Chapter 175 Kunlun
　　Beneath Kunlun Mountain, the man who had journeyed all the way from Changbai Mountain outside the pass halted his steps.

　　This man, who had extinguished the oil lamp and held a yellowed scroll in his hand, now looked up at Kunlun Mountain, his face seeming to be shrouded in a layer of mist, never quite clear.

　　"Finally found you."

　　The last of the four Heavenly Maidens, representing earth, water, wind, and fire.

　　The man murmured inwardly, unsure of his true emotions.

　　He ascended step by step.

　　On the verge of success, his heart was unexpectedly complex.

　　A plan that should have been completed long ago had been delayed because of a mortal.

　　Postponed until now.

　　That old fellow...

　　………………

　　The man recalled the final years of the Three Kingdoms period when the Jin Dynasty replaced the Wei, and Shu had already fallen.

　　The Queen Mother of the West had disappeared.

　　He tracked the aura to find the last Heavenly Maiden but never imagined that she would be with a mortal. Inside the house where the Heavenly Maiden resided, a vast and mighty Daoshu (Taoist magic) enveloped the area. This terrifying aura prevented them from capturing the Heavenly Maiden.

　　That white-haired human possessed an undeniable presence.

　　In those years, the man holding the scroll was far from recovering to his current strength.

　　So, he chose to attach himself to a nearby official, attempting to get closer. To be honest, he wanted to get even closer. If he could get close enough to directly snatch the Heavenly Maiden representing the wind of the Nine Heavens, that would be ideal.

　　But as he approached, the old man opened his eyes and calmly looked at him.

　　The flow of spiritual energy in the air, like the scales of a dragon, instinctively protected the Heavenly Maiden in the house.

　　Instead, the old man was left outside.

　　'How much do you value her to do something like this?'

　　'Aren't you afraid of death at your age?!'

　　The man, clinging to the young official, couldn't help but mutter inwardly. He had to stop, forcing a smile, and said:

　　"Old man, are you from Shu?"

　　The old man gazed at him calmly.

　　To others, it might have seemed like an awkward moment, but to the man, the atmosphere was almost terrifying. He had to grit his teeth and frantically conceal his aura, saying, "I am a historian of the court, here to investigate some things."

　　"I just saw that you have an extraordinary bearing and wanted to ask you something."

　　In the end, he saw the feather fan on the table and invoked the name of Zhuge Wuhou to get by.

　　But no one expected that the old man said nothing, only glanced at him twice, then stood up, turned, and left. With his movement, the spiritual energy of the entire world seemed to awaken, transforming into some fierce and terrifying beast, coldly overlooking him.

　　Retreat, or die.

　　He tried his best to conceal his existence, allowing the official's self-awareness to take over, dutifully questioning the old man, recording the phrase 'When Lord Ge was here, we didn't notice anything special; after Lord Ge passed away, we see nothing to compare' before leaving in a hurry, drenched in cold sweat.

　　When he turned back, he saw the Heavenly Maiden coming out of the courtyard, conversing with the old man.

　　The man separated from the possessed state.

　　Terrifying cultivation.

　　Humans have a vast base, and from it, outstanding individuals will always emerge.

　　But it didn't matter.

　　He remained calm.

　　Once that old man died, he could take the Heavenly Maiden away.

　　But no one expected...

　　The old man died.

　　But the Heavenly Maiden gained a feathered cloak.

　　…………

　　And that was the final and initial answer to that story and myth.

　　Everyone knew that the love between a Heavenly Maiden and a mortal was impossible.

　　That beautiful story was nothing but a lie.

　　The true story was that Niu Lang was just a demonically possessed mortal who secretly took the Heavenly Maiden's cloak, causing her to lose her powers. However, with the help of Du Yu, the Sili Xiaowei (Regional Commander) of that era, the possessed man was dealt with and recorded in the archives of the Wohu (Crouching Tiger) lineage.

　　But the Heavenly Maiden was still sealed.

　　And trapped within a ghostly domain and surrounded by baleful energy for over a thousand years.

