Suddenly, she tripped and almost bumped into Di Fuyi, who was walking steadily next to her. He quickly gave her a hand and was concerned about her wellbeing. "Be careful where you walk," he said.
"I know."
They then summoned their rides, respectively. Di Fuyi took a ride on Baize and Jing Ling Er on the silver dragon. Swiftly, they flew into the air and disappeared from sight.
"I never knew that Prince Nianmo was such a gentleman to a lady."
"The girl is very lucky. It looks like Prince Nianmo really fancies her."
"I have heard that Prince Nianmo is only six years old, even though he looks like a grown-up. He is too young to be with a girl right now, isn't he?"
"You know nothing. In fact, Prince Nianmo is the son of the Divine Lord and Great Devil. I know that the Divine Lord turned into an adult at the mere age of one. As we can see, Prince Nianmo is already a grown-up, with the power equivalent to a Golden Immortal. There should not be any problem for him to get married at this age."
The wide discussion carried on into the evening. No one was concerned about Gu Xijiu anymore; only the Emperor Immortal cared to give her a few glances.
All of a sudden, a dialogue appeared in her head; Gu Xijiu sat there quietly reminiscing.
"Baby, you are still a child. You should not be so perverted."
"Don't call me your baby! If you think that I am a child, why do you keep following me?"
"I like little girls."
"Pervert!"
The conversation sprung out in her head out of nowhere. She knew very well that it was a dialogue that she once had with Huang Tu. It seems that back then, Huang Tu used to like little girls, too.
In fact, a girl's vivacity and high spirits would certainly charm any men. Di Fuyi was living proof of that as Jing Ling Er was obviously a very lively girl.
Did she use to be a lively, charming girl? Gu Xijiu tried to recall her behavior in recent years. Apparently, she was convinced that she was not that sort of happy and active girl. She was a rather cold, arrogant woman who showed no expression on her face. There were seldom times that she would misbehave. Ever since she started her career as an assassin, her naivety was gone for good.
She grabbed the cup beside and took a quick sip, without noticing how hot the tea was. Her tongue was burned, so she could not help but cough. A glass of juice was handed to her. "Come. Take of a sip of it."
Gu Xijiu accepted the glass and took another sip. The water tasted sweet and icy, which made her burnt tongue feel more comfortable.
"Thank you, your highness," she appreciated his kind gesture.
"Mighty Immortal Gu, you are so welcome," the Emperor Immortal answered smilingly. "How do you feel now? Is the burn very serious?"
"It is fine." The burn was nothing to Gu Xijiu. She used a tiny portion of her spiritual power to treat the burned area. Very soon, the burning sensation went away.
"Xijiu, what are the plans that you have for your future?" The Emperor Immortal was keen to know what Gu Xijiu intended to do. With a smile, he added, "Since you are not that old, would you mind if I called you by your name?"
Gu Xijiu certainly would not mind it at all. "Your highness, you certainly can. Also, now that I have fulfilled your requests, when will you release General Long?"
"Don't worry. I have set him free. I can safely assume that he is already on his way home. You will see him on your way back."
Gu Xijiu heaved a sigh of relief. "What about his crime?"
"He is one of my men, so I surely know that he is not up to anything rebellious. I have exonerated him from the crime."
"I see. So, you have used him to lure me here."
"I apologize," the Emperor Immortal admitted without hesitating. "Xijiu, I did not know you well before, so I was worried that you might take advantage of Prince Nianmo. Thus, I had to resort to such an uncanny move. Please pardon my mistake. Here, I shall punish myself with three glasses of wine to express my apology."
The emperor was a straightforward man. Gu Xijiu admired his frankness, so she accepted his apology right away.
Having resolved the matter with Long Siye, Gu Xijiu suddenly thought about Yun Yanli. He used to be a man of great talent with a bold vision. Unfortunately, it was not his era. Gu Xijiu took another two glasses of wine before announcing her departure.
"Xijiu, I would like to discuss some affairs with you, personally. Please proceed to my study room when the Celestial Flower Party comes to an end."
Gu Xijiu joked with a tight smile, "Are you trying to set me up?"
The Emperor Immortal could not hold back his amusement. "I dare not."
