Chapter Sixty-One: Divergence in the East

“How could there not be? Why is there nothing?”

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. A nameless fire rose in Yin Seventeen’s chest, and he suddenly turned to the great tree beside him, delivering a fierce hand blade strike.

A silver arc of sword energy shot from his hand, slicing the tree in half at the waist. With a thunderous crash, it toppled to the ground.

But a single tree was nowhere near enough to exhaust the force of his sword energy.

Boom!

The sword energy cleaved the earth, leaving a deep chasm hundreds of meters long.

No wonder he was so indignant. Legend had it the “Imperial Mausoleum” contained the remains of the Eastern progenitor, the Yellow Emperor.

Regardless of truth, it symbolized the spiritual root of all Eastern peoples, the source of their bloodline.

They were all descendants of the Yellow Emperor.

But now, in this world, there was no “Imperial Mausoleum” in the East. That meant that even if the people here had the same faces, the same skin, the same eyes as him, they were not his kin!

For here, there was no shared “Imperial Mausoleum,” no common faith!

They were only a crowd of strangers who seemed intimately familiar.

“Perhaps this is the difference of parallel worlds?” Having vented his frustration, Yin Seventeen forced himself to find a reason for it all, regaining some composure.

Though this world resembled his own, in the end it was not the same.

For instance, in his world, immortals and gods had vanished, and no supernatural power existed; but here, the extraordinary was reality, and the world was ruled by deities.

In such an environment, it was no wonder Eastern civilization had been influenced, its trajectory diverging from that of his own world—it was not surprising.

“So be it! Since they are not my kin, there is no need for hesitation should we become adversaries.” Yin Seventeen shook his head and turned away in resignation.

Now, with evil gods rampaging across the land, the East would not be spared from turmoil.

Facing off against the devotees of Eastern deities was inevitable.

And since he now recognized the people here as not his kin, there was no need for restraint should conflict arise.

Yin Seventeen continued south, making his way toward Lu Mountain.

In three days, he would meet Ruolan as they had agreed.

He intended to use these three days to relax, traveling at his leisure.

He had spent seven days in ritual mourning, then hurried ceaselessly from the Great Wall to seeking the Imperial Mausoleum, without a moment’s rest.

Now, it was time to pause.

He entered a city. The streets bustled with people; vendors hawked their wares along the roadside.

“Candied hawthorns—!”

“Steamed buns—”

The familiar cries, the familiar faces—Yin Seventeen again found himself lost in confusion.

“Are they really not my own people?”

These people so closely resembled the kin he remembered.

Yet this world had no Great Wall, no “Imperial Mausoleum.” He even recalled Ruolan saying they had no Mid-Autumn Festival, no Spring Festival.

This world’s East was culturally distinct from the East he had known.

All signs indicated they were not his kin.

Suddenly, two young women passed by.

One said, “I heard that Aphrodite is the goddess in charge of love. Let’s go pray at her temple and ask the Lady to grant us a perfect romance.”

The other replied, “Yes, let’s! I’ve heard the temples here are the most efficacious. We should try it!”

Hearing their conversation, Yin Seventeen’s thoughts stirred, and he quietly followed.

He trailed the girls for nearly ten minutes to a vast complex of temples.

Unlike the temples he had seen in the Greek sanctuary, these temples’ style was remarkably similar to those of his own world.

“What’s going on? Weren’t they going to pray to Aphrodite? Why have they come to a temple dedicated to Eastern gods?” Yin Seventeen frowned deeply.

Nevertheless, he kept his composure and entered.

The two girls inquired with a steward, then made their way to a smaller temple on the right.

Yin Seventeen slipped in after them—only to be stunned by the deity enshrined within.

It was a beautiful goddess clad in gauzy robes, half-revealed, half-concealed.

Yin Seventeen did not recognize her, but he could see at a glance this was not any Eastern deity.

The style of the statue was identical to those in Greece.

Combining that with the girls’ earlier words, he immediately understood: this was a statue of the goddess of love, Aphrodite!

“How could this be?” Yin Seventeen was dumbfounded.

Never could he have imagined that in a temple of Eastern style, a Greek deity so out of place would be worshipped.

Even more ironic, the two girls’ manner of venerating Aphrodite was exactly like the rituals for Eastern deities in his own world.

Offering incense!

“How can this be? How can this be? How can this be…”

He murmured to himself, repeating the phrase over and over, lost in a storm of confusion.

All of it was simply too bizarre.

After their prayers, the two girls prepared to leave, noticing Yin Seventeen muttering in the corner, dazed.

“What’s with him?” one asked her companion curiously.

“Maybe he’s not right in the head. Better stay away and mind our own business.” The other glanced at Yin Seventeen with clear distaste.

Such people always hid too many uncertainties—potential sources of unpredictable trouble.

“Yes, let’s go quickly!”

With that, the two girls carefully skirted around Yin Seventeen, hurried out the door, and reported him to the temple stewards outside.

Soon, two stewards rushed into the temple of the goddess of love.

“Hey, kid, what are you mumbling about in Lady Aphrodite’s temple?” one of them demanded harshly.

But Yin Seventeen, trapped in his muddled thoughts, paid him no mind, still standing in the corner and repeating the same phrase.

“How can this be? How can this be? How can this be…”

Seeing this, the other steward said sternly, “I think we should throw him out—don’t let him dirty Lady Aphrodite’s shrine!”

As he spoke, he reached out, placing a hand on Yin Seventeen’s shoulder, ready to toss this lunatic out.

But at the very instant he touched him, Yin Seventeen suddenly regained his clarity.

Though his thoughts had been in disarray, his sixth sense was now fully awakened. Even without conscious thought, he would never allow just anyone to touch him.

Fortunately, the steward harbored no malice. Had there been even a hint of aggression, Yin Seventeen’s instinct-driven body would have cut him down on the spot.

“Consider yourself lucky.” He raised his head, casting the steward a smile.

“Huh?”

Startled by this sudden response, the steward took a step back.

“You…”

Just as the steward tried to address him, he found his hand grasping empty air—Yin Seventeen had vanished from sight.

He was already gone.