　　Why?

　　Why could a mere mortal become demonically possessed by his obsession?

　　Why could a mortal's inferior cultivation after being demonically possessed truly seal the cloak?

　　Why would the Taiping Dao, which had strayed into evil, enter the ghostly domain to help the Ghost King?

　　Why, after being obtained, was one of the Seven Jade Pivot, the Taiping Essentials, used to walk the path of evil?

　　"Why..."

　　The man who had traversed the long distance from Changbai Mountain murmured. The yellowed scroll in his hand fluttered, revealing a page marked with a yellowed talisman. That page recorded the answer in simple words—

　　"The Heavenly Maiden's protective feathered cloak is formed from the Dao cultivation of the Taiping Dao's Deputy Celestial Master."

　　"How to break it?"

　　"Answer: Use the Taiping Essentials to practice evil arts, corrupt its orthodoxy, and defile its methods."

　　"Use this to break it!"

　　That was the origin of the initial story. A real person used ten years of his life to give the Heavenly Maiden a feathered cloak that allowed her to fly away from the dangers of the human world, like stretching out his arms and stiff body with all his strength, smiling as he watched the little bird fly into the sky.

　　Human desires that do not die become obsessions, but obsessions are not necessarily demonic; they can also be the final whisper.

　　"I'm already very old."

　　"But you are still young..."

　　"You should see a more distant future, meet more people, and do more things with them."

　　"It's just that those people will never be me."

　　The Heavenly Maiden flew away with the help of the feathered cloak, like a bird flying from a warm palm into the sky, towards the vast sea of clouds and the unchanging scenery of thousands of years. The human lost the strength to support himself and fell off the cliff. The bird flew towards the light, while he slowly sank, falling into the eternal night of death.

　　In order to break the old man's final gift, they had to use twisted methods to create demons from humans. They had to bring the Taiping Essentials back to the world after a thousand years and guide it towards evil, guiding these people to find the ghostly domain and the Heavenly Maiden. But for some reason, the plan still went wrong that time.

　　The man held the scroll recording the past. He scanned the words on it to confirm his memory once again. Kunlun Mountain was high, but it was nothing to someone like him. Soon, he reached the top and saw the Heavenly Maiden overlooking him.

　　Upon meeting, there was little conversation.

　　The hostility was too obvious.

　　Almost instantly, the two began to fight.

　　……………………

　　When the man came, he had considered the Heavenly Maiden's current strength.

　　Since the thousand-year seal had not been able to deplete the power of the feathered cloak, it meant that the Heavenly Maiden's origin had not been damaged. After a thousand years of growth, once she regained her breath and slowly grew, how strong would she eventually become?

　　To this end, the man had made all the preparations he could.

　　When he saw the flowing wind of the Nine Heavens surrounding the girl.

　　He raised his hand and clenched his fist. The entire Kunlun Mountain of the human world trembled for a moment. Then, with the roaring of ice and snow, the unchanging scenery of thousands of years collapsed, transforming into huge, soaring dragons made purely of ice and frost, silently roaring, fiercely biting towards the girl.

　　The battle of the gods began here.

　　Since discovering the rift leading from the *Shan Hai Jing* (Classic of Mountains and Seas) to the human world, Longhu Mountain had left disciples here to suppress and seal this place. They were all elites of the Daoist sect. When they came here, they had already prepared themselves mentally. To put it nicely, they were guarding this place; to put it bluntly, they were the first line of defense in the human world.

　　Using death to send the first warning to China.

　　At this time, when the whistling of the wind and the sharpness of the ice rang in their ears, when they saw the giant dragon in the sky, so large that it seemed to be able to swallow a mountain with ease, these men and women of the human world, holding a burning love for their country, briefly lost their ability to speak.

　　When the first astronaut saw that blue planet rotating alone in the universe, it is believed that no language could describe his feelings, because no word was born for that scene.

　　And now, humans do not know the feeling of the ancient people when they saw the gods fighting, nor can they express it.

