“Dijun!” Jin Zhan called out almost angrily. Would Dong Tianyun really strike a killing blow because of one careless remark from Xiang Su? And he called himself the Metal Deity Sovereign!
Dong Tianyun’s dark eyes, gleaming brilliantly beneath long lashes, shifted to Jin Zhan. With just a cold glance, Jin Zhan’s heart suddenly lurched, and he actually didn’t dare say what followed.
Dong Tianyun paid him no more attention. He merely lifted his hand lightly, using the sword blade to make a small cut on his index finger. With a casual flick, a drop of blood flew straight toward Xiang Su’s tree crown and instantly merged into the branches.
Both Jin Zhan and Bai Zhicao showed astonished expressions. Even Qingsui’s face changed color.
The dying gardenia tree suddenly emitted dazzling golden light and slowly rose from the soil. Tender green leaves grew on the originally withered branches, and pure white fragrant gardenia flowers bloomed one by one. The fragrance was even more intoxicating and entrancing than before. After gardenia flowers covered all the branches, the golden light suddenly vanished. There was only a surprised cry as something fell to the ground with a thud—it was actually little Xiang Su who had taken human form.
“That hurt so much!” Xiang Su blurted out, full of vigor. Just now, a stream of auspicious and mellow spiritual power had suddenly enveloped her. Her originally precarious body and mind became extremely comfortable all at once. Her seven orifices and eight apertures felt as if they’d been cleansed by this powerful spiritual force—all turbid energy gone, completely reborn.
She was still reveling in this when her body dropped and she fell from height to the ground. It hurt! Xiang Su had strength now and was about to continue complaining when she suddenly discovered—she was completely naked! She shrieked and futilely curled into a ball, wishing she could just burrow back into the soil.
She clearly heard the person sitting on the bird’s back give a cold snort. Although he didn’t say anything, her degree of shame and indignation was as if she’d heard thousands of his caustic remarks.
Jin Zhan quickly removed his own outer robe, walked over and wrapped up Xiang Su. Both he and Bai Zhicao somewhat awkwardly turned around to let her dress at her leisure. Xiang Su hurriedly pulled on the sleeves, stood up, and fumbled to cover the lower hem.
“Song Ta, consider this me repaying you a favor.” Dong Tianyun’s voice—so arrogant you wanted to beat him up—rang out again. “This matter…”
Qingsui didn’t wait for him to finish, domineeringly seizing control of the conversation, not at all as if she owed him gratitude. “We naturally know the weight of this matter and absolutely won’t mention it to a… sixth person.” A perfectly imposing response became completely lacking in presence because she had to count the people.
Even Xiang Su felt deflated. Other people’s lords were like this—she looked at the supremely imposing Dong Tianyun. Her own household’s lord was—she glanced at Qingsui and sighed deeply.
“That’s settled then.” Dong Tianyun said proudly.
If he just spoke, that would be one thing. What was more hateful was that he actually urged the black bird on at this moment!
The black bird’s wings flapped once. Xiang Su had just wrapped the lower hem tightly when with a whoosh, it was blown inside and out again. She hastily used her hands to hold it down, but covering the top meant she couldn’t cover the bottom. The already oversized garment slid right off her shoulder with a swish. Her chest felt cold, so she had to grab the front opening again—utterly flustered and awkward.
Xiang Su felt the bird person did it on purpose! Even Elder Sister Junshang said he was petty. Since he’d saved her life and helped her transform into human form, couldn’t he conveniently conjure up some clothing for her? Even an undergarment would do!
By the time she looked up, Dong Tianyun had already disappeared.
“Let’s return to Qingsui Manor first and then make plans.” Qingsui said dejectedly. Her magical power was too severely depleted. When Jin Zhan came to support her, she didn’t refuse.
Xiang Su still wanted to complain a few more sentences, but hearing Elder Sister Junshang say this, she quickly shut her mouth.
Bai Zhicao summoned a cloud with a red face, twisting his head to avoid looking at Xiang Su. This was Xiang Su’s first time riding a cloud. She was both nervous and excited, and still had to worry about Elder Sister Junshang. Where did she have the energy to pay attention to Bai Zhicao’s strangeness? She directly ignored him.
Riding the cloud into the wind, Xiang Su realized a serious problem. The wind brought by rapid flight was just as troublesome as Dong Tianyun’s black bird’s wings. Fortunately, Jin Zhan’s outer robe was very long—she had extra length when wearing it. By firmly stepping on it, she wouldn’t make a fool of herself, but it was very breezy.
“Um…” She coughed dryly and tactfully requested, “Could one of you conjure up some properly fitting clothes for me?”
She placed her hopes on Elder Sister Junshang, but Qingsui sat on the cloud coughing. “I… I don’t have enough magical power now. Even this cloud was summoned by Bai Zhicao.”
Xiang Su looked at Bai Zhicao with burning eyes. Bai Zhicao’s face grew even redder. “My magical power isn’t sufficient to conjure objects from nothing.”
