Under the Jianmu in the Eastern Wasteland, within a waterside pavilion, Taiyi and Dijun arrived to see Qingling.
Qingling had been waiting for a long time. None of the three wore smiles, only solemnity.
Although Qingling had triumphed over a Saint, the demise of Dijun's nine sons was a wound he could not inflict further.
"Dijun (Taiyi) pays respects to the Demon Ancestor!"
Qingling returned their greeting and gestured, "Sit."
The three guests and host took their seats. Dijun spoke frankly, "We come to see the Demon Ancestor this time, firstly to congratulate you on surpassing the Saints in the Great Dao competition.
Secondly, we wish to ask for your views on the decisive battle between the Wu and Yao tribes."
Qingling sighed, "Heavenly Emperor, do not speak of congratulations. The demise of the ten princes is also partly my responsibility."
Taiyi said resentfully, "Demon Ancestor, you need not blame yourself. This was long planned by those Saints. Regardless of your involvement, this would have happened. They would surely ignite the wrath of the Wu and Yao tribes, and the momentum of the decisive battle is no longer something one person or force can stop."
Qingling glanced at Taiyi, his guilt somewhat eased. He then said to Dijun, "Heavenly Emperor, have you ever considered why the scheme targeted the ten princes?"
A monstrous hatred was hidden in Dijun's eyes. "Naturally, it is because they are the princes of my Yao tribe, the sons of Dijun. Should they suffer any harm, no matter how restrained and forbearing I may be, as a father, I cannot endure it. This vengeance is irreconcilable!"
Qingling nodded, "What the Heavenly Emperor says is true. But there is another reason."
Dijun paused, then humbly said, "I wish to hear the Demon Ancestor's teachings."
Qingling continued, "Born from the Old God of the Sun and the Old God of the Moon, they inherently possessed the great fortune of the twin celestial bodies. Setting aside their status as princes of the Yao tribe, and disregarding your lineage from me and Xihe, both of whom are half-step Hunyuan, this alone is a fortune unmatched even by innate gods.
Moreover, nine is the extreme of numbers, yet ten Golden Crows were born.
Ten born means nine deaths; a single thread of transcendence. How extraordinary!"
Taiyi and Dijun's expressions changed drastically. Was this implying that Lu Ya had, on some level, caused the deaths of his nine elder brothers?
"There is only one Heaven and Earth, and only one Sun and Moon. The ten-day Golden Crows represented ten suns. How could Heaven and Earth tolerate this?" Qingling sighed. "Unless they were placed in different worlds, with the ten suns never meeting, could they endure for long? It was only during my engagement with the Saint of Kunlun that I understood this destiny."
Dijun gave a tragic smile. "Even if we understand, what then? By today, it is all too late."
Qingling smiled, "Heavenly Emperor, do not despair. I offer my congratulations on your great joy!"
"Great joy?" Dijun was bewildered. "What joy do I have?"
"It is great joy! Nine princes have survived the tribulation, seeking life amidst death!" Qingling declared. "On the tenth prince's birthday, I gifted them ten Luo Sheng flowers. The dead return to life from death; the blooming of these flowers will be the rebirth of the ten-day Golden Crows!"
"What! Is what the Demon Ancestor says true?" Dijun's face was ecstatic, still unable to believe it.
Qingling nodded with a smile, "Of course, it is true!"
Dijun wept tears of joy and was about to prostrate himself.
Qingling quickly reached out and held him up. "Heavenly Emperor, you cannot. Even a Saint cannot receive this bow!"
Dijun regained his composure and smiled, "I have lost my composure. You must have found it amusing, Demon Ancestor."
"It is nothing. Parents love their children; deep affection is natural. It is a common sentiment among all beings."
Qingling continued, "However, Heavenly Emperor, you must also consider this: though the nine princes have survived, their origin fortunes are weakened, and they can no longer remain in the Primordial World!"
