Chapter 468: Moonlight So Bright, Once Shone Upon a Pair

Inside the ethereal and translucent Daoist hall, Ning Changjiu and Ye Changong gazed at each other through a veil.

Ye Changong looked at the marriage certificate, her features subtly shifting like the gentle breeze stirred by butterfly wings.

"Shall I write it?"

Ye Changong returned to her serene state.

She remained a fairy as cold as an iceberg; the mundane affairs of the human world could drift past her eyes but never cling to her.

Ning Changjiu waited. His earlier suspicion had been confirmed, and he instinctively reached for the top of his head... feeling nothing.

In the World of Eternity, he possessed no spiritual powers, being merely an ordinary person. Thus, he couldn't see his own lifeline, just as one cannot look up and see the crown of their own head.

The white veil gradually became still.

Ye Changong picked up the brush and, unhurriedly, wrote down a name. After finishing, she folded the marriage certificate.

Ning Changjiu reached out his hand, expecting her to hand it over.

Instead, Ye Changong put the marriage certificate away.

"Hmm?" Ning Changjiu asked, puzzled. "Does Master have another test for me?"

Ye Changong's voice was gentle. "I will give you the marriage certificate when you turn sixteen. This is a tradition of our sect."

Ning Changjiu was slightly stunned. He looked at the shifting silhouette behind the veil, momentarily speechless. He thought, *Master looks so innocent, like a little lamb on the moon, but how does she have even more ploys than I do...*

After regaining his composure, Ning Changjiu sighed, "Master's methods are truly... ingenious."

Ye Changong asked, "Are you being sarcastic?"

Ning Changjiu replied, "This disciple is already twenty this year."

Ye Changong said, "There's no need to worry. In the World of Eternity, people can experience youth again."

Ning Changjiu stood silently.

Ye Changong looked at him, her voice cool and clear. "Every family has its rules, and every sect has its regulations. As for the marriage certificate, we will discuss it again when you are sixteen."

Ning Changjiu sighed, having no other option. "This disciple respectfully obeys Master's command."

Ye Changong stood up, stepped over the ethereal lotus pond, lifted the curtain, and exited.

The girl wore her long hair down, with snow-white silk ribbons wrapped around her arms. The marriage certificate was tucked diagonally into her robe, the paper lying snugly against her soft form. A slightly darker sash cinched her waist, the curve of her back resembling a slender crescent moon.

She walked past Ning Changjiu.

The dominion over dreams vanished.

Ning Changjiu plummeted from the peak of the dream.

Before his eyes, scenes of the Three Thousand Worlds, Sword Master Sect, Cross Gallows, the depths of the Luo River, and Wood Hall flashed by.

It turned out he hadn't merely fallen into a dream, but into multiple layers of dreams. Each time he wrote a name on the marriage certificate, he entered a deeper level of slumber.

Master had arranged this marriage certificate perhaps because she was certain he wouldn't obediently fill in her name. This was to make him lost in dreams, spending eight carefree years with her, while his true self in the World of Eternity would transform into a butterfly, fluttering in the sky like all other butterflies.

All the happiness he experienced in the dream would be a dream painstakingly conjured by Master using her dominion over dreams.

The dream of butterflies.

The faces of Zhao Xiang'er, Lu Jiajia, Xue Ci, Shao Xiaoli, and Ning Xiaoling flashed before him one by one.

The dream completely shattered, and he returned to the true Unseen Shrine. Ye Changong had already walked past him, and all he saw was her back.

Ning Changjiu walked towards her.

He suddenly gasped, stumbling forward.

Ye Changong caught him.

Ning Changjiu said, slightly apologetically, "It wasn't on purpose. The clothes are a bit too big."

Ye Changong replied, "It's fine. I'll tailor them for you."

In the courtyard, Ning Changjiu sat watching the golden storm of butterflies, while Ye Changong sat beside him, tailoring his clothes with a pair of scissors conjured from moonlight.

