Shen Yue stood in front of the First Temple. The third piece of the fake covenant quietly radiated light in his palm. The light contained the "faith" and "hope" that Daoyan had witnessed throughout his life. But before the warmth faded, the voice of the guardian spirit rumbled, with unprecedented severity and determination:
"Shen Yue, you have witnessed how the fire of faith burns in the darkness. But when the turbid air completely permeates people's hearts, judgment is inevitable. You will become Yu Hong and be born on the edge of doomsday. Your mission: In the midst of ridicule and disbelief, build the "Sky Boat" with your own hands. It is the only vessel that carries the seeds of life. Use your actions to warn the world, and use the Ark to show the impending destruction and the only remaining life."
Time and space suddenly spread out and suddenly gathered like a scroll. Shen Yue's consciousness descended into a restless era. The mountains are still there, but the village at the foot of the mountain has lost its tranquility and is filled with the breath of disputes and desires. He became Yu Hong, a tall man with a resolute figure and deep eyes, as if carrying a burden that did not belong to this era. He was alone, like a lonely watcher.
He had walked on this land for a long time, witnessing how the turbid air turned from a trickle into a torrent, corroding people's hearts and corrupting morality. The prophecy of the ancestor Daoyan about the world-destroying flood was engraved in the depths of his soul like a brand. He understood that the grace of the guardian spirit was the only light left in this filthy world. Every day, he prayed in a secluded place in the mountains, feeling the connection with the sacred source, which was the only source of his strength.
One day, the night fell and the stars dimmed. When Yu Hong was praying on the top of the mountain, a strong light broke through the clouds, and the messenger of the spiritual world brought the final decree: the day of judgment has been set, and the world-destroying flood will cleanse the earth. At the same time, the messenger gave the rules of the sky boat - made of tough gopher wood (a giant cypress unique to that time), divided into three layers, with a huge door on the side, a window on the top for light transmission, and compartments inside to accommodate all living things.
Yu Hong did not hesitate. He gathered his family - his sons, and his grandfather Yu Daoyuan, who inherited Daoyan's prophecy and was highly respected. Under the gaze of the mountains, they started this seemingly crazy project. The giant trees of that era were stronger than steel, and each step of felling, transporting, and processing required unimaginable energy.
Yu Hong personally wielded a stone axe and led his family to work. Sweat soaked his clothes and his hands were covered with calluses. Day after day, year after year, they built a huge boat on dry land far away from water sources. Every knock and every call seemed to be a wake-up call to the sleeping world.
At first, people watched curiously. This huge ship on dry land became the biggest curiosity in the neighborhood. They talked about it and speculated about Yu Hong's motives. Yu Hong spoke frankly, his voice calm but with unquestionable power: "The judgment of the guardian spirit is coming, and the flood will cover the earth. Repent, trust in His guidance, this boat is the only way to survive."
Some people were touched by the power of his words, and the awe deep in their hearts that had long been covered in dust trembled slightly. But more people, after a brief surprise, burst into laughter.
"Crazy! Yu Hong is completely crazy! Building a boat on the mountain, is he planning to make the boat fly?"
"Ignore him, this old guy is just like his ancestors, he can only say some scary nonsense!"
The ridicule did not stop the construction process. The keel of the ark was laid, and the hull gradually showed its outline. This silent and huge project itself is the most eloquent declaration.
And the world outside the boat is sinking faster. The descendants of Kyle built a high city on the plain, which was filled with gold, gems and endless feasts. They worshiped the idols of their own desires and indulged in sensual pleasures. Even the spiritual descendants in the mountains were not spared. The ancient covenant was forgotten, polygamy, looting, and vendettas polluted the blood and distorted people's hearts.
Yu Hong witnessed all this, and his heart was filled with sadness. He sighed to the sky: "The voice of injustice has reached the ears of heaven, and the patience of the guardian spirit is about to end!"
The thoughts of the guardian spirit echoed in his mind with thunderous majesty: "My spirit is not always in the hearts of sinners. If they persist, I will destroy everything created from the earth."
Time is running out. Yu Hong and his family worked even more sleeplessly. Every swing of the hammer and every planing was poured with all their faith. Before his death, his grandfather Yu Daoyuan handed the ancient leather scroll containing Daoyan's prophecy to Yu Hong, and his withered hands held him tightly: "Hold on...child...spiritual contract...guard..."
As if it was a reincarnation, and as if it was just a moment, the long years of construction came to an end. The Ark of Heaven, in an unimaginable grandeur, lies quietly in the valley. It is simple, solid, and exudes a strange breath of life.
