Chapter 483: Watching the Cowherd and Weaver Girl Stars (Finale)

Amidst Ye Changong's ethereal hum, Liu Xiwang awoke in a lake of pure white consciousness.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes open, blinked, and after fully waking, looked ahead, then her eyes widened in shock.

Liu Xiwang wanted to cry out in surprise but quickly covered her mouth, her face filled with anticipation.

She watched as Ning Changjiu's hand gently encircled his Master's waist, and then slowly slid downwards...

Liu Xiwang held her breath. She thought that given her Master's bone-chillingly cold disposition, she would surely send Ning Changjiu flying. But to her shock, after a gentle rebuke from Ye Changong, there were no further actions.

Liu Xiwang thought they hadn't noticed her and was eagerly anticipating Ning Changjiu's next move. She only regretted that there was no brush, ink, paper, or inkstone there, or else she would have drawn it, compiled it into a book, and secretly circulated it among her sisters...

At this very moment, outside the Daoist temple, two flames spontaneously ignited.

One after another.

It was Zhao Xiang'er and Vermilion Bird.

Ning Changjiu and Ye Changong separated like lightning.

Zhao Xiang'er looked at them, then glanced at the marriage certificate in Ye Changong's hand. Finally, her gaze settled on Ning Changjiu, her expression dignified yet inscrutable.

Ning Changjiu felt as if he had been caught in the act. He saw Xiang'er standing rigidly in place, as cold as an iceberg. He felt he should go out and welcome her in, but the warmth of his Master was still in his embrace, making him conflicted and caught between a rock and a hard place.

"Hmph—"

Zhao Xiang'er let out a soft hmph and remained standing still.

Liu Xiwang became even more agitated. She wrung her hands tightly, thinking, *If Xiang'er and Master start fighting, tsk tsk... I'd like to see which side that heartless Ning Changjiu helps then!*

In this tense moment, every second felt like an eternity.

Ning Changjiu couldn't withstand Xiang'er's pressure. Just as he was finally about to take a step, it was Vermilion Bird who broke the awkward silence.

The dignified woman casually stepped over the threshold, acting perfectly at ease. She looked around the room with a gentle smile and said, "Immortal Monarch Heng'e, I trust you've been well. After all this time, how have you become such a little sweetheart?"

Ye Changong watched her calmly.

Vermilion Bird's identity was complex to them. She had killed Xihe's first incarnation, yet also allowed the current Xiang'er to revive. She had once helped Ye Changong slay Yuanfu but also attempted betrayal during that battle. Now, with almost all twelve divine lords slain, she was arguably the most uninhibited and free god in this realm.

Surviving such a conflict, Vermilion Bird should have been content, but Ye Changong could clearly see a faint sense of bewilderment constantly flickering in her eyes.

Vermilion Bird's words eased the atmosphere. Zhao Xiang'er also lightly stepped over the threshold. Without even looking at Ning Changjiu, she went directly to Ye Changong. This girl, who resembled a god of slaughter, actually curtsied obediently and gently called out, "Master."

Rivals in a past life, master and disciple in this one, sisters in the future...

The thought of their peculiar interactions to come made Liu Xiwang's fingers clench until they were white. Joy spilled over her face, and ripples spread across her pure white consciousness.

"Is this my son-in-law?"

Vermilion Bird looked at Ning Changjiu and smiled sweetly, saying, "Slaying divine lords with a sword, personally killing the Dark Lord... Ha, I've truly picked a fine husband for Xiang'er."

Ning Changjiu looked at her, at a loss for words regarding this madwoman.

Ignoring her words, he went to Zhao Xiang'er's side, gently took her hand, and said, "It's been eight long years, Xiang'er. You must have endured much."

Zhao Xiang'er replied blandly, "How could it compare to the hardships of the great Sword Immortal Ning?"

Ning Changjiu straightened her clothes and hair, gently urged the girl to sit down nearby, and brewed tea for her.

Zhao Xiang'er looked at the marriage certificate and said, "Have I ruined your good fortune by coming here?"

"How could that be?" Ning Changjiu said, "Of course, I was hoping for you to come, Xiang'er."

Zhao Xiang'er said, "Since you've woken up, why didn't you write to me to let me know you were safe?"

