Chapter 346: Morning Farewell at Baidi Amidst Colorful Clouds

Nüwa.

Regarding that address, Shen Yu remained impassive. She calmly said, "The Immortal Court shattered, and countless immortals fell. Divine Emperors and Heavenly Emperors either vanished into dust or entered cycles of reincarnation. After a millennium, their forms are long unrecognizable, and I am no longer myself."

The Senior Disciple of the Sword Pavilion still didn't understand: "Why would an Ancestral Being like yourself be willing to become another's disciple? Who exactly is the Master of your sect? And who are the others within your sect?"

Shen Yu smiled faintly. She stood on the lake's surface, the world seemingly frozen, with only their conversation clearly echoing.

"We are all fellow practitioners," Shen Yu said with a faint smile.

The Senior Disciple of the Sword Pavilion pondered for a moment, then asked, "May I ask how many of the Immortals of the former Immortal Court remain today?"

Shen Yu stated bluntly, "Less than one in ten."

Shen Yu's words were light and airy, yet they revealed an ancient, bloody history.

The Senior Disciple of the Sword Pavilion also sensed this. Her voice was solemn and heavy: "During the Primordial Divine War, the firmament shattered. You, Goddess, corrected the four pillars, connected yin and yang, slew demons and gods, quelled the floods, and performed the monumental feat of refining stones to mend the sky—a deed remembered by humanity to this day. Now that the firmament is safe, why must you go against the natural order and poke another hole in it? Goddess, what exactly do you seek?"

Shen Yu retorted, "What does the Sword Pavilion seek? To enforce Heaven's will?"

The Senior Disciple replied without hesitation, "To maintain the continuity of the Heavenly Dao."

Shen Yu smiled faintly and said, "Maintain the Heavenly Dao? It's the White Cang Era now. It rather fits the saying, 'help a tiger do evil.'"

The Senior Disciple pondered briefly, then asked, "Nüwa, have you ever visited human dynasties?"

"What do you mean?" Shen Yu countered.

The Senior Disciple earnestly explained, "Human dynasties have always experienced rise and fall, succession and change. Who sits on the imperial throne is not important. If it does not harm the common people, why bother with it? Five hundred years ago, the Sage acted stubbornly, and in the end, it only led to a catastrophe with millions of casualties, leaving the world even more desolate and all beings suffering! It took centuries to recover. Now, the world has recuperated, finally achieving peace across the four seas. Human society is maintained by sects, and the heavens are guarded by divine kingdoms. People live in peace, and all spirits flourish. The era of ancient gods has passed, and the lords of the divine kingdoms no longer interfere with the human realm. We should enjoy this prosperous age. Why stir up trouble?"

Shen Yu listened quietly, and for once, she surprisingly agreed, "That catastrophe five hundred years ago was indeed immense."

The Senior Disciple frowned and said, "If so, what are you doing?"

Shen Yu said, "You believe in the Heavenly Principle, but do you truly know what it is you worship?"

The Senior Disciple earnestly replied, "The Heavenly Principle is naturally the rule derived from heaven and earth. For example, when you are in a country, you must obey its laws. If you desire freedom and shatter those laws, can such freedom make the country better?"

"The Heavenly Principle is not law, but tyranny," Shen Yu said somberly. "The Heavenly Principle you worship is something that has long been tampered with. But you are too young; it existed when you were born, so you do not resist it. In fact, you believe it should exist."

The Senior Disciple retorted, "You always say the Heavenly Dao is a devil, but what evidence have you presented? Why should the entire world be staked on your gamble for a mere possibility? Or is all of this your deception, and all you want back is your Divine Court? When you held divine positions, you cared for the common people, but after losing your positions, are the common people merely pawns to be manipulated?"

"I have never longed for the Divine Court, nor do I bother using common people as pawns; it only increases the number of lives," Shen Yu chuckled softly, her figure appearing solitary in the frozen landscape. "You believe in your perceived truth, and I won't dissuade you. But one day, you will discover that this world is not a country at all, but an iron pot with firewood already prepared beneath it, boiling billions of living beings. Right now, the water is still warm, and you are swimming in it, unwilling to leave. I can understand that."

The Senior Disciple frowned slightly, her eyes subtly shifting, yet her sword heart remained firm: "The Heavenly Principle grants me powerful realms and profound divine consciousness. I can feel its light. What proof can you offer?"

Shen Yu smiled and said, "I don't need to prove anything. This is the path I must walk. I do not seek approval."

