Under the starry sky, snowflakes drifted in the air.
Clearing the snow covering the Mist Lord once again, Feng Qi looked at the still-motionless figure and chose to continue waiting.
Five days had already passed.
During this time, there was still no sign of life in the Mist Lord's body.
It seemed as if he had truly failed to withstand the rejection from the world's rules.
Feng Qi didn't fully understand what it felt like to be rejected by the world's rules, but he had once heard a brief description from the Mist Lord.
He had said that it was like a person who didn't know how to swim falling into deep water, slowly sinking to the bottom.
During this process, he had to learn to breathe with gills like a fish. If he couldn't, the only fate awaiting him was drowning.
That was the terrifying aspect of being rejected by the world's rules.
The Mist Lord's body was so incompatible with the world's rules that he couldn't even breathe normally, and the energy within him constantly leaked out uncontrollably. During this process, his mental sea would also collapse under the pressure of the rules, ultimately causing the core of his origin to shatter.
Once it reached that point, it was essentially a death sentence.
This was also the primary reason why many domain species that had not yet evolved into domain-transcendent beings didn't dare to leave their domain territory.
They were all waiting for an opportunity.
The moment their domain merged completely with the human world, that would be the time they began their conquest.
This meant that there were still many powerful domain species lying in wait.
For example, the race behind the Divine Lord of Cloud Temple.
For this species to still be standing strong 1,500 years later was enough proof of its power and potential.
Feng Qi had once thought that the Divine Lord of Cloud Temple was a domain faction that only emerged in the later years. But the truth was, this force had already arrived; it was just lying dormant within its domain, making no moves.
In the last sacrifice timeline, while pursuing Yin Ling, he had accidentally entered the domain space of the Divine Lord of Cloud Temple.
Returning to the present, he looked at the Mist Lord.
At this moment, the Mist Lord's gaze was lifeless, and all vitality had disappeared from his body.
But Feng Qi still had no intention of leaving. He decided to wait a little longer—after all, in his memory, Old Mist was known for coming back from the brink of death.
Half a day later.
A faint blue mist-like light gradually gathered on the Mist Lord's body, forming a delicate blue flower that slowly bloomed.
Seeing this scene, Feng Qi's eyes immediately lit up.
He stepped forward without hesitation and placed his hand on the Mist Lord's body.
Carefully sensing the changes within, he discovered a weak thread of vitality sprouting within the Mist Lord, growing at a steady pace.
This thread of life energy moved slowly through the Mist Lord's body, reconstructing his shattered meridians, while the cracks on his skin began to close and heal.
Seeing this, Feng Qi's face lit up with excitement.
He knew that the Miracle Will had finally activated.
As the Mist Lord's physical body rapidly repaired itself, his mental sea also underwent tremendous changes. The blue orb suspended in his consciousness spun rapidly, radiating waves of blue light that gradually erased the dark cracks within his mental sea.
As the mental space was completely restored, the blue light transformed into liquid spiritual energy, pouring into the once-dried-up sea of consciousness.
Soon, the Mist Lord's spiritual sea became full once more.
At this moment, the Miracle Will's radiance intensified. The scattered fragments of the shattered blood-colored origin were drawn back together, fusing onto the Miracle Will orb.
The Mist Lord's blood-colored origin was being reconstructed.
However, just as the newly formed blood-colored origin took shape, cracks suddenly appeared on its surface once more. The rejection of the world's rules struck again, and within moments, the blood-colored origin shattered and scattered.
But the Miracle Will refused to relent.
It immediately pulled the scattered fragments of the Mist Lord's blood-colored origin back together and began reconstructing it once more.
This cycle repeated several times.
Finally, the Mist Lord's blood-colored origin began to change.
With the help of the Miracle Will, the blood-colored origin gradually integrated with the world's rules. The force of rejection slowly weakened.
At last, when the blood-colored origin was rebuilt one final time, it was no longer rejected by the world's rules.
The Miracle Will then quietly receded, hiding itself within the Mist Lord's blood-colored origin once again.
Seeing the Mist Lord's body radiate with life once more, Feng Qi couldn't help but break into a wide grin.
Since the Miracle Will had fully activated, all he had to do now was wait.
