Fu Li was never a daring yao cultivator. After being shocked by the Feiyi at the age of five hundred, he developed an innate sense of repulsiveness towards furless creatures.
He feared death, feared separation, and also feared dying.
Since learning about the true identities of the Reflecting Mist Mountain's elders, he had always thought of himself as an auspicious beast – the very impressive type.
But the heart's blood that splashed onto his face and the auspicious glow of light that Elder Baize nearly burned all his life for was sobering. He wasn't an auspicious beast but a fiend, one that was capable of bringing about destruction – the legendary yao emperor.
He didn't want to die. He wanted to live well. He wanted to organize a Dao Bonding Ceremony with Zhuang Qing. He wanted to wear the most beautiful, most magnificent celebratory clothes and let the whole cultivation world be jealous of him.
But if he didn't die, countless people would. Along with Elder Baize, Sister Zhu Yue, and even Zhuang little dragon...
When he clapped Zhuang Qing aside with a single palm, Fu Li felt like he couldn't be more handsome, just like those great heroes in movies who chose to die for the sake of the world.
The Hou was born because of the Seven Emotions and Six Desires in the world, and would probably also die because of them.
He wanted to tell Zhuang Qing that his original form this time was definitely very mighty and majestic. Fortunately, when he transformed into his original form this time, his fur was not red but a snow-like white.
After learning that he was a Hou, he had wondered why he didn't possess any clan inheritance or have innate skills like the Kunpeng despite being a yao born because of Heaven and earth.
He understood now. It wasn't that he didn't have them, but that Reflecting Mist Mountain's elders had sealed those abilities so he could live in peace.
But Heaven had mandated that no matter how much his elders foretold, a foreordained destiny could not be altered. Which was why, knowing what capabilities one had might not always be a good thing. It was still better for a yao to live a bit more muddled.
A Hou's soul was the most formidable strength of will. He jumped into the heart of the formation and upon releasing his sea of consciousness, felt the yao race's most painful sufferings. Massacre, devastation, hatred.
They hated the humans, hated the other cultivators, and hated him, the yao emperor who abandoned them.
They were going to vanish in this Heaven and Earth, so they would bring this traitor of an emperor along with them. Only then would their hatred fade.
Fu Li felt that the way he died wasn't at all sensational.
To Fu Li, fighting five hundred rounds with the villains and bleeding oceans were more in line with the character setting of a hero. He hadn't even been a yao emperor for a night and was already overthrown by his people. How inspiration, how tragic, how worthy of pity.
As his soul gradually dissipated, a thought suddenly came to mind. He wanted to open his eyes and take another look at Zhuang Qing. But all he could see were the enraged souls of yao cultivators, as well as the souls disappearing amidst the Five Elements that were slowly returning to their normal state.
Shrieks and sobs rode the winds and entered his ears. Watching the tormented souls within the formation, he swiftly did a series of hand gestures. "By the life of the yao emperor, I declare all yao innocent. Follow Heaven and Earth back into the cycle of reincarnation."
As innocent as these yao were, the significance of their birth was a mystery and they died understanding little. Even their departed souls were not spared from exploitation by a great yao like Jiuying.
If they could re-enter the cycle of reincarnation and not dissipate, that would also be a good thing.
After completing everything, what remained of Fu Li was only a blurry, lumpy silhouette. Lying on the ground, he gazed at the opening to the heart of the formation not more than 1 meter across. Stars seemed to be burrowing out of the clouds.
The stars today were really beautiful.
At a house, a little girl who just couldn't fall asleep climbed out of her bed and told her parents who were still watching a drama on ethics, "Mommy, the sky outside is very dark, I can't fall asleep."
The girl's mother got up and walked over to her, stroking her head. "Then let's pay our respects to your godfather? Godfather is so powerful, he'll definitely bless your sleep after you bow to him."
"Okay," The little girl nodded. Making her way to the center of the living room, she respectfully knelt and bowed to a longevity tablet, her head touching the ground. Ever since the time she lost her soul from fright and was brought back by Fu Li, her family erected a longevity tablet for Fu Li and took the initiative to encourage the little girl to address Fu Li as 'godfather'.
The little girl still remembered how Fu Li had held her hand and led her past the river, street, and eventually to her parents. Therefore, she would stroke the protective talisman Fu Li had given her every time and obediently kowtow to the longevity tablet with incomparable trust.
This was also what happened tonight. Stroking the protective talisman against her chest, she kowtowed towards the longevity tablet. Then, the little girl knelt on the ground and said softly, "Godfather, you must bless me with a good dream tonight. En, you must have a good dream tonight too. Sleep soundly and chase away all the bad guys."
Godfather was so powerful, surely no bad guy would bully him?
"Anyway," The little girl rubbed her eyes. Godfather really was powerful; after paying her respects to him, she started feeling sleepy. "See you tomorrow, godfather."
The child's pure, untainted faith drifted along the cool breeze. Accompanied by the stars, it floated past mountains, flew past rivers, and circled Hunxi Mountain. Yet, its power found no outlet for use.
