Northern Frontier.
Vast, boundless grasslands stretched beneath a sky of blue and drifting white clouds, filled with breathtaking scenery.
From a distance, yurts dotted the ground like dozens of small floating clouds. Northern men rode horses, shouting exuberantly, while pure young girls smiled gracefully.
At the edge of this pastoral settlement stood a statue. At first glance, it seemed just a strangely shaped boundary marker, but locals called it the Qiqige Girl Statue.
At that moment, a group led by a purple-eyed youth arrived, windblown and weary. Beside him were a few trusted companions—the cheongsam-clad beauty, the Red Demon, and a handful of others.
It was none other than Leng Jue, fleeing northward.
The purple-eyed youth's gaze lit up at the sight of the herders' settlement ahead.
Leng Jue spoke to his confidants: "We've finally arrived. This is the spatial node—capable of reflecting the Great Pyramid of Khufu."
His face twisted with rage as he recalled the past days of slaughter by Jiuzhou against his forces, the relentless pursuit. He clenched his fists and snarled, "Lu Jun! Jiuzhou! The humiliation and injury you inflicted upon me, I will repay a hundredfold!"
Even now, Leng Jue had no idea where his intelligence had been leaked, forcing him to abandon most of his forces.
Yet after countless trials, he was only one step away from success.
Purple eyes burning with fanaticism, he planned that once the Great Pyramid of Khufu descended, the Northern Frontier of Jiuzhou would become a ruin, an empire of the dead. He would seize the opportunity to expand his influence, recovering all past losses and rising even higher.
The purple-eyed youth seemed to regain his previous devil-may-care demeanor, a sinister smile on his lips. "Let's go to the village ahead. We must set up an anchor point, and of course, obtain the local owner's consent."
Soon, Leng Jue and his entourage approached.
An old herder, smoking dry tobacco, straightened up and murmured curiously, "How strange… two waves of guests arriving in this little place today."
He approached warmly, greeting them. "Hello, travelers. This place is far from the city. You won't reach it by noon anyway. Why not rest at our home for a while and have lunch?"
The handsome youth glanced at him and politely asked, pointing to the statue, "Sir, what does this girl statue represent?"
The old herder hesitated briefly but was happy to explain local legends to outsiders.
"She is tied to a legend. Long ago, this region suffered drought and hardship. A girl named Qiqige climbed the snowy mountains, removed her clothing, and with her pure body melted the glaciers. The snowmelt flowed, carrying her fragrance, and all life revived."
"Because of this, our people respect women. Every household takes pride in having a daughter."
Leng Jue listened patiently, occasionally responding, though he regarded the legend of Qiqige with disdain.
Suddenly he said, "I also have a story, somewhat similar to yours, but completely different."
The old herder leaned in. "I'm listening."
"In Egypt," Leng Jue began, "women held extremely low status. There was a beauty named Khonsi. Unable to endure abuse, she prayed to the Underworld God for release."
"The god promised her everything in the human world for ten years, in exchange for her soul upon death."
Leng Jue recounted in detail how, ten years later, Khonsi avoided the Underworld God's pursuit by repeatedly projecting the pyramid elsewhere with the Triangular Chaos Mirror. Egypt suffered countless disasters, millions died, yet Khonsi did not escape fate. Her lover stole the Triangular Chaos Mirror and destroyed it in thunder, shattering it into billions of fragments.
Thus, the mirages over Egypt were born. Her lover gained no fame, only eternal disgrace.
The old herder was silent for a long while, lost in thought.
Leng Jue revealed a mischievous smile. "Tell me, which leaves a deeper mark—the story of Khonsi or your Qiqige?"
The herder hesitated. "I think our Qiqige is greater."
"Ha! But your Qiqige is only known in this small region. Khonsi, however, has become the symbol of the most evil woman in Egypt for countless centuries! Like the power of faith itself."
Leng Jue laughed recklessly. "Where there is reverence, devotion, and justice—half of human faith, there is also the other half: evil, scorn, and hatred."
"Tell me, are there more vile in human nature or more good?"
"If gods are divided into the benevolent and the malevolent, and their strength measured by the power of faith, then it follows that evil gods possess far greater power than benevolent ones!"
The old herder was speechless, stammering, "Your logic has some truth… but surely there are many good people like Qiqige, right?"
Leng Jue revealed a deep, malicious grin. "Very well, let's make a bet. I will kill your wife, daughters, neighbors—everyone you cherish. If you can bear it without hatred, then I will reform, and renounce being a Red Cardinal."
He particularly loved twisting others' minds with warped reasoning, forcing them to confront their deepest fears and sufferings, trampling their beliefs.
From this, Leng Jue would siphon their resentment, enhancing his own dark power.
The old herder stared in shock at Leng Jue, speechless, confusion and disbelief written across his face.
At that moment, several of Leng Jue's confidants ceased tinkering with the Qiqige statue, they had already embedded the coordinates.
Leng Jue pointed toward the nearby mountain village, producing a replica of the Triangular Dimensional Mirror, the Triangular Chaos Mirror, its surface showing the colors of unshaped chaos.
No one knew where Leng Jue had obtained the Triangular Chaos Mirror; perhaps it was taught by the Khufu behind the scenes, much like the ancient Khonsi. Perhaps it was a story orchestrated by the Underworld God Khufu himself.
Holding the prism in his hand, he recalled Lu Jun's antics in New York, his expression twisting with anger.
Leng Jue took a deep breath, sneering as he stared at the old herder: "Soon, everything you hold dear will vanish. Then you will understand why the power of evil gods far surpasses that of benevolent ones."
The old herder felt a surge of terror, a sense of foreboding, and suddenly looked back at the mountain village behind him.
The blue sky and white clouds were replaced by the dim hues of dusk, a foreboding shadow poised to descend upon the area.
"Hehehe…"
A mocking voice cut through the air: "What twisted logic! If humans are mostly evil, and evil gods are stronger, then why is the current world orderly and flourishing, while your Black Vetican is nothing but a rat crossing the street?!"
The words struck Leng Jue like a wound. He stomped angrily, glaring at the voice.
The purple-eyed youth's face turned astonished. Hearing a familiar voice and seeing the man's face, he could not believe it: "Lu Jun, what are you doing here?!"
The Black Vetican members were terrified, retreating step by step.
Lu Jun's legendary reputation in recent years, the name of the Red Cardinal Slayer shone brighter than ever, cementing his status
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