Chapter 53: Fifty-Three Cuts "Providing a Writing Guidance"...
After the name change, the story became even more popular, because the heavens wanted to see just how the eldest sister would experience nine heartbreaks.
Xie Changming hadn't expected the people from Dongzhi Wonderland to be so two-faced. Just as he was thinking about how to stop Luo Mingshu from having these nine relationships, another unexpected situation arose.
Ultimately, it all comes down to that storybook.
There is another explorer in Dongzhi Wonderland who has been forgotten for a long time. That is the invisible man, Amo. He was ordered to hide somewhere in the Heavenly Realm for the cultivators of Wuji Hall to find. This is the second challenge that Dongzhi Wonderland has given them.
Originally, after receiving this task, Xu Qian and Meng Weifang spent a day or two searching for Amo but still couldn't find him.
However, because the gimmick of "ten Daoist partners" in the storybook was too attractive, even Amo couldn't sit still and decided to go to the sales office to buy a tabloid.
It was this act of selling tabloids that exposed Amo's whereabouts, and it was Meng Weifang who came up with a bold idea.
After the storybook's title was changed from "Ten Daoist Companions" to "One Daoist Companion But I Want to Fall in Love Nine Times," Meng Weifang said to Xu Qian, "This Dongzhi Wonderland is indeed quite talented. I never thought it could be written like this. The main thing is that after changing the title, the storybook has a stronger sense of taboo. I don't believe that Amo, who has already bought the first issue, can resist following the updates."
“We just need to add this to all the published stories—” Meng Weifang took out an object, a kind of marking dye commonly used in the cultivation world. It is colorless and odorless, and leaves no trace after being applied, but it carries a substance similar to divine sense. Cultivators can use this marking dye to bind themselves, thereby proving that certain magical treasures and items belong to them.
"Add the marker dye to the ink used to print the tabloids. I remember the beautiful goddess obtained a treasure called the Soul-Summoning Bell in Yingtian Palace. Let's borrow it. With the original copy of the marker dye, we can find the scattered copies. As long as Amo has this storybook, we can track her down." Meng Weifang was meticulous. He even remembered what reward Luo Mingshu received in Yingtian Palace—something he had originally wanted.
"Excellent." Xu Qian clapped her hands. She was just worried about how to find someone with excellent stealth skills, but she didn't expect Meng Weifang to have already come up with a solution. "You can beat the young master? I didn't expect you to be so insidious."
Meng Weifang smiled confidently and said, "I am a hardcore reader of all kinds of storybooks. I don't believe that Amo can be uninterested in the newly changed title."
So the two of them told Luo Mingshu about it and successfully borrowed the Soul-Calling Bell from her.
After adding the marking dye to the printing ink, Xu Qian and Meng Weifang searched the entire Heavenly Realm and finally found Amo in a seemingly deserted alley.
One person corresponds to one tabloid, and Ah Mo's place is where no one is. Ah Mo indeed could not escape the temptation of the storybook.
With the Soul-Summoning Bell providing precise location tracking, even if Amo tried to escape, they successfully brought him back to the Wuji Palace.
"How did you find me?" Amo stood in the center of Wuji Hall, his figure only a faint outline.
"You've been reading those serialized stories in the tabloids, haven't you?" Luo Mingshu revealed the Soul-Summoning Bell in her hand. "All the tabloids published in the Heavenly Realm have been tampered with with special marking dyes. If you're carrying a tabloid, we'll be able to track you down."
In reality, Ah Mo didn't try too hard to hide it, because he was originally just brought in to make up the numbers. So he conceded defeat and went back to Dongzhi Wonderland.
"It's all because the stories from Dongzhi Wonderland are too captivating. Damn it, it's all because I came up with such brilliant openings," Luo Mingshu said, stroking her chin.
Meng Weifang couldn't help but tell her the truth: "I guess the celestial cultivators weren't really here to see Senior Sister's comeback story."
"Besides the story of the senior sister's comeback, what else is in this storybook?" Luo Mingshu was stunned and couldn't see any tender love lines in the storybook.
Due to the tabloid's layout, the main title of this story was "The Eldest Sister's Counterattack," while the long list of things like "The Summer Breeze" and "Ten Daoist Partners" were all printed in small print. Therefore, Luo Mingshu was unaware that she was originally supposed to have ten Daoist partners.
"And there's also the untold story of me and my ten Daoist partners during the summer breeze," Meng Weifang repeated the original title of the book.
"Later it was changed to a story that I had to tell about one of my Daoist partners—before that, I had to have nine other relationships," Xu Qian added.