The Senior Disciple watched the faint silhouette of a cyan dress on the silver lake. The swords around her began to reconstruct, dense and intricate like a snake's bones.

"Is the Demon City your junior disciple?" the Senior Disciple suddenly asked.

Shen Yu smiled and nodded, saying, "Yes, fortunately, my junior disciple hid himself well, so you didn't kill him before we found him."

The Senior Disciple narrowed her eyes and said, "Before the Sage was suppressed and killed, it was said there was a prophecy that in the next five hundred years, another Sage would emerge?"

Shen Yu said, "The Sword Sage told you that, didn't he?"

The Senior Disciple didn't answer, but simply asked, "If the Sage's dying words were true, then this era's Sage is most likely your junior disciple, isn't he?"

A smile appeared on Shen Yu's lips. "My junior disciple can't become a Sage. A person like him, blinded by beautiful women, one more lifetime is worse than one less..."

However, the Senior Disciple was convinced that the Sage of this era was the young man named Ning Changjiu.

As long as the Sage lives, grand larceny will not cease.

"Who was he in his previous life?" the Senior Disciple of the Sword Pavilion asked.

"I can't tell you that; Master would punish me," Shen Yu said, looking at the woman surrounded by sword light, and smiled. "I rarely talk to people so calmly. If you weren't going to Demon City, I wouldn't bother with you."

The Senior Disciple didn't feel insulted; instead, her fighting spirit grew. "Please, Nüwa, enlighten me."

Shen Yu, however, said, "Your sword intent is far from enough to attack me. Let your master come."

The Senior Disciple said, "Times have long changed. You old gods... are too arrogant."

"Is that so..." Shen Yu looked up, involuntarily recalling the long past. A millennium is lengthy even for a deity.

In the earliest times, all divine beings who ascended to the Immortal Court were human. They received the primordial authority that arose with the Immortal Court, forming true divine bodies and divine hearts.

They were the first batch of ascenders, and the most powerful ascenders in history. No one has been able to replicate their achievements since.

Each of them had their own unique divine names: Nüwa, Pangu, Xingtian, Donghuang...

Thus, in that era, besides the Six Primordial Gods, another equally powerful force emerged: the Immortal Court.

They were the destined ones in a chaotic age. At that time, the Seventh God had just been slain, and the rules of the human realm were broken. Grand cultivators, who had endured in the chaos for countless years, broke through their bottlenecks together, obtaining unprecedented power.

Back then, they didn't even need to write Heavenly Tablets.

Later, they realized that the reason they couldn't ascend in the past was that they hadn't comprehended the mysteries of the Heavenly Tablets. With the death of the Seventh God, the rules of heaven and earth were broken and hadn't yet been rebuilt, which led to this group of individuals who ascended through sheer power. Afterwards, when the Heavenly Dao was re-established, the rules of the Heavenly Tablets were restored.

The deities of that era possessed immense magical powers, leaving behind countless magnificent deeds in their struggles for power with ancient gods, old deities, and later, the Dark Lord.

Unfortunately, everyone knows the final outcome.

The Immortal Court crumbled, countless immortals fell, and the Twelve Divine Kingdoms, alongside the establishment of a new order, sustained the Heavenly Dao, becoming the ironclad laws of the world, unshakable for thousands of years.

In short, it was a very, very long time ago... Often, she even wondered if the one who mended the firmament back then was truly the same person as her current self.

On the silver lake ahead, the Senior Disciple of the Sword Pavilion had, in a flash, deployed a formation of ten thousand swords. The entire silver lake was illuminated by sword light, no longer resembling a lake but a sword kingdom, where anyone who entered would face certain death.

The surroundings were no longer silent.

The silver lake water rippled, swords swept across the sky, stirring faint winds, and starlight covered the expanse above, flickering weakly. The entire world was like a dying candle, a sign that the stillness was about to be broken.

Shen Yu surveyed all things and said coldly, "Who gave you permission to speak?"

All things fell silent, returning to stillness.

Including the swords of the Sword Pavilion's Senior Disciple.

Shen Yu walked through the kingdom of swords as if strolling in a leisurely garden. She raised her cyan sleeve, and sword light twined around it. "Let me see what the Sword Sage taught you, and if he truly deserves the title of the foremost person in the human realm."

The silver lake suddenly broke.

When Siming awoke, Ning Changjiu was leaning against the wall, regulating his breath and circulating his sword art.

