Guide to the Rebirth of the Evil Woman in the Immortal Realm - Chapter 12

The three of them, along with the azure ox, halted before the palace gates. The immortal youth leaped off the ox’s back, pounded a few times on the faded red doors with her fists, and with a creak, the gates slowly swung open from both sides, revealing a desolate open ground. At its center stood a massive vermilion cauldron.

The palace was grand yet somewhat dilapidated, a far cry from Shen Fuxin’s imagined vision of the divine realm.

The immortal youth led the ox ahead, while Shen Fuxin and Ji Ting walked side by side behind her. Sunlight filtered through the eaves, casting shifting patterns on Ji Ting’s jade-colored sleeves. The silver-thread embroidery of a treasured sword shimmered faintly in the light before fading away as the illumination dimmed.

They passed by the Cauldron-Cleansing Pond and the Apricot Blossom Grove, one exquisite scene after another, stepping over slightly cracked jade bricks until, guided by the immortal youth, they arrived at a vast alchemy hall.

The azure ox was tethered outside and began munching noisily on the haphazardly piled celestial herbs. The immortal youth, as if relieved of a burden, strode briskly toward the blood-red cauldron at the center of the hall, which seemed to support the entire structure. A few young attendants were seated around it, tending to the furnace flames.

Beside the cauldron stood a rocking chair, where a white-haired deity sat with her back to them. Her hand hung limply over the armrest, pale as paper.

The immortal youth who had led them there showed no surprise at the sight. She knelt and gently tugged at the sleeve of the High Deity Yandan. “My Lady, I have brought them.”

The High Deity Yandan opened her eyes, wearily rubbed her temples, and rose to her feet.

Her snow-white hair was hastily tied back with a crimson ribbon, cascading down her back. When she turned around, Shen Fuxin noticed that her entire being exuded a delicate, almost translucent pallor. Even her pupils were unusual a soft, watery pink.

As the High Deity Yandan turned and saw Shen Fuxin, she had yet to speak when her attention was captured by Ji Ting standing nearby. She stared intently at Ji Ting’s face for a moment, as if trying to discern something, then lowered her gaze to study the jade-colored robes Ji Ting wore.

In utter astonishment, she took an involuntary step forward and asked in a choked voice, “You, what is your name?”

So it was true. Shen Fuxin thought to herself, could Ji Ting truly have some connection to the divine realm?

She glanced sideways at Ji Ting, who merely curved her lips into a smile and retreated slightly behind Shen Fuxin. “This humble one is named Ji Ting, the personal immortal attendant of my master here.”

At these words, the light that had sparked in the High Deity Yandan’s eyes abruptly faded.

The last time she had seen that person, they had always worn a white mask, making it impossible to glimpse their true face. Yet, those jade-colored robes were unforgettable, strikingly similar to the ones this immortal attendant now wore.

But of course, it couldn’t be her. Not only did the name not match, but how could she the proud, decisive War Goddess who dared to defy the Heavenly Dao ever stoop to serving as an immortal attendant to some unknown minor deity?

Besides, she had died long ago. On that brilliantly sunlit spring day.

None of the high deities in the divine realm who hadn’t conspired with Them dared to seek justice for her or collect her body. For thirty thousand years, her corpse lay on the Divine Execution Platform, rotting away bit by bit until only bones remained, until even the bones turned to dust, scattered in a spring thirty thousand years later, forgotten by all.

If she were still here, perhaps things wouldn’t have deteriorated to this extent.

Divine Immortal Yan Dan mustered her energy and offered a faint smile to Shen Fuxin, who stood beside her with downcast eyes, lost in thought. “Little friend Fuxin, I have called you here today to entrust you with a task.”

Even a deity has matters she cannot handle herself?

Shen Fuxin’s nerves tightened instantly. She felt as though she had just escaped the murky waters of the immortal realm only to be dragged into a treacherous banquet of the divine. She knew all too well that she had no power to refuse Yan Dan. Here in the divine realm, whatever the goddess asked of her, she could only obey without question.

Even so, she couldn’t bring herself to discard her cautious nature. Tentatively, she probed, “For the Divine Immortal to summon me here, it must surely be no small matter.”

“It may be small, or it may be great,” Yan Dan sighed, her snow-white lashes lowering. “I want you to attend a banquet in my stead, as my successor in name.”

“This banquet is known as the Divine Court Flower Banquet.”

–

The Divine Court Flower Banquet was the grandest feast in the divine realm, held once every thousand years and hosted by the Twelve Flower Deities who governed all blossoms. In principle, every deity was expected to attend, yet Yan Dan had managed to evade it for ten thousand years under various pretexts, never once making an appearance.