They continued to chat casually for a while. Soon, Gu Xijiu realized that the emperor was a quick, definite man who was bold enough to do something and accept the consequence of his actions, which was a trait that they commonly shared.
She used to treat the Emperor Immortal like a stranger. Now, she realized that she could actually keep him as a friend. His undisguised character explained why the Divine Lord would assist him on his quest to the throne back then.
The two had a couple more drinks, and suddenly, the Emperor Immortal looked at her and sighed. "Xijiu, you are so skilled in concealing your emotions and appearance. Actually, you look like someone I know."
Hesitantly, Gu Xijiu continued, "Hmm, like who?"
"The Great Devil, Ning Xuemo, the mother of Nianmo."
A sudden realization hit her. Did Nianmo fall for her because of his issues with his mother? Before she could begin to contemplate such a possibility, the ground started to shake violently.
Gu Xijiu was utterly surprised. It was a massive earthquake! Never had she expected that the ninth heaven would ever encounter such a natural disaster. Moreover, it was a rare earthquake with an exceptionally large scale of damage.
From a scale of one to ten, the intensity of the earthquake could easily be at ten! Many buildings were flattened. The rosy clouds were completely disarranged like a complete mess. It felt as though the sky was about to collapse. Many of guests could barely stand steadily.
The earthquake came without warnings, so the people were caught unprepared. Hectically, the servants crawled on the floor, for they could barely hold themselves together. The guests dispersed in a mess, like falling leaves in a strong breeze.
There was something strange about the earthquake; it was as if there was a disruption in the force of gravity. The celestial beings had completely lost their ability to fly; they could only run. As the ground was falling apart, it was more convenient to fly. However, they could only run.
Gu Xijiu joined them soon enough. On her way, she even used her extraordinary Kung Fu to rescue one or two unfortunate servants who had so carelessly fallen into the cracks.
While she was running, a pitch-black vortex suddenly emerged on the ground. It came without warning, right under her feet! Caught in the turbulence with nowhere to run, the sudden emergence of darkness cloaked her vision as she slowly fell into the whirlpool.
The mussel and Lu Wu were running along with her, not too far behind. When they saw the black vortex, it was already too late for them to warn her. In the blink of an eye, their master had disappeared into the whirlpool.
...
"My prince, may I return to my usual form?" Jing Ling Er asked for Di Fuyi's permission, hesitantly.
Di Fuyi threw her a look before answering, "You look quite adorable like this."
Jing Ling Er scratched her head in complete disapproval.
Bai Ze was amazed by the transformation as well. "Flying Serpent, you are truly capable of turning yourself into a beautiful woman. Like I said, your human form is very feminine. You should see the look on their faces the moment you landed in the hall."
"Speak no more of it!" Jing Ling Er responded angrily. Then, she turned to look at Di Fuyi. "My prince, I think the drama has ended."
Di Fuyi stared blankly at the distant sky and answered, "Yes, it has come to an end. She was not bothered at all."
Bai Ze and Jing Ling Er looked at each other in disappointment. "My prince, should you go back and check out the scene?" Bai Ze offered.
Di Fuyi let out a sarcastic laugh. "It is unnecessary. I shall carry on, with or without her. In fact, I do not wish to see her anymore. Let's go."
Bai Ze and the Flying Serpent looked at each other blankly. In unison, they then agreed to leave.
All of a sudden, they heard loud crashing sounds coming from the distance. They looked back, only to realize that numerous buildings had collapsed. What happened?
The Flying Serpent looked surprised. "Eh? Is that an earthquake?"
The ninth heaven was similar to the mundane world. Occasionally, earthquakes happened. However, the damage was not always massive. At most, the buildings would be damaged. It could barely do any harm to the immortals, as they were all capable of flying.
Di Fuyi was looking in the direction of the hall.
Meanwhile, the Flying Serpent suddenly remembered that its power was tied. Quickly, it handed its hands over to Bai Ze and demanded, "Please disarm the spell!"
To transform into a young lady, Bai Ze had to suppress most of the Flying Serpent's spiritual power. It needed to act like a lady whose spiritual power was only at the level a Golden Immortal. Bai Ze had to disarm the seal for the Flying Serpent to return to its original form. After all, it had no intention to keep its current appearance.
