Mengli

"Oh, Lady Meng Po, why are you wearing Lord Guan Nan's shirt? Here are some new clothes I brought for you to change into."

Gu Lili did not respond; her mind was still in a state of panic. She, Meng Li, and the Fiend God were constantly pondering the connections between these people.

"Ah~ A sharp pain came from behind, interrupting Gu Lili's thoughts."

"Oh dear, I was careless and forgot to remove the magic weapon from my finger. Did it hurt you?"

That despicable, petty person's behavior couldn't possibly be accidental; it was clearly a prank on her. But she had no time to care about such things; she just wanted to get back to the Yellow Springs as soon as possible and summon Qinglian to ask her what exactly happened.

Gu Lili raised an eyebrow slightly, ignored the other person, stood up and walked towards the small kitchen upstairs on her own.

Sure enough, Guan Nan had prepared her favorite Sichuan dishes. The aroma of fresh, fragrant, spicy, and numbing flavors wafted up the hallway towards her, and out of politeness, her stomach rumbled in response.

"Who is that? I've never seen her before, Sister Bai Chen."

Inside the small kitchen, Gu Lili looked up and glanced around, but didn't see anyone talking. Perhaps her mind-reading ability was working again.

The aroma of the food in front of her was so enticing that she couldn't think of anything else. She simply picked up her chopsticks, brushed aside a few stray peppercorns, picked up a slice of plump fish, blew on it, and put it in her mouth. The spicy, hot, and fragrant flavor made her feel incredibly happy.

"Who could it be? The great demon who took over Huang Quan's place."

"Huh? The new Meng Po???"

"Shh, keep your voice down."

"She doesn't seem as terrifying as the rumors say. Strangely... strangely beautiful."

"What do you know? 300 years old is still too young. I've seen far more fox spirits in my 500 years. Some of them look harmless, but you can't even imagine how black and twisted they are inside... In the underworld, they say that the former Meng Po gave up her position to her, but actually, our former Meng Po was forced to her death by her."

"ah???"

"You can't believe it, can you? I told you you're still too young. Hehe, I don't know what connections you bribed, but Lord Guan Nan not only didn't pursue the matter, but also gave her the best benefits. And look... she even... she's living with someone else. What kind of situation is this?"

In her mortal life, Gu Lili had witnessed countless instances of backstabbing and sowing discord among her colleagues, but she never imagined that the underworld would be just as turbulent.

The incessant chatter annoyed Gu Lili, and the second piece of frog leg she was holding slipped from her chopsticks just before she could put it in her mouth, rolling onto the ground.

"So annoying!"

These two gossipy women could have escaped with their lives, but the rolling bullfrog leg became a small spark that accidentally ignited the explosives. As a pale pink divine mark gradually appeared on Gu Lili's forehead, she slammed down her chopsticks, stood up, and quickly walked to the kitchen door, kicking it open with a bang.

When the gossipy Chen Chen saw Gu Lili kick the door open and burst in, he was terrified: "Ah, Lady Meng Po! What brings you to the kitchen, Lady Meng Po? If it's because there's not enough food, I'll get you more right away."

"Which of you two is Bai Chen?"

Gu Lili hadn't paid any attention to the other person before, but now that she was going to teach him a lesson, she needed to find out who was responsible so that she could apply the right amount of force.

"This subordinate is Bai Chen. Lady Meng Po is looking for this subordinate..."

Before the gossipy PR person could finish speaking, Gu Lili slapped her across the face. Of course, this was no ordinary slap. Ever since Qing Lian returned the spiritual power to Gu Lili, she could feel her power slowly replenishing every day.

For example, just now, when the gossipy Chen Chen was talking behind closed doors and badmouthing her, she could hear it clearly. This wasn't mind reading; it seemed like she had super hearing.

Her own essence was the same; with the added boost of abundant spiritual power, it became even easier to use. The palm she struck was already covered in essence, and the impact sent Bai Chen flying a great distance, leaving a bright red handprint on his once clean face.

