Chapter One: The Awakening of the Eternal Chosen
Ji Ma sat on the edge of a metallic coffin, her whole body naked, her immaculate form contrasting with the rotting flesh surrounding her. If an ordinary person were unfortunate enough to be teleported here, they would be corroded into a monster before they could succumb to Ji Ma’s charm.
Ji Ma snapped her fingers, and a mirror appeared in front of her, reflecting her beautiful figure. Her skin was smooth and flawless, and her face was undeniably beautiful. Ji Ma spread her fingers, manipulating the mirror to move, admiring her appearance from different angles.
No matter the angle, she looked breathtaking; the light and shadow seemed reluctant to mar her beauty, as if an invisible photographer was constantly adjusting the lighting.
Ji Ma admired her collarbone, chest, waist, and thighs, even teasing her calves, before finally exclaiming, “I’m truly beautiful.”
Thanks to the Dream Temple still having a breath of life, it had diligently repaired my body over the years.
With a tap of her finger, the mirror shattered into light points, scattering and disappearing. She opened the entrance to the Dream Palace; the interior was shattered, but Ji Ma still found a dress—a bright red formal gown that she loved. However, upon putting it on, she found that her dreams had become sealed.
Although the seal could be broken, Ji Ma learned through divination why she was sealed here, so she refrained from breaking out.
Returning to the present world, she trod barefoot on the writhing black mass of flesh beneath her, a pitch-black crown floating above her head. Under Ji Ma’s mental command, it shrank into an exquisite little circle.
Ji Ma could still feel her body continuously emitting corrosive energy.
“Oh dear, it really is hard for them.”
Ji Ma approached the metallic door, which was etched with many elven runes designed to isolate and seal her. Yet those protruding runes had long since corroded away, twisted into blasphemous markings, with some even growing maggots.
Ji Ma pointed with her index finger, and the inner metal door fell to the ground, cracking into several pieces. Stepping over the cracked door, she took a few strides of over ten meters to reach the next door. This metallic door, covered in golden runes, was in far better condition. Ji Ma punched it, and the second door collapsed.
Outside, the dragonship was abuzz with activity. Officers shouted orders, commanding high elven soldiers to arm themselves:
“The sealed object is coming out! The sealed object is coming out!”
“Prepare for battle!”
“Great Mage, how much longer can the door hold?”
“Four doors! At least ten minutes.”
At that moment, Ji Ma lifted her long leg from beneath the red dress and kicked down the third metal door.
The waves crashed against the dragonship, causing it to sway violently.
Ji Ma stepped over the fallen metal door; behind her, the corridor was completely corroded, the walls sprouting bird-eye tumors… various chaotic corruptions vying for attention.
Reaching the last door, this corridor was clean, free of the grotesque rotten flesh and corrosion. The golden wooden floor was tidy, devoid of dust, and the crystal wall sconces projected white light.
The last door featured a phoenix relief, with a red gemstone embedded in the center. Feeling Ji Ma’s approach, it emanated waves of flame, roasting and purifying the nearby corrosion.
“Truly beautiful.”
Ji Ma was delighted; she floated upward, reaching out to grasp it, but the purifying fire surged forth, obstructed by a magical barrier, circling around Ji Ma and forming a perfect sphere.
“Quite sturdy.”
Ji Ma retracted her hand, brushing back the black hair that covered her left eye. She opened her eyes, and the glassy pupils bore the marks of the Four Divine Beasts. Ji Ma released the ever-flowing corrosion within her through her left eye, which turned black as her gaze fixed on the phoenix relief. It rapidly decayed, shedding black fragments until it completely collapsed.
The red gemstone fell, and Ji Ma reached out to catch it. Rubbing it, she divined the name “Flame Phoenix Guardian,” exclaiming, “What a fine treasure.”
Thinking ahead, she guessed the high elves would certainly want it back, so she tossed it into the Dream Realm to hide it. Bending down again, she grabbed a corrupted, broken “Flame Phoenix Guardian” from the ash pile.
The corrosion was spreading. The fourth large door swayed precariously, and Ji Ma straightened up, pointing, causing the door to collapse and shatter.
Beyond the door, the corridor opened up, leading straight to the hall, which was spacious enough to deploy forces against the sealed individuals inside.
It was utter chaos. Shields adorned with sea dragons crashed onto the wooden floor, and spears were hoisted. Officers wielded swords, shouting orders:
“Quick! Quick! Get in line, she’s coming out faster than we expected!”
