Chapter 35 Chapter 35 "To break the illusion and hold on to the truth is the way to test one's heart."...
The next day at sunrise, the test for the immortals would begin.
Facing the brilliant light of dawn, Jiu Zhao was awakened by the sound of the chimes in Qichen Palace.
Fairies rarely dream, but last night Zhu Yan and Ying Luo took turns to break into her dreams.
In the dream, she was still in the courtyard outside the house. She was talking to Ying Luo across the barrier, and the colorful butterflies hovering on her knuckles suddenly transformed into beams of light that stretched between them, gradually widening and lengthening, condensing in the void into Zhu Yan's elegant eyes and smiling thin lips.
He no longer respectfully addressed Jiu Zhao as "Your Highness". His tall body covered her shadow, and his arms under his sleeves were around her shoulders.
Just as she gathered a butterfly in her palm, Zhu Yan also held her tightly in his arms.
Sometimes he called her "Zhao Zhao", and sometimes he changed to "Qing Qing", the infatuated term between lovers.
Jiu Zhao was sober-minded and wanted to push him away, but her hands and feet were penetrated by the water magic from the West Sea. The water licked her fair skin and merged into the rushing blood, turning her into a stiff puppet on a string, allowing Zhu Yan to play with her affectionately and lean over to kiss her.
"Wouldn't it be nice if you could just stay by my side forever?"
The handsome young man lowered his eyelashes and asked her tenderly.
Before Jiu Zhao could answer, another pair of hands controlling the water element came from behind. The owner of those hands called her "Your Highness the Divine Princess" in a gentle voice, and pinched her chin with an irresistible force, forcing her to turn her head away.
Very familiar hands, very familiar voice.
Turning around, she saw an extremely familiar face, looking at her with eyes filled with sticky lust and love.
It was Yingluo.
It is Yingluo who has acquired masculine features after changing her gender.
…
Jiu Zhao suddenly opened his eyes.
Her chest still heaving, she sat up as quickly as possible, put on her clothes, and performed a basic cleansing spell on herself.
After running to the outside of the main hall of Qichen Palace in such a hurry, she became the last one in line and the most eye-catching one.
The God of Mount Yi still didn't say much, but when he looked away for a moment, Jiu Zhao vaguely heard him sigh.
"At 12:00 AM, the Celestial Immortal Assessment officially begins!"
As the powerful singing and shouting of the Zuokao Immortal Official, which was filled with immortal power, rang out, a row of colorful phoenixes flew obliquely outside the huge sun in the sky.
They scattered in all directions, announcing this grand event that occurred once every three thousand years to the entire Sanqing Heaven.
The stagnant barrier of Qichen Palace restarted, and the God on Mount Yi raised his hand and wrote a word on the slowly rotating golden light array pattern. The barrier modified by divine power suddenly expanded continuously, and the golden light spread like a snake to the feet of each candidate, swallowing them one by one.
In the blink of an eye, there was no trace of anyone in the open space.
As a sacred tree that connects heaven and earth, the Fusang tree is surrounded by numerous barriers and restrictions, and only those who enter are allowed to enter when the Immortal Test begins.
The last time Jiu Zhao came here was at her coming-of-age ceremony before her wedding to Lan Qi.
Time flies and thousands of years have passed.
Jiu Zhao is no longer the young goddess who knows nothing of sorrow, but the Fusang tree remains unchanged and lush and green.
The trunk of the tree is as wide as a palace and the top is out of sight. Rather than calling it a tree, it is more like a towering tower reaching the sky.
The god on Mount Yi led the candidates to fly close to the sacred tree and then read out the rules of the immortal examination.
When all the Golden Immortals were listening attentively, the two assistant immortal officials made hand gestures and threw two palm-sized light mirrors to the left and right.
The light mirror shattered into eight irregular pieces, and then expanded exponentially until the light faded and a human figure was reflected in the mirror.
