The great dao of cosmos costs ten thousand gold,

Mountains and rivers on diverging paths stand a lonely pavilion.

Xuanyuan’s beacon fires went out a thousand years ago,

In the imperial gates’ prosperous age, there is no kindred spirit.

Even though nine deaths bring no regret,

There will be Yinglong to drink together.

Once having experienced the vast sea, emotions are hard to convey,

Today’s bright moon carries my heart.

—Yinze Divine Lord, “The Vast Sea and Bright Moon”

One

“Alas, we are deeply in love but shallow in fate.” This used to be Shangyan’s favorite saying. During the ancient times when Suozhao was first established, whether she was looking at flowers, grass, fish, insects, or mountains, rivers, stars, and moon, she would always think of Zixiu. And this phrase, every so often, Yinze would have to hear her recite it once. To this, he always remained silent. She found him stubborn, saying he didn’t know how to be flexible. However, what kind of person Zixiu was, he didn’t care at all. He wouldn’t become identical to Zixiu just because Shangyan liked him. She liked people who knew but didn’t compete; for him to become like that—no way.

Shangyan was the first woman who stirred his heart, but regrettably there were too many barriers between them. They attracted each other, but also suspected each other, never having trust between them. Yinze was too headstrong and self-centered, always considering himself first in everything. For example, what kind of life he wanted, where he wanted to go, and the woman who was with him must stay in the divine realm’s Water Sky—all of this was already planned. If it were an ordinary woman, she would probably be eager to throw herself at him; after all, high-ranking men would inevitably be somewhat domineering. However, Shangyan, being the noble Zhaohua Ji, couldn’t tolerate such treatment. Compared to his cold hardness and arrogance, Zixiu’s tender affection like water and mouthful of lies attracted her more.

Discovering that Luowei and Shangyan had similar appearances was something from long ago, far earlier than when any emotions began.

Any young lady transitioning from a little girl to a charming maiden would undergo tremendous changes. Luowei’s transformation occurred between her forty-second and fifty-second years. Yinze had always been surrounded by too many women as vibrant as summer flowers. Regarding beauties, he had long grown accustomed to them to the point of being unsurprised. So when Luowei gradually grew up and countless people praised her beauty, he never felt any resonance. She was his disciple; he always regarded her as a junior, a child, never finding her particularly captivating. Until one morning when she was forty-seven years old.

That day, she went out with her fellow disciples to pick tea, and by noon she hurriedly brewed tea and brought it to Yinze. Yinze always had the habit of taking afternoon naps, but this disciple was exceptionally energetic, able to bounce around from dawn to dusk. Having gotten his reluctant permission, she served him like a little maid. He waved his hand for her to wait aside, but she walked to his front without any awkwardness to serve him tea. Usually, she would kneel to serve him tea, but this time because he was on the couch, she bent her waist and stood to hand the teacup to him. He noticed that her hair had grown very long, reaching to her hips, so even though it was tied in twin ponytails, it still had a somewhat charming flavor. She stood with her back to the light, her expression unclear, but that silhouette already carried the shadow of someone from the past. That afternoon, she had just woven some freshly picked emerald leaves into her braids, which happened to be Shangyan’s favorite thing to do. He was lost in thought when her voice interrupted him: “Master, please have your tea.”

The face that leaned closer was smiling sweetly, quite delicate, but couldn’t be called beautiful. In Yinze’s eyes, the word “beauty” still needed to be polished by time’s passage to be possessed. It was also because of this that he suddenly realized—this wasn’t Shangyan. Shangyan appeared gentle on the outside but was quite self-centered in her bones, so she always spoke with full confidence, sometimes carrying a touch of near-contemptuous aloofness. He had never seen Shangyan laugh heartily from the bottom of her heart, but for Luowei, hearty laughter was more frequent than daily meals. This girl was just so carefree, always seeming as if she had won a million gold in a gambling house. So even though he later discovered similarities between the two of them, he never thought to confuse them with each other.

However, later an accident occurred. When they went to Jiuzhou, due to his negligence, she was possessed by a peacock spirit.

It was already midnight when she entered his room without his permission, wearing thin silk garments, and lighting the oil lamp in the room. Actually, from the moment she entered, seeing that leisurely yet alluring manner, he realized something was wrong. One was a demon spirit who had bewitched men for a thousand years, the other was an inexperienced maiden—even using the same body, there was still a world of difference. However, she turned her head, gently pulled down the gauze clothing that had slipped to her shoulders, and sat beside his bed. Those silky, seductive eyes, welcoming yet rejecting. Knowing she was already possessed, he couldn’t move. She grabbed his collar and called softly, “Master…”

Yinze stared at her motionlessly. She then said plaintively, “Master, why don’t you say a word?”

Such things, Luowei would never do. But it was indeed her appearance, her voice. Yinze closed his eyes and exhaled, saying, “Get out of her body.”

“Don’t you recognize Wei’er anymore?” Her fingers traced over his neck, jumping upward, gently sliding across his lean jaw, “Or do you hope Wei’er would call you ‘Yinze’?”

That call of “Yinze,” spoken by Luowei’s familiar soft voice, caused Yinze’s thoughts to go briefly blank.

What utter humiliation. Faced with feminine wiles, he had never wavered like this before. Before he could regain clarity, she had already leaned her entire body into his embrace, looking up with infinite tenderness to kiss his lips. His mind buzzed, and he nearly lost control, almost embracing her waist to respond to her…

If not for the reason suddenly returning, he truly didn’t know what he might have done.

Later, the peacock spirit was captured by him. She showed no fear but laughed, laughing with incredible charm: “Yinze Divine Lord, I helped you discover such beautiful feelings, yet you repay kindness with enmity and want to imprison me?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He coldly ordered the accompanying immortal lord, “Take her away.”

“Does she know that you harbor improper thoughts toward your beloved disciple?”

The immortal lord at the side was greatly shocked but could only remain silent and lower his head in the Divine Lord’s presence. Yinze said impatiently, “Take her away.”

“Yes, Divine Lord.”

After that, Luowei returned to her original appearance. Seeing her eyes blink like a little deer’s, innocent and lively, carefree and worry-free, without the slightest seductive aura of the peacock spirit, Yinze breathed a slight sigh of relief. This was how she should be at her age. But whenever she called him “Master” in her crisp, strong voice, his ears would echo with that lingering, soft “Yinze.” For many days afterward, he would relive the moment of being kissed every night, unable to fall asleep. He knew that Wei’er wouldn’t act coquettishly, so if it were her calling his name directly, it definitely wouldn’t be like how the peacock spirit called it. What would that situation be like? She was innocent, yet had some girlish sentiment—thinking about it, it would be even more charming and light—whenever he thought of this, he would force himself to stop such wild thoughts.

For many days after, Yinze was unwilling to have contact with Luowei, unwilling to look at her even once. As soon as she smiled at him, he felt annoyed. He had never been good at concealing irritation. She quickly noticed his strange behavior and came to apologize and ask for forgiveness for no reason; that foolish look of not understanding anything made one even more furious. Every time she came, he would drive her away.

Fortunately, he later found substitutes. Those fairy demons with snow-white skin and pure appearance were similar to Luowei but weren’t her, giving him solace. At the time, he firmly believed that he liked this type of woman because they, like Wei’er, all had similarities to Shangyan. Even when entangled in bed with other women, kissing their light-colored hair, his mind would repeatedly recall that ethically transgressive “Yinze”—this was merely a momentary impulse, having nothing to do with her.

Two

“My master is the most amazing!” Without realizing it, this phrase had become Luowei’s catchphrase. Yinze had never doubted his disciples’ loyalty, but Luowei was always so boastful, as if she were number one in the world. Moreover, when saying this phrase, as long as he was present, she would cast him shining eyes of worship. Such a childish temperament, not changing one bit. Since she had been like this from childhood to adulthood, he never argued with her about it.

Cangying Sect explicitly stipulated that all disciples must not engage in romantic love, but there were always those who knowingly violated the rules. Especially those spring-hearted young maidens would more or less develop feelings of admiration for handsome senior brothers with superior immortal arts, discussing them privately in secret. As long as they didn’t go too far, most masters would turn a blind eye. Of course, some individual, particularly strict masters insisted on catching their disciples’ faults, and particularly meddlesome disciples who insisted on catching fellow disciples’ faults. With the existence of these people, gossip spread particularly fast. All along, the name Yinze heard most was “Senior Brother Tianheng.” Fu Chenzhi inherited his parents’ beauty and power; too many girls liked him, even senior sisters couldn’t help but secretly give him their hearts. Yinze had always regarded this as a group of children fooling around, never expecting that one day these romantic rumors would be connected to him. That day, passing by Mount Baidi, he heard several female disciples discussing in low voices:

“Junior Sister Luowei made me laugh to death; the answers she gives are always so unexpected.”

“How so, how so?”

“We were just discussing which senior brother everyone thought was the most handsome. You know, Senior Brother Tianheng became the center of discussion again, but Junior Sister Luowei suddenly blurted out: ‘Haven’t you all discovered who the most handsome man in our Cangying Sect is?'”

