"Brother, don't overthink it. Rest and recuperate. We can look into the heart trial matters when you're feeling better," Si Qing said softly.
"More than that, I'm concerned about this inner demon," Qi Yu replied. She had lived for over 200 years since gaining sentience, always diligent and dutiful. Even when facing the immense humiliation from the Xuan Yue Sect, she had controlled her desire for revenge.
To think that despite her utmost caution, this had still happened!
Qi Yu felt utterly defeated, lying weakly on the couch. Cultivation was by no means an easy or simple path. Whether for humans or spiritual artifacts, reaching the pinnacle through the righteous path required not only increasing one's cultivation but also focusing on the Dao heart. Any slight misstep could have significant consequences.
Just like this inner demon…
Her current cultivation was around the Golden Core stage. She had to resolve this before reaching the Nascent Soul stage. Otherwise, during the tribulation to form the Nascent Soul, the inner demon would cause her to fail. All her years of effort would be in vain.
"Every cultivator has their own inner demon," Si Qing comforted Qi Yu. "The more you trap yourself in this thought, the less you'll be able to escape it."
Qi Yu hugged her pillow and softly hummed in agreement. Si Qing gently brushed Qi Yu's long hair. Seeing that Qi Yu had unknowingly fallen asleep, he got up and quietly pushed open the door to leave.
Once he reached the end of the corridor, Si Qing, with his hands behind his back, summoned a Heavenly Soldier from the shadows. "You take my form and hold the fort here. I need to go to the Underworld."
The Heavenly Soldier immediately accepted the order, his form flashing as he transformed into an exact replica of Si Qing. Si Qing turned and disappeared before the Heavenly Soldier.
When he reappeared, he was already at the entrance of the Underworld. The Judge, who was in the process of striking names with his brush, immediately put down his pen upon seeing who had arrived. He walked over respectfully. "Divine Venerable Si Qing, it is my humble duty to welcome you. May I know why you have suddenly come?"
"Investigate something for me," Si Qing said, walking to the main seat and sitting down. "Ling Ruo has visited the Underworld several times before, hasn't she? Find out all the times she came and what she did on each occasion."
The Judge looked puzzled but bowed and accepted the order, going out to investigate the records. Not long after, the Judge returned with a scroll, his voice hesitant. "Your sister, Goddess Ling Ruo... visited only once many years ago. Here are the records from that time."
Si Qing took the scroll but did not open it. Instead, he tossed it into the air. The scroll naturally stopped in mid-air and slowly unfurled, playing the scenes recorded within like a modern viewing device.
If Qi Yu were present, she would surely notice that the scenes displayed by the scroll were identical to everything she had experienced during her heart trial. The maiden in the gradient pink and blue immortal dress was the Goddess Ling Ruo the Judge had mentioned. The background in the scroll was the eighteen levels of hell. The only difference was that in the scroll, Qi Yu was not accompanied by a zither and a long whip. Instead, the future little empress of the Demon Clan, Qi Nian, appeared and rescued her from Ling Ruo.
She gently placed Qi Yu's almost scattered soul into a jade stone on a mountain peak. To solidify her soul, she named her Qi Yu and carved it onto the jade stone with her divine power. The mountain peak, initially barren, was eventually discovered by cultivators due to its spiritual energy, and the Xuan Yue Sect was founded.
Si Qing watched silently until the end. The scroll rolled up again and flew back into his hand. He slowly clenched his fist, his heart aching so much he could barely breathe. His sister had not only been possessed by Ling Ruo, a demonic woman from another world, but had also been so cruelly tormented in the Underworld. If not for the intervention of Bei Yuan Sect's second senior sister, Qi Nian, the little empress of the Demon Clan, his sister would have been annihilated hundreds of years ago.
Si Qing suppressed his emotions for a long time, preventing himself from roaring out in distress. He spoke in a very calm voice, pointing at the lonely soul on the scroll, and asked the Judge, "Goddess Ling Ruo was still young then. She brought a lonely soul of the same age as herself to the Underworld for increased torment. Did you not notice anything unusual?" Did the dignified Underworld not detect that his sister had been possessed?!
The Judge, hearing Si Qing's anger, quickly knelt down and set up a barrier around them. After the barrier was complete, he said with a trembling voice, "Divine Venerable Si Qing, we all knew at the time that the lonely soul Goddess Ling Ruo was tormenting was the true daughter of Goddess Liu Yu. But we dared not speak... The otherworldly soul that possessed your sister's body carried the destiny of the Heavenly Dao. We dared not defy the Heavenly Dao."
"What Heavenly Dao? Can the Heavenly Dao just casually take my sister's life! Can the Heavenly Dao separate our family for so many years?!" Si Qing roared.
"Divine Venerable Si Qing, please calm down. Calm down," the Judge pleaded, crawling closer. "The Heavenly Dao is immutable. Instead of getting angry, shouldn't you be reuniting with your family after so many years apart?"
"I have investigated and found that your sister, Qi Yu, is currently in her true form, Yan Zhen Jing, at the Bei Yuan Sect. Your father's soul has been reincarnated and is named Li Yu, the sect leader of the Bei Yuan Sect. Your mother is the Demon Lord, Yu Zhen. They have become Dao companions. The three of them are now at the Bei Yuan Sect. It is urgent for you to reunite with them."
Si Qing was stunned, his face showing surprise. "You're saying Li Yu and Yu Zhen are the reincarnations of my parents?"
"Yes, indeed," the Judge nodded, handing him the scroll.
Si Qing rubbed his temples. "So, they reunited long ago? No, there's another question. Why was my sister disguised as a man? I've been calling her 'brother' for days."
"The reason for Qi Yu's disguise as a man is extensive and not fully explained in the scroll, making it inconvenient to discuss further. However, I know quite a bit about your parents," the Judge said, rambling while holding the scroll. "After your parents were punished and sent to the mortal realm, their memories of their past lives were hazy, treated as myths. Although their identities changed, their souls were still drawn to each other, which is why they still had feelings for each other in this life and became Dao companions."
"For them to regain their memories, they would have to return to their divine bodies. Otherwise, their memories cannot be fully unlocked."
"As for how they ended up with your sister, it was pure coincidence. Your parents have been Dao companions for several hundred years in this life and have had four children, all in the Demon Clan."
Si Qing listened, his expression dazed. "What do you mean, they have children in the mortal realm? And secretly had four?"
"Well, to be precise, your mother secretly had four and placed them in the Demon Clan without your father knowing," the Judge said with a hint of gossip. "After all, your mother's lineage is from the Demon Clan. She hid her demonic identity and was with your father, a great cultivator of the righteous path. While she could conceal her demonic aura, the demonic physique is different from humans, and she could give birth after only three months of pregnancy... By that calculation, your mother was quite restrained..."
"No, they are Dao companions, and my mother had children, why didn't she let my father know?" Si Qing's worldview was shaken. "Was she afraid my father would despise her if he knew her demonic identity, or was she worried he wouldn't acknowledge the four mixed-blood children?"
The Judge fanned himself. "Ah, there were worries on all fronts. Divine Venerable, you have stayed in the Ninth Heaven for too long. You might not know that although the cultivation world outwardly maintains peace with the Demon Clan, there is still a hidden vigilance. Your mother not telling your father about the four children was also for your father's reputation."
Si Qing rubbed his temples, his voice filled with grievance. "So, my parents are not related to me by blood, my sister is not related to me by blood, and my mother and father have their own children. My sister and I are unwanted?"
"They don't have their memories, so they didn't intentionally abandon you and your sister," the Judge consoled Si Qing.