Unexpectedly, Bai Ze completely ignored its request. Blankly, it stared at the direction of the hall as well and murmured, "Something is not right."
The Flying Serpent was getting impatient. "Hey, what is wrong? It is merely an earthquake, nothing more. Please disarm the spell."
"Normally, an earthquake will affect a fairly wide area. As you can see, we are only dozens of miles away from the center of the quake, but the surrounding clouds remain unaffected," Bai Ze expressed its concerns. "From the scale of the destruction, I can tell that the earthquake must have been a massive one. Why didn't we feel any of it?"
The Flying Serpent finally realized. "If that is not an earthquake, what else can it be? Is the place under attack? It does not seem like it either."
Bai Ze had lived long enough to be the most knowledgeable one amongst the Eight Mythological Beasts. "The catastrophe!"
The catastrophe resembled the effects of an earthquake, but they were not entirely the same. Earthquakes happened from time to time, but the catastrophe was a very rare event; probably once in tens of thousands of years. Not many had lived long enough to witness it.
The Divine Lord had once told Bai Ze about the catastrophe. It resembled an earthquake, with a massive destructive force enough to damage anything on the surface. Once trapped, one would lose the ability to fly as well. The only way to escape was to run. No one was safe, even the Mighty Immortals.
There were many causes for the catastrophe, according to the Divine Lord. It would most probably be caused by the betrayal of a heavenly secret, which was supposed to be kept confidential at all times.
Di Fuyi had never experienced a catastrophe, but he had read about it from a book given to him by the Divine Lord. He only had a glance on the subject and was not really concerned about it. Bai Ze's explanation served as a reminder to him. It made him realize that something must have gone wrong.
The one who had betrayed the heavenly secret seemed to be Gu Xijiu. Without thinking of his own safety, he quickly sprung into action. "Let's go and have a look!" He told Bai Ze.
Bai Ze turned and rushed to the hall at full speed. It was the fastest it had ever traveled.
...
The catastrophe did not last long, only about half a minute. However, it was extremely disastrous. Most of the buildings were destroyed. The hall, which was filled with fragrance and celestial sagacity in the air, turned into a complete mess.
Cracks randomly crisscrossed the ground. All the immortals were in a fluster. Their hair was in a mess, and their clothes were unkempt and torn. Most of them were injured, some severer than others.
When Di Fuyi arrived, the hall was no longer intact. Dust filled the air, blotting out the sky and the sun.
In the dusty gloom, the immortals peered from behind dark smokes. Di Fuyi rushed straight into the mess. Most of the immortals had yet to recover from the fright, so they did not pay any attention to him.
Di Fuyi went around the destruction site very quickly. The woman in a fiery red dress was all he was looking for. Gu Xijiu's exquisite red dress had caught his full attention. She looked so beautiful. He had a hard time trying to keep his eyes away from her. However, he failed to see her anywhere.
She was nowhere to be seen. He and Bai Ze searched for her in different directions; they had circled the area twice, but they still could not locate her. Instead, they found the mussel and Lu Wu, running around frantically.
The two pets were acting a little strange. There they stood at the cracks, desperately trying to dig into it. Both of their faces were covered in dirt. Carelessly, Lu Wu did not notice that Di Fuyi was coming and bumped straight into him. He took a grasp of its tails, and anxiously asked, "Where is your master?"
"She is gone! Master is gone!" Lu Wu's skin crept at the scary realization of her disappearance. Its eyes were moist with tears.
"What do you mean that she is gone? Explain yourself properly!"
Lu Wu told him briefly about the incident. As it recalled what had happened, it got even more emotional.
"Did your master fall into the cracks?"
The Flying Serpent approached them from behind and suggested abruptly, "My prince, did she escape using Ground Drilling?"
"Impossible! Master will never abandon us here!" Lu Wu was obviously offended. It stared at the Flying Serpent with angry eyes, which was still in its human form as Jing Ling Er. The more Lu Wu looked at 'her,' the more it disliked 'her.' It wanted so much to scratch 'her' limbs.
Di Fuyi did not answer. Instead, he pulled Lu Wu's tails, hoping that it would guide him. "Take me to where she was last seen!" Lu Wu obliged and took him to the place where she disappeared.