To fiends, faith had no use.
The pure, transparent faith circled Hunxi Mountain, round after round. Just as it was on the verge of disappearing, the golden glow of virtue at the foot of the mountain lured it over, and it eventually settled on a piece of jade stained with dragon blood.
See you tomorrow, godfather.
This was a faith that contained both hope and anticipation. The wisp of faith illuminated the jade splattered with dragon's blood.
A year's plan starts with spring. And the Spring Jade that embodied human grace and hope was humanity's most beautiful blessing.
The jade stone was buried by the dust that fell off the mountain. In the course of a year, innumerable cultivators, both human and yao, visited the place to grieve. Every day, there were always cultivators reminiscing about recent events and droning on and on in unbearable detail.
The humans started controlling the level of water pollution. When they resolved to accomplish something, there would always be results to show for it very soon. In a short span of a year, the East Sea became much cleaner. Delighted, the aquatic races would even extend a helping hand to the occasional human who fell into the water.
As time passed, a rumor started circulating at the coast of the East Sea. It was said that the deity living in the East Sea would rescue any human who didn't do any evil if they were to encounter a violent storm at sea. In the era of materialism, countless fishermen and sailors unexpectedly had boundless confidence in this rumor and even started sparing all sorts of rare fishes and baby fishes when fishing.
Coincidentally, in the more than one year since then, the fishermen and sailors really didn't encounter any major storms at sea. Even the ocean currents that flowed past the coastal area would forcibly turn the corner and evade the land on this side.
As a result... incense sticks burned even more exuberantly at the coast of the East Sea. Someone even erected an incomparably hideous statue of a deity so that it could receive the offerings every day.
On an icy winter day, a little girl who insisted on going with her parents to play at the coast watched passersby pray to a strange-looking stone statue. She stared at the stone statue for a long time before turning to her parents. "Daddy, mommy, are they also paying respects to godfather?"
"Ah?" The little girl's mother almost didn't react.
"That stone statue looks very much like godfather," The little girl pointed at the stone statue's eyes that were curved in a squint. "Look, its smile is exactly the same as godfather's."
The child's parents scrutinized the stone statue a few more times and rejected the notion very vehemently in their hearts. No, child, your godfather was much more handsome than this stone statue.
But faced with the little girl's serious expression, the couple resisted the pull on their conscience and expressed without the slightest morality that their daughter was right.
Seeing her parents nod, the little girl raced over to the stone statue and kowtowed. "Godfather, are you living by the sea now? I'm about to start my first year of primary school. When I get a hundred marks, I'll bring the paper for you to see."
"Oh, is this little girl also paying respects to the Sea God?" An elderly granny asked with a broad smile. The granny had a very kindly appearance, and the little girl couldn't help but feel close to her.
"Ah?" The little girl didn't understand why her godfather became a Sea God when others spoke of him, and she understood even less what a Sea God was. But she had once read Journey to the West and knew that deities were very powerful bigshots, so she nodded and said, "En, my godfather is very powerful, he's a Sea God!"
The child's words gave rise to a burst of laughter from everyone. The little girl stuck out her chest in delight. Her godfather was just that impressive!
The sea breeze arose, sweeping up the red cloth hung over the deity's statue. The red cloth swayed about, as if it were beckoning.
On Hunxi Mountain, the jade that had been buried in the soil for a very long time shifted before turning into a beam of light that soared towards the east. Eventually, it entered the stone statue.
At midnight, the stone statue's shadow suddenly turned into a charming, smiling man.
He looked up at the bright moon in the sky and let out a light laugh.
Who would have thought that the little girl with the lost soul whom he had saved in passing would end up becoming his chance at survival? Zhuang Qing's heart's blood had preserved a wisp of his soul while the little girl's faith had allowed his soul to enter and be nurtured by the Spring Jade that brimmed with life energy. His transformation was also attributed to the fortuitous words this little girl had uttered. Only then was he able to obtain this once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity on this day that marked the end of the new year and the start of a new year.
"But how does this ugly stone statue resemble me?" With a wave of Fu Li's hand, the stone statue became handsome and dashing. Only then did he feel at ease.
The sky was about to brighten and he could smell the Kunpeng's scent in the sea breeze. Deliberately mimicking the sound of a child sobbing, he let out a cry towards the sea and then hurriedly shrunk a great distance to an inch, returning to the capital.
The capital was still as busy and lively as ever. It was just that the air didn't seem as turbid as before, and the vegetation on both sides of the roads was more dense than before. Even Chu Yi had appeared once more.
He should have properly thanked Chu Yi, but with his heart full of worry for a certain dragon, he couldn't wait to fly back to the villa right this instant.
But when he stood outside the villa's gates and saw Zhuang Qing foolishly hugging that lump of snow that both resembled a rabbit and dog, he smiled till his eyes turned red.
"Zhuang little dragon, have you turned silly?"
Fu Li widened his eyes. "Still not opening the door for your beloved Fu ge?"