The world is divided, and all living beings suffer.
Without much force, I ripped off the last of his dashing earrings, which he had hidden behind his ear in his hair.
Whoosh!
Xie Jinhui grabbed his own ear, looking pitiful, and cried out repeatedly.
It hurts, it hurts, it hurts so much!
The portraits flew around, making a crisp sound as the wind rustled the paper, like the faces in the paintings emitting a kind of wicked laughter.
The silver tassels on my earrings drooped downwards, their swaying light reflecting off Xie Jinhui's wrinkled, feigning innocent face.
Even an earring is something she's obsessed with Xie Jinhui; her shadow seems to crawl back onto his face.
I silently mocked myself: It's a wonder you could still pronounce my name correctly; now that you've done this, it's not working anymore.
When you were engulfed in flames, I felt sorry for you, but this time…
Who knows how many demons and evil spirits this appearance has attracted!
Right now, even if I burn you to ashes, I won't lift a finger to help you.
Even if you haven't fallen to the level of a fallen god, I am in your heart, right now, at this very moment.
I'll chop you up, split you in half, and grind you into dust.
Ha, I don't even need you as an ingredient to make mountain buns.
Perhaps I was too angry inside, because my action of turning around and leaving in a huff was not smooth, and my arm was grabbed.
Should he explain? Should I yell, "I don't want to hear it!"?
No way, that's so dramatic. I don't care about him that much. I'll listen.
I adopted a "better to live a wretched life than die a good death" attitude and looked at him with the eyes of someone looking at a scoundrel.
Let's see if we can force him to reveal his true form in front of other demons.
The more I look, the more certain I become: Xie Jinhui is a monster, a pure monster.
“Yuan’e.” He tentatively shook my arm, which I had just given up on.
Is that look of obedience in his eyes? Is it sincerity? Or is it a high-level manipulation of the mind?
At that moment, I made up my mind again: I wanted to find a secret manual that could make me immune to all his insincere words and sweet talk that led him to exile.
"Yuan'e," he called me again. I gave him an indifferent look and told him to do his thing.
Xie Jinhui's eyebrows lit up with joy when he saw that I was finally looking at him properly.
“Yuan Yu, I have seen it all, so I want to take you back to Moxu Chenyuan.”
"Hehe, you've seen it? Have you seen enough?"
Xie Jinhui smiled with relief: "I can never get enough of looking at Yuan'e."
"How beautiful," I said, raising my eyebrows to meet his clear eyes, which seemed to hold the wisdom of someone who had seen countless women.
I know I'm good-looking, but why should I let you see me enough?
Although I don't have the secret manual yet, I've already activated my immortal power to stay clear-headed and immune to him.
You want my stone heart to crack for you? It was an accident because of your innocent nature.
Now, this is the altar of your debauchery.
Have you ever seen the arrogant expression of the goddess Yuan'e? I'll show it to Xie Jinhui.
"Thank you, Jinhui."
I pointed down to the area below the Ascension Platform. "So, tell me, are you still going to go see it?"
The rotating columns of wind in the portrait squeeze us into a narrow space where we can hear each other.
Xie Jinhui's eyes were like a deep abyss. He paused for a moment, then pondered solemnly.
"I will go."
Without any hesitation, I waved away the wind carrying the piece of paper and his words.
Take me to the Abyss of Nothingness? With a stone you tricked me into giving you?
"Hey kid, have fun!" I shook off his hand.
Outside the swirling array of portraits, the noisy chatter of the immortals gradually seeped in.
I frowned; the silence that had just been broken seemed to be interrupted by a tremendous external force.
At the same time, I saw what looked like a clear hole had been torn open at the top of the formation, and I was drawn to the solemn and fierce immortal power emanating from above.
It was this divine power that pierced through the impenetrable barrier of the portrait.
Looking up, a group of soldiers from the Purple Extreme Palace, carrying armor and magical treasures, hurriedly passed by high above the clouds and descended to the mortal realm.
I recognized their affiliation; they were the left-hand servants of the Heavenly Division Hall of the Purple Palace.
Why are the travelers on the move again?
The last time Emperor Shengsheng's left foot hurt, I happened to encounter them returning from the mortal realm on my way back.
I was immediately reminded of the time, about twenty days ago, when the Heavenly Emperor took me on a tour of the Imperial Palace, and I noticed his right shoulder drooping.
A warning bell rang in my mind.
I heard some of the immortals say they saw a group of people descending to the mortal realm, some said they must be seeing things, and others were ambiguous...
The situation is at a critical juncture where uncertainty is brewing.
If the Heavenly Emperor is truly ill again, it is not appropriate to let all the immortals know about it in the short term.
Things are different now. After the secrets of Moxu Chenyuan and Emperor Shengsheng were revealed, if the Emperor's non-destined identity were to be questioned again, it would likely cause another wave of speculation and upheaval regarding how he obtained the throne.
Even though I had discovered some clues earlier, but had not been informed by the Heavenly Emperor, I felt that something was very wrong the moment I saw the Dividing Palace walking.
As I wondered, Xie Jinhui's body was filled with immortal energy.