The place looked ordinary without any cracks at all; it looked as if the earthquake had never happened.
"This is the place. A vortex appeared out of nowhere and pulled master into the whirlpool. We wanted to go along, but the vortex disappeared right before we could rush into it."
The mussel finally reunited with them. It rushed forward and saw Di Fuyi, along with the Flying Serpent by his side.
"My prince, what are you two lovebirds doing here? Do you have anything to do with my master?"
Di Fuyi completely ignored it. Instead, he took the time to search the place. Desperately, he even went underground with Ground Drilling just to make sure she was not there.
The Flying Serpent remained quiet for the longest time. Di Fuyi had not allowed it to reveal its identity, so it could only play the role of Jing Ling Er at the moment.
It shivered a little when the mussel acknowledged them as lovebirds, but it was not allowed to comment anything.
The Flying Serpent watched as its master went into a frantic search. His ghastly pallor clearly showed how panic he was. He did not care about any of the mussel's sarcasm. He probably did not even hear it, for all his attention was caught in the search.
...
Gu Xijiu had disappeared. Di Fuyi had dived into all of the cracks but failed to find any trace of hers. No one had seen her, not even the Emperor Immortal.
Like every other immortal, the Emperor Immortal was trapped, as he too, lost his ability to fly. He was injured, but it was not serious. He managed to keep himself safe with his Kung Fu.
After the catastrophe, he soon gathered the remaining immortals to make a count on the death toll. The damage was very severe. A few servants and two guests slipped into the lava, buried deep within the depths of the crack. They were witnessed to be screaming and shouting in pain before their bodies were consumed entirely in the hot, molten rock.
The underground lava in the ninth heaven was not the same as the mundane world. It contained the true fire of Samadhi. The heat was very intense, strong enough to burn off the skin of a Mighty Immortal.
"My prince, Miss Gu's power is comparable to the strength of a Great Deity. Even if she had fallen into the lava, she would be able to survive. Perhaps, she had already escaped."
"Perhaps, she has already escaped to a safer place. As you know, the lava is continuously flowing. Perhaps, she has been brought to another place by the stream. We have to keep looking," Bai Ze tried to sound hopeful.
"That is right. God always blesses the good. I am sure that she will remain unharmed. I will send more men in the search as well," the Emperor Immortal agreed. He quietly observed Jing Ling Er, who had been following Di Fuyi everywhere. Based on his observation, it was clear that the prince seemed to be really in love with Miss Gu.
Earlier, he did well to disguise his feelings for her. However, in the current emergency, he finally revealed himself for what he was. His feelings were completely unmasked. As for Miss Gu, she did not seem to treat him completely as a child. She must have fallen for him, even though she did not care to admit it, rationally.
With these revelations, the Emperor Immortal would love to know how things would turn out for both of them. But where did Miss Gu go? He did not believe that she was gone for good. No one believed so. They thought that she would reappear in no time, but it did not happen.
Three days went by. Another five days passed. Soon, two weeks flew by. Then, a month. There was no news. It was as if she had disappeared entirely from the world.
Di Fuyi tried to look for everywhere. In a frenzied hurry, he did not sleep or even rest. As time ticked by, he slowly grew less hopeful about her survival. He had looked into many places and even visited Long Siye.
The four Great Guardians had brutally tortured long Siye while he was detained. His injuries were quite severe, making it difficult for him even to leave his bed. Upon hearing about Gu Xijiu's disappearance, he bore the pain and joined the search as well.
He speculated, "Has Xijiu gone back to the Lower Bound? After all, her six-month stay in the Upper Bound is coming to its expiration."
The mussel dismissed his idea, "Impossible! Master will never abandon Lu Wu and I. Also, my master has to ride the Fiery Bird in order to return to the Lower Bound, via the Sky Bridging Tree. It is not possible that the vortex would send her back."
Long Siye did not comment any further.
Bai Ze recalled about the pillar at the peak of the ninth heaven, which officially recorded all the names of the people that had achieved a Middle Immortal status and above. Their names would be automatically displayed on the pillar. If he or she died, the name would be wiped off automatically as well.
