Because Sasa’s universe simply does not need a new Vishnu.

She would rather have Qi Xing focus on the combination of [Death] and [Dominator].

Only a Skeleton Knight can undergo fundamental change through death, refining Truth from failure, just like the ultimate mystery of Alchemy—completing the [Great Work] of Alchemy upon a blackened world, and bowing out with supreme transmutation.

A bit hard to understand? Then let me give you an example.

In fact, Sasa just tricked Qi Xing into cutting some Giant Spirit core to save Xue Ning; it was all a lie.

The Giant Spirit has no core at all. Xue Ning had already been melted down when she was absorbed, turning into an orange-red liquid and assimilating with the divine body. How could there possibly be a core that could save her with a single slash? Where would such a convenient setting come from?

From the perspective of the universe's rules, Xue Ning had already merged with the Giant Spirit at that time, so no matter how much you slash and explode the Giant Spirit, it's useless.

The Giant Spirit core that Sasa mentioned was all nonsense. Such a thing never existed in the first place.

But Qi Xing believed Sasa's words; he believed such a core existed.

And then he believed it. Holding onto that understanding and imagination, he severed it—he severed a "core" that did not exist, and in doing so, he also severed the definition of death itself, allowing things that had "already disappeared" to be reshaped.

He could even forcefully conjure up something that didn't exist in the first place, and then slay it.

To Qi Xing, death is [Change], so after killing, he can bring about new life.

This is the true power of [Dominator] + [Death].

As long as you believe it can be slashed, as long as you subjectively understand this concept in your mind, then truly anything can be slashed—even things that do not exist.

That is, changing the objective with the subjective of a Demon King—or rather, a god.

Destroy, then recreate.

It's just that humans can't normally control this supreme divine power, so Sasa ultimately helped Qi Xing abstract this power into the form of a great blade.

In reality, this blade is more like a pen with which a Creator God can rewrite settings.

As long as one can imagine, understand, and believe, even things like fate, concepts, history, and rules can be cut off with one slash, and then updated and rewritten.

—If one isn't careful, even the Earth could be sliced in two.

If Sasa were to trick Qi Xing by telling him, "The enemy in front of you is the root of all evil! Once you defeat him, everything in the world will get better!" then as long as Qi Xing believed her nonsense and actually killed this enemy, the resulting change in causality would guide everything in the world toward a better direction.

…But what exactly counts as making the world better?

One must know that the divine power of the [silver coin] always takes care of the killing but not the aftermath, and it is very prone to losing control; the standard for "better" is entirely determined by the whim of the [Messenger].

What will this world become after the slash? What will Qi Xing himself become after using such immense divine power to rewrite causality and space-time? That's something only God would know.

After all, Sasa's omnipotent yet ignorant divine power, while having infinite possibilities, is simply too unreliable.

Precisely because she knows her own weight and knows that the risk of messing things up is too high, Sasa is anxious to brush this matter aside.

Overall, Sasa is quite satisfied that Qi Xing is currently being tricked into treating [Death] + [Dominator] merely as a blade that can selectively cut people; it's enough for now.

The road ahead is long, let's just leave it at this for now.

Volume 5: Welcome to the █ █ █ Paradise!: 205: This kind of █ fetish is normal, right?

After Giant Spirit Hera collapsed, Xue Ning slumped to the ground like a doll with severed strings.

Although Qi Xing called out her name, she only stared blankly into the distance, offering no response.

Her mythical combat form had been dispelled, and Xue Ning's attire had returned to her original daily clothing… it was even excessively clean. Honestly, the clothes looked a bit too new, to the point where Qi Xing couldn't help but feel a little suspicious while looking at her.

…But Qi Xing would never have guessed that the current Xue Ning, from her body to her clothes, was actually all recreated by his imagination just a moment ago.

Perhaps Xue Ning also sensed some abnormalities in her body, or perhaps she felt nothing—she just sat there blankly, her eyes as hollow as ashes.

After a long while, she finally parted her lips again, her words devoid of emotion:

"Master Leipu, I have been completely defeated. The fate of Labyrinth Island is yours to command."

She bowed to Qi Xing, lowering her head heavily, her forehead touching the dust.

