Mengli died
The Heavenly Emperor's eunuch glanced sideways, then slowly walked up to Xuanzhi, breaking the deadlock first: "Fairy, perhaps you've misjudged. Even a minor fairy nurtured by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the desolate lands could not possibly possess Xuanhuang spiritual power. Fairy, please return first. The Heavenly Emperor will investigate this matter thoroughly."
Xuanzhi, upon hearing this, intended to continue causing trouble. Seeing this, the eunuch gave the guards a look, and then they dragged Xuanzhi away from the main hall.
The prince and the immortals exchanged glances. It would have been better if they hadn't mentioned the mysterious yellow spiritual power, but now that it had been brought up, their search for the crown prince, which they hadn't found for half a year, finally had a clue.
"You unfilial son!" The Heavenly Emperor was furious, which caused all the immortals in the palace to nod in agreement.
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. There were rumors before that the little fairy was ominous. His Highness the Crown Prince must have been bewitched, which is why..."
"Yes, Your Majesty, do not be anxious. Your subject is willing to lead troops to capture that little fairy so that His Highness the Crown Prince can go to the mortal realm to avoid disaster as soon as possible."
The Heavenly Emperor pondered for a moment, then summoned his spirit beast mount, Bai Ze: "Let's go, Si Ming, take some guards and come with me to the Xuan Palace."
In the main hall of the Xuan Palace, Mengli lay quietly on the bed. The places where she had been seriously injured were slowly healing. Only the blood soaking through her clothes told Ksitigarbha what kind of torment Mengli had just suffered.
Ksitigarbha withdrew his magic power and frowned slightly: "Your Highness, why is Mengli still not awake? I just checked her spiritual meridians, and they have already repaired and healed themselves at an extremely fast speed. Normally, she should have woken up by now."
"I don't know. Just now when I was channeling spiritual energy into her, there was an extremely domineering spiritual energy within her that pushed all of my spiritual energy out and then completed its self-repair at an extremely fast speed."
“I’m also confused. She clearly has no spiritual power or spiritual root,” Guan Nan brushed away the stray hairs blocking Meng Li’s eyes and said in a low voice, “Perhaps it’s because of the divine artifact. It’s normal for the divine artifact to protect her when her life is in danger.”
Those ancient artifacts have existed since the beginning of time, and they are divine artifacts, so it is only natural that they have such repair capabilities.
However, the divine artifact sealed itself after the fall of the supreme god. When it reappeared, it recognized Mengli as its master and hid within her body. To this day, no one has ever seen what it looks like.
Guan Nan peeled back Meng Li's sleeve, and the last scar on her wrist had quietly healed. He used his spiritual power to examine it, and sure enough, all the broken meridians caused by external injuries had been repaired.
"Mengli... Mengli." He leaned down and called softly a few times, but there was still no response.
Guan Nan frowned, knowing he could only wait another day to see what would happen.
Suddenly, thunderclouds rolled in outside the window, and the Xuan Palace, which had just been bathed in clear skies, was now shrouded in a suffocating pressure.
With a roar from a spirit beast in the sky, several golden rays fell into the courtyard.
"You unfilial son, get out here now." The Heavenly Emperor spoke slowly from outside the palace. His voice was not loud, but it was like the thunder of the heavens, and even the pillars of the palace were humming.
Guan Nan glanced at the corner of his eye and saw that Dizang had already fled. Only then did he feel relieved. Before stepping out the door, he tucked the blanket around Meng Li again.
"Father God." Guan Nan knelt down, bowing his head and calling softly.
"The immortals of the Heavenly Palace have been searching for you for more than half a year, yet you are here having an affair with that little fairy? Do you still have me, your father god, in your heart?" The Heavenly Emperor glared angrily and shouted.
“Father God, it was your son who secretly hid in this desolate mountain. It has nothing to do with that fairy Mengli. I beg you, Father God, not to punish her.”
The Heavenly Emperor snorted coldly. The Crown Prince's escape had caused him to lose face in front of all the immortals. Now that the Crown Prince had been found here, he might as well blame the fox spirit for bewitching the emperor. It was a perfect solution.
"Ha, bewitching the Crown Prince is a grave crime. Strip him of his divine status and banish him to the mortal realm to suffer the torments of reincarnation."
Stripping someone of their divine status may sound as simple as canceling their household registration in the mortal world, but it is actually the most severe punishment in the celestial realm. Stripping means removing one's immortal bones, which is an extremely painful process. A minor immortal like Mengli, who has no spiritual power, would probably perish before the stripping process is over.
"Father God, Mengli has done nothing wrong. If anyone is to blame... it is your son who had selfish thoughts first." Guan Nan bowed down and knelt heavily on the ground again, hoping that the Heavenly Emperor would let Mengli go.
