#72: Awakening

What a madman! Yuewu thought silently.

It had been three days since being brought to the divine realm, and Yuewu finally understood what Qing Xuan intended to do.

Using the divine pearl seized from the bottom of the Wandering Sea, he set up another array deep in the desolate northern region.

The divine artifact, the jade flute, hovered in the air, its golden glow enveloping the land.

That man sat on a high platform. The cold of the north penetrated to the bone. Under his tacit approval and demand, one by one, elderly and frail members of the Chifan clan voluntarily walked to the array for spiritual sacrifice, offering their blood.

Yuewu lost count of how many elders and wounded dissipated before the altar.

Qing Xuan’s expression remained cold, yet Yuewu couldn’t help but say: “Are you mad? What exactly are you trying to do? These are your clansmen!”

Qing Xuan ignored her. The last elder, trembling, approached Qing Xuan.

His hair and beard were completely white, his body covered in scars. He patted Qing Xuan’s hand: “Don’t be sad, don’t waver, my child. This path is arduous and long. Your grandfather cannot share your burden, but I believe my Qing Xuan can lead our clan to a new beginning.”

Qing Xuan said: “I will.”

“Qing Xuan, your grandfather has always wanted to say that your mother was too obsessed and didn’t properly guide you. We already missed one chance; we shouldn’t scheme against the God Emperor again. It’s true that you want to protect everyone, but this is a curse and divine punishment. For wrongdoing, there must be payment. The Chifan clan once betrayed; only by cleansing sins and making amends can we escape fate. This path now is the right one.”

The elder looked uneasily at Shi Luoyi, perhaps aware of the dubious origin of the divine pearl, his heart restless, fearing that his Qing Xuan might not even have a fallback.

Qing Xuan’s lips quivered slightly: “I will plead guilty and won’t truly rebel against the God Emperor. As for her… I will save her. When she wakes up, I will send her back.”

The elder smiled and nodded, without further attachments, walking towards the divine flute.

He bled dry, still looking at Qing Xuan with relief. Qing Xuan also gazed at him, silent for a long time.

The elder was Qing Xuan’s last family member, but today, others also lost their only loved ones. Countless clansmen rushed to become dust, without hesitation.

The elder’s blood drained away, his body turning into golden powder, floating into the array.

At that moment, both the divine pearl and the flute melted away!

Yuewu fell silent, casting a complex glance at Qing Xuan. She hadn’t expected the elder to be Qing Xuan’s grandfather, nor did she anticipate these elders and wounded sacrificing themselves willingly for the foundation of the divine flute and array.

The faces of the Chifan clan were pale, but no tears fell. Their eyes burned with something more intense and fierce.

A grand, nearly realistic illusion rose before their eyes.

Yuewu glanced at it—it was a god-demon trial ground, filled with rampant demonic energy, sinister and terrifying!

The Chifan clan, regardless of gender, young or weak, resolutely entered the trial ground, their figures swallowed by the illusion.

A little girl who had just learned to walk tripped before the illusion. Qing Xuan picked her up, softly asking: “Are you afraid?”

The little girl shook her head, her voice tender: “Young Master, I’m not afraid.”

Qing Xuan placed her inside: “Go ahead, everything will be fine. Grandpa and Grandma will protect you, A Yao.”

Yuewu then realized he had created a trial ground capable of controlling the flow of time—one year in the illusion equaled one day in the divine realm—allowing the clan to grow rapidly. When they emerged, it would be the clan’s time to defy fate.

After arranging for the clan, Qing Xuan finally remembered Shi Luoyi, Shi Huan, and Yuewu.

Yuewu felt a chill down her neck, forcing a laugh: “Hehe, Lord Qing Xuan, I’ll pass?”

In the next moment, she was grabbed by the scruff of her neck and tossed inside.

“…” Yuewu’s screams and curses erupted together.

Qing Xuan paid no heed, turning his gaze to Shi Luoyi.

The girl’s face was touched by the cold crystals of the north, gray dust-like particles that made her previously clean appearance look dull. Qing Xuan stared at Shi Luoyi for a moment but ultimately didn’t wipe them away.

Everything today, in his plan, wasn’t necessary.

But he had failed in the mortal realm. Failure meant walking an even more tortuous path.

Qing Xuan could no longer rely on a deity’s body and divine power to temper the clan. This path was destined to be filled with blood and sacrifice.

Qing Xuan rarely spent time with his grandfather. His memories were mostly of his mother, a woman who loved him but was powerless and unwilling, exhausted and pale, burdened with illness, awake only briefly each day. Once awake, she repeatedly begged and hoped he would save the clan.

Even when he was younger than A Yao.

Qing Xuan grew up in a dark, sunless palace. The most he encountered was the clan’s resentment, sibling slaughter, and Zhong Hao’s cunning cruelty.

Today was the first time someone told him that redemption through blood and sacrifice, leaving corpses everywhere, was the right way.

Is it right?

