“Thus, the peacock in Greek mythology, as a symbol of the divine bird, is both faithful in its duties, vigilant, and loyal to its husband, yet at the same time, it possesses the attributes of vanity, a desire for control, and jealousy.”

Hearing this, Qi Xing couldn't help but think… The White God Believers worship Sasa, believing she is the Peacock Angel, and that the many peacock gods in various mythologies are actually all parts of her.

This Greek Hera, whose peacock symbolizes vanity, a desire for control, and jealousy—thinking about it carefully, it really does seem a bit like Sasa…

…But Qi Xing, of course, wasn't stupid enough to say that out loud.

"Uh, why do I remember that the children Hera gave birth to herself weren't exactly high-level? Ares the God of War is a waste, and Hephaestus the God of Crafts is disabled."

He decided to change the subject slightly.

"That is the prejudice of the Greeks. By the Roman era, Ares became the most important war god, Mars, the guardian deity of the Roman people. Besides, even in the eyes of the Greeks, Hephaestus was the most skillful craftsman among the gods, mastering divine fire and forging. Heroes are not perfect men; their strengths were precisely what were truly brought out."

Sasa shook her head and frowned,

"Regarding the descriptions of Hera, the most commonly used terms are 'ox-eyed' and 'white-armed.' White-armed is a description of beauty, while ox-eyed is a symbol of the earth. The cow is evidence that in earlier myths, Hera was once an Earth Mother Goddess, a mother goddess of kingship and creation. The heroes Hera protected in Greek mythology were almost all kings and princes."

"Bestowing power upon children is also the duty of a mother goddess. Moreover, the greatest hero of Greece—the name Heracles itself means 'Glory of Hera.' Their relationship is not as simple as what is said in Greek mythology."

Myths cannot be viewed only in part. Looking at the history of the development of mythology, one would discover that Hera was by no means just Zeus's jealous wife. She was also once a powerful Goddess Queen, a guardian deity of kingship, and a protector of heroes.

No matter how the Greeks wrote about their discord, she was, in the end, the wet nurse of the great hero Heracles.

…Considering that the hero Heracles, strictly speaking, may not necessarily be a hero god produced locally in Greece.

If one looks at the path of mythological transmission, the true "original relationship" between Hera and Heracles might be more like the combination of a goddess and a war god, such as Inanna (Ishtar) and Baal Hadad—of course, that is digressing too far.

Right now, what Qi Xing and Sasa need to be more concerned about is, exactly how many types of goddess elements did Sect Leader Xue Ning mix into this Giant Spirit?

"Hera, Juno… these two are easy to see."

"But there should be another one, because she wears a triangular divinity mask. A pregnant woman is also not a common image for Hera or Juno. But I can't think of what the last one mixed in is exactly…"

Sasa shook her head irritably,

"Humans are really too good at exploiting weird loopholes!"

"I think you should take at least half the responsibility for this kind of thing."

Qi Xing retorted casually, but he had already begun reorganizing the situation in his mind.

Although Sasa said that Hera was once a very powerful Goddess Queen, after fighting the Giant Spirit for two rounds, Qi Xing felt that its combat power might not actually be as terrifying as the True Buddha Peacock Wisdom King.

It wasn't that its level was lower than Mahamayuri, but that its "career direction" was different from Mahamayuri; it was clearly not a purely combat-oriented Giant Spirit.

Everyone might remember that when Qi Xing first fought Mahamayuri, he was almost beaten so badly that even responding normally was difficult. Although Hera's level is not low, the sense of oppression as a BOSS is not that high.

It is not like Mahamayuri, which is entirely centered on destruction and purification.

It is more like a tool, a materialized sacred device.

An engineering vehicle can also kill people, but no matter what, an engineering vehicle cannot fight like a main battle tank… That's probably the feeling.

Yet precisely because of this, such a Giant Spirit, when combined with Sect Leader Xue Ning, can immediately unleash the terrifying combat power of 1+1 > 2.

Qi Xing only felt immense pressure; if a real fight broke out, it was simply not a situation one person could withstand.

In a one-on-one, there might be a chance of winning, but the difficulty this time clearly lies in team combat.

