"…Very well," the Heavenly Emperor nodded. "I promise you. We shall make a pact with three claps of the hand before the Heavenly Dao!"
As he spoke, the Heavenly Dao brazier in the Heavenly Palace lit up.
Qi Yu closed her eyes and slowly extended her hand.
During the first clap of the hand with the Heavenly Emperor, fragmented memories of the Beiyuan Sect surfaced in her heart.
With the second clap, she began to miss Yu Zhen and Li Yu.
With the third clap, Qi Yu closed her eyes.
The three claps were complete.
The vow was established.
In the Jade Pool of the Heavenly Realm, the divine bodies of the sealed High God Liu Yu and the Sacred Lord Qilin suddenly emitted two golden lights, drawing the souls of Yu Zhen and Li Yu from the mortal realm upwards.
The souls merged with their divine bodies.
Xuan Yue Mountain trembled. The originally sealed mountain range suddenly flashed with spiritual light, and the long-sealed Qilin Sacred Land slowly opened.
Qi Yu cupped her primordial spirit in her hands and smiled with her eyes downcast.
The Heavenly Emperor stared at Qi Yu for a long time before speaking, "I know you feel wronged, and I understand that High God Liu Yu and Sacred Lord Qilin have done nothing wrong. But with the great calamity of the Three Realms approaching in a hundred years, High God Ling Ruo is the light of salvation sent by the Heavenly Dao, and I must protect her."
As he spoke, the Heavenly Emperor took Qi Yu's primordial spirit in one hand. "Yu Zhen and Li Yu have each returned to their rightful places. If they wish to return to the Beiyuan Sect in the future, they may. They can also stay in the Nine Heavens. I will no longer obstruct them. This is Si Qing's primordial spirit, which I am returning to you today."
"You have half an hour to reunite with them… When the half-hour is up, you will automatically fall into the Abyssal Cold Hell. The memories of Yu Zhen, Li Yu, and Si Qing will be reshaped, and your existence will be erased from their world. Time… you must manage it yourself."
"I understand," Qi Yu walked out numbly.
The Heavenly Emperor watched her retreating figure, pursed his lips, and took a deep breath. The moment Qi Yu pushed the door open and left, he bowed deeply in the direction she had gone.
Outside the door.
Si Qing had been waiting for a long time.
Seeing him, Qi Yu immediately waved and took a deep breath, then skipped over. "See? I've reached an agreement with the Heavenly Emperor. I won't die."
"Sister…" Si Qing looked at Qi Yu, his body tense. He didn't know why, but even though he saw Qi Yu walk out safely, he still felt a profound sense of unease.
"I returned this to the Heavenly Emperor for you," Qi Yu looked up at Si Qing and slapped his primordial spirit into his chest.
Si Qing was stunned. He couldn't believe it, then grabbed Qi Yu's shoulders. "You, Sister, did you promise him something?"
"Oh, no, no. Let's go, let's go. We're going to the South Heavenly Gate," Qi Yu took Si Qing's hand and walked out as she spoke. "Si Qing, from now on, you can't let anyone take your primordial spirit so easily. Primordial spirits are very important to gods and demons."
"Also… you should remember to change your appearance from time to time. If you're always so old-fashioned, how will any fairy like you?"
Qi Yu's mind was blank. She didn't know what to say during this last half-hour, but she felt compelled to speak, so her mouth kept moving.
Si Qing's unease grew.
Before he could ask anything else, they had already reached the entrance of the South Heavenly Gate.
Yu Zhen and Li Yu stood there, tears streaming down their faces as they looked at them.
Just like many years ago.
"Father, Mother…" Si Qing was completely stunned, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Yu Zhen, having regained her identity as High God Liu Yu, wore a flowing smoke-purple gown that trailed to the ground, a rhombus mark on her forehead. The demonic energy had receded, replaced by ethereal immortal energy.
Li Yu wore a pure gold Qilin king's robe, his silver hair and iridescent pupils, a Qilin horn on his forehead, and his body was filled with abundant spiritual power and a noble, mysterious aura.
Si Qing looked at them, and as he watched, he suddenly burst into tears.
Yu Zhen and Li Yu's memories had merged with their thousands of years of mortal memories. Seeing Si Qing crying uncontrollably, they couldn't help but embrace him and Qi Yu together.
Qi Yu felt the warmth of Yu Zhen and Li Yu. The fingertips she had clenched in her palm slowly relaxed. In the end, she said nothing, burying herself in their embrace with deep affection.