He coldly lowered his eyes, unable to distinguish right from wrong, having already become someone like Zhong Hao.

Abandoning goodness, using any means necessary.

Qing Xuan bent down, picking up Shi Luoyi, and entered the illusion.

He split the illusion into two parts. The larger area was the clan’s trial ground, akin to hell. The smaller section was a small bamboo house, warm and blooming with spring flowers.

Qing Xuan placed Shi Luoyi on the bamboo bed, sensing the array beneath his feet.

—This was modeled after the soul-gathering array at the bottom of the sea.

Time was short. Using Bian Lingyu’s divine power to sneak into the Wandering Sea allowed him to take Shi Luoyi. Bian Lingyu could remain cold and calm, not going mad, because the Forgetfulness Fruit’s effect was still active. Divine lineage bound Bian Lingyu, making him like countless gods—cold, emotionless, and adhering to discipline.

Bian Lingyu, devoid of love and hate, hadn’t realized what Shi Luoyi meant to him.

And if the Forgetfulness Fruit’s effect faded…

Qing Xuan recalled the divine pearl within Bian Lingyu that had fused with the nine-tailed celestial fox’s fallen demon core. Hopefully, the loyal old ministers around Bian Lingyu had ways to delay him, preventing him from searching for Shi Luoyi for now.

Qing Xuan took out Shi Luoyi’s soul lamp, placing it beside her bed, then stood and left.

Behind him, the girl slept peacefully amidst blooming spring flowers. Without looking back, he walked into the opposite direction—the demonic abyss where his clansmen awaited.

Outside, time passed slowly, but within the illusion, days flew by, seasons changing.

When Shi Luoyi regained consciousness, she smelled the faint fragrance of lotus flowers.

She remembered the last time she felt the exuberance of blooming lotuses and the romance of the mortal world—it was in the broken temple of her past life.

For a moment, she couldn’t tell whether it was today or yesterday.

Her body felt soft and warm, faintly exuding the fresh scent of bamboo. Her eyelids were heavy, wanting to wake but unable to.

She heard a woman’s loud voice outside: “What? You give me a lump of black mud to use as an original body! I’m a pretty girl; you want me to turn into a mud spirit later?”

Another male voice chuckled: “Oh, then tell me, what do you want?”

His voice was pleasant, a blend between youthful and mature tones. At first listen, it seemed gentle and low, but Shi Luoyi strangely detected a hint of mockery and sarcasm.

Shi Luoyi recognized it, and so did the woman.

“…” But she still attempted a final struggle. “Lord Qing Xuan, I know you’re busy, and my request isn’t high. Can you just find me a divine flower or a spiritual herb?”

Her voice grew quieter and quieter.

Shi Luoyi was startled. Qing Xuan? Or Qingxuan?

She was somewhat confused. This person certainly wasn’t the Bian Qingxuan she knew; Bian Qingxuan couldn’t possibly be a man. Shi Luoyi calmed herself, perhaps it was just a similar name?

After the woman finished speaking, the man called “Qing Xuan” laughed lightly: “Well, Miss Yuewu may have forgotten. My northern region is barren, no divine flowers bloom, no spiritual herbs grow. The only thing with divine power left is mud. But since you mentioned it, come, escort Miss Yuewu out of the northern region and let her find it herself.”

His malice was palpable. Shi Luoyi felt that he might be implying: Escort Miss Yuewu to her death.

Sure enough, the next moment, the girl called Yuewu forced a laugh: “I suddenly feel that black mud is quite nice too. A black mud spirit, hehe, how unique!”

“Tsk.”

After a while, Yuewu asked ingratiatingly: “Lord Qing Xuan, you’ve finally come out of that... oh no, the trial ground. Won’t you go in to see Miss Luo Yi?”

Huh? They know me? Just as Shi Luoyi thought this, she heard the man’s cold response: “No.”

Not long after, light footsteps entered the room. Yuewu huffed: “Cheapskate, big pervert. I won’t tell you. This morning, Yi’er moved her fingers. You turned me into a mud spirit and made me stay in this illusion for nearly a hundred years!”

This scoundrel was very shrewd. He took in many Shuilin clansmen who served as free guards in the northern region, fighting Zhong Hao. Thus, the Chifan clan could repeatedly undergo life-and-death trials in the trial ground.

And when Qing Xuan had some free time, he went around rescuing oppressed and scattered clansmen, bringing them back only to toss them into the trial ground.

Yuewu busied herself in the room for a while, wringing out a cloth to wipe Shi Luoyi’s face and hands.

“Yi’er, are you waking up soon?” She said cheerfully, “You can hear my voice, right? I’m Yuewu, the wandering soul who absorbed spiritual energy with you at the bottom of the Wandering Sea. You need to wake up early. If you wake up, maybe that man will let me leave.”

Shi Luoyi then realized she was referred to as Yi’er.

She could sense Yuewu’s goodwill towards her. She wanted to open her eyes but found it impossible for the time being, which inevitably made her feel a bit anxious.