He was all too familiar with this process.
In the past, during a certain timeline where he had set Old Mist up, he had personally witnessed his revival.
After waiting patiently for a while, under Feng Qi's expectant gaze, the Mist Lord's eyelids trembled, and he slowly opened his eyes.
A deep confusion flickered within his gaze—his pupils were unfocused, as if he had yet to fully grasp what had just happened.
Feng Qi didn't disturb him, opting instead to wait in silence.
About half an hour later, clarity gradually returned to the Mist Lord's eyes. He finally turned his head to look at Feng Qi, meeting his gaze.
Their eyes met, and Feng Qi couldn't suppress a grin.
"Old Mist, get up. Time to work," he said with a smirk.
Extending his right hand, he reached toward the Mist Lord.
A faint smile appeared on the Mist Lord's face. He stretched out his own hand, gripping Feng Qi's forearm, and with his help, struggled to his feet.
However, the moment he stood, the Mist Lord immediately grimaced in pain.
"What's wrong?" Feng Qi asked.
"The Miracle Will didn't fully restore my body. Right now, I have no qi and blood left in me. It feels like all my bones were shattered and then hastily pieced back together… it hurts like hell," the Mist Lord muttered, baring his teeth.
Feng Qi raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you the dignified leader of the Mist Clan? Shouldn't you be able to handle a little pain?"
"Bullshit," the Mist Lord snapped. "Who the hell decided that being a clan leader means I have to be immune to pain? That's not in the rulebook!"
Feng Qi chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. "Pain or not, what matters is that you're alive."
With that, he got serious and asked, "So… what's your plan next?"
"Since I've now successfully integrated with the world's rules, I don't plan on returning to the Mist Clan's domain field. Instead, I'll follow you back to human society. By learning more about this world firsthand, I can gain a deeper understanding and decide the future direction of my people."
Feng Qi nodded. "So, you plan to stay with me throughout this timeline?"
"This is cooperation, not submission. I never said I'd join humanity," the Mist Lord stated calmly. "At the right time, I'll leave and seek a path for my clan's future. Our best path forward is mutual support between our two races, not dependence on each other."
At this, the Mist Lord looked directly at Feng Qi and added, "Don't worry. Even if you die, I will do what I can to help your people."
Feng Qi wasn't surprised by his response.
He had come to know Old Mist quite well. This answer was entirely within his expectations.
With his personality, the Mist Lord would never fully integrate into human society. He was bound to seek a new path of survival for his race. Likewise, he would never dedicate himself entirely to humanity's rise.
The best possible alliance was for humans and the Mist Clan to work together, ensuring they could support each other in the future.
That kind of future held more promise.
Forcing the Mist Lord to stay among humans would only hinder his growth.
Understanding this, Feng Qi nodded at him. "Got it. You can leave whenever you want. But for now, while you recover, come back to Star City with me… Want me to carry you?"
"No need. I can walk."
The Mist Lord confidently took a few steps forward—then immediately stumbled and fell face-first into the snow.
Feng Qi sighed and shook his head in exasperation. Without another word, he walked over, helped the Mist Lord up, and slung him onto his back.
In an instant, his flesh disintegrated into pure energy, condensing at his forehead.
As his body transformed into his skeletal form, a surge of spiritual power radiated from the mark at his brow.
With his telekinetic energy flowing freely, his body began to levitate.
In the past, Old Mist had always complained about his slow travel speed, preferring to envelop him in mist and fly him to their destination.
But this time, the tables had turned.
"Ever felt the thrill of real speed?" Feng Qi smirked.
"Boring," the Mist Lord scoffed.
"Then—takeoff!"
With that, Feng Qi unleashed his telekinetic force, launching both of them into the night sky.
Three days later.
Feng Qi and the Mist Lord returned to Tiger Soul Research Institute aboard a Tiger Soul private jet.
As soon as they disembarked, Feng Qi led the Mist Lord into the facility and straight to his personal training room.
Inside, a specially prepared blood pool had already been set up for the Mist Lord's recovery.
Standing beside the pool, Feng Qi barely had time to speak before the Mist Lord wordlessly leaped in, sinking into the crimson liquid and beginning to absorb its vital energy.
