The vast Temple of the Sun shook violently, and Apollo roared repeatedly.
All the angels, divine attendants, and others within the temple rushed over, eager to know what had happened to their lord god, who was shouting so loudly in the middle of the night instead of sleeping.
When they heard Apollo's enraged words, they all wore strange expressions.
A bold angel asked, "My Lord God, what has happened?"
Apollo's face was ashen, his expression contorted with fury. "My great bird is gone."
He could clearly sense that the aura of the phoenix had completely vanished.
This meant that the phoenix had been killed by someone.
The angel's gaze instinctively drifted towards Apollo's crotch. His eyes darted around, and after a moment's thought, he comfortingly said, "My Lord God, actually, size doesn't matter. Big isn't always better; it can be just for show. Small has its advantages too; it's compact and potent."
Apollo found this utterly baffling.
Then, he noticed the angel's gaze and immediately understood, flying into a rage.
"Go to hell!"
He kicked the unlucky angel flying and berated him, "What small? This is refined, you know nothing. If you spout nonsense again, I'll kill you."
Refined?!
A chorus of "Wow" erupted around them. Many female angels couldn't help but their eyes light up, covering their mouths as they giggled.
Who would have thought the Sun God, despite his muscular physique, was actually so refined!
Apollo realized his slip of the tongue, his handsome face instantly flushing with embarrassment. He tried to explain, "It's my phoenix that's gone, it fell victim to foul play. This is a provocation against me, and against all of Olympus. We must find the villain and tear them to shreds."
"The phoenix is dead?"
Hearing this news, the surrounding angels and divine attendants all looked shocked.
The phoenix could be reborn from ashes. Capturing it alive was easy, but killing it was extremely difficult.
Moreover, it had been countless years since any deity had fallen.
Now, the death of the phoenix might be like opening Pandora's Box, with the shadow of death looming over all the gods.
"Who dares to kill the phoenix? They must pay with their blood."
"This is a trampling of the Sun Temple's authority. We must retaliate and uphold the glory of the Sun God."
...
The crowd was incensed, shouting for battle.
After all, even the phoenix had died, and they all felt fear because of it. They wanted to eliminate the hidden threat completely.
No matter what, the god-slayer must die, and this trend must be stopped.
The Sun God, however, calmed down and murmured, "The phoenix went to Huaxia to investigate the news of the elixir of immortality. Could it be that it found something, attracting envy, and they killed the bird to steal the treasure?"
The angel who had just been kicked away, with blood trickling from his mouth, got up from the ground and guessed, "Could it be that a great Huaxia deity has returned and directly dealt with the phoenix? After all, they established a rule there: any divine creature that dares to trespass on the land of Huaxia will be killed if one comes, and two will be slaughtered..."
However, before the unlucky angel could finish speaking, Apollo kicked him flying again.
"Nonsense! The Huaxia gods fought in the darkness and were all wiped out. Even if there are survivors, they are severely wounded and cannot make any waves. It must be other pantheons who did this, perhaps those bastards from Asgard. No matter who the culprit is, I will not let them go."
Apollo was stubborn and refused to listen to his subordinates.
He immediately ordered all his subordinates to go out and investigate the truth.
Once the perpetrator's identity was confirmed, he would personally act to show the world his invincible might.
The Moon Goddess Artemis also had a dark expression.
She had usurped the moon and, from it, extracted a small amount of Taiyin True Fire, absorbing it for her own use.
She hadn't expected that before she could fully refine it, that accursed thief had stolen a portion of it, nearly draining her body.
She naturally couldn't tolerate this insult. She also issued an order for her chosen ones to lead the search for the Taiyin Fire and apprehend the true culprit.
In the following days, more and more foreigners headed east.
Even quite a few divine beings were mobilized.
Some gods, whether intentionally showing off or deliberately establishing their authority, caused a great stir.
On a dark night, someone saw a skeleton clad in a cloak, dragging a giant scythe, walking alone in the wilderness.
Wherever it passed, nothing grew, and life withered.
Some saw, in the northern mountains, a three-headed hellhound, wreathed in black flames, howling at the moon and easily toppling several mountain peaks.
Fishermen in the east also discovered terrifying creatures.
A deformed monstrous serpent with eight heads, its body as large as a small island, stirred up colossal waves as it swam, swaggering towards China's territorial waters.
Similar incidents occurred frequently.
With the gods acting so high-profile, foreign cultivators were also not to be outdone and were causing trouble everywhere.
Relying on the backing of the gods, they sought out trouble, acted arrogantly, and threw their weight around.
This filled countless citizens with righteous anger and indignation.
But they were helpless, as they had no gods of their own.
Many people became disheartened and pessimistic.
If this continued, the great powers would inevitably invade, and the tragic scene of shattered mountains and a ruined nation would likely arrive soon.
Some rejoiced, shamelessly selling out their country and defecting, willing to become lackeys and guides.
Of course, there were also passionate individuals who fought back with all their might, striving to protect the nation's honor and ethnic dignity.
Human hearts are complex; it is in times of crisis that people reveal their true selves.
Amidst this oppressive atmosphere, encouraging news emerged from the Hongmeng Supernatural Research Institute.
The nation finally had a young man who was suspected to be a chosen one.
This person was Ruan Xingqing.
Ruan Xingqing went to the Hongmeng Supernatural Research Institute for various tests, and the results of her physical examination shocked everyone.
Because Ruan Xingqing's cultivation realm had actually reached the True Immortal realm.
One should know that the globally renowned chosen one from the West, Ellie, who received the blessing of Thor, only reached the Spirit Emperor realm in a single day.
Yet Ruan Xingqing had become an immortal overnight, and a True Immortal at that.
It was truly terrifying.
She could absolutely be called the strongest chosen one, capable of looking down on the world and bringing glory to the nation.
Either Ruan Xingqing's talent was heaven-defying, or the great deity who bestowed this fortune upon her possessed unfathomable power and was capable of turning the tide.
The appearance of a chosen one proved that a Huaxia great deity had returned, and such momentous news could not help but excite people.
However, after careful questioning, many researchers at the Hongmeng Supernatural Research Institute became confused.
Ruan Xingqing had not met any gods, nor had she undergone any blessings, power transmissions, or enlightenment. Her cultivation seemed to have been obtained out of thin air.
More than a dozen elderly scholars scratched their heads and pondered, unable to understand why.
Of course, Ruan Xingqing had also deliberately concealed some matters related to Ji Mo.
A question arose in her mind: was everything she had gained because she had kissed and massaged Ji Mo?
If her inference was true, then would sleeping with Ji Mo lead to immediate ascension to godhood?