Guide to the Rebirth of the Evil Woman in the Immortal Realm - Chapter 14

Countless eyes were fixed on her. Shen Fuxin mentally reviewed the alchemy materials and instructions given by the Divine Alchemist Yan Dan before his departure, then stood up and walked toward the black cauldron at the center of the banquet hall.

Ji Ting followed closely behind Shen Fuxin. She could feel Wenren Yi’s gaze clinging to the hem of her robe, exuding undisguised murderous intent. Wenren Yi was unfamiliar to Ji Ting from her green attire to the white narcissus tucked at her temple, and her bare, unadorned hands. Ji Ting felt inexplicably unsettled.

She lifted her eyes and saw only Shen Fuxin’s straight, unwavering back. That restlessness was suddenly soothed by the sight of her blue robes.

At least here, Shen Fuxin was tangible and real. A faint smile curved Ji Ting’s lips. Shen Fuxin’s consistent, unapologetic nature was far more comforting than hypocritical pretense.

The two reached the cauldron. Shen Fuxin summoned a blue-violet spiritual flame in her palm, igniting the cauldron, and then accepted the first set of alchemical ingredients.

“The first pill is called the Ten Thousand Blossoms Fragrance Elixir,” Shen Fuxin announced. “Consuming it leaves a lingering fragrance on the lips, teeth, and skin, as if wandering atop a sea of flowers.”

Shen Fuxin had committed the pill-refining method taught by Divine Alchemist Yan Dan to memory. The spiritual flame at her fingertips enveloped the finely ground powder without allowing it to melt or evaporate completely. Soon, the powder rapidly coalesced within the spherical flame into several semi-solid pellets.

Shen Fuxin dropped them into the cauldron, then turned and smiled at the assembled deities.

“Please wait a moment,” she said.

Wenren Yi’s gaze was icy, watching Yan Dan’s newly accepted disciple as if she were already dead, searching for any trace of guilt or panic. To her disappointment, Shen Fuxin remained remarkably composed, as though she were not the one standing by the cauldron awaiting the outcome.

Meanwhile, Shen Fuxin watched the cauldron idly, contemplating whether, if she made a mistake, she could drag her adoptive elder brother Zhao Lanying and his entire faction down with her.

Just then, a series of crisp, bell-like chimes rang out from within the black cauldron, like pearls falling upon strings. Shen Fuxin extinguished the spiritual flame with a thought, and dozens of translucent, crystalline pills floated up from the cauldron. With a flick of her fingers, the glazed elixirs drifted gently onto the small tasting plates set before the deities.

“The first pill, the Ten Thousand Blossoms Fragrance Elixir, is complete,” Shen Fuxin declared.

Amid the murmurs of the onlookers, Wenren Yi lowered her eyes, staring at the translucent pill on her flower-shaped plate. She picked it up delicately and placed it in her mouth.

Ji Ting nudged Shen Fuxin, her expression clearly conveying the question.

Will this kill anyone?

Shen Fuxin calmly watched as the deities began sampling the pills one by one. Whether it would kill anyone, she didn’t know, but she was certain no god would drop dead from consuming one of her small elixirs.

The Lotus Flower Deity, seated beside Wenren Yi, placed the pill in her mouth and exchanged a surprised glance with the Chrysanthemum Deity beside her.

“This pill carries a fragrant aroma, a cool sensation upon entry, with a slight bitterness reminiscent of leaves and stems,” she remarked after careful tasting. “Compared to the elixirs once refined by Divine Alchemist Yan Dan, it is somewhat unpolished, but… Ah!”

A soft exclamation escaped her lips as massive clusters of vividly colored flowers suddenly bloomed from the sleeves of the deities. The flowers grew so rapidly that they nearly overturned the jade tables before them. Ji Ting turned away, unable to bear the sight, but caught a glimpse of Wenren Yi staring blankly at her own palm.

She, along with Furong and the others, were all among the Twelve Flower Deities. Her colleagues were adorned with their natal flowers in full bloom, and even the Star Lords who governed the constellations were covered in scattered, flourishing blossoms. Yet, among all the deities, only Wenren Yi’s flowers appeared withered and dead.

Shen Fuxin spoke with her eyes wide open, blatantly lying: “The true essence of flowers must be experienced firsthand.”

Wenren Yi tore off the withered vines entwined around her body, let out a cold laugh, and began to confront Shen Fuxin: “Why is it that after consuming your elixir, the others are covered in vibrant blooms, while I am left with nothing but dried grass and vines? Did Yan Dan instruct you to deliberately make things difficult for me?”

Shen Fuxin remained unperturbed, her expression unchanged as she clasped her hands respectfully toward Wenren Yi. “As everyone knows, narcissus blooms by the water, spending its days admiring its own solitary reflection. Now that you have consumed this elixir, the narcissus flowers blooming on your body have suddenly encountered the true Flower Deity herself. Overwhelmed with shame for their past shallow vanity, they naturally withered away.”

“What a sharp tongue,” Wenren Yi remarked with a cold gaze. “May you have such good fortune with your next batch of elixirs.”

“The second elixir is called the Dream-Returning Enlightenment Pill,” Shen Fuxin announced. “Consuming it allows one to recall their most blissful and joyful moments.”

The Celestial Flower Banquet had originally requested the High Deity Yan Dan to prepare three types of immortal elixirs. Considering Shen Fuxin’s alchemical skills were still in their infancy, aside from the final elixir specifically requested for the banquet, the first two were simple and ordinary pills meant for entertainment.

This batch of Dream-Returning Enlightenment Pills appeared unremarkable, emitting a dull thud as they were distributed onto the plates of the various immortals. Some of the more impatient ones had already placed them in their mouths, only to find them tasteless, with a waxy texture when chewed.

