Chapter 131

Luo Han carried a Bodhi Wood Token—a relic given to her by the Black Tortoise during the Celestial Era. She now drew it out and channeled her spiritual power into it. A faint green light began to glow, pulsing gently before detaching from the token. The lights floated like fireflies, dispersing into the surrounding trees.
Trees could not walk, but their vast root networks allowed them to pass messages swiftly across great distances.
As Luo Han worked, Ling Qingxiao lowered his gaze and noticed the item in her hand. He remembered, when she fell into the era of the great celestial-demon war, she had also been holding that token.
Could this be the key to her return? He glanced at it, then silently looked away.
The Bodhi Tree did not reveal itself. All they could do now was wait. Luo Han sighed. “I hope it hears me this time.”
“You’ve tried to find it before?”
Luo Han shot him a sidelong glance. If Ling Qingxiao was trying to probe information, he really was relentless. Still, she kept her expression calm. “Yes. We even went all the way to the East Sea. But came back empty-handed.”
“What do you want to ask?”
“Something related to inner demons,” Luo Han turned to Ling Qingxiao. “What do you think a heart demon truly is?”
This version of Ling Qingxiao was far more difficult to deal with, but Luo Han had to admit, his cultivation had soared. In both cultivation realm and mental discipline, he was no longer the youth she once knew. Before she had been flung across time, she’d spent countless hours worrying about his heart demon. If she could hear what he thought of it now, it might illuminate a solution.
“Every cultivator harbors a heart demon. Born of one’s own desires, it reflects the self, whatever lies hidden in the heart, the demon takes that shape,” Ling Qingxiao said slowly, sensing her intent. “In truth, it’s not unique to cultivators. Mortals have heart demons too, though they call them by another name, the Seven Sorrows of Life. But for those with long lifespans: immortals, demons, spirits, the temptations are deeper. The longer you live, the more seeds of desire take root. If left unresolved, they fester. And that...becomes the heart demon.”
Luo Han fell into silence. Ling Qingxiao didn’t press her, simply walking beside her in quiet company. After a while, she asked softly, “If one day...you had a heart demon, what would you do?”
Ling Qingxiao’s expression flickered. So...the one with the heart demon was him?
He found himself curious, what kind of demon would he produce?
Fame, wealth, power...he already had it all. Even when Luo Han first saw him here, she had been surprised at how much he had changed, but not at all that he had become the Celestial Emperor. It seemed that, in every version of the story, he had ascended the throne.
Which made the question more intriguing: for someone like him, who had reached the summit of the world, what else could he possibly want and not have?
The answer, perhaps, was love.
Instead of answering, Ling Qingxiao countered, “If one wishes to dispel a demon, one must first know its origin. Tell me, if I were to fall prey to a heart demon...what would it be for?”
Luo Han narrowed her eyes. Talking to this Ling Qingxiao required constant vigilance. She gave a vague hum, buying time, refusing to walk into his trap.
At that moment, a faint breeze stirred. A few leaves fluttered down from the branches, tracing a curved arc through the air, then all turned in the same direction, drawn by some unseen force.
Luo Han’s eyes lit up. “The Bodhi Tree!”
Ever since Luo Han had vanished from the battlefield, the Bodhi Tree had been restless, constantly monitoring the frontlines with worry. The moment it felt her call, it responded with overwhelming relief.
But its joy didn’t last. The instant it saw the man standing behind her, every leaf on its body gave a subtle, instinctive shudder.
The Bodhi Tree glanced at Luo Han, then at Ling Qingxiao, its branches stiffened with dread. For now, it would remain still. It needed time to reassess: what was the connection between Heavenly Dao and the Celestial Emperor?
Ling Qingxiao strolled forward at a measured pace. Not long ago, they had faced off in combat but now he stood before the Bodhi Tree, poised and composed, regal without being overbearing.
He nodded politely. “Senior Bodhi.”
