"The Jade Locking Temple..."
Shen Xun walked over and said, "The Suoyao Temple, the Temple of the Goddess."
Qinghe looked at him: "You know?"
Shen Xun was unusually melancholy. "It is the sleeping quarters of the goddess Lingxi."
Pushing open the tightly closed and rusty palace door, the interior was even more dilapidated, but the once magnificent and splendid decor was still faintly visible. Although covered in dust, it still retained its charm.
As Shen Xun walked, he said, “The goddess Lingxi was once the goddess who guarded the divine tree. I only saw her once, but I still can’t forget her face.”
Qinghe said softly, "She must be very beautiful."
Shen Xun looked at her: "You've met her before too."
"I've seen it before too?" Qinghe couldn't help but recall, but her mind went blank.
She hadn't seen many beautiful women, but the one who left the deepest impression on her was...
"Could it be," Qinghe exclaimed in surprise, "that it's her?"
Upon entering the main hall, a long white jade corridor stretched out, with twin lotus flowers growing in the pools on both sides. However, the pool water was filthy and emitted a foul stench. Fortunately, these lotus flowers were not ordinary plants, otherwise they would not have survived in such an environment.
Qinghe couldn't bear to see such a beautiful palace reduced to this state. With a thought, she flicked her sleeve, unleashing a surge of spiritual energy. In the blink of an eye, the filth throughout the palace was dissolved by the spiritual energy and vanished.
The temple revealed its original appearance, and the lotus flowers became upright, beautiful, and radiant.
Qinghe crouched down and gently touched the lotus petals. The lotus petals trembled, and the residual spiritual energy attached to them instantly emerged. The lotus flower transformed into a spirit and slowly gathered into a human figure above the pool.
The figure slowly took shape from bottom to top until its entire face was revealed.
Qinghe opened her eyes wide, admiring the beautiful scene.
Dressed in pink and with a rosy face, she possessed unparalleled beauty.
Her guess was correct. The Goddess Lingxi, the master of the Suoyao Temple, was the same person she had found in the Tianqi Kingdom palace, and the mother of Mo Junqian.
The portraits I had seen before were ancient and blurry, yet I could still discern that she was quite beautiful. Now, seeing this illusion created by spiritual power, indistinguishable from a real person, I was even more amazed by her beauty.
Qinghe couldn't help but sigh. They were all people in the Three Realms, but when they looked at others and then at themselves, the difference was just too great.
The illusion of the Goddess Lingxi gradually came to life. She looked at the two of them, a gentle smile on her face, and said softly, "You two are not of the divine race, are you?"
Qing paused for a moment, then nodded.
The goddess seemed to have anticipated this, and showed no surprise. She floated in front of the two and began to recount her past: "In the past, as a goddess of the gods, I guarded the divine tree for nearly a thousand years, fulfilling my duties and never making a mistake. But in the end, I was harmed by a villain and ended up with my three souls scattered. At the critical moment of life and death, I used all my strength to separate this wisp of my soul."
She looked at Qing and Shen Xun, "After waiting for so many years, I've finally waited for you."
Qinghe's gaze sharpened slightly: "You knew someone would come all along."
The goddess Lingxi smiled gently, a smile that could topple cities.
"I was just taking a gamble, after all, nobody would bother coming to the Lock Jade Temple."
Qinghe was puzzled. How could anyone disdain to come to the palace where the once sacred goddess Lingxi once lived?
However, Lingxi had no intention of recounting the past, and Qinghe didn't ask either. Instead, he asked, "You are the goddess who guards the divine tree, so you must know where the divine tree is, right?"
Lingxi: "What do you want with the divine tree?"
Qinghe paused for a moment, then said, "We need to find someone."
Lingxi looked at her silently for a moment and then said, "That must be someone very important to you."
Qinghe did not refute, "Indeed."
Lingxi drifted back and forth, seemingly considering something. After a long while, she said, "Only I know the location of the divine tree. Ever since that incident seven hundred years ago, I moved the divine tree and hid it away. I have never told anyone else about it, for fear that someone with ulterior motives might repeat the disaster of that year."
Although Qinghe didn't know what happened back then, she was definitely not a bad person, so she assured Lingxi, "Goddess, don't worry, I have no interest in the Divine Tree, I'm just looking for someone. If you don't believe me, you can follow us and keep an eye on us."
Although Lingxi now only has a wisp of soul, the power of the gods is far stronger than that of human cultivators.
Lingxi gave her a deep look, and finally said, "Okay, I'll take you there."
Qinghe said gratefully, "Thank you."
Lingxi raised her hand and made a gesture in the air. Qinghe followed the spiritual energy emanating from her hand and looked at the pool next to her. He saw that the twin lotus flowers that grew together in the water were attracted by the spiritual energy and turned into flowing water, performing a rain shower in the air. They slowly fell into Lingxi's hand and turned back into twin lotus flowers.
"The lotus blossoms in pairs, sharing life and death; the twin red lotuses embody the Zen mind, their hearts turning towards all beings to relieve their suffering. The divine tree is the root of the three realms, and its place is within these red lotuses."
Qing and Shenxun, not understanding her meaning, stared at the twin lotus flowers in her hand, remaining silent.
Lingxi raised her hand and tossed the lotus flower into the air. The lotus petals dispersed, wandering around Lingxi's body. Accompanied by spiritual power, they transformed into a giant lotus petal that slowly bloomed at Lingxi's feet. From a distance, it looked like a giant lotus flower.
The lotus petals grew larger and larger until they completely enveloped Lingxi. A mist rose, blurring her vision. When she could see clearly again, Lingxi was nowhere to be seen.
Shen Xun said, "She went to where the divine tree is, let's hurry and follow her."
Qinghe nodded.
The two followed it into the center of the lotus, where mist rose again, taking them to another space.
After they disappeared, the lotus petals paused for a moment, then slowly closed up until they returned to the size of a normal lotus flower, before disappearing into the water.
The lotus carried the three of them on their journey. There was nothing around them, only darkness. Qing and Shen Xun could only follow closely behind Ling Xi's figure.
"Do you believe her?" Shen Xun asked her, looking straight ahead.
Qinghe held her wrist, "Whether you believe it or not, we're already here. It's no use regretting it now."
Moreover, she is Mo Junqian's mother. Given Mo Junqian's undisputed status as the male lead, his mother would not be a villain.
She just didn't understand why Lingxi would leave behind this wisp of her soul. Was it to prepare a backup plan for herself, or was it foresight, or some other reason?
Whatever the reason, she didn't really want to know anymore. The sacred tree was so close, and all she wanted was to find Qi Rong and take him home.
Lotus continued forward, and the surroundings grew increasingly dark. Qing and the others vaguely heard rustling sounds, which gradually grew louder, as if something was flying towards them.
There seemed to be a light in the distance, growing closer and more numerous. Before Qinghe could see what it was, Shenxun exclaimed in surprise as he looked ahead, "It's Cypress Leaf Needle!"
Qinghe took two seconds to react: "What needle?"
The needle-like leaves were right in front of her in an instant. Before Shen Xun could explain, he grabbed her, pressed her head down, and the two of them squatted down together.
The flying needles grazed their backs and shot straight towards them. Before they could even get up, the next wave of needles was already coming. Qing and He subconsciously raised their hands to block, but found that their spiritual power was suppressed in the God Realm, and they couldn't even condense the most ordinary protective shield.
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