“Who was she talking about?”

After some whispering from the other party, this female disciple exclaimed: “What?! She’s so bold, actually daring to toward Divine Lord Yinze…”

“No, no, she also said she just thought Master looked handsome, saying it would be good if her future husband could look like that. She had no intention of offending His Lordship.”

Hearing this, Yinze couldn’t help but fall into contemplation. Indeed, the women around him often praised his beauty, but having lived nearly eight thousand years, he had long become numb to whether his face was good-looking or not, not taking it to heart at all. But in Wei’er’s eyes, was he also considered handsome? For a moment, he felt slightly peculiar. He only heard those two continue whispering—

“I’ve seen the Divine Lord once; he is indeed extraordinarily handsome, incomparable to ordinary immortals. It’s just that the Divine Lord is a god; I never thought in that direction… But Luowei is different. She spends day and night with the Divine Lord. Do you think she might have those kinds of feelings for him?”

“Actually, to tell the truth…” the other female disciple also lowered her voice, “I’ve always felt that Luowei has a secret crush on Divine Lord Yinze.”

“You think so too? I think the same. She mentions Divine Lord Yinze far too often, making one inevitably suspicious. Moreover, she often holds her face in her hands and stares into space, talking to herself, saying things like ‘What is Master doing?'”

“Right, right, right, this doesn’t seem like a disciple’s feelings toward a master…”

Just some wild fantasies of a few girls in their spring period—Yinze had no intention of believing these words at all. Even when he later truly saw that poem “My Master the Beauty” that Luowei wrote, he only regarded it as childish mischief and didn’t take it to heart. However, when he saw this poem, Divine Lord Lingyin happened to be present and said with great alarm: “Divine Lord, this is truly difficult to handle now. Your disciple probably has some thoughts about you.”

“What thoughts?” He noticed that the characters Luowei wrote were quite elegant, not similar to her careless personality. After a long while without getting a response from Divine Lord Lingyin, he suddenly looked up and saw the other’s eyes full of teasing amusement at watching a good show. He placed that paper on the table and said indifferently: “Don’t talk nonsense; she’s still young.”

“‘Dreaming at night of azure robes floating ethereally, your heart ripples like smoke.’ In poetry, whenever it mentions ‘you who see this person will feel such and such,’ it usually refers to the poet’s feelings, right?” Divine Lord Lingyin laughed and said in Luowei’s tone with an affected voice: “Master, you are the supreme Water God of Nine Heavens; how can you not understand such a simple principle?”

“This matter has nothing to do with you.”

“Yes, I’ll shut up.”

Although he said this, Yinze was absent-minded for the entire day. That night, he summoned Luowei for a lecture. Luowei was still the same as before, faster than anyone at stepping down from the platform. She came up and kowtowed to him with a loud sound, apologizing with utmost sincerity. Yinze fiddled with the teacup lid, lifted the tea for a small sip, and for the first time, didn’t punish her, easily letting her off. At that time, the long sky was moon-cold, pillows and mats slightly cool, the courtyard full of fragrant red flowers at their peak, and the west window a sheet of jade hall radiance. Perhaps because the night was too enchanting, he was unwilling to argue with her.

She was overjoyed, jumping up happily, saying: “Thank you, Master!” But she didn’t expect this movement to suddenly shorten the distance between the two. Just then, the evening breeze was casual, scattered red petals filled the table, lifting the azure hair at her temples. Her skin was white as fresh snow, her large and clever eyes held water-like clarity, looking at him carefully. After colliding with his gaze, she couldn’t hide the pink on her cheeks. He knew she was beginning to feel shy again. But this time, her shyness was without reason—or perhaps… he dared not think carefully about the reason. He only saw her playing with the hem of her clothes while saying softly: “Thank you… Thank you, Master. Master treats me so well.”

The fragrance of apricot blossoms made him somewhat dizzy. He felt that Luowei at this moment was so beautiful, like someone who had walked out of a painting. He also looked elsewhere: “Aren’t you leaving yet?”

“Ah, yes, yes, yes, this disciple will leave now…”

Her voice was soft and sticky, countless times more gentle and well-behaved than usual. The steps she took when turning to run out the door had also become butterfly-light. He discovered that after Wei’er fell in love with someone, she was no different from other girls. He had hundreds of ways to make a woman fall in love with him, and also hundreds of ways to prevent such emotions from growing. This was originally just a trivial matter.

But that night, he stayed awake all night. The sweet smile that rippled across her face before she left kept lingering in his mind, unable to be dispelled.

Wei’er was his disciple. She could only live about three hundred years. She resembled Shangyan; his heart’s stirring must also be related to this. Yinze understood all these principles. He also wouldn’t be like a youth experiencing first love, disrupting his life because of momentary emotional confusion. He remained as calm as ever, doing what he should do, completely unaffected. He just didn’t want to let Luowei perceive his rejection too early.

However, Luowei could always bring him many “surprises.” A few days later, she violated the sect rules and kissed Fu Chenzhi at Fahua Cherry Plain. Yinze was still very clear-headed, knowing she had never had those kinds of feelings for Chenzhi. This kiss must have been initiated by Chenzhi, or she was playing around, doing some childish game.

But still, a surge of anger grew uncontrollably in his heart.

He originally thought that after ordering people to send the two of them to Nine Clan Pool, she would act spoiled and play tricks with him as before. He didn’t expect to underestimate her regard for Chenzhi. From Chenzhi’s reaction, it was clear he had caused the trouble, yet she would rather die than defend Chenzhi, insisting on saying she was the one who actively kissed Chenzhi… Seeing how much she cared for her brother, for that instant, Yinze wanted to take Chenzhi’s life.

Walking out of Nine Clan Pool, Yinze closed his eyes and calmed himself for a long time, feeling that the situation had exceeded his control and absolutely couldn’t continue like this. Luowei and Chenzhi were childhood sweethearts, innocent companions. In a few years, when they graduated, their marriage would be perfect. As an elder, how could he entangle unclear relations with a group of juniors?

After his involvement with Divine Maiden Qingwu, he wasn’t unaware of Luowei’s disappointment. Every time he saw her wanting to smile but unable to, he would feel somewhat reluctant. It was just that to nip this budding emotion, this was the best method.

For thousands of years, regarding anything, including the romantic love that troubled all living beings, he could maintain overall control and confidence. He also saw through Luowei’s personality very clearly. She had been pampered from childhood; after coming out, she indeed suffered some setbacks and wouldn’t let herself suffer losses. Her fondness for him was merely a maiden’s naive longing. Once rejected and having learned the lesson, she would be sad for a few days, then give up, learning to be practical afterward.

If there was anything he hadn’t seen through, it was the degree of her fondness for him. Luowei’s intense reaction was completely beyond his expectations. He never would have thought that she would fall for the snow snake’s bewitchment and run off to become a demon.

Three

After returning from the East Sea, Yinze knew that regardless of whether it was related to Shangyan, his feelings for Luowei could never be twisted back. Since restraint was useless, he would try moving forward. In this aspect, he was never indecisive. However, Luowei truly lived up to the reputation of experiencing first love—she was so slow it was unbearable. Being slow was one thing, but this girl was also timid. Because she had a romantic dream, she was frightened like a startled kitten, hiding and avoiding him, not knowing where to put her feet when in his presence, even saying foolish things about going back to marry Suozhao Clan men. Since she knew this would be the result, what were all those previous casual seductions about? During that period, just thinking of the name Luowei made Yinze furious, not even wanting to speak to her.

But he still forgave her on Mount Baidi. At that time, winter was departing and spring was arriving, peach blossoms blooming. He and Divine Maiden Qingwu descended together from the sea of clouds onto the mountain peak. At Divine Maiden Qingwu’s repeated requests, he reluctantly agreed to put peach flowers in her hair. Raising his hand, he glimpsed a figure through the gaps between flower branches. It was Luowei. From her posture, she should have originally been hunching her shoulders, wanting to escape, but being caught red-handed by him, she could only awkwardly hesitate without advancing. He saw those lively eyes among thousands of flowers, seeming to carry the water-light under clear skies. When their four eyes met, she quickly blinked several times. Soon, Divine Maiden Qingwu also discovered her and waved at her: “Yinze, look quickly, your disciple is also over there. Let’s put a flower in her hair, too.”

Yinze naturally disagreed. Women’s thoughts were sometimes extremely shallow, sometimes like needles at the bottom of the sea, but regardless of which type, wanting to see through them was not difficult for him. Like at this moment, he could tell at a glance that Divine Maiden Qingwu merely wanted to care for her younger sister in front of him to display the considerate and virtuous side of women. It was just that this Luowei girl was a troublemaker. Even now, with her plain face, she often caused several young men to fight over her. If she truly fell in love with dressing up, who knew what trouble she would cause?