Ning Changjiu's expression didn't change: "I just woke up and was about to ask Master for writing materials to send a letter."

Zhao Xiang'er frowned, looking at his slightly pale face with a mix of belief and doubt.

She picked up the teacup and gently blew on the steam rising from the surface.

Ning Changjiu calmly sat down, looking at her small face, which was intimidating without anger. He said, "Why is my little phoenix so sullen? Shouldn't we be enjoying a reunion sweeter than a new marriage?"

"Little phoenix..." Zhao Xiang'er's gaze was dim. "A new marriage... I'm afraid it's not *my* new marriage."

Ning Changjiu deliberated, "Master and I..."

Zhao Xiang'er interrupted, "Just tell me the truth. She was your little lover in her past life, and with eight years in the Immortal Realm... I can understand."

Just as Ning Changjiu was about to praise Xiang'er for being understanding, Zhao Xiang'er said coldly, "Understanding doesn't mean I'll let you off the hook. If you dare to utter half a false word, I, your Princess, might as well help you achieve nirvana."

Ning Changjiu, accustomed to Xiang'er's fierce demeanor, nodded sincerely.

He briefly recounted his eight years with Master.

Zhao Xiang'er frowned, unconvinced. "Your eight years... were really that bland?"

Ning Changjiu said helplessly, "What kind of person do you take your husband for?"

Zhao Xiang'er said, "You're not lying to me again, are you?"

Ning Changjiu said, "Master can testify."

Zhao Xiang'er stared into his eyes for a moment, then quietly took out a feather. "This is a phoenix feather I plucked from the Nine Heavens. You must use it tonight when you get married. I'll check it, and if it's still pristine, I'll hold you accountable."

Ning Changjiu's eyes widened. *He thought, 'Everyone calls Master more respectfully than I do on normal days, but secretly, they're all more disrespectful and rebellious towards her than I am.'*

"Xiang'er, you too..." Ning Changjiu looked at her innocent face, barely concealing his shock.

"Me too? Too?" Zhao Xiang'er's expression sharpened. She keenly caught the logical flaw: "Didn't you just say you just woke up?"

Ning Changjiu's heart jolted, and he was speechless.

"Oh, so you dared to lie to me again!"

Zhao Xiang'er pressed her thin lips together. The teacup in her hand instantly crumbled into dust.

A chase ensued within the Daoist temple.

Vermilion Bird watched them and said, "As their master, aren't you going to stop them?"

Ye Changong watched Ning Changjiu fleeing in disarray and said, "He just woke up today; consider it a warm-up exercise."

Vermilion Bird chuckled, "You seem to have changed a lot too."

"Have I?"

"Yes."

"With our great enemy gone, one's state of mind is bound to change. I've also been thinking about what to do in the future," Ye Changong said.

"The future, you say..." Vermilion Bird again looked a little lost.

Ye Changong asked, "What do you want to do in the future?"

Vermilion Bird said, "My initial ideal was to destroy my physical body, attain a new realm in spiritual form, and fly out of this world to a vaster cosmos. But now, all ascendants can leave, so my ideal doesn't seem so special anymore..."

"An ideal doesn't have to be special to be precious," Ye Changong said softly.

Vermilion Bird gently swayed her wide red sleeves, looking at the night sky. After a long pause, she said, "On the way here with Xiang'er, we passed a village where people were building houses. A pair of children, a boy and a girl, I don't know if they were siblings, were running around a newly built mud-brick house, singing and dancing, very happy... To me, they were just building a cage for themselves."

"A cage that shelters from wind and rain is a home," Ye Changong said.

Vermilion Bird said, "I also saw many emaciated people. They were enslaved and oppressed, putting in countless hours of hard labor every day but receiving little in return... For many mortals, it actually makes no difference whether the Dark Lord is present or not."

Ye Changong said, "This is also something we need to change in the future."

Vermilion Bird asked with a light laugh, "How long will it take to change?"

Ye Changong said, "This is something that requires time; it's not something that can be fixed instantly."

"Heh..." Vermilion Bird's smile grew wider. "I was just thinking, you pursue the future of humanity; I pursue the uninhibited freedom of the individual. Yet in the end, you only secured freedom for cultivators, while my physical body is unfettered, my Dao Heart has unknowingly become covered in dust."