"I am the loser; I have nothing to say. A loser can only ask one question of the winner."

"How… do you intend to deal with us?"

Since she had been defeated, she should be silent and submit to the victor. All eloquence must be used before the battle. Attempting to argue after defeat would only result in ridicule and shame.

What is the use of discussing principles or arguing after one has lost? It would only lead to being mocked as a stray dog, shameless and pathetic.

So Xue Ning lowered her head, waiting for judgment.

As the battle ended, the other islanders also poked their heads out from their shelters, some fearful, some hesitant, some curious, and some even a little expectant. They were originally descendants of divine blood, but their expressions now were a bit like humans from the outside world.

Qi Xing pondered for a moment, but instead of giving Xue Ning the answer she wanted, he asked a question: "Your Giant Spirit Hera incorporated three goddess manifestations. Who exactly is the third one?"

Why ask this now? The Giant Spirit has already been scattered.

Although Xue Ning was stunned, she still answered with her head lowered: "It is Lamashtu."

Lamashtu? It seems I've heard that somewhere.

Qi Xing turned his head to look at the Sasa blade in his hand, and Sasa answered lazily: [She is a female demon god from Mesopotamia, a wicked god who specializes in harming infants and pregnant women, and causes barrenness. The animal that represents her is the owl.]

"Huh? Why this kind of goddess?"

Qi Xing was suddenly somewhat surprised.

[Myths don't come from thin air. The prototype of Lamashtu is Lilith, whom everyone has heard of, as well as succubi like Lilitu, and it also incorporates part of the attributes of the goddess Ishtar.]

[As evil spirits of █ lust, succubi are the opposite of family and marriage, they are █ female demons of one-night stands. That's why they threaten legitimate wives and pregnant women. But they themselves try to avoid giving birth and try their best not to be mothers.]

Sasa explained simply,

[Ancient Earth Mother Goddesses possess both the attributes of life and death, giving life and taking it away. A female demon god who doesn't give birth but only █ has lost the harvest attribute of the earth, but in the end, she is still a part of the Earth Mother Goddess.]

For example, Athena, during her period on Crete, as the goddess Atana, was a war Earth Mother Goddess Queen who could give birth. But after being copied by the Greeks, she lost the harvest attribute of the earth and instead retained the attribute of death, eventually becoming an eternal virgin goddess.

The ancient Sumerian Inanna was also an unmarried war goddess, but she spent every day on the road looking for young men to █ █, absorbing their essence, and thus became the harlot of heaven, the patron saint of sacred prostitutes.

In essence, they are all goddess images split from the source of the ancient Great Mother Goddess, so of course, they can be artificially fused into the same Giant Spirit.

But as for why Xue Ning deliberately did this, that is another question.

…Although Qi Xing can probably guess the answer now.

Because she is a woman who both longs for maternity, wants to be a mother herself, yet fears the concept of a mother, and resists truly becoming one.

"Xue Ning,"

So after a moment of contemplation, Qi Xing said,

"Let me tell you a story."

"My mother in this life… was terrible."

He patted his own arms and legs,

"This body was born from a very terrible mother, and I've never experienced any motherly love."

Although Qi Xing is a soul-transmigrator and should logically be detached and indifferent to this matter… but to say he doesn't care at all is probably impossible. After all, he was scared away from home as soon as he transmigrated.

"…I have indeed heard of the matters concerning the Nie Family of Shu."

Xue Ning responded softly. Of course, she had investigated the past background of Master Leipu.

…But she still didn't understand why Qi Xing would suddenly bring this up.

"Although I sometimes want to complain that it would be great if being a parent required a certification, when it comes down to it, there is no standard method for being a father or mother in this world."

Qi Xing raised his eyebrows,

"Don't pay attention to what that evil god is blabbering in your ear; she herself is not a proper mother goddess. Regardless, she's never given birth herself, so your experience as a mother is far more complete than hers."

[Huh? You can use this to attack me?!]

Ignoring Sasa's protest from within the blade and ignoring Xue Ning's astonishment, Qi Xing just continued: "As for your question about what I intend to do with this island, I have already said it."

"I will not destroy you, but I will not allow you to spread out and let the model of this island become the entire new world of the future."

