Chapter 3 Soul Scattered, Spirit Lost
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Watching the Demon Lord Beiming Yanhu break into the Eternal Dream of Watery Heavens, Jiuxian Yue, the Moon Deity, was furious.
“You fiend, how dare you invade my Eternal Dream of Watery Heavens!”
“Release her, or I will raze your Eternal Dream of Watery Heavens to the ground.” Beiming Yanhu’s low, magnetic voice carried a chilling warning to Jiuxian Yue.
Beneath the Spirit Commanding Terrace, a triangular face appeared, ashen and grim, with cheekbones slightly protruding and eyes that, in an unguarded moment, revealed a murderous gleam—so terrifying it chilled the soul.
The goddess Chaoyan shook her head, signaling to Beiming Yanhu not to act rashly and bring disaster upon them all.
But everything was already too late.
In an instant, Beiming Yanhu and Jiuxian Yue clashed.
Within a heartbeat, immortal pavilions and jade towers in the Eternal Dream of Watery Heavens began to collapse as gods and demons fell into a desperate battle.
Seeing life laid waste, the Nine Provinces on the brink of ruin, Chaoyan shattered her own soul, pouring all her cultivation and spiritual power into breaking free from the chains upon the Spirit Commanding Terrace. She hurled herself between the two combatants.
At that moment, Beiming Yanhu had no time to withdraw the Lihuo Sword in his hand; the blade pierced straight into Chaoyan’s heart as she rushed between them.
A surge of overwhelming power burst forth, forming a pillar of light that pierced the heavens, rending Chaoyan’s soul and scattering her spirit.
Chaoyan’s phoenix-like eyes blazed with fire, their smoky allure entrancing like a demon’s charm. She sighed at the fleeting nature of all things, then, with a gentle smile, gazed quietly at Beiming Yanhu, whose hand still gripped the Lihuo Sword.
Like a falling star, she vanished into the world.
The great war between gods and demons ended in cataclysm; Chaoyan gave her life to save all living things, trading her existence for Beiming Yanhu’s.
“Chaoyan…”
Jiuxian Yue stared in disbelief at Chaoyan’s vanishing soul, dying before his eyes.
“No!” His anguished cry rang out, desolate and desperate.
At that moment, black mist swirled and frigid, evil winds swept in, chilling everyone to the bone.
Yes—Demon Lord Beiming Yanhu erupted. Unable to restrain the demonic energy within, he unleashed his full might, and in an instant, the entire Divine Realm—the Eternal Dream of Watery Heavens—was laid to waste.
His eyes, bloodshot and burning, were like the last crimson of a dying moon; the starlight within them flickered like the sea of stars in turmoil.
His brows were the withered lines retreating between mountains and seas; his fingertips powerless to alter the fate of the stars just beyond his reach.
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The last trace of Beiming Yanhu’s gentleness, once journeying together through mountains and seas, now scattered and buried with Chaoyan’s fall, collapsed in an instant within his heart.
In a heartbeat, the Demon Lord’s ink-black hair turned as pale as moonlight at dusk, white as snow.
Strands of hair on his cheek fluttered in the breeze atop the Spirit Commanding Terrace, swaying gently from side to side.
His eyes, once unparalleled, cast a fleeting glance at Chaoyan’s soul as it dissipated into the sky.
At the moment of Chaoyan’s death, memories surged in Beiming Yanhu’s mind, carrying him back to the very beginning.
Those ten thousand years in the Ruins of Return were filled with the world’s gentlest warmth, shared with Chaoyan.
A single star’s light drifted down, landing in Jiuxian Yue’s palm, a chill seeping into him, causing his dimmed eyes to open slowly.
Jiuxian Yue gathered his wits and signaled to Lord Lanshu to join forces.
Seizing the moment while Beiming Yanhu was unable to control his demonic energy, they attacked together, using the Fuguang Formation to trap and grievously wound him.
Afterward, the deities of the Eternal Dream of Watery Heavens joined forces and finally defeated Beiming Yanhu.
Thus, the Beiming Clan was nearly exterminated by Jiuxian Yue, utterly defeated and forced back to the Mountain of the Nine Shadows.
As for the gravely wounded Demon Lord, Beiming Yanhu, his whereabouts became unknown; he abandoned his clan and vanished for over thirty millennia.
Yet neither gods nor demons knew that Chaoyan had not truly died; a remnant of her soul remained, infused into a massive peach blossom tree in the Eternal Dream of Watery Heavens.
A thousand years old, the tree soared into the heavens, its petals like delicate pink clouds too lush for even the wind to scatter.
A soft, trembling breeze stirred the branches and flowers, filling the air with a gentle rustle.
Petals danced in the wind, a scene of ethereal beauty, as Chaoyan’s soul became one with this paradise.
Thirty thousand years passed.
Chaoyan’s death became the obsession that haunted Beiming Yanhu for ten thousand years, his spirit wandering among mountains and rivers, yet everywhere he looked, he saw only her.
“The sun and moon grind on like ants, all things are but fleeting. This world, perhaps, is better without you.”
Clouds touched his temples as he raised a cup of clear wine; after a few rounds, he sobered, facing flowers and drink, as plum blossoms fell and sorrow grew along the endless waters by the long pavilion.
His brows furrowed gently; in every thread, there was tenderness, but his eyes brimmed with unspoken anxiety.
Even as the earth aged and mountains shifted, Beiming Yanhu could never forget the one who shattered her soul before his eyes, the one who haunted his dreams for eternity.
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Fortune Palace of the Immortals.
“Little Huayan, hurry up! There’s no time. If you miss the moment, you won’t ascend this time—and you’ll have to wait another thousand years!”
“I’m coming, Liuying! Wait for me!”
On the jade-paved path beneath moon and clouds, a lively and adorable little fairy ran with unhurried steps, her beautiful eyes curving into crescent moons as she smiled.
My name is Little Huayan, an insignificant flower spirit from the Hall of Blossoms. I am in charge of all the flowers and plants in the Eternal Dream of Watery Heavens. Today is the great day when the Fortune Palace selects the spirits of the Eternal Dream to ascend and become immortals.
If I make it into the ranks of the immortals, I will no longer be a mere flower sprite—I’ll finally be a true fairy!
“Your spiritual power is insufficient, your immortal root unstable. You cannot ascend.”
Clad in a white robe with a jade belt fluttering, the High Immortal before me, elegant and ethereal, stared wide-eyed at Little Huayan.
“What? Grand Mandate, I’ve waited a thousand years—why can’t I ascend?”
Lord Xuanxing, the Grand Mandate of the Fortune Palace, governs the fates of all spirits in the Eternal Dream of Watery Heavens. (Grand Mandate is a divine title.)
He knows the three thousand tribulations, the disasters and trials, and the art of shifting stars and constellations; he can unravel cycles of karma and even defy fate itself.
Lord Xuanxing glanced down, giving Little Huayan’s dejected expression a fleeting look.
“You little flower sprite, with your soul shattered and power so weak—how could you ascend?”
“And besides, how many times have you come to the Fortune Palace? It’s not that I won’t help you, but there really is nothing I can do!”
Hearing Lord Xuanxing declare her hopeless, Little Huayan’s lips turned down, her face full of grievance.
“My soul is shattered—all because of that war between gods and demons thirty thousand years ago. Back then, I was a thousand-year-old peach tree, flourishing and strong. But out of nowhere, a spark of starlight appeared and burned me, turning me into a single blossom.”
Lord Xuanxing flipped through the Book of Ascension in his hand, a mischievous smile playing at his lips.
“You little flower sprite, so quick-witted—go back and cultivate diligently. Come again when you’re ready to ascend.”
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