"Why learn to gossip? The underworld has a strict hierarchy, and you'll be punished for disobeying your superiors. You should have your tongue ripped off and fed to the ghosts."

Gu Lili's eyes gleamed with a ghostly green. The source she summoned in her left hand transformed into a sharp blade. She strode up to Bai Chen, lifted her chin, and pinched her cheeks hard, preparing to cut off her tongue.

"Lady Meng Po, Lady Meng Po... please spare Sister Bai Chen! It was my fault for asking such a question, Lady Meng Po!"

Upon seeing this, the PR person who had been listening in from the sidelines rushed to Gu Lili's feet, sobbing and begging for Chen Chen's forgiveness.

Bai Chen was so frightened that she collapsed into a ball, tears and snot streaming down her face, unable to utter a word.

Gu Lili's gaze turned fierce, and her face darkened: "Oh? You want me to pull out your tongue too?"

"No, no, no, Lady Meng Po..."

Just as Gu Lili was about to cut off their tongues, a voice came from her spiritual realm: "Lady Meng Po, your sudden transformation of your origin is due to the use of the spiritual power I returned to you. However, your newly reconstructed spiritual body cannot withstand such torment. If you continue to use it rashly, even Lord Guan Nan's scorching yang energy will not be able to protect you."

Gu Lili's eyes flashed even greener: "Shut up!"

"Lady Meng Po?"

Without daring to think further, Qinglian quickly formed a hand seal, using herself as a medium to try to stop Gu Lili from continuing to use her source. A dark green spiritual thread emerged from between her brows, instantly transforming into a protective shield that isolated her from the outside world.

"Lady Meng Po, this is the only thing Qing Lian can do now."

The protective shield flashed green light as Gu Lili wielded a sharp blade and kept slashing it into the shield: "Heh, you think this thing can trap me? I might as well send you and the other two to annihilation."

After saying that, the blade in Gu Lili's hand transformed again, condensing into a crescent-shaped weapon that surrounded her. The weapon was covered with runes and emitted a dark green light.

"Go!" Gu Lili flicked her finger, and the weapon hummed as it transformed into a fluorescent green halo that crashed into the protective shield. At first, Qing Lian was able to resist by making hand seals, but as the halo continued to impact and rub against the shield, cracks gradually appeared and slowly spread outwards.

"Lady Meng Po, Lady Meng Po, wake up! It's me, Qing Lian!"

Qinglian's figure gradually became blurry. She realized that she was about to collapse and sobbed as she tried to wake Gu Lili.

"Get lost."

Gu Lili ignored Qing Lian's pleas within the secret realm, indifferently glancing at the shattering protective barrier, and waved her hand again: "Slay!"

Suddenly, countless spiritual energy waves gathered around the weapon, gradually enveloping it. Under Gu Lili's command, it spun and crashed into the protective shield once more. With a mournful cry, the protective shield shattered completely, and Qinglian in the secret realm fell into a coma due to damage to her spiritual consciousness.

"Gui Shui Jiu Nan Zhan! You really did come back after all."

Ksitigarbha manifested his figure in the void and called out the name of the weapon. As the name was suddenly called, the runes around the artifact glowed with golden light, and then crawled down from the Nine Difficulties Slash like a python, binding Gu Lili and Ksitigarbha. The Nine Difficulties Slash spun and tore through the void, and the runes dragged them into an illusion.

Once the two had steadied themselves, they were faced with a dark, narrow passageway. Apart from the wall lamps on either side, there was no other decoration. Gu Lili and Dizang exchanged a glance and walked forward. At the end of the passageway was a wooden door, very similar to the door to Nightmare's office, somewhat old and worn.

"It's the Realm of Void!" Ksitigarbha exclaimed, looking up at the plaque hanging above the wooden door.

Gu Lili raised her head and followed Dizang's gaze. Above the wooden door hung a wooden plaque with the words "Realm of the Void" engraved on it.