"The path of the Great Dao is inherently fraught with perilous, rugged roads and towering mountains," Ye Changong said. "Our future is still long; you don't need to be so pessimistic."

Vermilion Bird walked out the door, gazing at the fiery essence moon in the sky, a manifestation of the thunder prison, lost in thought for a long time.

"Do you have any thoughts?" Ye Changong asked.

"I don't want to leave anymore," Vermilion Bird said.

"You don't want to leave... What do you want to do then?" Ye Changong asked.

Vermilion Bird said, "I want to create a world without bullying and oppression, where all living beings can find freedom. If all beings are free, then I am free. This... is my new Dao."

When Ning Changjiu returned to the Daoist temple, Vermilion Bird had already left. Ye Changong sat alone amidst white gauze curtains, her immortal silhouette tranquil.

Ye Changong gently turned her head.

Ning Changjiu walked to her side and said, "Master, you've waited long."

"It's fine," Ye Changong said. "I've waited four thousand years; a mere moment hardly matters."

As she spoke, she glanced outside the door and asked, "Are none of them coming?"

Ning Changjiu nodded, "Perhaps everyone... is trying to save Master's face."

"They overthink things," Ye Changong said.

Ning Changjiu looked at the familiar Daoist temple and the fluttering white gauze. Although there was no atmosphere of a new marriage, Ye Changong standing by his side filled him with an unspoken tranquility.

"But it doesn't matter; everyone... still brought gifts for Master," Ning Changjiu said, his expression unchanged.

Ye Changong knew what the so-called gifts were and also knew that Ning Changjiu was testing her. Her face remained cool and serene, seeming indifferent to it all. She merely hummed in acknowledgment and nodded, saying, "I will thank them all individually later."

Ning Changjiu couldn't tell if this was genuine gratitude or an implicit threat to settle scores later.

Silence fell within the Daoist temple.

Ning Changjiu opened his arms, wanting to continue embracing the girl in front of him.

Ye Changong, however, extended a finger, placed it against his chest, and gently pulled out a snow-white spiritual body.

"Hey, hey, hey..."

Liu Xiwang's startled cry rang out.

"Xiwang, how long were you planning to hide?" Ye Changong said softly.

Liu Xiwang was pulled out by her ear, and rubbing her eyes, said, "I... I just woke up."

Ye Changong looked at her.

Liu Xiwang's bravado was completely worn away by that gaze. She said weakly, "I... I'll leave now."

With that, the girl, hunched over, quickly left the scene of trouble.

Ning Changjiu watched her retreating figure and couldn't help but laugh.

"So, next..." Ning Changjiu looked at her, carefully asking, "Next, shall we... shall we go to bed?"

Ye Changong looked at him and said, "We've already been married once. Are you still so unfamiliar?"

Ning Changjiu said, "That was a very long time ago."

Ye Changong said, "But you said then that you would remember it for a lifetime."

Ning Changjiu was surprised: "I said something like that back then?"

Ye Changong's slender fingers turned into a chestnut.

"Mercy, Master..." Ning Changjiu said with a laugh.

"Master?" Ye Changong seemed slightly displeased.

"Hmm... Chan... Gong? Chan'er?" Ning Changjiu found it awkward to call her that.

Ye Changong was silent for a moment too. She gently shook her head and said, "Just keep calling me Master..."

"Alright, Chan'er," Ning Changjiu said.

The pending chestnut flick landed squarely this time.

White gauze curtains stirred.

Ye Changong turned her back.

Although she still appeared as a young girl, her figure was as curvaceous and graceful as Xiang'er's. The white gauze moon dress had the fortune of outlining such a form, imbuing it with an ethereal, transcendent beauty.

Ning Changjiu stood by her side. The young man was also handsome and divine, his white robes fluttering. They seemed like a destined couple.

Their sleeves touched.

Ning Changjiu gently held her soft, cool hand.

The Daoist temple was quiet.

No words were exchanged.

Yet, with incredible unspoken understanding, the two went through each step of the wedding ceremony, as if it were a rehearsal.

Finally, they knelt together in the Daoist temple and began the final bows.

Bowing to Heaven and Earth.

Bowing to themselves.

Bowing to each other.

The moment they stood up, wind stirred the layers of white gauze, candlelight ignited dreamily, red lotuses floated out, and ripples gently spread.

