Chapter 29 029 A puppet is no match for you; you should become a scriptwriter from now on...

In the darkness, Yun Tianjiao sat on the bed, covering his face, not understanding why he would dream of Zhiwei.

It's one thing to dream about Zhiwei; after all, what you think about during the day, you dream about at night. At her age, it's understandable for her to have a erotic dream or two.

But why, in particular, is she connected to that curse? Who is the man outside the golden cage? The place where she fell into the clouds doesn't look like the mortal realm. Could it be that she was a god in her past life?

But she clearly remembered that in her previous two lives she was not a god, and she had no recollection of such memories.

Qingyuan's words, just now, began to echo in his mind like a new curse—

"Your Highness is of noble birth and precious status. Forgive my bluntness, but if you continue to be deluded and bewitched by that person of unknown origin, you may bring trouble upon yourself."

After sitting quietly for a moment, Yun Tianjiao put on his coat, got up, and silently pushed open the door, returning to the stone steps square.

At this moment, the stone steps plaza was deserted. The light screen was still replaying the mission performances of the various gods. Yun Tianjiao waited patiently for a long time before he saw her and Zhiwei again.

This time, she watched almost intently, not missing a single detail after the two entered the island in the middle of the lake.

She noticed that after she lost consciousness, Liang Yue's expression was strange, as if he was very confused about something. She had previously thought that the ghost child's desperate wailing was at Liang Yue's behest, in order to disturb the two of them and even make them lose their minds.

But since Liang Yue was so puzzled and surprised by her coma, it meant she was wrong.

So, if it wasn't Liang Yue's instruction, then who secretly manipulated the ghost child, giving it power far exceeding its actual strength to knock her unconscious?

Within the light screen, a flame in Zhiwei's outstretched palm changed from red to blue-green, and Yun Tianjiao felt a chill run down her spine for no apparent reason. She stared at Zhiwei's face in the light screen, feeling a sense of unfamiliarity, her hands and feet grew cold, and even her breathing became somewhat labored.

Just then, a very soft male voice sounded from behind.

"What is Your Highness doing here?"

Yun Tianjiao suddenly turned around. In the Boundless Secret Realm, which simulated day and night in the human world, the stone steps plaza was illuminated only by the light screen, which alternated between light and dark as the scene changed. Zhiwei's face became obscure under the light, and her slender figure dragged on the ground, distorted and stretched, revealing a somewhat ghostly aura.

"I couldn't sleep, so I came out for a walk. I happened to see a replay of our mission, so I watched for a while." Yun Tianjiao's voice sounded relaxed and natural, without any sign of anything amiss.

"Is that so?" Zhiwei remained noncommittal, his expression showing no sign of anything amiss. He then asked, "Did I frighten Your Highness just now?"

Yun Tianjiao didn't respond, but instead asked, "Did you know from the beginning that Liang Yue was the person Fairy Lady was waiting for?"

"I had seen a portrait of the fairy's fiancé, but I only recognized him after Liang Yue revealed his true face."

"Is that so?" Yun Tianjiao remarked cryptically, "You seem quite familiar with the Ghost Realm."

“Indeed, I have quite a few friends there,” Zhiwei replied, her answer perfectly tactful.

Yun Tianjiao turned and walked back, asking casually, "And why did you come here?"

Zhiwei followed beside her and replied with a smile, "I couldn't sleep, so I came out for a walk and happened to run into Your Highness."

They actually used the same reason.

As they walked, the lanterns on the enchanted ground of the Boundless Secret Realm lit up one after another. Amidst the swirling celestial mist, the hems of their clothes were bathed in soft light, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere.

"...What happened to that play script later?" Yun Tianjiao suddenly asked.

"The rest... isn't finished yet."

Yun Tianjiao was surprised, "You wrote that script yourself?"

Zhiwei gave a soft "Mmm," and said, "Your Highness, please forgive my rudeness."

"It's very well written." Yun Tianjiao praised sincerely. The fact that she and Liang Yue were able to get into character at the same time during those few scenes was a testament to its quality. "Our Yun Chi Kingdom is lacking a god who specifically manages the scripts and plays. Why don't you become the god of scripts and plays in the future?"

Zhi smiled gently as always, "Alright, then I'll be a scriptwriter."

Back at the flower house, Yun Tianjiao couldn't fall asleep. In contrast to her tossing and turning, the Boundless Secret Realm was quiet all night, with both gods and pilgrims sleeping soundly.