Originally, Luowei was inexplicably somewhat displeased. After hearing his rejection, she was even more disappointed; her small mouth could hang an oil bottle. But Divine Maiden Qingwu didn’t listen and instead pulled Luowei to her side, skillfully undoing her braid and placing the peach blossoms on one by one. Yinze sighed lightly, turned around to gaze at the sea of clouds, letting these two girls fidget at the side. Hearing them chatter busily for quite a while, he casually turned his head to look and was quite embarrassingly stunned: for a moment, flowing clouds rippled, thousands of peach blossoms surpassed a hundred flowers. Luowei stood under the peach tree, her waterfall of azure hair scattered to her waist, flowers abundant, worn from her temples to her shoulders. She looked up at Divine Maiden Qingwu with eyes full of curiosity but didn’t dare say much. A gust of wind blew, petals brushed past her cheeks, carrying fragrance, and swirled to Yinze’s front. She followed those petals’ direction and looked over, once again meeting his gaze. His complexion was lustrous white like frost and snow, beautiful yet cold, while her cheeks were pink and puffy, almost the same color as the peach blossoms.

Luowei was, after all, still a little girl, completely not knowing how to protect herself, nor would she use false emotions to disguise her heart. Liking someone was written so nakedly on her face like this. Without saying anything, he could read the joy in her heart. At this moment, he was somewhat grateful for Divine Maiden Qingwu’s presence. If she wasn’t there, he might have impulsively embraced Luowei. Fortunately, after Divine Maiden Qingwu finished and left, he also recovered his rationality. He said: “Speak, what’s the reason?”

“What reason?” Her eyes flickered; she couldn’t even pretend to be foolish properly.

“You’ve been avoiding me recently. What’s the reason?”

Actually, he knew all the things she worried about. Her heart was full of uncertainties: uncertain whether he liked her, uncertain what would happen if they took another step forward, uncertain how long she could accompany him… But what was wrong with him? Being particularly persistent about this matter, insisting she say it out loud.

Perhaps it was because he knew that once they were truly together, he might not be able to retreat unscathed. The one with the longer lifespan would always suffer more torment. For someone like him who centered everything around himself, to give so much was indeed difficult to achieve. So she had to take the initiative; only then would he not feel that he was at a disadvantage.

She bloomed with a sweet smile, yet was quite embarrassed: “This disciple hasn’t been avoiding Master, just wanting to learn to be more well-behaved and cause Master less trouble.”

“Wei’er, if you have something on your mind, or have any requests of me, why not speak more frankly? I won’t punish you.”

Under the vast clear sky, she quickly glanced up at him, then lowered her head again. There was moisture on her eyelashes, seeming like teardrops: “This disciple has nothing on her mind.”

He finally gave up. Luowei was stubborn; even if it killed her, she probably wouldn’t say another word. He hesitated for a moment, then said: “Actually, some things you think are impossible to happen aren’t as difficult as you imagine. I told you long ago that nothing can stump your master.”

Four

“Lord Azure Dragon… I’m truly so unwilling. Why can I only live three hundred years? I really, really like Master. I just want to accompany him for all eternity. Why… why is it so difficult…”

He had long known these feelings. But hearing her say them personally still caused him unprecedented turmoil. When bidding farewell to Luowei at the dock, he knew in his heart that their next meeting wouldn’t be too long from now, but seeing her desperately holding back tears, he still felt reluctant to part. So he transformed into an azure dragon to send her back to Suozhao. Hearing her sad sobbing, even deep breathing could hardly ease the stifling pain in his heart.

“However, I think leaving was right. I no longer have the qualification to stay by Master’s side. My fondness for him has become abnormal. I don’t like Divine Maiden Qingwu always following him around; I just want to monopolize him. Once he doesn’t look at me, I get very angry. In the depths of night, just thinking about him being with someone else makes me toss and turn sleeplessly, my heart cutting like a knife. Even now when he’s not by my side, my heart still aches so much…”

Since she didn’t know his identity anyway, testing the waters wouldn’t cause much harm—after all, there was still a way back. He had originally thought this way. But he didn’t know that he was walking on a cliff’s edge; every step forward would automatically seal off the path behind him.

All self-deception stopped at the moment he kissed her lips.

Yinze, you’re finished.

A voice in his heart said so. It turned into a sharp blade, cutting open the wound of tragedy inch by inch.

Previously, he had countless premonitions that if he continued to indulge, though it would be difficult to emerge, there should still be a thread of room for redemption. But when he truly held her in his arms, truly tasted the goodness of possessing her, he clearly knew this was already his endpoint.

Five

Xuanyue was a Qiongqi. Qiongqi, one of the four great ancient fierce beasts, was essentially just a red tiger with wings. Since it was a tiger, it naturally had tiger habits, such as liking to be near water and enjoying nighttime hunting. Moreover, Qiongqi itself was a descendant of Gonggong, so rolling in water was the happiest thing Xuanyue could imagine. Oh no, the happiest thing should be when its master brought it to soar and dance through water in tropical rainforests, hunting little rabbits and deer.

Xuanyue never understood why, when Suozhao’s emperor was clearly King Liuying, its master, this Kitchen God, insisted on cleaning up other people’s courtyards. Any governmental affairs that Liuying couldn’t finish, she had to interfere with. Thus, without its master’s companionship, Xuanyue’s life was very boring. It wanted to sleep lazily until noon, but was always awakened by its master at dawn.

“Xuanyue, Xuanyue, I’m going to Sister Wang’s place. Remember to watch the house and don’t let anyone else enter my room.”

Opening its eyes, it was met with a pair of large, beautiful deep azure eyes. Creamy skin, slender waist, light and graceful figure, charming and alluring, that waist-length hair was the color of emerald splendor, painted with the pale blue of the daytime sky. Its master was truly a beauty. Perhaps out of bias, looking across all of Suozhao, Xuanyue had never seen a girl prettier than her. It was just that she never properly treasured her own beauty. Pinching its ears, scratching its tail—her daily routine of tormenting it was as boring as a three-year-old child. Xuanyue really wanted to lose its temper, but thinking there would be a long time before seeing its master again, its mood became quite melancholy. It flew up and nuzzled its master’s neck, making clingy sounds. Sure enough, its master was very susceptible to this; her beautiful bright eyes curved into two crescents: “I’ll be back soon. You stay here obediently first.”

Still the same as always, she showed no wavering whatsoever.

As an ancient fierce beast, all it could do was serve as its master’s watchdog. Xuanyue was very unhappy, but didn’t dare be disrespectful to its master, so it could only curl up into a round furry ball, pointing its round bottom at her in silent but intense protest. Finally, its master walked away, and it began walking sideways through the palace like a crab, bullying the Xuan snakes that the palace maids were feeding, trampling on Yin birds that were already exhausted from flying, and even lifting its hind leg to urinate and defecate, marking territory so that all strange beasts within ten li wouldn’t dare approach. Of course, it wasn’t being so domineering without reason, but because it had heard many whispered conversations in the palace that displeased it.

“Hey, hey, hey, have you all seen how close His Majesty and Young Master Kong have become lately? I think this second joyous occasion is about to happen.”

“Yes, His Majesty is older than Young Master Kong. No one expected they would end up together. Actually, judging by age and appearance, he’s more suitable for the Little Princess.”

“Speaking of the Little Princess, I really don’t understand. She’s truly beautiful, but also truly picky. Haven’t all the suitors who came calling over the years been scared away by her? Tell me, what kind of man does the Little Princess actually want to marry?”

“I’m speaking the honest truth like someone weighing on scales. Think about it—His Majesty’s first marriage failed, but she still married an immortal, and the Little Princess stayed in the immortal realm for so long. Our Suozhao men probably can’t catch her eye. But coincidentally, no immortals are pursuing her either. This situation is probably somewhat awkward.”

“That’s true. The Little Princess is already of marriageable age; she herself is probably somewhat anxious.”

“In my opinion, Hanmo would be quite good. He and the Little Princess are childhood sweethearts, and he’s the son of General Marquis. The two of them together would be a match made in heaven.”

As a loyal beast, hearing these words, Xuanyue nearly burned to death in fury, so it always caused trouble for these bastards.

Xuanyue had a face cuter than any tiger or Qiongqi, making it the pride of heaven among tiger-type divine beasts. Initially, all the maids and eunuchs in Zichao Palace were completely charmed by it, but over time, as its true nature was exposed, no one could tolerate its extremely bad personality. Gradually, these people didn’t dare approach it anymore. Thus, the long days of waiting became even more heartbreaking.

At dusk, its master finally returned. She brought back a thick stack of documents, with a gold-inlaid brocade letter placed on top, bearing an azure dragon seal with a Tianshi City symbol underneath. Xuanyue felt somewhat smug—who said its master had no one who loved her? Look, Immortal Lord Tianheng treasured her so much, always writing her letters.

