"My Lord."
Zhuo Ling was still somewhat dazed. Looking at the subordinate before her, she frowned and asked, "What is it?"
"The barrier showed signs of disturbance a few days ago. Someone tried to break in."
"Who?"
The person waved a hand, and a hazy barrier appeared before them, displaying the person who had charged the barrier.
It was Rong Jin.
Zhuo Ling was not surprised. "I know. Anything else?"
The person before her seemed hesitant.
"Speak your mind."
"There are rumors in the Demon Realm that... the Peak of All Gods is in turmoil. It's possible a new god might be born."
Zhuo Ling's brow furrowed, and she remained silent.
A new god born?
How many years had it been? So many gods in the God Realm had fallen. Could a new god be born?
"Alright, I understand."
She didn't pay much attention to the matter. Rong Jin was powerful. If this newly emerged god intended to trouble her, they might not be able to defeat her. At worst, there were others in the God Palace to protect them. She didn't need to worry about their safety.
The subordinate retreated, and the palace fell into a deathly silence.
Zhuo Ling was lost in thought for a while. She had intended to retrieve Chong Yan's collected soul fragments, but unexpectedly, the soul that should have been in her sea of consciousness had vanished.
She grew anxious. "What's going on?"
"My Lord?" the person who had just left asked, puzzled.
Zhuo Ling told him not to mind and communicated with the system in her mind, inquiring why those souls had disappeared.
The system was also confused. It could only guess: [Host, could it be that his soul fragments, through their mutual sensing with that world, have run over on their own?]
Zhuo Ling had long suspected that Chong Yan's body and other soul fragments were in the world the system occupied. Upon hearing this, she began to consider the possibility.
However, besides this, she truly couldn't imagine where else Chong Yan's soul could have gone other than her sea of consciousness and that world.
[Host, are you going there now?]
Zhuo Ling shook her head. "I have some matters to attend to. I'll go after I'm done."
The system then vanished on its own.
---
This was her second time setting foot in the Siming Palace. The attendant at the gate still didn't recognize her. "Who are you? This is the territory of the Siming Palace. Trespassing is forbidden."
Yao Zhu arrived just in time and chased him away.
Zhuo Ling watched the young attendant's retreating back. "Is this the successor you've trained?"
Yao Zhu smiled, his aged face bearing a kind expression. "The Divine Venerable must have encountered many interesting things in the mortal realm. You're not as... bound by rules as before."
Zhuo Ling also smiled. "Was I very bound by rules before?"
"No, there were many rules." Yao Zhu led her inside and poured her tea. "Have the doubts in the Divine Venerable's heart been resolved?"
"Almost. That's why I've come to ask you."
Yao Zhu gestured for her to speak.
Zhuo Ling stared intently at him. "Rong Jin said I once gave her my heart, but it's still here. Why?"
The smile on Yao Zhu's face froze for a moment. He didn't answer directly but asked, "Does the Divine Venerable remember the matter of Cang Lan?"
"I remember some." In fact, she had only recalled it when she encountered the Golden Dragon clan earlier.
"Ten thousand years ago, when Shen Guang ruled the Golden Dragon clan, they committed slaughter in Cang Lan. Upon learning of this, the Divine Venerable was furious and executed all the man-eating members of Shen Guang's clan. Their souls were imprisoned in the Forbidden Tower for punishment. Everyone thought the Divine Venerable was omnipotent and immensely powerful, that dealing with the Golden Dragon clan was effortless. In reality, the Divine Venerable was injured while dealing with Shen Guang."
Yao Zhu spoke slowly.
In his narration, the former Divine Venerable of the God Realm was a person bound by many rules, extremely indifferent yet fair. Because the Golden Dragon clan had eaten weaker beings, they deserved to be punished. Not only should they die, but their souls should also continue to suffer.
Shen Guang was extremely displeased and fought with her. She won, but in a moment of carelessness, her divine soul was injured by Shen Guang.
