Chapter 68, "Love," is now complete.
Pharmacy.
Shenjun Jiuqing concealed his form and stood quietly in front of the door, his expression calm, his eyes slightly lowered, and his eyes empty.
The streets were still bustling with activity, but he seemed detached from the world.
As if waiting for something.
As the sunset faded, the deity ended this brief yet long period of time, walked forward, and his figure transformed into golden light. When he reappeared, he was deep in a forest.
The deity gazed at the sparse and ordinary paulownia tree before him, and after a moment, calmly said, "Emerald Ridge Mountain, Huaxun."
As the divine oracle descended, golden light, like the very essence of time, flowed into the distance in an instant.
Within this shimmering light, the deity witnessed the girl's entire life.
On the branches of the sycamore tree, in a dilapidated nest, a young bird, weak and abandoned there alone, huddled in its broken shell with its eyes tightly closed, trembling all over.
A sudden night wind blew up, scattering the nest. The fledgling fell among the withered branches and leaves, and the only thing protecting her, the shell, shattered.
A night of rain nearly ended her life, but it also gave her a glimmer of hope.
The fledgling bird opened its beak, eagerly catching each drop of rain. In the clear morning after the rain, when the first ray of light shone on it, it opened its eyes.
Confused, lost, naive, and lonely.
She survived on the sour berries blown down by the wind, day after day, year after year...
Gradually, she grew feathers and wings, and after falling down time and time again, she learned to fly on her own.
A colorful bird mocked her dull gray feathers, and she protested softly, but at night, she would lie alone on a branch, silently carrying red mud in her beak and gently smearing it on her feathers...
Later, the little bird heard from the bamboo spirit in the forest that if she cultivated a demon core, she could grow beautiful feathers, so she began to cultivate diligently.
She was very talented; in just over thirty years, she refined a demon core.
However, her arms had not yet taken human form and remained a pair of gray wings. She was disappointed for a long time and hid in the deep forest, never daring to see anyone.
She appeared and saved a group of humans who were hunting in the forest and nearly fell off a cliff, but the humans, out of fear, hit her on the forehead with a stone.
As the blood trickled down her forehead, the girl's face still held a hint of bewilderment.
The deity unconsciously raised his hand, golden light swirling in his palm, trying to soothe the wound.
But as his hand passed through a golden light, he remembered that these were all things of the past.
In the fiftieth year, the girl was hunted down by demon hunters. She was covered in wounds, her demon core was damaged, and her wings were broken. She lay dying among a patch of withered leaves.
The deity looked at the girl lying on the ground, his long eyelashes trembling slightly.
Then, she met Baili Sheng.
Baili Sheng saved her.
The deity saw the girl's eyes, which were bright and clear in that instant.
With a slight twitch of his fingertips, he clearly felt the jealousy in his heart.
After that, the girl who had successfully transformed into human form settled in Dahe Village, foreshadowing a flood, and she changed the fate of half the village.
At that moment, the gods of Yukun Divine Palace noticed her.
But he only spared a sliver of his divine sense to discern the fate of this place.
The girl often went to Wufang Town and passed by the Shenjun Temple every time, but never went in to pray.
Only once, she stood at the entrance of the temple of the God of Gods and murmured to herself: Will the gods also protect a little demon?
The prayer was too faint; the gods did not respond.
But now, after decades, the deity gently said, "Yes."
"God loves Ah Xun."
The girl didn't hear it and went home dejectedly.
The god-king tasted regret for the first time, because later, the girl went to the demon palace, saved Baili Sheng, and began her ten-year protection of him.
He watched her spend every day with Baili Sheng, watched her protect Baili Sheng and escape danger time and time again, watched her get injured several times for Baili Sheng, and watched Baili Sheng's gaze linger on her for longer and longer...
But in the end, the Spirit Rhinoceros Gu burrowed into the girl's forehead. She stood there alone in the forest for a whole night, and then said: "I'm going to find the God."
Their destinies met there.
The golden light gradually faded, and the deep darkness of the jungle returned to before our eyes.
Besides regret, the deity also experienced another emotion: fear.
Watching Ah Xun and Baili Sheng spend ten years together, if Ah Xun had been more stubborn, if Baili Sheng had realized his feelings sooner, if he hadn't planted the Spirit Rhinoceros Gu, if Ah Xun hadn't chosen to go to the Wilderness of Duguang...