So Xuanyue became like a small dog, rubbing against its master’s legs, waiting for her to lean over the desk to write back to her brother. Finally finishing one letter, she was also somewhat tired. Stretching lazily, she held Xuanyue and sat in the courtyard where poplar flowers had finished falling, quietly gazing at the moon in a daze. Over these ten years, it had accompanied its master through countless days and nights, knowing she was just a carefree big child. But every night when alone, her gaze fixed on the night sky always seemed somewhat lonely. Her sight always lingered on the constellation in the center of the eastern sky. Xuanyue knew its master was missing her master. Though Tianshi City was far, if she truly wanted to return, it wasn’t such a difficult thing. Moreover, Immortal Lord Tianheng often came over. Even if returning was inconvenient, she could ask Immortal Lord Tianheng to help deliver a message to her master. But in ten years, she had never tried once. Even mentioning the words “Master” was rare for her.

Whether immortal or spirit, their thoughts were too puzzling to understand. Xuanyue couldn’t figure it out. It just opened its mouth and ground its tiger fangs against its master’s arm. It heard its master laugh, and she scratched its neck.

This was Xuanyue’s most peaceful and happy moment of the day. It enjoyed the feeling of curling up on its master’s lap, unknowingly becoming half-awake and half-asleep.

In the middle of the night, the nocturnal Xuanyue also woke up. The sky was still that sky, the moon still that moon, just the night had grown somewhat deeper. Its master was also the same as always, sitting on the jade steps, leaning alone against the railing and falling asleep.

A streak of azure light crossed the long sky. Xuanyue knew that person was about to arrive again.

As a divine beast, Xuanyue couldn’t understand a god’s thoughts.

It saw a young man land in the courtyard—azure robes and dark hair, eyes clear and cold. As he walked over, Xuanyue also consciously jumped down from its master’s lap. Then he lifted the master horizontally, carried her back to the room, and gently placed her on the bed. The bed was wide and luxurious, his long robe spreading like flowing water. His fingers gently swept across her jaw. He looked up to see Xuanyue staring at him with wide eyes. Then he placed his finger with the azure jade ring to his lips, making a shushing gesture. Xuanyue nodded like pounding garlic.

One night passed, and it was another warm spring morning with flowers blooming.

“Xuanyue? Why did you get up so early? I fell into a deep sleep yesterday. Did you carry me back to my room?” Its master yawned, looking somewhat dejectedly at the empty bedchamber. “Last night, I dreamed of Master again.”

Six

In the divine realm, everyone knew that Heavenly Emperor Haotian and Water God Yinze didn’t get along well. Recently, the drought that had shown signs in the divine realm a hundred years ago finally descended upon the lands of Jiuzhou. The Heavenly Emperor’s attitude toward Yinze became even more subtle. In the Upper Qiankun Hall, wherever Yinze appeared, the surroundings would inevitably fall into deathly silence—truly special treatment. These two had thousands of years of old grudges; with just an exchange of glances, each knew what the other was scheming. Even so, for over a thousand years, neither could do anything about the other, as long as they could mutually restrain each other. Looking across the Nine Heavens, the only one who dared call the Heavenly Emperor “crafty and treacherous” to his face was probably Yinze alone. Haotian, despite being the Heavenly Emperor, rarely showed anger. Others called him benevolent and sage. In Yinze’s view, that was merely a benevolent technique. Without edges or corners, rolling smoothly, one wouldn’t stumble and fall. Now he still refused to mention the natural disaster, instead sending Jumang to talk with him.

Jumang was the Wood God of Spring, once a descendant of Shaohao and confidant of Fuxi, currently governing the divine tree Fusang and the land of sunrise. Therefore, his status was inferior to Yinze’s, yet he was qualified to speak face-to-face with Yinze. It had to be said that the Heavenly Emperor’s way of employing people was becoming increasingly crafty and cunning. But Yinze also knew this wasn’t the Heavenly Emperor’s idea; behind the scenes, Divine Lord Bixu had definitely caused plenty of trouble. Bixu was two hundred thirty years older than him. Both were heaven’s pride born in the Water Sky, but ultimately, the one who succeeded Gonggong’s position was him—this had always been a thorn in Divine Lord Bixu’s heart. That guy was a smiling tiger, always fawning and flattering those in high positions with endless compliments, but when releasing hidden arrows, he showed no mercy whatsoever. He was completely opposite to Yinze. Thinking of Divine Lord Bixu’s sinister gaze, Yinze found Jumang before him much more pleasing to the eye.

“Divine Lord Yinze, look, this sea is truly about to dry up completely.” Whenever walking with Yinze through the Water Sky, Jumang would unexpectedly blurt out such sentences, then add the next sentence with seeming regret: “This is all my fault.”

Being indoctrinated daily with different methods about the suffering of drought, if it were someone else, they would surely be beating their chest and stamping their feet like him. But Yinze didn’t fall for this trick; he wouldn’t even ask why it became Jumang’s fault. This Six Realms wasn’t his anyway—what did it matter to him? He had heard that someone had previously advised the Heavenly Emperor, saying that even if all the water in the Six Realms dried up, as long as Divine Lord Yinze could still live, he wouldn’t consider sacrificing himself. To put it bluntly, it was those two words people often used to describe him: selfish. Yinze quite agreed. Since they understood his temperament, they should complain less. In these years, his willingness to descend to the mortal realm to cast spells to treat drought was already far more noble than his usual behavior. Others had better not harbor any thoughts about his cultivation.

Seeing that the sob story wasn’t working, Jumang laughed aloud: “High mountains are looked up to; the righteous path is followed. Divine Lord Yinze’s composure—though Jumang cannot reach it, my heart yearns toward it. I’ve heard people say before that things the Divine Lord doesn’t want to do, even if they killed the Divine Lord, he still wouldn’t do them. It’s just that this drought might be more severe than we all thought.”

Jumang always spoke conservatively. When he said “not severe,” it meant “severe”; when he said “a bit severe,” it meant “very severe”; when he said “somewhat severe,” it had probably reached an irreversible degree. Yinze frowned and asked: “How severe?”

“If it continues to worsen, there will be great drought across heaven and earth, water sources will dry up, the four seas will be exhausted, and heaven’s number will end.” Seeing Yinze stunned, he waved his sleeves. “Of course, Jumang has no intention of offending or accusing Divine Lord. If the Water Sky were still under Gonggong’s management, the day of great drought would probably come even earlier. This is a natural disaster that truly cannot be avoided. If not for Empress Houtu’s explanation, I probably would still be kept in the dark.”

After hearing Jumang’s explanation of the drought’s origin, Yinze had an ominous premonition in his heart, but still said calmly: “Then how can it be stopped?”

Jumang sighed deeply, looking at the endless sea of clouds beneath his feet, the immortals, gods, dragons, and phoenixes flying through them, as if overlooking the rolling mortal world bearing joys and sorrows: “Divine Lord Yinze, you and I are both divine spirits, high above, receiving worship from all beings, so we should pay the way of heaven. Since we are not subject to the six paths of reincarnation, then the six paths of reincarnation should not be our destination.”

Hearing this, Yinze already understood his meaning. He was saying that gods were eternal, thus wouldn’t enter the six paths of reincarnation. Their destination was heaven, earth, and the universe. In other words, the Heavenly Emperor hoped he would become a sacrifice offered to all beings under heaven, transforming into the water source of all things, returning to heaven and earth. He said indifferently: “What if I don’t like this kind of destination?”

Jumang wasn’t surprised at all and laughed: “I knew Divine Lord would answer thus. If it were Jumang, Jumang would put all beings first. Now with danger at hand, if water is governed, probably before long it will be the turn of us, earth and wood gods to return to the universe. But Divine Lord is different. You’ve always been like this, without ties or attachments.”

Yinze paid no attention to all that preceding nonsense. He only listened to the last sentence.

Well said—without ties or attachments.

Perhaps he truly was without ties or attachments.

Seven

How long are a few years? For gods with endless lifespans, it’s merely an instant.

But in these few years, Luowei’s transformation was earth-shattering. As time passed, he witnessed Wei’er with his own eyes transform from a naive, easily understood little girl into an elegantly made-up, unfathomable woman.

He had thought time would dilute all longing, but unexpectedly, on the day of reunion, his emotions were even stronger than before. Without experiencing these years, Yinze wouldn’t have known that time only froze the water of longing, temporarily numbing oneself. Once encountering an old friend again, it would melt into one’s bones.

They say that caring leads to confusion—such a great truth. From the moment she returned to Tianshi City, he couldn’t see through whether she still liked him. He had lived over seven thousand years; no period had been more chaotic than this time. Despite this, he still deceived himself, telling himself everything was under control. Until she repeatedly angered him, and the clarification of their relationship was imminent. Finally, she broke through his ice wall with her head, kissing him regardless of everything.

“Last time doing this wasn’t because this disciple was dizzy—it was because I truly couldn’t bear it anymore. Master, this disciple is unfilial. From now on, please take good care of yourself. This disciple will never return again…”

That sentence hidden in his heart for many years finally burst out.

Things that were destined to be lost—if they would make one’s heart ache with longing, he would rather choose never to have obtained them in the first place. But this time, he decided to change his approach. No matter the outcome, even if there were only these brief hundred years of joy, he wanted Luowei. He even had a lucky mentality: perhaps without waiting for a hundred years, he would grow tired of her. After all, the women around him in the past, whether stunning beauties or passionate ones, couldn’t maintain his long-term interest.

