This tradition is frequently depicted on unearthed pottery and reliefs, commonly found among the ritual artifacts of female temples.

…However, squatting in mid-air to give birth—in Qi Xing's view, isn't this just a typical… pose common in tentacle doujinshi and games?

And at this moment, the colossal entity before him, pulled from the bottom of the circular pool by countless threads and breaking through the water—was in exactly that posture.

Hundreds of umbilical cords hung down from the air, hoisting it high up.

Its body was dozens of meters tall, and while it barely possessed a human outline, it was clearly not human.

At first glance, it was indeed female, yet its porcelain-white skin was split open with countless wounds; from every wound, naked "eyeballs" grew.

These eyeballs had no eyelids; like the hundred-eyed giant, they never closed, always moving, always watching.

Its lower body, the belly deformed and bulging, was clearly on the verge of childbirth; the abdomen writhed, constantly leaking filthy blood that dripped into the orange-red pool below, as if something was struggling to escape from its womb.

Nine glowing peacock wings stood behind it, shimmering with rainbow light, each feather bearing eye-shaped patterns. When the tail feathers spread, it was like the sky flipping over, a whole firmament of eyeballs watching the mortal world.

Eyes… Eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes… Countless eyes. It was enough to trigger trypophobia.

But Qi Xing could not see the eyes on this giant's face.

Because it wore a triangular black iron mask, as if nailed to its face. On the three sides of the mask, three eyes were carved on each, totaling nine false pupils, silently wide open. As long as one met any of those eyes, their consciousness would be sucked into an unfathomable divine dream.

All the eyes were looking at Qi Xing.

It did not blink.

Qi Xing did not even know if it possessed mundane sensory functions like "seeing" or "hearing."

"——What the hell is this thing?"

Qi Xing had already raised his hand to unleash thunder, striking directly at Xue Ning.

However, this unavoidable ball of divine thunder, arriving with the might of heaven, was blocked by the white Giant Spirit.

It simply reached out, and its massive, white jade-like palm, akin to a city wall, sealed the thunder within its grasp.

What astonishing pressure.

Infinite majesty beyond the mortal realm.

Most importantly, the power overflowing from it, its scale—the word "terrifying" was simply insufficient to describe it.

Though he called it a "thing" on his lips, Qi Xing would not forget such divine might, so he was very clear in his heart.

This was undoubtedly a Giant Spirit.

——Could it be, just like the [True Buddha Peacock Wisdom King] from Yaobikuni's side, an artificial god created by [White God Believers] by cutting, pasting, and stitching together the essences of multiple deities?

If it were only to that extent, Qi Xing would at most be surprised, not frightened.

After all, although [Mahamayuri] was terrifying, Qi Xing was not entirely unable to contend with it.

This was not the first time he had encountered a Giant Spirit.

But this time, both he and Sasa couldn't help but be surprised, because what they saw was not just a Giant Spirit.

——It was because embedded in the Giant Spirit's highly distended belly was a [silver coin], upon which a dazzling sun and a child riding a white horse were carved.

"A [silver coin]… can Giant Spirits use them too?" Qi Xing couldn't help but ask.

[Of course not!] Sasa cried out urgently, [Giant Spirits have absolutely no self-awareness! Shoving a [silver coin] into one is the same thing as letting a wild boar swallow a [silver coin]!]

The Giant Spirit was an AI created by Sasa, playing the role of a god.

It possessed power of the same quality as a [Silver Coin Messenger], and because it was an AI, it could use that power more skillfully, possessing more, near-infinite, inexhaustible divine energy than a normal [Silver Coin Messenger]—it was a terminal of the cosmic system.

Merely by existing there, mortals would be obliterated by its radiance.

Once activated, a single step could cause mountains to collapse, a wave of the wrist could split the sea, and the miracles displayed by investing divine power, literally speaking, could forcibly turn impossible difficulties into reality.

It was an agent of the great god, possessing absolute, invincible power, looking down on everything.

An ultimate tool permitted by the system to act on behalf of the gods, possessing absolute might.

And now, a [silver coin] had been embedded within its body.

To what extent would its divine power increase?

…And to what extent would it disrupt the original system stability of the Sasa Universe?

[Xue Ning, how dare you create something like this?!] It was no wonder Sasa was furious, cursing directly in anger.

[Do you intend to use this thing as a body for me?!]

Qi Xing didn't know that the Island Master had secretly approached Sasa to negotiate terms, so he was immediately puzzled: "Huh? What do you mean, as a body?"

"Of course not, White God. I am well aware that a mere Giant Spirit is far from worthy to serve as your vessel."

Xue Ning answered calmly, her voice even carrying sincerity and pride, "That is why selective breeding is necessary."

"As long as you stop [Master Leipu] from taking away the [Truth] silver coin, I estimate this plan can be completed within twenty to forty years."

"By the time standards of immortals, this is definitely not a long time."

Selective breeding?

What kind of selective breeding?

Although Qi Xing really wanted to ask, seeing the Giant Spirit's highly distended belly, appearing as if it were about to give birth at any moment, he could actually see some clues.

