“Of course, it’s my divine son who is the best.” Tian Shu was satisfied and bowed to the Underworld Lord. “Thank you, Underworld Lord. I must return to Heaven now, lest my divine son not be able to find me after returning to his position.”
"Young man, please leave."
"Goodbye."
The Underworld King casually smoothed out the water mirror, and the surface returned to normal. Only then did he remember something: "I forgot to give him river water to drink."
He thought about it briefly but did not try to make amends.
Ultimately, it was his own choice to take this path; whether it brings fortune or misfortune is entirely in his own hands.
Two hundred years later.
At the Celestial Academy, before the celestial masters arrived, a group of celestial disciples gathered together, chattering about the recent major events in the Three Realms.
"Have you heard? That powerful demon who's been making waves in the demon realm lately has single-handedly wiped out the Underworld!"
The mere mention of that great demon sent chills down the spines of these immortal disciples.
The great demon they were talking about was extremely powerful. It was said that he had only been a demon for less than two hundred years, yet he had already taken control of the demon realm and subdued the demon race. His power was so great that it was approaching that of their immortal realm.
However, the Heavenly Realm is magnanimous. As long as this demon doesn't interfere with their affairs, the Heavenly Realm will not bother with him. But this demon is a madman. Every few days, he goes to the Underworld to cause trouble, making the Underworld miserable. Even the King of the Underworld has to hide in the Heavenly Realm for refuge, not daring to provoke him.
It should be known that the Underworld is the dividing line between the Demon Realm and the Heavenly Realm. If this demon dares to act so recklessly in the Underworld, what would happen if he were to suddenly decide to attack the Heavenly Realm? That would be a disaster.
"What grudge does this madman have against the Underworld? I secretly saw the King of the Underworld come to the Heavenly Realm for refuge a few days ago. His appearance was truly heartbreaking!"
"Tell me, why doesn't our Heavenly Emperor send divine generals down to earth to destroy this demon who is so audacious, so that he won't harm living beings?"
"Alas, our Heavenly Emperor values peace above all else, and will never resort to arms unless absolutely necessary. Besides, look at our Heavenly Realm's generals now, how many of them are truly capable fighters? My most favored Divine Prince was injured two hundred years ago, and he has been recuperating ever since, still unconscious. I wonder if he will ever wake up..."
"Pah! Don't you dare curse the Divine Child!"
“Exactly! Besides, even if the Divine Child doesn’t wake up, don’t we still have the Divine Lord Juntian? The Divine Lord Juntian’s cultivation is no less than the Divine Child’s.”
"They never competed, so we don't know who's stronger... But, I remember that Lord Juntian descended to the mortal realm two hundred years ago to undergo tribulation, and Fairy Surou went with him later? Their story is quite a beautiful one, so why haven't we heard any news of them getting married yet?"
Two hundred years ago, when the Celestial Lord Juntian encountered obstacles in his cultivation, he cast a divination for himself. The divination indicated that he needed to descend to the mortal realm to be reborn and undergo tribulations in order to break through.
The fact that Fairy Su Rou was in love with Lord Jun Tian was common knowledge in the Heavenly Realm. However, Lord Jun Tian was cold-hearted and unmoved by love. After learning that Lord Jun Tian was going to descend to the mortal realm to undergo tribulation, Fairy Su Rou followed him.
The Heavenly Emperor favored both of them greatly and, unable to bear seeing Fairy Su Rou heartbroken, specially ordered the Underworld Emperor to arrange for them to be a pair of senior and junior disciples in the mortal realm. He also wrote a destiny for Fairy Su Rou to be betrayed and hurt by a heartless man, hoping that she could see through the illusions of love and the mortal world.
Since the Heavenly Lord was cold and aloof, the Underworld Lord arranged a forbidden love for him that was unattainable and unacceptable to the world, so that he could break through the Great Dao and his nature could become softer.
But what the final outcome was, these immortal disciples did not know; all they saw was the true affection of Fairy Su Rou in following the Heavenly Lord Jun Tian as he descended to the mortal realm.
There was no war in the Three Realms, and they were relatively peaceful, with the Heavenly Realm being especially harmonious.
The war gods who once wielded swords and spears have now laid down their armor and live a life of ease every day.
Today, Su Rou received another box of storybooks that she had sent from the mortal realm through the Heavenly Book. She invited a few of her close friends to come and appreciate them together.
