Guide to the Rebirth of the Evil Woman in the Immortal Realm - Chapter 20

When that immortal envoy left just now, she seemed to carry a faint, sweet and sour scent of plum candy.

Yu Zhanxu limped toward her own Green Chamber while clutching her injury, her thoughts exploding like a flurry of fireworks. Did she carry those candies with her? Did she bring them specifically to curry favor with Shen Fuxin?

She pushed open her door in pain and stepped over the threshold, only for her soles to land upon a shimmering, golden platform.

It was the Altar of Infinite Law.

Zhao Lanying sat upright upon the altar, focused intently on writing something with her brush. Seeing that Yu Zhanxu had arrived, she did not look up, but instead casually flicked a piece of letter paper toward her.

The paper, propelled by spiritual energy, drifted in front of Yu Zhanxu, who reached out and lightly caught it.

“The Master of Xuanyuan Terrace wrote to me, saying your state of mind is in chaos,” Zhao Lanying said, looking calmly at the blood-stained Yu Zhanxu. Her eyes held nothing that could be described as emotion. “Your cultivation level has also stagnated for far too long. She entrusted me to look after you. If you have any confusion, you may speak your mind here.”

Yu Zhanxu scanned the letter. To her, the Master of Xuanyuan Terrace was a figure like both a teacher and a mother. By comparison, looking at Zhao Lanying now only made her seem more eccentric and cold-blooded.

She carefully tucked the letter into her robes, her expression hardening. “I do indeed have a matter I wish to ask the Hongjing Immortal about.”

Zhao Lanying said, “Speak.”

Yu Zhanxu took a deep breath and looked at Zhao Lanying. She remained seated upon the altar, as cold and noble as a winter plum blossom, a figure meant to be observed from afar but never touched.

If you are so above the mortal world, why descend from your branch to stain yourself with worldly dust?

Yu Zhanxu looked her directly in the eye and said, word for word, “Why do you want to enter a covenant with Shen Fuxin?”

Zhao Lanying set down her brush and said coldly, “Presumptuous.”

The moment she spoke, the Yin-Yang twin fish that had been swimming peacefully above their heads suddenly coiled together. They split into several smaller fish and dove toward Yu Zhanxu like falling stars!

Having been injured in her earlier fight with Ji Ting, Yu Zhanxu could only barely manage to defend herself. The school of fish surrounded her, their fins flapping and whipping her robes about. She tried to discern Zhao Lanying’s position through the gaps between the fish, only to see that the woman was not paying her any attention at all, simply dipping her brush in ink to continue her writing.

Yu Zhanxu’s sword intent flared like a rainbow, slicing through the school of fish in a single strike. The fury of being ignored surged within her once more.

Zhao Lanying ignored her anger but stopped driving the fish. She laid down her brush and tossed a newly written invitation in front of Yu Zhanxu, her tone flat. “The fifth day of the sixth month. Remember to attend the banquet.”

Looking at the red paper shimmering with mica, the tip of Yu Zhanxu’s sword trembled uncontrollably. She laughed out of pure rage and curled her lip. “Immortal, do you even understand what love is?”

A flicker of confusion seemed to cross Zhao Lanying’s face. She blinked slowly.

In an instant, the fish began to swim again. As their bodies passed the figure below the altar, the Yu Zhanxu who had been standing there vanished, teleported back to her Green Chamber on the mountain peak.

Finally, she was alone. Zhao Lanying’s wrist, still holding the brush, froze in place. A drop of ink fell, staining the red paper black.

She stared at the blotch as it spread larger and larger, whispering to herself, “I will learn.”

One day, she would figure it all out. What love was, what the desire to kill was, and the various chaotic thoughts scattered in her mind that she herself could not see through or understand. Zhao Lanying put down her brush again and leaned against the cold chair.

As the twin fish crossed paths, her eyes grew dull and her movements became stiff, like a puppet without a soul.

