Jack crept towards the altar, his eyes unwilling to part with the floating scroll.

The Heavenly Scripture looked precisely the same as illustrated by the books. It was not possible to tell what level this particular scroll was, but it was quite apparent that the original owner was more than a mere Spirit Realm Cultivator. Jack had the sentiment that he had stumbled on a priceless treasure.

He carefully approached the altar, observing the lights swirling on its surface. He didn’t place his hands on it immediately, instead appearing pensive, still undecided if he should trust this woman. He was aware of the possibility of concealed dangers. As his past experiences clearly showed, in the cultivating world he could not afford to lower his guard in any situation.

“Young man, the strings of faith have brought you here; you have to trust at least in them. My Master perished a long time ago and my willpower is what remains of her. Please fulfil our final wish so that my soul can finally find eternal repose.”

Jack’s irises examined the woman for a moment. He believed her words were spoken with honesty. He nodded, placing his hands prudently onto the altar.

His vision flashed. Feeling himself being transported away like he was entrapped in some kind of magical formation, he soon realised that he was standing inside the same pavilion. However, it looked miles better than its current abandoned state.

Several golden curtains hang affixed against the walls, with a number of crystalline chandeliers dropping from the roof, sparkling with lights. A royal red carpet protected the floor while an empty throne was standing instead of the altar.

Jack quickly assumed that this was a memory of the past, even though the various riches made this place look futuristic rather than antiquate. He began analysing every minuscule detail with extreme precision, making sure not to miss out on anything.

His breath was turning heavier the more he advanced towards the outside world. Hurrying his pace, his hands struggled to lift the long thick curtains that covered the entrance. Panting slightly and leaning forward, Jack could finally observe the Counterbalance Realm of ten million years ago.

The sky was crimson red, churning with turbulence and spatial distortions. Giant rocks spat out from the burning inferno above, cascading down, and accompanied by ear-piercing sounds in a series of explosions that brought about only destruction. Several tornadoes moved aimlessly around, sucking and annihilation anything that happened to be in their paths.

Jack quivered; terrified by the apocalyptic sight unfolding before his eyes, stupefied by the otherworldly presence climbing the stairs before him.

A young woman wearing an imperial garment approached. She had no crowns on her head and neither did she wore any jewellery. Not like she needed them anyways; any outside decorations would only stain her natural appearance.

Her ascending the stairs contrasted greatly with the destruction that was happening in the background, two completely opposite scenarios playing inside Jack’s mind simultaneously.

Chun Meili? Holy Daughter? These two beauties would pale in front of this woman. Jack tried hard to find the adjectives to describe her, only to realise that his vocabulary was far too limited for him to do so. This woman wasn’t even a human in front of his eyes; she was a goddess.

She walked past him, her long orchid hair almost touching his face. He couldn’t resist not glancing at her back as she assumed her position on her rightful throne.

Despite the calamity, she appeared calm, composed, focused. Her arms resting on the throne, she observed a panicked-stricken servant running inside. Although she looked a bit younger, Jack could identify this woman as the Mother Ghost.

“My Sovereign, the situation is the same in all seven realms. Everything is falling apart, the heavens are crumbling everywhere!”

The young woman remained to stare blankly for a moment. Her thoughts enshrouded in mystery, she flipped her palm, summoning a treasure that Jack instantly recognised; the heavenly dice.

“M-Master, I d-don’t understand...”

The sovereign sighed. “Teng Fen, there is nothing I can do to prevent this calamity. Take the heavenly dice with you and escape to the lower realms.”

“Master! You can’t! The dice is the symbol of your sovereignty! It is the status of your title!”

“My title doesn’t matter anymore. The heavens are changing.”

The Sovereign exhaled, rising. She walked back to the entrance, pulling the curtains and observing the ensuing destruction. “I am the Counterbalance Sovereign, one of the seven sovereigns that rule over humanity. But even I have to bow to the will of the gods. Please Teng Fen, you are the only one I can trust. Take the heavenly dice and go hide it inside the lower realms. Afterwards come back here, I have a special mission for you. The Divination Sovereign was right all along.”

Teng Fen grabbed the dice, flashing away but not without first leaving a couple of tears that tainted the carpet below.

The Sovereign remained to stare outside, her hair blowing at the mercy of the powerful storms outside.

“I wanted to see my future successor with my very own eyes… you are very different from what I imagined you to be.”