The result was that he overestimated himself.

No matter how many embraces, kisses, caresses, or neck entwining, none could make this “novelty” disappear. He had many things to do, yet he accompanied her back to Suozhao. Was it because she was too beautiful? After all, the adult Luowei was indeed more captivating than all the blooming flowers in Suozhao. It must be because of this. She would have a day when her beauty faded; by then it would surely be better. While thinking this, he discovered that his mode of interaction with her was completely different from other women. They had so many common topics; even without touching each other’s fingers, they could chat from morning to night. To him, she was indeed too innocent, but she was so studious and clever. Any matter she didn’t understand, once he explained it, she could draw inferences from one instance.

As time passed, that desire to spend a lifetime with her also grew like branches, spreading to the depths of his heart, firmly taking root. By the time he realized this thought was wrong, the roots could no longer be pulled out. However, these thoughts were all hidden in the most secret corner of his heart. After being together, he treated her much better, but she couldn’t discern anything from his surface.

The two became intimate, and she began to be lawless, loving to complain to him more and more. Such boldness deserved some teaching. He ignored her for two days. By the third night, she couldn’t bear it anymore and came to gaze at him resentfully, saying some meaningless words. Honestly, these women’s mutterings—even if given to Primordial Heavenly Venerable himself, he couldn’t make sense of them. But after she made a fuss, Yinze understood her meaning. She just thought he was too cold. The two faced each other for a moment, and she finally surrendered, resting her head in his embrace with a pitiful appearance.

“Yinze, you don’t love me at all.” She hugged his arm, her lower lip covering her upper lip, trembling constantly. What exactly had he done to make her feel so wronged?

“Why?”

“I don’t know. You just don’t love me. You’re cold like an ice block. From the moment you wake up in the morning, you only know how to read books and never hug me.”

He remembered one morning when he had just woken up and, as usual, took out a book to read. She had been sleeping soundly but suddenly woke up, rolling around on the bed, hugging his arm and saying he should embrace her upon waking. After that, he did as she said, holding her with one arm while continuing to read with the other hand. She rested her chin on his chest, her long hair silkily entwining his arm, somewhat displeased as she fell asleep again.

So she was talking about this incident. He thought for a moment, deciding to skip this topic, and pointed to her chin: “Wei’er, you have a pimple.”

She smiled and covered the pimple with her hand, blinking: “Do you know? Every pimple I have was grown from being angered by you… Oh no, if that were really the case, my face would already be covered with pimples.”

He just smiled and shook his head with a helpless expression. She both loved and hated him. After holding it in for a long time, she only managed: “You don’t understand anything. You’re a pig.”

His gaze returned to the book, saying calmly: “Then eat me.”

“The point is the previous sentence!” She snatched his book away, making a gesture as if to tear it: “We’ve been in a cold war for so many days, yet you can still read so nonchalantly. You should be looking at me!”

This girl wouldn’t give up until she reached the Yellow River. Yinze sighed lightly: “Wei’er, your understanding of love is different from my understanding of love.”

“Excuse.” She was rarely forceful.

“You are a young woman and also of the Suozhao Clan. Your way of loving is to follow me around all day, hugging me.” Seeing her nod like a pecking chicken, he shook his head: “But I am from the divine realm and a man nearly eight thousand years old. I’m not accustomed to being intimate with people in broad daylight.”

“You mean at night then…” Luowei raised her eyebrows, showing a mischievous smile: “Haha.”

Yinze looked at her, silent for a long time, then flicked her forehead: “Improper thoughts.”

“The one with improper thoughts is clearly you, always seducing me, like that night a few days ago…” At this point, her face actually flushed bright red: “Anyway, you’re the one with improper thoughts… In front of others, you pretend to be as sacred as an altar statue, but actually you’re just… just don’t love me.”

“I already said I’m much older than you. My way of loving is different from yours.”

“Then how do you love? Don’t say it’s in your heart—I don’t believe that.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, four fingers alternately tapping her arm. That azure jade ring also swayed with the movement. Her red lips slightly pouted, her face full of disdain, completely like a madam forcing someone into prostitution. But after not much tapping, her arms slowly loosened. She remembered something and flipped the book over to look—it read “Qianshan Medical Sect Guide.” She was stunned: “So you’ve been reading medical texts lately because… because…” Was he researching methods to extend life?

“Can’t be certain if it will be effective. After all, human life has its destined number.”

“Yinze…” Her eyes reddened, and she threw herself into his arms, trembling as she held him: “Yinze…”

After being together, this girl’s emotional fluctuations were too great, making him somewhat unable to cope. As they talked, her tears actually started flowing. Apart from sighing lightly, he could only patiently stroke her hair.

As Jumang said, he had always been selfish, without ties or attachments. He would rather let everyone in the world be buried with him than sacrifice himself to save all beings. But at this moment, he hoped the fragile life in his arms would live on—not just these brief three hundred years of life. He hoped her soul could enter reincarnation, experiencing countless lifetimes.

Eight

Lord Kaixuan, Immortal Lord Huangdao, and Ruyue Weng attacked Suozhao, but Luowei and Fu Chenzhi quickly defeated them. Though Immortal Lord Huangdao was cruel beyond measure, he was still a man of character—unable to bear the humiliation, he took poison and committed suicide. Lord Kaixuan and Ruyue Weng, those two cowards who feared death, one fled without a trace while the other knelt begging for mercy. Dealing with such ants required no effort at all. After bringing Ruyue Weng out of Zichao Palace’s main hall and giving him a casual threat, he confessed everything honestly:

“It was… it was Divine Lord Bixu who sent us. Divine Lord Yinze, please don’t tell him I said this, or my fate will be ten thousand times worse than what you described…”

No surprise there. Yinze pondered for a moment, then said: “The deity worshipped in this place is me. Did Divine Lord Bixu tell the Heavenly Emperor that I harbored treasonous thoughts, prompting the Emperor to order you to come massacre the city?”

“Divine Lord sees through everything; this humble one admires you completely.” Ruyue Weng actually knelt on the ground and kowtowed loudly. “But the Heavenly Emperor’s intention wasn’t to massacre the city, but to collect spirits. After all, drought disasters are rising throughout the realm now, water sources are depleting, and even the divine realm’s waters are no exception. Since this Suozhao was created by you using divine realm water, in this humble one’s opinion, the Heavenly Emperor wants to draw this place’s water back to the divine realm to replenish the divine water sources.”

Collecting spirits was no different from massacring the city. But what shocked Yinze wasn’t the Heavenly Emperor’s decision. He said in a daze: “You said the divine realm’s waters have also begun to dry up?”

“Yes… Yes.”

“When did this begin?”

“Just in recent days.”

“Did Divine Lord Bixu tell you how much longer the divine realm’s waters will last?”

“Less than a hundred years.”

“Less than a hundred years?!”

Yinze’s gaze was sharp as a blade, making Ruyue Weng shiver. Ruyue Weng said tremblingly, “Only less than fifty years. That’s why he’s so anxious, ordering us to find fault with Suozhao before then, making the Heavenly Emperor believe you intend to rebel…”

He could easily see through Divine Lord Bixu’s scheme. But hearing “less than fifty years,” his mind went briefly blank and silent. Suozhao’s Luoshui originated from the divine realm. Though the riverbeds weren’t geographically connected, all living beings here depended on the divine realm’s water to survive. If the divine realm’s waters dried up, not only would Suozhao cease to exist, but even the Suozhao Clan here would vanish into ash and smoke, their souls ceasing to exist. In other words, if the drought didn’t stop within these fifty years, Wei’er would completely disappear from the world.

Complete disappearance… this was more terrifying than eternal damnation.

The more he thought, the more dizzy and disoriented he felt. After ending the conversation in a few words, he adjusted his emotions and returned to the main hall with Ruyue Weng.

When he lifted his ornate robes and stepped through the hall doors, brilliant golden sunlight happened to streamed into the hall. There were crystal lamps, glazed lanterns, and vases filled with colorful flowers, but they all became mere backdrop for the dressed Little Princess. Her hair color was like blue sky in a clear pool, shimmering with luster in the faint light. Originally, her gaze toward Ruyue Weng was full of contempt, but when she casually glanced at him, those light, feather-like eyelashes fluttered several times. In that instant, the magnificent hall transformed into a painting of beautiful women, leaving only infinite tenderness. But such a beautiful profile could vanish like smoke and drift away with the wind at any moment.

Fifty years—this was far, far shorter than they had planned.

He never imagined that fate would play such tricks. That very day, they discovered the Primordial Banner and found the living Shangyan.

Actually, hearing Shangyan say “If given another chance, I would definitely choose him”—to say he was completely unmoved would surely be a lie. He had once loved Shangyan unrequitedly for a thousand years, then watched her die with regret. She remained that patch of bright moonlight before his bed in his heart. In that instant, he even told himself that it would be good to refocus his thoughts on Shangyan—that way he wouldn’t have to worry about Luoshui anymore. As long as he stopped looking into Wei’er’s eyes and stopped listening to her speak, he could still continue living his carefree, unrestrained life.