Seeing that the Mist Lord had begun his healing process, Feng Qi chose to stay and keep watch.
Time passed.
The Mist Lord's absorption rate was slow, likely due to the severity of his injuries.
However, as his condition gradually improved, his ability to absorb the blood essence increased. The liquid in the pool steadily evaporated into energy, seeping into his body.
The custom-built blood pool was 30 square meters wide and 2 meters deep.
While it wasn't enough to fully restore the Mist Lord's injuries, it would allow him to regain basic mobility.
Once he regained his ability to mist-form, the blood in the pool started depleting at an alarming rate.
Finally, the last drop of blood essence was consumed.
The Mist Lord's eyes snapped open, his eerie purple irises shimmering with an unnatural glow. The exhaustion and frailty from before were completely gone.
"How do you feel?" Feng Qi asked.
"I'm recovering well, but I'll need more resources to fully heal."
Feng Qi nodded immediately. "Tiger Soul Research Institute doesn't have a large supply of domain creature blood. I'll need to request more from Crimson Research Institute. Give it a few days, and I'll make sure you're back in top shape."
The Mist Lord nodded. "I recall this place has a library. I'd like to spend some time there studying."
"No need. You can just use my access permissions to browse the data directly. It'll be more efficient than the library," Feng Qi said, gesturing toward a computer in the corner of the room.
As one of the highest-ranking figures in Tiger Soul Research Institute, Feng Qi had top-level clearance. Apart from classified information from the Crimson Research Institute and the Star City Military Department, he had unrestricted access to all available knowledge—including everything stored in the Star City Database.
Hearing this, the Mist Lord immediately nodded.
He floated out of the blood pool, landed beside Feng Qi, and strode toward the computer.
Feng Qi followed, watching as the Mist Lord settled in.
He then began explaining how to operate the system, navigate the Star City Database, and use the search function to find relevant knowledge.
Although the Mist Lord had absorbed vast amounts of information through the memories Feng Qi had given him, many technical details were still unfamiliar.
Under Feng Qi's guidance, the Mist Lord quickly grasped how to use the system.
Watching him eagerly dive into the data, Feng Qi—who hadn't eaten in days—decided it was time to reward himself with a good meal before coming back to discuss their future plans.
At this thought, Feng Qi turned to the Mist Lord and said,
"Old Mist, I'm heading out for a meal. You stay here and continue studying. I'll be back soon."
"Got it," the Mist Lord replied without even lifting his head.
Feng Qi turned and left the training room, making his way toward the cafeteria of Tiger Soul Research Institute.
As he pushed open the cafeteria doors, the rich aroma of various foods immediately triggered his hunger.
Like the Crimson Research Institute, Tiger Soul's cafeteria also used spiritual ingredients in its meals. Even the ambient spiritual energy in the air was noticeably denser than outside.
It was 3 AM, yet the cafeteria was still bustling with researchers selecting their meals or already eating.
This didn't surprise Feng Qi.
At Tiger Soul Research Institute, there were no fixed meal times—or rather, the scheduled meal times were merely symbolic.
Initially, researchers tried adhering to set dining hours, but over time, they realized it severely disrupted their efficiency. Eventually, they switched to eating whenever they felt hungry.
To accommodate this, the cafeteria transitioned to a 24-hour operation, ensuring that researchers could enjoy a meal at any time, even after long, exhausting hours of work.
Taking a tray, Feng Qi began selecting his food.
He filled his plate to the brim before settling into a quiet corner and digging in.
Unlike his main timeline self, his current sacrifice-line body lacked the same level of resilience.
Although the Faith Bracelet allowed him to borrow some of his main timeline's physical traits, it was only partial.
After days without eating, he was already starving.
As he indulged in his meal, a deep sense of satisfaction gradually filled his heart.
During this time, a crucial question surfaced in his mind.
Mu Qing's future—he had decided not to interfere with it. Everything would proceed along its destined historical trajectory.
The development of Star City, however, was the real challenge he had to tackle.
His vision for humanity's resurgence revolved around starting with Star City and then gradually expanding its influence to the other four major cities, uniting humanity once again.