The voice of the guardian spirit came down clearly: "Yuhong, the time has come. Bring your family and all the creatures who follow my instructions into the Ark of Heaven."
Yuhong obeyed. All kinds of birds, beasts, insects, fish and turtles, as if guided by invisible things, entered the Ark in pairs. The door of the Ark of Heaven was open, as if it was still waiting silently.
Outside the Ark, there was still singing and dancing, and people were living a life of drunkenness and dreams. Some people pointed at the Ark and the animals that entered, laughing.
"Look at that fool! He really acted out the whole show! He even moved the insects in!"
"When the flood comes, we will drink on the highest mountain and watch how his wooden box floats!"
Yuhong stood at the door of the Ark and took a last look at the world where he had lived for a long time but was about to be destroyed. In his heart, there was compassion, determination, and complete obedience to the will of the guardian spirit.
At this moment, the sky suddenly changed! Daylight turned into night in an instant, and thick dark clouds spread like ink, pressing heavily on the earth. Thunder exploded, not just once, but continuously, as if the sky was torn apart. The dazzling lightning made people's frightened faces pale.
Then, heavy rain poured down! Unprecedented, like a torrential rain pouring back from the sky, intensively hitting the ground. What's more terrifying is that there was a roar from deep in the earth, huge springs burst everywhere, and water columns rushed up to the sky, carrying mud and boulders!
"What's going on?!"
"It's raining! Oh my God! It's a flood!!"
"Run!!"
The delayed panic exploded instantly. The crowd screamed and fled in all directions. They ran to the mountains and climbed up the giant trees, but the speed of the flood was beyond imagination. The rivers backflowed, the plains instantly became a swamp, and the roaring water head washed away houses and cities.
Those who had laughed the most finally understood at this moment that what Yu Hong said was true. They desperately ran to the Tianzhou in the valley, where there was the last hope.
They pounded on the huge wooden door frantically, their voices hoarse and crying:
"Yu Hong! Open the door! Please, open the door!"
"We were wrong! We were really wrong!"
"For the sake of our fellow tribesmen, save us!"
In the boat, Yu Hong listened to the desperate cries, and his heart was broken. Outside were his neighbors, faces he knew, and even distant relatives. But he could do nothing. After the last creature entered, the gate of the Tianzhou had been completely sealed by an invisible and powerful force - the power from the guardian spirit.
He closed his eyes, unable to bear to watch any more. In his ears was the roar of the flood, and the cries outside the boat that gradually became sparse and finally disappeared.
The flood raged for forty days and nights. The sky and the earth were a vast ocean. The huge sky boat, like the arm of the guardian spirit, floated steadily in the turbid waves. Inside the boat, the creatures were restless, but gradually calmed down under the invisible comfort of the spirit messenger.
The rain stopped. The water began to slowly recede. The sky boat finally ran aground on the peak of a high mountain.
Yu Hong pushed open the heavy hatch. Fresh air with the smell of earth poured in. He walked out of the ark and looked around the world that survived the disaster. The earth was muddy and messy, and the traces of the former civilization were gone. There were only his family and the creatures that were preserved in the boat.
A gorgeous rainbow of seven colors spanned the sky. That was the silent declaration of the guardian spirit: after the destruction, there is a new agreement and a new beginning.
Yu Hong led his family to kneel on the wet land and offer the first prayer of the survivors.
Consciousness began to withdraw. Shen Yue felt that he had left Yu Hong's body. In his hand, the fourth fragment of the false covenant condensed warmly, and the runes on it flowed, as if saying: "The promise of Yuhong, obedience will lead to life, the flood is the boundary, and the rainbow is the covenant."
He returned to the front of the temple of the spiritual world.
The voice of the guardian spirit sounded, with a hint of imperceptible majesty... perhaps relief? "You practiced absolute obedience as Yuhong, and preserved the fire of life in destruction. Tianzhou has become a carrier of the new contract. The trial is completed."
...
Reality, the temple library.
Shen Yue took up his pen, and the ink fell, carrying the muddy breath of the flood and the glimmer of the rainbow:
"The fourth trial is completed. The flood washed away the old world, and the rainbow made a new covenant, and life depends on it."
The first Xuanji stood behind him without knowing when. He looked at the words on the paper silently for a long time, and then slowly spoke, his voice full of contemplation: "The flood is both a judgment and a purification. The sky boat is both a refuge and the cradle of the new world. Shen Yue, what you have experienced is destruction and rebirth. Remember this power - obedience can bring salvation, and the contract is the cornerstone of reconstruction on the ruins. Edoria... also needs an invisible sky boat."