However, after coming out of the Primordial Banner Hall, he still heard her voice: “Yinze.”

He didn’t turn back, only swayed his long robes and strode forward. But that voice calling his name was too gentle, too familiar.

Shangyan is the one I like.

My feelings for this person are merely because she resembles Shangyan.

Thinking this way, he truly felt much better.

But after walking for a while, he heard her slightly trembling voice again: “Master…”

Master. Ha, Master. So it turned out that shattering the intimacy and trust the two had built up over so long was such a simple thing. After a long while, he finally turned around, half-turning his head, coldly rejecting her from a thousand li away, yet never daring to look at her: “What is it?”

This clearly wasn’t the final farewell yet, but why…

Nine

“Yinze, using his Divine Lord status to trespass into the demon realm and provoke enmity with the demon clan, has committed such a grave crime that ordinarily it cannot be lightly forgiven. But considering his urgency to save his fellow clansman, and that immortal and divine casualties were not severe in this battle with the demon clan, we shall punish lightly. From this day forth, Yinze’s thousand years of cultivation are stripped away, and for five hundred years after leaving the divine realm, he must be accompanied by Luwu and Yingzhao.”

This result was already lighter than Yinze had expected. Originally, the matter of the divine realm’s waters had already unsettled his mind. Now seeing Chenzhi die under his own magic with his own eyes, he had also lost the courage to return to Suozhao to see Luowei again. But thinking of Suozhao, he remembered Divine Lord Bixu’s interference, so he asked the Heavenly Emperor: “Then how should Suozhao be dealt with?”

“Naturally, collect the spirits.” The Heavenly Emperor said as if it were obvious.

“No!” He excitedly stepped forward. “No, except for this, I can accept everything else!”

All the gods couldn’t help but be somewhat shocked. Some old gods had watched Yinze grow up and had never seen him so agitated. The divine hall was vast, secluded, and cold, silent as death, with only clouds exploring in from the windows, blurring the faces of the coiling dragons on the pillars. The Heavenly Emperor sat at the very top, his white gold-trimmed long robes flowing to the ground. His face, like the coiling dragons on the pillars, was already blurred, his voice gentle yet merciless: “Yinze, this matter is not up to you. Suozhao has a passage to the demon realm and your private army. Even if I trust you, I cannot trust this Suozhao.”

“The Heavenly Emperor could certainly destroy the demon realm passage.”

“That’s not a bad idea.” The Heavenly Emperor paused, supporting his cheek with the back of his hand. “Then what about your private army?”

“I am still a newcomer to Suozhao—what private army could I have?”

“Though you are a newcomer, your little disciple is not.” The Heavenly Emperor laughed lightly twice. “She is Suozhao’s heir, and her sister is Suozhao’s emperor, isn’t that right?”

At this point, Yinze already knew that further words were useless. The Heavenly Emperor clearly knew exactly what was going on. The so-called private army was just a veiled reference to winning people’s hearts—he was merely waiting for himself to give an explanation before all the gods. Yinze looked toward the window and said softly: “I will never again set foot in Suozhao in this lifetime, nor have any connection with any Suozhao Clan member. I will also relinquish the military authority of the Water Sky.”

Breaking off with Luowei like this wasn’t bad—they hadn’t been together for very long anyway.

The Heavenly Emperor smiled slightly: “With your word, I can rest easy.”

Since leaving the divine realm meant having no freedom, staying in the Azure Dragon Sky would be meaningless. Coming out of the divine hall, remembering that the ink wash umbrella Luowei had given him was still in Tianshi City, Yinze immediately prepared to retrieve it. Unexpectedly, he encountered Shangyan on the road. Unable to sleep due to the pain of losing her son, she said she would accompany him.

Flying from the divine realm to Tianshi City was but the blink of an eye, but landing before Cangying Manor’s gates, he heard a voice behind him: “Master!”

In that brief instant, he remembered something foolish Luowei had once done when he was still in Suozhao. She kept pestering him, beating around the bush to find out what kind of woman he liked. He always said “I don’t know” with complete disinterest. But she was determined to fight him to the death. When he didn’t answer, she used various methods to torment him—like not speaking to him, not coming to the dining table, sleeping in separate rooms, and whenever he appeared, turning her back to him, among other things. Unable to bear the torment any longer, he directly said: “You want to ask what kind of woman I like, right? Then it would be the opposite of you.” She showed no anger whatsoever, blinking and asking: “How would that be opposite to me?” He said: “Quiet, gentle, mature, virtuous—not troublesome.” She ran off delightedly, leaving him baffled. The next day, she brought a group of docile, quiet beauties before him, saying: “Which of these do you like the looks of?” He glanced at those women, then stared at her for a long time in puzzlement, asking what she meant.

“After I die, whether you marry another woman or remain happily single, you must forget me.” She stood in front of those women with her hands on her hips like a madam, but that brilliant, sweet smile instantly dimmed all the beauties. “Before I die, I’ll give you time to find the next person to accompany you. When the time comes, I’ll help you choose a new wife and attend your wedding.”

He looked at her, forgetting to blink.

“How about it? Are you shocked by my cleverness?” She smugly waved her fan and shook her shoulders meaningfully. “You must know, only by seeing you happy can I leave without worries.”

He remained silent for a very long time, dismissing those women one by one, then said: “Wei’er, if one day your life comes to an end, would you hope I die with you, or hope I continue living?”

“Don’t you dare have such thoughts.” She actually flew into a rage, hitting him hard with her fan. “I hope you live, don’t die, don’t!”

“You’re overthinking. How could I possibly die for you? Just asking casually.” He smiled with detached ease. “Among these girls, I actually did fancy one. When you’re old, I’ll have you help me choose someone similar and invite you to attend my wedding banquet.”

She was stunned for a moment, seeming somewhat hurt, but still obediently nodded: “Don’t worry, I will.”

Even when you have white hair and your youth has faded, I will make you a bride once more.

At that time, he never thought he would have no chance in this lifetime to become husband and wife with her.

He turned around and, amid the city lights and prosperous immortal towers, saw the center of the world. Luowei stood below the jade steps, looking at him with concern. After months apart, the piercing pain hadn’t diminished in the slightest. But he couldn’t show her even half a trace of love—first, because he hoped she would give up on him, and second, because Luwu and Yingzhao would soon transform into human form and follow. Luwu was the same type as Divine Lord Bixu. If he knew Luowei had a relationship with him, it might put her in danger. Therefore, he appeared no different, still that same him—the heartless man she feared, admired, and perhaps now hated. He walked down the steps to her front and said coldly: “What are you doing here?”

The dagger of longing finally cut open his chest, brutally carving out what was inside.

In his seven thousand-plus years of life, he finally understood what love was.

Between choosing to let the world be buried with him and letting her live, he thought he finally had his answer.

Ten

Seemingly heartless yet always sentimental, seemingly passionate yet always heartless.

This phrase described Yinze perfectly. During the first thirty years of being imprisoned in Shahai Heart Tower, the Heavenly Emperor didn’t visit him even once, nor did he permit anyone else to visit. Only after a full thirty years did he finally leisurely come over, wearing an amiable smile on his face, casually throwing him a line: “Yinze, it’s been thirty years since we last met. How have you been?”

Yinze glanced sideways at his arms. His hands and feet were semi-transparent, shackled by phantom chains, suspended high in the corner of the tower’s peak where divine power was severed. He tugged at the corner of his mouth with full sarcasm: “To be this afraid of a mere soul—that’s not your style.”

The man before him had silver hair flowing to the ground, even his eyebrows snow-white. His long hair mixed with his gold-trimmed snow robes, dancing without wind like clouds and smoke. He smiled lightly: “Calling yourself a mere soul—isn’t that too self-deprecating? A god with only his primordial spirit left is more terrifying than demons. You’re so determined to exchange back Immortal Lord Tianheng—I truly don’t know what you’re thinking. For Shangyan? You don’t love her that much.”

“So you think I want to rescue Chenzhi to take him to join Zixiu?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Haotian, don’t play these empty games with me. We both know what the other is thinking. Now I’m at the end of my rope. You just go about your business. When the natural disaster arrives, come find me then. Until then, you needn’t worry about me.”

“I just can’t figure out why you’ve gone this far.”

“Take your time guessing.”

After the last meeting with Luowei, Yinze decided to return to the origin of all things before Luoshui dried up, preserving her and the child’s lives. In other words, they had less than fifty years remaining. While humans are made of clay and immortals of water, using Wuxiang Pool water, lotus flowers, and phoenix feathers to reconstruct an immortal body would take forty to fifty years. Unfortunately, human life has its destined span, and going against heaven requires paying a price. To resurrect an immortal, a god must exchange its own body. So Yinze told the Heavenly Emperor he agreed to return to his origin to save the world, but on the condition that Chenzhi be revived and the Heavenly Emperor approve it. The Heavenly Emperor thought for a moment and said, “I don’t want to keep Zixiu’s son at all. But considering the past relationship between Princess Zhaohua and us, I agree.”