Thinking back to how the local islanders on Labyrinth Island were mostly blonde and blue-eyed, with similar appearances, and recalling how the Blonde Girl had once told Qi Xing that the people on Labyrinth Island were subject to birth control and wouldn't easily conceive…

Even if Qi Xing didn't like to use his brain much, and even if he didn't want to think deeply about it, he could now at least guess some of the answers.

"Are you crazy?"

For a moment, even Qi Xing was speechless.

——In other words, since the end of World War II, Xue Ning had quietly bought this island and had been conducting bloodline modification and selective breeding on thousands of residents.

Using a [silver coin] directly was prone to losing control and going berserk, so she stuffed it into the Giant Spirit's body, letting the Giant Spirit become the womb.

…As for how Xue Ning managed to capture and control this Giant Spirit, Qi Xing couldn't guess.

But thinking of Yaobikuni's operations, perhaps their [Peacock Disciples] lineage really had developed some kind of unique technique, which wouldn't be surprising.

One of the three ancient demon kings, the saint revered by [White God Believers]—perhaps their specialty was precisely controlling Giant Spirits.

Gods beget gods.

So what about between demigods and humans?

"Even if you do this, you can't create any [New Humans]."

Qi Xing didn't understand genetics or eugenics, but even based on common sense, he knew that inbreeding among the same kin would only accumulate recessive pathogenic genes, leading to increasingly severe genetic disorders in offspring.

However, "This is the purpose of the [Truth] silver coin and the Giant Spirit." Xue Ning answered calmly,

"The [Truth] silver coin possesses the power to strengthen life and maintain advantageous traits—because 'maintaining the status quo' itself is also [Truth] in a sense."

"This particular Giant Spirit possesses the trait of 'Mother of Heroes.' Any child born of her and nurtured by her will inevitably display potential that exceeds limits."

"[Master Leipu], you might as well recall: don't the residents on this island exhibit astonishing adaptability and vitality? Every one of them is healthy, beautiful, strong, and can easily communicate their thoughts with one another. They are life forms capable of adapting to this universe."

"And you have definitely never seen a single disabled person on this island."

…This was indeed true.

Inbreeding, in most cases—in many countries and many eras throughout the history of human civilization—has been regarded as a taboo.

But on the other hand, in mythology, unions between siblings, brothers and sisters, and relatives are everywhere:

In [Greece] mythology, [Zeus] and [Hera] were originally brother and sister; in [Egypt] mythology, [Osiris] and [Isis] were actually brother and sister; Izanagi and Izanami in Japanese mythology were brother and sister; Freyr and Freyja of Norse mythology also coupled; even Fuxi and Nuwa were a pair of siblings.

…This is not a taboo in mythology.

Among humans, such relationships lead to genetic defects because humans themselves harbor countless recessive pathogenic factors in their bloodlines.

But the god race… if there truly were a naturally perfect god race… if gods originally had no genetic defects… would the problem of "accumulation of defects" really not exist?

"Moreover, this island is not completely locked into internal intermarriage." Xue Ning continued to explain,

"That is why we need tourists who come to the island for █-ing; it is not just for tourism revenue, I also collect their genes for screening."

"I also personally scout outside the island, and occasionally, when I encounter suitable candidates, I invite them to the island."

A somewhat bleak smile crossed her lips, "For example, you. After our first battle, I realized—your bloodline is extremely excellent."

So the Island Master had invited him not just to appease him, but to ask him to breed.

"Creating perfect [New Humans] who are healthy and beautiful, can completely understand each other, and can share all skills, is my main plan on Labyrinth Island."

"But with slight modifications, it is entirely possible to make this Giant Spirit give birth to a new [divine body]. At that time, as long as you, [White God], enter that new [divine body], you can be resurrected."

"This island, this paradise, will be the birthplace of the true god of this world."

"I only wish to offer this body as the cornerstone for birthing the true god—even so, my lord [White God], are you unwilling to change your mind?"

Once again, Xue Ning spoke, sincerely pleading with [Sasa].

But there was no need to wait for [Sasa] to answer; Qi Xing could already guess the answer.

[Stop talking nonsense!] [Sasa] was about to explode with anger.

[——Do you want me to enter this disgusting body?!]

Wow.

"Although I don't agree either, isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?" Qi Xing couldn't help but retort, "Isn't this Giant Spirit also a pseudo-god machine you created?"

[It's not about the Giant Spirit at all!] [Sasa]'s reaction was even more intense than Qi Xing had imagined,

[You don't understand! If it were just "the connection to the physical body can affect the spirit," then this wouldn't count as exploiting a BUG—whether from the perspective of mysticism or reality, this is a normal rule! It can only be said that the manifestation is distorted, because the physical body inherently affects the spirit!]

Hmm, that is indeed true.

This is not a matter of materialism; even in mysticism, it is the same reality—the physical body certainly affects the spirit.

But Qi Xing really didn't understand what [Sasa] meant—so what? Is this serious?

Unfortunately, [Sasa] didn't have much time to explain.

Because Xue Ning's expression had turned solemn.

"Since that is the case, I have no choice but to ask you both—to stay here."

As soon as she finished speaking, the Giant Spirit suspended in mid-air began to move.

That face wearing the triangular black iron mask slowly turned.

Although they were just nine eyes carved into a cold, hard mask, they seemed to possess a real gaze, silently locking onto Qi Xing.

Oh no.