"Su Rou, you really have to say, the storybooks you brought back from your trip to the mortal realm are absolutely amazing! I'm usually so bored at home, but thank goodness for your storybooks to keep me entertained!"
Su Rou picked out a few high-quality books from the box and distributed them to them, saying, "We're all sisters, so good things should be shared!"
Even after being reincarnated and returning to her immortal form, she still couldn't change the habit that someone had instilled in her.
"By the way, Su Rou, don't think your sisters don't care about you. There's something you really need to pay attention to!"
Su Rou picked up a cup of tea and took a sip, gesturing for her to speak. She then leaned close to her ear and whispered, "You're a proper fairy, and you've even chased him down to the mortal realm to accompany the Heavenly Lord through a tribulation. Any man should be moved to tears, right? It's been two hundred years, why hasn't he proposed to you yet?"
Su Rou suddenly spat out the mouthful of tea she was holding, spraying it all over the other person's face. "Su Rou, you—"
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it!"
Su Rou quickly wiped her face and asked for her understanding. At that moment, another fairy sister ran in with a sly smile, "Su Rou, Lord Juntian is here to see you."
Upon hearing this, the several fairy sisters present all stood up with great tact, saying, "Then we won't disturb you any longer."
Su Rou, contrary to her usual behavior, tried to persuade them to stay, but they smacked her on the head and said, "Silly girl, why don't you strike while the iron is hot..."
A group of fairies carrying storybooks gracefully departed, and a moment later, the Heavenly Lord they had mentioned strolled in.
His hair was bound with a silver crown, and he wore a silver robe. His face was refined, but his eyes and brows were cold and stern, like a blade wrapped in frost and snow. He exuded a chill from head to toe, making it difficult for people to approach him.
He walked up to Su Rou and his first question was, "Do you want me to marry you?"
Su Rou grabbed a storybook from the table and threw it at his face. "You dare to make a move on me? You're going to betray your master and ancestors!"
Jun Tian calmly took the storybook, closed it, and placed it back on the table. "So that means you don't want me to marry you."
Neither of them drank the Styx River water, and they remembered clearly what happened when they were the senior and junior siblings Qu Surou and Huan Juntian.
Su Rou's face flushed red and then turned pale. Finally, as if she had made up her mind, she said to Jun Tian, "When I was in the Heavenly Realm, perhaps... I did like you a little, but after this ordeal, I feel that I no longer have any romantic feelings for you."
Lu Pianpian and Huan Juntian died one after another before her eyes, and her master even asked her to give up revenge for the sake of her immortal path.
She had long since lost all hope, but by a stroke of luck, she saw through the ruthless path and was able to ascend to immortality, regaining her celestial status.
Her romantic feelings for Lord Juntian are now no match for her affection for her junior brother Huan Juntian.
She reached out her hand to Juntian, "In my eyes now, you are just Huan San."
Jun Tian paused for a moment, then placed the storybook in her hands, "As you wish."
Su Rou breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's go."
Where to go?
"Let's see if the Divine Child has woken up yet."
Juntian summoned a cloud, and the two rode together. Su Rou suddenly remembered something and laughed out loud.
Jun Tian glanced at her sideways. "What's wrong?"
"That fool was afraid we would suffer in the mortal realm, so he chased after us to go down to the mortal realm to experience tribulations." She remembered the principles that Lu Pianpian had instilled in her and Huan Juntian since childhood when they were in the sect.
To keep her away from men and sever her emotional ties, and to prevent Huan Juntian from getting close to his master, lest they develop feelings beyond those of master and disciple, was all in order to ensure that they could successfully overcome their tribulations in the mortal realm.
To this end, he even went so far as to transform the Heavenly Book into a mortal book so that when he forgot his past life in the mortal realm, he could still remind Lu Pianpian to protect them.
Unfortunately, this also dragged him into the mess, from which he couldn't extricate himself.
Su Rou's smile faded considerably, and Jun Tian reminded her, "We've arrived."
The two of them arrived at a cave, where hundreds of flowers were in full bloom, birds sang, and the air was filled with spiritual energy and vitality.
As you walk deeper in, a cocoon as tall as a person is wrapped in vines and flowers, gently supporting it in mid-air.
A figure could be vaguely seen inside the cocoon, seemingly falling into a very long slumber.
Su Rou approached the person inside the cocoon, her longing barely concealed in her voice, "How long are you going to sleep before you wake up?"
Jun Tian waved his hand, setting up another restriction around the cave. "As soon as he wakes up, I will be able to sense it immediately."