Xiang Su looked at Jin Zhan with her last thread of hope. He was staring grimly at Lingze Mountain’s peak, pretending not to hear their conversation. Given Jin Zhan’s usual showing-off energy, if he had this ability, he would have flaunted it long ago.
Xiang Su was utterly desperate. However, Jin Zhan reminded her of something even more important! She grabbed Jin Zhan by the arm. “Shui Xian! Quick, let me see your mirror!”
Jin Zhan glanced at her and calmly produced the magical artifact from his palm. Xiang Su snatched it over and examined herself closely in the mirror, truly afraid of following in Huai Shu’s footsteps!
The girl in the mirror looked only fourteen or fifteen years old, with an oval face and large eyes. Her skin—she freed one hand to touch her own face. Very smooth. She should be considered quite beautiful, right? At least she was very satisfied. Having seen plenty of beautiful flower spirits, this face before her eyes wasn’t inferior.
“Xiang Su…” Bai Zhicao still had a red face. “In these several hundred years, you’re the small wood spirit with the best appearance I’ve ever seen.”
Qingsui covered her chest, feeling uncomfortable. “She absorbed Dong Tianyun’s blood. How could she not be beautiful?” If it weren’t for her temporary lack of magical power, who would want to owe Dong Tianyun a favor? Leaving behind endless troubles!
Absorbed Dong Tianyun’s blood?
Xiang Su felt awkward for a while. Why did Elder Sister Junshang’s words sound so strange? She wasn’t a mosquito.
“Dong Tianyun… where did this Dijun come from?” She asked rather disrespectfully. Was he so extraordinary? As if being touched by his light made one incredible.
Jin Zhan pursed his lips and made a cold sound. “Are you deaf or blind? Even if you didn’t recognize him as Shenghuan Dijun, you should remember his name, right?”
“Dong Tianyun… Shenghuan Dijun?” Xiang Su finally understood why his name sounded somewhat familiar.
Bai Zhicao said to Jin Zhan with sudden realization: “She’s not deaf or blind—she’s stupid.”
“Then isn’t he the owner of that Kunpeng beast?” Xiang Su came to her senses, then became puzzled again. “Could the black bird he was riding be Kunpeng?”
That wasn’t right either. Kunpeng was massive in size with extraordinary divine power. The black bird just now was merely a mount.
Bai Zhicao wanted to explain but was stopped by Jin Zhan shaking his head. “Don’t tell her anymore. She won’t understand. Taking human form early, her brain hasn’t fully grown yet.”
“You!” Xiang Su gritted her teeth.
“Kunpeng is an ancient divine beast. Its physical form can be large or small, all according to its master’s will.” If Bai Zhicao knew something and didn’t say it, he would suffocate. “The only one who could subdue it is Dong Tianyun.”
The cloud beneath their feet flew higher and higher until they could finally overlook all of Lingze Mountain.
A huge pit had collapsed at the mountaintop, as if the entire mountain’s center had caved in. The enormous crater was bottomlessly deep, leading straight into the mountain’s belly. The pitch-black opening made Xiang Su shudder with fear. The pit’s surroundings looked as if they’d been burned by fire. All the plants had become charcoal. What were originally clusters of flowers now showed only the monotonous color of ash-black. The spiritual spring had also been cut off at its source. The winding watercourse was completely dried up.
“Elder Sister Qingsui…” Jin Zhan called out softly, wanting to comfort her but not knowing what to say.
Qingsui stared blankly, her ashen face expressionless.
“Elder Sister Junshang, don’t be sad. No matter how many years it takes, we’ll restore Lingze Mountain to its original state!” Xiang Su said with grief welling up, quite heroically.
Hearing this, Qingsui smiled bitterly. “How could it be so easy… Lingze Mountain was injured by the Jifeng Sword. All the immortal veins beneath the mountain are severed, the spiritual spring won’t flow. If we had the Shen Nong Ding in hand, perhaps…”
“Elder Sister Qingsui,” Jin Zhan said solemnly, “you should recuperate your immortal essence first. Both distant worries and near concerns… are matters for all wood spirits. You don’t need to shoulder everything yourself. With us helping you, united in purpose, any difficulty will be resolved one by one.”
Hearing this, Qingsui smiled with relief. She had shouldered the burden of Wood Deity Sovereign for too long and was already very, very tired. Having a youth like Shui Xian appear was fortunate for the wood spirit realm and fortunate for her. “Good. I’ll rely on you all from now on. Elder sister is old with insufficient energy. I can only focus all my efforts on recovering the lost sacred objects. Jin Zhan, you were born from the same place as me with exceptional root bones. After I memorialize the Celestial Emperor, you shall become the wood spirits’ Vice Sovereign to help me handle those miscellaneous affairs.”
Both Xiang Su and Bai Zhicao were happy for Jin Zhan. Vice Sovereign was the second seat in the spirit realm, the Deity Sovereign’s deputy—with much more actual power than marrying a Deity Sovereign.
Qingsui Manor was the divine mansion and immortal garden that the Celestial Emperor built for the Wood Deity Sovereign. The Five Element Deity Sovereigns each had residences in the Celestial Realm, serving as both dwellings and administrative offices, surrounding the Celestial Palace with the meaning of the Five Elements serving Heaven.
