Si Ming knew that deities were not omnipotent, not even the higher deities, but this was the first time He had experienced such despair.
He was too late. Si Qing was dead.
He had died before His arrival, on the very day He had intended to crown his birth.
He had died... before He could confess His feelings to him.
As a higher deity presiding over sin, punishment, and causality, Si Ming had always been impartial and detached towards all living beings, never allowing personal emotions or grievances to interfere. But now, He wanted to destroy all the realms.
A world without Si Qing did not deserve to exist.
Nor did any world deserve to have been saved at the cost of Si Qing's life.
So Si Ming thought, and so He acted.
But just as He was about to annihilate the worlds, He discovered a wisp of Si Qing's remnant soul.
That wisp was attached to an orchid, the last trace of Si Qing in this world, and the final shred of hope.
As long as a remnant soul existed, there was a possibility of spiritual restoration.
But this wisp was exceedingly faint, so weak it could dissipate into the heavens and earth at any moment.
For a deity born from a divine spark to lose that spark meant losing everything; the dissipation of this remnant soul was merely a matter of time.
Unless... a separate, independent space could be woven.
Only by isolating everything within the myriad realms using an independent space could the dissipation of the remnant soul potentially be slowed, making it possible to forcibly preserve Si Qing's last fragment.
This was not difficult for Si Ming; His power alone was sufficient to sustain such a space. The true challenge was that His power was inherently corrosive and destructive. If Si Qing's remnant soul came into contact with it, it would most likely be directly consumed by His energy.
His immense strength had become the greatest obstacle to saving Si Qing now.
As a higher deity, Si Ming's power and being were incomparably formidable. Even if He completely discarded His power, the residual energy inherent in His divine spark and soul would still be more than a wisp of a remnant soul could endure.
Unless He also relinquished His divine spark and soul.
For a higher deity, the divine spark was no longer the most crucial entity; even if abandoned, it could be summoned back. But the soul was different.
Once a soul split apart, whether it could be reintegrated was uncertain. And even if reunited, whether it would still be the same self remained unknown.
For a being of His level, even a sliver of a split-off soul could develop its own consciousness. Those soul fragments would never willingly merge back together.
Yet Si Ming did not hesitate in the slightest. Even if He gave everything, it merely slowed the time until Si Qing’s fading soul dissipated completely.
He abandoned His divinity, shattered His own soul into countless fragments—both to weaken His own power and to weave an independent space out of these countless soul remnants.
Any space woven from power alone could fail, but one woven from His soul would never fail… unless He died.
Si Ming had only intended to preserve Si Qing’s remnant soul, never to allow other beings into the space to disturb Si Qing. But as the world collapsed, far too many had died. While weaving the space for Si Qing, the souls of other deceased beings were pulled in as well.
His divinity was of the kind that governed sin, punishment, and karma. Whoever stepped into His domain would be judged according to their own karmic deeds, ultimately bearing their own retribution. Only after this reckoning could they leave the space.
In a sense, He had helped them—even given them a chance at revival.
A dark shadow crossed Si Ming’s expression. His deep eyes swirled with gloom, and an aura of terrifying malice radiated from His entire being.
Revival?
Wishful thinking.
Even Si Qing could not be revived—what right did these insects have to be?
He was never a savior, nor would He ever help the very beings who caused Si Qing’s death.
After splitting Himself, He could not expel them from the space without affecting Si Qing… but He could make them suffer.
If they wanted to pass through and be revived, they would first have to repay the sins they had committed.
And so began the Infinite Horror Game.
For Si Qing, this was merely an isolated space preserving him.
For the other deceased souls,the Infinite Horror Game was a karmic reckoning realm—a space of sin and retribution. There was never any true notion of “clearing the game and leaving.”
Whoever died entered here. And those who entered could only truly leave once they had been punished and cleared their own karma.
Dying here did not mean true death. Players who died in the Infinite Horror Game would become NPCs within it, repaying their karma in another form… until it was all settled.
Si Ming completely controlled the space. The karmic reckoning did not necessarily have to take the form of horror scenarios—but He deeply despised these people. Naturally, He would not let them off easily.
Repaying one’s sins was never simple; in some cases, it was harder than climbing to heaven. Such as being placed in horror or despair.
For the more extreme the emotions, the more one’s nature was tested. Once they crossed that line within their hearts, they would only create more sin… and never be free of it.
