GD Ch. 53 Part 2

Chapter 53: What’s Strange?

Changying turned and walked away, the ends of her dark hair swaying slightly. No one followed her. Her solitary figure appeared aloof, even desolate.

Only after she had walked far away did Kunyi lower her voice and murmur to Xuanqing, “During the banquet, Her Divinity kept looking at the offering pool. I thought perhaps something had caught her eye.”

“Exactly. I had barely stepped away when the Evil-Punisher Divine Lord came over, asking if something was wrong with the tributes. Otherwise, why would Her Divinity keep looking at them?” Xuanqing said, puzzled.

“But she didn’t take anything. Could it be that she was too reserved to ask?” Kunyi wondered aloud.

“Forget it. Don’t try to guess at the Divine Venerable’s thoughts. If she truly wanted something, there is nothing she couldn’t obtain,” Xuanqing replied.

Kunyi nodded slightly. That was true. She then turned to the junior immortals and instructed, “Store everything properly. Once these tributes are placed in the vault, guard them well.”

The junior immortals all bowed in acknowledgment and summoned their storage pouches. In the blink of an eye, the mountain of tributes vanished into the tiny pouches, not a single item left behind.

The vault for storing the tributes was a celestial fruit growing at the very heart of the Heavenly Palace. The fruit was plump and round, fully ripe yet never falling from the tree—much like a storage pouch, but containing a vast expanse within.

Though the tributes had been presented to the Queen Mother of the West, in truth, they were offerings to the Heavenly Palace itself. In the future, when needed, they would be used to bless the Mortal Realm.

Once the tributes were sealed inside the spiritual fruit, the immortals descended from the air, weaving protective restrictions around the divine tree and its fruit. Only after securing it properly did they turn and depart.

After the celestial being left, a wisp of gray smoke slowly drifted out from the spiritual fruit, wrapping around it as if attempting to devour it.

However, before it could take a single bite, the smoke silently broke through the restriction on the fruit and gently descended to the ground, slipping beneath the white jade bricks.

A nearby celestial being suddenly stopped in their tracks, quickly turning to look at the spiritual tree before hurrying over. Upon closer inspection, they found that the restriction on the tree was still intact. Unable to sense any ominous aura, they assumed they were simply exhausted from the day’s events.

***

Having been away for over two hundred years, Zhuyou found herself momentarily disoriented and unable to recognize the way. Fortunately, after the banquet ended, the celestial beings had all returned to their places, and the Heavenly Palace had fallen quiet once more. Otherwise, with the way she was searching, she would surely have run into many of them.

A short while later, at the bottom of Moon-Watching Cliff, tucked away in a secluded corner of the Heavenly Palace—

A few elderly celestials were sipping on wine while a group of heavenly soldiers, having succumbed to their coaxing and intimidation, dozed off beside them, hugging their wine jugs.

This place was the guarded site of the Heavenly Realm’s sacred artifact—the Turbid Mirror. The mirror had not been seen for many years, and as time passed, many had forgotten its purpose.

In the Heavenly Realm, a thousand years felt like a single day. Ever since the great battle between the gods and devils, several devil gates had been sealed, making it nearly impossible for devils to infiltrate the realm. As a result, the guards stationed at Moon-Watching Cliff had grown lax.

The two elderly celestials, having missed the banquet, had ordered some fine celestial wine to be brought to them. One sip turned into many, and before they knew it, they were completely drunk—so much so that they failed in their duty.

The wisp of gray smoke that had escaped from the spiritual fruit emerged from the soil, intending to slip into the cliffside cavern past the feet of the two celestials. But it hesitated for a moment, as if uncertain.

The old celestials were deep in their drunken stupor. One of them mumbled, “A thousand years ago, during the Queen Mother of the West’s birthday banquet, I was someone who couldn’t be left out! Even if I didn’t want to go, she would have sent people to carry me there!”

The other burst into laughter and pointed at him. “You’re talking nonsense in your sleep!”

The gray smoke lingered for a moment before suddenly slipping past the restriction at the cavern entrance. As it breached the barrier, a ripple of flowing light spread across the cave’s mouth.

A burst of divine multicolored light flared up, attempting to expel the intruder. However, unexpectedly, the black smoke was undeterred by the restriction’s divine power. Though slightly slowed, it still managed to enter the depths of the cave.

The two old celestials were too drunk to notice. When the divine light flared up, one of them even joked, “Must be the Queen Mother of the West hearing your drunken ramblings and getting angry enough to manifest!”

“Nonsense, clearly, she’s inviting me to another banquet!”

Even the heavenly soldiers were too intoxicated to distinguish east from west, let alone notice an intruder slipping past the restriction.

Zhuyou entered the cavern, growing more uneasy the deeper she went. She had never seen this place before when she was in the Heavenly Realm.

But now that she was here, she realized it bore an uncanny resemblance to the Heart-Questioning Rock in the Devil Realm.

It was as if…

As if they were originally one and the same, but had been split in two by a single stroke.

But why would there be a cavern in both the Heavenly Realm and the Devil Realm that looked so similar? Both had still waters, both housed the silent, songless birds. The difference was that Moon-Watching Cliff was surrounded by lush greenery and towering trees, while the Heart-Questioning Rock in the Devil Realm was buried in endless yellow sand and scorched, deadwood.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that she had been here before. Perhaps because she had once visited the Heart-Questioning Rock, she found this place oddly familiar.

Moving deeper into the cave, she soon spotted a simple yet ancient copper mirror suspended in midair by four thick cords. The mirror’s surface was murky, reflecting nothing—just as its name suggested.