"No need for further words, my mind is made up. Crown Prince Guan Nan shall immediately go to the mortal realm to avoid disaster, and shall not return to the Heavenly Palace unless summoned by the Heavenly Emperor." The Heavenly Emperor waved his robes and turned to leave.
"Father God!" Guan Nan knew that the Heavenly Emperor was always ruthless and indifferent, so he had no choice but to fight to the death. He summoned his natal magic weapon, the Azure Cloud Subduing Heaven Sword, and was about to start a battle with the Heavenly Soldiers.
"How dare you!" Since the majesty of the Heavenly Realm was at stake, the Heavenly Emperor showed no mercy and directly unleashed the Heavenly Realm's supreme treasure, the "Immortal Binding Lock."
Golden runes intertwined and rushed towards Guan Nan. The barrier of the Xuan Palace had imprisoned most of his magic power. Once the Immortal Binding Lock was released, it wrapped him up like a dumpling, leaving him with no power to fight back.
"Meng... Mengli, run!" Guan Nan was already bound by the Immortal Binding Lock, and even his mouth was tightly covered. He could only use all his spiritual power to gather in his spiritual consciousness to connect with Mengli's spiritual consciousness, hoping to wake her up and make her run for her life.
"Let's go, send Guan Nan to the mortal realm and erase this memory," the Heavenly Emperor said to the Star Official of Destiny beside him.
Just as the spirit beast Bai Ze bowed down and the Heavenly Emperor was about to mount his steed and return to the Heavenly Palace, a beam of golden light suddenly shot out from the main hall of the Xuan Palace, breaking through the roof and soaring into the sky. The immense spiritual pressure caused the heavenly soldiers and star officials to retreat.
Even the Heavenly Emperor could barely stand.
Just as everyone was puzzled, a person appeared in the beam of light that broke through the roof. That person was Meng Li.
A crescent-shaped weapon circled around her, its entire body covered in runes and emitting a cold, eerie green light. The oppressive aura emanating from the reappearance of an ancient artifact caused the weapons in the hands of the heavenly soldiers to groan in agony.
"Ah! That's the ancient artifact, the Gui Shui Jiu Nan Zhan! And it's in the possession of such a young girl."
"Yes, that pressure must be there; I didn't even dare to draw my magic weapon."
"My magical artifact is the same; I've tried calling it several times but it won't come out of its sheath. Just who is this little girl that she can make such a precious treasure recognize her as its master?"
"It is said to be the only ancient artifact left in the world. It is truly a great fortune to see it today."
The heavenly soldiers stared at Mengli and the divine artifact, discussing amongst themselves. Seeing that ordinary immortal artifacts could not contend with it, the Heavenly Emperor had no choice but to summon his own natal magic weapon. He then turned to Siming and ordered them to take Guannan away.
The Star Lord of Destiny helped Guan Nan up and was about to take him away when a sword aura flashed across his sleeve, cleaving the side hall beside him in two. The massive building collapsed with a deafening roar, causing everyone to gasp in panic.
Fortunately, he was a step too slow, otherwise, the one supporting Guan Nan would be half a Fate Master now.
"Let's see who dares to take him away!" Surrounded by the divine artifact, Meng Li was still suspended on the roof. Unlike her previous gentle demeanor, she opened her eyes wide, her gaze filled with ruthlessness.
"You audacious little immortal, how dare you defy the Heavenly Emperor! Prepare to die!"
Although the Heavenly Soldier Commander could not summon any magical artifacts, he still had his personal sword. So he drew his sword and flew onto the roof, intending to engage Mengli in close combat.
Before it could even land on the roof, it was cleaved in two by a sword aura.
"Ah, Commander Jin!!!" The heavenly soldiers cried out in grief upon seeing this, and were about to rush forward to fight Meng Li, but were stopped by the Star Lord of Fate.
“Heavenly Emperor, based on my recent deductions, this woman is likely that evil star…” Si Ming Xing Jun said solemnly, “With this evil star entangled with him, the Crown Prince is likely to be in grave danger.”
At the same time, Ksitigarbha, who was hiding in the pond in the backyard, received a telepathic message from his master.
"Ksitigarbha, the time has come. Quickly use the Soul-Suppressing Lock to capture that demoness."
“Master, once the Soul-Suppressing Lock is unsheathed, then…that little fairy’s soul bones will be separated, and she will be no different from a dead person. She…she is not an evil person.”
Ksitigarbha has been in Wuliang Mountain for a thousand years, and his fellow disciples all agree that he is blindly loyal.
In other words, no matter what the Master says or does, whether it is reasonable or not, Ksitigarbha will follow it without hesitation.
But at this moment, he questioned his master and disobeyed his master's orders for the sake of a little fairy he had only known for less than half a year.
“Ksitigarbha, everything has its cause and effect. That little fairy is destined to undergo this tribulation in order to attain enlightenment.” The master paused for a long time before slowly speaking again: “If you do not take action now, not only will her life trajectory be changed, but the entire immortal realm will also cease to exist as the divination indicates.”