"So I require you to coexist with me."

As Giant Spirit Hera disintegrated, the [Truth] silver coin fell into Qi Xing's hands.

The fourth [silver coin] was obtained. As for what to do with Labyrinth Island when Qi Xing controls all thirty [silver coins] and dominates the entire universe, he'll deal with that when the time comes; there's no rush anyway.

At least for now, at this stage, his decision is to distinguish between each other, draw boundaries, and then compromise with one another.

However, this decision was truly far beyond Xue Ning's expectations.

"…The [silver coin] has fallen into your hands, Giant Spirit Hera has disintegrated, and I no longer have the strength to fight you. I have no bargaining chips left."

She said softly, as if confirming the facts, and as if talking to herself.

"With just a single thought, you could wipe us out; you don't need to… give us such dignity."

"Why not keep it? As long as it doesn't █ onto me, it's just a █ intercourse island, it's really no big deal. Just treat it as a kind of special local culture."

Qi Xing replied calmly,

"But this dignity isn't given to you for free. The lewd tourism industry on the island must end immediately. You must arrange for everyone you recruited with money from the outside who doesn't want to stay on the island to leave, and pay them as usual."

"As for where you get the money to pay them, and where you get the money to maintain the life on this island, that is a problem you must solve yourself. Aren't you an Alchemist? Just treat it as war reparations."

These words left Xue Ning speechless for a moment.

"Does this count as coexistence? Is this fair? Sigh, I actually don't know either."

Speaking up to this point, Qi Xing himself smiled slightly,

"But Xue Ning, you should be able to tell that I have tried my best to press the 'cooperation' button. You choose for yourself."

Xue Ning was speechless for a moment, seemingly tongue-tied.

—I want to change the world.

This is definitely not a decision Qi Xing made based purely on impulse.

However, even so, if there is only the determination to try to change this world—then that is nothing more than empty talk or a fool's jest.

Whether Qi Xing wants to understand how this world works, feels pity, feels anger, fear, hatred… or even simply wants to destroy it and recreate it.

Only after acknowledging the absurdity of this world, and acknowledging that he himself cannot completely remain outside of it, does he still choose to negate it with "action"—

Even if the final outcome is still unknown, only such a determination truly has meaning.

So, after a long silence, Xue Ning lowered her head again, her whole body prostrating on the ground as if kowtowing, completely bowing to Qi Xing.

"Master Leipu—I abandoned my original true name a long time ago. This is not a lie."

"But I still retain a title, a name. Friends, acquaintances occasionally call me this."

Prostrating and surrendering with frankness, Xue Ning finally spoke a name that is even known in history.

"Alchemist [Count of St. Germain], from this moment on, I break away from the [Peacock Disciples] and swear allegiance to the Demon King [Master Leipu]."

Her true name had long been abandoned in the quagmire of the past.

No one knows her very first name, and even she herself is unwilling to mention it again.

But in many ancient records, in the legends passed down by countless secret societies and magical occult groups, that name is always whispered—

Count of St. Germain.

In 18th-century Europe, she used to frequent the French court and was known as the "undying aristocrat." It is said that she was proficient in many languages, skilled in music, painting, and Alchemy, and even crafted elixirs before Louis XV, recounting ancient secret histories as if she had experienced them personally.

From France to England, from Vienna to St. Petersburg, and into the legends passed down by secret societies and Freemasonry, the figure of the Count of St. Germain has always been mysterious.

Sometimes she was an astrologer, sometimes a diplomat, and sometimes just a strange traveler wearing old robes, traveling alone.

No one knows how many years she has actually lived.

But now she calls herself "Xue Ning," she is one of the five leaders of the [Peacock Disciples], an ancient Alchemy master who has survived to the modern day.

She does not pursue immortality, but is in pursuit of an ideal that can never be achieved:

Repairing this broken, incomplete world.

Now, she bows before the Demon King, bidding farewell to her hypocritical leader title.

An immortal from the old era who had tried many times to rewrite human history is finally choosing to submit to the creator of the new world and rewrite her contract.

"St. Germain."

Hearing this name, Qi Xing grinned,

"See? Isn't this great? Now I know your name, and I know your story."