A squad of phoenix guardians, armed with long halberds, silently leaped down from the second floor, forming a battle formation. Behind them, Avalon archers took up their silver semi-transparent magical bows, nocking arrows as an eagle-claw crossbow was pushed from the platform, soldiers nervously loading the bow.
Some high elf soldiers were so nervous that they even fell to the ground. Ji Ma originally watched them with amusement and couldn’t help but chuckle, while several high elf soldiers stood dazed and unmoving. More high elf soldiers shouted insults at her angrily.
“Demon! Don’t try to seduce us!”
“Quick, replace the first row!”
“Mage! Mage! Don’t stand there! You’re a woman!!”
The high elves, extremely cautious of her allure, immediately panicked and ran around.
Ji Ma leisurely waited for them to complete their encirclement, even covering her mouth to stifle a yawn.
“Eternal Chosen! Don’t think about taking another step forward!”
Ji Ma played with her nails, muttering to herself, “Should I paint them rose red? Or a light pink? Or maybe leave them natural? Oh right. I haven’t stepped forward even once.”
“She talked to me! She’s trying to charm me! Quick! Quick, change the personnel!”
The sound of feet on the floor hadn’t stopped when Ji Ma glanced at her wrist, actually checking the time in her personal system: “It’s already been twenty minutes, how slow.”
Saying this, Ji Ma took half a step forward.
“Keep moving! We’ll attack you!”
“Do you know someone named Eve Frostleaf?”
“Don’t you dare try any tricks!” shouted a high elf mage wearing a phoenix feather crown. “There’s no one by that name here!”
Ji Ma felt somewhat disappointed. Eve Frostleaf was still alive; she had divined as much. With her power among the high elves, wouldn’t it be easy to arrange for someone to serve as a messenger and treat herself well?
Could it be that she was forgotten on this dragonship?
After enduring long nights, constantly waking up in solitude and darkness, hoping for resurrection’s day to arrive soon so she could see familiar faces, yet everything before her was so unfamiliar.
Ji Ma couldn’t help but recall that day in Kisliv’s snowy plains when she traveled with Eve Frostleaf. As they journeyed across the snow, this fairest beauty melted away quickly in the snow.
She believed it was a qualitative change in their emotions, looking back now.
Ji Ma stood still, raising her head to look down the only corridor, where high elf soldiers continued to pour out. Gradually, she sketched Eve Frostleaf’s face in her mind. A delicate oval face, like ice sculpture, fierce to outsiders.
Had she thought too naively? She and Eve were merely sharing a physical relationship; Eve sought excitement and she was drawn to it, so they hit it off perfectly. With her, she never risked anything.
Ji Ma considered that Eve Frostleaf also likely had reservations about marrying George; throughout her long life, she even suspected that George was just a source of entertainment within her prolonged existence.
As far as Ji Ma knew, there were many high elves like this, for they viewed short-lived races as fervently passionate. Once disillusioned, they’d find the other party nearly old and decrepit.
Was it my sentimentality? In fact, I was merely indulging in beauty.
Ji Ma brushed a strand of hair aside, with a faint sorrow in her heart. She thought of George; that single sword stroke was indeed harsh.
Ji Ma raised her voice, “If I want to reclaim my weapons and all my possessions and leave this ship, what will you do?”
Responding to Ji Ma were taut bowstrings and leveled spears. “Stay where you are, Eternal Chosen!”
“I think,” Ji Ma said with a smirk, “you should be praying to Asu Yan now!” Saying so, Ji Ma raised her left hand, preparing to sweep away the hair covering her left eye.
At that moment, a familiar oval face appeared at the third-floor entrance. She was half a head taller than the surrounding high elves, the distance mainly due to her long legs. Her face was cold, seemingly clad in an icy mask, walking gracefully and unhurriedly.
It was Eve Frostleaf.
Is a battle about to begin? Ji Ma wondered why no one had reported her name earlier.
While Ji Ma hesitated, secretly bracing for a fight.
“Ji Ma!”
Eve Frostleaf suddenly called out, leaping lightly over the second-floor railing and eagle-claw crossbow, her long, powerful legs pushing off the ground, drifting toward Ji Ma amid the calls of the elves.
Ji Ma opened her arms, finally smiling: “Frostleaf!”
The two embraced, Ji Ma’s raised chest pressing against Eve Frostleaf’s, feeling her heart pounding excitedly. At that moment, Eve’s tensed back muscles finally relaxed, and her stiff tail grew soft, joyfully swaying side to side.
Their faces were pressed together, and it was a while before they separated.
“Long time no see.” Eve Frostleaf gradually regained her composure, still exuding her aloof, intimidating demeanor, as if everything just now had been an illusion.