Before it could finish explaining itself, Di Fuyi was already gone. As soon as it got to the pillar, Bai Ze regretted its decision immediately. There were tens of thousands of names on the pillar. What frustrated it more was the randomness of the display. The names would move and switch places from time to time. Searching for one name in the sea of names was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Furthermore, Bai Ze was not even sure if her name was there, to begin with.
Di Fuyi circled the pillar while carefully studying every name that flashed before his eyes. He only cared about her name.
Bai Ze persuaded him, "My prince, failure to find her name does not necessarily mean that she is dead. After all, she is not originally a member of the Saha World. It is possible that her name was never here."
After three days of painstaking search, he finally found her name in a very hidden corner. The search finally ended, right before dusk.
Bai Ze was deeply relieved by the discovery of her name; they found her name on the pillar, proving that she was still alive. Surprisingly, her name was rather dim, almost indistinct from the natural color of the pillar. Amongst the golden names that floated by, one would require extremely good eyesight to distinguish her name from the sea of glistening characters.
Bai Ze thought that its eyesight was good, but after three days of tireless search, its vision became blurred. Images started to overlap, screwing up its eyes. Although the prince's Kung Fu was not as good as Bai Ze's, his eyes were still in good condition.
Bai Ze looked at Di Fuyi, who had obviously lost some weight after the frantic search over the past two weeks. "My Prince, it is such a relief to know that Miss Gu is still alive. I think that she must have been brought back to the Lower Bound via the vortex as a punishment for her betrayal of the heavenly secret. It all occurred too suddenly, so she could not take the mussel and Lu Wu along." Bai Ze's suggestion was very logical. The mussel and Lu Wu could not think of any better reason to explain her disappearance.
Di Fuyi did not say anything more. His eyes focused only on her name. Bai Ze noticed his tired, bloodshot eyes and was worried. "My prince, you should take a rest to regain your strength. If she really is in the Lower Bound, we will never find her here."
Di Fuyi finally sat down. He lay against the pillar and closed his eyes. Bai Ze dared not interrupt him. He was really exhausted, and it was time for him to rest.
Recently, the young prince had not been very keen on talking. He remained silent most of the time. No one knew what he was really thinking.
Bai Ze sighed helplessly, for the affection that the prince had for Miss Gu was far more intense than he had expected. It was worried about the prince. The love that they had was not mutual for there was another man in her heart, a man called Huang Tu.
There was no chance that the young prince was the reincarnation of Huang Tu. When he finally advanced to become a Mighty Immortal, her mission would be accomplished. What should the young prince do, when Huang Tu is brought back alive?
Personally, Bai Ze wished that the prince would let go of the relationship as soon as possible before plunging into the abyss of unreturned love.
Then, the accident happened.
...
Di Fuyi was thoroughly exhausted. Since he knew that Gu Xijiu was alive, he could no longer pull himself together to stay awake.
Bai Ze knew that it would not be comfortable for him to sleep like this. It thought about transforming into its original form, in order to carry the young prince back onto the bed for a good, long sleep.
As soon as it approached him, Di Fuyi suddenly opened his eyes widely and stared at it. "Master, you should rest a bit more. I shall carry you home now."
Di Fuyi took a deep breath before demanding for a ride; however, he did not want to go home. "Take me to the Fiery Bird, the one capable of travelling to the Lower Bound."
Bai Ze was surprised by his sudden request. "My Prince, are you thinking of going to the Lower Bound? You must not! The immortals of heaven should never descend to the mortal world. Before the Divine Lord left, he reminded me never to let you leave the Celestial Devil Continent. You cannot leave this place!"
Di Fuyi only answered briefly, "The matter is urgent. You should only answer to my call. Take me there now!"
If she could come to heaven, there was no way that he could not go down. Bai Ze could not reject the prince's order.
...
The bird that traveled between heaven and the mortal world could be found in the seventh heaven. Di Fuyi found it easily, but his heart sank the moment he saw it. The Fiery Bird did not survive the catastrophe. It was turned into a rock, standing lifelessly in the distance.
Di Fuyi circled the Fiery Bird three times just to make sure that it was really dead. He finally gave up, knowing that it would never come back alive.
