Chapter 477: What? They’ve Entered The Secret Realm
Zi Shang finally showed himself after Yun Jiuge desperately called out to him for awhile. However, the first thing he did was to lift her up and throw her into the Medicinal Pool.
Splash! The water splattered about as Yun Jiuge landed in the pool.
Yun Jiuge emerged from the water a moment later, and she yelled indignantly at Zi Shang, “What on earth are you doing?”
“It’d be a waste if you didn’t soak in it. It’s such a good Medicinal Pool after all,” Zi Shang said matter-of-factly.
“Now’s not the time to be soaking in this Medicinal Pool,” Yun Jiuge replied. She thought Zi Shang had gone crazy.
“The water in this Medicinal Pool is very beneficial to you. Hurry up and take off your clothes,” Zi Shang said as he took off Yun Jiuge’s clothes adeptly.
Yun Jiuge felt a little chilly now that her chest was exposed. She immediately lowered her entire body into the pond and only kept her head above the water. She then asked Zi Shang, “You heard everything that Yue Ling’er said earlier, right?”
“Yeah, I heard what she said,” Zi Shang replied as he placed Yun Jiuge’s clothes by the edge of the pool.
“What are your thoughts on it? Do you think Li Wei really instigated her to commit suicide?” It had been a long time since Yun Jiuge reincarnated. She no longer could tell if those people were still as loyal to her as they were back then.
“What were your orders to Li Wei back then?” Zi Shang turned around and asked.
“I asked him to reincarnate with me straight away,” Yun Jiuge said with certainty.
“Then I’m sure that’s exactly what he did. Li Wei has always been someone who goes by the book. He would just do as he was told,” Zi Shang answered. He had stayed by Yun Jiuge’s side the longest and knew all the Celestial Palace Guards like the back of his hand.
“If that’s the case, then someone must have impersonated Li Wei and went to speak with Yue Ling’er. Who would do such a thing?” Yun Jiuge began racking her brain, but she could not think of anyone who would fit the bill.
“You reincarnated right after you saved the heavens, and the Celestial Palace was in a state of chaos back then. I don’t know who that impersonator is either, but whoever he is, he’s hidden himself very well all this time. Even Wan Sha was not able to find any clues about his identity,” said Zi Shang. Both Zi Shang and Wan Sha had made numerous guesses about the impersonator’s identity in the past, but they could not determine who he truly was either.
“Goddamn it! I’ll definitely kill that impersonator personally once I learn who he is!” Yun Jiuge was livid. Any person would be as enraged as her if they were in her shoes. Her once gentle and caring palace maid had suddenly turned against her because of what that impersonator did!
“I’ll try to convey this matter to Wan Sha and get him to investigate once more. However, the most important thing we’ve to do right now is to enter the Chaotic Secret Realm and find Li Wei. There must be a reason why that person impersonated Li Wei,” said Zi Shang.
“You know very well how Ling’er is like. I’ve no way of leaving the palace if she’s determined to stop me,” Yun Jiuge said before she let out a sigh.
Ling’er had always been an extremely obstinate person. She could have left the Celestial Palace and taken over the Ling Clan after serving Yun Jiuge for 10 years. But she chose to remain in the palace even after her time was up.
She would rather be an insignificant servant and do menial tasks everyday than be the highly revered leader of the Ling Clan. She even beat up all the elders who tried to persuade her to return.
Now that she had taken up a spiritual form, all that was left in her was her conviction. It would be even more difficult to persuade her now.
“You should try to speak with her again. After all, she always listens to whatever you say,” Zi Shang paused for a moment before he continued, “If she doesn’t, you should just command her to commit suicide then!”
“She wouldn’t kill herself willingly even if I told her to do so. By then, the Resentment Qi inside of her would still erupt,” Yun Jiuge replied, rolling her eyes at Zi Shang. This man was really good at coming up with awful plans, she thought to herself.
Zi Shang did not say a word in response. “Who cares if the Resentment Qi within Yue Ling’er erupts or not? All I care about is that you’re safe. I don’t care about whether that palace maid lives or dies,” he thought to himself.
However, Zi Shang knew that Yun Jiuge would definitely chastise him if he were to say those things out loud, so he decided to keep them in his heart.
It did not matter how many times Yun Jiuge reincarnated from here on out. There would always be a part of her Goddess self that would never change. She would always feel compassion for all lives of the world in every life, and she would always detest killing the innocent without reason.
“By the way, Qiu Sen actually led two cultivators in the Foundation Establishment stage to the Secret Realm. Don’t you think he’s got a screw loose?” Yun Jiuge felt depressed as she said those words.