This is the immortal artifact Moving Mirror. As long as a little immortal power is injected into it to activate it, it can split into countless media to record the current scene according to the user's wishes, and stably and synchronously convey sound and images. The God Emperor was not convenient to lead all the immortals to gather around the Fusang Tree to watch the test, so he used this immortal artifact.
In the entire immortal examination, in addition to the candidate who wins the first place and can be promoted to a celestial immortal, those who perform outstandingly may also be promoted by the God Emperor as an exception.
"To break through illusions and uphold the truth is the way to test one's heart.
"Only by remaining unwavering in the face of three thousand temptations can one achieve long-term success on the path of immortal cultivation."
The majestic voice of the God on Mount Yi cleansed the different emotions of those present. Amidst the trembling sounds, eight-fold lotus pedestals corresponding to the number of candidates rose in a ring behind him, hovering high in the sky around the Fusang tree. That was the official venue for the first test.
"For the duration of one stick of incense, those who successfully break through the illusion will be able to enter the body-contest!"
As soon as he finished speaking, colorful lights shone brightly above dozens of lotus pedestals, illuminating half of the vast sky. Slender beams of light poured down over the corresponding candidates. In the blink of an eye, huge double-petaled lotus flowers appeared at their feet, carrying them towards their respective lotus pedestals.
Jiu Zhao was also lifted up by a lotus and rose rapidly.
There was a slight sound of wind breaking in her ears.
Fragments of last night's dream kept replaying in her mind.
His heart was beating at the most inappropriate moment. Jiu Zhao had no choice but to start silently summarizing the rules of the exam.
There is a time limit for testing the heart, but there is no time limit for the part about competing for the body.
The two exams are interconnected. The winner who breaks free from the illusion can start climbing the sacred Fusang tree without having to wait until all the candidates who have completed the exam within the time limit of one stick of incense start at the same time - this means that the sooner you finish the heart test, the more advantage you can gain.
The selection of the highest-level celestial beings seeks talents with outstanding minds and immortal skills.
If one of the two assessments fails, it is impossible to advance smoothly.
After continuous summarization, Jiu Zhao's pulse and heartbeat finally calmed down.
She sat cross-legged on her own lotus seat, meditating. Seeing the divine sun fire on Mount Yi ignite the holy incense, she closed her eyes as per the rules.
Time instantly went back four thousand five hundred years.
…
Three days before the wedding.
Lihentian, Changxi Palace.
"Your Highness, according to the calculations of the Divine Propagation Bureau, both Chenzheng and Weizheng three days from now are extremely auspicious times. You must first hold your coming-of-age ceremony at Chenzheng, and then officially marry His Highness Lan Qi at Weizheng. First becoming an adult, then becoming a couple, is the proper and auspicious way to have the best of both worlds!"
After lunch, Jiu Zhao leaned over the long table and was drowsy. Jiang Yu's chattering voice kept drilling into her eardrums.
In preparation for the two upcoming ceremonies, Jiu Zhao was forced to stop all entertainment.
He was trapped in Changxi Palace all day long, either being taught complicated etiquette by female officials, or praying to the gods and ancestors, and worshiping heaven and earth.
After the initial excitement of becoming an adult and getting married wore off, her once radiant flower gradually lost its moisture and became withered.
Boredom has become a catchphrase that often lingers on my lips.
At this moment, she was responding to Jiangyu's words unconsciously.
Okay, got it.
Things gradually became quiet afterwards, and even the thick-skinned Jiangyu realized that something was wrong.
She put down what she was holding and looked towards Jiu Zhao. She found that she was resting her head on her arm and sleeping more and more soundly.
"Ahhh, Your Highness, did you not hear a word I said?!"
Jiangyu grabbed her hair and screamed.
"I'm so tired... Can you please grow up and get married soon? I'm being tortured to death every day..."
Although Jiu Zhao had a bad temper, she had been acting relatively docile these days, adhering to the unlucky rule of not getting angry or arguing before the wedding. Jiang Yu bravely lifted her shoulders and pulled her out of her slumber. "Your Highness, you really can't sleep! Next up is the makeup trial. This will determine how good you'll look on your wedding day. You don't want to be outdone by Princess Yingluozong, who's here to watch the ceremony!"