Wenren Yi swallowed the pill, and in the blink of an eye, the scene of the banquet before her twisted like rippling water, transforming into a field of crimson.

Her heart sank instantly, and she immediately tried to spit out the elixir, but it was already too late.

Though she knew full well that this was merely a replay of the past, when that icy hand rested on her shoulder, Wenren Yi couldn’t help but clench her fists.

She didn’t need to turn around to know that Yan Dan was standing behind her at that moment. Her robes were crumpled under Yan Dan’s grip, and her distorted cries echoed in Wenren Yi’s mind, haunting her day and night.

But Wenren Yi did not turn back. Calmly, she took a step forward, allowing Yan Dan to be escorted back to her alchemy hall by the divine generals under the command of the new War God. Meanwhile, the fallen former deity lay upon the Heaven-Severing Platform, wearing the pure white mask she had never removed even in death. The remnants of her divine power began to dissipate, becoming nourishment for the divine realm.

Should she hate? Yes, she should.

This War God, named Wu Zhen, had incited the mortal realm with her longsword and colluded with half the celestial world, plunging the divine realm into chaos. Her judgment was only to be expected.

Wenren Yi took two steps forward, approaching the Heaven-Severing Platform just as she had in her memory.

She reached out, intending to lift Wu Zhen’s mask.

In the next moment, as expected, her wrist was seized.

“Narcissus Flower Deity,” the newly ascended War God said with a hollow smile, “this is none of your concern.”

Thus, for tens of thousands of years after Wu Zhen’s death, she remained standing at the crossroads leading to the Heaven-Slaying Platform from thirty thousand years ago, looking back through her memories. Wenren Yi could not understand why Yan Dan had gazed at her with eyes filled with pain, resentment, and pity, nor could she grasp what exactly constituted the so-called “matters one ought to attend to.”

Could it be that her only duty was to preside over the narcissus flowers?

The faint bitterness of the immortal pill lingered on her tongue. As Wenren Yi struggled free from her memories, she saw the expressions of her divine realm colleagues shift abruptly, it seemed something had gone wrong with this particular pill.

Shen Fuxin stood silently by the cauldron, observing the troubled or contemplative expressions on their faces as they were lost in their own memories. She knew she had concocted a pill of unknown nature and that calamity was likely imminent.

Sure enough, the next moment, she was forced to her knees beside the cauldron.

“A mere mortal immortal dares to be so audacious!” a divine envoy, acting on his master’s orders, declared angrily. “This is clearly not the Tongqiao Pill you claimed it to be!”

Shen Fuxin knelt on the ground, her face expressionless.

Why do those in power always insist on making others kneel? she wondered. Is divine authority consolidated through knees?

She had provoked collective anger, and even Ji Ting would suffer as a result. Just as a golden light was about to strike Shen Fuxin and Ji Ting, Wenren Yi suddenly shielded them with a surge of divine power.

The flower deities beside her exchanged uneasy glances. The hibiscus deity whispered, “Narcissus Deity, this is not our concern.”

Hearing those familiar words, Wenren Yi rose to her feet, her divine power roughly pulling Shen Fuxin upright.

“This is exactly my concern,” she declared.

Then, as if recalling something, a trace of mockery flickered in Wenren Yi’s eyes. “There is still one final pill to refine. Isn’t that why all of you have gathered here?”

Under the hostile gazes of the crowd, Shen Fuxin stood up once more.

She announced, “The final pill, the Listening to the Divine Pill.”

–

Ji Ting produced a silk pouch.

Inside, the contents were enveloped in a layer of bluish-green liquid. Unlike the powdered materials used in the previous two rounds, the items in the pouch remained intact. Shen Fuxin identified them: a lotus petal, a lotus seed, and some shimmering, hard fragments that appeared to be mica chips.

As she retrieved the materials, an uncanny sense of familiarity washed over her the moment she touched the bluish-green liquid.

Concealed by the cauldron, Shen Fuxin’s wrist trembled involuntarily. In that instant, she accidentally pierced the thin layer of liquid, causing the lotus petal, seed, and mica chips to fall into her palm. For some reason, the mica chips were unusually sharp, slicing through her palm the moment they made contact.

To make matters worse, the bluish-green liquid trickled through her fingers and vanished.

Yet, with no other choice, Shen Fuxin had to proceed with the refinement. She summoned her spiritual fire, and in an instant, her blood merged with the lotus petal, seed, and mica chips, rapidly coalescing into several small pills. These immortal pills took shape within the cauldron and emerged in a deep, blood-red hue.

Before departing, the exalted deity Yan Dan had instructed her that the materials for this final pill were exceedingly rare, obtained only once every thousand years, and the resulting pill would undoubtedly be bluish-green in color.

Shen Fuxin knew disaster was upon her. Clenching her fist, she watched helplessly as the dark-colored pills dropped onto the plates of the exalted deities.

Because Wenren Yi had just acted in an unreasonable and unexpected way by offering help, Shen Fuxin first turned to observe Wenren Yi’s reaction. She noticed that, unlike the other high gods who eagerly consumed the elixir, Wenren Yi’s expression subtly revealed a hint of disgust and resistance toward the pill.

Ji Ting stood beside Shen Fuxin, his expression grave.

A few moments later, the banquet hall erupted in a chorus of praise.

Shen Fuxin stood bewildered beside the alchemy cauldron, listening as the gods lauded her for surpassing even the esteemed High God Yandan. For a moment, she couldn’t pinpoint where things had gone wrong.

Just then, a slightly cool hand gently covered Shen Fuxin’s injured palm, concealing the wound.

Ji Ting said calmly, “Once the Flower Banquet concludes, immediately resign from your master and leave this place.”