Jack’s body convulsed. “Im-impossible!” Jack hurriedly took three steps in reverse. “Are you not dead? Isn’t this thing only an illusion? How can you sense me after ten million years?!”

The Sovereign remained silent for a while, her eyes not moving away from the ravaged lands.

“This is an illusion, this is also reality, both intermixed together in perfect harmony. For everything in this world, there is an equal and opposite force to counterbalance it. Yin and yang, the sun and the moon, hatred and love, good and evil, the poor and the rich, black and white, the heavens and the earth.”

Jack couldn’t stop shivering. He could suddenly feel an aura that far surpassed anything he had felt since he stepped inside the cultivating world.

The Sovereign raised her thoughtful eyes towards the sky. “There are the gods who rule above all, and us humans who serve the gods. But the gods have abandoned us today, and humanity is destined to fall. The balance has been shattered forever.”

Jack appeared confused. “The legendary realm of the Gods, it really does exist?!” He paused, thinking of something. “Wait… in my time, the heavens are still there, humans are still around, and there are no signs of any disturbances. Humanity surely hasn’t fallen!”

The Sovereign rounded her eyes a bit. “A human successor appearing before me today already surprised me a lot. Maybe everything that is happening today was the gods wanting to refresh the balance, for the new generations to take over.”

She finally glanced at Jack for the first time, her eyes looking straight into his eyes. “The Counterbalance Scripture is the work of a lifetime, please take good care of it.”

The vision began fading. Jack’s eyes had been frozen by her gaze, now also depressed that they were about to lose the view of such a goddess. He glanced at her one final time, trying to memorise her appearance forever inside his heart. In actuality, it was a feeling of a mortal admiring the divine, rather than a feeling of lust.

The Sovereign curved her mouth into a smile, her final words spoken softly and slowly. “According to Divination Sovereign, my official successor had to be born from a seed of hope, be a child of many. I don’t know exactly what he meant; talking cryptically was that man’s forte. But I am pleased to have met you today, my successor. Farewell.”

Jack’s vision changed again, and he was now back inside the previous boring pavilion. The mother ghost was staring at him, eyes curious.

“Have you seen everything? What do you plan to do with this scroll?”

Jack shook his head, hands unable to stop shaking. “I don’t know Madam. Aren’t you pretending too much from a Qi Seeking Realm Cultivator? I am young and ignorant of most mysteries, so I’ll just move step by step. Whatever the future brings, I will not shy away from the challenge, being humans, beasts, the heavens, and whoever dares to block my route. There are too many injustices in this world. Who are these gods? Why aren’t they upholding law and order? Have they really abandoned us? Teng Fen, I think the best answer I can give you right now, is to leave everything to the ‘strings of faith’, like you said when we first met.”

The mother ghost expressed a warm smile, enjoying the inexperienced Jack trying so hard to answer her question. She proceeded by slamming her palms against the scroll, generating a large pulse that caused several ruins in the vicinity to collapse further.

The scroll generated a protective barrier, entrapping Jack inside it.

Jack was on alert as he summoned his dagger. “What’s the meaning of this?!”

The mother ghost’s face turned sweet and adorable. “It will take two months for the scroll to bind with you. You can safely cultivate here as you wait.”

Jack frowned. “I can’t wait that long! The Realm’s portal will close in less than three days!”

“I know about that. The time inside this space runs much slower than the outside. Two months here is the same as one day on the outside. You should be fine.”

The mother ghost’s appearance began washing-out. “The scroll is what allowed this realm to exist for ten million years. The moment the scroll binds with you is the moment that this realm loses its source of power. I estimate only three hours before the entire realm self-destructs.”

Her voice ended with a serene smile. “Please, make sure you treasure deeply the powers of my dearest lord. She was my everything, the one I dedicated my whole life to.”

Jack nodded. “I will, you can set your mind at ease.”

Teng Fen shed a ghostly tear, defragmenting away.

Jack sighed sorrowfully. “Teng Fen, may your soul finally find the solicitude and peace it deserves. I can’t believe you have been guarding this place for ten million years... I would have gone crazy after one year at most... Your master was surely lucky to have such a loyal person as her servant.”

He dropped onto his feet, kowtowing for a while out of respect.

He then glanced at the Counterbalance Heavenly Scripture. In two months, this scripture was going to be his.