"Why am I here, and who are you?" Gu Lili lowered her head and shook it a few times. Her mind returned to normal, and the divine mark between her brows had disappeared.

"Since it brought us here, it must be a divine arrangement. When the time comes, you will remember who I am. But now, the Void Realm must be opened by you personally."

"Me? How do I activate it?"

Ksitigarbha smiled and gestured towards the doorknob. Gu Lili understood, but just as she was about to reach for the doorknob, she pulled her hand back. Slowly turning her head, she twitched her nose, pouted, and then held up a finger towards the doorknob: "So dirty."

Because the place was dark, damp, and devoid of sunlight, the doorknob was covered in rust and some sticky, wet liquid.

Ksitigarbha laughed and said, "Don't worry about these details. Don't you want to know who you really are?"

"Phew, let's give it our all."

Gu Lili really wanted to know who she was. Was she the sorrowful mortal Gu Lili who suddenly died, or the former Meng Po who saved all living beings in Qing Lian's words, or the witch Meng Li who tormented him for ten thousand years in the Ghost King's words? So she gritted her teeth, grabbed the sticky and slippery doorknob, and opened the wooden door.

As the wooden door creaked open, a rather ancient-looking bronze mirror came into view, and the mirror flashed with golden light the instant it reflected the two figures.

"Follow this perspective and look back at the past. If your hatred remains unquenched, may I become the last soul to perish under your blade," Ksitigarbha said compassionately, his hands clasped together.

On Mount Wuliang, the Immortal Venerable Wuliang, who had been in seclusion for a thousand years, was summoned to emerge from seclusion ahead of schedule. The celestial messenger, who had been waiting for many days, respectfully bowed and handed over the scroll of the letter sent by the Heavenly Emperor.

The scroll states that the ancient artifact, the Gui Shui Jiu Nan Zhan, suddenly appeared in the world and recognized the little fairy Meng Li, who had been recuperating in the Xuan Palace, as its master.

The Immortal Venerable looked solemn and cast a hexagram using the six lines of the I Ching. He deduced that this woman possessed a divine artifact that had recognized its master, and that the Heavenly Palace was likely to face a great calamity. However, the event happened suddenly, and his fellow disciples were all in seclusion. Only Ksitigarbha, who was of pure character but had not yet attained great power after three hundred years of arduous cultivation, was still serving by his side.

"Ksitigarbha".

"Master, Ksitigarbha is here."

"With the emergence of a divine artifact, the Heavenly Palace may face a great calamity. I hereby order you to go to the Mysterious Palace to guard that little fairy. If you discover that she harbors disloyal intentions or is colluding with the demons, you must kill her before she fully awakens her power. Can you do it?"

Ksitigarbha, always blindly loyal, kept kowtowing, saying, "Please rest assured, Master, Ksitigarbha will certainly not fail in your mission!"

The Immortal Venerable raised his hand and opened the void, taking out a string of runes that shimmered with golden light: "Take this ancient artifact, the Spirit Binding Spell, with you. If necessary, use the Spirit Binding Spell to destroy her spiritual consciousness and then kill her physical body. Then the artifact will no longer be able to be controlled by her."

Ksitigarbha stood up, took the ritual implement, and his master looked at him hesitantly before admonishing him, "You are born compassionate, but remember, when it concerns the lives of all beings, never be soft-hearted."

Ksitigarbha clasped his hands together and said, "Ksitigarbha will respectfully obey Master's instructions

After saying this, he followed the celestial official from the Heavenly Palace to the Heavenly Palace.

The Gui Shui Jiu Nan Zhan was once a divine artifact of the ancient creator god. It was made from ancient ten-thousand-year-old black iron, the inner cores of two ancient nine-tailed foxes that were about to be refined into ten tails, and the essence blood of an ancient Xuanhuang with regenerative abilities. It was also forged from ancient Netherworld Ghost Fire.