The water and sky shared one color, and all was silent, save for the faint popping sound of bubbles from the fish. Countless fins floated past the puppet’s sleeves, revealing rows of hideous, terrifying old scars on her forearms.

By the time Shen Fuxin opened her door, the sky was already turning to dusk.

Ji Ting followed behind her, clutching a ten-thousand-year-old giant turtle. Carrying a box of “loot” stolen from their home, the two of them slipped quietly down from the Green Chamber and reached the foot of the mountain.

Repeating her previous trick, Ji Ting led Shen Fuxin through the barrier, and they darted out of the Azure Emperor’s Spirit Mountain range in a flash.

They shared a look and headed straight for the Immortal Market.

It was only after she dropped the turtle—which was eagerly trying to bite someone again—onto the ground that Ji Ting breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at Shen Fuxin plaintively. “Did we really have to come to the market to fence these goods today?”

Shen Fuxin thought to herself that since she knew Ji Ting had the ability to slip through the barrier, there was no reason not to use it as soon as possible.

She kicked the escaping turtle back into its spot and sat on the ground. She said gently, “Keep complaining and I will throw you into the cauldron for refinement.”

With that, she dumped everything from her spatial bag onto the ground. While the other immortals nearby had their wares displayed elegantly, Shen Fuxin and Ji Ting’s spot was a chaotic mess, looking very much like a clearance sale.

Buyers soon came to haggle. Because Shen Fuxin was in a hurry to get rid of the items, she priced them lower than the market rate. Most of the stall was cleared out quickly, until finally, only the ten-thousand-year-old turtle remained.

Ji Ting stared at the turtle, then at the heartless Shen Fuxin counting her money. A subtle sense of shared pity for the creature rose in her heart.

She said, “Why don’t we just release it?”

Shen Fuxin glanced down and smiled. “Release it? Into my cauldron for refinement?”

Hearing this, the turtle immediately used all four legs to scramble from the stall into the middle of the road. In all her years, Ji Ting had never seen a turtle move so fast. They watched as it blocked a passerby, flipped itself over to show its belly, and began spinning desperately.

Ji Ting understood. She said earnestly to the blocked pedestrian, “Since there is such fate between you, why not build some good karma with it?”

A moment later, Shen Fuxin stood up contentedly, counting the one thousand spiritual stones the turtle had earned through its self-sacrifice. She walked toward the sword shop. “Now I have money for alchemy materials.”

Ji Ting had no words. She had never seen such a poor Alchemy Immortal.

…Though it seemed she was even poorer now. She shook her empty pockets and followed Shen Fuxin resignedly. “What are we buying today?”

With money in her pocket, Shen Fuxin spoke with more confidence. she scanned the wide array of swords—long, short, light, and heavy. She waved her finger in a circle, encompassing a large section.

“I want that heavy sword.”

The sword merchant, seeing her bulging money bag, tried his luck. “Only one?”

Shen Fuxin nodded. “One is enough.”

She bought some spiritual herbs and stones along the way, prioritizing quality over quantity. The bag of stones soon thinned out again. It was not until the sky was dark that Shen Fuxin stopped, threw everything into her spatial bag, and led Ji Ting back to the mountain.

Ji Ting saw that she wanted to refine pills tonight and asked casually, “Did your Master Yandan not say that if you had confusion regarding alchemy, you could contact her at any time?”

Shen Fuxin did indeed want to contact Yandan. She crossed the barrier to the Sword Terrace and stood beneath the two giant cauldrons, but the communication talisman given by the Great God simply would not connect.

Yandan did not seem like the type to break a promise, so a bad premonition rose in her heart. “Could the Great God Yandan be in trouble right now?”

“I doubt it,” Ji Ting leaned against the cauldron and yawned. “If there really were trouble, Wenren Yi would go help her.”

Shen Fuxin lit the alchemical fire and asked, puzzled, “Aren’t the Narcissus Flower God and Great God Yandan mortal enemies?”