As if it hadn’t been him who almost severed the tree’s roots with a single palm not long ago.
The Bodhi Tree’s leaves rustled nervously. It was unsure whether it could accept such a gesture. After a long pause, it returned the greeting. “Your Majesty, Celestial Emperor.”
The formalities exchanged, Luo Han sensed the tension and quickly changed the subject. “Bodhi Tree, I’ve searched long and hard for you. I’m glad we’ve finally met again.”
The leaves turned to face her. “What does Heavenly Dao seek?”
With Ling Qingxiao present, she couldn’t ask about her journey across time. So she focused on the pressing matter: the ancient forbidden art.
“There are fragments of the Demon God sealed within the forbidden technique,” she said. “His death...was a decision I made. Since I was the one who started this, I must be the one to end it. He died filled with hatred, and the seal was something I insisted upon. If he hates me, I have no excuse, but I won’t allow that hatred to poison the world and bring suffering to the Six Realms.”
As she spoke, both Ling Qingxiao and the Bodhi Tree looked at her in astonishment. Luo Han stood firm, her expression calm, but her tone was resolute.
Only now did she fully grasp what Xiheng had once told her: that the reason she could travel through time was because she was bound by karma to the past. Otherwise, the cycle would never have begun.
It had all started with the forbidden technique. That was the thread that had pulled her back into the Great War between gods and demons. Sent into the past to prevent the world from falling into ruin.
Yet everything she did after her return only served to solidify the future she was trying to change. She met the Demon God in the past. He tried again and again to kill her. In the end, she struck first, eliminating him to prevent future harm.
Later, to ensure he never rose again, she insisted on sealing him entirely.
That seal...became the very forbidden technique of the present age. The very problem she was trying to solve was born of her actions.
The Demon God hated her for it. He didn’t just want revenge on her, he wanted to burn the world to the ground, just to make her suffer. Everything had come full circle.
And yet...even if she could go back, Luo Han would make the same decision again. There was no avoiding it. If she had to face it, then so be it.
If the spirit in the Jade Purity Vase wanted her dead, she’d make the first move. Even among gods, only strength dictated right and wrong.
Luo Han’s words revealed many truths. The Bodhi Tree was deeply shaken. It hadn’t yet gained sentience during the ancient war and had no idea that the death of the Demon God was Luo Han’s doing.
Its shock eventually settled into understanding. “So that’s why...the forbidden technique has resurfaced at this exact moment. Everything was fated.”
Luo Han let out a quiet breath. “Yes.”
She had traveled through time at this precise point. Met Ling Qingxiao at this precise moment. Together, in the past, they had slain the Demon God. Now, he returned, seeking vengeance and nearly succeeded in turning them against one another.
If she hadn’t fallen for Ling Qingxiao during those days in the past, the two of them, by identity and position should have been bitter enemies now.
Karma runs deep. No one is exempt from its cycle.
Ling Qingxiao had remained silent throughout. This was her moment with the Bodhi Tree, and he, still seen as a threat by it, knew better than to interrupt.
But when he heard her murmur everything was destined, a flicker passed through his heart. So it was true. His suspicion...was right all along.
The other soul trapped within the Jade Purity Vase, the one that carried such bitter hatred was his. The man Luo Han had once encountered in the past, the one she had met, known, and fallen in love with was him.
Ling Qingxiao lowered his gaze, hiding the storm behind his eyes. If Luo Han truly understood him better, she wouldn’t have said all this in front of him. She had tried to hide the identity of “the other man” in her story, but she had underestimated the Emperor of Heaven.
His knowledge of time and space ran far deeper than she imagined. She thought he couldn’t hear the truth behind her words, but in truth he could.
She had unknowingly laid bare everything. Luo Han reacted slowly, and she’d completely forgotten to guard herself against certain...notoriously cunning races. For instance, the dragon clan.