Was it really for Princess Zhaohua’s sake? It was for the sake of the return to origin. This fellow always spoke so pleasantly. But feeling he had only said half of what he meant, Yinze said: “Speak freely if you have something to say.”

Sure enough, the Heavenly Emperor made a new demand: after his primordial spirit left his body, the spirit must be locked atop Shahai Heart Tower until the day of return to origin arrived; only then could he leave the tower. This move was utterly inhumane, exposing the Heavenly Emperor’s nature as a paranoid ghost beneath his smiling facade, yet Yinze agreed quite readily. Because he knew that after Chenzhi’s death, Luowei was heartbroken—she must have hoped more than anyone for his return. So he hoped Chenzhi could return to her side before he disappeared. That day, when the gods brought him to Shahai Heart Tower, the Heavenly Emperor finally spoke to him frankly: “Yinze, I’ve wanted to eliminate you for a very long time, but now that this moment has truly come, I feel quite regretful.”

Shangyan, who had come along, cried until her face was completely red.. Using that silly girl Luowei’s words, it was “her eyes were almost melted by scalding tears.” She grabbed his sleeve, pleading as she shook him: “Yinze, don’t do this, please? I love Zixiu, but I can bear a world without him. But if you leave, I’ll blame myself for the rest of my life.”

“You simply don’t love me, no need for self-blame.”

“But you’re trading your eternal freedom for Chenzhi…”

“This isn’t for you—it’s for Wei’er. I’ll find a way out. I’ll also find a way to solve the drought problem.”

“You can’t find a way. Haotian is imprisoning you to torment you, to make you lose all will to live, and finally, willingly sacrifice yourself.” Shangyan wasn’t as easily deceived as Luowei.

“If that’s truly the case, I can only blame my weak willpower.” Yinze smiled indifferently. “Besides, if I truly can’t find another way, then returning to the origin of all things is what I, as the Water God Cangying, should do.”

Shangyan looked at him in amazement: “You… you would never have said such things before…”

Recalling his conversation with Shangyan thirty years ago, Yinze also realized he would never have said such things before. Probably, he had truly been changed by that person. So once again, he thought of Luowei’s smiling face. These thirty years, he had lived on wind and dew; his only sustenance was memories of her. So even though he could no longer remember the details of her facial features, he could firmly remember the feeling of embracing her.

“Lost in thought again?” The Heavenly Emperor laughed. “Seeing you like this, I can’t help but suspect that everything you’ve done is for a woman.”

“No, I know you you-you’re not a romantic fool.”

After arbitrarily dismissing this thought, the Heavenly Emperor chatted with him a bit more before leaving. Before departing, seeing that Yinze no longer had his former arrogance, he removed the phantom shackles from Yinze’s body. But he never expected that the moment he let down his guard, he would attract a wolf. That wolf’s name was Zixiu.

Completely different from the Heavenly Emperor’s arrival, Zixiu belonged to the night—a Demon Lord appearing in the moonlit night, naturally possessing a chilling, demonic beauty. Seeing Yinze, he clicked his tongue: “You’ve become this wretched. If not for my son, I really couldn’t afford to lose this much face.”

Yinze stood rubbing his wrists, saying coldly: “Whether I’m wretched or not, what does it have to do with you losing face?”

“You’re my love rival and opponent. If you’re this wretched, it makes me look shabby too, doesn’t it? I don’t understand you, god clan—creating a body still invites heavenly tribulation. We demon clan, can create new bodies quite simply. Come on, follow me to the demon realm. I’ll give you a new demon body.”

Yinze frowned: “Wouldn’t that make me a demon?”

“Heavenly Emperor Haotian rules without recognizing family ties, yet his hypocrisy is the greatest in the Six Realms. As long as he exists, you’ll have no future in the divine realm. My demon realm is different—whoever is strong becomes king.”

Who knows who doesn’t recognize family ties? Yinze looked at him speechlessly for a moment: “Aren’t you afraid that if I leave, the Heavenly Emperor will want your son’s life?”

“I know how to protect my son—no need for your concern.” Zixiu curved one corner of his mouth in a smile, his eyes bright as purple crystals in the night. He laid down a teleportation array on the ground. “Come, follow me to the demon realm.”

Eleven

During nearly ten years after becoming a demon, every night’s torment was like burning away Yinze’s life, yet he never mentioned it to Zixiu. Because Zixiu didn’t know about his agreement with the Heavenly Emperor, he thought Yinze could be a demon eternally and gave him his complete trust. In these final days, he didn’t want to owe anyone, including this Demon Lord who had been his thousand-year nemesis.

His purpose for becoming a demon had only two goals: first, to search everywhere for ways to prevent Luoshui from drying up; second, to see Luowei once more. Unfortunately, over ten years, neither goal had been achieved. To prevent Luoshui from drying up, the only way was to make the heavens smaller and smaller, but such a heaven-defying act was impossible even for the Primordial Heavenly Venerable. As for Luowei, she had never left Suozhao, and Suozhao had long been under the Heavenly Emperor’s surveillance. In his current condition, he couldn’t freely control the demonic energy around his body, nor could he enter Suozhao. So, truly seeing Luowei again happened when she came out alone with Xuanyue.

In that high mountain wasteland, frost flowers were scattered by the wind. Xuanyue had transformed into white, and she lay on that high tiger’s back, her spine straight, snow-white robes and dark hair, deep eyes like ice. As wind swept across the wasteland, that mass of snow-white hair danced wildly in the wind, yet didn’t waver the determination in her eyes in the slightest. If not for that unchanged countenance, Yinze would think this was another person.

No, was this truly Wei’er? A hundred years later, even her voice when speaking to Xuanyue had become much lower and more stable. After forty years apart, she was so strange, yet so familiar. Now he was no longer the lofty Water God Cangying, and she was no longer that young woman with curved apricot eyes and peach blossom dimples. Now they no longer resembled their former selves. Even if they met, they shouldn’t recognize each other.

Instead, it was Xihe who had secretly followed her—that clever appearance quite resembled Wei’er in childhood. Seeing Xihe, Yinze felt for the first time that his heart was about to melt. All these years, he had never had the chance to acknowledge his father-daughter relationship with her. He felt deeply guilty toward her, yet couldn’t wait to look at his daughter more. On the third night, when he appeared before Luowei and was forcibly housed next door by her, he finally got his wish.

That night, the red light flickered, and moonlight brushed the clouds. Looking again at those steps, whose family’s daughter was so beautiful? Slender waist in the east wind, immortal ornaments swaying, white fox fur complementing her cream-jade skin, her dress like ten li of green lotus and fragrant grass—it was Suozhao’s little princess. She was playing with a young bird, both clever and touching, pitiful and lovely. If she shed tears, they would string together like precious pearls across the city. Yinze stood in the darkness watching his daughter’s figure, searching for traces of young Luowei in her features, when he suddenly discovered that the bird she was playing with was a Feidan bird demon. Moreover, its eyes glowed red as it absorbed Xihe’s vital essence.

Appearing now might make Luowei suspicious. He thought for a moment, forced this bird demon back to the room, then forced it back to its original form. Xihe’s cries finally drew Luowei over.

However, Xihe’s strengths resembled Luowei’s, and her weaknesses also greatly resembled Luowei’s. That is, not giving up until reaching the Yellow River, not shedding tears until seeing the coffin. The cross-bone fish she brought again attracted a big fellow—the Ming Snake. Though this aspect of Xihe was troublesome, at least it gave him a chance to reveal himself.

When the Ming Snake fell, he sheathed his long sword and landed before her with his back to Luowei again. That heart, already corroded by demonic nature, began beating wildly once more.

“This Demon Lord, you may deal with me as you wish, only I beg you to spare my daughter.”

Hearing her mature, steady tone, he finally knew that no matter how they had changed, the blood of longing that had merged into bone and marrow would only grow thicker with each passing day.

When he turned to see Luowei and Xihe, he thought that was probably the moment in his entire life when he most wanted to live forever.

But he could only stand at a certain distance, speaking with her like a stranger. When she asked his name, he could only think of a new name on the spot, answering coldly: “Shahai.”

Shahai—Buddhist for waters and lands. The thirty years he missed Luowei most were also spent in Shahai Heart Tower. This name was truly fitting for him.

Everything was fine traveling with Luowei and Xihe, except for the tag-along Su Shu, which made him somewhat unhappy. He sensed that Su Shu was Su Lian’s spirit, and the divine power seemed somewhat familiar, though he didn’t know where it came from. He had no mind to pay attention to Su Shu—he just wanted to focus his thoughts on his wife and daughter… Thinking of the words “wife and daughter,” he had to face a fact: Luowei was not his wife.

However, this was no longer important.

He only knew that the final time spent with Luowei would be the happiest days of his forty years.

