Chapter 127: The Truth Comes to Light

"Ming Zhong’s soul scattered long ago at the Battle of Luolong! The body inside the thirty-three-story crystal coffin is his, refined from my own heart-protecting scales. The Ming Zhong of the Netherworld is me! She married me! Little White is my child, entrusted to my elder brother, Deity Chunfeng, to look after. Because this matter concerns my safety, the three of them maintained the charade of being husband, wife, and child to the outside world. Tiande, is there anything else you haven't understood yet?" Yun Xiao said.

Tiande burst into laughter. "I never expected that you two brothers would fight over a broken, discarded flower, even going so far as to call yourselves Ming Zhong!"

A whip cracked across Tiande’s face, wielded by none other than Little White. "Are you blind? Can’t you see how much I resemble my Father God?"

"Little White, show him your true form," Yun Xiao commanded.

Little White leapt and revealed his true form. After surviving the ordeal of the Red Flame Demon Star, small horns had sprouted from his head, and a dragon’s tail extended from behind him.

"Biological," Deity Wuxiang remarked with a chuckle, waving his folding fan.

"Yun Xiao! You are so cunning! You two are exactly the same!" Tiande pointed at Yun Xiao and Wuxiang, trembling with rage.

"Making such a fuss," Yun Xiao said calmly.

"We are good friends, after all," Deity Wuxiang added leisurely.

"Crown Prince Tiande, your crimes warrant the removal of the Crown Prince’s Seal and execution!" the twelfth senior brother declared.

"Agreed!" said Yun Xiao.

"Yun Xiao! You have no right to kill me! If I am to die, it must be by the natural judgment of the Heavens! The Crown Prince’s Seal I bear carries the immeasurable merit of the filial descendants of the Heaven, Earth, and Human realms. If you resort to private lynching to wrongly execute a celestial god, you will be met with a backlash! The Heavenly Gap of the thirty-three heavens will shatter!" Tiande cried out in desperation.

"Shameless! You, worthy of the Crown Prince’s Seal of filial descendants? The true filial descendant is right here!" Chunfeng picked up Little White and planted him firmly on the ground.

"Does any deity have any objection to this sentence?" Yun Xiao asked.

"No objections!"

"Good! Remove the Crown Prince’s Seal!" Yun Xiao and I summoned the thunder and fire of the Heavy Star.

"I want to help Biyou vent her grievances!" Little White pulled back the Canghai Bow!

"Good!" The thunder and fire of the Heavy Star transformed into a spirit arrow. Biyou controlled the Canghai Bow, and Little White released his strength in a single shot, instantly shattering the Crown Prince’s Seal from Tiande’s body.

"Tiande! Those innocents who died unjustly at your hands have the right to execute you!" Yun Xiao channeled the resentment of the immortal citizens betrayed and slaughtered by Tiande in the Netherworld, as well as the immortals he had murdered, directly onto him. Amidst his shrieks, Tiande’s physical body and soul were devoured by that immense resentment, turning into nothing but filth.

"Ah! Ha! He’s dead! Tiande is finally dead! He can’t even become a ghost! Serves you right! For tricking me! As long as I live, you will never be reincarnated! Even if you’ve been eaten and turned into filth, I will still grind you to pieces!" Princess Leici writhed on the ground, cheering shrilly as she transformed into a giant maggot.

Lu Xue, having lived through such a catastrophe, was nearly frightened out of her wits. As she recovered and saw me and Yun Xiao reunited as husband and wife after our rebirth, and having witnessed the execution of her accomplice, Crown Prince Tiande, she trembled and said with aggrieved injustice, "Han Qing! It was Tiande who said that a substitute body could gather your original soul; I was only deceived by him. Do you... do you not love me anymore?"

"I have never loved you," Yun Xiao replied. The moment those words were spoken, everyone who knew the truth was in an uproar. How could forty thousand years of unwavering devotion turn into something he never loved?

Seeing this, the eleventh senior brother hurriedly whispered to caution Yun Xiao, "Master, hold back a bit... even if you’ve fallen for the youngest junior sister, and even if it is destiny, you don't have to be so obvious."

Yun Xiao cast a glance at the eleventh senior brother.

"Little Crow, did you cast a bewitching spell on him?" Chunfeng asked me.

I smiled and whispered to Chunfeng, "Yes! I'll teach it to Shanhe when we go back."

