I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

[Near Earth orbit, altitude 300 kilometers]

The pitch-black space was silent.

A colossal object, disguised as a weather monitoring satellite, slowly adjusted its attitude. Its codename was "Skyfire," a Damocles' sword hanging overhead.

The hatch at the bottom slid open silently.

There was no flame, no smoke. A high-density tungsten alloy rod, about six meters long and thirty centimeters in diameter, was propelled away from the satellite's gravity by an electromagnetic orbit.

Pulled by Earth's gravity, it begins to fall freely.

Its initial speed isn't high, but with the combined effect of gravity, it will pierce the atmosphere at a terrifying speed of Mach 10 (ten times the speed of sound). It doesn't carry any explosives, because at this speed, mass itself is the most terrifying destructive force.

Target locked: Luohua Cave, Xiangxi.

Estimated impact time: 45 seconds.

……

Luohuazhai Ruins

The ground tremors became increasingly violent.

This time it wasn't because of the beast tide, but because of the oppressive feeling from the sky.

"Buzz... Zhao Feng! Find cover immediately! This is not a drill! 'Skyfire' has been launched! Repeat, 'Skyfire' has been launched! You have thirty seconds!"

Li Sen's shouts in the headphones were almost distorted.

Zhao Feng suddenly looked up.

In the torrential rain of the night sky, the clouds formed an abnormal, dark red vortex. At the center of that vortex, a fireball, like a meteor, was tearing through the atmosphere, plummeting vertically with a devastating roar.

"Kinetic weapons..."

Zhao Feng's pupils contracted sharply.

He knew all too well the power of this thing. A tungsten rod falling down had the power of a tactical nuclear bomb, yet produced no nuclear radiation. It could use pure kinetic energy to create an effect similar to a meteorite impact, leveling everything within a two-kilometer radius.

"They're insane... these people upstairs are insane!"

Zhao Feng glanced at the horde of mutated beasts surging around him like a tide, then looked at the group of terrified team members behind him.

Run? Where to run?

Thirty seconds is not enough time to escape the kill radius.

"Everyone, get ready!" Zhao Feng threw down his broken sword, spread his arms wide, and roared, "Lie down! Shockproof stance! Open your mouths wide! Protect your internal organs!!"

This was the last effort he could make.

Whether they survive or not is up to fate.

……

Deep within the cave

Gu Qing stood at the end of the road paved with peach blossoms.

He raised his head, his enhanced eyes piercing through the thick layers of rock, staring directly at the rapidly approaching beam of destructive light in the sky.

On the system panel, the red alarm box is flashing wildly.

[WARNING! Devastating physical attack detected!]

[Impact type: Orbital kinetic impact.]

[Estimated damage: Sufficient to destroy the current environment and the host's body.]

[Time remaining: 15 seconds.]

There was no fear on Gu Qing's pale face.

Instead, he laughed. A somewhat manic, somewhat unrestrained laugh.

"Finally... have they forced out his trump card?"

He felt the surge in his spiritual power within his body.

That was contributed by the top scientists in the P3 lab when their worldviews collapsed; it was contributed by the high-ranking officials of Bureau 749 when they pressed the launch button in despair; it was contributed by Zhao Feng when he faced certain death.

This is cause and effect.

The more you fear me, the more you want to destroy me, the stronger I become.

"system."

Gu Qing opened his arms as if to embrace the "divine punishment" that had fallen from the sky.

"Consumes all Faith Points (67,000 points)."

"Exchange for a defensive formation - [Myriad Trees Spiritual Connection - Azure Emperor's Life Protection Formation (One-time Trial Version)]".

"Since you are using 'Heavenly Fire'."

"Then I'll show you what it means to... 'go against the heavens'."

……

[Impact countdown: 3...2...1.]

The tungsten alloy rod, carrying frictional heat at thousands of degrees Celsius, precisely pierced through the clouds and, with kinetic energy enough to penetrate the earth's crust, slammed heavily onto the top of Luohua Village.

At this moment, time seemed to stand still.

Zhao Feng closed his eyes, awaiting death.

however.

The anticipated destruction did not occur.

"boom--!!!"

A dull, deafening roar, not the sound of hitting the ground, but more like two mountains colliding in mid-air.

Immediately following was a suffocating blast of air.

Zhao Feng suddenly opened his eyes.

He witnessed a scene he would never forget—

Centered on that enormous cave, all the trees in the forest within a five-kilometer radius—whether towering ancient trees or low shrubs—grew wildly in that instant.

Countless thick green vines soared into the sky like giant dragons.

They intertwined and entwined in mid-air, instantly weaving a "green dome" hundreds of meters thick that covered the entire valley.

The devastating tungsten rod slammed down onto this "sky".

boom!

Green light and crimson fire collided fiercely in the air.

