Chu Feng's grandmother wore a blank expression.
As though killing that powerful Divine Mother was a trivial, insignificant matter.
She had originally intended to sit down and continue refining the stone that had already been shattered into pieces.
But she detected something and raised her head to look toward the spot where the Divine Mother had been.
The Divine Mother had already been burned to ashes.
Yet everything was not so simple.
As the ashes dispersed, a fingernail-sized object resembling a pearl appeared.
The object emanated a faint glow, inscribed with ancient characters from an era long past, though one could vaguely make out two words — Divine Curse.
Suddenly, a voice came from the glowing object — the Divine Mother's voice, weak yet furious: "A mere human dares to slay a god?"
"Do not think that because this god belongs to a weakened bloodline of the Divine Clan, you may bully me as you please."
"Can you bear the price of devouring a god?!"
Although the Divine Mother's voice was brimming with killing intent, after this single echoing proclamation, no further sound came. Instead, the glowing object split apart, transforming into several streaks of light that shot toward Chu Feng's grandmother.
With a flicker of her will, the flames engulfing the entire cavern contracted, converging upon the glowing object.
In an instant, the cavern grew even more scorching, and the space around the glowing object warped and distorted from the heat.
But the glowing object seemed capable of withstanding anything — it ignored the intensified flames entirely and ultimately burrowed into Chu Feng's grandmother's head.
Chu Feng's grandmother furrowed her brow slightly, yet she showed no signs of pain. Instead, her eyes grew noticeably brighter.
It was as though she had recovered a measure of her consciousness.
"What did she just say?"
"Chu Feng?"
"Chu Feng?"
"Why does that sound so familiar?"
Her gaze flickered with struggle as she searched desperately for clues. Countless voices echoed in her ears — words that ordinary people had spoken in conversation, which she had overheard while wandering about.
She had paid them no heed at the time, but now she extracted numerous critical threads of information from those voices.
As her mind grew clearer, so too did her gaze.
"He is Xuanyuan's son. He is my grandson."
"Feng'er is my grandson."
"Oh no — someone is trying to harm my grandson. The Seven Realms Sacred Mansion is trying to harm my grandson."
But at that very moment, the ancient characters Divine Curse appeared on her forehead, their light flickering.
Chu Feng's grandmother's face contorted in agony, and she quickly lost consciousness. Following that, the flames shrouding the cavern dissipated as well.
...
In the Divine Body Heavenly River, within another world.
A massive warship stood suspended in the void.
The banners flying from the warship bore four grand characters — the Ye's Immortal Clan.
The warship was enormous, its decks lined with clusters of palaces, resembling an entire city that had been transplanted onto the vessel.
Everywhere, guards of the Ye's Immortal Clan could be seen.
And at this moment, within a moderately sized palace, four figures were present.
An elderly man and an elderly woman sat cross-legged in midair, their eyes closed, seemingly in cultivation.
Both were white-haired and possessed an extraordinary bearing — the two Supreme Elders of the Ye's Immortal Clan, who were also the parents of the current Ye's Immortal Clan patriarch.
Beyond these two exalted figures, two others occupied the palace.
A young man in golden robes, with fine, delicate features, resembling a scholar.
The other was draped in a hooded cloak that covered them almost entirely, though their frame was small and petite.
The two sat facing each other, engaged in a game of chess.
However, this chessboard was quite unusual — all the pieces were treasures transformed from formations.