Suddenly, several strange beasts let out fierce howls. They were unchained yet clad in armor, their forms resembling both wolves and tigers.

As they opened their mouths, the gray smoke transformed into a devil dressed in silver hair and black robes. A pale, delicate hand emerged from her sleeve, fingers curling into a fist—and instantly, the beasts were rendered silent.

Though they could no longer howl, the beasts grew restless, charging at her in unison—only to crash against an invisible barrier.

Dark devil markings surfaced across Zhuyou’s body, yet she did not emit the slightest devilish aura. With a flick of her sleeve, several black cords slithered out like serpents, coiling around the beasts and binding them into a tangled mass.

A century had passed, yet she remained unchanged. Only her cultivation had advanced significantly. Beneath the mist-like layers of her outer robe, the devil markings coiling around her body were sharper and more intricate than before.

The bound beasts could neither cry out nor move. They could only glare at her, making muffled, pitiful sounds.

Zhuyou, however, felt no pity. She abruptly leapt forward, striking out with spiritual power to sever the cords suspending the Turbid Mirror.

But to her surprise, the cords were unbreakable, not even showing the slightest crack under the powerful blow.

Her gaze darkened. Without hesitation, she reached out and twisted the cords with her bare hands.

Pain like a blade cutting through flesh tore into her, slicing straight to her bones.

For the past hundred years, every time she was tormented by illness and pain, she would remember the dragon who had exchanged heart’s blood with her. She wondered—when she was writhing in agony, was that dragon suffering just as much?

But really, if that fool had any sense, she should have removed that blood from her heart. Carrying a devil’s heart’s blood in her own heart—it was never going to end well.

Zhuyou exerted a bit more force, and the tough cords snapped in half. Her originally pale palm was now stained red, the wound slowly healing itself.

Once she severed all four cords, she caught the falling Turbid Mirror and swiftly stashed it away in her storage space.

At that moment, the bound beasts suddenly turned on each other, biting and tearing as if they intended to devour one another.

This isn’t good!

Zhuyou moved to stop them, but before she could act, the beasts merged into one—now sporting eight heads.

At her current level of cultivation, there were few in the Nine Heavens who could stand against Zhuyou. It would be no difficult task for her to evade detection by this already weakened restriction, but if the beast were to forcibly break through, it would surely alert the Heavenly Emperor.

Zhuyou swiftly unleashed her spiritual power, binding the beast’s legs and yanking it back with force.

She had originally intended to take its life—her hand was already pressed against the beast’s chest.

But then she paused, sensing that the beast’s heart was not beating. Something seemed to be hanging inside.

She probed it with her spiritual power and discovered an octagonal bronze bell suspended within the beast’s chest. If the beast were to die, the bell would undoubtedly ring—just like a great chime, its sound would echo through the Nine Heavens.

She had once lived in the Nine Heavens and naturally knew what this object was. If it had been someone else, they would have already killed the beast without hesitation.

Fortunately, she had yet to make a move.

Outside the cliffside cave, the two old immortals who had stolen the celestial brew were still drunkenly rambling.

Zhuyou’s expression darkened as she reinforced the restraints on the beast before quickly transforming into a wisp of gray smoke and slipping away.

As soon as she emerged, however, she ran into another immortal.

That immortal had concealed their aura, their footsteps nearly silent. With a slight motion of their hand, the drunken old immortals and the drowsy celestial soldiers all suddenly sobered up.

Zhuyou, in her form as gray smoke, clung close to the ground and swiftly slipped into a nearby open wine cup. The fragrance of the celestial brew inside was so potent that it made her slightly dizzy.

“Who gave you this wine?”

The voice was cool and distant, yet it carried a resonance like an ancient zither in a deep mountain—not overly thin, but with a faintly ethereal quality.

She felt as if she had heard it somewhere before.

Zhuyou didn’t dwell on it. Right now, she was still carrying a sacred artifact of the Heavenly Realm, and escaping was her only priority.

“Divine Venerable!” One of the old immortals stammered in panic. “Ah—this humble one would never dare to overindulge!”

“You should not be indulging at all. Did you not notice that the restriction on Moon-Watching Cliff has been breached?” the immortal asked again.

A flurry of hurried footsteps followed as the two sobered old immortals and the celestial soldiers rushed into the cave.

Standing alone outside the cave, Changying lowered her eyes. Her thin lips, tinged with a faint red, pressed together slightly as she cast a deep gaze upon the jug of celestial brew. After a long moment, she finally turned and walked away.

Once she was gone, the wisp of gray smoke also quietly slipped away.

Changying suddenly stopped in her tracks and glanced back.

Her heart felt as though it had plunged into an icy abyss, weighed down with suffocating heaviness. Even the drop of phoenix blood nestled at the tip of her heart could no longer bring her warmth.

Could it be that she no longer recognizes me?

No… she must not recognize me anymore.

Inside the cliffside cave, an immortal suddenly rushed out in a panic, looking as if their soul had nearly been frightened out of their body. Trembling, they stammered, “Y-Your Divinity!”

“What is it?” Changying asked coolly.

“Turbid Mirror… The Turbid Mirror has been stolen!”

Changying’s golden eyes, cold as ice, lifted slightly as she shot the immortal a glance.

Of course, she knew what Zhuyou had taken. She had not stopped her—she had even allowed her to take it.

Not because she intended to leave the Turbid Mirror unchecked, but because she had other plans in mind.

Her expression remained calm and unshaken, but in her heart, she was thinking—

A hundred years ago, when that devil carried her away from the Dragon Palace…

Had she looked just like this back then?