She didn’t know how long she had fallen into the Wandering Sea, nor where she was now or how the cultivation world fared. Had Bian Lingyu returned home?

Yuewu continued to chatter away. Shi Luoyi simply calmed down and listened to her rambling.

Over several days, Shi Luoyi learned that Yuewu was a very lively girl.

They seemed to be trapped together with the Chifan clan inside the illusion. The illusion contained an array that allowed her to gather souls. Yuewu couldn’t escape; every day after practicing, she came to take care of her.

Sometimes she cleaned the house, sometimes she replaced the flowers with fresh ones from the morning, and finally sent a bit of spiritual power to the soul lamp.

Yuewu couldn’t sit still for long and always tried to “break out,” only to get caught each time and thrown back by the neighboring Chifan clansmen.

Every time this happened, she cursed Qing Xuan, the northern region, and the illusion. At the end of her curses, she sighed deeply: “Today, when I crossed over, I found that more people from Chifan have died. Such a sin. Some of the rescued little girls appear to be only twelve or thirteen in our cultivation world.”

Shi Luoyi was affected by her somber tone and fell into deep thought.

As seasons changed within the illusion, Shi Luoyi noticed that Lord Qing Xuan would occasionally visit.

Yuewu dared not provoke him. Whenever he came, she stayed far away.

He only came when he had business and never spoke. Usually, he pried open Shi Luoyi’s lips and fed her a small bottle of nectar.

The nectar was unknown in composition, sweet and pleasant to drink. Though the amount was small, every time Shi Luoyi drank it, her body improved.

The nectar carried the fragrance of flowers. Shi Luoyi remembered they said the northern region was barren and didn’t bloom divine flowers.

Qing Xuan seemed very busy. After feeding her the nectar, he would immediately leave.

Initially nervous, Shi Luoyi gradually got used to it and no longer found him particularly terrifying.

But today, the man stayed longer. After feeding Shi Luoyi the nectar, he didn’t leave.

Shi Luoyi smelled the blood on him. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel him staring at her.

Shi Luoyi felt uncomfortable. If she were awake, she would probably glare at him.

After a while, he pinched her chin, his tone low and irritated: “Still not awake?”

Shi Luoyi felt his icy fingertips, devoid of warmth.

She naturally couldn’t respond. His fingers lingered only briefly before releasing her. After a while, she heard him sneer: “Another year has passed outside the divine realm. If you don’t wake up soon, Bian Lingyu will marry a new Empress. When he decides to attack the northern region, I’ll chop you up and throw you to him.”

Until now, Shi Luoyi hadn’t known whether this person was good or evil. With these words, she was almost enraged! What nonsense! Bian Lingyu would never like someone else. This man was talking rubbish.

Before she could struggle to kill this bad guy, his voice rang out again.

“If you wake up, I’ll return you intact to Bian Lingyu.” He paused for a moment and said, “Hurry up and leave. Every three months in the illusion, you consume one bottle of spiritual dew. You’re making my northern region even poorer.”

She was stunned.

At that moment, the wind blew in from the bamboo grove. Though his words sounded unfriendly,

his voice was very low.

So low that she could discern something different from his usual nastiness and coldness in his words.

When she focused again to listen, Qing Xuan had already risen and left.

His armor and cloak still carried the chill from outside. He had been gone for a while before Yuewu returned.

Yuewu carried the scent of flowers, her tone very gossipy: “Yi’er, guess what I heard today? They say the God Emperor is starting to choose an Empress.”

Shi Luoyi was startled. Is the current God Emperor Bian Lingyu?

She then heard Yuewu say: “It’s been two years. That useless Zhong Hao can’t defeat Qing Xuan. But I heard that currently, Lord Houmi is organizing the selection of an Empress for the God Emperor. Once this matter concludes, if the God Emperor attacks the northern region, the north will be in danger.”

Yuewu was both hopeful and melancholic.

What she hoped for was that this illusion constructed with divine pearls would break soon, allowing her to possibly return home. What saddened her was that if the northern region fell, she might die in the divine realm before having a chance to return. And those Chifan clansmen looked pitiful—what would become of them then?

Shi Luoyi wanted to know more, but unfortunately, like her, Yuewu was trapped and knew very little.

Since gaining consciousness, Shi Luoyi had never been so eager to wake up.

What exactly was happening outside?

She had given Bian Lingyu the Forgetfulness Fruit, thinking that in a few years, when he recalled the past, he might not be heartbroken anymore.

Now he wasn’t heartbroken at all—he was even choosing an Empress? Even in her sleep, she began to sulk.

A long time ago, Shi Luoyi thought Bian Lingyu liked A Xiu and could think about matchmaking them. Now, just hearing that Bian Lingyu might not like her anymore was unbearable!

She desperately wanted to wake up. Perhaps this desire was so strong that finally, on this night, fireflies flew into the bamboo house and landed on her hand. The girl on the bed was no longer immobile.

That delicate, pale wrist gently turned, capturing the faint glow in her palm.