His eyes held a hint of determination as he calmly said, "Yuan'e, I'm going down to take a look. You go back first."
Something really bad has happened! That's my gut feeling.
The caution and seriousness in Xie Jinhui's eyes, as well as his image, suddenly changed, unlike the two people who had just been with Pai Ruo.
He gazed at me with a gentle yet inscrutable expression, his hands forming a hand seal.
The surrounding sheets of paper quickly gathered at my feet, forming a white cloud that slowly lifted me up.
"careful!"
I shouted shrilly at the golden dust that he had instantly transformed into in mid-air.
Then, as the golden dust dissipated, I bent down and picked up the cloud-patterned gauze, mask, and earrings left behind by Xie Jinhui.
Lost in thought, she held them up, intending to hand them to him before he could turn back and take them.
The portrait carried me away, taking me far from the Ascension Platform.
The immortals below, seeing me fly higher and higher, suddenly realized what was happening and shouted out.
“Goddess Yuan’e, that’s my painting, my painting…”
The momentary confusion of the other immortals was awakened, and they all summoned their mounts and flew into the sky one after another, pointing at me and asking me to draw.
I float on layers of painted scrolls, while a group of immortal friends chase after me, breaking through clouds and waves.
Watch as I led them, sometimes forming the character "人" (person), sometimes forming the character "一" (one), migrating together across several strings.
I silently looked back in the direction of Dengxiantai.
A feint to the east while attacking in the west, diverting attention. Xie Jinhui, not simple at all.
I stared at the paintings beneath me. Since they were painted by Xie Jinhui using his immortal power, and given their purpose of attracting the attention of the immortals by carrying me...
It's time for me, the Goddess Yuan'e, to plan and deal with these issues properly.
"Fellow immortals, due to the circumstances, I, Yuan'e, cannot easily let you return."
I locked all the paintings inside the Qiankun Bag, which was guarded by my immortal power.
Outside Qingning Pavilion, rows of tables and chairs were set up, and Mu Zhu and the others were asked to put up some barriers to create the only passageway.
Have the immortals line up one by one and come before me, handing over fifty years of immortal power, and I will sign and sell the paintings.
I thought at the time that some of the immortal power I obtained through reselling should definitely be left for Xie Jinhui.
Write down my name, as proof that I'm demanding your divine power.
Since my fellow cultivators dare to sell Xie Jinhui's paintings, I can naturally sell the paintings Xie Jinhui painted for them.
You guys taught me how to trade.
After working hard for half a day, I shared some of my magical power with the little fairy who helped me out.
The rest of the pile just sat there in my hands, playing with it.
As I was on my way back to my room, worrying about the Heavenly Emperor's illness, I flicked a pill, which had condensed into the essence of ultimate immortal power, into the air like a candy.
My head was spinning for a second, and the magic pill fell into my mouth on its own. I just swallowed it!
Oh dear, I quickly tried to guide the energy outwards, but the magic pills fused too quickly and I couldn't spit them out anymore.
I covered my mouth as if to cover up evidence: Xie Jinhui, do I owe you something?
It wasn't intentional, I didn't do it on purpose, you'd better never know.
But I've already signed every single painting I've sold.
oops!
I returned to the Demon Cave with a heavy heart, still feeling uneasy, perhaps partly due to the mischief caused by the Immortal Power Pill.
...
For the next twenty days or so, I did not leave Qunshan Garden.
How many places Xie Jinhui went to during this period, and how many times the wanderers of the world came and went, are mysteries, and even to many other immortal friends outside.
It's a mystery to me because I know a little about it and have a direction to guess.
But for those immortals who are kept in the dark, they should be completely unaware.
It is said that after the Heavenly Emperor ascended the throne, the number of times he descended to the mortal realm from the Ziji Palace to the Hall of Heavenly Division was very few.
You should know that this is a very rare occurrence, one that can be counted on one's fingers even in the last 320,000 years.
I've seen him twice in such a short period of time. How many times have I seen him before?
I held out my ten fingers, and the more I looked, the more terrifying it became; there were countless things involved.
But I can familiarize myself with the Dividing Palace a little more.
The Heavenly Division Hall is divided into numerous mysterious branches.
Up, down, left, right, east, west, north, south, palace, merchant, pentatonic scale, zodiac, zodiac, zodiac...
And so on, with titles given randomly.
It is said that their members rotate at any time, because each one corresponds to a specific location in the mortal realm that is connected to the Heavenly Emperor's body.
The specific location is top secret, and which department on duty is the top secret is even more so.
Logically speaking, if there is a problem with the Heavenly Emperor's body, a corresponding problem will occur in the mortal realm, and vice versa.
The specific boundaries are constantly changing, and the corresponding lower boundaries of each branch are also changing.
So much so that unless the Heavenly Emperor himself tells him where he hurts, or informs him of something happening in the mortal realm, he will not be able to tell anyone.
Even the agents of the Heavenly Division Hall found it difficult to determine where to deal with the crisis in a short time.
I know so many secrets of the immortal realm, thanks to my master's relatively high rank.
Therefore, I plan to go nearby and sound him out.