Still wholly focused on the Bodhi Tree, she asked seriously, “You stayed beside the Earth Sovereign the longest. After she sealed the Demon God, did she leave behind any treasures? Maybe something to repair the Jade Purity Vase or even greater divine artifacts?”
Luo Han felt awkward asking, but she had no choice. She couldn’t handle a corrupted Demon God on her own. All she could do was dig through the inheritance of ancient seniors, hoping to win by, well, borrowing power from the ancestors.
She remembered once seeing the Bodhi Tree beside Nuwa. That had been just after she was rescued from the Void Domain, she’d awakened beside the Mirror Platform, where a tiny green sapling had grown. Back then, the Bodhi Tree hadn’t awakened its divine consciousness. It didn’t speak, didn’t move, just a small, silent sprout.
While Luo Han had jumped through time again and again, the Bodhi Tree had remained rooted in one world. If any being understood Nuwa’s legacy best, it was this one.
The Bodhi Tree rustled, thoughtful.
“Many years ago,” it said, “when the Earth Sovereign fell, she left me with one final instruction. If, in the distant future, I encountered the right person, I was to pass on a message. For a long time, I didn’t understand what she meant by the ‘right person.’ But now, seeing Heavenly Dao before me, I finally understand.”
Luo Han went still. Nuwa had left her a message? They had only met twice. Luo Han thought the goddess had long forgotten her.
Her chest tightened. “What did the Earth Sovereign wish to say?”
“She said: 'To be benevolent, is to be human.' In her life, she achieved both merit and mistakes. After death, she left all things to be judged by the Wheel of Reincarnation. All except for one.”
Luo Han asked cautiously, “Her descendants?”
“No,” said the Bodhi Tree. “The human race.”
Luo Han was stunned.
Nuwa had molded mankind from clay, but humans weren’t her true kin. And yet...in her heart, they ranked even above her own bloodline?
“What was she worried about?” Luo Han asked.
“She created humanity, yet pitied their suffering—their frailty. So she established the cycle of reincarnation, allowing their souls to endure. Every time she formed a person from clay, she counted one grain of sand. In time, those sands fused into a great stone. That stone absorbed the essence of heaven and earth and eventually split itself into three parts. Nuwa, seeing its emerging spirit, placed it in the Underworld to guard the cycle of rebirth.
“She said...if one day I found the destined person, I was to ask them to go to the Underworld and check if the Reincarnation Stone still endures.”
The Reincarnation Stone? Nuwa wanted her to go to the Underworld just...to check on a stone?
Luo Han didn’t know what to make of it but still nodded. “All right.”
The Bodhi Tree had wanted to ask Luo Han more, what she had done during her time travel, but the presence of Ling Qingxiao made it hold back.
Luo Han rose to leave. “Then I’ll head to the Underworld. I won’t fail the Earth Sovereign’s request. Take care of yourself, Bodhi Tree.”
“Thank you. But...the Underworld is layered with illusion and mist. Heavenly Dao must proceed with caution.” The Bodhi Tree’s leaves shivered again. Then it asked casually, “By the way...there’s a tracking spell on you. What’s that about?”
Luo Han froze.
Tracking spell? What tracking spell?
“You...didn’t know?” The Bodhi Tree’s voice was full of surprise.
Luo Han slowly turned her head to Ling Qingxiao.
He stood there, composed as ever, calm and radiant, a paragon of serenity.
Luo Han clenched her jaw. But she didn’t want the Bodhi Tree to grow more suspicious of Ling Qingxiao. So she smiled and said lightly, “I knew. I added it myself, just in case I got lost.”
She defended him in front of others. But the moment they stepped outside, her smile vanished and her voice turned sharp.
“You put a tracking spell on me?”
“Mhm,” Ling Qingxiao admitted calmly.
She was furious. “Why?”
“In case of emergencies.”
“You’ve had me under your nose these past few days. Every move I make, you know! What exactly are you guarding against?”
“You.”