"How is it that Master knows how to do everything?" Ning Changjiu asked with a slight smile.

Ye Changong's scissors glided through the fabric.

"When I was still a laurel tree, I would gaze at the human world from the moon," Ye Changong said, her voice filled with nostalgia. "From the time they began slash-and-burn farming to when they started making clothes from hemp and cotton, their weaving skills steadily improved. Later, they dyed fabrics with colors, and the patterns grew increasingly exquisite... I watched them grow little by little. So, I can do most human tasks; some are just a bit unfamiliar."

Ning Changjiu also couldn't help but recall the past. Back then, he was far less content with tranquility than Chang Xi. He always liked to leave the Divine Sun Kingdom and venture into the human world, which often caused Xihe to express strong disapproval and lose her temper with him.

"For thousands of years, countless poems have praised the moon, yet people didn't know there truly was a fairy of the divine palace on it," Ning Changjiu said with a smiling sigh.

"Poems praising the sun are not few either," Ye Changong said.

"But they are far from comparable to the moon," Ning Changjiu said, adopting the air of a harmonious master-disciple relationship, showing mutual admiration.

"Hmm..." Ye Changong thought for a moment, then said, "That simply means the poets and lyricists of the human world truly know how to distinguish good from bad."

Ning Changjiu was choked for words. It was like two people politely refusing each other's gestures of courtesy, only for one to accept the offer after just one round of refusal.

Ye Changong looked at his distressed expression, as if asking if he had any objections.

Ning Changjiu cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, saying helplessly, "Master's wisdom is truly profound."

Ye Changong turned her head, her gaze still lightly fixed on the clothes, and suddenly asked, "Would you like to try a different clothing style?"

Ning Changjiu had a bad feeling and asked cautiously, "Master... what do you have in mind?"

Ye Changong gestured at the clothes with her finger. "How about cutting the edges of the robe into a petal-like outline..."

Ning Changjiu hastily stopped her idea. "This disciple thinks that's inappropriate!"

Ye Changong said, "There are only the two of us here. What are you worried about?"

Ning Changjiu retorted, "Since there are only the two of us here, why doesn't Master try cutting her own clothes first?"

"My clothes?" Ye Changong lowered her head, looking at her proper moon-colored gauze dress. She humbly asked, "Then how do you think this dress should be cut to be more beautiful?"

Ning Changjiu looked into Ye Changong's clear, innocent eyes, his heart suddenly quickening. He was about to make a serious suggestion when he noticed Ye Changong subtly pointing the tip of the scissors towards him.

Ning Changjiu sighed. "Master is perfect as you are; there's no need to change anything."

"Really?"

"Truly."

"If you have any other ideas, you can always speak frankly," Ye Changong said gently.

"None," Ning Changjiu said, looking at the scissors in her hand, thinking, *Our sect's tradition of convincing people through virtue truly is consistent.*

Ye Changong tailored the clothes with light movements, like pruning flower branches, and the fabric scraps fell like white snow.

After the clothes were tailored, Ning Changjiu couldn't help but speak. "Master is truly becoming more and more..."

"Hmm?"

"Hmm... more and more personable."

"Are you praising me?" Ye Changong looked at him calmly.

Ning Changjiu took the clothes. "Master, why ask when you already know?"

Ye Changong's gaze turned cool and clear, and the scissors in her hand transformed into a disciplinary ruler.

Ning Changjiu immediately fell silent.

Holding the disciplinary ruler with her hands clasped behind her back, Master led Ning Changjiu outside the shrine. Together, they went to admire deer and watch butterflies.

If other seemingly cold beauties adopted such an appearance, it might come across as them feigning maturity. However, Ye Changong had spent thousands of years in the tranquil Guanghan Palace, and even in her maiden form, her stillness carried an inherent sense of loneliness, melancholy, and pristine purity. She was the most beautiful fairy, and her presence evoked nothing but boundless beauty.

