Watching Bai Yue Ling’s pained, contorted expression, a flicker of profound surprise flashed in Jelly’s eyes.
As Bai Yue Ling endured longer and longer, Jelly’s expression turned to outright shock.
She’s actually…
Impossible!
She was supposed to be a mere ant, meant to foam at the mouth and collapse under the goddess’s gaze.
How could she endure for so long?
What kind of immense mental strength lies within this ant?
Who is she, really?
Jelly realized, to her shock, that she had underestimated this white-haired, busty girl all along.
Despite being only level 19 with a bratty, smug personality, Bai Yue Ling possessed a terrifying mental fortitude utterly at odds with her delicate appearance.
At that moment, Jelly’s thoughts drifted back to the moment she became a pet.
She vividly recalled a surge of extreme darkness and corruption flooding her body, spreading instantly under Bai Yue Ling’s influence.
It tainted her, stripped her of freedom, and bound her as Bai Yue Ling’s pet.
According to Bai Yue Ling’s later explanation, that power was called “Dark Fall.”
After being subjected to Dark Fall, Jelly was consumed with rage. She endlessly questioned why a mere ant wielded such terrifying power.
She doesn’t deserve it! That power should belong to me, the Queen!
But now, Jelly began to sense something different.
Perhaps it wasn’t that Bai Yue Ling was unworthy… but rather, only someone with her unimaginable mental strength was qualified to wield the power of Dark Fall.
She endured the goddess’s punishment?
Maybe she’s not just an ant after all.
Jelly shook her head, her slime body gently stirring, shifting to a warm cherry-pink hue to silently ease Bai Yue Ling’s physical and mental pain.
Ten minutes passed.
Wrapped in Jelly’s slime, Bai Yue Ling let out a soft moan, her pained expression gradually softening as she opened her eyes.
[You have passed the Will of Judgment test from the Goddess of Judgment.]
Bai Yue Ling’s lips twitched. Last time, it was only a minute, but this time it lasted a full ten minutes. Did that crazy Goddess of Judgment really want her dead?
“What did you do to provoke a goddess?” Jelly’s voice sounded casual.
She was still enveloping Bai Yue Ling’s delicate frame as they drifted down the turbulent underground river, descending endlessly toward an unknown destination.
Bai Yue Ling poked her head out, smirking smugly.
“Oh, nothing much. Just used Dark Fall on the goddess’s chosen one.”
“The chosen one?” Jelly raised an eyebrow. “Are you in such a hurry to die?”
“Isn’t this just a dog-eat-dog world?” Bai Yue Ling said, hands behind her head, nonchalant.
“I just want to live an easy life, but all these big sisters keep causing me trouble. No choice but to Dark Fall them all~”
Jelly fell silent for a moment, realizing she was one of those “troubles.”
“But what’s with your superhuman mental strength?”
Jelly pressed. “It might be the strongest I’ve ever seen in my life… Is it related to that Dark Fall of yours?”
“That’s not something I can just spill,” Bai Yue Ling said, tilting her head.
“Unless you’re willing to share your past with me. How about a trade?”
“Forget it,” Jelly refused flatly. Her feelings toward Bai Yue Ling were still dominated by “disgust,” far from any heart-to-heart bonding.
She was a slime bent on enduring and seeking revenge.
Drifting underground was undeniably thrilling. The river flowed relentlessly downward, as if it had no end, offering a rollercoaster-like rush of excitement and danger.
Yet, the thrill came with risks. If not for Jelly’s skillful maneuvering, Bai Yue Ling would have smashed into a protruding rock and died long ago.
After an unknown amount of time, the river ahead underwent a dramatic change.
The calm waters transformed into a spectacular waterfall, its deafening roar echoing through the underground, signaling the end of their thrilling drift.
“Hold on tight!” Bai Yue Ling shouted, diving fully into Jelly’s body.
Jelly snorted, silently morphing into a perfect sphere to brace for the impending impact.
They plummeted down the waterfall, swallowed by the immense current.
Icy water splashed against Jelly’s slime, and the two tumbled and rocked in the churning waves before leaping downward, crashing into the water below like a meteor, sending up a massive spray.
Not far from the waterfall’s base was a shallow beach. A dizzy Bai Yue Ling was unceremoniously “spat out” by Jelly onto the shore.
“Pfft—!”
Bai Yue Ling clutched her head, murmuring with lingering fear, “That was wild. I’ll never need to go rafting again… But where are we?”
Looking around, she saw a tranquil underground ocean.
Massive, mountain-like tree roots sprawled across the water’s surface, intertwining intricately.
Above, instead of a sky, an endless expanse of earth was woven with countless roots, dotted with glowing mushrooms and gems that sparkled like stars in a night sky.
Gazing at this serene underground world, Bai Yue Ling’s lips parted slightly, her mood turning vast and melancholic.
“I’ve never heard of a place like this in World of Fate…” she murmured, regretting not bringing a Camera to capture the scene.
“I’ve never been here either…”
Even the lofty Slime Queen, Jelly, couldn’t help but stare into the distance.
“Those must be the roots of the World Tree. I never imagined they’d reach so deep underground.”
[Name: World Tree]
[Race: Tree]
[Level: ???]
[Description: Planted by the goddesses at the dawn of chaos, this sapling grew over eons into an unimaginable, colossal tree. It resides in the heart of a lightning-charged vortex in the Storm Ocean, inaccessible by ordinary means.]
[Note: It is said that standing on its canopy allows one to see all of World of Fate, while traveling among its roots can lead to any location in the world.]
The two climbed onto a slender root, heading deeper into the ocean.
The waterfall’s roar faded behind them, and the roots grew thicker. The underground ocean seemed boundless.
“Wait, there’s a…”
In the middle of the tranquil ocean stood a small pavilion. Bai Yue Ling swam toward it immediately.
Stepping onto the pavilion, they saw a statue clad in a moon-white, high-slit robe, its eyes covered by a black cloth, silently “gazing” at them.
“If I’m not mistaken, this is the Goddess of Fate, one of the three Neutral Faction goddesses,” Bai Yue Ling muttered.
From what she knew, the Goddess of Fate was the most mysterious deity in World of Fate, never responding to followers’ prayers, with her churches exceedingly rare.
Yet, here in this underground ocean, there was an altar to the Goddess of Fate?
“Might as well pray since we’re here.”
Praying to a goddess usually granted a minor blessing—nothing major, but better than nothing.
Bai Yue Ling placed her hands below her forehead, bent her waist, and raised her hips high, kneeling before the statue.
This was the standard posture for praying to a goddess, maximizing the display of devotion.
…An altar?
But the Goddess of Fate was an enigmatic deity, and Bai Yue Ling wasn’t sure if she’d be acknowledged.
To her surprise, just a few seconds later, a system notification sounded:
[You have been granted a new status: “Gaze of the Goddess of Fate.”]
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