Siming exhaled and, after steadying herself, immediately rubbed her temples.

She didn't touch anything...

Fortunately, no slave mark, just a dream.

Her recent dreams were indeed getting stranger. Did the content of dreams become clearer the higher one's cultivation realm?

Siming thought this as she slowly raised her head, looking at the rain outside the window.

"Awake?" Ning Changjiu had completed one cycle of cultivation.

Siming was wearing thin clothes. Though she had slept all night, her expression seemed even more fatigued.

She got out of bed, but didn't stand up. Her feet touched the cool floor as she lowered her head, gently smoothing her silver hair that fell across her chest, her expression serene and thoughtful, as if lost in thought.

Ning Changjiu looked at her and asked, "Something on your mind?"

"No," Siming replied, then asked, "What cultivation technique are you practicing?"

Ning Changjiu said, "This is a new Daoist art I've comprehended."

Siming didn't press further. As she brushed her long hair, she asked, "Have you... had any strange dreams recently?"

Ning Changjiu merely assumed he had been talking strangely in his sleep again, and that the strange talk must have been about Xiang'er.

He flatly denied it, saying, "No, recently my dreams have mostly been about reminiscing on the past."

"Reminiscing on the past?" Siming's voice was soft. "Is there something you can't let go of?"

Ning Changjiu said, "What in the past is there that can't be let go of? The unpredictable future is the only thing worth worrying about."

Siming fell silent for a moment. She, who usually loved to mock Ning Changjiu, uncharacteristically agreed: "Hmm, you're right."

Ning Changjiu flinched, feeling unaccustomed to this. He wondered if she had been beaten in her dream. Why was she so well-behaved today? She even showed some potential as a good wife and mother.

Siming also felt the atmosphere was off. She got up, walked across the floor, went to the mirror, and stared at her glabella for a long time.

The light inside the room was dim, and outside, the rain pattered. The entire Demon City was as calm as an unrippled lake.

"Alright, get up," Siming suddenly said. "Let's go check on the Ginseng Fruit Tree."

Ning Changjiu responded, stretched his limbs, got up, and put on his clothes. Siming also went behind a screen to change.

The screen was thin and dark like gauze, and Ning Changjiu could vaguely discern her silhouette through it.

Siming put on a dark divine robe and emerged from behind the screen, her expression returning to its usual serene coldness.

Before leaving, Ning Changjiu picked up a white paper umbrella and handed it to Siming.

Siming pushed the umbrella away, saying, "I don't need it."

So Ning Changjiu carried one himself.

"Can this little spring rain drown a half-step Five Dao cultivator? Or are you just too fond of affected elegance?" Siming resumed her mockery.

Ning Changjiu smiled and said, "It's just a little human pleasure."

Siming asked, "Are small pleasures important?"

"Of course they're important," Ning Changjiu said. "It's one of the proofs that we are human."

Siming was noncommittal, walking in the rain with her hands behind her back.

On the quiet street, the bluestone slabs were worn smooth like mirrors, and their blurred figures gradually receded into the rain.

Ning Changjiu held the white umbrella, looking at Siming's ethereal and clear eyes, and silently tilted the umbrella towards her.

Siming felt his superfluous gesture but said nothing.

They walked on like this.

Although the umbrella above their heads wasn't strictly necessary, it gave a strange sense of security.

However, many sights were obscured by the umbrella's canopy and couldn't be seen clearly.

Siming said, "After we rescue Xiaoling, let's go back to Broken Realm City."

Ning Changjiu had promised Shao Xiaoli that he would return, but he didn't think now was the right time. "Why?"

Siming said, "I have a feeling that White Cang's true target is there."

"Hmm," Ning Changjiu had the same thought.

Although he didn't understand White Cang, he had already sensed her greed from the matter of Heavenly Store and Underworld Lord.

The Headless God's death was a warning. How could a deity like her, who coveted all powerful forces, let go of a lost divine kingdom?

Broken Realm City might be in danger then.

"I hope the trip to Demon City doesn't cause any major disturbances," Ning Changjiu said.

Siming said blandly, "Only the weak are timid."

Ning Changjiu smiled, tilting the umbrella further towards her.

Siming turned her head, looking at his rain-soaked shoulder, her moth-like eyebrows slightly furrowed, and a hint of disdain in her icy eyes: "Are you done yet? Why are you so childish?"

Ning Changjiu smiled faintly, "One always gets wet when shielding others from wind and rain."

