Chapter 4

In the hall, Imperial Preceptor Yu Jia placed the Rain God Seal on Fu Ming's desk.

He bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, our people followed the clues to Gujin Mountain this time. Though casualties were heavy, we were fortunate to find the Rain God Seal beneath the divine tree."

Fu Ming set down the letter in his hand and looked up, finally seeing the Rain God Seal his mother had spoken of before her death. Yet its appearance... seemed somewhat odd.

It didn't match the descriptions of the Rain God Seal in legends. The more he looked at it, the more it resembled... the Imperial Seal?

Surprised, Fu Ming took the seal and examined it closely. It was a bronze-colored seal, heavier than he had imagined, with a weighty heft. Patches of rust obscured the patterns on its surface, and on closer inspection, there were dark red scrape marks.

Fu Ming set the Rain God Seal back on the table and picked up the secret letter again, asking casually, "Any trace of the Rain Goddess?"

Years ago, Rain Goddess A Si, as the Divine Maiden of Heaven's Mandate Tower, had achieved Ascension. At that time, golden light filled the sky, and the whole world rejoiced, nearly everyone immersed in the joy that the Yu Kingdom finally had a second supreme deity to protect them.

Unlike the others, the late Empress, who was still in the mortal world, looked at the purple-gold firmament with worry. She called Fu Ming to her side and said—she said, he must, must find the trace of the Rain Goddess and the Rain God Seal.

A few days later, the late Empress passed away, and those words became her final testament.

On the day his mother died, Fu Ming listened as her heartbeat grew slower and slower, until it ceased.

After that, the sky still showed vast purple-gold clouds, a sign of mortal Ascension, so everyone naturally assumed that the late Empress, like the former Emperor and the Rain Goddess, had ascended to godhood.

Fu Ming looked again at the crack-ridden Rain God Seal and suddenly noticed something wrong—he couldn't sense any magical power within it.

He picked up the seal again, running his fingertips across its base, and indeed felt several missing corners of varying sizes.

If only the surface had been damaged, the Imperial Preceptor and the Xianzun could spend time repairing the artifact. But with damage this severe, the Rain God Seal had lost all its power.

In other words, the Rain God Seal was utterly ruined, nothing but an empty shell.

Fu Ming held up the seal toward Yu Jia, as if questioning him about the situation. Seeing this, Yu Jia quickly lowered his head and carefully spoke again.

"There was something unusual beneath the divine tree. By the time I arrived, the Rain God Seal had already been destroyed, and... I suspect it may be connected to the Crimson God."

Fu Ming rested his hand on the seal, tapping his fingers idly, signaling Yu Jia to continue.

Yu Jia turned back, and his attendant immediately opened two wooden boxes and presented them to Fu Ming.

Inside one box was a piece of divine tree branch burned by divine fire; in the other, a bronze mirror shattered in two.

"This is the Rain Goddess's other artifact, the Xuan Yang Mirror, also destroyed. There are traces of divine fire on it. I believe it was burned along with the divine tree by the Crimson God's fire."

Only the Crimson God could control divine fire. Fu Ming stared out at the hall, pondering for a moment, then said, "Yesterday I sent a woman to retrieve the Feixian Ling, but she hasn't returned yet. It seems she failed."

"Your Majesty means...?"

"You and I shall go together to find the Feixian Ling."

Yu Jia immediately understood. Artifacts counteracted each other, and the closest artifact to them now was the Feixian Ling. Fu Ming intended to use its power to repair the Rain God Seal.

...

Meanwhile, within the Feixian Ling illusion, Lin Yu stared intently at the scorching flames coming at her!

"Boom!"

Without time to think, in a flash, Lin Yu gripped the two Feixian Lings tightly. Without a moment's hesitation, she slammed one of them hard onto the ground!

Instantly, the Feixian Ling shattered into pieces, and the illusion dissolved into smoke with it.

The Crimson God was shocked that Lin Yu had the audacity to smash the Feixian Ling, but then his flames, blocked by the barrier formed by the illusion's disappearance, rebounded and scorched his own body!

He instinctively raised his hand to ward off the returning flames, but by the time they dispersed, Lin Yu was gone.

Zhang Dian seethed with rage, glaring viciously at the Moon God Xiao Wen beside him, and shouted orders without any regard for divine decorum: "Chase her! To dare scheme against me, go kill her!"

The flames hadn't touched Xiao Wen, so he remained largely indifferent, calmly fanning himself with a cryptic smile.

"She can't get out. Don't forget—she brought the Feixian Ling in from outside. Now there are two Feixian Lings within the illusion."

Lin Yu had brought the Feixian Ling from reality into the illusion, and there was also one within the illusion. The two couldn't coexist in balance.

The extra Feixian Ling would create a new illusion, trapping her inside forever.

...

Lin Yu's surroundings plunged into darkness. Unlike she had expected, the illusion's disappearance didn't return her to the real teahouse; she was plunged into the void again.

