You've heard this kind of story, haven't you?

You must have heard this kind of story.

A goddess, weary of the lonely life in the heavens, descends to the mortal realm. While washing herself, a mortal, enamored by her beauty, secretly steals her feather cloak, preventing her return to the heavens. She remains in the mortal world, marries the thief, and bears children.

A life of happiness and fulfillment, envied by all.

But how could a mere mortal take away a feather cloak imbued with divine power?

Indeed, this story should naturally have a sequel…

A second interpretation.

In a dim room, an oil lamp flickers, casting a faint light as a man slowly puts pen to paper.

Mortals cannot take away a goddess's feather cloak. What if this person transformed into a demon? Yes, a demon who treads the path of evil, using the blood and soul of their closest kin as a guide. Human desires that refuse to die become obsessions, and from these, demons are born – how grand and righteous a justification. But…

Can a mere unfulfilled obsession truly give birth to a demon?

And can a lowly demon truly set up a formation to trap a goddess from Kunlun?

Clearly…

He couldn't even get within ten feet of her.

So, you've guessed it, haven't you?

Then, do you know the third interpretation of the story?

The oil lamp sputters and dies, and light floods in from the window – reflected snowlight. In the south, winter might bring only light rain, but here, in the famous mountains beyond the pass, everything is already covered in snow. The man quietly looks outside, closing the yellowed book in his hands.

..................

In the world of dreams.

Xing Tian laughs heartily, slapping Wei Yuan on the shoulder, "Little fellow, you're not up to snuff!"

His expression is quite cheerful as he offers Wei Yuan a cup of wine, saying, "Still, that sword strike on the island had some flavor. Come, have a drink, consider it a celebration."

In Xing Tian's era, Du Kang, a subject of Xuanyuan, had just created wine.

Initially, it was a noble offering used to worship the gods.

So, in his mind, he still considered these strong spirits quite important. However, Wei Yuan declined, saying, "No thanks, I don't feel like drinking lately."

Young people are prone to dreaming when they drink too much.

Xing Tian didn't say much, just laughed heartily and tilted his head back to drink, saying, "You can't do it like that, little fellow, you're still far behind, hahaha."

Wei Yuan thought Xing Tian was referring to how exhausted he looked after using that sword strike on the Plain of High Heaven. He was afraid the next thing he'd hear was something along the lines of, 'Young man, you're not good enough, you need to buck up.' To be honest, anyone who's been through the grind of modern society knows how to argue.

But arguing with this old geezer was impossible.

If you're so good, you do it!

He could do it, he really could.

But Xing Tian took a sip of wine, a gentle smile on his face, and said, "How can you be so awkward with a woman you're interested in? Really, so green."

Wei Yuan: "............"

"Huh?!"

He looked up in shock, and as a modern person, he didn't even hide the expression on his face. To him, it was like seeing Peppa Pig moonwalking like Michael Jackson while wielding a Li Kui-style axe to give someone a haircut.

"You you you..."

Wei Yuan clenched his fist and slammed it into his palm, suddenly realizing:

"Are you saying I should just knock her out with a club and drag her away?"

"Xing Tian, this is the modern world..."

Xing Tian shook his head and said, "No."

"I pursued her openly and honorably."

Wei Yuan looked at Xing Tian's burly figure, "Did you threaten her?"

Xing Tian smiled gently, "No, I sang her poems, told her I brought her the most beautiful flowers from the entire Yan tribe, placed them in her hair, and told her that she was the most beautiful flower in all the realms."

For a moment, a very impolite thought flashed through Wei Yuan's mind: was this girl perhaps not good-looking?

The expression on the face of the God of War, Xing Tian, was almost pitying:

"She was the pearl of our tribe, the teacher who taught Jingwei."

"Very beautiful."

Wei Yuan: "............"

He looked at the broad chest and muscular physique of the God of War, Xing Tian, paused, and slowly said, word by word, "So, you used poetry to pursue the most beautiful woman of the Yan Emperor's tribe at the time, and then you successfully won her heart?"

Xing Tian slightly raised his head, nodded with a gentle smile, his tone matter-of-fact.

"After all, I'm a civil official."

"...Civil official."

Wei Yuan was silent, then returned to the table without a word.

He picked up the strong liquor next to him and gulped it down.

Fake, fake, all fake.

I'll just go to sleep.

Zhu Jiuyin sighed.

Turning his back to all living things.

Unable to watch.

And Xing Tian laughed heartily, slapping Wei Yuan's shoulder as he laughed, "Good, good, my line of civil officials should drink so heartily, you finally look a bit like a civil official, hahaha..."

It was just a pity that it was impossible to get drunk in a dream. Wei Yuan's act of escaping reality was destined to be as futile as a reflection in the water or a flower in the mirror. He sighed and looked at Zhu Jiuyin and Xing Tian, ​​and said, "Why hasn't the God Zhurong appeared?"

The smile on Xing Tian's face faded slightly, "He's asleep."

"Asleep? But this is in a dream..."

Wei Yuan's voice paused. Immediately, the look on Xing Tian's face made him realize that this matter was extraordinary. Especially the changes and backlash he had seen in Zhurong last time were now revealed at this moment. Xing Tian said: "I previously hoped to pull him into your dream in order to maintain his consciousness."

