#70: Hope

When Houmi saw the divine souls flickering within the divine realm, he knew something was amiss. The original body and the divine soul were connected; such violent fluctuations in the divine soul could only mean that the original body had been attacked.

This ominous feeling had faintly surfaced in Houmi's mind on the day the young lord abruptly mentioned having a wife in the mortal realm.

Now it was even stronger.

Houmi hastily summoned all the grand priests of the divine realm to discuss countermeasures. But just then, Lingyu returned.

Clad in silver robes, a trace of blood lingered at the corner of his lips.

Houmi rushed over to support him: “My Lord.”

Lingyu did not accept his assistance, pressing his lips together and indifferently saying: “It’s nothing.”

The crowd exchanged glances. On the day they stormed the divine realm, the God Emperor had slain Su Li with his own hands but hadn’t sustained such severe injuries. His current state clearly indicated backlash.

However, there were no signs of combat or residual magical imprints on Lingyu. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said: “All of you, leave.”

The grand priests had no choice but to withdraw.

Lingyu stood alone for a while in the empty hall before entering the inner chamber to continue his slumber and mend his divine soul.

Several days passed, and when Houmi visited again, though Lingyu had claimed he was fine, Houmi remained uneasy. What exactly lay in the Wandering Sea? Nowadays, no one across the six realms could harm Bian Lingyu, yet the God Emperor returned with his divine soul in such disarray.

Unexpectedly, he encountered the God Emperor once more attempting to go to the Demon Pool, despite his original body having just recovered slightly.

Houmi was nearly brought to tears. Relying on the fact that he was at least the young lord’s mentor in his youth, he boldly clutched Lingyu’s sleeve, refusing to let him descend again.

“If you go again, you might as well kill this old servant.”

Lingyu turned to look at him: “Let go.”

“What is there that could harm you so? Your divine soul has just begun to recover, why do you insist on going again? If you don’t explain clearly today, this old servant will die here before allowing you to harm yourself.”

Lingyu frowned, finding his mentor somewhat troublesome. After a moment of contemplation, he said: “I saw her at the bottom of the Wandering Sea.”

“Who?” Houmi quickly asked, “You mean your wife from the mortal realm?”

“I also touched her.” He nodded, his long eyes cold like perpetual snow on the mountains, his tone cool. But strangely, Houmi detected a hint of warmth in his voice. Frowning slightly, he said, “When I was called Bian Lingyu, it seems… I liked her very much.”

Deep down, he even wanted to use the word “love.” But saying “like” was already out of character for him, so he silently swallowed the word “love.”

He subconsciously favored the name “Bian Lingyu” more. Despite knowing that touching her caused pain, Bian Lingyu still wanted to visit her today. He remembered that last time, he had damaged the soul-nourishing array. He wondered how she was faring now.

Houmi: “Didn’t you say yesterday that you didn’t know what feelings you had for her?”

Bian Lingyu glanced at Houmi and remained silent, withdrawing his sleeve.

The Forgetfulness Fruit had taken away his emotions, leaving him clear-headed and detached. Yet even so, Bian Lingyu still wished to go to the Wandering Sea.

In the end, Houmi couldn't stop him.

He finally guessed where the problem lay. Houmi had heard tales of the Forgetfulness Fruit, but gods were always proud and aloof, never needing such things to forget their sorrows.

Now, Bian Lingyu kept shuttling between the divine realm and the Wandering Sea, disregarding the damage to his divine soul.

Houmi felt an inexplicable gratitude toward whoever gave Bian Lingyu the Forgetfulness Fruit. Even after forgetting his emotions, Bian Lingyu was still so obsessed. Such naïve persistence—had he remembered everything, wouldn’t he have gone mad if the girl had perished at the bottom of the Wandering Sea?

While Lingyu descended, they could think of a solution.

At the bottom of the sea, Yuewu had cursed Lingyu for three days straight.

She used all her knowledge to curse his eighteen generations of ancestors.

The reason was simple: that lustful man refused to let go of her second body, even when it caused him immense pain, leading to a severe backlash of divine power. It wasn’t easy for anyone else either.

