Li Wan Heng Jin

"He also uses fire magic. The reason we're hunting him is because Xie Yuan appeared at his Wangsheng Temple and publicly revealed his identity to his followers who came to see him."

"The view of rebirth?"

"Yes, the Wangsheng Temple is established in the human world, often near busy streets with brothels, wine alleys, and even gambling dens. He calls himself the lay Buddhist of Paradise, and demons and ghosts, followers of Xie Yuan, often come and go disguised as mortals, and they also regularly deliver offerings under the pretext of making offerings. The portrait enshrined in the Wangsheng Temple is of a young and handsome man, and the temple's furnishings are truly Taoist. They have also compiled many stories and titles for this young man in the portrait, and he has many followers in the mortal world."

"The young man who is being worshipped must have a name, right? Have you found out?"

"Yes, his name is Lord Xingyi."

Pause the scroll and recall.

Yuanli immediately said to Hengjin, "Lord Xingyi! Xingyi! Youyou's father, you've seen the portrait enshrined in the Wangsheng Temple and heard of Lord Xingyi's name, but why didn't you mention it when you later listened to me tell the story of Xingyi and Youyou? And why didn't you react when you heard Xingyi's name? Show us your memory of seeing the portrait in the Wangsheng Temple. If they're exactly the same, we can be almost certain that Xieyuan is Youyou!"

"Yeah, why didn't I think of it?" Heng Jin wondered to herself.

He cast a spell to display the image of the God Xing Yi in his memory, but several portraits hanging in the temple were blurry in the displayed memory image, and the faces of the portraits could not be seen at all.

"There's definitely something wrong with this portrait. Don't try anymore. Let's continue looking at the memory scroll. At least we can review the suspicious evidence from back then, which might be helpful for our current investigation. It's been tens of thousands of years, and you can't possibly remember every detail so clearly."

The memories of the scroll are restored and reappear.

"The directly compiled title of the Godly Sovereign is indeed more convincing."

"Yes. On the day I fought this Blissful Lay Buddhist, I observed his true form before he escaped. I don't know what kind of monster it was; I've never seen one before. I'll show you the images from my memory."

Heng Jin cast a spell and stuck the moment he saw the monster's true form in the picture of the fleeing monster. It took him many attempts before he got a clear picture.

Above the head of the burly monster covered with burn scars, a huge transparent shadow appeared, looking a bit like a turtle wearing a pointed conch shell.

Li Wan only took one look and confirmed, "This is a Guanfu, a monster that lives in the Misty Forest and can breathe fire. Most Guanfu that can't become spirits are raised specifically to light fires. A normal Guanfu looks like a pink turtle, but this Guanfu with a pointed back shell is because it has been affected by the toxic fog of the Misty Forest for a long time, resulting in a deformed back shell that looks like a conch shell."

"Since we know Tinglian's true identity is Guanfu, is it possible to find out his household registration?"

"It's probably very difficult. Only the Misty Forest doesn't have any monsters that transformed before the fog became poisonous, and those that escaped after the fog became poisonous are recorded in the household register. There's no antidote to the fog poison, and it can't be dispelled. It's not just ordinary poisonous fog, it also confuses people's memories, confusing dreams and hallucinations with real memories, making it difficult to distinguish them. Many monsters that accidentally entered never emerged because of this. We rescued several monsters, and without exception, they all said they had lived in the Misty Forest since childhood. They could even talk about many memories of their "imaginary family and friends" and even clearly express their feelings and emotions, but they had no memory of their real family. Whether rescued or the rare monsters that escaped, the poisonous fog eroded them and they soon died."

"The little lamb demon who sold me the antidote to all poisons said he risked his life to dig this out in the misty forest. His demonic power is so weak, how could he get it out? Could it be that he was lying to me?"

"He didn't lie to you. He's not an ordinary goat demon, but a demon named Zhiyang, who looks very similar to a goat. But Zhiyang are the best wayfinders. The pair of horns on their heads can point the way to survival. Many demons want to get one to help them escape from trouble, but they live in seclusion and rarely appear in the world, so they are rare. It's normal for them to come out of the misty forest. I also thought about seeking help from the Zhiyang tribe, but they believe in fate and believe in guidance from heaven and cause and effect. If they hadn't sent people to help me because their celestial witch received guidance from heaven, they would rather die than obey me even if I forcibly abducted them."

Heng Jin asked curiously, "He's quite a character. So what he said about his father being arrested for selling the story about you and Cha Suxun, and you pardoning his crime, is that true?"

"Yes. Zhiyang is a kind and united tribe that knows how to repay kindness. I have received my reward for my kindness, and one day, Emperor Hengjin may also receive Zhiyang's reward for his kindness today. I know about the Heavenly Witch because they once hosted a banquet for me. I went to their secluded place and met the magical Heavenly Witch."

Li Wan talked about what she saw and heard that day.

Tianwu's residence was in a dim cave lit by many candles. In the center of the cave was a crystal clear pool, and in the center of the pool was a huge rock as big as a couch. She sat cross-legged there, quietly looking down at the water.

The flowing water caused the lotus paper lantern to drift slowly, and the flickering flames illuminated her old face, making her eyes bright.