Ji Ting closed her eyes and laughed. “Who knows with those two… Perhaps they are lovers who cannot distinguish between love and hate.”

Meanwhile, in the God Realm.

The golden communication leaf had been flashing for a long time amidst a mess of materials scattered on the floor, but Yandan had no time to attend to it. She stood up slowly from her chair and looked at the person approaching with a complicated expression. She whispered, “It is you.”

Wenren Yi said, “It is me.”

Her long dress trailed behind her as she carried a small wine pot in her right hand. Ignoring the protests of the immortal attendants, she walked slowly into the Alchemy Hall. The two massive doors slammed shut behind her. She walked up to Yandan and placed the wine pot on the small table next to her chair.

Wenren Yi poured a cup for each of them and drained hers in one gulp, showing Yandan the empty bottom of her cup. “I am here to congratulate you on your new, studious pupil.”

Yandan refused to drink. Wenren Yi lifted the cup and pressed it against Yandan’s lips. “Do me the honor and drink.”

Yandan had no time to say no.

A cold hand pinched her cheek, forcing the equally cold liquid down her throat. Yandan struggled to push her away, but her divine power was currently too weak to suppress Wenren Yi. In their struggle, she accidentally knocked over a small alchemy furnace. Spiritual fire instantly licked across the hall, trapping them in a sea of flames.

The wine cup hit the ground, and the remaining wine spilled, making the fire burn even hotter.

Yandan heard the attendants pounding on the door outside and wiped her face. Wenren Yi, however, did not want her to remain calm. She wanted to see her beg or lose her composure and admit her mistakes. Amidst the roaring flames, she gripped the helpless Yandan, her eyes showing neither joy nor sorrow, only cold scrutiny. “Yandan, are you hiding something from me?”

Yandan gripped Wenren Yi’s arm, breathing urgently. Her spiritual fire burned Wenren Yi’s arm, but the latter seemed not to notice, staring at her with a flat voice. “Do not hide it from me.”

She gasped with difficulty, “I cannot say…”

Wenren Yi watched her coldly, ignoring the fire burning through her own skin. “Then tell me about Wu Zhen.”

Hearing that name, Yandan’s expression faltered. She seemed to become even more resolute in her silence and began to struggle. “It is all in the past… Wenren Yi, this is not your concern!”

Wenren Yi applied more pressure, pinning Yandan into the fire. This would not kill her, but it would leave her more haggard and weak, making her even less willing to participate in the various struggles of the God Realm. She stared at Yandan’s pale face. The spiritual fire turned her long white hair reddish and her pupils even redder, as if she had finally regained some semblance of life.

Suddenly, her grip loosened.

“Fine. None of you will tell me,” Wenren Yi stood up, opened the doors of the hall with a wave of her hand, and walked straight out. “Then I will find out for myself.”

Tears filled Yandan’s eyes as she sat up coughing, watching Wenren Yi’s disappearing back. The attendants rushed in to help her to a chair. Yandan waved them off, indicating she was fine and that they should not report Wenren Yi to cause trouble.

She cleaned up the mess and looked toward a small candle inside the cauldron that was nearly burnt out.

Her time seemed to be running out.

Wenren Yi walked out of the hall with half of her sleeve burnt away, not knowing where to go.

She wandered aimlessly for a while until she spotted a familiar figure heading her way. Wenren Yi glanced over; it was the War God called Jie Fanyin.

For some reason, Wenren Yi had always felt a faint sense of wariness toward this god. The two Great Gods crossed paths in silence. Jie Fanyin was dressed in black battle armor with a murderous air about his brows. He merely gave a slight nod to Wenren Yi as a greeting.

Wenren Yi stopped and watched his retreating back, suddenly calling out to him, “Where is the War God returning from?”

Jie Fanyin did not turn around.

With his back to Wenren Yi, his voice drifted away, uttering the four words that made Wenren Yi’s brows furrow instantly.

“The Sky-Reaching Lotus Pond.”