Siming said, "The umbrella provides shelter from wind and rain, not you."

Ning Changjiu was silent for a moment, then said, "What if, one day, the umbrella leaks?"

The "umbrella" he spoke of referred to the sky.

Siming thought for a moment and said, "The sky has indeed leaked once before. More than three thousand years ago, the Great Goddess Nüwa performed the monumental feat of refining stones to mend the sky. Unfortunately, the deceased are gone now. If history repeats itself, living beings may only be able to fend for themselves in the rain."

"Does Nüwa truly exist?" Ning Changjiu asked. He had only heard related myths from the Senior Disciple, who spoke of Nüwa in such exaggerated terms that he found it hard to believe.

Siming said, "Mending the sky is not a legend, and creating humans was also a great feat, but it happened too long ago to trace."

Ning Changjiu curiously asked, "How does one create humans?"

Siming calmly said, "Just as you're thinking."

Ning Changjiu's eyes widened.

Siming looked at his expression, puzzled, and said, "Molding them from divine earth and holy water—isn't that something every child knows? Why are you so shocked?"

Ning Changjiu was too embarrassed to voice his true thoughts just now. He muttered, "Ancient deities truly could do everything."

Siming said as a matter of course, "That's the privilege of world-pioneers."

In the fine rain, they walked unhurriedly. The fine rain gradually soaked Ning Changjiu's shoulder. Siming looked at the distinct water marks on his white robe and asked, "If one day the sky truly leaks, and you happen to have an umbrella, would you still tilt it towards me like this?" Ning Changjiu said, "Yes, I would."

Siming had intended to ask, "If Lu Jiajia and Zhao Xiang'er were also here, who would you give it to?" But asking that would always make her identity seem strange. She abandoned this line of questioning, and Ning Changjiu unknowingly escaped a predicament.

Ning Changjiu countered, "If I give you the umbrella, will you accept it?"

Siming stopped.

They had just reached the mountainside, surrounded by withered stone camellia fields. A flower-protecting bell swayed forlornly, its sound faint. They had lost what they were meant to protect, and the long years ahead would only be a process of rusting in the rain.

Siming extended her hand and said, "Give it to me."

"Hm?" Ning Changjiu was slightly puzzled before realizing she was talking about the umbrella.

Ning Changjiu handed the umbrella to her.

Siming took the umbrella, walked to the cliff edge with it open, and suddenly flung it away.

The umbrella gently fell down the cliff.

Below the cliff was a forest steeped in rain mist.

The white umbrella drifted towards it, growing smaller and smaller in their sight, like a flower carried by the wind and rain, vanishing in an instant.

This was Siming's answer.

Ning Changjiu looked in the direction where the umbrella had disappeared and smiled.

"Let's go," Siming said.

At the foot of the mountain, the fire in the Grand Pure Daoist Furnace burned brighter and brighter. The previously lazy boy and girl attendants, seeing Ning Changjiu and Siming arrive, immediately sat up straight and diligently fanned the flames.

Under the Ginseng Fruit Tree, resentment accumulated for millions of years, lingering persistently.

Siming opened her divine eyes and glanced at the furnace, saying, "It will still take nearly half a month."

These words cast a shadow over the hearts of the boy and girl attendants.

They were essentially wood spirits. The demon spirits of flowers and plants were called 'Kui,' a name derived from 'puppet.' Wooden figures controlled by humans were puppets, while wooden figures that developed their own sentience were called Kui.

They were naturally afraid of bright flames and drawn to ghostly flames, and the fire in this furnace was of the hottest kind of bright flame.

Even a day spent in front of this furnace felt like a year; staying for half a month would drive them mad...

Ning Changjiu sighed, "Half a month... that long?"

Although Xiaoling was still less than two hundred days away from her 'great limit,' delays could lead to complications...

As he spoke, Siming suddenly turned back, looking at a tree not far from them.

"Who's there?" Siming asked.

A large bird was perched on the tree, with silvery-grey feathers and a red crow mask. After being discovered, it showed no fear. Instead, it cawed, flew to the ground, and transformed into a scrawny human figure covered in feathers.

"I am the envoy of the Golden-winged Great Peng King," the large bird spoke.

The Golden-winged Great Peng King, the only living Demon Sage in Demon City, once performed the mighty feats of 'drinking rivers like whales' and 'swallowing Buddhist lands.' Even though he was severely wounded five hundred years ago and has yet to recover, his strength remains formidable.