The Wandering Sea was never tranquil. The roaring divine power stirred the seawater, giving Yuewu a free whirlpool tour. That was bearable, but when she huffed and puffed back—she discovered—

Damn it, the soul-gathering array had been shattered by that man’s divine power!

Yuewu had long figured out that beneath the array was a fragment of divine bone brimming with divine power!

That silvery-white bone, even on moonless nights, shimmered brilliantly at the seabed. But after that day, cracks appeared on the divine bone, and the array became unstable.

Yuewu grumbled incessantly.

She had scavenged divine remains at the seabed for nearly a thousand years, relying on this array to make progress. Seeing that in half a year, her soul would be fully restored, she could possess a body and live freely. Now, with the array broken, she feared she’d have to scavenge for hundreds more years.

Progress was indefinitely prolonged.

This wasn’t the worst part. Yuewu looked at Er Hao’s pale face, heartbroken: “Is my Er Hao gone for good?”

Among the three, Shi Luoyi’s life soul was the most shattered. She had only been at the bottom of the Wandering Sea for half a year, her life soul barely gathered, and now with the array shattered, it seemed Shi Luoyi couldn’t even maintain her physical form and would dissipate into the seabed.

Yuewu hugged Shi Luoyi and wailed: “My Er Hao, how unlucky you are! We’re so miserable!”

The girl in her arms couldn’t sob with her. After crying for a while, Yuewu resigned herself to carrying Shi Huan to absorb spiritual energy.

On the way, Yuewu picked a burial site for Shi Luoyi.

Considering their half-year bond over absorbing spiritual energy and her beauty, Yuewu chose a place without demonic aura.

Yuewu turned to look at Shi Huan.

“Am I destined to use Yi Hao’s body?” She thought of the foolish dog, her lips twitching. “Fine, I’ll make do. Anyway, if anything happens, it’s not me who’ll feel disgusted.”

Yuewu truly felt unlucky. A soul-gathering array was rare. Such a miraculous thing required divine power to stabilize.

Over the years, it had been stabilized by a fragment of silver divine bone.

Now that the array was gone, Yuewu didn’t expect such luck to come again. She certainly didn’t think that hateful “lustful San Hao” would dare return.

Those consumed by the Forgetfulness Fruit suffered shattered livers and gallbladders.

Such pain, experienced once, was unbearable for anyone. Moreover, upon returning, he would forget his past feelings for Shi Luoyi.

This time, he would forget even more thoroughly.

However, half a month later, just as Yuewu finished digging a pit to bury Shi Luoyi, the seawater surged again.

“…!” Yuewu rushed back and saw the familiar glow.

It was a moonless night. Shi Luoyi lay dormant at the center of the array, devoid of any vitality.

Farther away, that white light gazed at her from afar.

They were only a few steps apart, yet it felt distant.

Yuewu finally discerned the figure within the glow—it was a handsome man. He had silver eyes, fair skin, and gazed at her second body emotionlessly, like observing an unopened spring flower.

His eyes held no emotions, as placid as the silent deep sea.

Even so, the suppressed desires surged like waves. Just by looking at Shi Luoyi, the seawater began to stir anomalously.

Seeing him made Yuewu furious. She feared this lustful man would touch her second body again. It didn’t matter if he didn’t fear pain; if he caused her and first body to perish this time, she would be utterly livid.

Though Yuewu didn’t know the man’s connection to her second body, using the Forgetfulness Fruit to forget pain meant he must have deeply loved her once.

Fuming, Yuewu spoke rudely: “What, here to pay respects? Then wait, I’ve just dug the pit.”

Unable to contain her anger, she deliberately used such words to hurt him.

The man’s jet-black lashes quivered slightly, and he raised his eyes.

Contrary to her expectation of a "lustful man," those silver eyes were unexpectedly pure and cold.

Like winter snow that stubbornly refused to melt.

Though he showed no expression, Yuewu suddenly realized... she might have gone too far. The pain this person endured was far greater than hers.