“…”
Jiu Zhao opened his eyes in response, his face clear and sober. "Show me what makeup the immortal officials who prepared the ceremony have created."
Jiangyu finally smiled with relief.
She carefully opened the drawing paper placed aside, and what she saw was a face that was 80% similar to Jiu Zhao, but the colors smudged between the facial features were too stunning, making the person in the painting look more graceful than Jiu Zhao who was wearing no makeup.
"Look."
Jiangyu pointed out several innovative and ingenious aspects of the makeup, explaining them one by one to Jiuzhao. "Considering that the coming-of-age ceremony and the wedding will be held on the same day, and the time between them is not long, the immortal officials preparing the wedding specially combined the two parts into one."
"On the forehead is the Jianmu flower, which can only be used by the God Emperor, God Empress, and Crown Prince. Jianmu connects heaven and earth and is immortal. It is the most noble and ancient sacred tree. The Jianmu flower is a sacred flower that can only bloom after the sacred tree grows up. It symbolizes that Your Highness has reached the age of youth and should celebrate a new year.
"Under each eye is a painting imitating the twin tail feathers of the Vermilion Bird. The Vermilion Birds fly together, their chirping in harmony. This painting looks so beautiful right under your eyes, and it also has a good meaning, implying that Your Highness and Your Highness Lan Qi will be together forever, and their love will last forever.
"And the color of the lip balm..."
Jiu Zhao didn't really listen to what was said afterwards. His mind was filled with the incongruous blessing "The Vermillion Birds fly together and sing in harmony."
Before Wu Shao led his clan in complete rebellion against Heaven, the Phoenix was the symbol of harmony and love between husband and wife.
Now this race has become a taboo in Sanqingtian, and even mentioning it is considered a sin.
Jiu Zhao stretched out his left hand and lazily stroked the picture of himself. His anticipation for the wedding faded a lot because of this taboo.
Finally, her fingertips rested on the painted surface of the Vermillion Bird, without saying a word. Jiangyu, who had been talking incessantly but received no response, suddenly stopped talking. She realized belatedly that she should not have mentioned this part too much, which only added to Jiuzhao's sadness and concern.
She froze and quickly knelt down: "Your Highness, please forgive me..."
Jiu Zhao looked at him calmly with his seemingly carefree eyes: "What crime have you committed?"
Most of the time, Jiangyu is not too afraid of Jiuzhao who gets angry immediately.
Either he was scolded to the point of bloodshed, or he received some corporal punishment that his body could withstand. Only when Jiu Zhao asked back in a seemingly calm tone did the fear of not knowing her true emotions, not knowing when she would turn against him, finally reach its peak.
"Slave, slave..."
Jiangyu bit her lips and trembled, unable to speak, but she was not as smart as Xiangbi.
Jiu Zhao lowered his eyes and looked at her for a moment, feeling that her whole body was about to tremble like leaves in the wind. Then he slowly raised his hand to forgive her accusation, "My wedding is approaching. You are forbidden to say anything unlucky or show any unhappy expressions. The Vermilion Bird is a loving bird, so it is not wrong to use it to celebrate a wedding. I have seen the pair of Vermilion Birds that Father God keeps in the Bird and Beast Garden. They are inseparable every day."
"Yes, Your Highness is right."
After receiving Jiu Zhao's pardon, Jiangyu subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, but just when she was half relieved, she suddenly felt heartbroken again.
The Phoenix Clan has always destined twins to be companions for all living things, otherwise disaster will befall them.
The Queen of Gods, who was a twin, broke with her brother Wu Shao and married the Emperor of God. She was eventually abandoned by her family and died young.
However, her biological daughter, the goddess Jiu Zhao, who has half of the phoenix blood in her body but has never fallen into depravity and turned evil, and still stays in Sanqingtian, did not welcome the twins destined for her, but is about to marry her adopted brother Lan Qi who has been with her for ten thousand years.
...Can she really escape the curse of fate and stay with her beloved for the rest of her life?
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