The ritual had finally reached its climax.

All of the candidate spiritual maidens knelt in a circle around the bonfire.

Three bows, rise, pluck the konghou, another three bows, rise again.

After repeating this cycle several times, they all prostrated deeply, and none of them lifted their heads again.

Up in the sky, aboard the celestial  chariot—

«I’ve chosen! That one!» Huang Rong, her cheeks flushed with excitement, pointed at a candidate marked on the tablet screen.

From their attire, the spiritual maiden candidates were indistinguishable. Their faces were all hidden behind Nuo ritual masks—none of their features visible.

Huang Rong had originally wanted to choose very carefully. In her mind, if her Xing-ge was going to select a spiritual maiden, she had to pick the best one.

But since they all looked the same, she was essentially picking at random in the end.

Nuwa nodded, also visibly thrilled—how she, an AI, managed to get so excited remained a mystery: «Now watch me perform!»

The drone slowly ascended to several hundred meters above the gathering.

And then—

BWUUUUUUMMMMMM——!!!

Huang Rong hadn’t understood earlier when Xuan Yuan  and Nuwa discussed what «two hundred thousand lumens» really meant.

But now, she understood.

It meant a blinding brilliance that could turn pitch-black, hand-in-front-of-your-face darkness into the radiant light of day across the entire mountain.

The sudden burst of intense light instantly bathed a huge area around the Taiyi Shrine in dazzling brightness—so blinding that everyone instinctively looked up in shock.

But none could bear the sight for more than a moment. Pain stabbed at their eyes, tears welled uncontrollably, and with frightened screams, everyone quickly lowered their heads.

It was as if celestial  radiance had descended from the heavens, reversing night and day—a hammer blow to the hearts of all who witnessed it.

«Celestial Taiyi has… manifested!»

«The celestial has truly descended!»

«Celestial bless us, celestial protect us…»

The watching crowd dropped to their knees in waves, bowing over and over. Some who had looked directly at the beam were terrified—they couldn’t see clearly, their eyes were swelling and stinging, their heads spinning, tears pouring freely.

They believed they had disrespected the celestial light and were now suffering celestial  punishment.

In the crowd, Wu Xian collapsed to his knees with a loud thud, his entire body trembling.

He had presided over more than a few grand sacrifices. From childhood, his whole life had been devoted to serving the Eastern Emperor Taiyi.

Yet, for decades, Taiyi had never once responded.

Though he dared not entertain rebellious thoughts, he’d inevitably felt traces of doubt in his heart.

But now, as celestial  light descended from the Ninth Heaven, flipping night into day, all doubts vanished—replaced by the same awe and terror felt by everyone else.

Kneeling on the ground, he bowed low, forehead pressed to the dirt. The celestial  radiance enveloped him completely, and he felt his entire body scorching—as if he were being baked in celestial fire.

celestial  light.
This could only be celestial  light.
It was the light of Celestial Taiyi Himself!

Many present didn’t know who exactly Taiyi was. But Wu Xian knew.

He was the supreme celestial passed down since ancient times—the creator, the solar celestial.

And then, everyone kneeling felt the light suddenly dim.

Someone couldn’t suppress their curiosity and dared to lift their head a little.

«Heavens…!»

«Celestial Taiyi… He’s chosen the spiritual maiden!»

«Celestial Taiyi has chosen!!»

Exclamations rang out. Wu Xian looked up, stunned.

The celestial  light that had previously blanketed the entire area as though to reverse time and space now seemed to gather, tighten, and collapse into a single vertical beam.

A single column of pure light shone directly onto one spiritual maiden.

Light was supposed to diffuse. It should illuminate everything around it.

But none had ever seen such focused light—a celestial  beam so concentrated that no one else shared even a sliver of celestial favor.

Amid the crowd, that spiritual maiden lay prostrate in the light. She, too, heard the astonished voices around her.

She looked up, bewildered—only to see all the celestial  light converging on her.

In mere moments, the heat of the beam made her break out in a sheen of sweat. She carefully wiped her sleeve across her brow—

«So hot!»

«This… this is the celestial’s gaze…?»

«It’s… so scorching…»

She was no longer a candidate.

From this moment forward, she was the chosen spiritual maiden.

In a daze, she felt as if an unseen gaze from the heavens truly had fallen upon her—one that pierced through her body and soul.

That gaze even saw into her heart—into that fleeting moment when she had doubted, back in the bamboo stilt house, whether Celestial Taiyi truly existed.

Overwhelming fear surged up.

Her face turned pale. Her body grew hotter and hotter—as though she would soon be reduced to ash under the burning gaze.

«That’s enough. If this keeps going, you’re going to set her hair and clothes on fire.»

From the celestial  chariot, Taiyi Emperor Xuan Yuan  cast a glance at the chosen maiden and signaled Nuwa to withdraw her power.

«It’s necessary,» Nuwa replied matter-of-factly. «She is your spiritual maiden. From today onward, she’ll serve as your agent among mortals. She must learn to hold absolute reverence for her master.»

«Celestial Taiyi is not only the bringer of boundless blessings… He can also unleash devastating calamities upon the world.»

«She must first experience this firsthand—and next, we need to find the right moment to show the world what the Solar Flame of the Celestial truly means.»

«…Speak plainly,» Xuan Yuan  sighed.

Nuwa raised her eyebrows: «I plan to pick a target and blow something up. This Great Zhou is in chaos. Sooner or later, it’ll collapse into pieces and plunge into a civil war stewpot.»

Xuan Yuan  fell silent.

Though he hadn’t stepped foot outside lately and mostly stayed in the Mount Zi area, he was still aware of how troubled the world had become.

This Great Zhou bore striking similarities to the late Tang dynasty.

More precisely, the very end of the Tang: Huang Chao’s rebellion had ravaged the land, and Zhu Wen was preparing to depose Emperor Ai of Tang, marking the beginning of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms era.

In short, the Great Zhou had one foot in the grave… and its neck was already half-buried.

According to Nuwa, if Xuan Yuan  didn’t act soon, the whole realm would spiral into war. Soldiers would ravage the countryside, the people would have no peace to farm, and once again, it would be an age of famine and cannibalism.

Just as the chosen spiritual maiden was about to reach her limit, Nuwa finally withdrew the celestial  beam.

The overwhelming heat vanished. The maiden collapsed to the ground, soaking wet with sweat, utterly drained but grateful to be alive.

After a while, she rose shakily to her feet and looked up at the night sky—her gaze a mix of awe and reverence.

She wasn’t the only one.

On the plaza outside the Taiyi Shrine, countless men and women shared the same expression.

But there was a difference.

The spiritual maiden looked to the sky in reverence of the celestial gaze.

The people looked to her—in reverence of the maiden chosen by Celestial Taiyi.

Even Wu Xian, once held in highest esteem among the mountain folk, now bowed his head in front of this girl whom the celestial had personally chosen.