Within the canopy where red candles cast dancing shadows, if the immortal were to shed her white veil, it would be an unparalleled scene of beauty in the world.

But this Moon Palace immortal sat quietly within the lotus, without moving.

Ning Changjiu sat beside her, gently embraced her shoulder, his hand slid down from her shoulder to her arm, reaching her waist, and his fingers gently hooked into her sash.

Ye Changong, however, held his hand down.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Back then, when we were married, you left on your own in the middle of the night," Ye Changong brought up old memories.

At that time, Ning Changjiu had gone out to find Luo Shen, and Ye Changong had brought two quilts when she came looking for them.

The past was unbearable to recall...

Ning Changjiu said, "Master, if you wish to punish or reprimand me, please do it all today. I will have no complaints about your combined benevolence and strictness."

Ye Changong said, "Those are just old matters; of course, I wouldn't mind them."

Ning Changjiu asked, "Then why did Master bring it up?"

Ye Changong said, "Because... I also want to go for a walk."

Ning Changjiu merely thought she wanted to clear her head. But he had underestimated his Master's intentions.

"On this beautiful night," she said, "I... want to go see the Dead Star Domain."

Ning Changjiu and Ye Changong flew up into the sky.

Ning Changjiu looked back at the receding Daoist temple and the land below, thinking that his wedding was truly full of dreamlike colors.

The Dead Star Domain was where the Evil Poet and the Dark Lord first resided.

Legend has it that before it shattered into the Dead Star Domain, it was a star named Earth.

They passed beyond the now unobstructed atmosphere, crossed the new moon formed by the coiled thunder prison, and journeyed towards the vast emptiness of the void.

The Dead Star Domain was not difficult to find.

After a long time, they traversed the desolate cosmos and arrived.

It was an asteroid belt floating in darkness, appearing quite ordinary, making it hard to imagine it was once the cradle of a flourishing civilization.

"So the Evil Poet and the Dark Lord lived in a place like this for 1.5 billion years..." Ning Changjiu looked at the chaotic asteroid belt before him, communicating with Ye Changong through their minds.

Ye Changong said, "That's why even they were worn down by time to this extent."

Ning Changjiu nodded gently. "Let's go inside and take a look. Yuanjun said there were ancient civilization ruins within; I wonder if it's true."

Ye Changong hummed in acknowledgment. She rarely showed interest in anything.

On their wedding night, the two unprecedentedly left their home planet, traversed the boundless ocean of the cosmos, and headed towards an ancient civilization where the dust had long settled... Even if Vermilion Bird heard about it, she would probably call them mad.

They entered the Dead Star Domain together.

The Dead Star Domain was vast and desolate.

It was a realm formed by shattered rocks. Stones whizzed past them. They were decayed corpses, making it hard to imagine that vibrant life once thrived upon them.

It was both special and ordinary, sharing the solitude of the universe.

Ye Changong's heart stirred slightly. She gently opened her arms.

The two floated in the zero-gravity realm, with the brilliant starry sky as their backdrop.

Ye Changong lowered her head.

This ethereal Moon Palace immortal actually took off her sash herself. Her moon-white gauze dress didn't ripple; it simply parted gently, and her unimaginably beautiful immortal body blossomed in the silent cosmos.

For a full 1.5 billion years, the shattered Dead Star Domain had long forgotten the appearance of the moon. Yet, this moon from a new world had traveled countless miles and now hung ethereally among them like a bright lamp.

Ning Changjiu looked at her, lost in a long trance.

Ye Changong gently moved in front of him.

She was like a flower half-opened, half-closed, ethereal and incomparable through the moon-veil.

Ning Changjiu wanted to brush away the last layer of moon-veil, but Ye Changong gently caught his restless hand.

Their bodies gently floated up together.

"Let's look at the stars," Ye Changong said.

The two landed on a piece of shattered rock and looked up at the starry sky.

Countless stars shone brightly before their eyes.

For a long, long time, Ye Changong closed her eyes.

Ning Changjiu understood and moved behind her.

Moonlight streamed down.

There was no scene more beautiful in the world.

Ning Changjiu embraced her from behind.

The moon-veil fell, the golden crow cried, and stars were like flowing frost across the sky.