“I haven’t seen you in ages either.” Ji Ma looked Eve over: “Have you gotten more scars?”
“Leftovers from the last battle,” Eve Frostleaf replied. “George pulled me out of a horde of angry demons.”
Fortunately, fortunately,
You could explain to them behind you.
Ji Ma smiled, saying, “I nearly turned them into grotesque shapes.”
That day, they talked a lot, and after enjoying the dinner Ji Ma prepared, they spent the night together, creating unforgettable memories.
White City.
As dawn broke, many devout believers had already gone out.
Meow.
An old, fat tabby cat lay by the roadside, exposing its belly to passersby for pats in exchange for food. She was old, her coat dull, no longer smooth, rough to the touch, and she lacked the energy to groom herself, so her fur was dirty.
After her plump belly was rubbed a dozen times, she finally got a fresh-baked croissant. With her few teeth, she struggled to nibble on the croissant, taking it bite by bite.
“Look, it’s the Dawn Fat Cat.”
“She’s still alive? She was begging for food by the road when I was young.”
“Have you heard? As long as you give her a silver coin and a copper coin, she will definitely use the copper coin to buy food for herself.”
“Let’s give it a try.”
They placed the copper and silver coins before the old Tabby. She opened her cat eyes, but instead of responding, after finishing the last bite of her croissant, she lazily rose, jumped a few times, then gradually climbed onto the flower bed, strutting with her tail raised toward a ladder leaning against the wall.
“Oh, it seems she’s going to wait for someone again.”
“Waiting for someone? For whom? I heard she prays to the gods.”
“I don’t know, the Dawn Cat has to climb to the rooftop every morning after breakfast, perching up there, watching the city gates.”
Old Tabby had long ceased to climb to the rooftop; it was arduous for her to make the climb. The ladder had been kindly placed at an angle by someone, but every step was a struggle for her, first her legs, then her plump belly.
She had considered losing weight but thought that her only adorable feature was her round shape, which her owner liked. Moreover, with age reducing her beauty, losing her chubby cuteness, would there still be someone to give her food?
Old Tabby’s paws trembled as she stepped on the wooden ladder, struggling to bear her weight. As her back legs gave way, she slipped down the wooden ladder and rolled on the ground, causing two kind-hearted people to gasp in surprise.
They quickly picked up Old Tabby, and she rested on their thighs, closing her eyes to rejuvenate. After a moment, she jumped down, continuing her ascension up the ladder, only to tumble down again, but fortunately, they caught her.
“Don’t try to climb; you can’t make it.”
Old Tabby opened her mouth, exposing an old tooth, trying her best to let out a meow.
“She looks like she’s about to die from old age.”
“We should help her to the rooftop.”
They carried the cat up the ladder and placed her on the high rooftop. However, Old Tabby couldn’t make it to the roof ridge; they daringly pushed her to the edge.
Old Tabby hung her head; she no longer had the strength to lift it or raise her tail. There was a makeshift cat nest on the ridge to shield her from the rain. She panted with her paws, lying beneath the nest, her murky eyes gazing toward the city gates, motionless, her breaths growing shallower.
After a while, the kind-hearted person stroked her head, but Old Tabby remained motionless. Looking again into her eyes, she had already closed them.
“The Dawn Cat has passed away.”
“Another said: ‘It’s a pity she waited her whole life without seeing her owner.’”
“Who could her owner be?”
“Rumor has it she belonged to a soldier from the apocalyptic war decades ago.”
“She must have been a brave paladin, only buried in the wilderness.”
One person lamented, “She’s truly more pitiable than a dog; all love in this world is so powerless in the face of frost, and it’s only a matter of time before it withers.”
Then came the sound of sniffing.
A melodious voice resonated that touched the heart, saying: “It seems there’s a scent of fatalism here, how underestimated you are.”
The two kind-hearted individuals turned around abruptly, stunned in place, their hearts blooming, with only two words in their minds: “So beautiful.”
Before them appeared a demoness, with enticing black hair and golden eyes, a dark aura floating above her, her locks veiling her eyes, and her figure graceful, spreading her wings as the morning light bathed this wicked creature in a wonderful glow.
Until someone below exclaimed: “It’s a succubus!”
Only then did they awaken, their hearts filled with endless fear. How could a demon appear in White City?
Ji Ma smiled at them, saying, “Remember! The power of love is limitless.”
With that, Ji Ma reached out, and Old Tabby floated up to her. Ji Ma held the back of the cat’s neck with one hand and poured a full vial of rejuvenation potion into the cat’s mouth.
Old Tabby’s fur visibly regained its softness and shine at a phenomenal speed.