"They don't want to see the senior sister's rise to power; they want to see ten Daoist partners! This bold and steamy plot is so appealing!" Meng Weifang said.
"Ten Daoist partners? Is there such a good thing?" Luo Mingshu finally realized.
"Later, the content was revised by the Supreme Immortal Lord, and it can only be 1v1 now." Xu Qian felt a little regretful, but she also admired the integrity of the Dongzhi Immortal Realm. They actually used such a clever plot setting to circumvent the Supreme Immortal Lord's rules and restrictions.
"How could this be?" Luo Mingshu looked at Xie Changming, who was standing silently to the side, in shock. "Supreme Immortal Lord, stop pretending. How could you let them change this plot?"
“Ten Daoist partners is not appropriate,” Xie Changming said. “You can only have one Daoist partner, like me.”
Luo Mingshu slapped her forehead: "I'm not the senior sister, and the stories in the novels are all fake."
"It has a bad influence," Xie Changming argued.
He thought for a moment, then offered a plausible excuse: "We can't let the Dongzhi Wonderland side write too brilliantly. Do you want them to win?"
From the moment she gave up on bringing Locked Love back to the Heavenly Realm, Luo Mingshu had no intention of winning this round.
"We don't care! We want ten Daoist partners, not one less, and we need two more!" After returning from the Demon Realm, Luo Mingshu had already told Xu Qian and Meng Weifang about Suo Ai. Although they were very sorry that Luo Mingshu hadn't brought Suo Ai back, they also felt that Luo Mingshu's decision made sense.
"Only one is allowed, no more than one," Xie Changming said sternly.
For the rest of the day, Luo Mingshu pestered Xie Changming to change it back, and she became even more determined to eliminate this Supreme Immortal Lord.
"I'll let you change it. After the five competitions, I'll find a way to kill you with my turtle-like abilities," Luo Mingshu thought to herself.
Of course, not long after, Xie Changming transformed into the appearance of the Supreme Immortal Lord and invited her to go to the Eastern Branch Immortal Realm with him.
"I don't think it's good to have nine relationships. If you're going to have one, it should be with me," Xie Changming said to Luo Mingshu. "I'm going to Dongzhi Wonderland to make them change."
"What?" Luo Mingshu exclaimed in shock, "Supreme Immortal Lord, what idiotic things are you talking about?"
"Mainly," Xie Changming thought for a moment and then explained, "I don't think you have the ability to have nine relationships."
Indeed, many men, upon learning that Luo Mingshu was a beautiful 300-year-old woman with a water spirit root who was incredibly easy to fool, would run away without a trace, let alone be able to have a romantic relationship with her.
"Alright, I'll go with you." To prevent the Supreme Immortal Lord from making any unauthorized changes, Luo Mingshu agreed to go with him to offer her opinions on the creation of the storybook for Dongzhi Wonderland.
On the third day, they solved both problems, which was incredibly efficient. On their way to Dongzhi Wonderland, Luo Mingshu also took Amo back with her.
Seeing that Amo had been found, the pressure on Dongzhi Wonderland increased. Although their stories were now widely welcomed by the celestial cultivators, the Supreme Immortal Lord was a pedantic old man who hindered their creation.
Today, the Supreme Immortal Lord and Luo Mingshu have come together, and they still don't know how to deal with them.
As soon as Luo Mingshu entered the Eastern Branch Wonderland, she said to Lu Yaoyao, who was sitting under the peach tree writing furiously, "Oh fairy, change it back for me. I want ten Daoist partners."
"Ten Daoist partners won't work, and nine romantic relationships won't work either," Xie Changming added.
The two people, one on each side, began to guide Lu Yaoyao in her writing.
"Of the ten Daoist partners, three must be cultivators with water elemental roots. You know I love water. The other six must be handsome men with tails—preferably dog tails. Demons and monsters don't matter, as long as they're good-looking. Their appearance standards should be based on our Wuji Palace's 192cm tall security captain. For the last one, please write a gender-swapped version of me. I am the most handsome and beautiful empress in the world." Luo Mingshu proposed her wonderful vision.
Xie Changming: "..." How can you think of such things?
Lu Yaoyao clutched her head, feeling like it was about to explode. She looked up at Luo Mingshu helplessly and said, "Stunning goddess, the Supreme Immortal Lord won't allow me to write these things!"
The implication was that she should keep an eye on her Daoist partner.
"This is outrageous!" The demons, by nature loyal, couldn't stand this scene. After thinking it over, Xie Changming could only utter this one sentence.
"Only one." He insisted on his idea.
"I want ten, or I'll burn down your Dongzhi Wonderland." Luo Mingshu started acting unreasonably.