Ning Changjiu finally avenged the last sword strike from their past life. He also drew his sword, and thrust it back in; his lips were crimson as blood.

"No, this isn't right," Ye Changong suddenly said. She frowned, appearing dissatisfied.

The girl extended her hand. The authority of time activated. Time flowed backward.

So, everything began anew.

"Hmm... still not right." Ye Changong activated the authority of time again.

"No."

"Hmph... no."

Under the authority of time, this scene repeated itself again and again.

Finally, Ning Changjiu also ceased to have any gentle regard.

This time, Ye Changong tilted her head back, her neck and jaw almost forming a single line. Her lips slightly parted, gazing at the night sky, and she said nothing more.

Sun and Moon shone in harmony. Golden Crows flew in and out.

Ning Changjiu presented the gifts they had given him, one by one.

Ye Changong was inherently aloof. She neither liked nor disliked anything in the mortal world, naturally holding no special feelings for these matters, viewing them merely as life experiences. Unlike Siming, who spoke seductively but feared real action, Ye Changong had seen everything and could accept and try anything. She treated all of these with detachment, feeling neither pleasure nor pain, neither joy nor sorrow because of them.

And so, the peerless Moon Palace Immortal tied her hair into twin ponytails, the snow-capped mountains of her breasts bore wooden clips, her soft, yielding mounds bore red marks, a corner of the spiritual fruit peeked out like a pearl, and the edges of the phoenix feather were completely damp.

Only the immortal's face remained aloof, with just a faint frown on her brows.

Above them, countless stars glowed faintly, illuminating them.

In this spatial-temporal scroll, every moment of theirs seemed destined for eternity.

The cosmos was a vacuum, where sound could not travel. Ning Changjiu also could not discern Ye Changong's feelings at that moment.

But they both knew that this moment was beautiful, incomparably beautiful.

There were still long years ahead.

"Those are Altair and Vega."

Ning Changjiu held her close, pointing to the two stars on either side of the shimmering Milky Way, and said, "Legend has it that the Weaver Girl was an immortal from the heavens, and she fell in love with a mortal man. Later, they were separated by the Heavenly Emperor. So they could only watch over each other from opposite ends of the Milky Way. Only on the Qixi Festival each year would magpies build a bridge for them, allowing them to meet."

Ye Changong also looked towards those two stars.

"Separated lovers will eventually meet. And as for us..."

"Never to be separated."

The night was as cool as water.

They gazed at Altair and Vega.

Those two stars also seemed like a pair of gently watching eyes.

Ye Changong put on her moon-veil.

In the Dead Star Domain, several hours later, they crossed through endless asteroids and reached the middle of the asteroid belt.

In the center was a complete giant stone, which still bore traces of deliberate carving after many years.

They both sensed a faint, ancient aura.

The two searched along this central giant stone for a while and actually found an entrance.

It seemed to be something left behind by an old civilization as it departed.

Ning Changjiu had initially expected to see iron monsters and mechanical beasts like those he had encountered in the Evil Light Belt. But he saw nothing of the sort.

The former civilization had indeed left something behind here, but it was only art.

In the winding center of the rocky mass, Ning Changjiu and Ye Changong saw many ancient paintings.

The paintings' ages were long indistinguishable, yet they were still stubbornly preserved.

A once glorious civilization could now only be glimpsed as an iceberg's tip in this form.

They saw many paintings.

In the distant past, these paintings must have been completed in different eras. But on such a scale of time, the ages separating them seemed to lose their meaning.

Here were paintings of magnificent domed palaces, of scantily clad maidens in palace gowns, long ink scrolls depicting scenes from desolate villages to bustling market streets, and flat celestial maps with tranquil swirling galaxies...

They were once well-known, moving countless people. Now, they were like lonely guardians, fiercely protecting the beauty of their civilization within these lost ruins, eventually crossing the long river of time to meet them.

Ning Changjiu walked behind Ye Changong.

Ye Changong was looking at a painting.

Amidst smoky brushstrokes, set against a backdrop of deep, serene landscapes, an elegantly seated woman with clasped hands smiled mysteriously and alluringly.

Ye Changong stood quietly in the ruins of the Dead Star Domain, looking at this ancient, nameless painting from 1.5 billion years ago, and smiled.