"The Mortal Chapter Of Qing Zhuan" - Chapter 25

A Dream of the Divine Realm

The moon outside the window grew rounder and brighter. Gradually, the warm, yellow moon began to turn a tinge of bl00d-red. Accompanied by the eerie call of a crow, an odd stillness fell over everything, as if time had stopped. A dry maple leaf landed on a sheet of ice, shimmering with a faint frost.

Slowly, I drifted into a dream. A clear, insistent voice echoed in my ears: “Wake up, wake up. Have you forgotten me? It’s me! Do you really not remember me?”

In the dream, I arrived at a place that resembled an ancient battlefield. The air was thick with rolling yellow dust, and piles of bones formed mountains. Dark, eerie banners were planted everywhere, and the deep, gloomy environment sent a shiver down my spine.

At my feet lay a severely wounded person. His pale, thin face was stained with bl00d, and a silver-gleaming dagger was plunged into his chest. On the silver blade, a star-like mark was still glowing red.

He looked at me with eyes full of sorrow, regret, and self-blame. As I gazed at his handsome, yet deathly pale face, an indescribable feeling welled up within me.

He wiped the fresh bl00d from his mouth and said with a bitter voice, “Ling Yin, it’s me! Do you really not remember me? Please, wake up! Look at your people, look at this home we once protected together! Why? Why! How could you be consumed by this? Human sacrifice, soul flags returning to the underworld. Look at what you’ve done…”

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my head in the dream. I felt like I was seeing double from the agony, as if I was being possessed. I could see myself speaking:

“This master is perfectly sober. Once I’ve refined this ‘Eight Trigrams Elixir of the Universe,’ I can reform my physical body and open the ‘Eye of Reincarnation’!

I will devour all the yin energy in this world, absorb the essence of the sun and moon, grasp the lifelines of the eight directions, and merge with the spiritual rituals of the four seasons. From now on, in heaven and on earth, I alone will be supreme!

What is the Western Paradise? What is the Eastern Celestial Court! And you, Yunli, at the very moment of my great success, you want to destroy my flag formation! You! You dare to ruin my foundation! You shatter my Dao heart!

Why! Why! Tell me, what for! How many people still remember you? Who remembers that you braved the danger of your soul being scattered to quell that war, which led to thousands of years of peace?

But who remembers? Who will sing your praises? They will only see you as a useless rogue immortal! And yet you pity these ants. Then this master must use these ridiculous masses as a sacrifice to refine my ‘Eight Trigrams Elixir of the Universe’! Hehehehe, you will all die…”

The person named Yunli’s eyes were filled with grief and hatred. He struggled to reach for a blue, crystalline moon pendant on his chest. His bl00d-soaked hand then pulled out the red, star-like blade from his chest.

Instantly, a gush of fresh bl00d poured out. He stood up shakily, stamped his left foot with difficulty, and began to form hand seals as if casting a spell.

He endured the pain, his voice strained as he recited the incantation:

“Star for bone, moon for soul, in my name, crown your spirit; right for above, evil for below, with your bl00d, water her will. Break!”

At that moment, the star blade and the moon pendant instantly fused into a jade pendant shaped like a full moon with a star embedded in its center. The pendant floated in mid-air, shimmering with a beautiful mix of blue and red light, like a gentle gift from a deity.

At the same time, she sat cross-legged on the ground, forming hand seals. Instantly, a strong wind rose, stirring up a vortex of sand and dust.

Yunli said to me, “Go quickly! My injuries are too severe. I’m afraid I can’t use the Star Moon Art against her anymore. I’ll pass this incantation to you. Take this jade pendant and help me, help me find my divine soul!

Help me save her! Because you two are one! This jade pendant, when it meets my divine soul, will glow red as the star and moon attract each other…”

I jolted awake, my eyes wide with fear as I stared at the ceiling. I was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. I swallowed hard, looked at my surroundings, and thought, “Thank goodness! Thank goodness it was just a dream!”

When I saw a jade pendant in my hand, my eyes widened in disbelief! At that moment, I also heard, “Yiqing! It’s me, Ling Yin!”

I immediately jumped to my feet, which shocked my mom. Afraid she would worry, I quickly stuffed the jade pendant into the pocket of my sweatpants and said:

“Mom, I was just groggy from sleep. I’m a little disoriented. Don’t worry, don’t worry.”

My mom looked at me with a surprised expression. “You, could you have been possessed by some ghost?”

I quickly waved my hands. “No, no, Mom, it’s really just because I was sleepy.”

My mom sighed and said, “Okay, get up and get ready. We’re about to leave. Jichang has already left.”

I looked at the messages Gao had sent me:

“Are you up yet?” “What time is it? You’re not up yet, are you?” “I’ve already left.” “Let’s meet at the airport bus station in a bit!”

I quickly put on my clothes, grabbed a savory pork bun with preserved vegetables in my mouth, and carried my suitcase as I ran toward the bus station at the village entrance.

My mom shouted from behind, “Oh no! Your ID! You forgot your ID!” She quickly called my uncle, who rode his motorcycle to chase after me.

When I heard my uncle’s voice, I asked in surprise, “What’s wrong, Uncle?”

My uncle laughed. “You ran off without your ID. How are you going to get on the plane?”

I patted my pocket and scratched my head. “Oh, in my hurry, I forgot! Thank goodness for you, Uncle!”