　　Only Qin Yuan, a former convict of Longhu Mountain and now a major honey producer, was shocked by this scene, his scalp tingling.

　　Immediately followed by an extremely strong urge to cry without tears.

　　He was just here to deliver some honey and receive moral education!

　　And take a make-up exam.

　　Why did he have to encounter this kind of trouble!

　　He had clearly turned over a new leaf and hadn't smuggled fierce beasts for a long time!

　　Even if he wanted to transform into his original form and run away now, it was already a little too late. That shrill voice, with the determination of a warrior, shouted the most well-known phrase in China:

　　"Wo Gan a!!!" (A very common and vulgar Chinese curse word)

　　This was also the most proficient sentence mastered by all the *Shan Hai Jing* (Classic of Mountains and Seas) fierce beasts.

　　Every time they failed the exam, screams would echo in the dormitory building, followed by threats from the landlady's square dancing.

　　However, his localized curse awakened everyone. They were suppressed by the massive pressure and unable to move. Jue took the initiative to deviate from this settlement, but the man noticed these humans who, although weak, still drew their weapons.

　　Seeing the Heavenly Maiden driving the flowing wind in front, difficult to catch, he had a thought.

　　He raised his hand and clenched his five fingers.

　　A huge ice dragon roared as it separated, like a re-enactment of mythology, directly tearing towards this camp. The Daoists of Longhu Mountain used talismans, while some young people took out guns and fought back. Guns powerful enough to kill large beasts could not leave a single mark on the ice dragon.

　　Only Qin Yuan was filled with despair. He shouldn't have come to China. Last time, he shouldn't have stayed up late playing games, resulting in failing the exam and having to come here for a make-up exam. He clearly had 59 points; that bald teacher definitely deducted one point on purpose. Facing such an enemy, they had almost no power to fight back.

　　Death, they could only wait for death.

　　Even worse than the ducks who entered the farm and waited to become Zhou Hei Ya (a famous braised duck brand) after a month.

　　Because fried honey was worthless.

　　But these humans, who were even weaker than him, still had the courage to fight back. For some reason, this made Qin Yuan want to curse and scold them as idiots, not having any AC number (common sense), and also want to bury his face in the snow.

　　Gan o! (Another vulgar curse word)

　　These guys must have full marks in moral education!

　　This was Qin Yuan's last thought.

　　Then he thought.

　　If he failed with these guys, could they give him two points? Sixty points was passing, but sixty-one points could prove that he wasn't let off by that bald guy. That was called dignity.

　　Just at this moment, the aura of wind rose in the sky.

　　A refreshing feeling smoothed the fear in their hearts. Qin Yuan and these young men and women looked up and saw that the final bullet trajectories were ruthlessly bounced off by the ice dragon, but a piece of cyan light gathered in front of them. A girl with a gentle and fair face stood in front of the huge ice dragon, with cyan energy gathering from all directions, then swirling around, like a huge cocoon.

　　The girl exerted a slight force with her five fingers.

　　Then the huge, translucent cyan cocoon opened.

　　Giant wings, each feather like the most exquisite jade, swept across the magnificent Kunlun Mountains when unfolded, causing the sea of clouds to disperse. In an instant, the sky was like the cleanest mirror, reflecting the human world. The ice dragon was shattered piece by piece, disappearing silently. A young girl with some freckles on her face touched her cheek.

　　Like snow, it didn't hurt at all.

　　Then her body soared up, carried away by the wind.

　　They were stunned, then immediately realized that they had been saved. But the girl in white was thus exposed to the remaining giant ice dragons, exposed to absolute danger.

　　The man's eyes were cold and calm. He did not care about the escape of the mortals, only carrying the information that he was about to succeed. Jue raised her hand and shook it. At this moment, the only magical artifact in her hand, the feathered cloak, appeared, emitting the talismans of the Taiping Essentials, resisting the biting of the giant dragons.

　　But soon, the man had another dragon in his hand.

　　He knew the limit of that feathered cloak very well.