"Don't! She’s already so fierce; I’m already afraid of her!" Chunfeng waved his fan frantically.

"Yun Xiao! Xue’er has a secret that only Heaven knows, Earth knows, and Xue’er knows—but you do not!" Lu Xue said, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Speak!" Yun Xiao demanded.

"Forty thousand years ago, Xue’er did die once, and it was not by a natural heavenly tribulation," Lu Xue said.

"I know," Yun Xiao replied. "I saw the inscriptions on the Wuji Cauldron while I was in the Netherworld. It was the God of Slaughter who summoned the thunder tribulation to do it."

Lu Xue burst into tears. "No! That’s not it at all!"

"What exactly happened!" Yun Xiao asked.

My mind was clear, and I had already guessed what she was about to say. "Husband, do not listen to her ramblings; the past is gone."

"You wicked woman! Xue’er wants everyone to be the judge! You won’t let me speak because you want to snatch my husband at the wedding and occupy my nest—you are feeling guilty!" Lu Xue cried.

"Feier, let her speak," Yun Xiao said.

"It was you!" Lu Xue looked at Yun Xiao, gritting her teeth.

"Back then, the Heavenly Palace believed you were the Heavy Star and I was the Red Flame Demon Star, and they wanted you to kill me to eliminate future troubles. The God of Slaughter discovered that you and Chunfeng had conspired to save me, so he privately told me, ‘The Red Flame rises, the Heavy Star falls. The Red Flame Demon Star is a chaotic divine artifact that melts the heavens and earth, and it must be destroyed by the Heavy Star.’ The Heavenly Palace had confirmed I was the Red Flame Demon Star and insisted that you must be the one to kill me. If I didn’t die, you would suffer the tribulation and perish. The God of Slaughter is your uncle and the deity in charge of life and death; Xue’er had no choice but to believe him. For the sake of your survival, I confessed to the crime, spat out the Restorative Pill you gave me, sealed my Profound Crystal Sword, and let you execute me! Do you know the grievance and bitterness Xue’er felt at that time! On Wushan Cliff, the God of Slaughter saw my soul lingering near you and used three bolts of thunder and fire to scatter my spirit. It took me forty thousand years to recover! Han Qing! Can you still be so fickle and discard the old for the new!" Lu Xue said sorrowfully.

Yun Xiao gripped my hand tightly; his hand was trembling.

"What she says is unverified and no one knows the truth; it must be fabricated, do not take it to heart," I said to Yun Xiao, not daring to look him in the eye.

"This matter is known only to me. If Han Qing doesn't believe it, then I have no choice but to accept it. Only the laughter of the new is seen, not the tears of the old. After searching for forty thousand years, I have only found a heartless man," Lu Xue wept.

"Since you are the only one who knows, you can say whatever you like. Whether people believe it or not is not up to you!" I argued with Lu Xue, not wanting him to believe this story.

"You disguised yourself as a man to become Han Qing’s disciple, betraying your master and destroying your ancestors to bewitch him! Yun Xiao held a ghost wedding with me forty thousand years ago. Even if you have children, I, Lu Xue, am his lawful wife! You are nothing but a concubine who steals what belongs to others!" Lu Xue declared righteously.

The crowd began to whisper.

"Yun Xiao, if it’s a dilemma, why not take them both? After all, it was a love affair, and she has done so much for you. You were married, after all; it wouldn't be right not to take her," Deity Kaiyuan whispered to the master.

"Kaiyuan, stop being foolish!" Deity Wuxiang scolded.

"Xue’er has not borne any of Han Qing’s children, but I am willing to be a concubine!" Lu Xue shouted.

"I am not willing!" Yun Xiao said, holding my hand tightly.

"Ah!" A fresh wave of uproar erupted among the immortals.

"Changyang, lend me the Mirror of Two Lives," Deity Wuxiang said.

Princess Changyang gave the mirror to Deity Wuxiang. He held it up and summoned Lu Xue. "Come, you, take a look!"

Lu Xue saw that her current soul appeared as Lu Xue, and her past soul also appeared as Lu Xue. Lu Xue wept, "It really is me. Yun Xiao, why won’t you admit it? Do you have some hidden pain?"

"You think too much," Yun Xiao said coldly.

"Little disciple, come over and take a look," Deity Wuxiang said.

