Chapter 17

At the sight of the purple lightning filling the sky, someone shouted in panic, "Run!"

Everyone scrambled down the mountain in a frenzy, but Lin Yu stood still atop the earthen pit, her gaze fixed on the thunderbolts striking down. She walked toward the falling thunder, moving against the crowd as she climbed higher.

The bearded man saw Lin Yu heading in the opposite direction and, worried, turned back to pull her along. "Run! This thunder is strange—it might be some demon at work! Don't go over there!"

Lin Yu appreciated his kindness and shook her head at the bearded man. She said nothing, only urging him to make sure everyone got down the mountain safely. Then she cast a barrier spell, and a green-cyan magical force drifted through the air.

A massive array enveloped the fleeing crowd. The bearded man looked bewildered, as if he had guessed something, and nodded to Lin Yu before rushing back to the crowd to escort them down.

Lin Yu continued toward the summit. Countless pure-white floating forms swirled around her in celebration, their voices like those of children, singing a chant she had heard in the tree spirit's mind: "Merit fulfilled! Merit fulfilled! Ascend to immortality! Ascend to immortality!"

These were the souls the false Mountain God had sacrificed alive. Now their resentment had dispersed, no longer shrouded in black aura—they appeared pure and flawless, like newborn life.

Lin Yu reached out, her fingertips passing through the translucent white forms. She couldn't touch them.

But they seemed to sense her, revolving around her until they enveloped her in their midst. Then, countless souls lifted Lin Yu into the air, carrying her toward the rolling thunder at the edge of the sky!

"Boom!"

The first heavenly thunderbolt struck!

Lin Yu felt no pain. She hung beneath the dark clouds as more and more souls rose from the ground, filling the area for miles around her with faintly translucent white orbs that pressed close to her. She couldn't fathom how many people had been sacrificed alive here, how many souls there were.

Ascension required seven thunderbolts in total. When the second struck, the countless souls bore the brunt of it for her once more.

It was then that Lin Yu noticed the souls at the very top beginning to dissipate, their already translucent forms becoming even more unstable after being hit!

Lin Yu shouted urgently, "Go back! You don't need to endure the tribulation for me!"

But the souls ignored her words, instead pressing even closer, shielding her at the center from the thunderbolts.

The third thunderbolt fell! The outermost souls finally couldn't hold on, dissolving into mist in the damp air. Lin Yu's brow furrowed; her lashes were wet from the increasingly humid air, and sweat seeped into her hair.

She pursed her lips, raised her Qingxuan sword sheath, and swung it through the air several times, trying to scatter the clustered souls and drive them away.

She couldn't understand why the spirits of the sacrificed were protecting her. Just because she'd killed the Mountain God? That didn't seem enough to risk their very souls being obliterated just to ensure her successful Ascension.

Lin Yu was still trying to drive away these reckless souls when she failed to notice the burning arrow, crackling with sparks, flying toward her from behind!

The arrow seemed to pierce the heavens. The souls around Lin Yu were scattered in all directions, and many were caught in the arrow's path, igniting in flames. They turned into wisps of ghost fire flitting across the sky.

As the ghost fire drifted past, the fourth thunderbolt descended. Without the souls' protection, Lin Yu finally felt the full force of the heavenly tribulation—it nearly shook her organs out of place, froze her blood, and made her heart spasm so painfully that her whole chest trembled.

Lin Yu gritted her teeth. The pain in her heart made it almost impossible to move. She forced herself to turn and saw the archer: the Crimson God. She didn't need to look; only he could use fire-based techniques like that, whether in heaven or on earth.

Seeing that his arrow had missed Lin Yu and that she had survived the thunderbolt, he refused to give up. He took aim again and drew his bow!

Just as he was about to release, his vision blurred. His limbs felt impossibly heavy. He raised a sluggish arm to rub his eyes. When he opened them again, fear flashed in his gaze.

The souls that had been purified were again shrouded in black aura, becoming vengeful spirits. Countless wraiths surged toward him, engulfing his vision and pinning him in place, unable to move!

Seeing the vengeful spirits, the Crimson God's hair stood on end. He was afraid of them. After dispersing a few, more and more surrounded him. He shot a vicious glare at Lin Yu in the sky.

After the fifth thunderbolt, a metallic taste rose in Lin Yu's throat. Blood clogged her windpipe. She could feel her blood rushing wildly through her body, causing pain everywhere.

The sixth thunderbolt struck, and Lin Yu nearly lost all five senses. Her body seemed to lose all consciousness. The distant rumble of thunder faded to near silence, yet the smallest changes became starkly clear.

Most of the souls had turned into vengeful spirits, trapping the Crimson God on the ground. Only a few pure souls remained, floating beside Lin Yu, enduring each thunderbolt with her.