This was the last time.
Soon… they would no longer be her parents and younger brother.
Thinking about it, she felt a pang of regret. She hadn't said goodbye to her eldest senior brother, second senior sister, and third senior brother.
She wished she could see them again someday.
Ah, it was a pity she no longer had a future.
"Did you find a way to bring us back?" Yu Zhen wiped away her tears and looked at Qi Yu and Si Qing in her arms.
Si Qing shook his head. "Sister did it. I… I suspect she definitely made some kind of deal with the Heavenly Emperor!"
Li Yu immediately looked at Qi Yu.
Yu Zhen's expression changed drastically. "Is what Si Qing said true? Qi Yu, you didn't agree to any conditions, did you?"
"She must have agreed to something, otherwise, why would the Heavenly Emperor let us back so easily?" Li Yu was anxious.
"Oh, no…" Qi Yu held them tightly. "We've finally reunited, don't ask so many questions. Can't we talk about something happy?"
"Right, Mother, Father, aren't Eldest Senior Brother and the others still in the Water System Forest? What about the physical bodies you were in when you ascended?" Qi Yu changed the subject.
Li Yu was unconcerned.
"Because we ascended suddenly, our physical bodies remained after our souls ascended. They are likely in a comatose state."
"It's fine. When we go down to the mortal realm later, we'll just take their bodies while Yue Zhiyin and those brats aren't paying attention and continue to be their master."
"That's right, this is a small matter, don't worry. Come, let's go down." Yu Zhen didn't want to see the Heavenly Emperor's face. As she pulled them aside, she thought about asking Si Qing and Qi Yu where that otherworldly soul named Ling Ruo was now, and if she was still occupying Qi Yu's body.
Si Qing became angry at the mention of this and couldn't help but chatter with Yu Zhen and Li Yu.
The half-hour was almost up.
Qi Yu watched the three of them, her vision blurring with tears.
At the last moment before the chains of the underworld were about to bind her hands and feet, Qi Yu knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times in the direction Yu Zhen and the others had left.
I'm sorry.
It was time for her to go.
With the final kowtow, Qi Yu was like a kite with a broken string, instantly pulled down from the Nine Heavens by the chains of the underworld!
…
When Qi Yu regained consciousness and woke up, she was shackled in the frozen hell.
All around were sharp ice pillars and ice walls.
Within the frozen walls were congealed blood beads.
There were other malevolent spirits and vengeful souls imprisoned here with her, wailing, screaming, and cursing.
The ghost guards, in order, used their willow branches to whip them one by one.
With each lash, the aura of the malevolent spirits and vengeful souls weakened by a third, and their skin became paler.
Until finally, their entire bodies turned white, freezing like sculptures on the glaciers of the Abyssal Cold Hell.
They were then brutally shattered by the ghost guards.
As the malevolent spirits and vengeful souls in front were shattered one after another, the ghost guards finally reached Qi Yu.
They looked at Qi Yu's exquisite face and suddenly reached up, pinching her chin and probing into her long sleeves. "So soft and tender… If you don't want to suffer physical pain, why not treat us brothers to some favor?"
As they spoke, they surrounded Qi Yu, their hands moving over her.
The shackles on Qi Yu's wrists were too heavy for her to break free, so she could only watch as she was violated.
Seeing the ghost guards' pale faces, Qi Yu's eyes gradually turned crimson. She broke her right wrist, suddenly sat up, and bit into the neck of one of the ghost guards!
The ghost guard let out a tragic howl as a strong yin energy surged into Qi Yu's body.
Qi Yu licked her lips, which were stained crimson, her heart captivated by this power. Her eyes gradually turned a seductive, demonic red.
She tore into one ghost guard after another wielding willow branches, and still not satisfied, she broke free of the chains with one hand and began to tear into other malevolent spirits and vengeful souls.
As the yin energy continuously surged into her, Qi Yu's mind went blank, and her power grew.
The ice of the Abyssal Cold Hell began to tremble, and the glaciers turned into water droplets, seemingly wanting to engulf the increasingly powerful Qi Yu.
Qi Yu remained still, allowing them to surround her, condense into ice, abandon her physical body, and merge her divine soul into this glacier.
After an unknown amount of time.
The glacier that had engulfed Qi Yu gradually thinned and cracked open.
Then.
Qi Yu, who had fallen into demonic ways due to the corrosion of yin energy, walked out from within, barefoot.
—
₍˄·͈༝·͈˄*₎◞̑̑ Yu'er returns, blackening!