Little did they know, this caused quite a stir in the heavens, with the gods discussing it heatedly.

The focus of the discussion remains on the subtle details.

"Did any of you see clearly how he performed the ritual to deliver the evil spirit from its wrath?"

"I didn't see it clearly."

"I've never seen anything like it before. It feels very strange and doesn't seem like any kind of orthodox magic."

"If we can't see how the ritual was performed, how can we calculate his score?"

"But in fact, all the ghosts on the island in the middle of Huaicheng Lake were indeed delivered from the dead. So many worshippers witnessed the whole process. If we don't count his score, it will be hard to convince everyone!"

Mo Bei squatted on his divine throne, covered his ears from the noise of the immortal lords and immortals below, and looked resentfully at Lin Shen at the head of the table, "Heavenly Venerable, are you going to stop this? If this keeps going on, my head is going to explode!"

Lin Shen sat high above the gods, coughed lightly, and the area below immediately fell silent enough that you could hear a pin drop.

"Gong Xin, what do you think?" Lin Shen asked the deity Gong Xin beside him.

Gong Xin was holding a white porcelain jar in his arms, his head bobbing sleepily like a chicken pecking at rice. Suddenly, he was called by name, and he was startled. He opened his eyes wide and looked around, as if he was still looking for someone to call him.

Lin Shen sighed, rubbed his temples, and asked the person next to him, "Yu Li, what do you think?"

Yu Li, the Divine Lord, spoke softly. When the Heavenly Venerable asked the question, unlike the other two Divine Venerables, he immediately stood up respectfully: "Your Majesty, I believe that we should also take into account the feedback from the worshippers."

Lin Shen looked at the God Ranking, which was now displayed in the sky above the Heavenly Court. Zhiwei's ranking had jumped from the teens to fourth place. Last night, her position fluctuated, but after this night, it gradually stabilized.

This is sufficient proof that most pilgrims approve of Zhiwei's performance in the second round.

“Yu Li is right, we must consider the thoughts of the pilgrims.” Lin Shen nodded, then, as if remembering something, said to those below, “Immortal Venerable Qingyuan, didn’t you have something to report?”

Qingyuan stood up from his altar and explained his suspicions about Zhiwei over the past few days, which immediately sparked a lot of discussion.

"You mean, you suspect he's actually a demon?"

Most of the gods found it hard to believe that a demon would dare to swagger into the Boundless Secret Realm in full view of everyone and even participate in the Ascension Conference.

"But if one cultivates to become a god through demon or ghost cultivation, it doesn't violate any rules, right? The Ascension Conference doesn't impose any restrictions on the original forms of the newly ascended gods."

"What are you talking about? Those are demons and ghosts, things from the ghost realm. What good things could they possibly have?"

Mo Bei was afraid that the gods would start arguing endlessly like before, so he simply jumped up, shook the palace lantern in his hand, and said, "Forget it, let's stop arguing. Isn't the third round of the competition supposed to be supervised by us? We'll keep an eye on him then. If he really has bad intentions, it's not too late to arrest him."

Yu Li rarely spoke up, but said to Lin Shen, "Heavenly Venerable, the mortal incense offerings of this Zhiwei Heavenly God have now become quite influential. If we rashly suppress or question him without providing a suitable reason, it would be inappropriate."

After a moment's thought, Lin Shen said, "Very well, then this round of competition can be considered as him successfully completing his mission."

As soon as he finished speaking, the rankings of all the gods on the God Ranking began to change again. After the scores of the third round of the competition were settled, the rankings were fixed in order. Zhiwei, based on the manuscript fee for completing the four-star mission, surprisingly ranked second, second only to Zhu Jing.

...

Because he hadn't slept well, Yun Tianjiao looked exhausted the next morning. After getting dressed, he yawned and opened the door, only to see Zhiwei standing outside, holding a tray with a small covered bowl on it.

"What's this?"

"I noticed that Your Highness did not sleep well last night, so I made some sweet soup to nourish your energy and spirit."

In the past, Yun Tianjiao would eat whatever Zhiwei cooked without hesitation, but after last night, she hesitated for a moment before slowly picking up the covered bowl.

She drank the sweet soup in one gulp, and sure enough, her fatigue was greatly relieved.

"Thank you, this sweet soup is indeed very good."