He likely hadn’t fully recovered from the backlash of his previous visit.

After consuming the Forgetfulness Fruit, he should have temporarily bid farewell to this past. What deep longing could drive him to repeatedly return to this hellish mortal realm, ravaged by fierce winds?

Lingyu remained silent. After Yuewu’s mocking words, seeing the seawater begin to churn again, he seemed to realize staying wasn’t a good choice and finally turned to leave.

The seawater didn’t touch his robes; wherever he passed, demonic energy dissipated, fleeing to either side.

A golden-hued object rose from the seabed, enveloping it, and continuously flowed into Shi Luoyi's body.

Yuewu was astonished. Though she didn’t recognize what it was, she could tell it was more powerful than all the remnants in the Wandering Sea, even surpassing the previous divine bone.

Divine energy endlessly filled the seabed, and at some point, the shattered array had already been repaired.

Yuewu finally understood why the man had come. Clenching her lips, she wanted to apologize. But looking at the slowly retreating figure, though she opened her mouth, she ultimately advised: “Don’t come back. Stay away from her, and she’ll have a chance.”

You won’t feel pain anymore.

That figure didn’t turn around, and Yuewu didn’t know if he heard her words.

But after that day, he never returned to the Wandering Sea.

Only occasionally, gentle winds blew across the Wandering Sea.

Yuewu couldn’t describe the comfortable and pleasant feeling, but when she, Shi Luoyi, and Shi Huan bathed in the "wind" infused with divine energy, she felt so relaxed she wanted to sigh.

Shi Luoyi’s condition began to improve. Whatever the man brought was an extraordinary treasure, even better than the previous silver bone.

At this moment, Yuewu didn’t know that Lingyu had left his father’s divine pearl as the array’s core.

Yuewu originally needed much more time to solidify her soul. Basking in Shi Luoyi’s reflected grace, just months later—when the first peach blossoms in the mortal realm bloomed and withered—her soul unexpectedly completed its growth!

She was so delighted that she almost kissed Er Hao’s cheek at the bottom of the sea.

Simultaneously, Yuewu faced another problem: her soul was ready, but what about her physical body?

She looked at the middle-aged handsome man Yi Hao, then at her precious Er Hao.

To be honest, Yuewu favored Er Hao.

But thinking of that man who appeared formidable, she couldn’t help but feel a chill down her neck.

If she truly took Shi Luoyi’s body, he would likely not let her off easily.

He hadn’t returned since then, but Yuewu felt it was only a matter of time before the Forgetfulness Fruit’s effects wore off.

It had been a year since Er Hao fell into the Wandering Sea. In two more years, when the effect of the Forgetfulness Fruit faded, he would likely regain his full awareness.

While Yuewu and Shi Luoyi basked in comfort, on the other side of the divine realm, Houmi and the seven grand priests were deeply troubled.

A year had passed, and they discovered an even more dire issue.

For some unknown reason, the divine pearl within Bian Lingyu had once devoured the demon core of a nine-tailed celestial fox!

Now the divine pearl was faintly shrouded in demonic energy.

This alone was troublesome. If after merging with his divine soul, he could retreat to the Divine Birthplace for a hundred years of slumber to expel the demonic energy, perhaps it could be quickly cleansed. But going to the Divine Birthplace required a century of deep sleep. Not to mention the divine realm was still in disarray, and though Bian Lingyu no longer descended to the mortal realm, he continued to protect the one beneath the Wandering Sea.

Even the divine pearl left by the previous God Emperor had been used as the array’s core.

Upon learning this, Houmi sighed repeatedly. How could the divine realm’s treasure, the life essence of a god, be used by a mere mortal woman to gather souls and nurture her body?

In spring, their God Emperor no longer descended. With a cold demeanor, amidst his busy schedule, he captured the rebels from the Western Regions. Passing by the Heavenly River, Bian Lingyu paused momentarily, then set up another barrier at the Wandering Sea.

—He didn’t remember past love, yet he still remembered to protect her.