"At least consciousness in a dream."

"But now it seems that even consciousness in a dream can no longer be maintained."

"Zhurong's true spirit is asleep."

Wei Yuan let out a breath of turbid air, "I understand."

He explained: "I have some clues about what happened six hundred years ago, but I'm still unclear about the period a thousand years ago. However, the fact that Zhurong has fallen asleep to this extent shows that it is more troublesome than I imagined... Thinking about it this way, it's not incomprehensible that the Luo River Scroll appeared there six hundred years ago."

"Luo River Scroll..."

Xing Tian and Zhu Jiuyin were silent for a while.

If you don't understand history, you can't understand the position and value of the He Tu and Luo Shu in the Divine Era of China.

Simply relying on the legend that the Three Emperors and Five Emperors basically completed their greatest achievements with the help of the He Tu and Luo Shu is enough to see the extraordinary and special nature of this thing.

Xing Tian looked at Wei Yuan, thought for a while, and said, "Since even the He Tu and Luo Shu have appeared, I'm afraid there will be a lot of trouble hidden in Changbai Mountain in the human world. Little guy, before that, you should go to the world of mountains and seas."

He showed a hearty smile on his face: "I know the place where the Yellow Emperor planted fruits back then."

"He has a lot of good things there. As long as you kill the gatekeeper, they're all yours."

"I haven't eaten them in a long time. We'll split it seven to three, you get seven and I get three."

"Otherwise, an eight-two split isn't impossible either."

Wei Yuan: "............"

Obviously, even before fighting with Xuanyuan, these two old geezers didn't get along very well.

One likes to plant fruits.

One likes to pick fruits.

I plant.

I pick.

I plant.

I pick.

You're picking my melons, aren't you?!

The image of that heroic young man gritting his teeth and looking annoyed appeared in Wei Yuan's mind, and he whispered a few words in jest. However, the situation back then was certainly not so trivial. The real history is hidden in the hearts of these ancient gods of war, whose faces are always gentle, and is no longer known to people.

However, indeed, calculating the time, he should go back to the world of mountains and seas once. Those fierce beasts blocking the door are not very patient, and most of them have probably left by now. And the *Shan Hai Yu Shu* (Jade Book of Mountains and Seas) left behind by Qiongqi should have decided a winner.

Obtain the *Shan Hai Yu Shu*.

Inside are methods to temper the medicinal properties in his previous life's body.

There are also ways to get on good terms with Xi Wangmu (Queen Mother of the West).

Xing Tian saw the change in Wei Yuan's expression and said gently: "You have already learned the foundation of my moves. You have at least understood the external appearance of Xuanyuan's swordsmanship, but there will still be many dangers when you go to the *Xi Shan Jing* (Classic of the Western Mountains) this time."

"I have no way to help you, and Zhu Jiuyin, he is always neutral."

"You have known him for so long, and he has never actively helped you, right."

"He always believes that gods should maintain neutrality, maintain order and contracts, and not distort the decisions of other living beings by relying on their own status and power. Even if the Netherworld and the human world go to war, according to his nature, he will only support the world of the Netherworld, but will not participate in it. The power of the gods should be limited by the freedom of living beings."

Zhu Jiuyin was noncommittal.

Xing Tian put his hand on Wei Yuan's shoulder: "And Wuzhiqi, he won't help you this time."

As the God of War of the Yan tribe, Xing Tian's eyes were gentle, but with a feeling that made people unable to retreat:

"This time you can only rely on yourself to complete this matter."

"Wei Yuan, descendant of the Yanhuang tribe, if you always need to rely on external forces, how can you become strong on your own? We can cooperate with others, but the basis of all this is that we are equally strong when we leave this cooperation."

"Losing allies does not diminish your own power, that is strength."

"When you are useless without the support of others, this strength is illusory, even fatal, and it will make you make wrong judgments."

"Humans are inherently strong, this is the idea that Xuanyuan and Yan Emperor, and even Chi You, are upholding."

His eyes were gentle and encouraging, like a true wise man, and then this temperament subsided.

Xing Tian's voice paused, and then he laughed heartily:

"However, after all, this is just the idea of ​​an old guy like me. Could it be that it has become outdated?"

"Anyway, I look forward to your performance in the *Xi Shan Jing*."

"Remember to share some of the fruits planted by the Yellow Emperor with me, haha..."

………………

The brief meeting, besides encouraging him for the trip to the Western Mountains.

It can probably only be described as 'Having heard that Wei Yuan was giving gifts, Xing Tian, the God of War of the Yanhuang tribe in the early Three Emperors and Five Emperors period, came to mock him.'

After Wei Yuan left, this dream also fell apart.

Wei Yuan sat in the museum, recalling what Xing Tian said, as well as the current situation where even Zhurong, the Fire God who connected to the four poles of the sky, was asleep, and felt a sense of urgency like being boiled in warm water. His face was slightly condensed, he took out the Iron Eagle Sword, the blade reflected his own pupils, and he thought about the battle to the *Xi Shan Jing*.

At this time, someone blew out the oil lamp.

Carrying a yellowed book, he walked down from the famous mountains outside the pass.

ps: Second update today... three thousand two hundred words.

I thought I could sleep earlier, but I failed again... Going to sleep, going to sleep.