AUOF - 6

Absurd!

Since ascending to immortality, Jin Min had never encountered such an absurd situation!

How could anyone with clear eyes fail to see through the schemes of those two little fairy maids? Even if he had harbored some improper thoughts, he was still a legitimate Immortal Lord! How dare this puny Gui Xu sect really punish him for the sake of a lowly maid?

Jin Min began shouting in all directions: “Where is Lord Tianheng?! I demand justice from Lord Tianheng!”

“There’s no need for trouble,” Li Ningxi, who had always looked down on the Celestial Pavilion, spoke without much courtesy. “Lord Ji is unwell, and such trivial matters don’t warrant disturbing him. Moreover, at today’s meeting, Lord Ji clearly stated that all matters were to be handled by my senior sister. So, Immortal Lord Jin Min, will you go to Moon Forest willingly, or shall we have someone escort you there?”

Jin Min stiffened his neck, clearly unwilling to yield.

Li Ningxi chuckled.

He whistled into the sky, the sound echoing through the air. Suddenly, the sunny day was obscured by thick fog, and several flaming skeletal horses flew overhead, ridden by figures… or rather, beings that shouldn’t be called human.

One wore a white robe, the other a red one; one held a soul-locking chain, the other a life-governing nail.

Their faces were indiscernible, their entire bodies shrouded in heavy, oppressive robes, with only their long, pale, ash-green limbs exposed.

—The Decree Enforcement Ghosts.

The “ghost immortals” tasked with enforcing Gui Xu’s laws.

Jin Min’s legs went limp.

In the upper celestial realms, ghost immortals were different from minor cloud immortals or heaven-earth mystic immortals who ascended through cultivation. They transcended even the dark realms, unknown to the three worlds; they didn’t enter the cycle of reincarnation, nor did they seek the mythical Penglai Isle. Perhaps they had cultivated for a thousand years—or even ten thousand.

In short, they were beings that lowly immortals like Jin Min dared not provoke.

Li Ningxi crossed his arms. “Immortal Lord Jin Min, will you go to Moon Forest on your own, or shall we bind you with this soul-locking chain?”

As soon as the ghost immortals appeared, the surroundings froze over.

Frost spread layer by layer, and several disciples of the Celestial Pavilion, whose cultivation levels weren’t particularly high, trembled uncontrollably. Not only them—even Sang Li felt slightly uncomfortable.

As a nine-tailed spirit, she naturally clashed with ghost immortals.

Finally, Jin Min couldn’t hold out any longer. Gritting his teeth in anger, he shot a fierce glare at Sang Li before following his fellow disciples to Moon Forest.

Once Jin Min left, the Decree Enforcement Ghosts vanished as well.

The sky cleared once more, and both Sang Li and Mudan let out a sigh of relief.

“Not scared, are you?”

Unusually, Yue Zhuqing didn’t leave immediately but instead came over to comfort them.

Sang Li shook her head slightly.

“That’s good.” Yue Zhuqing couldn’t help but glance at her wrist and opened her palm, revealing a small porcelain bottle.

Yue Zhuqing handed it over: “This medicine promotes healing and skin renewal. Take it and use it.”

Sang Li was utterly overwhelmed by the kindness, and it took her a long time to process it even after Yue Zhuqing and Li Ningxi had left.

Mudan swallowed hard, staring at the bottle and muttering: “Goodness me, Senior Sister truly treats you well.”

Sang Li carefully put away the medicine, feeling a warm glow in her heart.

After this incident, Mudan suddenly found that Sang Li wasn’t as unapproachable as she had thought. The relationship between the two had unknowingly grown closer.

She affectionately hooked her arm around Sang Li’s, giggling at the memory of Jin Min’s ashen face. “Ali, you’re amazing! You even fooled Senior Sister Yue Zhuqing. Now that she’s standing up for us, that Jin Min won’t dare bully you anymore!”

Mudan couldn’t stand the arrogant immortals of the Celestial Pavilion.

The current Nine Ling Divine Realm had many mountains and territories ruled by immortals, each fulfilling their duties. Among them, the Celestial Pavilion was the most unique.

It fell under the jurisdiction of the current divine realm overseer, the Supreme Dao Ancestor, and its immortal towers were built directly within the four divine realms. As a result, the disciples it produced were all haughty, looking down on immortals outside the divine realms, let alone lowly fairy maids like them from Gui Xu.

Today, Mudan finally felt a sense of triumph and changed her opinion of Sang Li.

In the past, she would feel nervous just speaking to her.

Sang Li was the most stunning fairy maid Mudan had ever seen. Even the Holy Maidens of Penglai Island might not compare. Yet Sang Li was aloof and difficult to approach, always coming and going alone, making it hard to befriend her.

Sang Li quietly listened as Mudan rambled on.

She didn’t think their clumsy act could fool Yue Zhuqing.