"Why help me?" Lin Yu asked a soul floating before her, voicing the question that had been nagging at her. Her voice was faint and hoarse, spoken with difficulty, blood still in her throat. If one listened closely, they could barely hear her.

"Because you are the first mortal truly worthy of ascending to godhood," a childish voice replied.

Lin Yu's tearful eyes followed that soul as it drifted away, until it flew far into the distance.

The first...

In her memory, the folk tales of the Yu Kingdom said that before the Divine Maiden A Si, there had been another who ascended—Fu Ming's father.

Her thoughts drifted back to when she had first seen Fu Ming's spirit hall. It wasn't a temple; it was a shrine. Lin Yu had said that the late emperor and empress had not ascended; Ascension was only an illusion.

What had really happened back then?

Before Lin Yu could think further, the final thunderbolt struck her. Unlike what she'd imagined—that the last one would be the heaviest—it brought no pain, like a soft feather brushing her body, gentle and warm.

The dark clouds gradually dispersed, and a purple-gold radiance spread across the sky. In an instant, golden light filled the clouds, and a gentle rain fell over the mortal world.

Lin Yu's floating body finally touched ground, but this time, she stepped onto the clouds of the Nine Heavens. Her feet landed on the cloud, yet it felt unreal.

"Welcome, Lady Rain Goddess," said a Divine Attendant, waving a whisk that easily washed away the blood and injuries covering Lin Yu.

Lin Yu recognized the visitor—the Divine Attendant she had seen twice before.

The attendant said, "Now that the Rain Goddess has successfully ascended, you must understand your duty. Your duty is to oversee favorable weather for the mortal world. You may find a suitable object and give it to me, and I will refine it into your divine artifact."

Lin Yu took out the Xuanyang Mirror and handed it to the attendant, who turned it over and examined it before tucking it into a sleeve without further comment.

Lin Yu spoke, "May I ask where the Venerable Tian Zun is? I have an important matter for which I seek his justice."

The attendant was taken aback. "What matter?"

...

In Liangcheng, the battle was nearing its end. When word came that the Jiang Kingdom's army had suddenly appeared outside the city, Fu Ming immediately enacted a new strategy: switching from offense to defense, holding Liangcheng at all costs. Thus, the battle was not as bloody as they had feared.

Fu Ming stood atop the city wall, gazing at the army in the distance. The outskirts of Liangcheng had always been barren—nothing grew there—and now corpses lay scattered across the yellow earth, countless soldiers fallen.

Below the wall, soldiers were cleaning the battlefield, flipping over bodies to check for fakes, then cutting off their right ears and collecting them, because Fu Ming had promised rewards based on right ears. Guards who had spent their lives on the border never expected a chance for promotion, so morale was high—one reason the battle had ended so quickly.

Fu Ming stared absently at the bloody wasteland when the dark clouds finally parted, and a purple-gold glow spilled from the sky. He was stunned—it had been years since he'd seen such a sky, a sign of a mortal ascending to godhood.

His gloomy mood suddenly lifted, and a light shone in his eyes. He knew Lin Yu had succeeded.

Fu Ming descended the city wall, where Yu Jia had been waiting. Yu Jia was so lost in thought watching the clouds that he didn't notice Fu Ming until he was right in front of him.

It wasn't until Fu Ming approached that Yu Jia snapped back to attention. Seeing the emperor, he straightened and presented what he held.

Fu Ming took the sheepskin scroll Yu Jia offered and asked casually, "Any trace of Zhang Dian and Xiao Wen?"

Yu Jia replied, "As you predicted, I sent the national seal to Zhang Dian. After the Jiang Kingdom's defeat, they fled toward Jincheng."

"Jincheng?" Fu Ming smiled. "They dare go there."

Fu Ming added, "Keep tracking them. Report any movement. If you notice anything unusual, kill them on the spot."

Yu Jia looked around to ensure they were alone, then lowered his voice. "Your Majesty, are we really going to follow Miss Lin's plan? It's all just speculation... Isn't that too risky? We have other ways to leave, yet we're going to gamble our lives with her?"

Fu Ming said, "I believe in all her speculations, and I'm willing to gamble our lives with her."

He looked toward the distant mountains, where the purple-gold light still lingered, seemingly unaware of the joy in his own heart. "See, she's succeeded already."

Lin Yu lost her memory, took on A Si's identity, and despite the deliberate interference of the Crimson God and the Moon God in the illusion they had crafted, she still succeeded in ascending.

Wasn't that defying fate itself?

From the first time Fu Ming met Lin Yu, she had been different—a clever, useful person.

That day, seeing the incense in Fu Ming's hand, Lin Yu had seen through the false Ascension at a glance. She seemed not only to disbelieve in gods but also to bear a hint of hatred toward them. From that moment, a new plan took shape in Fu Ming's mind.

A plan to "create a god."