Upon returning to her manor, Qingsui entered seclusion. She entrusted all major and minor matters to Jin Zhan to manage.
Jin Zhan emerged holding the Deity Sovereign’s token. Rather than rushing to summon all the manor’s wood spirits to meet, he first called Bai Zhicao and Xiang Su into a secret chamber for instructions.
He said with unusual solemnity: “Elder Sister Junshang repeatedly instructed that the matter between Xiang Su and Dong Tianyun absolutely cannot be mentioned to anyone.”
Xiang Su was scared out of her wits. It seemed that taking form by borrowing Dong Tianyun’s light was extremely disgraceful. If word got out, would she have no way to function as a person?
Bai Zhicao showed off again: “I know, I know. This matter is no small thing. If handled poorly, Su Bing could face mortal danger because of it.”
Xiang Su’s throat tightened. “Why…” she asked tremblingly.
She was a perfectly innocent little wood spirit. How did she get involved in such trouble the moment she took form?
Bai Zhicao was very pleased with himself. “Dong Tianyun transformed from Pangu Dashen’s finger bone. That immortal bone’s divine power simply reaches heaven and penetrates earth. Having received a drop of his spiritual blood, you’ve also been touched by ancient immortal energy. Your immortal spirit is connected with Dong Tianyun’s—you can sense his location.”
Xiang Su stared blankly for a while before disdainfully snorting. “I thought it was something impressive. Isn’t it just knowing where he is? The immortal realm doesn’t know how many spirit hounds have this ability. Death wouldn’t come around to me.”
Seeing her fearless ignorance, both Jin Zhan and Bai Zhicao shook their heads helplessly.
Bai Zhicao began his storytelling again: “The reason for this must be told from a million years ago.”
Both Xiang Su and Jin Zhan showed interested expressions, found seats, and listened to Bai Zhicao’s narration supportively.
“In the Three Realms, there once existed a divine weapon of limitless power—the Xuanyuan Sword. In the war between gods and demons, the Celestial Emperor used it to resist the Demon Emperor’s attacks. It was said to be invincible. Unfortunately, in one brutal battle, the Xuanyuan Sword broke into three pieces and fell in various places throughout the Three Realms, transforming into three swords: Jichen, Jifeng, and Tianmo. Over tens of thousands of years, gods and demons throughout the Three Realms all wanted to obtain this peerless divine weapon. However, even if they could find where the three swords were buried, no one could wield them. Even successive Celestial Emperors couldn’t successfully draw the swords. Gradually, the three swords became mysterious legends. But after Dong Tianyun descended into the world, he actually obtained Jichen and Tianmo, shaking the Three Realms.”
Bai Zhicao drank water and continued with added mysterious atmosphere.
“Supposedly this is because Dong Tianyun’s Five Element nature is metal, and he transformed from an ancient spiritual object, possessing a kind of mutually generating and fusing divinity with divine weapons and implements. That’s why he could draw Jichen and Tianmo.”
Bai Zhicao sighed somewhat wistfully and said: “Now we must speak of karmic retribution… Elder Sister Junshang and Water Deity Sovereign Qing Ze released the demon god Bi Lian by secretly planting curved wood trees. Bi Lian was Dong Tianyun’s mortal enemy. As soon as he escaped, his first thought was to find Dong Tianyun for revenge. But how could he be Dong Tianyun’s match? So he ran to the Nether Abyss in the demon realm and retrieved Jifeng.”
Bai Zhicao’s eyebrows danced with excitement. “This played right into Dong Tianyun’s hands! To find the Jifeng Sword, he had turned the Three Realms and Six Worlds completely upside down. The demon realm had hidden Jifeng away properly, but who knew that wastrel Bi Lian would dig it out. Now Bi Lian didn’t need to find Dong Tianyun—Dong Tianyun was fixated on him instead. Bi Lian panicked too, knowing he’d grabbed a hot potato. He couldn’t defeat Dong Tianyun but was unwilling to let him seize the sword, so he hid here and there, managing to hold out for three hundred years. Dong Tianyun probably exhausted his patience too. Recently, he’s been relentlessly pursuing Bi Lian. Unable to withstand it, Bi Lian threw Jifeng into Lingze Mountain.”
Xiang Su was dumbstruck. “Why did Bi Lian have to choose Lingze Mountain?!”
Even considering karmic retribution, Bi Lian should have remembered Elder Sister Junshang’s kindness in releasing him and not brought disaster to her homeland!
Jin Zhan said thoughtfully: “The Jifeng Sword already possessed boundless divine power. After so many years immersed in demonic energy in the Nether Abyss, its malevolent energy reached the heavens. If thrown into an ordinary mountain, it would turn that mountain into flying sand and rolling stones, instantly collapsing. Lingze Mountain’s auspicious energy was deep and substantial, with five veins converging. That’s why it barely managed to conceal Jifeng, though it ended up with all immortal veins severed and all spirits extinguished.”
Hearing this, Xiang Su’s nose stung and she wanted to cry. It truly was an undeserved disaster.