I stood before the mirror. In this life, I was Yu Feier; in my past life, I was also Yu Feier.

"Deity, I’ve already shown them. One is Lu Xue, and the other is Yu Feier," Princess Changyang said.

"Sigh, you don't know how to use it! That was just reflecting the image, not the heart. This mirror is the treasure of my Wuxiang Palace, meant to observe the true heart and true appearance of past and present lives. When the Buzhou Mountain pillar collapsed, it fell and broke into two halves, each reincarnating into your parents. This mirror isn't just for faces! You have to look at the heart!" Deity Wuxiang said helplessly.

"You, little disciple, come here, come to me." Deity Wuxiang had me and Lu Xue stand side-by-side. He stepped back a few paces, faced us, and pressed the two halves of the mirror against his face—the past-life mirror facing outward, the present-life mirror facing inward. He removed the mask from behind the mirror, and suddenly the stars within the glass began to shift, revealing the past in vivid detail!

"Before Nüwa repaired the heavens, it was prophesied: 'When the Red Flame rises, the Heavy Star shall fall.' It was foretold that the Red Flame Demon Star would emerge, capable of using chaotic artifacts to melt the world and cause catastrophe, and that it must be destroyed by the power of the Heavy Star.

"Bai Ze and his sister Bai Ru were displaced by war, starving and freezing on the roadside, when they were saved by Han Qing. Han Qing cared for them diligently, and Bai Ru secretly developed feelings for Han Qing. Unexpectedly, Han Qing met Lu Xue and promised his life to her. Bai Ru grew jealous and resentful of Lu Xue, torturing herself daily until she was nearly mad, complaining that she wasn't as beautiful because she had suffered hunger as a child, and complaining that Bai Ze, as Han Qing’s attendant, could not help his own sister find happiness.

"On the Bright Summit of the thirty-three heavens, two divine stars shone brilliantly! The Heavenly Palace investigated and found that one was Han Qing’s star, bright and pure, and the other was Lu Xue’s, burning with intense heat. Although not fully mature, they already possessed divine potential. The Heavenly Emperor, the God of Slaughter, and the Sea Kings of the Four Seas determined that Han Qing’s star was the Heavy Star and Lu Xue’s was the prophesied Red Flame Demon Star. The three gods secretly plotted; Princess Changyang was tasked with reporting Lu Xue for treason, so that Han Qing could execute her to fulfill the prophecy. Lu Xue was captured. Yun Xiao and Chunfeng plotted to save her, but Bai Ru overheard and told the God of Slaughter. Fearing that if Lu Xue lived, Yun Xiao would suffer a tribulation and perish, the God of Slaughter told Lu Xue the truth, urging her to accept the blame and be executed by the ‘Heavy Star’ to calm the situation. Otherwise, if the Heavenly Army were involved, Yun Xiao would surely fight to the death and suffer the extinction tribulation.

"Helpless, Lu Xue confessed, accepted the blame, spat out the Restorative Pill Yun Xiao gave her, and sealed the protective power of the Profound Crystal Sword..."

Chunfeng covered Little White’s eyes.

"At the Execution Platform, Lu Xue was executed... the heavens manifested signs, and snow fell in June..."

Yun Xiao watched the mirror, his heart shattered... I stepped in front of his line of sight and smiled at him.

"Han Qing believed Lu Xue was only feigning death. Following Han Qing’s plan, Bai Ze placed Lu Xue on Wushan Cliff to watch over her. Unexpectedly, Lu Xue’s star did not fade but burned ever brighter, her soul refusing to leave. The God of Slaughter saw this and summoned three bolts of thunder to simulate a natural tribulation, scattering Lu Xue’s soul. Bai Ze, seeing this, had an idea: since Lu Xue was dead, he would take her appearance and the essence of her memories to replace his sister Bai Ru’s. This would fulfill his sister’s wish and also comfort Yun Xiao. Thus, Bai Ze secretly sacrificed twenty thousand years of cultivation and lifespan, using bone and horn to create a vessel to contain Lu Xue’s appearance and memories.

"After Lu Xue died, her soul was scattered by the God of Slaughter. Because she was a star of rebirth, her soul gathered again. However, having lost her appearance and memory essence, she could not be reborn as Lu Xue. Instead, through fate, she absorbed the initial essence of a twin lotus, forming the primordial essence that would become Yu Feier. Yu Feier’s initial essence saw Han Qing on Wushan Cliff, mourning Lu Xue’s death and sealing his celestial body before leaping off the cliff. She did not recognize him, yet felt a strange familiarity and sorrow, wanting to stop him but lacking the strength.