Throughout this year, Houmi had exhausted every means, nearly wearing out his tongue, but failed to stop Bian Lingyu from occasionally gifting divine energy to that woman.

Yes, divine energy.

Bian Lingyu painstakingly cultivated his own divine energy, yet silently nurtured another. The flaw of gods loving their wives had persisted since ancient times.

If only that woman could awaken, Houmi could grit his teeth and wait. Even if Shi Luoyi became another Empress who treated their God Emperor poorly, he would accept it.

But seeing Shi Luoyi like a bottomless pit, Bian Lingyu wouldn’t even enter the Divine Birthplace to cleanse the demonic energy and purify the divine pearl to save her. Could they really allow that demon core to grow within Bian Lingyu until the god succumbed to demonic influence?

Houmi and the others could wait no longer.

Since they couldn’t persuade Bian Lingyu to stop caring for Shi Luoyi, they had only one other path—a course several old ministers had angrily considered since the previous God Emperor’s time.

Every unfortunate God Emperor had simply loved the wrong person. Why not change wives? Select a new Empress.

If they found a well-behaved, obedient, and compliant little Empress who wouldn’t drain the God Emperor or gamble his life away, wouldn’t that perfectly solve the current predicament?

Perhaps Shi Luoyi would never awaken. Should they truly watch Bian Lingyu guard her for a lifetime, deplete himself until falling into demonic influence, endure the lapse of the Forgetfulness Fruit, and suffer immensely?

Houmi thought more and more that they couldn’t wait. Since the God Emperor was now devoid of emotion, he immediately ordered preparations for the divine palace’s selection of consorts.

Recently, Bian Lingyu had noticed the divine realm becoming livelier. After removing his battle armor, he saw that the usually cold divine realm now had several young maidens serving tea and water.

At first, he paid no attention, until he noticed these maidens trying to approach him both openly and covertly. Even his sleeping quarters smelled of unfamiliar fragrances, causing him some displeasure.

The emotion of "displeasure" hadn’t surfaced in a long time—it felt almost foreign alongside his emotional detachment.

He summoned Houmi and succinctly said: “Send all the newly arrived maidens out of the divine palace.”

Houmi hesitated: “You don’t like them?”

It wasn’t about liking or disliking. He viewed everyone as he did the mountains, stones, grass, and trees of the mortal world—with equal responsibility but also equal indifference.

“The divine realm doesn’t need these.”

“Have you forgotten? Before you descended, you were supposed to choose an Empress, but the emergence of fallen demons delayed it. Now that the divine realm is gradually stabilizing, only the rebel in the north and a few remaining Shuilin clansmen remain unvanquished. You can continue choosing your Empress.”

“I already have a wife.” She was at the bottom of the Wandering Sea, like a flower that would never bloom again.

Bian Lingyu hadn’t thought about the person beneath the sea for a long time. Occasionally, he wanted to visit her, but for Shi Luoyi, his presence wasn’t beneficial—perhaps it might disrupt the array and harm her. Therefore, each time he merely sent divine energy.

One grand priest disapprovingly spoke up: “That girl isn’t the Empress. When you descended, you had just reached adulthood and hadn’t successfully completed your transformation. Perhaps she deceived you into becoming her Dao partner.”

The other grand priests nodded in agreement.

Bian Lingyu looked at them. He understood what Houmi and the grand priests meant—she was merely his wife from the mortal realm. They hadn’t conducted a divine realm ceremony; Shi Luoyi didn’t qualify as his Empress, and no one in the divine realm would acknowledge her.

He coldly said: “She didn’t deceive me.”

Though Bian Lingyu couldn’t recall how it felt to be with her, he clearly knew it wasn’t deception on her part.

Because the harder he tried to remember those scenes, the blurrier they became—

“It has always been I who could not attain her.” Bian Lingyu indifferently remarked.

Everyone exchanged glances, speechless and incredulous.

Though Bian Lingyu could no longer touch those feelings of love and desire, if there had to be an Empress, he thought, she would be exactly like her.

Someone who made him want to embrace her, even if it caused him pain.