Luo Han was speechless.
He raised a hand, easily lifting the tracking spell. “There. It’s gone. If you don’t like it, I won’t use it.”
Then, in that same infuriatingly familiar tone of his, he added, “The Underworld isn’t easy for the living to access. The best time is during Ghost Gate Opening, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. That gives us four months to prepare. In the meantime, let’s go to Mount Dushuo.”
There, a ghost gate existed, connecting the world of the living to the dead.
Luo Han instinctively nodded, took two steps, then suddenly paused. “Wait. Who said I’m going with you?”
“Don’t make a fuss,” Ling Qingxiao replied mildly, drawing several talismans in midair. Golden light sealed them as he dispatched each one toward the outside world.
Luo Han originally didn’t want to pay him any mind, but couldn’t help asking, “What are you doing?”
“Ordering a retreat. Holding the front lines in a constant state of readiness invites mistakes. We’ll fall back to camp. Once I return from the Underworld, we’ll decide what comes next.”
Her eyes flickered. “I can go by myself…”
Four months until Ghost Gate opened. Luo Han had time, she could wait. Ling Qingxiao didn’t need to waste it alongside her.
But the moment she opened her mouth, Ling Qingxiao cut her off. “It’s fine. Nothing urgent. Waiting a little won’t hurt. But letting you enter the Underworld alone, that would be reckless.”
Luo Han said nothing. She glanced back toward the Heavenly Court, toward the battle lines, and felt a pang of guilt. It truly felt like she had kidnapped the Celestial Emperor himself, what a sin.
Though Ling Qingxiao seemed calm and leisurely after sending out a few initial messages, spending his days touring scenic mountains and rivers with Luo Han like a refined immortal untouched by mortal dust, Luo Han knew better.
He wasn’t idle for a moment. He continued to receive and send countless messages daily, only concealing all his arrangements from her view. Which only made Luo Han feel more guilty.
Mount Dushuo was located in the mortal realm. Due to its lush scenery and bustling connections, it had gradually developed into a thriving city. Unlike the immortal realm, the people here were all mortals. Birth, aging, sickness, and death were normal; emperors and generals held power; and as for immortals, demons, and ghosts, those were just tales spun in old storybooks.
Luo Han had changed into mortal attire and wandered the streets with bright-eyed curiosity. Ling Qingxiao dressed as a young noble from a prestigious clan, elegant and dignified, standing out with his peerless grace, accompanied her in silence. A dozen imperial guards followed behind, disguised as household retainers, not drawing much attention.
The elite guards of the Heavenly Court, all handpicked from ten thousand, watched silently as their revered emperor trailed behind a young lady, strolling idly through markets and tea stalls. One guard leaned in and whispered to his companion, “What exactly are we doing?”
“…I don’t know.”
After a pause, he asked again in a hushed voice, “Then what is His Majesty doing?”
The other guard shook his head, his expression one of solemn tragedy. “No idea.”
Until today, they had all believed the Emperor was a once-in-a-millennium sovereign, rational, powerful, disciplined, open-minded, literate and martial, a perfect ruler in every respect. But now they realized: never speak too soon. Old flames burn the fiercest, and the wiser the man, the deeper he may fall when muddled.
Luo Han’s eyes lit up when she spotted a street stall full of storybooks. On her last trip to Wuyou City, her greatest regret had been not catching up on the thousands of volumes released in recent centuries. With Ling Qingxiao hovering at her side, she’d found no chance to sneak them in.
Now that they were in the mortal world, she could finally indulge.
The immortal realm had everything except decent entertainment. It was far too dull when it came to storytelling.
Ling Qingxiao stood behind her, and with his height, he could easily peer over her shoulder and see what she was picking up. Titles like The Alluring Fox and the Handsome Scholar, Scandalous Tales of the Mountain Spirits, Ten Kings Vying for Love...The corners of his eyes twitched ever so slightly.