Seeing that Ksitigarbha was still hesitating, the master spoke again: "She has just awakened and her spiritual power is unstable. My treasure can still trap her, but once she absorbs the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, there will be no way to control her. All living beings in the world will suffer because of her."
Ksitigarbha struggled internally, but finally nodded: "Yes... Ksitigarbha... will obey Master's orders."
When he arrived at the front yard, the limbs of the heavenly soldiers were scattered all over the ground. Just as the Gui Shui Jiu Nan Zhan was about to strike Si Ming, he made a hand seal and cast a spell. Following the method his master had instructed, he took advantage of Meng Li's unpreparedness and implanted the Soul-Suppressing Lock into her body.
Once the Soul-Suppressing Lock enters the body, it will sever the meridians and bones throughout the body, forcibly pulling the soul away from the shattered body.
This process is extremely cruel and painful, and no one should be subjected to this extreme punishment unless they are a heinous criminal.
Mengli had just awakened, and her body had not yet been able to resonate with the immense spiritual power that came with this awakening. Meanwhile, Guishui Jiunanzhan was also entangled in a battle with the Heavenly Emperor and Siming, which gave Dizang the opportunity to launch a sneak attack.
"Clang, clang." Mengli, whose body was bound by the Soul-Suppressing Lock, heard the sound of bones being torn apart. As a mouthful of blood gushed out, she slowly turned her head to look at the direction from which the magical artifact had attacked.
"Is it you? Fatty Carp..." Two lines of bloody tears welled up, and the pain of her body being crushed made her mouth twitch painfully.
"I'm sorry... Mengli." Dizang collapsed weakly to the ground, desperately gripping the rubble with both hands. Blood flowed from his cut palms, staining the area around him red.
"Mengli! Mengli! Ksitigarbha, you Chaos! What have you done! Let her go! Let her go!" Seeing this, Guan Nan once again mobilized all his spiritual power to break through the seal on his mouth and roared at Ksitigarbha.
Seeing this, the Heavenly Emperor gave Si Ming a wink, and Si Ming understood immediately, knocking Guan Nan unconscious.
"Disciples of Wuliang Mountain, thank you for your hard work. I'll leave this place to you now, and take Guan Nan away."
Fearing further trouble, and seeing that someone was keeping Mengli in check, the Heavenly Emperor turned and led everyone away.
The sound of the Soul-Suppressing Lock crushing bones continued, and Meng Li gradually went limp. A phantom figure had been half-pulled out of her body by the chains.
As the chains were about to drag the entire phantom out, Ksitigarbha sobbed, "Mengli, blame me if you must, don't blame the people of this world. I, Ksitigarbha, will spend my whole life atoning for my sins."
Mengli gazed at Guan Nan's departing figure, then turned back, steadying her twitching lips and trying to raise a smile: "You...you should be chubby too, he...he...he's so handsome. I want to see him again..."
Until Mengli's entire phantom was dragged out, she completely lost consciousness, her eyes were unfocused, and her body was like a boneless piece of soft skin, limp in mid-air.
The body was about to fall to the ground when the Nine Difficulties of Gui Water in the sky seemed to come to consciousness, sensing its master's demise, and let out a mournful cry.
He then rushed towards Mengli's body and cleaved her into eleven pieces. These pieces suddenly flew off in their respective directions and then disappeared.
The Nine Difficulties of Gui Water were hidden within one of the fragments and then disappeared.
Ksitigarbha looked at the fragments, clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and two streams of hot tears flowed down his face.
Later, the Celestial Venerable of Wuliang Mountain refined Mengli's soul into a green, infinitely usable primordial power. Just a drop of this primordial power could make people forget their past and present lives, even immortals.
The Heavenly Emperor asked the Venerable of Wuliang Mountain for a drop of primordial essence and secretly ordered someone to give it to Guan Nan, who was imprisoned in the Hall of Longevity and neither eating nor drinking. As the Venerable of Wuliang Mountain had said, the person who drank it instantly forgot his past life and became the Heavenly Emperor's beloved son again.
As a hero in suppressing the rebellion, Ksitigarbha was granted one wish by the Heavenly Emperor. Everyone thought that the Master of Wuliang Mountain was about to return to the Void, and he would choose to become the successor of Wuliang Mountain or become a star lord in the Heavenly Realm.
But he said he had a long-cherished wish: to build a Netherworld in the human world to help those who are still attached to the afterlife. He only wished that his master would give him the useless source to resolve the attachments of those souls in the human world.
The Heavenly Emperor and the Master of Wuliang Mountain both tried to dissuade him, saying that if he stayed in Heaven, his future would be limitless.
Once a thousand years of cultivation is lost in the mortal realm, if one wants to return to heaven, one must accumulate merit over tens of thousands of years before having any chance.
He waved his hand with a smile: "It's alright, I won't become a Buddha until the underworld is empty."
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