Butterflies fluttered overhead, their wings forming a sea.

Deer dashed past them.

Ning Changjiu and Ye Changong walked through the jade-colored forest, where golden branches and jade leaves rustled overhead.

Ning Changjiu asked, "When will my lifeline diminish?"

Ye Changong said, "Every three months, or one season."

Ning Changjiu said, "I recall ancient texts stating, 'A foot-long staff, halved each day, will never be exhausted through ten thousand generations.' If the World of Eternity operates by this rule, why can't it achieve true immortality?"

Ye Changong said, "Because the divine soul isn't infinitely divisible. When it becomes as small as a true particle, we, who consider ourselves the wisest of all beings, are no different from other forms of life."

Ye Changong seemed unwilling to continue the topic. She walked into the sea of flowers, where butterflies circled her silhouette.

Ning Changjiu also carefully walked through the flower field.

Ning Changjiu looked at the butterflies in the sky and asked, "If one day I turn into a butterfly, how will Master find me?"

Ye Changong said lightly, "Didn't you tell me today that even if you became a butterfly, a deer, or a fish, you would still stay by my side, unchanging through eternity? Since you will be with me, why would I need to search for you?"

Ning Changjiu said helplessly, "But then I thought, all the butterflies in this world forget life and death. Why should I consider myself special? I... lack confidence in myself."

Ye Changong bowed her head slightly, looking at a corner of the marriage certificate peeking from her robe. "Thousands of years ago, you thought the same," she said.

"What?" Ning Changjiu asked, puzzled. "Wasn't Master still sleeping on the moon back then?"

Ye Changong looked at the butterflies fluttering in the sky. "These butterflies, deer, and fish are your answer from back then," she said.

As she spoke, she extended her hand, and a butterfly landed on its back, fluttering its wings.

Ning Changjiu looked at the butterfly.

Each butterfly had an asymmetrical pattern on its back.

Ning Changjiu had noticed this when he first entered the World of Eternity: all living creatures here possessed patterns.

Ning Changjiu hadn't initially found anything unusual, but now he suddenly realized. "These patterns... were all drawn by me back then?"

Ye Changong nodded. "Yes. Back then, you were afraid I wouldn't be able to find you upon my return, so you marked yourself. But still uneasy, you then gave all other divine souls the exact same mark to distinguish yourself. Thus, in the World of Eternity, you are the most special butterfly."

The butterfly flew off her hand, merging into the sky above, like a drop of water returning to the sea, drifting far away with the currents until its trace could no longer be found.

Ning Changjiu looked at the myriad butterfly silhouettes in the sky. "My past self was truly diligent..." he murmured.

Ye Changong looked up at the sky until the "wind of butterflies" dispersed, remaining silently.

Ning Changjiu closed his eyes and asked, "If I hadn't made any marks, and my divine soul had blended in with them, Master... could you still find me?"

Ye Changong didn't answer directly. "What do you think?" she replied.

Ning Changjiu was stunned.

Ye Changong pressed her lips together, a faint smile lingering in her eyes. "The World of Eternity is larger than you imagine. Let's explore it together more in the coming years. In a few years, we should be able to behold everything here."

Ning Changjiu tilted his head up, looking at the Unseen Shrine above.

It was like a cloud following them, or a kite they had released.

"All right," Ning Changjiu said. "We'll make the world our home."

Time flowed slowly in the World of Eternity, while centuries passed in the human realm.

At dusk, the last flower in the courtyard fell from its tree. The cicadas were silent; summer had passed. In an instant, the autumn rain brought a sudden chill, casting a hazy, cold mist, and the entire human world, in this slightly cool weather, began its first true round of vigorous growth.

The world was undergoing restoration. While ordinary people didn't perceive it strongly, cultivators with higher realms experienced it much more distinctly.

In the past, they struggled through muddy swamps, finding every step arduous. Now, the murky water had transformed into a clear river. They glided through it, swiftly adapting to the new environment, as if growing 'gills' and 'fins,' making rapid progress on their cultivation path.