　　Just at this moment, a skinny bee, almost like a bullet being fired, flapping its little wings like a dog rushing towards its food bowl, rushed through the gap and appeared beside Jue.

　　Qin Yuan felt that he must be crazy.

　　Or it was the influence of those moral education scores that the guys were talking about.

　　Qin Yuan, who had been brewing honey in Kunlun Mountain for generations, thought he must be as brave and fearless as those Kunlun divine servants, but in reality, he was just shouting in Jue's ear with a voice that was scared to death: "Go to the left rear, that side can go directly to the *Shan Hai Jing* (Classic of Mountains and Seas)!"

　　Such a shout restored his voice to its heroic female tone.

　　The Qin Yuan were a race of demonic beasts that brewed honey for the gods.

　　And as everyone knows, the worker bees that brew honey are originally female.

　　"Trust me!"

　　Qin Yuan tried hard to show his professionalism, wishing he could pat his flat chest and swear an oath to the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors:

　　"I'm a repeat offender!"

　　"The kind that's been caught by Wohu!"

　　It seemed that the second sentence moved Jue. The girl moved, and the cyan flowing wind carried her towards the *Shan Hai Jing* (Classic of Mountains and Seas) crack. Qin Yuan was pulled by the flowing wind and flew beside the girl. He stared wide-eyed, staring at the front. The *Shan Hai Jing* (Classic of Mountains and Seas) crack would change, but for an old driver like her, she could find the general rules.

　　The cold air behind was getting heavier and heavier.

　　Qin Yuan gritted her teeth and shouted, "Forward, on that stone wall, fly over!"

　　Jue did not hesitate and flew over instantly.

　　The ice dragon bit from behind, the feathered cloak almost unable to support it. At this moment, half of a thumb ring hanging on the side of the girl's robe suddenly lit up. This flowing light poured into the cloak, instantly making the precarious defense perfect and blocking all the ice dragons.

　　Then, in an instant, she flew into the crack.

　　It was not until this time that Qin Yuan, who claimed to be an old driver, realized in horror—

　　He had pointed the wrong way!

　　Crash!

　　Outside Kunlun, the man watched the girl leave, frowning slightly. The huge ice dragon hovered beside him. He stretched out his hand, and the ice dragon obediently put something in his palm. It was the trophy he had just torn off.

　　Half a bronze thumb ring.

　　……………………

　　Jue only felt a change in the scene before her eyes.

　　It took a long time to barely open her eyes, and then she was stunned—what was before her was not the rough-style architecture commonly seen in the *Shan Hai Jing* (Classic of Mountains and Seas), but a very charming and exquisite city. Among the people coming and going, there were many who were not demon beasts, but also different from the Shenzhou (China) human race of the human world.

　　Old driver Qin Yuan fainted beside her.

　　He was scared.

　　Jue confirmed that he was fine, then raised her head to look at the plaque on the city, recognizing the words on it.

　　"This is... the Women's Kingdom."

　　"One of the overseas countries?"

　　She thought seriously and found the corresponding knowledge from the memory that the Queen Mother of the West had stuffed into her mind:

　　"The place where the Kua'e clan is located..."

　　ps: Today's second update... 4,800 words, thank you | Sparrow | for the reward, the next plot chapter is necessary~

　　By the way, complete the final bug of the Three Kingdoms chapter. At that time, Wei Yuan recovered his cognition from the original immersive experience, but did not change the past. It just looked like a bug at the time.

　　Previous clues recall—Shelf Ghost Domain Chapter - 1. The Ghost King has actually been dealt with by Du Yu, but Jue is still asleep

　　2. There are evil people helping the Ghost King, and a Taiping Dao talisman is dropped, opening the Qingqiu Kingdom to inquire about the origin of the talisman

　　3. Chapter 244, an official of the Jin Dynasty asked Wei Yuan

　　4. Chapter 251, Jue appeared after the official left.

　　5. The contemporary original Taiping Dao Master accidentally obtained the fragments of the Taiping Essentials and embarked on the path of evil.