I am the old, fiery-faced man from the senior department.

"Little White! Stop playing here and come with me to finish the ceremony."

"Alright, alright, Ah Xi, little guy. Go on out now. There will be plenty of opportunities to stay here later."

To Nian's surprise, this dummy, whose personality was the opposite of Eleven's, not only did not try to keep the simple-minded Xiaobai, but instead urged him to leave.

"What on earth did you make, you stupid Eleven?"

Although she didn't understand, she was greatly shocked.

If Eleven wanted to use "another me" to vent her hidden emotions, then without a doubt, she has succeeded.

But if that's the case, isn't Xiaobai afraid that she won't be able to adapt when she faces the real Xiaobai, who is used to speaking frankly?

"Okay. I understand."

Bai Zhou sat up and rubbed his temples.

"I'm sorry, sister, for troubling you."

Upon arriving at Nian's side, Bai Zhou immediately apologized to her.

He had only planned to chat for a while before leaving, but Xi Yi's antics almost made him forget all about going home.

"Hmph, it's good that you still remember me."

Nian grabbed his hand, then led him away without looking back, not even saying goodbye to "Xi" inside.

"An insignificant opponent."

The artist picked up his brush and wrote down his evaluation of the year on the paper.

Then, gazing at the pristine white paper, she sketched out what daytime would look like on it.

"That's all I can do."

She didn't want to disturb Bai Zhou's schedule and plans too much, so she didn't say many of the things she had in mind.

She only completed half of the task that Xi had given her.

The remaining half can only be completed by Xi herself.

"What a stubborn little guy, he won't let go of all his worries until he sees me."

She looked at the portrait and smiled slightly.

Then, the door to the bamboo house was tightly closed.

By day, they are regrouping and preparing to climb the peak again.

The journey back to the forty-four peaks of Mount Tai was fraught with twists and turns.

Nature bestows its most wondrous beauty, dividing day and night with yin and yang.

In a single sentence, the magnificence of Mount Tai is highlighted.

Therefore, the celestial phenomena generated by the erection of the cauldron at Mount Tai are the most powerful and influential to date. Consequently, this is also the most dangerous known instance of the Forging Vein Sect.

Dark clouds loomed menacingly, covering everything.

A fierce storm raged, with torrential rain pouring down.

To bring the earth under one's control, one must first confront its ancient and boundless "force." And the one who initiates the ritual is the first to bear the brunt of this challenge.

Mount Tai stretches across the north and south, connecting east and west. Its accumulated energy from ancient times to the present surpasses that of Mount Taihua and Mount Song. The combined power of these two mountains alone cannot rival the energy of Mount Tai.

Even the power of the river cannot shake these mountains that have stood here for thousands of years, or even countless eons.

This time, only by relying on the unwavering will forged from the [System] can Bai Zhou subdue Mount Tai and establish his cauldron here.

But no reason can remain intact under the wear and tear of the earth.

Even a true dragon with unwavering will appears small and foolish under such divine might.

Nian, who was watching from a distance, clenched his fists.

She was very unwilling.

She could only watch as Bai Zhou fought against the land alone, unable to do anything to help him or share his immense pressure.

"Eleven, oh Eleven... Did you think the same way back then?"

I now understand how my sister felt back then.

Thunder roared, its might shaking the world.

The earth's energy surged, enough to cause a mountain collapse.

During the day, I felt like a pebble, drifting aimlessly in a stormy ocean.

How familiar this feeling is.

The dragon raised its head, its holy blue eyes fixed on the sky above.

"You're looking at me, aren't you?"

He seemed to be talking to someone, or perhaps he was talking to himself.

"You're starting to get scared... Are you scared too?"

“I will not stop here. I will do it. I will take this land back completely.”

He clenched his fist and pointed it towards the sky, making a universally recognized gesture—??

Then, a thunderbolt crashed down, as if to punish his insolence.

"Ha, is that all there is to it?"

The true dragon was fearless.

Thunder was nothing more than a gentle spring breeze to him, and besides, the lightning wouldn't even strike him.

The protection of Paradise Lost shielded him from everything harmful to him. Even the most violent and deafening thunderstorms were utterly defeated.

However, while external intrusions can be blocked, the collapse from within the body—the Lost Paradise—is beyond our control.

The power of Mount Tai was too immense, far exceeding that of Mount Song and Mount Taihua. Even with the assistance of the "Different Paths, Same Destination" technique, which forcibly crammed the power of Mount Tai into his body, the Mount Tai seal that appeared on his right chest turned that part of his body into something resembling a piece of pottery, riddled with cracks and a shocking sight.

However, once the dust settled, the power of Mount Tai had already been acquired by him, and even the mysterious being could not change the fact. Despite its reluctance, it had no choice but to retreat.

This mission was accomplished without major incident.

"noob!"

Upon seeing the connection between Bai Zhou and the cauldron, Nian, knowing that the matter was settled, immediately rushed towards him.

"Sister."

Even during the day, he couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed to the ground, leaning against a huge rock.

"Xiaobai, are you alright... How could this happen!"

"Does it hurt...? How could this happen...? It shouldn't be like this, it was fine the last few times..."

Nian saw the crack in Bai Zhou's chest, a scene like a piece of porcelain about to shatter... She panicked.

"It's alright, sister."

The daytime gently touched the cracks in his chest, calmly comforting Nian.

"Look, this is just an illusion; there's no real crack. There's not even a drop of blood, so how could it be real? It's just there to fool people."

Nian hurriedly grasped Bai Zhou's hand, which was pressing against a crack, and then, with slightly trembling fingers, gently touched the crack.

"Really, are you sure it's okay? Don't lie to me! How can it not hurt!"

Even though he had already touched her, Nian still couldn't put his mind at ease.

"I'm just a little overwhelmed by the sudden surge of power. I'll be fine after a short rest."

Bai Zhou held Nian's hand and gently explained his current state to her, doing his best to comfort her.

"Don't lie to me."

Nian didn't care about the reason for the change in the sky, nor did she care how powerful Taiyue was. She only cared about Bai Zhou's health. She was now just an older sister concerned about her younger brother's health, and she was already in a state of panic, speaking without thinking.

"It's all my fault... I must have done too many bad things, things I shouldn't have done... I knew I was coming to Liding today, yet I still..."

"Ah Xi, go ahead and hit your sister."

Year holds the hand that holds daylight, grabs it, and slaps it against his own face.

"Sister!"

He shouted at her during the day, then flipped his hand and pulled her into his arms.

"Don't be afraid, sister. There's nothing to be afraid of."

"This has nothing to do with you. It has absolutely nothing to do with you."

"It was all my own greed. I knew that Mount Tai was different from other mountains, but I still kept Mount Taihua to occupy space."

"It's all my fault for being greedy. I deserve to get hurt."

"It's not that they deserve it."

Year loudly interrupted Bai Zhou's words.

"It was my fault."

"If I could make the cauldron even better, you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"If I..."

The more I talked about the year, the sadder I became, and my mood became increasingly depressed.

"Sister..."

We can't keep fighting over the pot.

Bai Zhou shook his head, then called out to her softly.

"Sister, sister, look at me."

Hearing his name called, Nian looked up. Then, she received a kiss from him.

After a long time, amidst her resistance, Bai Zhou finally let her go.