As Lin Yu stood bewildered, suddenly a powerful force guided her forward. She walked and walked, saw a light ahead, but at the end of the light was still a void illusion!

Lin Yu suddenly realized—she had two Feixian Lings on her! She had only smashed one; the other still existed. Illusions relied on the Feixian Ling as a medium; as long as the Feixian Ling wasn't destroyed, the illusion would persist.

Layered illusions wrapped around her like a dream within a dream. Lin Yu raised her hand to smash the remaining Feixian Ling, but before she could act, she was pushed by a tremendous force into a new illusion!

In an instant, Lin Yu's memories were stripped away by a divine power, her mind going blank. After all memories faded, she fell into the second illusion!

Zhang Dian leaned against a stone pillar, watching Xiao Wen use divine power to extract all of Lin Yu's memories, then nodded in satisfaction: "Let her taste the fate of dying under divine thunder. I want to see how stubborn she remains then."

After sealing the illusion, Xiao Wen seemed to think of something and asked Zhang Dian, "The God of Glory's Ascension day is in a few days. Have you prepared his congratulatory gift?"

The God of Glory was the deity who governed wealth in the mortal world. There wasn't a person in this world who wasn't his devotee—who doesn't love money, after all? Thus, the God of Glory's status was especially high.

Zhang Dian was taken aback, finally remembering that matter. He exchanged a glance with Xiao Wen, then stopped concerning himself with the illusion, turning into mist to return to the Nine Heavens.

...

In the illusion, Lin Yu opened her eyes again. She sat inside a small bridal sedan, its curtain rolled up and tucked aside. A man in emerald green robes with a black square hat knelt before the sedan.

"Divine Maiden, your Ascension failed."

Lin Yu's mind was still unclear, her head empty as if she couldn't remember anything. She asked blankly, "What did you say?"

The divine attendant repeated: "Divine Maiden, your Ascension failed." He added, "Your tribulation hadn't yet arrived, but you were made a victim. It is my failure."

"The Xianzun of Heaven's Mandate Tower, considering your arduous cultivation, expended half his life's cultivation and fate to obtain a chance for you. If you can break this tribulation, you may yet have another chance to Ascend."

Lin Yu's mind was utterly blank. She thought for a long while, then finally asked, "Who am I?"

The divine attendant's hand shook, nearly dropping his ritual implement. He stammered, "You? You don't remember? You are the Divine Maiden of Heaven's Mandate Tower. Your name is A Si."

The Divine Maiden A Si—the mortal identity of the Rain Goddess before Ascension—was also the neglected princess of the Jiang Kingdom, sent for a peace marriage, who died along the way.

This was the new identity Xiao Wen had deliberately chosen for Lin Yu. Since she dared smash his Feixian Ling, he would make her relive the tribulation of the Divine Maiden A Si from over a decade ago, to experience the torment of divine thunder piercing her heart and being cast down from the mortal world, a fate worse than death.

After a long conversation with the divine attendant, Lin Yu roughly understood that she had originally been the Divine Maiden of Heaven's Mandate Tower. A year ago, she had already reached the opportunity for Ascension, but the heavenly tribulation had never descended.

Everyone believed this was heaven's sign that she was unworthy, that she could never Ascend, so A Si became an abandoned pawn of Heaven's Mandate Tower and was sent back to the Jiang Kingdom.

Half a month ago, a new emperor ascended the throne in a neighboring kingdom. Seeing that the Li Kingdom was in troubled times, the Jiang Kingdom invaded but was defeated. Just then, A Si was sent back to the Jiang Kingdom.

So she was hastily given the title of a peace-marriage princess and sent to the Li Kingdom for marriage. But near Liangcheng, in the wilderness, someone stole one of her souls, utterly ruining her chance at Ascension.

The divine attendant handed Lin Yu a cracked bronze mirror and instructed, "This Xuan Yang Mirror is your artifact. The Divine Maiden must find the true culprit behind this and retrieve your lost soul to have any chance of survival."

He paused, then said gravely, "If you fail, in seven days, you will perish due to incomplete souls—your body and spirit will be destroyed."

The heavens most abhor immortals harming one another, and harming a Divine Maiden about to Ascend was a grave sin. The attendant couldn't fathom who would target her, so he offered no guidance.

Lin Yu took the Xuan Yang Mirror, shook it, and aside from the cracks, it was just an ordinary bronze mirror. She couldn't see anything special about it, but she smiled and bid the divine attendant farewell.

After asking for the direction to the Jiang Kingdom, she hurried off. With no memories, she figured that since she'd been sent from the Jiang Kingdom for a peace marriage, she might as well return there to find clues.

"Master, I sense it! Gujin Mountain! Your lost soul is on Gujin Mountain!" It was the mirror speaking.