Unexpectedly, when news of my painting sales leaked out, my master didn't even need me to come up with a plan; he immediately gave me a hard time.
He squatted in the dilapidated temple of Qingning Pavilion, made a pot of tobacco made from old lotus leaves, and used it to cleanse himself of dust and evil spirits.
An old smoke ring enveloped me, another smoke ring curved into a mouth, and of course, there was a smoke ring chair and a smoke ring messenger—all ingenious creations of my master.
I saw my master smoking; either he's extremely worried, or he's troubled by some junk.
After much guessing, I still think it's the former.
My master's two large smoke rings floated in front of my eyes. He first tried to read the words with his mouth and then asked me a question in a voice that sounded like an old monster.
"Yuan'e, did you conspire with Little Xie Divine Lord?"
I quickly explained how my fellow cultivators sold their paintings, how Xie Jinhui painted beautiful women, and how innocent I was.
It spoke very fast because the smoke ring's words were so unpleasant that it was being silenced and prevented from interrupting.
I casually changed its vocal fry tone.
"Oh, the matter of the Heavenly Emperor can't be kept secret for long."
Smoke rings, puff puff puff—such heavy words sound so light and airy, impossible to grasp.
But I immediately grasped the key point: what does it mean that it can't be hidden? Does it mean the illness is very serious?
In my haste, I punched and smashed the cigarette holder and the cigarette lock, then squatted down in front of my master.
Those two wisps of smoke had a keen eye; they rolled themselves together to form a small stool, just the right size to sit on.
"Master, is the Holy Emperor of Heaven very ill? So ill that a heavenly tribulation is imminent?"
The master turned his head away, exhaled a smoke ring, and put the pipe aside.
"It's not that it's heavy, it's that it's chaotic."
The Heavenly Emperor is now in pain here and there, with no fixed location for his suffering.
However, the condition will improve after taking some rare and effective medicines.
So, his health wasn't too bad.
I breathed a slight sigh of relief, only to hear my master suddenly change the subject.
"However, due to the Heavenly Emperor's continuous illness and the turmoil in the lower realm, I'm afraid that even if the officials of the Division Palace try to control and govern it, it will inevitably take shape and erupt in a few days."
At that time, all the immortals in the lower realm who have temple followers will discover this matter.
My worries about the Heavenly Emperor did not lessen because things weren't that bad; on the contrary, I became more anxious about the fact that I couldn't keep it from the immortals and about the legend of the Tai Su Wu Nian Stone.
“Master, I remember that after the Heavenly Emperor bound himself to the beings in the lower realm through the Tai Su Wu Nian Stone, when the Heavenly Emperor was sick, the beings were sick, and when the beings were sick, the Heavenly Emperor would also be sick.”
If the two conditions do not improve, it indicates that the Heavenly Emperor's power of checks and balances has been weakened, and the original balance of the universe will also be disrupted.
Isn't this a sign of impending heavenly calamity?
My master reached out and ruffled my hair, then spoke earnestly.
"What Yuanhe said are the legends of the past 320,000 years under the leadership of Emperor Shengsheng in the Immortal Realm."
I opened my eyes wide, puzzled, and asked, "Could it be that the legend from 320,000 years ago is different from the one we know now?"
“It’s not quite the same.” The smoke ring messenger served tea to my master and me. My master moistened his smoky throat and continued.
"320,000 years ago, after the Heavenly Emperor bound the Primordial Stone of No Thought, his only duty was to maintain the balance of heaven and earth."
At that time, the creatures of the lower realms will suffer from illness, disaster, cholera, and all kinds of disease and pain.
The Heavenly Emperor only needs to grant them normal birth, aging, sickness, and death, as well as suffering, joy, sorrow, and happiness; he does not need to bear the illnesses of sentient beings.
But for some reason, the Holy Emperor Sheng Sheng was bound with an extra one during the binding process. He was willing to share the burdens of all living beings in the lower realm, and even bear the pain alone.
This is why, from the time he ascended to the throne, for 320,000 years, all living beings were free from illness, and all realms enjoyed peace.
Before my master finished speaking, I remembered seeing a record in an ancient book.
Long, long ago, the celestial realm was filled with wish lanterns formed from the wishes of all beings in the mortal world.
They will drift for millions of years, until people begin to completely forget the desires that brought them happiness.
Now, spirit lamps are rarely seen in the immortal realm. Does this mean that 320,000 years of carefree life has satisfied people to the point that they no longer have any desires or pursuits?
Is living itself an endless source of joy?
I've never actually been to the lower realms, so I don't know.
But I asked my master, since the Heavenly Emperor has protected all living beings in the mortal realm from illness, why do we immortals in the celestial realm get sick?
My master flicked a smoke ring in a coquettish manner and lazily tapped my head.
"Girl, the immortals within the fourteen strings only dare to go crazy, get sick, and smash themselves into demons because of the translucent, unrotten things in their bones that have lasted for thousands of years."
I think my master is really crazy...
But what about Emperor Shengtian?
Is it admiration? Or heartache?
I always felt that he was missing something. What was it?
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