"After Lu Xue’s death, the three gods suffered their own great tribulations, realizing they had wrongly executed a divine star and caused a great catastrophe, and they perished.

"Yu Feier’s soul drifted between heaven and earth, taking nearly forty thousand years to truly fuse and take the form of a raven, growing to three thousand years old. By then, Han Qing had become the Great Deity Yun Xiao of the Yuqing Realm. Yu Feier was recognized by Deity Wuxiang and thrown onto Kunlun Mountain. Amidst the flying snow on the Peak of Pursuit, she saw Deity Yun Xiao repairing the Heavenly Gap. Recalling the memories from when her soul re-fused, she sprinted to save him but, lacking power, fell off the cliff, only to be rescued by Deity Yun Xiao.

"Bai Ru, upon learning that Bai Ze had retrieved Lu Xue’s appearance and memory essence, was ecstatic. She replaced her soul and integrated them, enduring forty thousand years of bone-shattering pain. When she awoke, she no longer recognized her brother Bai Ze, and relying on those stolen memories, she went to Hundred Flower Island."

Deity Wuxiang put the mask back on and withdrew the Mirror of Two Lives. "The Heavy Star was originally a pair of yin and yang stars—the Star of Rebirth and the Star of Light—shining together to resist the Red Flame Demon Star. Forty-three thousand years ago, they should have become gods together, but because they were misidentified by the three gods, they were forced into mutual destruction, leading to the gods' own demise. The two stars also suffered their own tribulations due to that error. Now that their true hearts are clear and their tribulations are at an end, it is a joyous and celebratory occasion."

The immortals were enlightened and sighed with deep emotion.

I let out a sigh, feeling a mix of emotions... I thought of how foolish and wronged I had been as Lu Xue, it was so embarrassing. Fortunately, there was nothing romantic in the mirror, otherwise, with so many immortals present, including Chunfeng and my child... it would have been mortifying... I lowered my head, secretly relieved. Just as I thought this, my body jolted. Yun Xiao had used his magic to pull me toward him, and unable to suppress the deep emotion in his heart, he kissed me! I was stunned...

It was the same lips, the same scent, the same feeling as the wedding night in the Netherworld... He held me tightly, kissing me with deep affection... Our tears of sorrow and joy mingled together...

"Little White, you shouldn't see this!" Chunfeng remarked, covering Little White’s eyes again.

"Master is really letting go!" the eleventh senior brother whispered, covering his mouth to the fifteenth senior brother.

"When love reaches its peak!" the fifteenth senior brother exclaimed in admiration.

Yun Xiao looked at me with red-rimmed eyes. "You were a fool before, and you're still a fool now. I will protect you; you don't need to protect me!"

"I’m missing a soul, after all... kissing me in front of so many people..." I lowered my head, my face blushing. I thought to myself that this wedding had turned into such a massive commotion, and now my past and present held no more secrets.

"Forty-three thousand, five hundred and twelve years—even if her appearance has changed and her memories were lost! Her heart has never changed! My heart has never changed!" Yun Xiao said firmly.

Little White pushed aside Chunfeng’s hand and giggled.

"Laughing! Your father has been heartbroken! And you're so happy! You heartless child!" Chunfeng glared.

"Father wasn't heartbroken, he always liked playing with Auntie Shanhe," Little White said.

"Don't mention that idiot to me!" Chunfeng finished speaking, then suddenly realized Jiang Wu had been to the island, and asked nervously, "Little White! Jiang Wu didn't do anything to her, did she!"

"Oh! I forgot to tell Father..." Little White cried out.

"What happened!" Chunfeng asked anxiously.

"Hehe... nothing much, Auntie has been sleeping the whole time, snoring loud enough to shake the sky."

Chunfeng muttered, "Oh, how did she become so pathetic even after turning into a fairy..."

"And she’s drooling," Little White added.

"Oh my! When she was a little beast, she was always getting snot and drool all over me, how is she still like this..." Chunfeng said with disgust.

"And she’s farting," Little White laughed.

"Ah! So that’s why she stopped talking! She switched to farting! She’s hopeless!" Chunfeng groaned.