But in this sacrifice timeline, the other four cities were not part of his plan.
He understood the risks of moving too fast—having already suffered enough setbacks in previous timelines to learn that lesson.
Before the Dawn Army was officially established, his focus in this sacrifice-line would be solely on strengthening Star City.
Making it into an impregnable stronghold would be his next major objective.
He had many methods in mind to rapidly increase Star City's overall strength.
But the real question was whether or not he should use them.
The Dawn Virtual Game, the undisclosed future cultivation techniques, living battle armor, and even the Blood Refinement Method created by the Mist Lord—all of these could propel Star City forward, allowing it to leap ahead by centuries.
But doing so would inevitably attract external forces' attention, introducing uncontrollable risks.
On one hand, he wanted to lay low and wait for the Dawn Army to form.
On the other, he wanted to witness humanity's full potential—to see if they could bring about an era-defining transformation in 1,500 years.
He felt conflicted.
Ideally, he wanted the best of both worlds—but he also knew that altering history could lead to unpredictable consequences.
For instance, in a past war-focused timeline, the Silver Moon Clan had been peaceful. But when Star City's forces marched toward Future City, they seized the opportunity to construct a spatial gateway, bringing their entire race to Star City's doorstep.
That proved that even a small change in history could trigger massive ripples.
He had briefly considered splitting his efforts across two sacrifice-lines, each tackling a different approach.
But the mental burden of overlapping memories would be too much.
If he could merge both goals into a single sacrifice-line, that would be ideal.
Lost in thought, Feng Qi suddenly found his meal less appetizing.
After hurriedly finishing, he stood up and left the cafeteria, heading back to the training room.
Seeing the Mist Lord still immersed in his research, Feng Qi didn't disturb him. Instead, he walked over to a jade statue in the room, sat down cross-legged, and began meditating.
As a sacrifice-line version of himself, his strength came directly from his main timeline self.
The stronger his faith in his main self, the more power he could borrow.
The Faith Bracelet was an incomprehensibly powerful artifact—not only did it link him to his main timeline, but it also allowed him to glimpse his own future talent paths within his main self's mental sea.
Even future deities and the Mist Lord himself couldn't perceive what he could see.
This alone proved the unfathomable power of faith-based connections.
To believe in oneself wasn't just narcissism—it was about conviction in one's chosen path.
The purpose of meditation was to strengthen this belief and cement his resolve.
Time passed.
When Feng Qi finally opened his eyes, he saw the Mist Lord sitting on a couch nearby, browsing a tablet.
Seeing this, Feng Qi stood up, walked over, and sat beside him.
Without hesitation, he shared his inner conflict about Star City's future.
After listening, the Mist Lord remained calm and unbothered.
"You're overthinking it. The moment you brought me out of the Mist Domain Field, history was already irreversibly altered. That was meant to be one of Mu Qing's critical trials, and you've already changed that. Since history is already different, why not go all the way? Focus on building Star City as best as you can."
Feng Qi frowned. "Building Star City isn't the hard part. The real challenge is ensuring external forces don't see us as a threat."
The Mist Lord paused for a moment, then replied,
"Take it slow. Unveiling too many advancements at once will definitely make others wary—especially that Blood Refinement Method my future self gave you. Break it down into smaller, gradual releases instead of dumping it all at once."
As the discussion continued, Feng Qi's hesitation began to fade, and his resolve grew stronger.
As the Mist Lord had said, since the future had already changed, he might as well change it thoroughly.
From this point on, the construction of Star City would become his top priority.
Blood Refinement Method, living battle armor, virtual games—he wanted it all.
Compared to the powerful races, humanity had an insurmountable gap in heritage. If he didn't give the people of Star City some "cheat codes," even if they survived until 1,500 years later, they still wouldn't be able to compete against those powerful races.
At that time, he would probably see a broken Star City once again, with its people barely scraping by in survival.
Might as well take a gamble and see what kind of future would unfold if humanity unleashed its full potential.
But he wouldn't lay all his cards on the table at once.
As he continued discussing plans with the Mist Lord, his strategy gradually became clearer.
He decided that once Mu Qing left Star City, he would immediately initiate the city's transformation project.