This time, however, a new event had been added to the Flower Banquet the “Appraisal of Elixirs and Intentions.” With the previous two or three colleagues in the divine realm who practiced alchemy having already fallen, Yan Dan remained the sole elixir-refining deity. It was clear this addition was aimed directly at her.

Ever since that incident thirty thousand years ago, Yan Dan had witnessed the upheaval in the divine realm and the subsequent purge in the immortal realm. Everyone connected to that person had been affected in one way or another some severely fallen, others, like her, stripped of power. In the mortal realm, the once-abundant shrines dedicated to her had dwindled to almost none, and her once-majestic, resplendent palace in the divine realm had become dilapidated.

By now, she held no more hope. Her hair grew whiter with each passing year, and both her divine power and physical form grew increasingly frail. Yan Dan had thought They had forgotten her, and she intended to quietly recuperate within her palace. She never expected Them to suddenly turn their focus on her now.

She absolutely could not attend the Flower Banquet. If she went, the outcome would be inevitable she would be seized upon for some fault, demoted, and then executed. Moreover, at the banquet would be that very deity she neither wished nor could bear to face.

Shen Fuxin’s arrival was perfectly timed.

The immortal attendants under her command lacked the ability to refine elixirs, but Shen Fuxin was exceptionally gifted, seemingly destined for this path. She had ignited the alchemical cauldron that even Yan Dan had once struggled to master becoming a deity was only a matter of time.

Sometimes, a single small piece can disrupt the entire board.

As a cauldron immortal, drawing her into her own camp first would bring countless benefits and no harm. Yet, sending this child in her place undoubtedly meant exposing her to risks making her wade through muddy waters on Yan Dan’s behalf, attending a treacherous banquet she had no business attending.

This was something for which Yan Dan owed Shen Fuxin a debt of guilt.

Having been a deity for tens of thousands of years, Yan Dan had never felt such shame and remorse. She led Shen Fuxin to the cauldron and spoke solemnly, “Fuxin, before the Flower Banquet, I will impart to you all the knowledge I have accumulated in my lifetime and fulfill any wish within my power. Will you become my direct disciple?”

What else could Shen Fuxin say? Even if she refused, Yan Dan would not let her leave. Besides, fortune favors the bold there were no free rewards in this world. If she wanted to gain benefits from Divine Immortal Yan Dan, she would inevitably have to offer something in return.

At the same time, she keenly sensed the undercurrents stirring within the divine realm. If Ji Ting had ties to the gods, then perhaps her own mother was also here.

To achieve her goal, there was no other path but to grow stronger.

“I am willing,” she said, immediately kneeling and kowtowing three times to the God Yan Dan without hesitation. Without a second thought, she changed her address: “Master, can you fulfill any wish of mine?”

Seeing the God Yan Dan nod, Shen Fuxin rose from the ground and declared without hesitation, “I want to kill an immortal.”

Kill an immortal? The God Yan Dan was troubled. Ever since that unspeakable incident, the rules of the immortal realm had changed. Now, immortals could only fall from grace but not die. To cause an immortal to perish directly in the immortal realm was indeed something even she could not accomplish.

The God Yan Dan shook her head. “The conditions in the immortal realm are limited. I cannot do this.”

“Since the immortal realm has its limitations, what about sending them to the mortal world?” Shen Fuxin seemed to have already considered this possibility and spoke with unwavering resolve. “I want him to be reborn into the animal realm right before my eyes.”

Hearing this, the God Yan Dan thought for a moment and realized it might not be impossible. Though she had lost influence in the divine realm, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. As a god, securing a slot for someone to undergo reincarnation into the animal realm through official procedures was not particularly difficult.

She said, “This is granted. What else?”

Shen Fuxin had not forgotten Ji Ting, who had accompanied her to the divine realm. Deliberately concealing the fact that Ji Ting was of unknown origin and had been picked up by her, she took hold of Ji Ting’s wrist and stated calmly, “I also want my immortal attendant to accompany me to the Flower Banquet.”

Having temporarily resolved one troublesome matter, the God Yan Dan was in a mood for jest. She glanced at Shen Fuxin and Ji Ting, thinking that the two young immortals looked quite compatible in appearance, and teased casually, “Granted. You bring her to the divine realm, and now you want to bring her to the Flower Banquet. Surely, she is more than just your immortal attendant?”

Ji Ting paid no mind to the joke and even deliberately feigned shyness, twisting her body slightly. Coincidentally, Shen Fuxin was equally unbothered. Her gaze swept from the alchemical cauldron to Ji Ting’s face, which was as gentle as a spring breeze, and she replied, “Indeed, since she is so close to me, our relationship is naturally more intimate.”

It was all in good fun, but time was pressing. The God Yan Dan patted Shen Fuxin’s shoulder and instructed her to extend her hand and summon spiritual flames. “We only have one chance each. There is no room for error. Remember this well.”