My uncle laughed and said, “Get on. I’ll take you to the village bus station. You’re such a scatterbrained kid. If your mom hadn’t called me, I would have already left.

I wouldn’t have had time to bring you your ID! You can’t be so careless in the future! You’re a girl, you need to be more careful! Do you understand?”

I nodded. “Okay, I got it, Uncle!”

After getting on the bus and bidding farewell to my uncle, we left for the city. My phone rang, and it was Gao. The voice on the other end sounded worried.

“Da Yuanzi! Did you get lost? Why is it taking you so long to get here!

Thank goodness I bought a 12 o’clock ticket, or we would have missed this flight! Where did you go!”

I replied, “I just got to the station, what’s the rush! I have to get off, don’t I! Besides, who told you to leave by yourself! Why didn’t you come to my house and we could have gone together! It’s all your fault this morning. I was in such a hurry to catch the bus that I even forgot my ID…”

Gao asked anxiously, “Huh!? How are you going to board without your ID? Go home and get it quickly! You’re going to be the death of me!”

I quickly replied, “Hmph! A lucky person like me has divine help. My uncle brought it to me halfway!”

Only then did the voice on the other end of the phone sigh.

“Good! You scared me to death! Can you please pack all the things you need before you leave next time! If you’re so disorganized, what are you going to do in the future!

If we’re not around to help you in the future, how much trouble will your carelessness cause!”

After we met up, he started another round of lectures. I put on my headphones and listened to music, only seeing his mouth opening and closing without hearing a word he said.

Gao got more and more agitated. He pulled off my headphones and asked, “Li Yuan, what the hell are you doing while I’m talking to you! Are you looking for a fight!”

I smiled sheepishly. “I know Gao is worried about me and wants what’s best for me. I know all that, so don’t worry! But you’re getting so talkative now! Hahaha, you’re almost as talkative as Tang Sanzang!”

I patted Gao’s shoulder and said with a smile, “Don’t worry, Brother Jichang, I, Da Yuanzi, will be safe and sound. You too, be safe and sound! Having you guys by my side is the happiest thing! It’s so good to have you all!”

After hearing my words, Gao looked into the distance, lost in thought. I quietly watched him. Under the sunlight, Gao was tall and straight, like a grove of bamboo, and I found myself in a daze for a moment.

At this moment, Gao saw my infatuated expression and was startled. He took a step back and asked, “What do you want? Were you attracted by my handsome looks? Admit it, my beauty is enough to make you kneel at my feet! Hahahahaha!”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his antics. Just then, the airport bus arrived. We got on the bus, and we sat by the window, enjoying the scenery along the way.

The winter in the Northeast was still very cold, but the temperature in the South was not as severe. I especially liked the lush, green bamboo in the South. Their straight trunks were a pleasant sight.

When we arrived at the airport, Gao smiled and looked at me. “We can finally go on a trip! Are you happy?” I nodded listlessly.

“Why are you so listless this morning, like a frostbitten eggplant? You need to liven up…”

Then we had a bumpy ride, and I leaned against the window, looking down. Below us was the land that had nurtured us Chinese people for tens of thousands of years!

I looked down at the scenery and couldn’t help but exclaim in my heart, “Our ancestors were truly great!”

Suddenly, Ling Yin’s arrogant voice sounded. “Hmph, of course. If it weren’t for the creation and protection of ancient deities like us, how could the land you call divine have such a magnificent and shining reputation?”

I was stunned again but nodded in agreement.

At this moment, Gao looked at me in confusion. “What’s wrong with you? Did your brain stop working?”

I glanced at him and said, “Nothing, I’m just a little sleepy!” He didn’t say anything else.

But at this moment, I remembered what the person in the dream said: “Help her, you two are one! It seems that the person he was talking about was the one who just spoke!”

I asked in my mind, “Are you and I really one? Who are you? How did you get into my body? How did you find me?”

“My name is Ling Yin, the ancient god of war of the Ancient God Temple! In the dream, everything you saw was real! At that time, I was infected by a demonic poison, which caused me to go on a rampage!

So sometimes I get possessed by a demonic soul, which I call the Demon Voice! But under normal circumstances, I am just myself! Sigh! Yunli was severely wounded trying to stop the Demon Voice!

I originally couldn’t find you, but you seemed to have accidentally opened some kind of passage, which allowed me to see you fall from the sky and enter the realm of the ancient gods!

Then I uncontrollably flew toward you and merged with you, but it seemed that my body rejected you, and you were bounced out. That’s when you saw what you saw!”

“How do I distinguish between the Demon Voice and Ling Yin?”

Ling Yin replied, “The Demon Voice doesn’t know your name and will only call your soul! But I will call your name, Yiqing!”

I then asked:

“Then, does that mean I actively found you?” I covered my mouth in confusion.

“Yes, in a sense, that’s correct! In any case, it’s not easy to connect to a human like you! Oh, by the way! Yan Lin is also looking for you! Have you encountered any strange people or things recently?” Ling Yin asked.

“Strange things? What kind of strange things are considered strange?”

“Have any strangers tried to find you?” Ling Yin asked.

“No!”

“Good, good! I’m glad I found you first! Now we have to figure out how to help me recover my cultivation as soon as possible!” Ling Yin continued.

“How can I believe you with just your word?”

Ling Yin didn’t answer. A long time passed, and she still didn’t answer!

I could only shake my head, blaming myself for not sleeping well and having hallucinations! I tilted my head and looked out the window, my mind still curious about last night’s dream…