
An idea split through the chaos in her mind.
Although that bastard had bullied and imprisoned her for so long, tracing back to the source, he seemed to have his reasons.
And now, she had successfully taken revenge, locking him up for several days, making him thoroughly taste the feeling of being a prisoner.
‘All square! Tit for tat.’
‘Yes! That’s it!’
Consider it a small revenge; just leave it at that.
However, another voice in Su Nian’s heart screamed: ‘No way! How can you just leave it at that!’
‘After being bullied by that Horned Demon bastard for so long. And after retaliating just this little bit, you’re going to release him? Doesn’t that mean you’re essentially forgiving him?’
‘Too much of a loss. He imprisoned you, tormented you, treated you like a plaything!’
‘At least lock him up for two years! At least… Make him taste that despair of endless darkness!’
Reason versus instinct.
Hatred versus longing.
Two completely opposing emotions clashed fiercely deep within her soul.
However, just as Su Nian was trapped in endless hesitation— a sudden change occurred.
-BOOM!!!
A terrifying surge of magical power, enough to make even her, a newly ascended goddess, feel a chill in her heart, erupted without warning from the direction of the castle’s top floor!
That power was dark, profound, filled with the paradoxical aura of destruction and rebirth, carrying a brutal, irresistible will.
A beam of pitch-black light, invisible to the naked eye, violently burst through the castle’s solid dome, pierced through the clouds, and shot straight into the sky!
The clouds in the night sky were instantly shredded.
A huge, ferocious black vortex slowly rotating took shape in the sky, as if an unhealable wound had been torn in the heavens.
The struggle and shame on Su Nian’s face vanished in an instant.
Extreme shock and a strong ominous premonition gripped her heart.
Her figure flickered, instantly disappearing from the Sanctuary Space and reappearing outside the circular bedroom she had sealed.
The scene before her made her soul tremble.
Inside the room, the golden Divine Rune seal she had personally laid down, which should have been indestructible, was crumbling inch by inch.
The runes representing her divine authority twisted and dimmed like a painting being scorched by fire, finally dissolving into golden motes, disappearing feebly into the air.
And in the very center of the room, a terrifying giant gate connecting to another dimension was slowly taking shape!
A deep, chaotic black vortex, seeming capable of devouring all light, rotated slowly behind it, exuding a dead silence that could freeze the soul.
And Chu Tian, whom she had sealed with her Divine Power, was now suspended in midair.
His body was forcibly contorted into a painful posture.
Countless pure-black energy chains extending from within the bizarre giant gate, like living venomous snakes, pierced through space and stabbed deeply into his body.
The tips of the chains sank into his flesh, slowly dragging him, bit by bit, toward that otherworldly gate symbolizing pure darkness and chaos!
“System, what’s happening?!”
Su Nian’s voice carried a tremor she hadn’t noticed herself.
The cold electronic voice, with unprecedented gravity, rang in her mind.
“Ding-dong. Emergency update on Demon Race intelligence…”
“Detected a high-level energy ritual: Abyssal Gate.”
The System paused, as if processing a vast stream of information.
“The Demon Race’s Abyssal Gate ritual, in essence, forcibly infuses the life force, laws, insights, and bloodline legacy of the dying former Demon King into a chosen, qualified, powerful existence through sacrifice!”
“Thus, a new Demon King is born!”
The System’s cold words, like the most vicious curse, struck Su Nian’s heart word by word.
“And ‘Chu Tian,’ who was sealed by the Host, possesses immense soul and physical strength, and has already demonized, perfectly matches the summoning conditions of this ritual!”
Su Nian stared blankly at the giant Abyssal Gate before her.
So… the former Demon King of the Demon Race sacrificed himself, and the chosen new Demon King… is Chu Tian?
“After the Abyssal ritual, what level of power will Chu Tian reach?” Su Nian asked the System directly.
“Ding-dong. According to projections, after the ritual succeeds, the target ‘Chu Tian’ will directly ascend to ‘Demon God level.’ His rank will be equivalent to the Host’s current Divine level.”
Demon God level.
Her Horned Demon master… is going to become the Demon King of the Demon Race?
That master who once belonged only to her… is going to become the king of all demons?
Her master is going to be taken away by someone else?
‘Hmm… No way. Horned Demon master… can only be Su Nian’s master alone!’