"The Divine Venerable initially didn't take this matter to heart. By the time we noticed something was wrong, the Divine Venerable had already split into two individuals with distinct personalities – one good, one evil. The good one fell in love with a young human boy."
His speaking pace quickened. "That boy was the lost pearl of the Cang Lan Human Emperor, and was bestowed the name Chong Yan by the Divine Venerable. After being brought to the God Palace with nowhere else to go, he became the attendant who served the Divine Venerable. No one knew why the Divine Venerable treated him so specially, even falling in love with him. Your other half harbored impure intentions. To eliminate future trouble, we separated you and imprisoned her in the Forbidden Tower of the Peak of All Gods. At that time, the Divine Venerable's body was damaged. Coincidentally, Rong Jin's heart was stolen by the demons of Dong Yuan, and she was on the verge of death. The Divine Venerable wanted to give her his heart. Chong Yan disagreed and voluntarily offered to give his heart to Rong Jin. At that time, all the demons were stirring, and for the sake of the greater picture, we all kept it a secret from the Divine Venerable." Su Dan Novel Network
Zhuo Ling's face had already turned grim, and her gaze towards Yao Zhu was filled with hostility.
Yao Zhu continued to speak under immense pressure. "He was a mortal. Even with divine power from being by the Divine Venerable's side for a long time, he couldn't live long without a heart. Only two kinds of beings can live without a heart: gods and demons. He willingly descended into demonhood to help the Divine Venerable eliminate the remnants of the demon race."
He paused here.
Zhuo Ling asked anxiously, "And then?"
Yao Zhu hesitated and said, "Then, while dealing with the demons of Dong Yuan, the Divine Venerable's soul was unstable, and her memory became chaotic. She forgot him."
Zhuo Ling's expression froze.
The rest of the story could be easily guessed. Zhuo Ling forgot Chong Yan, but Chong Yan still held the same admiration and trust for her as before. Thus, before long, they became entangled again.
Then, Rong Jin's jealousy grew too strong. She felt Chong Yan had willingly degenerated into a demon and secretly orchestrated everything, not only causing the battle at the Peak of All Gods but also personally killing Chong Yan.
She severed Zhuo Ling's love threads. Therefore, at that time, Zhuo Ling only knew Chong Yan's identity but had forgotten everything between them. However, she couldn't resist her inner feelings and almost descended into demonhood herself, subsequently going to the Demon Realm and never returning for ten thousand years.
After speaking, Yao Zhu let out a bitter laugh. "Rong Jin wasn't like this before. Even if she had some girlish petulance towards the Divine Venerable, she wouldn't be so ruthless. It was only after her heart was exchanged that she became like this towards the Divine Venerable... Ultimately, it's all fate."
He sighed.
After hearing his words, Zhuo Ling was unable to regain her senses for a long time.
She had no way of knowing how they had fallen in love. Perhaps only by retrieving the part of herself that had been stripped away could she know. But after hearing everything Chong Yan had done, she seemed to understand why, even after her love threads were severed, she still thought of that person.
They remained silent for a while. Yao Zhu suddenly said, "I heard there's been a disturbance at the Peak of All Gods, and it seems a new god is about to be born. Does the Divine Venerable wish to go and see?"
Zhuo Ling shook her head. "How the God Realm fares has nothing to do with me."
Yao Zhu shook his head and sighed, looking at her as if to say something, but ultimately remained silent.
Zhuo Ling didn't probe further.
She had had a few small doubts, but then she sensed a familiar energy approaching. She immediately stood up.
Yao Zhu also noticed. "Rong Jin is here."
"Don't tell her I've been here."
Yao Zhu nodded.
Zhuo Ling's form flickered, turning into a red mist and disappearing from the Siming Palace.
The next moment, Rong Jin, holding a child, flew in. "Where is my sister!"
Yao Zhu's expression was calm. "She has left."
Rong Jin's face contorted with anger.
She was late again.