Shui Qingnian even chimed in from the side: "Yes, yes, ten are fine, two more is okay too. My suggestion is to add a gentle man like Suo Ai—by the way, did you bring Suo Ai back?"
“He lied to you and even complained that you lied to him, so I told him to stay in the Demon Realm and not come back.” Luo Mingshu explained to Shui Qingnian, “He doesn’t know how to grow flowers and plants at all, and he doesn’t have a 183. These are all illusions he created for you to make you obsessed.”
"How...how could this be?" Shui Qingnian couldn't believe it. After learning the truth, she felt a little dejected. Rationally, she knew that Luo Mingshu's actions were not wrong, but emotionally, she still hoped that Suo Ai could come back.
She hid to the side, secretly agonizing over her decision, while Luo Mingshu and Xie Changming practically snatched the pen from Lu Yaoyao's hand and wrote it themselves.
Seeing this, Wei Qing had no choice but to step in and defuse the crisis: "Supreme Immortal Lord, Beautiful Goddess, please stop arguing."
He smiled at Luo Mingshu and Xie Changming and said, "How about this? We'll keep writing the plot as it is, but we'll add a scene for the Supreme Immortal Lord later on. The nine characters who were previously acquainted and in love with the Senior Sister are all incarnations of the demon who ended up with her. What do you think?"
"In order to pursue Senior Sister, the demon transformed into ten different forms to meet her, allowing the senior sister, who was unaware of love, to finally understand the true meaning of love and end up with the demon. What a beautiful and faithful love!" Wei Qing said in an emotional tone.
Xie Changming, who was wearing two layers of disguise, actually felt that what Wei Qing said was not too wrong. Wasn't he already wearing one layer of disguise?
These words should belong to documentary literature. He nodded, which was a nod of agreement to the suggestion.
On the contrary, Luo Mingshu was unhappy: "Why can it only be one person?"
Wei Qing comforted her, "That's right, those nine avatars are all different in temperament, appearance, and race. Senior Sister, that's equivalent to having ten Daoist partners. One Daoist partner, ten experiences. Aren't you satisfied?"
Luo Mingshu felt that what he said made little sense, so she readily accepted it.
After the stunningly beautiful goddess and the Supreme Immortal Lord personally guided the writing of the story in the Eastern Branch Wonderland, the creation of this story reached a new height. At the same time, it also acquired a new name—"The Eldest Sister's Counterattack: The Story Between Me and One of My Daoist Partners in the Summer with the Wind"—but before that, I had to have nine relationships. After having nine relationships, I discovered that my nine former Daoist partners were all incarnations of my current Daoist partner.
The moment the title was changed, even the "Celestial Gossip Gazette," which cost 1,000 spirit stones per copy, was sold out. This was because the title contained multiple reversals, allowing readers to experience the joy of having nine Daoist partners while maintaining their moral standard of only having one Daoist partner and not cheating.
Luo Mingshu hadn't expected that after her and Xie Changming's writing guidance, the story would become even more popular, which made her feel somewhat resentful. However, she was not capable of writing a love story as poignant and tender as Lu Yaoyao's.
If she were to write it, the title of this story should be "The Great Injustice's Counterattack: A Summer of Argumentation - The Untold Story Between Me and One of My Nemesis - But before that, I was hunted by nine enemies. After escaping death nine times, I discovered that my nine former enemies were all incarnations of my current enemy."
Luo Mingshu finally admitted that there were still areas she was not good at, and she conceded defeat. Seven days later, the story reached a perfect ending, with the senior sister and her demonic partner achieving a happy ending. All the characters in the story wished them a long and happy life together.
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Branch Wonderland, another problem was easily solved. In fact, there were many loopholes in the problems set by the Wuji Palace. The so-called "biggest secret" was actually something that the person involved could easily explain with a single word.
They agreed to meet at Xuantian Mansion. After determining the winner of this round, they would begin the next round of physical combat, a real contest.
On this day, Dongzhi Wonderland was the first to present its answers. The old manor master cleared his throat and said, "The story of 'Senior Sister's Counterattack' has received high praise from the cultivators of the Heavenly Realm, and many cultivators have written to request that a sequel be written. Dongzhi Wonderland, you answered the questions brilliantly. We old folks also enjoyed reading it very much. When the identities of the nine former Daoist partners were finally revealed, we were all amazed by your ingenious ideas."
Shui Qingnian pointed out the problem directly: "Because of the Supreme Immortal Lord's request, we wrote this biggest foreshadowing in the book title."
