I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

[Western Hunan, Xuefeng Mountains, altitude 1400 meters]

"Boom!"

There was no lightning, but the sky was roaring.

The thick, blood-red cloud that shrouded the main peak began to collapse eerily under everyone's horrified gaze. It was no longer a aimless cloud, but rather as if it were being kneaded and stretched by an invisible hand.

Finally, it took on a shape.

It was a long, winding, crimson band of light, stretching for thousands of meters.

Its rear end is curved, like a battle flag billowing in a gale, or a scimitar hanging upside down in the sky. Its tail trails a long, blood-red flame, like the scar left by a comet streaking across the atmosphere.

The Records of the Grand Historian, Treatise on Celestial Offices, states: "Chi You's banner resembled a comet, and later it was curved like a banner. When it appeared, it signified that the king would conquer the four directions."

This is not just the words in a book.

Right now, it's right above my head.

The red light was so dazzling that it illuminated the originally pitch-black mountains of western Hunan as if it were daytime, except that this "daytime" was a ghastly red. The mountains, rivers, trees, and even the tiny humans on the ground were all coated with a blood-red hue.

"That...that is..."

Zhao Feng held his head high, his pupils reflecting the crimson light filling the sky.

He felt the broken sword [Tiger Warrior] on his back burning hot, as if it were about to pierce his spine. But he didn't let go; instead, he felt an urge to draw the sword and roar at the sky.

It wasn't just him.

All the soldiers present, even those wounded who were already exhausted from the previous insect swarm, felt their hearts pounding violently.

The blood is burning.

A primal, savage desire to fight is awakening from the depths of our genes.

This is—bloodline resonance.

Chi You, the God of War, the ruler of the Nine Li tribes, and one of the ancestors of the Chinese people.

His banner did not awaken fear, but rather the "fighting spirit" etched into the bones of the Chinese people.

……

[Beijing, Headquarters of Bureau 749]

Although the frontline footage was interrupted, the satellite spectral analysis map continued to update in real time.

"The energy level is off the charts!"

"This energy wave...doesn't belong to any known type of radiation! It's directly interfering with the human cerebral cortex!"

Li Guozhong stared intently at the dark red energy cluster on the screen.

"Ancient texts say that when Chi You's banner appeared, the world was thrown into chaos." The elderly professor beside me shakily removed his glasses. "Director, this isn't a natural phenomenon. This is... this is the embodiment of ancient war intent transcending time and space!"

"Battle will?" Li Guozhong gritted his teeth. "You mean, just some kind of 'will' can change the celestial phenomena and even affect the brainwaves of thousands of people?"

"Science can't explain it," the old professor shook his head, "but in the mysticism, it's called—a Dharma form."

……

[Summit of Xuefeng Mountain]

Gu Qing stood at the feet of the enormous image of Chi You.

Compared to the shock of the ordinary people down the mountain, he, as the instigator, was under the greatest pressure at this moment.

[System Warning: The S-level special effect "Chi You's Dharma Image" is drawing out wandering evil energy from the environment.]

[Warning: The host's mental load has reached 90%. Please note that if this evil energy gets out of control, it will instantly destroy the host's sanity, turning you into a madman who only knows how to kill.]

Two streams of blood flowed from Gu Qing's nostrils, and her vision began to blur, with double images filling her eyes.

But he can't stop.

The play has reached this point, and it must have a perfect ending.

"Our ancestor's temper... was indeed volatile."

Gu Qing gave a wry smile, then his eyes narrowed.

He suddenly swung the tattered bamboo banner in his hand.

"rise!"

He silently recited the mantra in his mind, while simultaneously mobilizing his remaining faith power to exchange for a crucial auxiliary skill—[Leveraging Momentum].

Since we can't suppress it, we should go with the flow.

"roar--!!!"

In the sky, the gigantic phantom, towering a thousand meters high, seemed to sense the movement of the ant beneath its feet. It lowered its head, its enormous eyes, like burning lakes, looking at Gu Qing.

It was at that very moment.

The "Chiyou Banner" that stretched across the night sky suddenly moved.

It no longer floated, but instead, like a red waterfall, crashed down onto the ground with a devastating force!

The target—is the main peak where Gu Qing is located, and the thousands of human soldiers at the foot of the mountain.

"It's over!"

Li Sen, standing at the foot of the mountain, closed his eyes in despair.

If this energy were to strike, not only them, but the entire Xuefeng Mountain Range would likely be flattened.

However, the anticipated destruction did not occur.

Just as the red light was about to touch the ground...

An old, hoarse voice, filled with endless desolation, echoed through the heavens and earth on the wind:

"My lord, please calm your anger!"