Tian Wu bent down, put her hands together and took out a round and glowing water ball from the water. The excess water flowed back into the pool from between her fingers and on her palms.

She handed the water ball to Li Wan to see.

The light in the water ball dimmed a lot before I could see clearly that there was a branchless red spider lily in the water ball. The petals were bright and eye-catching, and there were tiny spots of light lingering around the flower.

"The Manjushri is a sign of opportunity; the blooming of the shahua dispels karmic obstacles, and the path to enlightenment gradually becomes clear."

Her voice is warm and loving.

"Does it mean that Lycoris radiata will guide me out of this maze?"

"I can only relay the guidance of Heaven, but I cannot interpret its meaning, much less determine whether it is good or bad for the Demon Lord. When the time comes, the Demon Lord will understand."

She returned the water ball to the water, where it melted into the water and disintegrated. All that could be seen was the glowing Lycoris radiata, which gradually dimmed and disappeared as it sank.

"Thank you, Tianwu."

"You don't need to thank me. You have done a great favor to our entire clan. We can't repay you much. This is the last thing I can do for you."

Tian Wu's voice gradually became weaker, and her bright eyes seemed to be suddenly covered with a layer of dark gray film, and her spirit dissipated in an instant.

But in a short moment, Tianwu became much older.

Although such withered skin and mental appearance are consistent with her real age and normal aging, Li Wan had a bad feeling in her heart after seeing her previous state.

Sure enough, news of Tianwu's death came soon.

Worshipers believe that the peaceful death of the Heavenly Witch is a happy event, implying that she has completed her mission of conveying the message to Heaven in this life, escaped from the sea of ​​suffering, and returned to Heaven.

A new Heavenly Witch then appeared and presided over the farewell ceremony, that is, the funeral, for the previous Heavenly Witch.

They would celebrate all night long with singing and dancing, praising her great achievements, and folding treasure ships of blessing and prayer for her all night long, until they would burn her body at dawn.

The new Heavenly Shaman will lead the tribe in burning the treasure ships while waiting for the ashes of the old Heavenly Shaman to be completely burned. The flames burning in these treasure ships are like eternal lamps in the mortal world, and they will be carefully maintained to keep them burning until the ceremony is over.

After the ashes are burned, they will be sprinkled into the pool in Tianwu Cave, and the ceremony is considered complete.

The elders of the Zhiyang tribe said that the earth soul of the sky witch would turn into fish in the pond to accompany future sky witches.

Only the Heavenly Witch can see these fish.

Li Wan had never seen such a joyful funeral.

She stayed to attend her funeral and sat with the Zhiyang people to chat and fold the treasure ship.

A little Zhiyang demon asked her, "Did Grandma Tianwu find your flower?"

Perhaps seeing she didn't understand, the little Zhiyang demon continued, "I don't know what it means, but every Zhiyang wants to find their own flower from Grandma Tianwu. My grandma said her flower was the Tumi flower. When she died, she said she hoped my flower would be a flower of joy and happiness, not like her Tumi flower, which was full of separation."

Li Wan only saw Lycoris radiata in Tianwu's cave, and the words she heard were also related to Lycoris radiata. Perhaps, her flower is Lycoris radiata.

"Why did your grandma say that? Did she live her life like the language of the Tumi flower?"

"I don't know why, but that's what my grandma said. Grandma Sky Witch is very effective. Everyone who finds their own flower from her has lamented before their death that their life was just like the language of that flower. So, I can't wait to find my flower, but I'm also afraid that the language of my flower isn't harmonious. I'm really excited but also nervous. Lord Demon, it's okay if you don't find the flower. My grandma said that finding it is a good thing. The future will be filled with mysterious expectations because of the unknown."

"I found my flower. It's Lycoris radiata."

Until now, when she closes her eyes at night and recalls that moment, she can still clearly recall the bright red Lycoris radiata in her mind.

After hearing this, Heng Jin and Cha Suxun frowned in tacit understanding, looking quite worried.

Li Wan said, "The Lycoris radiata is so beautiful. Even though its flower language has a special meaning, who doesn't end up in a netherworld filled with Lycoris radiata when they die?"

"But Lycoris radiata has always been... the flower of death." Heng Jin's uneasy heart intensified the wild thoughts in her mind.

"Everything that lives will eventually die. The idea that Lycoris radiata is the flower of death is just a stereotype left by stories compiled by humans. But isn't Lycoris radiata also a love story? And since it blooms on the path of reincarnation, it also represents reincarnation and rebirth. Its meaning can be interpreted in many ways. Besides, I really like Lycoris radiata. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

…

The scene rotates, and Li Wan, Cha Suxun, and Heng Jin are standing outside the misty forest, looking embarrassed and solemn.

The white fog before my eyes became increasingly thicker, and I couldn't even make out the shadows of the trees in the forest.

From the edge of the fog, the tender green grass turned black and gray. In the farthest part of the grass that could be seen clearly, unknown flowers with overly bright colors bloomed, and clusters of blue mushrooms grew on the rotten wood lying on the ground.

"Half an hour has passed since the agreed time. Should we continue to wait for your mermaid friend?" Heng Jin asked.

"Wait, Mio promised me that she would come."