“Fate? I only believe in justice—that good and evil will meet their due. With the King of the Northern Realm protecting you, with all of you shielding him, a demon fox can kill at will and not even fear heavenly retribution? What is this immortal realm? The same scheming, the same corruption, the same hypocrisy—no better than the mortal world. Even more disgusting, in fact. I was blind to think a place like that could have what I was looking for!”
Jin Xiu started to speak.
“You—”
But a crisp sound interrupted him.
The jade hairpin snapped in two and was flung to the ground.
Hong Ning took several steps back.
“I, Hong Ning, swear that in this life and the next, I will never cultivate immortality again. If I do, may I be like this hairpin—may my soul…”
Her voice suddenly failed her.
Yet her tone had been firm, laced with scorn.
The way she made her vow—unyielding, unwavering—was just as she had in the past.
Jin Xiu bent down, picked up the two broken pieces of the hairpin, and spoke softly,
“You always make such vows so easily… for others.”
Mortal emotions—how could a god like him ever understand?
Hong Ning looked at him, and gradually, the corners of her lips curled into a faint arc before turning into a sneer.
She ignored him and turned to leave.
* * *
Apricot Immortal nudged Plum Immortal and whispered,
“So that is the son of the Celestial Lord of Kunlun and a mortal woman?”
The Celestial Court had long since forbidden any mention of the matter, yet it had caused such an uproar back then that it was impossible for it not to have spread.
Over ten thousand years ago, the True Celestial Clan and the Kunlun Celestial Clan vied for dominion over the Celestial Court. The contenders were none other than the Celestial Emperor Hao Tian and the Celestial Lord of Kunlun.
To avoid bloodshed, the ancestral founders of both clans made a pact: neither side would interfere directly. Instead, their second disciples would undergo Heavenly Tribulation, and whoever proved superior would claim the throne.
But at that critical moment, the Celestial Lord of Kunlun secretly took a mortal woman—one Madam Wen—as his wife.
A god and a human… How could such a union be permitted?
In the end, he failed to transcend the tribulation.
Thus, the Celestial Emperor Hao Tian ascended to the throne of the Celestial Court.
The Kunlun Clan had lost. The matter should have ended there.
Yet years later, another secret came to light.
Back then, in order to escape his tribulation, the Celestial Lord of Kunlun had gone into seclusion for cultivation.
But somehow… someone had secretly sent that woman to Kunlun Mountain.
Upon learning the full truth, the Kunlun Patriarch immediately performed a divination. As expected, it was the work of the True Celestial Clan. Enraged, he confronted them. Both the Celestial Lord of Kunlun and the Celestial Emperor Hao Tian were the most prominent figures of their respective clans—aside from the founding ancestors, who else could have known their fates so precisely?
Thus, he concluded that the True Celestial Patriarch had deliberately orchestrated the scheme, violating their original pact to not interfere. Furious, he led his people to demand an explanation, and the confrontation nearly erupted into a full-scale battle at the Southern Heavenly Gate.
In the end, Jin Xiu stepped forward voluntarily, admitting that he had unintentionally glimpsed celestial fate and, by accident, revealed information that led his clan to act upon it. When the True Celestial Patriarch learned of this, he immediately stripped Jin Xiu of his celestial godhood and demoted him to the status of a Flower God—a compromise meant to appease the Kunlun Clan.
Fortunately, Jin Xiu had always been well-regarded. His ability to divine the Celestial Lord of Kunlun’s nemesis was proof of his formidable power, and even the Celestial Lord himself held a measure of respect for him. Only then did the conflict finally subside.
Stripped of his divine status, the Celestial Lord of Kunlun spent five thousand years cultivating anew to reclaim his place among the celestial gods. Yet even upon his ascension, he narrowly escaped a great disaster.
Madam Wen, in an effort to quell the anger of the clan and preserve the Celestial Lord’s cultivation, willingly went to the Fire Kirin, where she met her end—reduced to ashes.
Plum Immortal had never been fond of Apricot Immortal, but upon hearing this story, she could not help but be moved. She lowered her head and murmured,
“To think that even the Celestial Lord of Kunlun could not escape the tribulation of love… Father and son both…”
Lu Yao frowned. Noticing Jin Xiu standing motionless, she glanced at Apricot Immortal.
Apricot Immortal immediately understood and stepped forward to persuade him.
“Your Grace has already guided her multiple times. You have more than fulfilled your duty as master and servant. It is she who remains obstinate, unable to comprehend the path of immortality. Why continue wasting your efforts?”
Lu Yao also took his arm gently, speaking in a hushed tone,
“You have only two years left before your ascension to celestial godhood. The heavenly tribulation is approaching. If you continue entangling yourself in mortal affairs, the Celestial Emperor and I… are deeply concerned.”
She lowered her gaze, her meaning clear.
Jin Xiu remained silent for a long moment before finally nodding.
Without another word, he led the four of them onto their clouds and departed.
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