Everyone suddenly opened their eyes.

Between the red light and the mountain peaks, a tiny figure in a tattered Taoist robe suddenly floated up into the air.

The tattered bamboo banner in Gu Qing's hand suddenly swelled in the wind. The tattered strips of cloth that were originally hanging on it instantly transformed into golden rune chains, flowing upstream and tightly binding the falling "Chi You Banner".

"This humble Taoist priest... can still hold out!"

Gu Qing coughed up a mouthful of blood, which sprayed onto the bamboo banner, making the golden light shine even brighter.

He, with his mortal body, defied the power of gods and demons.

This scene was deeply imprinted on the retinas of Zhao Feng, Li Sen, and everyone present.

What a tragic and magnificent sight it was.

Thin and precarious, yet like a nail, firmly anchored between heaven and earth, it shielded the "ignorant" mortals behind it from the wrath of antiquity.

"Daoist Master!!" Zhao Feng shouted with red eyes, wanting to rush up to help, but was held firmly in place by that enormous pressure.

"Don't come any closer!"

Gu Qing's voice was broken and fragmented in the gale:

"This is... a calamity befalling the dragon veins of China!"

"You mortals...step back!!"

boom!!!

The red and golden lights collided completely in mid-air.

The blinding light instantly engulfed Gu Qing's figure, as well as everything on the mountaintop.

No sound.

The massive energy burst instantly emptied the air, creating a brief vacuum.

Immediately following was a shockwave that swept across the entire land.

Trees at the foot of the mountain were uprooted, and armored vehicles were overturned like toys. Zhao Feng stuck his broken sword into the ground and gripped the hilt tightly to avoid being blown away.

I don't know how much time passed.

It might be a second, or it might be a century.

The light dissipated.

The red clouds have faded.

The terrifying image of Chi You and the Chi You banner that tore through the night sky all vanished.

The night sky returned to tranquility, and even the moon seemed exceptionally cold and desolate.

"Taoist priest?!"

Ignoring the excruciating pain in his body, Zhao Feng charged towards the mountaintop like a madman.

……

[Mountain Top]

This area has been leveled by a full three meters.

The original rocks have all turned into glass-like crystals, still emitting heat.

In the center of that scorched earth.

Only a bamboo banner, broken in two, remained, standing alone in the ground.

Beside the bamboo banner, there was a shocking pool of blood, and... a worn-out cloth shoe with a thousand-layer sole.

The person has disappeared.

"senior……"

Zhao Feng knelt beside the shoe, his hands trembling as he picked up the broken bamboo banner.

The words "Ironclad Predictions" that were originally written on the top have become blurred and indistinct, with only a faint, lingering sandalwood scent remaining.

"Is he... dead?" Li Sen and his men followed, and seeing this scene, his voice was hoarse.

Zhao Feng remained silent.

He simply held the half-bamboo banner tightly, feeling the lingering warmth on it.

Although reason tells him that no carbon-based life form can survive in such an energy burst.

But the Taoist's previous gaze, that detached indifference that seemed to have seen through the ways of the world, made him disbelieve that the other party would perish so easily.

"No."

Zhao Feng stood up and carried the broken sword and bamboo banner on his back.

"He's not dead."

"He just... went somewhere else to continue guarding this damned world."

At this very moment, on the eastern horizon, the first ray of sunlight finally pierced through the clouds.

Golden sunlight shone on the scarred Xuefeng Mountain, and also on Zhao Feng's face, which was covered in blood and tears.

The confusion in his eyes disappeared.

Instead, there was an unprecedented determination.

The edifice of materialism has collapsed.

But amidst the ruins, a new monument of faith is rising in the heart of this iron-willed soldier.

……

[System Settlement Interface]

[The S-level script performance has ended.]

[Effect Assessment: Miraculous.]

[Due to the host's final "selfless sealing" performance, the official level of awe towards the "cultivation world" reached its peak.]

[Current credit rating: 250,000 points (and continuing to surge).]

[Health Warning: Late-stage stomach cancer worsening; life countdown: 3 days.]

In a hidden cave a kilometer away.

Gu Qing's face was ashen as he leaned against the rock wall, looking at the only shoe left in his hand, and gave a helpless bitter smile.

"Ahem... You're overacting a bit."

"I even lost a shoe while working on this play."

He glanced at the bright red countdown timer.

"Three days?"

Gu Qing's eyes sharpened again.

That's enough.

"With these 250,000 Faith Points, the next step... is to heal the sick and save lives, and incidentally... usher in a true era of 'civilization cultivation for all'."