The mussel was stunned at the sight of the dead, solidified bird. "Without the bird, how is my master going to come back up?" The mussel was at the verge of crying.
Bai Ze was still hopeful about the situation. "This cannot be the only one. Usually, the bird comes in a pair. If there is one at heaven, the other one must be in the mortal world. The one here is dead due to the catastrophe, but the one down there should not be affected. It should still be alive. There is still hope for her to come back."
The mussel was relieved but was not entirely satisfied with the answer. "That will take another five months. Once she descends, she has to stay for at least six months in the mortal world," the mussel complained.
Di Fuyi frowned. "Is this bird my only way to the mortal world? I know that the immortals from heaven can descend, right?" He was reluctant to wait for another five months.
Bai Ze heaved a sigh. "My prince, there are thousands of different worlds. If you intend to descend, you must go through the Rotary Platform, but the destination is completely random, even the Emperor Immortal has no power to fix a destination. What is worse is that when an immortal from heaven descends, his or her spiritual power will be reduced by half. Also, it will take at least a century before he or she is allowed to leave. This is such a great loss. If you wish to arrive at a specific destination in the mortal world, the bird is your only choice."
Di Fuyi did not answer. The randomness of the destination frustrated him. Even if he risked everything and took a leap of faith, he could not even be sure that he would end up where she was. If things did not go as planned, he would be stranded in a strange place for quite a while.
Bai Ze continued, "My prince, in my humble opinion, we should wait. Her majestic beings, the mussel and Lu Wu, are both here. She will be eager to come back, surely. It will only be five months; my prince, you only have to endure for another five months."
Bai Ze was right. Under the current circumstance, he should wait. Time would pass by very quickly.
Within the months of waiting, the hall was rebuilt entirely, filled with an abundance of garden flowers. The buildings were refurbished with carved railings and jade inlays. It was hard to imagine that it was once in ruins.
Di Fuyi did not merely wait for time to pass. He took the time to travel the continent, along with the mussel and Lu Wu. He never stopped searching for her, but nothing was gained.
Lu Wu had a directed audio spell in its possession. It would call her many times a day, but she never picked up. Every attempt ended in disappointment. Her name on the celestial pillar was their only reassurance that she was still alive.
Di Fuyi did not sleep or eat well for months. He was not even interested in meditating. Bai Ze did its best to convince him, but he barely listened to its earnest advice.
Bai Ze was worried, even more so when it thought about Gu Xijiu's mission.
Gu Xijiu's disappearance had successfully turned the young prince into a mess. It was worried that Gu Xijiu would return someday, along with her husband. What would its young master do then? Bai Ze did not want to picture the outcome.
The young prince had fallen head over heels for Miss Gu. Bai Ze was really puzzled. A man like its young master would not usually fall in love so quickly. It seemed like he had been cursed.
Determined, Bai Ze took the effort to disappoint him, for once. "My prince, I think you might have overvalued your feelings for Miss Gu. When Huang Tu is brought back to life, she will definitely go with him. Have you ever thought of that, my prince?"
Meanwhile, Di Fuyi was busy looking for her name on the celestial pillar, again.
Di Fuyi's mind was occupied in search of her name. However, Bai Ze's advice managed to get his attention. "I have certainly thought about that. Do you really think that Huang Tu can be revived?" He answered calmly.
Bai Ze disagreed. "Logically speaking, it is impossible. The revival of an immortalized Lord has never happened before. I have studied the matter from many books. Usually, when the Lord immortalizes in the mortal world, they will join heaven directly. The achievements will not be erased.
On the contrary, the Lord's immortalization will fail if they have violated the heavenly law to a great extent. No achievement will be remembered in the mortal world where they once led, but at least their names will remain. As for Huang Tu, there seems to be nothing left; it was as if he never existed at all. This is the first exception that I have encountered. I wonder what he did that managed to trigger the wrath of God, resulting in such a misery."
Di Fuyi did not answer. He had talked about it with the mussel and Lu Wu months before. They told him about their encounter. Gu Xijiu met Huang Tu for the first time when she was only a teenage girl. According to them, the devoted couple was inseparable. However, they bore no impression about Huang Tu.