He reminded himself that he’d long since separated himself from mortal trends, four thousand years was more than enough time to fall out of step with the younger generation. Perhaps...perhaps these were what young immortals liked now?
He stayed silent for a long time before barely convincing himself to let it go.
Luo Han’s hands were full from selecting books, so she casually handed a few to Ling Qingxiao. “Help me hold these.”
He lowered his eyes and saw the top book: Ten Kings Vying for Love, its cover decorated with the most absurdly flashy slogans. Behind them, the elite guards froze.
They stared in stunned silence as their aloof, untouchable emperor accepted the books—and even opened one to glance inside.…It’s over. Their eyes were ruined.
The stall owner was nearly out of breath from excitement. The girl was stunning, almost too beautiful to be real and the young man behind her was even more extraordinary, exuding a nobility beyond words with every movement. Just the sight of them standing together was like gazing into a painting.
The stall owner beamed and offered, “Young miss, young master, are you fans of serialized stories? These are our most popular titles lately. If you’re interested, please accept a few volumes as gifts.”
Luo Han quickly shook her head. “I couldn’t possibly…”
They didn’t lack money, and this was clearly a modest livelihood. The stall owner, seeing her hesitation, warmly pushed the books toward her. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve lived a long life with little joy, my wife and daughter passed early, and now I only have a granddaughter. My one wish is to see young couples happy and harmonious. These books aren’t worth much. If one day you grow old together, living in peace and harmony, that’s the best return I could ask for.”
Young couple? Ling Qingxiao raised a brow. For the first time, those words actually sounded...pleasant.
Luo Han hurried to explain, “We’re not a couple, you’ve misunderstood!”
Ling Qingxiao cast a glance sideways, eyes cool, clearly displeased. The stall owner, seeing this silent exchange, wasn’t sure who to believe.
Ling Qingxiao quietly stacked the books and handed them off to a waiting guard behind him. Then he placed a hand gently on Luo Han’s shoulder, cutting off her next protest. “Enough. The stall owner means well. Just accept it.”
Before she could speak again, he casually added, “May I ask, what were your wife’s and daughter’s names?”
The stall owner blinked, then instinctively answered. Before he could realize what was happening, the elegant young man before him nodded slightly and said:
“Understood. I’ll remember them. In their next life, they’ll be born into good homes.”
The stall owner was stunned. By the time he came to his senses, the two ethereal figures were already walking away. The young lady was speaking to the young man, who stood just beside her, not overly intimate, yet every move was laced with subtle protectiveness.
The old man stared for a long time, murmuring to himself, “I’ve lived most my life...Did I truly see immortals today?”
Far down the road, Luo Han finally huffed, “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“He was being kind. To refuse would’ve embarrassed him.”
“I meant something else entirely!”
Ling Qingxiao looked down at her with complete composure. “What else?”
Luo Han fumed silently for a while before forcing herself to swallow her words. “Forget it.”
He turned his gaze away, face still cool and distant but his eyes gleamed faintly with amusement.
Her anger passed as quickly as it had come. Immersed in the mortal world’s bustling life, Luo Han sighed wistfully. “They always say the First Heaven is closest to the mortal world. But now that I’ve seen this place...the mortal world truly is different.”
Ling Qingxiao’s mood, which had been light moments before, suddenly dimmed. He asked slowly, “You’ve been to the First Heaven?”
“Of course. We happened to arrive during the Xuannu Festival—we watched the Milky Way and released lanterns on the river.”
Ling Qingxiao recognized it immediately—this was Jiuren City.
He recalled Luo Han telling him about her previous travels. Jealousy surged in his chest like a bubbling spring, though his tone remained calm and indifferent. “It’s one thing for mortals to fool themselves, but how could you believe in river lanterns? If one wishes to make a vow, why place your hopes in the Xuannu? Better to rely on yourself.”
In short, releasing river lanterns was flashy, foolish, and utterly pointless.