It was simply a matter of leveraging her familiarity with the original story’s character settings and accurately predicting her personality.

In the original story, Yue Zhuqing hadn’t been born into nobility before ascending. She was the eldest daughter of a peasant family.

Born in a remote, impoverished village, her parents favored sons over daughters, leaving her to endure a harsh childhood—hungry, cold, and burdened with serving the entire family. One year, during a prolonged flood where relentless rain lasted for three months, her parents, egged on by the villagers, offered eight-year-old Yue Zhuqing as a sacrifice to the river god.

Miraculously, she survived and was saved by a Taoist temple.

However, this temple wasn’t a righteous place devoted to saving people—it was a den of heretical practices. The false Taoist master worshipped evil deities and relied on young girls for his cultivation rituals every month.

Yue Zhuqing witnessed a brutal massacre, awakening her sword spirit. With a single stroke of her sword, she obliterated the entire temple.

She sent the surviving children back to their families, but with nowhere to go herself, she became a wandering cultivator.

Yue Zhuqing entered the dao at ten, formed her core at twenty, and ascended at five hundred.

If this weren’t a male-centric novel, Yue Zhuqing would undoubtedly be the protagonist of a grand tale. Unfortunately… the fate of this aloof senior sister wasn’t kind.

She likely knew Jin Min’s true nature all along, so helping Sang Li despite her act wasn’t surprising. What moved Sang Li was that Yue Zhuqing genuinely gave her medicine and allowed her to touch her treasured sword.

Sang Li tightened her grip on the small porcelain bottle in her palm, recalling Yue Zhuqing’s tragic end where her soul was scattered after betrayal, and felt a pang in her heart.

Yue Zhuqing and Li Ningxi took another path.

One walked ahead, the other followed behind.

She remained silent, walking briskly, while Li Ningxi, unable to hold back any longer, finally caught up to her. “Those two little fairy maids were obviously faking it. Do you really believe her?”

Yue Zhuqing kept her gaze forward. “So what?”

So what?

“They’re full of lies, and you’re playing along. If Jin Min complains to that goddess, it’ll only bring more trouble.” Li Ningxi scanned Yue Zhuqing up and down. “It’s strange. Lord Ji specifically told her to come along, and then he sends us to defend her. You’ve never met her before, yet you choose to trust her.”

Ever since the arrival of the Celestial Pavilion members, Gui Xu Sea had become unusually lively.

Among the three of them, Yue Zhuqing was usually the most rational. Li Ningxi hadn’t expected her to suddenly change her stance and cooperate in this farce.

From this perspective, he was the only one who remained clear-headed!

Li Ningxi understood.

Yue Zhuqing said: “As you said, it was Lord Ji’s instruction. Besides, can Jin Min be considered a good person? She’s beautiful, yet she’s just a lowly fairy maid. For her to risk seeking refuge here shows how desperate she must be.”

Li Ningxi: “...”

He understood.

Translated, that statement meant: How could someone so beautiful lie arbitrarily? Of course, she chose to help her!

“If Situ comes, let her come. In my Gui Xu Sea, she won’t be allowed to act recklessly.”

Yue Zhuqing flashed into the courtyard. Li Ningxi paused, then finally couldn’t resist shouting at the closed door: “You owe me a new robe! That was fine cloud brocade material!”

Early the next morning, Sang Li was summoned to the courtyard.

Yue Zhuqing stood beneath the phoenix tree in the center of the yard. The vibrant red phoenix flowers highlighted her elegant silhouette.

Perhaps sensing Sang Li’s presence, Yue Zhuqing turned and nodded to her. “We’re about to descend the mountain. I’ve come to give you some instructions.”

This was Yue Zhuqing’s first visit to Huansha Garden, and many fairy maids cast envious glances at Sang Li.

Sang Li was both surprised and flattered, quickly hurrying over: “Senior Sister didn’t need to come all this way. You could’ve just sent someone to tell me, and I would’ve gone to you.”

Yue Zhuqing gave a faint smile: “It was on the way.”

The courtyard was crowded with onlookers, and Yue Zhuqing found the prying eyes and ears bothersome, so she gestured for Sang Li to step outside.

Sang Li followed her respectfully.

After walking for a while, Yue Zhuqing seemed exasperated and turned back, saying: “People might think I’ve grown an extra tail with you trailing behind like this.”

Sang Li immediately understood and quickly moved to walk beside her.

“Your name is Ali?”

“Yes, my full name is Sang Li. Senior Sister can call me Ali.”

“Mm.” She nodded. “This should be your first time descending the mountain. Your duties will be simple—stay by Lord Ji’s side and follow his instructions.”

As she spoke, Yue Zhuqing glanced at her sidelong.

Sang Li listened obediently, appearing very sensible.

“Don’t worry. Lord Ji treats others kindly and won’t make things difficult for his subordinates.”

She offered a reassuring word.