"Sasa, do you have any good ideas?"

Qi Xing tried asking.

"Yes."

Sasa answered without hesitation, her tone even somewhat gnashing her teeth.

"You must immediately escape this Inner Realm, go back to Rome, and call the Valkyrie to help. Only with her there will you barely have the strength to fight. If she isn't there, there's no need to even try."

Her words did have some merit.

Qi Xing shook his head: "I suspect the Island Master won't give us this opportunity."

If one cannot escape the Inner Realm, it is also difficult to count on reinforcements coming from the outside.

What other methods do Qi Xing and Sasa have?

Could there be anyone else here who might help Qi Xing win this two-on-two battle against Island Master Xue Ning?

It's really hard to guess!

Volume 5: Welcome to █ █ █ Paradise!: 198: Human Nature

Night suddenly shrouded the daylight sky,

A loud, booming sound suddenly came from underground, as if the foundations of the entire island were being torn apart and shaken.

The entire island leaped and shook slightly, and thick clouds of dust drifted out from the cracks in the ground, like the choking smoke of an ancient volcano awakening—yet Labyrinth Island did not fall into panic because of this.

Even though the high-altitude moon shadow obscured the sunlight, and even though a massive explosion that could overturn the entire crust seemed to have occurred in the depths of the island, the islanders remained calm and orderly.

On one hand, this was certainly because the explosion occurred underground, and the buildings and personnel on the surface did not suffer a direct impact;

On the other hand, more crucially, it was because the moment the moon shadow first appeared, all the islanders had simultaneously received instructions from the Island Master, Xue Ning.

There was no verbal communication, nor was there any need for a broadcast.

With just a single thought, the tens of thousands of islanders of Labyrinth Island acted in unison, like a single living organism.

———Beep boop beep boop, what should be done about the tourists?

———No problem, as long as you grab the men's █, they will naturally be obedient!

Thus, since the tourists were in the absolute minority in terms of numbers, it was naturally no problem for the islanders to handle them.

Except for a few personnel remaining behind to oversee the tourists, most of the other islanders had already scattered across the island, carpet-searching for traces of Master Leipu.

"…Why do I feel like this is a terrible move?"

Qi Xing had already taken new clothes out of his storage gourd and put them on, using illusion arts to conceal himself, hiding his figure, and walking swaggeringly among these search teams.

…Was he fighting the Island Master and the Giant Spirit naked just now? Ah, right, after all, he wasn't wearing any clothes in the labyrinth!

While walking, Qi Xing was still feeling somewhat emotional.

At first glance, this search strategy of five-person groups casting a net over the whole island looked decent… but thinking about it carefully, even if they really found Qi Xing, wouldn't they be taken out in one move?

"When there is a possibility of being taken out, they will automatically report to the Giant Spirit, and then the Giant Spirit will instantly teleport over."

Sasa, perched on Qi Xing's head, pointed out the problem coldly,

"Don't treat them as humans; they are already similar to a swarm of insects."

"The humans you created yourself, you chose them, Sasa."

Joking aside, as Qi Xing walked, he discovered that the combat power of these islanders was actually not weak.

Watching them switch to a tense state, their movements were uniform, and their reactions became extremely rapid. In every gesture, one could faintly see not-so-weak combat power.

"Everyone is about the same level as the backbone of a major sect, it's just that everyone is exactly the same, uniform."

It's only natural, after all, they are all artificial demigods nurtured by Hera, and even the combat skills they learned are exactly the same; how could they be weak?

"Anyway, it doesn't matter how many come; cannon fodder won't affect the overall situation."

Sasa couldn't even be bothered to look,

"Have you thought of a way to deal with the Giant Spirit Hera and Xue Ning?"

Qi Xing shook his head.

This is not a problem that can be easily solved with a clever trick.

"Using the [Illusion] silver coin, I can barely block the attacks of the Giant Spirit Hera, but just having a shield won't win the fight."

So, in the end, Qi Xing circled back to the question he had been thinking about repeatedly:

"Sasa, is there really no way to use two [silver coins] at the same time?"

"I've said it many times; your synchronization with the [silver coins] is not enough."