Twelve

Yinze observed the stars at night and discovered the Tianheng star shining brilliantly. Chenzhi had finally been reborn.

Early spring, ten li of cherry blossoms like red clouds. He followed Luowei all the way and saw Chenzhi appear in the depths of the cherry plain with her. He had long sensed Luowei’s changed attitude toward Chenzhi. She had been lively and outgoing since childhood, cleverer than ordinary girls, and laughed more often. Such women often treasured themselves greatly. If someone betrayed her, she wouldn’t cling desperately. He knew she often swept Chenzhi’s grave and often repented before the tomb. Probably after being betrayed by himself, she finally realized who was more important. Therefore, he had long prepared himself—once Chenzhi returned, she would immediately let go of the past and finally become a couple with him.

Having lived nearly ten thousand years, seeing through a little girl wasn’t difficult. All of this was truly within Yinze’s expectations, without the slightest deviation. He also thought he had long been prepared. However, truly seeing them gaze at each other from afar under the cherry trees, he discovered that something was indeed no longer under his control. That was his heart. He had overestimated his magnanimity, thinking it would be good to make her happy.

Later, they had a heart-to-heart talk in the pavilion. They chatted about inconsequential old matters, but every glance, every trace of a smile gave him an impulse to kill. What was wrong with him? The one who had personally delivered her to Chenzhi was himself, wasn’t it? If he couldn’t even accept ordinary conversation, then later, when they married, he would— No, he wouldn’t have the chance to see that scene. They wouldn’t marry so quickly; he wouldn’t have to witness that day with his own eyes. Now that Chenzhi had met with her and confirmed she was safe, he could soon escape this life-demanding body.

Yinze was calculating the remaining days with his head lowered. When he looked up again, he saw a scene: Chenzhi lowered his head and kissed Luowei.

In this moment, time stood still. After a very, very long time, his eyes could contain the image of their kiss, but his mind was blank and lifeless. He didn’t know if his body had become strange even in broad daylight, but he felt his breath blocked in his chest, unable to rise for a moment. He leaned against a cherry tree, and when the dizzy, spinning sensation passed, he fled without being able to turn back. He could no longer watch. If he stayed even a moment longer, he would kill Chenzhi again.

He had truly overestimated himself. At such a moment, why was he still holding onto a thread of hope? Did he think Luowei would reject Chenzhi and continue waiting for him? He even blamed himself, thinking that after leaving him, she wouldn’t be happy with anyone. How could someone so clever in his entire life have such a confused moment?!

Thirteen

Liking is attachment. Love is letting go.

After Luowei and Chenzhi’s wedding night, Yinze finally understood this point and felt unprecedented relief. Calculating it, there was still some time before his return to origin, but seeing her find happiness, he thought there was nothing wrong with early liberation. He admired Zixiu, but in his heart still held contempt and rejection toward the demon clan. Moreover, he was tired of the days of being tormented by this flesh.

He burned his physical body, letting his primordial spirit rush out unobstructed, traversing the Nine Heavens in one breath to return to the divine realm. Passing by Wuxiang Pool, he suddenly felt inclined to land by the poolside and observe the celestial phenomena of the lower realm. The lower realm still had places where spring snow drifted, like cherry blossoms swirling. He forgot the scene he had witnessed before and remembered the many winters he had spent with Luowei in auspicious snow. At this moment, the Wuxiang Golden Lotus above Wuxiang Pool was blooming in the air, nourished by immortal energy and divine mist, quietly rotating in the black night, bursting with brilliant radiance. Countless sparks of fire drifted from the lotus petals, sprinkling thousands of golden lights into the pool. The radiance illuminated his primordial spirit, leaving shadows on his transparent body and making his eyes shine like gem fragments. In this moment, if he had no intention of rebuilding his physical body, even using the time reversal technique wouldn’t violate heavenly law. Finally, he closed his eyes and exhaled, infusing divine power into a Wuxiang Golden Lotus, gently waving his sleeve to push this golden lotus into Wuxiang Pool.

Seeing the golden lotus slowly rise, he knew the time for primordial scattering had arrived—in a while, the Six Realms would begin heavy rain. Wei’er was newly wed and sweet in love; she might forget to bring an umbrella when going out. In the blink of an eye, he retrieved the white ink wash umbrella she had given him. Besides this, he needed to think clearly before returning to the origin about what he needed to do.

First, when Wei’er’s parents passed away in childhood, that night she must have been very lonely and needed someone to comfort her.

Second, when Suozhao was in trouble and Wei’er fled, she surely hoped someone would accompany her and help solve her troubles.

Third, when she was pregnant and he wasn’t by her side, he needed to arrange someone to care for her. Since she liked Su Lian so much, he would divide some divine power to let it transform into human form. When he saw Wei’er again, he could infuse divine power into the Su Lian in Purple Lake Pond. Before long, this Su Lian spirit would transform into human form to take good care of her in his place. Unavoidably, since this divine power belonged to him, however much he loved Luowei, Su Lian would love her just as much. He hoped it wouldn’t grow into a man… Thinking of this, he remembered Su Shu’s familiar divine power and suddenly understood. So that’s how it was…

Fourth, a few hours ago was her wedding night—he wondered if she would still think of him, if she would need his blessing.

Fifth, they once had an agreement to stay together until old age. Regardless of whether she still had feelings for him in the end, on the day she passed away, he should go accompany her…

Before returning to his origin, he could use the restarted power of the vast sea to perform time reversal, sending his primordial spirit to four past time points. As for the fifth matter mentioned, he could divide his last wisp of primordial spirit to remain in Suozhao until Luowei’s destined time was up.

As the first raindrop fell from the sky into the divine realm’s waters, the Wuxiang Golden Lotus in the air also slowly bloomed, falling into the suspended city facing the bright moon. Then the environment around the lotus pond also changed: the snowy ground was indistinct, and jade trees couldn’t be seen clearly—this should be Suozhao from sixty years ago. Seeing the winter snow scene before him, his heart also spread with a silent snowy plain, leaving only blankness and unprecedented tranquility. Then he heard a little girl’s sad sobbing. Turning around, he saw a small girl who had just lost her parents, kneeling by Luoshui, crying sadly. She had twin ponytails, azure hair, and snow-white skin, her large eyes brimming with tears—truly pitiful yet lovable.

He held the umbrella she had given him, walking on water waves toward her.

In this brief moment, he reflected on his long yet short life.

Between him and Luowei, there were too many barriers and missed connections. Developing to this point, he had already done his utmost with no regrets to speak of. He, Yinze, was the God of the Vast Sea, no longer a young fool who greedily sought perfection in everything. Human relationships were like the human world—joys and sorrows, partings and reunions were natural laws. No one knew which moment was the beginning, which moment was the end, nor did anyone’s life consist of absolute comedy or tragedy. Fortunately, their feelings had once blossomed and borne fruit, remaining beautiful throughout, only happening to break at the point of “separation.” And he had lived nearly eight thousand years, governing the waters of heaven and earth, managing rivers and vast seas, always going his way, romantic and unrestrained, never doing anything against his own will. Looking across the Nine Heavens and Six Realms, he was below one person but above ten thousand, having followed Haotian to conquer the demon realm, and helped the Xuanyuan Clan greatly defeat Chiyou. Hongjun had bestowed upon him the Cangying mark, and Fuxi personally draped the Vast Sea Divine Robe on him. Back then, at just over five thousand years old, high-spirited and vigorous, he was already revered and worshipped by countless immortals and gods. Even if he ultimately returned to the origin of heaven and earth, the period would be drawn quite beautifully. It could be said that being able to live to this extent in this lifetime left him with no complaints.

However, speaking of regrets, he couldn’t say there were none at all.

If only he could hear his daughter personally call him “Father” once, if only he could become a proper husband and wife with his beloved woman for even one day…

Enough. He couldn’t think negatively of things. Look ahead—wasn’t she waiting for him?

Luowei had indeed seen him. She stopped crying and stared at him in a daze. At this moment, she was still that naive little girl who would never imagine all the stories that would happen between them afterward. She probably wouldn’t think that he first acknowledged her ten years later under those lush, fragrant peach blossoms. Thinking of this, he had decided that in the next illusion, he would transform into a peach blossom paradise for her.

He smiled slightly and opened his hand to the naive little girl before him. Seeing the Wuxiang Golden Lotus in his palm, her large eyes sparkled with curious light, and she moved closer, like a lively little deer. He thought of their Xihe, then remembered how she looked back and smiled under the bright moon decades later. He finally understood why, throughout history, there had been so many great heroes who would shed their blood and sacrifice their lives out of pity for a weak woman. He lowered his head, looking at the Wuxiang Golden Lotus with her, then looked at her young self at this time, his expression becoming increasingly gentle.

Do you know that all the flowing waters and peach blossoms in this world are not as beautiful as your eyes gazing through the flowers?

Once having experienced the vast sea, emotions are hard to convey; today’s bright moon carries my heart.

Wei’er, after all these years, we finally meet again at the moment of our first encounter in life.

[The End]