If only she hadn’t said that. Upon hearing it, Sang Li’s face immediately twisted in doubt.

Kind?

Whether or not he was kind remained to be seen, but she certainly wasn’t reassured.

Though her encounter with Ji Hengyu had been fleeting, she could already tell he was unpredictable, his personality as inscrutable as his portrayal in the original story.

Sang Li hadn’t given up hope yet.

She had already planned everything out.

If luck was on her side during this trip down the mountain, she’d find an opportunity to slip away. Did she really believe Ji Hengyu would chase her to the ends of the earth?

As for the dual-life curse, there were a few formidable individuals among her clansmen who surely had ways to break it.

With her mind made up, Sang Li straightened her spine slightly. “Thank you for comforting me, Senior Sister. I’m not afraid.”

To show her sincerity, she even stretched her lips into a broad, sweet smile, revealing four white teeth and two dimples.

Her innocent sweetness made Yue Zhuqing suppress a chuckle, a faint smile tugging at her lips. “That’s good. The mortal realm isn’t like the celestial one—you must stay close to the group to avoid getting lost.”

She showered Sang Li with sisterly advice.

In her past life, Sang Li hadn’t had an older sister, but she did have a young aunt ten years her senior who would nag her similarly before every outing. Unfortunately, her beautiful aunt met a tragic end after being betrayed by a scoundrel husband.

Sang Li felt a pang of sorrow. The purpose of this trip down the mountain was to rescue Shen Zheyu—and Shen Zheyu… was the main culprit behind Yue Zhuqing’s demise.

—Another scoundrel!!

She bit her lip, hesitating whether to give a warning.

If luck was on her side, she might never return here again. If not, as a little fox whose life rested in others’ hands, there was nothing she could do anyway.

She couldn’t fight, nor could she help.

Taking a deep breath, Sang Li ultimately couldn’t resist: “Senior Sister, thank you so much for helping me the other day. I feel none of the people from the Celestial Pavilion are good, especially someone like Jin Min or Shen Zheyu. If you hadn’t helped me, I might’ve been bullied again.”

She emphasized the name Shen Zheyu, subtly hinting at their misdeeds.

Though Yue Zhuqing was surprised by her words, she didn’t grow overly suspicious, as she also harbored no fondness for the Celestial Pavilion.

However…

She couldn’t understand why Sang Li suddenly mentioned Shen Zheyu.

Shen Zheyu was the only disciple personally taken in by the Supreme Dao Ancestor and served as the divine realm’s guardian official. He was strict, placing order and law above all else. Among the members of the Celestial Pavilion, he was arguably the most reasonable one.

Yue Zhuqing couldn’t fathom what he might have done to leave such a negative impression on a lowly maid like Sang Li.

Could it be that Shen Zheyu had also taken notice of her beauty and secretly mistreated her?

Regardless, Yue Zhuqing took the words to heart, and her regard for Shen Zheyu dropped slightly as a result.

“It was just a small favor—no need to thank me. If they trouble you again in the future, come to me.”

Sang Li nodded, deciding not to press the matter further.

Too much talk might raise suspicion. Yue Zhuqing was intelligent enough to heed her words.

The two arrived at the front hall.

A palanquin stood before the gate. It was large, adorned with a dragon-shaped roof, curtains of cloud gauze, and pulled by four silver flying horses, exuding an air of grandeur.

“Lord Ji, Sang Li has arrived.”

“Let her come aboard.”

Ji Hengyu’s voice emerged from within the palanquin.

Yue Zhuqing nudged Sang Li, prompting her to step forward.

Just as Sang Li was about to approach, a voice interrupted sharply—

“Hold on!”

Her figure froze, and everyone turned their gaze toward the sky.

Situ descended on a cloud, landing firmly before the palanquin.

Clearly agitated, his delicate face was shrouded in layers of gloom. “Ji Hengyu, what do you mean? Shen Zheyu is a disciple of the Celestial Pavilion. Since we’re descending the mountain, why haven’t you included me?”

Ji Hengyu raised his hand to lift the curtain.

He had changed into plain traveling attire, sitting tall and relaxed on the seat, his elbow resting on the table as he lazily propped his head with one hand. Facing Situ’s accusations, he revealed little emotion.

“The disciples of the Celestial Pavilion are esteemed beings—no need for the goddess to remind me,” Ji Hengyu’s gaze remained calm and indifferent. “Now that Shen Zheyu is already involved, allowing the goddess to risk herself would make it difficult for me to explain to the Dao Ancestor.”

His reasoning was sound, leaving Situ momentarily speechless.

His anger dissipated like a punch hitting cotton, unable to explode.

Suddenly, his phoenix-like, ink-black eyes landed on the inconspicuous figure of Sang Li standing in the corner. “Hurry up, don’t keep us waiting.”

In an instant, all eyes turned to her, including Situ’s.