After this autumn wind, the world truly seemed poised to take on a brand new appearance.

Liu Xiewan sat in front of the courtyard, witnessing the wilting of the last petal.

Liu Junzhuo, dressed in a white top and black skirt, quietly walked behind her. She sat down, embracing her Kunlun Sword, and suddenly patted Liu Xiewan's head.

Liu Xiewan jumped in fright, her body jolting, and she immediately turned her head away.

She looked at Liu Junzhuo with slight resentment. "Second Senior Sister, our Sword Pavilion is the most prestigious righteous sect in the world. Why do you float around like a ghost? You don't have any of the proper demeanor a renowned righteous sect should!"

"The proper demeanor of a renowned righteous sect?" Liu Junzhuo asked with a faint smile. "Like our esteemed Pavilion Master's demeanor, perhaps?"

Liu Xiewan bit her lip. "Hmph, Senior Sister, you dare to speak ill of the Pavilion Master? You're doomed!"

Liu Junzhuo pinched her cheek. "Then go ahead, Junior Sister, tell on me. Make your master come out quickly. Shall I go wait obediently in the Hall of Discipline?"

Liu Xiewan felt a bit discouraged and glared at her. "What's all this 'master' talk? What are you talking about, Senior Sister?"

"Still pretending?" Liu Junzhuo said, looking at her. "Little Xiewan, you currently look like a puppy with a collar and chain in its mouth, scurrying around with its tail between its legs, looking for someone, looking utterly pitiful."

Liu Xiewan subconsciously touched her neck. She suddenly realized her Senior Sister was only speaking metaphorically and grew even angrier. "Senior Sister! You've gone too far! I... I will, on Master's behalf, teach you some manners today!"

Liu Xiewan swung a fist.

Flowers scattered in the courtyard.

This little sisterly squabble began with Liu Xiewan's declaration of war and quickly ended with her surrender.

Liu Xiewan sat there feeling wronged, holding her face in her hands. "Senior Sister is bullying me..."

Liu Junzhuo rubbed her hair. "All right, Senior Sister just doesn't want to see you so sullen all the time."

Liu Xiewan said, "The flowers are falling in autumn; I'm just... feeling autumnal melancholy!"

Liu Junzhuo smiled faintly. "I didn't realize Junior Sister was so poetic."

Liu Xiewan hummed. "This girl has read extensively since childhood. If it weren't for your deception, I'd be a graceful and highly learned young master by now! As it is... I'm merely a modest talent."

Liu Junzhuo looked at her Junior Sister, smiling silently.

Liu Xiewan puffed out her rosy cheeks, growing even more annoyed, only regretting that she couldn't defeat her Senior Sister. "Hmph, Master isn't here, but Mistress is! If Senior Sister dares to bully me again, I'll go complain to Mistress!"

Liu Junzhuo said, "Are you truly foolish, or just pretending?"

"What do you mean?"

"If the legitimate wife saw a little mistress kept outside, like you, she'd want to tear you to shreds."

"Really? I thought the Mistresses were all very kind to me."

"Would Senior Sister lie to you?"

"Hmm..." Liu Xiewan looked at her doubtfully, then declared with conviction, "Xiewan's revenge won't be too late, even after seven years! Senior Sister, just you wait!"

The autumn wind swept the courtyard clean.

Lu Jiajia stood in another pavilion, watching the two women chatting intimately in front of the courtyard steps, and smiled faintly.

Shao Xiaoli sat beside her, and together they watched the autumn scenery that had arrived without them noticing.

"Xiaoli, how has your cultivation been recently? Next time Fourth Senior Sister comes to inspect, don't think you can fool her," Lu Jiajia said.

"Xiaoli has been cultivating diligently," Shao Xiaoli affirmed.