From cultivation studies to technological advancements, from combat capabilities to soft power, everything needed an upgrade.
Apart from boosting overall strength, Feng Qi also planned to reveal the truth of the world step by step, just like he did in the war-focused timeline.
This would greatly enhance Star City's unity.
Of course, there was no guarantee that internal leaks wouldn't happen, so he needed a buffer period before reaching his ultimate goal—completely severing Star City's network connections with the outside world.
"By the way," the Mist Lord suddenly said, "before you start the construction of Star City, you should conduct a thorough internal purge. Aside from the Silver Moon Clan and the weaker races of the Domain Alliance, there might be other hidden foreign forces lurking within the city. Only by cleansing Star City from the inside out can it truly grow."
"I already had that in mind. Any good methods?" Feng Qi asked.
"That's simple. Do you remember my Blood Perception ability? To me, normal humans and Domain creatures have vastly different blood energy signatures—I can distinguish them instantly."
"But," the Mist Lord continued, "I can't possibly patrol all of Star City myself to hunt down spies. The city spans 80,000 square kilometers—how long do you think that would take?"
After a brief pause, his expression turned serious.
"But I can train a group of warriors and teach them the Blood Perception technique, allowing them to lead search squads throughout Star City."
Feng Qi's first thought was Lü Yue and the Dawn Organization members.
But he quickly shook his head.
The Dawn Organization didn't have nearly enough people for such a large-scale investigation.
The only organization capable of executing a city-wide purge was the Star City Military Department.
"Looks like I'll need to borrow a trustworthy group of soldiers from the military and start training them first."
Hearing this, the Mist Lord nodded.
"We can also start by teaching them the Blood Refinement Method before gradually expanding it across all of Star City. If you want to withstand external pressure, merely hiding in the shadows won't solve anything. True strength is the only way to counter outside threats."
As they continued to discuss, Feng Qi's plans became even clearer.
City development, talent cultivation, technological innovation—these would all be key pillars of Star City's future transformation.
One crucial component was the Blood Refinement Method, which Future Mist Lord had specially designed for humanity's evolution.
Although not as extreme as the Flesh Sacrifice Ritual, it was still a technique that significantly enhanced bloodline potential.
This was critical for humanity's future.
For example—
Currently, a human's bloodline potential was 1, meaning their daily cultivation growth was also 1.
But a powerful race's bloodline potential could be 100, allowing them to gain 100 times the cultivation growth per day.
Moreover, their future growth ceiling was exponentially higher.
Bridging this gap would require generations of effort.
If two people enhanced their bloodline potential to 10, then their offspring would likely inherit a base potential of 10, effectively raising the starting point for future generations.
Bloodline evolution was a long relay race—each generation had to pass the baton forward.
The Blood Refinement Method was the perfect tool for this.
It could accelerate bloodline evolution, allowing humanity to rapidly close the gap against the superior races.
This was why Feng Qi had always been determined to crack the Flesh Sacrifice Ritual.
The fundamental reason why the Mist Lord had been able to harvest countless weak races was because this method was too irresistible.
As they continued discussing Star City's development strategy, a new problem surfaced in Feng Qi's mind.
"Old Mist, if we're going through with this, we'll need to deal with the Silver Moon Clan sooner or later. Got any good suggestions? Should we drop a fake coordinate and lure them into bombing a few Domain Fields?"
Hearing this, the Mist Lord grinned.
"Remember what my future self once told you? Enemies aren't just threats—they can also be stepping stones."
Feng Qi raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"The future development of Star City will require vast amounts of resources, and blood energy will be one of them. Instead of just eliminating the Silver Moon Clan, why not set a trap to wipe them out completely and use their remains to power Star City's growth?"
Feng Qi was stunned for a moment.
Seeing his reaction, the Mist Lord grinned wider.
"Does that sound too cruel to you?"
Feng Qi shook his head.
"In a war between species, hesitation means extinction. If we can eliminate an enemy while securing massive benefits, then refusing that opportunity would be beyond foolish. If I were that soft, I might as well return to my main timeline and spend my life screwing bolts in a factory."
After a brief pause, he turned to the Mist Lord and asked:
"What I'm curious about is… what kind of trap do you have in mind?"