Even if there is only one possibility, then... he and Ah Xun will never have the chance to meet again.
The divine light swirled around the deity, and he knew that it was Baili Sheng's doing that Ah Xun did not recognize him today.
But... at this moment, the high and mighty god suddenly realized: in his interactions with Ah Xun, if she called a halt, he would be destined to be thrown into endless loneliness once again.
The deity remembered what Ah Xun had once said.
"Love is possessiveness, longing, desire, and willingness."
exclusive.
Having tasted the joy of companionship, one can no longer endure the loneliness of thousands of years.
How can one tolerate this?
The deity looked down the mountain, his divine sense passing through thousands of trees and landing in Dahe Village. In the next instant, his divine body moved with his divine sense and was already above the village in the blink of an eye.
He smiled, looking down at the land beneath his feet; his expression revealed another side of divinity.
Indifference, emptiness.
During the day, the image of Baili Sheng holding A Xun's hand "going home" alternates with the image of A Xun protecting Baili Sheng for ten years.
A vast and mighty golden divine light suddenly surged up from the ground, transforming into a huge and magnificent golden lotus platform. The lotus petals bloomed, enveloping the entire Dahe Village and isolating it from the world.
The Divine Lord Jiuqing was bathed in a divine light that stretched for thousands of feet, his black hair hanging down.
If this is what she wants, he can give it to her as well.
But amidst the intense golden light, a clear, panting voice suddenly rang out: "Divine Lord!"
In an instant, the golden light froze.
The divine lord's gaze pierced through the barrier and looked down.
Without hesitation, the girl leaped into the air and crashed into the golden lotus-shaped divine light barrier, flying towards him.
The divine light automatically dodged, and in the next instant, the girl forcefully crashed into his arms, tightly hugging his waist.
The scattered divine light around them gradually calmed down and faded away.
After a long while, the deity finally came to his senses: "...A-Xun?"
Hua Xun nodded vigorously: "I went back to the pharmacy, but you weren't there; I searched all over Wufang Town and the surrounding area, but I couldn't find you anywhere. I thought you had left..."
The deity lowered his eyes and looked at the girl in his arms. After a long while, he hugged her tightly and said, "A-Xun is still here. I will not leave."
Hua Xun looked up at him, staring intently. Suddenly, she stood on tiptoe, wrapped her arms around the back of the god's neck, and kissed the corner of his lips.
The divine light trembled slightly, and the surrounding trees and breeze also quietly stilled.
Hua Xun was already moved by the words the God had just said, and only wanted to follow her heart and kiss the God briefly before leaving.
His large hand silently tightened around her waist, and the deity's kiss became more tender and affectionate.
Hua Xun's breath hitched, she blinked, and her heart began to pound.
After an unknown period of time, the deity finally parted from her lips.
“This place has not been my home since the day it was burned down,” Hua Xun said, still holding him tightly. “My Lord, I want to go back to White Mist Cliff.”
The deity's lips were tinged with a deeper peach color than usual: "Okay," he replied softly.
This time, he did not summon the guiding light, but simply embraced her and stepped into the clouds together.
"My Lord, has your avatar returned to your body?" Hua Xun asked, sitting on a soft cloud and looking up.
The deity held her hand, their fingers intertwined: "Mmm."
Hua Xun asked curiously, "How did you convince him?"
The deity was silent for a moment: "I have not been able to persuade him."
"ah?"
The deity smiled and gently stroked her cheek.
Only with a complete divine soul can one find her in the shortest amount of time among the vast number of beings in the Three Realms.
And because of that, he finally admitted his love.
When we returned to White Mist Cliff, it was a clear night.
Hearing the commotion, Liu Huo, who was cultivating in the back hall, flapped its wings and flew out quickly, circling the two of them and chirping continuously.
Hearing the shouts, Hua Xun couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Liu Huo, I remember when I first met you, I thought your voice was loud and melodious, full of spirit. Why are you so noisy now?"
The fire stopped talking, glared at her angrily, and moved its sharp beak: "You're the one making noise!"
The words that came out were clearly human language.
Hua Xun exclaimed in surprise, "Liu Huo, you can speak human language now?"
Liu Huo blinked his round eyes in surprise: "Hua Xun?"
"Yes!" Hua Xun nodded.
Liu Huo then looked at the Divine Lord: "Divine Lord?"