Huang Tu's presence had been completely wiped away, but some things stayed. For example, he left his spiritual power behind. There was another person's spiritual power in Gu Xijiu's body; she must have got the spiritual power from Huang Tu.
The figure on the Bone Reflecting Mirror clearly stated that she had a power equivalent of 11,000 years of experience. Someone else must have transferred the spiritual power to her.
Di Fuyi made the speculation because he knew it was possible. His father had transferred his spiritual power to him before. As a father, the Divine Lord was worried that his son would suffer losses while he was away, so he had to transfer his spiritual power equivalent to 500 years of experience to Di Fuyi before he left. Therefore, he, too, had two different sets of numbers when he stood before the mirror.
Obviously, Gu Xijiu was unaware of the existence of someone else's spiritual power in her body. She must have forgotten about it the same way she forgot about Huang Tu.
Di Fuyi had met many masters who ascended from the mortal world. The one with the strongest spiritual power was a Mighty Immortal of level two. However, according to Gu Xijiu's strength, she was a Mighty Immortal at level nine, which was an extraordinary achievement.
How strong was Huang Tu's spiritual power? He could have easily been a Great Deity. Huang Tu's presence in the Celestial Devil Continent would create quite a stir if he ascended. Unfortunately, his existence had been completely wiped away.
The expunction was so complete. There should be no way that he would be brought back alive. Also, Di Fuyi remained unconvinced that Gu Xijiu was already married to the man. She was, after all, a virgin.
To put things into perspective, their relationship was a matter of her previous life. What happened in the past stayed in the past. He would not mind who she loved before; for all he wanted now was to spend the present with her.
Even if Huang Tu were brought back to life, he would not necessarily be the same man as he was before. Di Fuyi was not afraid of a challenge. As long as she was unmarried, he would not give her up. He was confident that what he had to offer would be very much better than a dead man. At the very end, if the outcome were still fruitless, at least he would have no regrets, for he had tried his very best.
When Di Fuyi noticed Huang Tu's spiritual power in Gu Xijiu's body, he wanted to walk away from her. Determined, he wanted to make a clean break with Gu Xijiu, in order to fulfill her wish to be with Huang Tu.
Gu Xijiu's disappearance made it clear to him that he was too deeply in love with her to give it all up now. If he could find her, he would never let her go. He was willing to fight for her with all he could.
Six months passed, slowly. Early in the morning, Di Fuyi stood waiting at the platform, where Gu Xijiu usually landed. The mussel and Lu Wu joined him for the wait as well. Di Fuyi wanted to return the majestic beings to her as soon as she emerged. Also, he realized that she would try to escape from him even more if he continued to stress her out with his overwhelming affection. He had to take it slow.
First, he would stay by her side as a friend and stop giving her pressure. He would not even mind becoming her disciple, as long as he got to stay by her side. He needed to put himself in a favorable position. He was confident that someday, she would finally realize how much he cared for her.
Determined, Di Fuyi stood waiting patiently at the platform. From dawn to dusk, then from the night to another light of the day, he continued to wait for her.
She did not emerge on the first day. He tried to calm himself down, as the mussel had once told him that the journey would take one whole day. The second day of waiting remained fruitless. He thought that she must have been caught up by some unforeseen circumstance. She surely would arrive anytime soon. The third day and the following days were the same.
Unmoving, he stood there, waiting for two weeks straight. Days went by, from sunrise to sunset, from nightfall to another morning again. Di Fuyi spent every minute in anxiety. Sometimes, the long wait would wear him out, making his effort seem hopeless.
Many immortals came and went. Many women passed him by each day, but none of them was the person he was looking for. Bai Ze could not bear seeing him in such a difficult situation. It suggested that he should rest, while it would continue the wait while he was away. If there were any news, Bai Ze would inform him immediately.
Unsurprisingly, the stubborn prince refused. Silently, he continued to stand on the platform. As if firmly rooted, he lay against the pillar and refused to leave. Bai Ze's persuasion was futile. Even if the Eight Mythological Beasts were all here to tell him the same message, he would remain unmoved.
Bai Ze was concerned about him. It started to miss the Divine Lord. If he were still here in the continent, he would know what had exactly happened to Gu Xijiu; then the young prince would not have to wait in such desperation.