"Your Highness is too kind. It was I who caused Your Highness to suffer here. I should do whatever it takes."

Zhiwei was always good at talking and could make her happy, but this time Yun Tianjiao inexplicably thought of a bunch of idioms: honeyed words and a dagger in the heart, a Buddha's mouth and a snake's heart, a smile that hides a knife, cotton that hides a needle...

In short, none of them are good words.

The two returned to the stone steps plaza and found it quiet all around, unlike the previous noise. Celestial attendants dressed in feathered robes stood quietly on both sides of the stone steps, their expressions respectful and solemn.

Once all the gods and pilgrims had arrived, amidst a dazzling display of divine light, the gods descended upon the stone steps.

The Celestial Venerable personally praised the performance of all the gods and then announced the details of the final round of the competition.

"Everyone has worked hard. Today is the final round of the Ascension Ceremony. According to the ranking on the God Ranking, the worshippers of two adjacent gods will be teleported into the same illusion. The gods must rescue their worshippers from the illusion as soon as possible. To ensure the safety of the worshippers, there will be two gods of the Immortal Venerable level or above patrolling each illusion."

After Lin Shen finished speaking, sixteen teleportation arrays glowing with white light appeared in the square, and at the same time, the God Ranking was displayed before everyone's eyes.

Because some gods failed to complete their tasks in the second round of the competition and did not receive the corresponding task points, the rankings changed drastically this time.

When Shen Qiongzhi saw that Zhu Jing was still firmly in first place, she breathed a sigh of relief. Then she looked at who was in second place and would be entering the same illusion as her. She saw Zhiwei's name.

"What's going on! How could this person's ranking rise so quickly!" She looked at Yun Tianjiao with a suspicious gaze.

Yun Tianjiao raised one hand to show his innocence: "I didn't ask anyone to throw money at him to buy incense."

Shen Qiongzhi said sullenly, "After all, it's a four-star mission for you. It's just that I was too lucky. If I had been less lucky and also drawn a four-star mission, Immortal Lord Zhu Jing would definitely have completed it!"

Yun Tianjiao teased her, "I heard the third round of the competition is very dangerous. Then lend me some of your good luck so that Immortal Lord Zhu Jing will have a chance to be a hero and save the beauty."

Shen Qiongzhi's cheeks flushed red. "Sister Tianjiao is bullying me again. I'll go back and tell my brother, and he'll come and give you a piece of his mind!"

As the two were talking, they walked to the illusionary teleportation array belonging to the first and second place winners. Above the teleportation array, a name was displayed in gold lettering: Puppet Bride.

Before Yun Tianjiao stepped into the teleportation array, she saw Zhiwei standing opposite her. Zhiwei smiled gently at her, as if to reassure her.

But this time, Yun Tianjiao was hard to appease. He subconsciously touched the Demon-Slaying Blade Mantra hanging at his waist before stepping into the formation.

The blinding white light forced her to close her eyes. She could even hear Shen Qiongzhi muttering in her ear, saying that Zhiwei must not be allowed to surpass her Zhu Jingxianjun.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself surrounded by darkness and the air was cold and damp.

Shen Qiongzhi was nowhere to be seen, nor were Zhiwei and Zhu Jing.

She lost her footing and tried to move, but found herself hindered and restricted in every way, as if some force was pulling her along.

"True Word!" Yun Tianjiao called out.

The Demon-Slaying Blade automatically emerged from its sheath, and the faint spiritual light emanating from its blade finally allowed her to see it clearly, causing her to gasp in shock.

At this moment, she was dressed in a bright red wedding dress, and her fingertips, joints, and all movable parts of her body were connected by spiderweb-like silver threads, so fine and dense that they made her dangle in mid-air like a puppet.

The mantra slashed at the silver threads, but the spiderweb-like threads were as flexible as living things, twisting and dodging along the trajectory of the blade, entwining and swirling.

The more you struggle, the more chaotic things become.

With a slight tug, Yun Tianjiao's fingertip was cut by the silver thread, and drops of blood dripped down, seeping into his blood-red sleeve.

This illusion, named Puppet Bride, actually refers to herself!

A thought suddenly popped into my head.

Yun Tianjiao thought to herself that if someone wanted her dead, this moment and this situation would be an excellent opportunity to strike.

The curse says she will never live past nineteen in any lifetime, but it doesn't have to be exactly nineteen years old every time, does it?