From the very beginning, this game offered no one a chance at resurrection. The more karma one incurred, the more impossible it became to leave this space.
However, Si Ming had underestimated the potency of his own divine soul. Even shattered into minute fragments, it could still corrode and consume others.
Driven by an obsession in his heart, he longed to escape his own dungeon and reach the place where Si Qing was.
The only way to leave his dungeon was to become a 'player' in the Infinite Horror Game. This was why there were so many 'players' within the game who were actually fragments of His soul.
And due to a moment of negligence, a 'player' had even managed to carry a fragment of Si Qing's soul out of the dungeon He had so meticulously crafted for him, turning him into a special player within the Infinite Horror Game.
Fortunately, He had anticipated various accidents from the start and left behind one particularly powerful fragment of His soul, which retained partial memories, to control the entire Infinite Horror Game world and protect Si Qing's soul fragment.
Fearing this fragment might develop its own will, He placed a restriction on it, forbidding it from approaching Si Qing's soul fragment.
Si Ming despised those hypocritical living beings. He very much wanted to use the game to make Si Qing see their ugliness, to see that those people were never worth him sacrificing his life to save.
But He couldn't bear to.
In the end, He just couldn't bear it.
Just as it had been for nearly ten thousand years of their coexistence, what He showed Si Qing was always a beautiful picture, never letting him touch darkness or the concepts of good and evil.
Afraid he would be sad, and afraid that insignificant creatures might harm him, every dungeon Si Qing experienced was carefully designed, and he rarely came into contact with other players.
What Si Ming hadn't anticipated, however, was that the power of faith was the only force capable of repairing Si Qing's soul.
From then on, He no longer prevented him from interacting with other players and NPCs, even intentionally placing him in dungeons teeming with living beings.
Whether players or NPCs, they were all living beings from His world. He believed Si Qing could make thousands worship him.
He only needed to stand there,and living beings would love him.
He was worthy.
And so it was. A vast amount of faith power was repairing Si Qing's soul fragment, but it was far from enough.
For a wisp of a soul fragment to be resurrected, that meager amount of faith power was insufficient. It merely slowed the dissipation of Si Qing's soul fragment.
He wanted Si Qing resurrected, even if it came at the cost of billions of lives, even if it meant defying the rules themselves.
His fragmented souls would certainly not merge willingly. To assimilate the other soul fragments, one could only rely on strength and seize them by force. However, when it came to Si Qing's life, His fragments fused without the slightest resentment, and no one contested for final consciousness control.
Because only with the complete return of the supreme deity, Si Ming, was there a possibility to contend against the Rules.
None of them dared to gamble, none dared to stake Si Qing's life on a gamble.
After detecting the aura of the Rules Enforcer, His soul fragments voluntarily merged. But what He didn't expect was that the Rules Enforcer would actually utilize His own space to completely seal Si Qing's memories and place him into a new instance.
And He Himself was blocked by the Rules Enforcer.
The Rules Enforcer wanted to use the instance to kill Si Qing; he would not allow Si Qing to be resurrected.
Anyone who tried to prevent Si Qing's resurrection would be His enemy—even the Rules Enforcer was no exception.
But what Si Ming hadn't anticipated was that the Rules Enforcer did not actually intend to kill Si Qing. It seemed he was testing him.
The moment Si Qing revived, Si Ming perceived everything through the connection of cause and effect.
The supreme deities were all deities of malevolent attributes. The Rules Enforcer, having lost much of his power due to an accident, needed the presence of a benevolent deity to maintain balance across the three thousand worlds.
Thus, Si Qing, born from a Divine Core, came into being as destiny demanded.
However, the responsibilities of a supreme deity are immense, and being the natural counter to malevolent deities, his birth could not be a simple matter.
Moreover, a benevolent Divine Core does not guarantee a benevolent deity.
He had to pass the Rules' Enforcer —to prove he was truly fair and righteous in his goodness. Whether born into a collapsing world or preserving the last wisp of a soul fragment, all belonged to Si Qing, his karmic destiny.
The final instance, <Flowers of Evil>, was the last trial for Si Qing.
Had he chosen to commit evil to survive, or had he selfishly chosen resurrection upon recovering his memories, he would have lost forever the chance to revive.