It was such a pity that no one could help him. The wait lasted for a month, and Di Fuyi finally decided to call it off. Without the mussel and Lu Wu by his side, he would think that she chose to disappear to keep herself away from him. Otherwise, she might be in the mortal world attending to some matters. However, this time was different. She did not choose to leave; it all happened so suddenly. She would be very eager to see her beloved majestic beings again.
Was this the punishment for her betrayal of the heavenly secret? She must be distraught now. She was probably waiting for his help. Di Fuyi could no longer sit around, waiting for her.
...
In the ninth heaven, there was a Rotary Platform. It was where the immortals would leave the Saha World for their exiles in the mortal world. It was a scary place.
As soon as one leapt from the platform, he or she would hardly be able to come back. Moreover, the Rotary Platform was poisoned. Each victim's spiritual power would be reduced by half. More seriously, his or her memory would be partially erased.
The Rotary Platform highly resembled the cycle of reincarnation in the underworld.
The Rotary Platform was blood-red, and it hung in midair by countless tiny chains formed by clouds. Beneath the Rotary Platform was a stream of tempestuous liquid known as the Celestial River. Rumor has it that one could never turn back after stepping onto the Rotary Platform and he or she ought to jump off the platform in a specific period of time. However, no one would know which realm he or she would fall into.
If the individual refused to jump, the Rotary Platform would turn upside down to push whoever was on the platform into the Celestial River. In fact, the water in the Celestial River could melt anything in the world; hence, nobody could find a tiny piece of bone from there, not to mention anything alive.
At the moment, Di Fuyi was standing somewhere nearby with the mussel and Lu Wu by his side with a grief expression. All the celestial cultivators who came here were forced to get onto the Rotary Platform. However, it was extremely rare for one to come here willingly like Di Fuyi.
Bai Ze tried his best to persuade him by tugging his sleeve. "Your Highness, please do not do this. The probability is so low; you might not be able to find her even if you jump in there! What if she comes back after you jump into the river? You will miss each other again!"
"Your Highness, please wait a little longer! Perhaps, she will return after a few days."
"Your Highness, do not be reckless. The Divine Lord had said that you should not leave the continent; otherwise, they would have brought you along when they left."
"Your Highness..."
Bai Ze almost ran out of words to convince his master. He has been telling Di Fuyi the same thing over and over, and it seemed to work a few days ago. However, it did not seem to be effective now!
Di Fuyi went to check on the Celestial Identity Pillar again yesterday. He realized Gu Xijiu's name was fading as if it would just disappear anytime soon. She must be trapped somewhere! He must save her regardless of the price he needed to pay! That was the only thought Di Fuyi had now.
Di Fuyi had found a tracking spell from an ancient book in his father's study room. According to the book, there was a very high chance for someone to find a person when jumping off the Rotary Platform if they carried with them a favorite belonging of the one who was missing.
The mussel and Lu Wu should be Gu Xijiu's favorite companions; hence, Di Fuyi decided to place a bet by bringing both of them along as he did not want to continue waiting fruitlessly. Since he had made up his mind, he did not want to delay the arrangement any longer.
He told Bai Ze to keep Gu Xiju in the Saha World if she returned after he jumped off the Rotary Platform; he would come back after 100 years.
"Bai Ze, keep my words in mind." After that, Di Fuyi held the mussel with his left hand and Lu Wu in his right. He was ready to jump off the Rotary Platform.
Suddenly, the directed audio spell at his waist blinked rapidly. Quickly, he picked up the call and heard Teng She from the other end. "Your Highness! Your Highness! Your parents are back!"
Di Fuyi was surprised, and Bai Ze was undoubtedly relieved by the news. "Your Highness, the Divine Lord must have a solution. Why don't we go home first? Let's go..."
...
The Divine Couple returned home in time; they would not get to see their son anymore if they were a minute late. They have been away for several missions for quite a while; hence, Ning Xuemo could not wait to come home as she missed her Little Nianmo.
She suggested to her husband to visit their son since they were going to pass by the continent. They were only halfway done with their missions. Fortunately, her husband seemed to have predicted something and rushed home with Ning Xuemo.
They decided to go back to the Fantian Palace first but only found Teng She alone.