Lin Yu had thought the artifact, damaged as it was, would be useless, but surprisingly, the mirror spirit still had a sliver of consciousness.

Lin Yu immediately changed direction. Fortunately, Gujin Mountain wasn't far. The Xuan Yang Mirror expended most of its spiritual energy to guide her up the mountain, then fell dormant.

Unable to summon the mirror, Lin Yu wandered at the foot of the mountain for a while, saw nothing unusual, and headed up.

Gujin Mountain was covered in vegetation, more so the higher one climbed. Dense trees grew close together, almost blocking her way, but Lin Yu felt something odd.

The vegetation was too lush, yet there were no signs of any living beings—not a single bird or insect.

How could such a thriving forest have no life?

Lin Yu veered away from the trees and continued in a different direction. After about half an hour, she finally found a stream, and everything opened up.

She followed the water upstream. Not long after, a piercing sound of suona horns came from behind her.

A wedding procession of dozens appeared in the grass not far behind, the lead musician short and nearly hidden by the tall weeds, bobbing in and out of view.

The mountain seemed ordinary, and Lin Yu didn't know how to recover her soul, so she wandered aimlessly.

She guessed they were villagers from below, surely familiar with the mountain paths, so she followed behind, planning to go down with them.

The sun grew stronger, reaching noon, and the procession slowed. Just as they neared the mountainside, Lin Yu seemed to hear a "rumble" of thunder.

She looked up at the blazing sun, puzzled where the thunder came from, then turned her gaze back to the ground. When she saw it clearly, her pupils suddenly contracted—

She saw a thin crack split open in the earth!

The crack snaked forward at a bizarre speed. Lin Yu stepped back against the direction of the fissure, retreating to a tree.

But the wedding procession seemed oblivious, continuing forward. Lin Yu was about to call out to them when, in an instant, the earth shook and the mountains trembled!

The blazing sunlight was suddenly blocked by dark clouds, and a fierce wind howled, as if the sky had torn open a hole.

Then, the thin crack on the ground suddenly opened into a huge gaping maw, swallowing them into the earth!

Lin Yu scrambled to dodge, hearing wails from beneath the ground, but then something even more incredible happened—

The crack that had appeared suddenly closed on its own! The wedding procession vanished entirely from the mountain, as if devoured by the great mountain.

Lin Yu hurriedly lay down to listen for sounds from below, but there was only silence. Just then, someone called out to her.

"Young lady, hurry along. These people are going to offer themselves to the Mountain God—no need for you to worry!" An old man with a cane and gray hair appeared behind Lin Yu.

"Mountain God?" Lin Yu asked, puzzled. "Where is the Mountain God?"

"The Mountain God is, of course, in the mountain temple," the old man said, amused. "Young lady, haven't you paid homage to the Mountain God?"

"No."

"Then you must go to the temple and offer worship. Without paying tribute to the Mountain God, you can't leave this mountain."

With that, the old man turned into vines and disappeared, and Lin Yu realized he must have been a vine spirit.

"Master!" The Xuan Yang Mirror flashed with golden light, finally recovering some spiritual power.

Knowing the mirror wouldn't last long, Lin Yu wasted no time: "Take me to the mountain temple!"

"Got it!"

The Xuan Yang Mirror quickly led Lin Yu through the forest, and soon the mountain temple appeared before her.

The grand temple stood at the summit of Gujin Mountain, utterly incongruous with the mountain's style.

The gleaming golden temple nearly blinded Lin Yu. Everything she saw was almost entirely pure gold. She stood at the entrance, stunned for a long time.

"Mirror, are you sure you didn't make a mistake..." Lin Yu still couldn't believe such a remote temple was solid gold...

"Of course not!!" The Xuan Yang Mirror suddenly flashed excitedly: "Master! I sense it! Your lost soul is nearby! Very close!"

Lin Yu tucked the mirror into her sleeve, took a deep breath, and entered the temple.

Once inside, she realized only half the temple was exposed; the other half was buried within the mountain. The deeper she went, the larger the space became, winding into many connected chambers.

But strangely, aside from the four walls, the temple was empty. Lin Yu saw no statue of the Mountain God, nor any of the people the vine spirit had said went to serve him.

Unsure where to go, she wandered through the temple, finding no direction. The empty temple had no one, only the sound of her own footsteps echoing.

Suddenly, Lin Yu heard a soft, faint chuckle. She froze, pressed herself against the wall, and hid behind a pillar.

"You mortals, why should I cooperate with you? Get out!"

Lin Yu made it out—a hoarse, aged old man laughing. It seemed several people were talking just beyond the wall.

"Mountain God, please consider our sincerity," a young man's voice said. "What if we offer two hundred thousand living souls as sacrifices to you?"

Two hundred thousand living souls! Lin Yu's brow twitched.

The voices were too far away. She was about to move closer to hear better, carefully edging along the wall, when someone suddenly appeared behind her and covered her mouth and nose!