The deity still held Hua Xun's hand: "You have indeed made progress in your cultivation."
The blazing fire instantly forgot its earlier unpleasantness and flew up joyfully.
Hua Xun looked at the trailing flames behind it and smiled, "I used to especially envy those long tails..."
The smile on the God-King's lips gradually faded, and he lowered his eyes: "A-Xun looks very good like this."
Hua Xun feigned surprise and widened her eyes: "Didn't the God say that beauty and ugliness are just physical appearances?"
The deity said, "I was wrong."
"Ah Xun is beautiful."
Hua Xun blushed at the praise, cleared her throat, and looked up at the dark night and the golden stars that filled the night.
"Does Ah Xun have any wishes?" the deity suddenly asked gently.
Hua Xun thought for a moment and said, "I want to take a walk in the snow with the God Lord."
The deity smiled.
"What about the God?" Hua Xun countered. "Does the God have any wishes?"
“Yes,” the deity raised his hand, “I think it will snow at White Mist Cliff.”
As soon as the words were spoken, snow-white ice flowers fell gracefully from the cliff, their petals floating with the divine light, like a beautiful dream.
Hua Xun opened his palm and watched the snowflakes gently fall into it. He looked up in surprise and exclaimed, "My Lord, it's snow!"
The deity held her hand and walked quietly alongside her in the snow.
"My Lord, aren't you going to ask me about what happened when I was in the mortal realm?" Hua Xun asked, looking up.
The deity said gently, "It is Baili Sheng's fault, and has nothing to do with A Xun."
"But I still spoke to you like that," Hua Xun said sullenly, "and even left with someone else in front of you. Aren't you angry?"
The deity stopped and looked down at her: "A-Xun is back by my side, isn't she?"
Hua Xun was slightly taken aback, her heart pounding.
A snowflake landed on her eyelashes, and she couldn't help but blink. She lowered her head and awkwardly changed the subject: "Actually, I've wanted to ask you this for a long time. In the Three Realms, no one says '吾' anymore; they all say '我'."
The deity paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "In ancient times, for tens of thousands of years, all living beings spoke the word 'I'."
"Then could you try the current way of speaking?" Hua Xun asked curiously.
The deity paused for a moment: "I..." He only managed to utter one word before changing it, "I'm not used to it."
Hua Xun couldn't help but laugh out loud, and pulled the God-King a few steps faster: "It's alright, whatever the God-King says sounds good."
The god was pulled forward by the girl, his robes and wide sleeves fluttering in the wind. In that instant, his heart, which had been empty for ten thousand years, felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.
"Ah Xun," he called to her.
Hua Xun turned around, took his hand, and walked backwards.
The deity said gently, "I love you."
Hua Xun smiled, her eyebrows curving upwards: "I know!"
The deity repeated earnestly, "I love you."
Hua Xun's smile gradually faded, and she stopped walking, looking at him with a blank expression.
After a long silence, she understood his meaning, smiled brightly again, and feigned annoyance by frowning: "Your Highness's confession was far too condescending..."
The deity pondered for a few moments.
"I love you."
God's love was proclaimed to the heavens, and Hua Xun laughed joyfully, leaping into the arms of the God-King.
Jiuqing raised his hand and naturally caught her.
The White Mist Cliff, which had been silent for ten thousand years, has come back to life.
Amidst the snow and petals, the two embraced for a long time without parting.
[End of text]
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Author's Note: This concludes the main text of this article!
There will be some slice-of-life scenes to come, which will be included in the side stories. However, the update schedule may not be as regular as the main story; it will be updated according to the rankings.
First and foremost: To celebrate the completion of the main story, a small red envelope will be given away for comments made within 24 hours of this chapter!
Finally, I would like to say that I am truly grateful to every reader who left a comment, sent a comment, or gave a thumbs up for this article!
Because I turned writing into a side job in the first half of this year.
While writing this article, I spent at least the cost of one cup of milk tea a day, and sometimes as much as two cups (or two and a half cups?), but the brain cells I used far exceeded those of my main job.
This leaves me in a constant state of "not wanting to move, not wanting to move at all." However, I should be a feedback-oriented writer; seeing everyone's comments immediately makes me think, "Help me up, I can still work hard!"
And so, despite being in such a state, they actually managed to finish it!
A bow for everyone and for myself!
May Ah Xun and the God be together in another world, sweet and happy for countless years to come!
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