Since its birth, the Nine Difficulties Slash has accompanied the Creator God in eliminating demons and protecting the righteous path, slaying countless evil beings in the demon realm. Until the divine calamity descended, the Creator God sacrificed himself to protect all living beings, and then the gods fell one after another. This divine weapon disappeared without a trace, and people have searched for it for many years, but there is no sign that it will reappear in the world.

On this day, the Immortal Palace suddenly trembled violently, and then Mount Minghuang, where the Creator God had fallen, collapsed. A beam of light shot out from the collapse and headed straight for the Xuan Palace.

The Xuan Palace was inhabited by a young girl with no known identity or background. After the fall of the gods, the immortals found her unconscious among the corpses.

After examining her with spiritual power, the child was found to have neither spiritual roots nor demonic energy. However, since she could not have been a mortal to appear in the divine palace, the immortals discussed the matter and first transferred spiritual power to her. However, she remained unconscious. In the end, they simply placed her in a remote Xuan Palace, isolated from the world, and left her to fend for herself.

It wasn't until the Nine Difficulties of Guishui appeared in the world and recognized her as its master that the powerful spiritual energy contained in the artifact awakened her. However, as time passed, she no longer remembered who she was. She only heard that because she had slept for a long time, many of the gods had perished in her sleep. Therefore, she named herself Mengli.

Although Mengli was recognized as the master of the artifact, she never used it because she did not know how to awaken it or how to make it protect her.

At first, the fairies were wary of her because of the divine artifact. But as they gradually discovered that she couldn't use it and had no magical protection, they began to bully her. For example, they would throw away her food, uproot her favorite lotus flowers from the Xuan Palace lotus pond, and ridicule her as an unwanted bastard.

At first, she tried to please the fairies so they would stop making things difficult for her. But the fairies only became more aggressive, taking pleasure in bullying her. It wasn't until one of the arrogant fairies told her the reason that she realized it was simply because the artifact recognized her as its master, which aroused everyone's jealousy.

She had planned to drift through life aimlessly. Until one day, a bright yellow koi suddenly appeared in the pond of the Xuan Palace. When the sunlight shone on it, it looked from a distance like a lump of gold floating in the pond.

"Huh, where did you come from? Why haven't I seen you before?" Mengli bent down and gazed at the koi. After thinking for a moment, she said, "You look so thin. It must be because in my remote Xuan Palace, we can't find any decent food to grow up."

The koi seemed to understand human speech, simply swaying its tail gently in place without swimming away.

"It's alright, I'll go ask the fairies for some food tomorrow, and I'll definitely feed you until you're plump and chubby." Mengli smiled and then asked, "Do you have a name?"

Koi: "..."

"If you don't speak, then there's nothing to say. I didn't originally have a name either, but I named myself Mengli. I'll give you one too, how about... how about Fatty Carp, because I'll fatten you up sooner or later..."

Before she could finish speaking, Fat Carp swam quickly away, sliding its fins. No matter how many times Mengli called Fat Carp's name towards the water, it never reappeared.

"Alright, I'll come find you again tomorrow after I've gotten some food."

Mengli smiled at the water's surface, then turned and returned to her bedchamber. She couldn't remember the last time she had smiled so happily. This Xuan Palace had imprisoned her for ten thousand years, and there had never been any living creature to keep her company. The fairies who had served the former mistress of the Xuan Palace hated her intensely because of her origins.

She was discovered at the site of the great war between gods and demons, where many gods fell. Rumors say she was the daughter of Lingze, the former mistress of the Xuan Palace and an ancient demon god. The culprit behind the fall of the gods was Lingze's treason, which led to the creator god being ambushed by the demon god. Severely wounded, the creator god had no choice but to sacrifice his primordial spirit, perishing together with the demon god.

So ever since she moved into the main hall of the Xuan Palace, the fairies have all moved to the remote outer halls. Occasionally, when they see her picking fruit in the woods outside the hall, they will ridicule her. Some arrogant fairies will even overturn her fruit basket and steal the fresh fruit that she has worked so hard to pick.

But Mengli didn't care. She had never seen the outside world, so she thought that's how the world was.