The vines broke apart layer by layer, turning into a shower of wood chips and fire rain.

The terrifying impact of the kinetic weapon was frantically unloaded, dispersed, and channeled into the earth by this layered network of plants.

The entire Hundred Thousand Mountains were wailing and trembling.

But the net remained intact.

It was like the palm of the earth, forcefully catching the "spear" from the sky.

A massive shockwave swept outwards in all directions.

The once ferocious beast horde was as fragile as ants before the aftershocks of this battle of gods. Thousands of mutated beasts were instantly blown away by the shockwave, their internal organs shattered in mid-air, creating a rain of blood.

Zhao Feng and the others, who were on the verge of being hit, were also slammed hard onto the rocks, spitting out blood, but at least they survived.

……

[Five seconds later]

The dust has settled.

The tungsten alloy rod, worth hundreds of millions and representing the pinnacle of human weaponry, was now twisted and deformed, stuck in the vine netting in mid-air like a piece of scrap iron, emitting wisps of smoke.

Its kinetic energy was exhausted.

It lost.

"This...how is this possible..."

Li Guozhong, far away in the command center in Beijing, watched the images transmitted back by the satellite, and the teacup in his hand slipped and shattered.

On the screen, the green light cover is slowly dissipating.

Under that protective shield, Luohua Village remained completely unharmed.

At the entrance of that enormous cave, the peach blossoms were still in full bloom, even more beautiful than before, as if they had absorbed the energy of that devastating attack.

And at the entrance of the cave where petals were falling like rain, a blurry figure slowly walked out.

It's not Gu Qing.

Instead, it was the ghost bride dressed in a red wedding gown and wearing a phoenix coronet and embroidered robe.

She was barefoot on one foot, and wearing the red embroidered shoe on the other.

She raised her head and looked up at the sky. In her originally empty eyes, there was now a hint of "human" mockery.

She stretched out her pale hand and gently made a "shush" gesture towards the satellite in the sky.

Lie.

This scene was transmitted directly to the eyes of every bigwig watching from a high-definition satellite.

[System Settlement:]

[Successfully withstood a "nation-destroying" attack.]

[Script rating upgraded to: Mythical.]

[Special Achievement: [Resistant to Heaven]]

[Credit score calculation in progress...]

[Fear levels explode...]

[Current credit rating: 120,000 points (and continuing to surge).]

Deep inside the cave, Gu Qing slumped onto a stone chair.

That attack just now not only drained his faith but also overdrawn his mental strength. Blood was flowing from his nostrils and the corners of his eyes, and his lungs felt like they were on fire.

But he was smiling happily.

"Cough cough... We've hit the jackpot!"

He stared at the constantly fluctuating numbers.

"Director Zhao, Director Li..."

"The 'heavenly fire' you sent isn't meant to kill me."

"But it's helping me... overcome this tribulation."

"After this battle, the world knows that there is a god in western Hunan who can not only control ghosts and corpses, but also... mend the sky with his own hands."

Gu Qing wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes becoming more fervent than ever before.

"The first act, 'Western Hunan,' has ended."

"With this funding, I can move on to the next, bigger map."

"But before that..."

Gu Qing looked out of the cave and saw Zhao Feng, who was completely disoriented from the shock.

"We should give this dedicated male lead a small reward for wrapping up filming."

At this moment, Gu Qing's avatar, the "mysterious person," suddenly appears.

He tapped his finger lightly.

The ghost bride at the cave entrance suddenly transformed into a beam of red light. Instead of attacking Zhao Feng, she directly entered the broken sword in Zhao Feng's hand—[Tiger Warrior].

hum!

The rusty broken sword instantly turned crimson, with blood-red patterns resembling peach blossoms appearing on its blade.

An aura that was both sacred and eerie erupted forth.

[Item Upgrade: Tiger Warrior (Blade & Soul Possession Version)]

[Special Effects: Dispels evil, devours souls, repels ghosts and spirits.]

[Side effect: On every full moon night, the swordsman will hear a woman's weeping; he must use his own yang energy to nourish himself.]

"Zhao Feng, the sword is yours, and so is the ghost."

Gu Qing's voice reached Zhao Feng's ears through the sound of the wind.

"Take this sword and protect this world for me."

"I'm off!"

……

As Zhao Feng struggled to his feet, the Luohua Village, the cave, and even the mutated corpses before him were rapidly weathering away.

It's like waking up from a dream.

Within minutes, only a desolate primeval forest remained.

Only the broken sword in his hand, now blood-red and scorching hot, proved that what had just happened was not a dream.

The heavy rain has stopped.

A sliver of dawn appeared on the horizon.

Zhao Feng, leaning on his sword, stood atop the ruins, gazing at the rising sun. A wave of doubt washed over him: where had the "ferryman" gone, and why had he done what he did...?