"Your book title is too long, and the print is too small. My old eyesight is failing me, and I couldn't see it," the old manor lord said with a slight cough, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
"Do you have the answer to your second question, 'Find out your teammate's biggest secret'?" the old manor lord asked.
"Yes." Lu Yaoyao stepped forward first. She and Wei Qing were the only two people here who had some acting skills.
Shui Qingnian stopped talking; she had no idea how to pretend. Amo couldn't even see her body, so there was no room for her to impress.
Therefore, this play still needs her and Wei Qing to perform.
Luo Mingshu sat to one side, no longer caring about winning or losing this round, so she started to watch the show.
Lu Yaoyao was stunned for a second, and she looked at Wei Qing with deep affection: "Ah Bai, I really didn't expect you to be this kind of person."
"What kind of person am I?" Wei Qing acted very hard because he knew that Luo Mingshu had failed to bring Suo Ai back, so they had a great chance of winning this round.
"I've been hiding from you day and night, afraid that you'll discover my biggest secret." Wei Qing looked at Lu Yaoyao in horror.
“Yes, Ah Bai, I saw it secretly. So your secret is—” Lu Yaoyao said mysteriously.
"That's enough." Luo Mingshu interrupted their performance. "This acting is too fake. Are you trying to say that your biggest secret is that you snore when you sleep or that you secretly love eating stinky tofu?"
Without a doubt, they also planned to use a trivial little secret to evade the question posed by Wuji Palace. If she hadn't given up on winning or losing this round because of Suo'ai, she would have argued with them for a long time.
But she didn't care this time, so she rested her chin on her hand, waved to Lu Yaoyao and Wei Qing, and said, "You don't need to act so hard. Just consider this a pass, okay?"
Lu Yaoyao knew that once Luo Mingshu said those words, their victory was already secured, but looking at Luo Mingshu's nonchalant demeanor, she felt that although she had won, she hadn't completely won.
"Let's move on to the next round, I'm ready to fight." Luo Mingshu rubbed his hands together, eager to get started.
“Alright, although I also think their acting is a bit fake, since you, the Super Beautiful Goddess, also think it's acceptable, let's move on to the next round. This round will mainly focus on the competition—” As the old mansion master was saying this, a rustling sound suddenly came from outside the Xuan Tian Mansion's main hall, as if someone was approaching.
"Who's here?" The old manor mused that all the celestial cultivators who wanted to join in the fun had arrived, so no one should be late.
At this moment, Xie Changming seemed to sense something. With a thought, he straightened up and whispered to Luo Mingshu, "It's Locked Love."
Seven days ago, after Luo Mingshu and Xie Changming left, Suo Ai did not give up his original idea. After Luo Mingshu exposed his lie and opened up another set of logic for doing things, he awakened the part of his true Wen Yu's nature.
If Wen Yu were really here, he would go through fire and water to return to the Heavenly Realm to explain everything to Shui Qingnian.
However, his cultivation level in this exploration scenario was not that high. While Luo Mingshu and Xie Changming could easily cross the Dark Abyss, he could not actually cross it to reach the Heavenly Realm on his own.
Luo Mingshu didn't take him along, and Xie Changming didn't pave a path for him, so he walked down into the abyss on his own.
According to the settings of the Misty Star Sea, his cultivation level was only at the Golden Core stage. From the Dark Abyss upwards, he had to stop and rest for several hours every few hundred miles to reabsorb energy.
The abyss was steep, with no caves or vines to hold onto, only smooth, protruding rocks. When he rested, he could only barely cling to the rock face. Having exhausted all his magic power, he could only rely on his physical body to support himself. If he was not careful, he would fall into the bottomless abyss.
However, it was through this method that he climbed the Dark Abyss and came from the Demon Realm to the Celestial Realm, a journey that took him a full seven days.
At the last moment before the judgment, he stood outside the Xuan Tian Mansion.
The moment Shui Qingnian saw Suo Ai, she stood up abruptly, having forgotten what Suo Ai's appearance at this moment truly meant.
But...but...it's good that he can come back.
Shui Qingnian rushed out of the main hall of Xuantian Mansion. After a long silence, the old mansion master cleared his throat and said, "Since... both sides have successfully solved the questions, how about we call this second round a draw?"
Of course, no one cared about the outcome, because the appearance of Locked Love was so unexpected.
Xie Changming looked at Suo Ai outside the main hall, lowered his eyes and sighed softly. He knew from the beginning that Suo Ai would come back.
The demons are indeed an incredibly loyal race. No matter what rules of conduct the Misty Star Sea imposes on their image, one thing remains unchanged. (Pianozl)
When he meets that one person in his life, no matter how the world changes or how great the obstacles may be, he will still be determined to come to you.
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