Divine power and royal authority had contended for years, and over the past two decades, the gods had gained the upper hand. Fu Ming clearly understood that the current deities were but false Prosperity. He needed someone to help him suppress these false gods. The Yu Kingdom had seen no successful Ascension in twenty years—and then Lin Yu appeared.

Lin Yu wanted to climb upward; Fu Ming needed someone to counterbalance the gods. They were, undoubtedly, the perfect partners.

And with Lin Yu's performance now, Fu Ming was even more certain she would succeed in ascending one day. She possessed a fierce determination—unafraid of death, willing to pay any price, stopping at nothing.

A distant, howling wind swallowed Fu Ming's thoughts, a sound like an animal's roar, eerily chilling.

Then, in an instant, something no one could have expected happened!

From the distant mountains, the ground began to ripple violently like the surface of the sea! The earth shook continuously, and soldiers cleaning the battlefield were thrown into chaos!

That was the direction of Gujin Mountain!

Huge waves of magical power emanated from beyond the mountain, the force so great it reached this far. Someone was trying to seal off all of Gujin Mountain...

Or... someone was trying to destroy it!

Fu Ming guessed that Lin Yu had struck against Gujin Mountain, but what was she planning?

As he pondered, at that moment, a golden Xuan bird flew through the swirling yellow dust, carrying a willow branch in its beak. It circled around Fu Ming once, then landed on his shoulder. The bird dropped the willow branch and flew off.

Fu Ming picked up the branch. Golden words appeared in the air: "Midnight third quarter, Cang region city gate, Shaman God Pavilion."

He waved a hand over the golden words, and they vanished. "Go find the Shaman God Pavilion's master and tell her to meet Lin Yu at Cang region's city gate at midnight third quarter."

Yu Jia blinked. "You... can read that?"

With just those few characters, how had Fu Ming guessed Lin Yu's meaning?

But Yu Jia showed no doubt or shock. Before Fu Ming could look at him, Yu Jia bowed and hurried off toward the Shaman God Pavilion.

...

At midnight, Lin Yu stood before the gate of Cang region. She was clad in golden-threaded jade garments, a veil over her face, and a red flower ornament with gold flecks at the center of her forehead. She waited quietly.

"A Si! You finally remember me!" Pavilion Master Yu suddenly appeared behind Lin Yu, tugging at her clothes and examining her. "I've never seen a living immortal! So that's what they look like..."

Pavilion Master Yu, whose true name was Zhang Yulin, was an old friend of Lin Zhao's and a fellow disciple of the Heaven's Mandate Tower. Lin Yu had met her once five years ago.

After Lin Zhao's death, on the day of the Moon God Festival sacrifice, Zhang Yulin had rushed over upon hearing the news, but she was pulled into the illusion by the Fei Xian Ling along with several others, becoming the head of the Shaman God Pavilion.

Unlike the others, she had not been restricted; she inherited all the memories and abilities of her original body. Thus, she knew A Si and understood the situation within the illusion—and of course, she also knew Lin Yu as an outsider.

Lin Yu smiled, her eyes crinkling, and handed the bracelet containing the divine beast to Pavilion Master Yu. "I subdued this beast in Jincheng. It had escaped, but I thought you'd like it, so I went back to Gujin Mountain to catch it for you."

Zhang Yulin was delighted—she loved collecting divine beasts. "Oh, little A Si, you're so thoughtful, remembering what I like." She played with the bracelet in her hands for a while, then suddenly said, "You know, I think the name A Si suits you better. Who named you Lin Yu? It sounds like 'drenched in rain'—doesn't sound nice."

Lin Yu smiled but didn't reply, instead changing the subject. "Let's go. We have important matters to attend to."

Zhang Yulin turned serious. "Though I don't have much ability myself, this body of mine as Pavilion Master Yu is quite formidable! Let's go!"

Lin Yu's smile widened. "Old grudges and new scores—time to settle them all."

Lin Yu took Zhang Yulin by the hand and walked into Cang region. Lin Yu had no body heat anymore—her hands were icy. Zhang Yulin instinctively covered Lin Yu's palm with both her hands, trying to share a bit of warmth.

...

After walking for some time, they arrived before a mansion. Lin Yu waved a hand, and the wooden door opened on its own. They stepped inside.

The mansion was brightly lit, but no one was there—an eerie silence.

Lin Yu walked to the ancestral hall at the very back and finally saw Zhou Yuan. The woman was in tears, her dress stained with blood, her whole body trembling. When she saw Lin Yu, her tense frame suddenly relaxed, and the dagger in her hand clattered to the floor.

Lin Yu stepped forward and bent down. Zhou Yuan collapsed against her, and Lin Yu gently patted her back. Before them lay scattered ancestral tablets, and a toppled candle had set a few of them alight, flames slowly catching.

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow—this turn of events was more than she had expected. She looked down. On the ground, among the tablets, lay Zhang Dian, stabbed a dozen times, eyes wide open, dead.