The Loli Evil God frowned, unhappily patting Qi Xing's head with her hand,

"The time is too short! Given your aptitude and mindset, it would have originally only taken three to five years of tempering to be able to control two [silver coins] at the same time!"

"As a result, ever since you got the first [silver coin], you've been rushing around every day to deal with the next [Silver Coin Messenger]! Can't you just settle down and go into seclusion for three years first?!"

"You say that lightly, when at least half of them came looking for trouble with me on their own."

Qi Xing couldn't help but frown.

His kung fu was also painstakingly practiced; of course, he knew there were no shortcuts in cultivation. There is no such thing as love without a price in this world, and there's no such good thing as skipping the time required in between.

Even if it looks like there is, the price will be paid in places you cannot see.

But in the end, he still wouldn't give up: "Sasa, is there really no other way at all? Even if it's just to hold out for one fight, just to use it temporarily, that would be fine."

The Loli Evil God didn't speak immediately this time. She just pondered for a long while, and finally still shook her head: "I have thought about it too, but it requires a good carrier… Xue Ning using the Giant Spirit as a carrier for the [silver coins], although an illegal operation, is indeed very clever."

"But on our side, it's impossible to conjure up a Giant Spirit on the spot."

Qi Xing did indeed seal the True Buddha Peacock Wisdom King in the northeast of Japan, but there was no way to go back and use it now.

"Can you go and seize control of the Giant Spirit like last time?"

"Do you remember what the situation was last time? The prerequisite for seizing control last time was that you had already defeated the controller, Yaobikuni, and smashed the controller to pieces."

Sasa rolled her eyes,

"But the reason we need to control the Giant Spirit now is precisely because we can't beat the combination of it and the controller this time."

"Isn't that equivalent to locking the safe key inside the safe?"

Tsk, that's true.

In this case, one can only try to find a clever way, attempting to solve the problem by defeating Xue Ning alone, but this belongs to the category of hoping the enemy makes a mistake, which is very unreliable.

After all, as long as Xue Ning has even a little bit of brains right now, she won't leave the Giant Spirit; she will definitely persist until Qi Xing is beaten to his knees and captured.

Qi Xing turned into a small alley in the city. Anyway, he wouldn't starve to death and could go without sleep. Even if he played hide-and-seek with Xue Ning, he had plenty of time to wait it out.

…However, just at this moment, his spiritual sense suddenly stirred, and he felt that some kind of supernatural ability was tracking him.

"Yo-ho~ Master Leipu, you really are here."

A familiar voice came, and it was actually the Blonde Girl!

I don't know how she managed to do it, but she was tracking Qi Xing very closely, pursuing him all the way, and even followed him from this end of the alley!

"Huh?" Even Qi Xing was a bit surprised now, "How did you find me?"

"What a redundant question, Master Leipu."

The Blonde Girl smiled, but her eyes shone with the excited and greedy light of a carnivorous beast,

"Aren't we on intimate terms, having even rubbed chests together?"

So that's it.

Thus, Qi Xing suddenly realized.

The supernatural abilities of the people on this island are mostly based on establishing connection through physical contact. As long as there has been contact, one can gain insight into things; that's the principle, right?

Although there was no mucosal contact, Qi Xing did have direct skin contact with her, which was enough to track him. After all, in the realm of mystery, those who are connected remain connected.

Fortunately, Qi Xing had never actually █ █ with them.

Fortunately, Qi Xing's way of solving this problem was very simple.

———Just kill the Blonde Girl.

"Oh, no, Master Leipu. If you kill me, the [Count] will immediately sense it."

However, the Blonde Girl seemed to have guessed his thoughts, and instead smiled even more sweetly.

"You shouldn't want to be found by the [Count] right now, right?"

"Of course not." Qi Xing raised his eyebrows, "But I also didn't expect that you could actually violate the Island Master's orders."

"We didn't violate them, oh?"

The Blonde Girl tilted her head, as if acting coquettishly,

"The [Count]'s order is to find you and collect your genetic material. As for reporting, the importance is relatively a little bit lower."

"So as long as you are willing to let me eat your big █, even if you want me not to report it, that's fine!"

Her eyes were shining with a rather fanatical light!