Nirvana, rebirth...
Images that seemed familiar flashed through Ling Yao's mind.
"Yes, yes, nirvana, he can still live, he can still live!"
Ling Yao smiled, the giant red lotus totem behind her suddenly retracted into her body, and Emperor Mingde fell heavily from the sky, the energy flowing through him disappearing without a trace.
The dark clouds in the sky gradually dissipated.
Ling Yao rushed towards the altar.
Faster, faster.
Xiao Shan would soon come back to life, he would be fine, he would not be injured, he would not die in battle, he would return triumphantly as he always had, welcomed and revered by the people.
Lei Hua and the imperial guards surrounded Emperor Mingde.
"Your Majesty, are you alright?"
Emperor Mingde's jade crown had fallen, his dark hair covered his face, his appearance completely disheveled, with deep red marks on his neck.
His face was pale and stiff, and he pushed Lei Hua away, looking at the Great Shaman.
"Great Shaman, can one truly achieve nirvana and be reborn?"
"Nirvana is possible, but rebirth is not guaranteed. One might perish and enter the next cycle. The state of Jing will also be plagued by disaster until the next divine maiden appears."
The Great Shaman looked at Emperor Mingde with disappointment. Why would His Majesty do such a thing to his sister, with whom they had been so close in their childhood?
To preserve their sibling harmony and jointly govern the state of Jing, the late emperor had even granted him special permission to enter and exit the Phoenix Palace at will.
Why did he so vehemently reject Xiao Shan?
Could it be that he had mistaken the Divine Lord of Dayao?
The Great Shaman swayed.
"Master, be careful," the young disciple quickly supported him.
Emperor Mingde was ashen-faced; he regretted it, truly regretted it.
He was willing to give his life in exchange, only begging that his imperial sister would be safe.
The state of Jing could do without anyone, but it could not do without her.
He had always doted on his imperial sister, unable to bear seeing her suffer. Why, why, in the end, was it him who hurt her?
He ran towards the altar.
The altar had already lit up, and Ling Yao could feel the surging energy fluctuations beneath her feet, like an electric current, a familiar sensation.
She opened her arms, and strange words flowed from her mouth. On the ground beneath her feet, points of light began to emerge.
Like fireflies in the night, like the brilliance of moonlight, more and more appeared.
Then, all the points of light began to surge into her body madly.
Radiant light illuminated her sacred and serene face.
People saw her as a god, a god above all beings.
They prayed to the gods when they had desires.
But gods also have desires, and she had her own reliance, her own god.
Now, her god was dead.
She wanted him to live.
On the altar, light enveloped everything, and the figure within could finally not be seen. Dazzling fragments of light spun, and the forest behind was ravaged, trees bending in the opposite direction.
The colorful clouds that appeared in the sky formed a giant vortex, like a gaping maw, ready to swallow the entire capital at any moment.
Emperor Mingde and the officials were blocked by a powerful airflow that tore at their faces.
"Little sister, little sister..."
Amidst the chaotic airflow, an ancient divine voice echoed through the sky.
"I want this time and space to reverse, time to flow backward."
The towering pillar of light, freed from its constraints, exploded like fireworks, bursting from the altar, out of the imperial palace, and towards wherever it could reach.
Emperor Mingde and the ministers, along with everything in the imperial palace, gradually distorted.
Jiangbei Prince's Estate
Feng Shihao lay on the bed, playing with Nan Xing, trying to distract himself and desperately ignoring the person behind him.
Qu Linglong lifted a corner, revealing his whipped buttocks, then looked in horror as her hand, which was applying medicine, froze and disappeared...
The Saha Desert, at the border between Jing and the Turks
The dying Crown Prince of the Turks moved his chapped lips as he looked at the woman struggling to drag him.
"Fool, can you not leave this Prince alone?"
The woman in front paid no heed. The rope on her back cut into her tender shoulders, and the wind and sand of the desert had dried her clear and beautiful face like a wilted flower.
"Qing He..."
"Shut up!"
Qing He stumbled, then suddenly seemed to sense something and looked into the distance, where sand and wind seemed to be rolling in.
Was she really going to die here?
The next moment, a strong wind swept over her. When the wind passed, the desert remained, and the person was gone without a trace.
Border Mountain Pass
Xiao Shan lay on his back amidst a pile of corpses. The surroundings were quiet, the sky was a brilliant blue, without a single cloud. Birds chirped near his ears.
The smell of blood masked the fragrance of flowers.
But he could smell it.
In his heart.
In his mind, there was an image.
A fence, a woman, a black dog.
He returned from hunting, and she greeted him in the sunset, smiling softly, as beautiful as a painting.
He had lost an arm, could he still go back? He wasn't good-looking to begin with, and now he was even uglier.
He married her with nothing. He had intended to hold another wedding ceremony upon his return, but now it was all ruined. They would only laugh at her.
How could a divine maiden marry an incomplete man?
Alas, he remembered, on their wedding night, they hadn't drunk the nuptial wine. He was too eager for the bridal chamber. How annoying, why hadn't they drunk it?
He felt so regretful.
His severed arm had long gone numb, and he couldn't feel the pain. But why could he feel it now? The blood in his body was churning, what was happening? Had something entered his body, making it as hot as boiling water?
Wait, no, no.
He had only lost one arm, why was the other one also disappearing?
And his legs, his legs, why were they all starting to vanish?
Oh no, wouldn't that make him a human statue?
The mountain of corpses disappeared, the blood vanished, and the grass was lush green, with butterflies fluttering, clean and fresh.
The hellish battlefield vanished like a dream, leaving no trace.
The only constant was the still blue sky.
Birds flew overhead, two-headed, green and crimson, with wings spread and tails cocked, known as Bi Yi Birds.
...
Five hundred years ago, the world was newly pacified.
The Feng clan established the state of Jing, with the national title of Great Jing. Feng Li Yuan ascended the throne at the age of forty, and his reign was named Ding Kang.
In a dilapidated mountain village southwest of Jing.
An eight-year-old girl was driven away. The villagers regarded her as a monster because of her pair of enchanting red eyes.
A kind-hearted aunt threw her a bun from a distance.
"Child, hurry and leave. Find a cave to live in, and don't go to crowded places, or you'll be burned as a monster."
The girl's clothes were tattered and ill-fitting, making her look like a little beggar. She picked up the bun from the ground dazedly. It was black and hard to bite. Her beautiful eyes were filled with confusion.
This place was different from her previous home.
Mother said she would live here from now on.
However, it was really dirty and messy, and the climate was not warm. She didn't like it at all.
Her clothes had been burned when she fell, and she felt a little cold.
But she couldn't go back.
Her homeland was destroyed.
It was all the Ma clan's fault. They were malicious. Father had treated them so well, yet they were still so greedy, insisting on taking what did not belong to them.
That battle was a chaotic, dark, and chaotic affair. The Red Lotus Karmic Fire and the World-Ending Black Lotus had dried up the water of the entire cold pond.
Father and her three elder brothers were dead, and all the clan members were dead.
The homeland was devastated, and Mother said that the Sea Spirit Heaven was about to explode.
She had to leave.