After all, if a supreme deity harbored ambition and malice, and was also the lover of another supreme deity, it would spell disaster for the three thousand worlds.
Fortunately, he passed the trial.
Si Ming clutched the person he had regained tightly in his arms, his strength so great it seemed he wanted to meld him into his very bones and blood.
Si Qing did not struggle, obediently allowing Si Ming to hold him, his exquisite, picture-like features filled with docility and tenderness.
Petals filled the sky, swirling in a dance so beautiful it resembled a fairyland on earth. A gentle breeze swept by, and in that moment, heaven and earth seemed to hold only these two embraced figures.
Xiao Mingyu—also known as Yan Xi—along with the others, had arrived. Seeing this scene, a trace of genuine smile flickered in his eyes as he sincerely said, "Congratulations on your return."
“Congratulations on your birth.”
“Congratulations.”
With others present, it was hardly appropriate to embrace. Si Qing gently nudged Si Ming, signaling for him to let go.
Si Ming released Si Qing and, in the next instant, vanished from the spot entirely—for the Rules Enforcer had arrived as well.
The Rules Enforcer, Gu Yichao, had also intended to offer Si Qing his congratulations. But Si Ming gave him no chance.
The moment Si Ming sensed his aura, he attacked without hesitation, clearly intent on avenging the stab wound Si Qing had suffered.
Seeing this, Si Qing moved to intervene. He bore no grudge against the Rules' Enforcer; the other was merely fulfilling his duty.
Yet he did not succeed, for Yan Xi stopped him.
“Let him go. Otherwise, he’ll lose his mind.”
Having said this, Yan Xi glanced at a woman nearby who was chewing on an apple. Seeing she made no objection, he quietly sighed in relief.
Hearing this, Si Qing froze, and in the end, did not try to stop them.
The greatest pain is not death, but being the one left behind.
And this agony of loss—Si Ming had endured it twice.
Though both times Si Qing had given up of his own will, the second time, it was indeed the Rules Enforcer who had dealt the fatal blow. If not given a vent for his fury, Si Ming would truly go mad.
He simply could not tolerate anyone harming Si Qing.
The Rules Enforcer possessed the power to invoke the Rules themselves—a force that transcended all things in existence, capable of erasing any being. But perhaps out of a sense of guilt, the Enforcer did not draw upon that power at all.
Having died once before by accident, the Enforcer had lost most of his strength. Coupled with his refusal to use the power of the Rules, he was naturally no match for Si Ming. With a single thrust, Si Ming’s blade pierced straight through the Enforcer’s abdomen.
The wound was in the exact same spot where Si Qing had been injured before.
A single stab would not kill the Rules Enforcer. As Si Ming withdrew his sword and lunged again to strike—
This time, his blow did not land.
Just as Si Ming moved to attack a second time, the woman who had been munching on the apple tossed it aside, drew her own sword, and charged forward faster than anyone could react.
The woman—Ye Shan—looked at Si Ming and let out an angry laugh.
“Letting you stab him once was more than enough. Did you really think you’d get a second chance?”
Witnessing the situation turn sour, everyone present hurriedly stepped in to separate the two.
The Rule Enforcer had not invoked the power of the rules, clearly not intending to get serious. Meanwhile, Si Ming, though striking with lethal intent in every move, held back from using his full strength out of consideration for this being Si Qing’s world. However, the moment Ye Shan joined the fray, things changed entirely.
If these two were to truly fight, it would undoubtedly be catastrophic.
Gu Yichao understood this well. He quickly pulled Ye Shan back, saying, “I’m fine.”
Although Si Qing didn’t know the woman’s identity, seeing the tense expressions of the others, she also hurriedly held Si Ming back.
“Teacher, that’s enough.”
“It’s already over.”
Si Ming stared fixedly at Gu Yichao, while Ye Shan’s gaze remained locked on Si Ming. The atmosphere between them was taut as a drawn bowstring, yet with Gu Yichao and Si Qing intervening, the two eventually ceased their hostilities.
Si Qing let out a sigh of relief, as did Gu Yichao. He turned to Si Qing and offered a faint smile. “Congratulations on your birth.”
Receiving congratulations from the Rule Enforcer was equivalent to gaining recognition from the rules themselves.
Si Qing returned a polite smile. “Thank you.”
—Congratulations on your birth.