“Qiu Sen has never harbored such thoughts in the past. It’s quite possible that Nangong Yue was the one who instigated him to do it,” said Zi Shang after some thought.
“If I knew this would happen, I’d have asked Nangong Li to hand over Nangong Yue’s soul back then,” said Yun Jiuge, who regretted her decision. She was too soft then.
“Nothing would change even if he handed you her soul. Yue Ling’er would still forbid you from going over. The only difference is that you wouldn’t be the only one, because everyone else would not be able to go either,” Zi Shang said rationally.
“Are you trying to say that they were right to deceive me?” Yun Jiuge glared at Zi Shang. This man did not know how to be tactful with his words at all!
“No, that’s not what I mean. What I’m trying to say is that if they knew in advance that Yue Ling’er was going to stop you, then there must be something wrong with Nangong Yue.” Only the people who worked in the Celestial Palace would know about the relationship between Yun Jiuge and Yue Ling’er. How would a mere cultivator like Nangong Yue come to know about it?
“That’s true. I still can’t believe that Nangong Yue would be the token needed to enter the Chaotic Secret Realm. I wonder what on earth happened to her prior to this?” replied Yun Jiuge. She realized that there were a lot of mysteries surrounding the Chaotic Secret Realm.
“The most important thing we’ve to do now is to think of a way to enter the Secret Realm,” Zi Shang said. There was no use in discussing anything else now.
After all that talk, they were back at square one once again. Yun Jiuge could not help but sigh at that thought.
At this moment, Yue Ling’er’s voice came from the outside, “Your Highness, are you done soaking in the Medicinal Pool?”
Zi Shang instantly slipped into the mark on Yun Jiuge’s hand when he heard Yue Ling’er’s voice. He had already decided that he was not going to show himself before Yue Ling’er.
“Wait a moment,” answered Yun Jiuge. It was only then she realized that the white-colored medicinal water in the pool had turned grayish black.
Yun Jiuge stood to her feet and used the Spiritual Water on the outer regions of the pool to clean herself before she put on the clothes that Yue Ling’er had prepared for her.
The pure white robe felt like it was made of clouds, and it clung to her body softly. The ends of the robe glided across the floor gracefully as she moved.
Yun Jiuge walked towards the door and pushed it open. She was immediately greeted by a sweet, flowery scent in the air, and melodious music being played in the background. Two rows of palace maids dressed in bluish green robes stood at the sides.
Yue Ling’er went up to her with a smile on her face and said, “Your Highness, I’ve prepared your favorite dish, the Heavenly Floral Water. Please make your way over at once and enjoy the meal!”
As Yun Jiuge ate, she brought up her mission to Yue Ling’er once again. She even showed the latter her Holy Flame in an attempt to demonstrate that she was more than capable of protecting herself.
However, when Yue Ling’er saw how pathetically small and weak Yun Jiuge’s Holy Flame was, she became even more determined to protect her.
At night, Yun Jiuge resolutely refused Yue Ling’er’s suggestion to stay by her side for the night. Once she was alone in her room, she lay down on the bed.
“Tsk! How stupid can you be? Why would you show your Holy Power to her?” Zi Shang mocked.
“Well, if you’re so great, why don’t you try to convince her huh?” Yun Jiuge rebutted bitterly.
Zi Shang kept quiet. He did not know how to deal with Yue Ling’er either.
“Well, if speaking to her doesn’t work, then I’ll just do it the tough way,” said Yun Jiuge as she jumped up from her bed. She was going to make her way into the Chaotic Secret Realm by force.
She opened the door to her room furtively and looked around. When she noticed that there were only Puppet Celestial Palace Guards walking about in the hallways near her room, she immediately turned invisible and walked towards the Divine Temple.
The Divine Temple was spacious and breathtakingly beautiful. A single statue of a goddess was enshrined in the temple, and there were numerous top-quality spiritual incenses that were burning at the bottom of it.
The statue had been carved from white jade, and its features looked quite similar to Yun Jiuge. However, the aura surrounding the statue was worlds apart from the real aura that Yun Jiuge possessed.
Yun Jiuge stared at the statue of the goddess. She looked very beautiful and kind, and there was also a secretive yet regal air around her.
Seeing the statue of the goddess only reaffirmed Yun Jiuge’s belief that she was no longer like how she used to be. She might have been a goddess in the past, but now she was just an ordinary human. Even worse, she was a human who was not very powerful.
Still, she still had to accomplish the mission that was entrusted to her.
Yun Jiuge collected herself and began searching for the secret door within the Divine Temple. It took her a while before she finally found the secret mechanism underneath the statue’s feet.
The secret door opened and revealed a dark tunnel behind it.