Ning Changjiu asked, "What is the matter?"

The envoy said, "A demon died in the city under mysterious circumstances. His Majesty ordered me to investigate."

Ning Changjiu and Siming exchanged glances.

Siming said coolly, "The White Deer demon was killed by me. If this is what you're here about, there's no need to beat around the bush."

"Not so," the envoy said. "Although the White Deer demon served His Majesty, His Majesty doesn't seem to have decided to pursue that matter. Another demon died last night."

Siming asked, "Who died?"

The envoy said, "One was the Hundred-Faced Fox, a Great Demon of the Purple Court realm, who ran a large theater troupe in the outer city and also performed acrobatics. The other was the Mist Demon King of Seven Absolutes Cliff. It and its crimson python died mysteriously, and the cause of death is unknown. This matter is being taken very seriously by the authorities, and an order has been issued to investigate every outsider."

Mist Demon King?

Ning Changjiu and Siming exchanged glances.

Ning Changjiu asked, "How does the Demon Sage plan to investigate?"

The envoy handed over two sheets of paper and said, "You just need to write down your recent itineraries, and His Majesty will discern right from wrong."

Unobservable Daoist Temple.

The Second Senior Brother sat amidst white clouds, casually drawing his blade, splitting the boundless sea of clouds into fragments that took a long time to re-form.

Within the sea of clouds, a figure in a cyan dress appeared, arriving by his side in an instant.

"Senior Sister, how was it?" the Second Senior Brother asked.

Shen Yu said, "No divine envoys from the White Cang Divine Kingdom appeared."

She was willing to personally intercept the Senior Disciple of the Sword Pavilion not because she valued her, but merely wanted to observe the White Cang Divine Kingdom's reaction.

The Second Senior Brother nodded slightly and chuckled, "White Cang is truly both greedy and timid. She doesn't dare to take even this small risk. Sigh, when I first met her, she was an ancient demon, heavily wounded and struggling to survive at Blood Kill Cliff, covered in blood and not at all cute."

Shen Yu's smile was cool. "Back then, you could indeed crush her with one hand. Unfortunately, now she has taken over the city that should have been yours, pouring silver to rename it Snow Palace, and you... sigh, when the Sword Sage emerges from seclusion, I have no confidence whether you can win."

The Second Senior Brother sighed, honestly admitting, "I have no confidence either."

Shen Yu looked at his expression and said, "Are you truly free and unburdened by not caring about anything?"

The Second Senior Brother grinned and said, "I just don't want to overthink things. Master has everything planned out; I just need to wield my blade and kill people."

Shen Yu said, "Master shouldn't have saved you back then."

The Second Senior Brother said, "If not me, then your brother?"

Shen Yu laughed and said, "Junior Brother, your recent words have become increasingly bold."

The Second Senior Brother quickly said, "Just joking, just joking, Senior Sister, don't take it to heart."

Shen Yu didn't bother to reply, saying, "Anyway, pay more attention. If I were you, watching someone usurp my place, I wouldn't have the leisure to sit alone in the clouds, fighting with these leisurely white clouds."

"My city..." The Second Senior Brother smiled desolately. "Everyone in the city died, only I survived. How can it still be my city?"

Shen Yu said, "Your city is still there, and you are still here, everything is complete. Why be dejected?"

The Second Senior Brother listened, silent for a moment, then smiled affably. He ran his hand slowly over the back of his half-finger-wide blade and said, "Don't worry, Senior Sister, I have my own plans... When the time comes, I'll definitely invite you and the junior brothers to drink on the city wall, look at the scenery beneath the colored clouds, and reminisce about our past glory."

"Let's hope so," Shen Yu replied with a faint hum.

The Second Senior Brother remembered something and asked, "Oh, right, how was your fight with that girl?"

Shen Yu said, "That girl is not bad. If she cultivates for another hundred years, she should achieve greatness. She still lacks refinement, and is probably recovering on the silver lake right now. She won't reach Demon City within a month."

"Senior Sister is indeed unparalleled in the world," the Second Senior Brother praised.

Shen Yu didn't bother to respond. She stepped through the sea of clouds, drifting towards the Unobservable Daoist Temple.

The Second Senior Brother stretched and casually recited a famous human poem.

Shen Yu only heard the first line.

"Leaving White Emperor City at dawn, among colorful clouds."

High-speed text: Chapters of 'Above the Divine Kingdom'.