Su Rou nodded, standing guard by the cocoon, and told the person inside about many recent events in the Heavenly Realm, "Senior sister has prepared a lot of fun, delicious, and interesting things for you. As long as you wake up, senior sister will give you all of them..."
She spoke alone in the cave, while Juntian listened quietly behind her.
After she had recounted everything she had seen and heard during this period, Juntian said, "Come again another day."
Su Rou rubbed her eyes. "Okay."
Not long after the two of them left, the eyelashes of the person sleeping in the cocoon trembled slightly.
A note from the author:
Pianpian's identity as a divine child was foreshadowed on Flower Sleep Island, so it shouldn't be hard to guess.
The identities of the senior sister and junior brother should surprise you. Yes, that's right, it's the two of them undergoing tribulation. Pianpian was worried about them, so she went down with them to be reincarnated. At the same time, in order to change their tragic fate, she always carried the Heavenly Book with her and constantly reminded herself.
Regarding the character Huan Changming, let me reiterate: he is indeed evil. This is because he suffered too much from a young age, receiving only the malice of this world, and what he can absorb from this world is its malice.
He didn't understand love, nor had he ever been loved. Lu Pianpian was his salvation, the only person who opened her heart to him, but he didn't understand love, nor did he know that he had fallen in love with Lu Pianpian (he vaguely realized this later). So he could only use the methods he had learned since childhood to keep Lu Pianpian by his side.
Lu Pianpian has a weakness, so he seized on it to coerce and entice her. But in the process, he felt it wasn't enough. There were other people in Lu Pianpian's heart besides him. Her senior and junior brothers were more important than him. So he was unwilling, angry, resentful, and even felt a sense of crisis.
Because Lu Pianpian might abandon him at any time because of these people, he became even more ruthless, and his already bad personality became even more extreme.
He is such a stubborn person.
Chapter 53
The rosy clouds shimmered and surged, and thousands of butterflies flew from the mortal realm to the celestial realm, flitting among the clouds and rosy light, all heading towards the same place.
Auspicious omens descend from the heavens; in the celestial realm, only one person can bring about such a wondrous sight—the divine child is about to be born.
Upon seeing this, the immortal disciples who were heading to the school excitedly spread the word, and decided to skip their lessons for the day, heading in groups of three or five to the source of the butterflies.
The butterflies flew into the cave and, clinging to the vines and creepers that grew from the cocoons, sensed a powerful life force. They absorbed this power, and flower buds formed on their bodies, blooming at an extremely fast speed.
The cocoon, wrapped in silver threads, emitted a pale golden light. The branch that held the cocoon slowly lowered it back to the ground from the air, and instantly, hundreds of flowers bloomed on the ground, and butterflies danced around the cocoon.
The golden light gradually swallowed and faded the cocoon, revealing a naked young man. He was lifted by vines and gently placed on a flower bush, his waist-length black hair cascading down his back like satin.
His eyes were lightly closed, and a dot of vermilion on his forehead added a unique touch of brilliance to his handsome features. Yet, he exuded an aura of holiness that made people hesitate to approach him, like an inviolable and noble deity, high above and requiring people to look up to him.
A butterfly landed on the vermilion mark on his forehead, gently fluttering its wings.
He fluttered his eyelashes slightly, reached out a finger to touch his forehead, and the butterfly obediently flew to his fingertip and landed.
He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze clear as autumn water, bright and clear, as if a single glance could purify the murky darkness of the world.
He looked at the butterfly on his fingertip and suddenly laughed, "You're the one who woke me up."
As soon as he said this, the butterflies in the cave rushed to him, trying to land on his body, as if to take credit and tell him that he wasn't the only one who had woken him up.
He understood their thoughts, and with a smile, he picked up a pale purple flower from the side of him, which transformed into a purple robe that he wore.
"Thank you for waking me up."
He rose from the flowers and emerged from the cave, surrounded by butterflies. A large crowd had gathered outside; upon seeing him, they bowed and greeted him in unison, "Welcome, Divine Child!"
He nodded in acknowledgment, "Thank you."
The students of the academy were all dressed in the same clothes, making them very conspicuous in the crowd.
He roughly calculated the time and looked at the disciples, saying, "At this time, you should all be in class at the school."
The disciples' expressions froze, and they quickly said, "Divine Child, please pretend you didn't see us!"
After saying that, the dozen or so people rode away on clouds in a flurry of activity.