The Demon with Holy Radiance

He absolutely refused to believe the Forbidden Artifact Fragment possessed its own consciousness and had rescued him from the brink of collapse. It felt more like it wanted to keep him here, to imprison him.

A bad feeling washed over Yang An at the thought.

He had thought he could escape this place and return to his true body by killing this container vessel, but he never expected this to happen.

But strangely, after the light repaired his body, it made no further moves. The surroundings were deathly silent, with no sign of any impending attack.

He immediately scanned his surroundings, trying to find whoever was hiding in the blood-red glow.

Just then, a torrent of light suddenly cascaded down before his eyes.

Countless motes of light intertwined with dangling, luminous tentacles, quickly forming a humanoid creature.

It was a being with a human torso, its entire body suffused with a golden radiance. It looked exactly like Yang An’s own form during battle.

But atop its neck was not a human head, but a fireball of blazing golden flames, like a radiant sun.

It appeared without a sound, exuding an ethereal, illusory aura. Though it was right before him, it seemed unreal, as if it didn’t truly exist. Even Yang An couldn’t sense any trace of a Cultivation Level from it. It felt to Yang An as if he were looking at nothing more than an illusion crafted from light.

Upon seeing this being appear, Yang An subconsciously took several steps back, his heart filled with vigilance.

’Just as I suspected,’ he thought. ’The Power of Rules wouldn’t activate for no reason. Someone has to be pulling the strings.’

Yang An remained silent, staring intently at the humanoid creature. It was the other being that spoke first.

A hearty laugh echoed from the flaming fireball, sounding like the voice of an old man.

"Kid, what are you afraid of? Didn’t you come here for this Forbidden Artifact Fragment? Why so timid now that I’ve appeared?"

The being seemed to be mocking Yang An’s wariness and defensive posture, yet it showed no intention of attacking him.

Unable to tell if this being was real or an illusion, Yang An didn’t make a rash move.

Judging by the voice alone, it sounded like an easygoing old man.

But on the path of cultivation, the greatest taboo is to blindly trust others, especially a stranger. Moreover, this stranger controlled the same Power of Rules as he did. Even if it was just a small, incomplete portion, the being’s earlier display and current mysteriousness were enough to make Yang An deeply cautious.

Since the being showed no obvious intention of attacking, Yang An decided to test the waters.

"Who are you?"

"Who am I? ...That’s a good question."

The ancient voice answered Yang An, but the being made no other move. The flames that served as its head simply burned more intensely.

"At the dawn of this world, they worshipped me, believed in me, and honored me with the title of Spirit Ancestor!"

"Countless years later, when this world discovered Spiritual Rhinoceros Pointing and Ascension, they began to grasp power. They still believed in me, still worshipped me, but they gave me a new title: Celestial Being!"

"In the centuries that followed, this world began to decay, and its people fell into chaos. But they still remembered my existence. In that era, I was honored as the Golden Sun Daoist!"

"Now, you tell me. Who am I?"

Though the burning fireball had no face, an unseen, sharp gaze seemed to lock with Yang An’s. The question had been thrown back at him.

But upon hearing these words, a strange, disbelieving expression crept onto Yang An’s face. He was rendered speechless.

"You... are you someone who has existed since the dawn of this world? Or... were you the one who created this world?"

Though he had never heard these titles before, the being’s words were filled with a high-and-mighty air, an indifference to all worldly things that didn’t seem feigned.

Yang An’s first instinct was to disbelieve it, for the claim was simply too staggering.

And while the being radiated a powerful aura, Yang An didn’t feel it was a mighty existence on the level of a Creator. After all, how could such a figure possibly appear here?

More importantly, Yang An was certain that the being before him had been formed using the Power of Rules from the Forbidden Artifact Fragment. It was, without a doubt, the power of the Golden Sun Forbidden Artifact.

Even if he was once called the Golden Sun Daoist, a name identical to that of the Forbidden Artifact, if he were truly such a powerful being, why would he be attached to a mere fragment of a broken Forbidden Artifact?

Unless this wasn’t his true body, but an illusion or a projection created using the Forbidden Artifact Fragment.

"You wouldn’t be wrong to say so. This world was indeed my creation. You may honor me as the Golden Sun Daoist; at least, that title hasn’t changed."

The Golden Sun Daoist had answered Yang An’s question, but the reply only made Yang An feel more perplexed.

"Why are you..."

"You want to ask why I am here?"

The Golden Sun Daoist chuckled. The flames flickered as if in a breeze, and the ambient temperature seemed to rise.

Yang An remained noncommittal.

"What if I said I was here waiting for you? Would you believe me?"

The Golden Sun Daoist posed another question, tossing it back to Yang An, but this time, Yang An didn’t answer.

"To be precise, I was waiting for the future master of this Forbidden Artifact. Since you found your way here, it means the one I was waiting for is you—the one who has already merged with the Golden Sun."

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