Lu Jiajia said earnestly, "In the world today, all cultivators are advancing rapidly, and the spiritual fortune of heaven and earth is flourishing. You absolutely must not miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for cultivation."

"Yes!" Shao Xiaoli nodded vigorously. Then, she thought of another question. "Oh, by the way, now that cultivators have all become powerful and are generally high-spirited, what if in a few years they become too attached to their lives and unwilling to participate in the final great war?"

Lu Jiajia said, "I just spoke of 'fortune.' The reason a sect has fortune is that its entire membership cultivates the same inner cultivation method. This inner method is like an invisible bloodline, connecting all cultivators. As a result, the disciples of the sect prosper together, naturally fostering a sense of belonging."

Shao Xiaoli suddenly understood, recalling a scene from last winter. "All the Daoist cultivation methods in the world today are written by Master!"

Lu Jiajia nodded. "Yes, in a few years, all cultivators in the world, tracing back their origins, will belong to the same sect."

Shao Xiaoli exclaimed, "Master is truly farsighted... He must have anticipated that meteor shower long, long ago."

Lu Jiajia's gaze was distant as she nodded slightly.

Shao Xiaoli said, "Master... he was always so lonely. He must be even lonelier now, right?"

"Indeed, wandering in a foreign land is inherently lonely and harsh. Though the World of Eternity offers immortality, First Senior Sister says everything there is without intelligence. To be accompanied by unintelligent beings..." Lu Jiajia trailed off.

Shao Xiaoli finished her sentence: "To be accompanied by them, how slowly the days must pass."

"Time passes so quickly."

Ning Changjiu stood in front of the Daoist hall of the Unseen Shrine, dressed in thin robes, gazing into the distance and sighing softly.

Another season passed, and Ye Changong was once again tailoring clothes.

There were no distinct seasons in the World of Eternity; the weather remained mild as always.

"Indeed, if we were outside, it would be mid-September now... Life is short; even for immortals, compared to true eternity, it's but a fleeting moment of glory." Ye Changong's hand, holding the tailoring knife, conveyed boundless loneliness.

She finished tailoring the clothes, then looked up at Ning Changjiu. "Why are you staring at me?" she asked.

Ning Changjiu still harbored lingering fear from the last tailoring session, apprehensive that Ye Changong might improvise. Thus, he silently watched her like a supervisor.

Of course, he couldn't voice that reason.

Ning Changjiu said, "I was just thinking if there's anything I can do for Master."

Ye Changong asked, "What can you do?"

Ning Changjiu thought for a moment. "Combing hair."

Ye Changong was silent for a moment. "Hmm... all right."

In the dimly lit hall, Ye Changong sat before an ancient mirror that had been casually drawn. Her reflection in it was like a classical painting.

Ning Changjiu lifted her waterfall-like hair.

The comb's teeth skillfully sank into her hair, gliding down its smooth flow.

"Back in Myriad Demon City, you often combed Xue Ci's hair like this," Ye Changong recalled.

Ning Changjiu said, "Yes, this disciple is unskilled and knows little else."

Ye Changong's hair was too silky smooth; combing it with a wooden comb was like combing wind.

Ning Changjiu looked at Master's hair, feeling an itch to try. "Let me tie Master's hair for you."

"Tie my hair?" Ye Changong's eyes flickered slightly. "Are you going to braid it or put it in a ponytail?"

Ning Changjiu said, "You think too little of this disciple."

"No," Ye Changong said, "it's just that I, your Master, understand you too well."

Ning Changjiu, usually so sharp-tongued, had never imagined he would be repeatedly at a loss for words in front of his gentle and innocent Master.

He looked at Master's face in the mirror and said, "This disciple is no longer the disciple he once was."

Ye Changong looked at him, indicating she had no objection.

Ning Changjiu then recalled some techniques Xiaoli had taught him back in Broken Boundary City and began to style Master's hair.

"How about this one?"

"Too childish."

"What about this?"

"Too old-fashioned."

"Then... how about this?"