Taiyi said solemnly, "Then perhaps they can all be entrusted to the care of Empress Nuwa?"
Dijun quickly interjected, "No! Ten children are too many even for Empress Nuwa to care for adequately. We must consider this carefully."
Qingling smiled, "If the Heavenly Emperor trusts me, I have a place where the nine princes can be settled."
Dijun eagerly asked, "Does the Demon Ancestor have a marvelous plan?"
Qingling replied, "Return to Chaos. Create nine realms, and let them be the nine Solar and Lunar Gods of the nine worlds!"
"Solar and Lunar Gods?" Taiyi exclaimed in surprise.
"Indeed. The nine Golden Crows were conceived from the Taiyin and Taiyang, and are inherently beings of extreme Yin and extreme Yang. I believe the Heavenly Emperor should know that the origin of the ten Golden Crows contains Taiyin origin." Qingling explained.
Dijun cupped his hands in a salute upon hearing this. "Indeed! When the ten children were born, Xihe and I sealed their origins to prevent any malicious individuals from acting. Since the Demon Ancestor has a good plan, I will follow your arrangements. We will send the ten children over once we return to the Heavenly Court."
Qingling nodded, "This is excellent! I informed you of this matter for fear that the Heavenly Emperor would be too worried, his eyes blinded by hatred, leading the Yao tribe to an abyss of eternal damnation! The decisive battle between Wu and Yao must not be initiated lightly. Excessive caution is never too much, lest you merely fulfill the will of Heaven and result in both tribes suffering heavy losses and exiting the world."
Dijun nodded gravely. "I naturally know these things. Since they have joined my Yao tribe and entrusted their lives and destinies to us, I, Dijun, will sacrifice myself for them!"
Taiyi looked at Qingling. "My elder brother and I have decided that you need not participate in the battle. Regardless of whether the Yao tribe wins or loses, there needs to be a central figure. If we are defeated, the billions of beings in the Yao tribe will depend on you!"
Dijun also nodded in agreement.
Qingling, however, shook his head. "I must attend this battle!"
Taiyi blinked in confusion. "Why?"
"Because this battle is my chance for Hunyuan! If I do not go, there will be no opportunity for Hunyuan, and I will never achieve it!" Qingling stated with certainty.
"But if there is an accident, and the Yao tribe is defeated, who will then protect our people?" Dijun asked heavily.
"Naturally, Empress Nuwa!" Qingling said leisurely. "Empress Nuwa is forever the Saint of the Yao tribe! As long as she is here, the Yao tribe is here. Moreover, with me, an ancient mighty being who can even defeat Saints, there is no one besides the Saints who can deter the lesser beings on the battlefield. Five of the Twelve Ancestral Wu are still suppressed beneath Jianmu!"
Dijun's expression turned grim, and he whispered, "Why not take this opportunity to..."
"Impossible!" Qingling interrupted. "It matters not if the Ancestral Wu are suppressed or injured. But they must not die! This is the will of the Great Dao, and also the will of the five Saints. Even if they are to die, it can only be in the great battle between Wu and Yao! I will release one disciple from the Chan Sect every thirty thousand years, and one Ancestral Wu every one Yuan Hui. Once the eleven Ancestral Wu are complete, they will not immediately launch a great battle, so the Yao tribe still has over ten Yuan Hui to prepare. If Houtu Ancestral Wu truly agrees to transform herself into the cycle of reincarnation, the weakened fortune of the Wu tribe will surge again, and the decisive battle between Wu and Yao may be postponed further."
Taiyi frowned. "Is Houtu truly willing to abandon herself and completely return to the void to complete Heaven and Earth? Such an act of great compassion, who besides the Dao Ancestor would perform it?"
Qingling shook his head. "If the Yao tribe were in peril, without Empress Nuwa, without you and me, and if there was a path before Daoist friend Dijun that would allow the Yao tribe to survive by sacrificing himself, Daoist friend Dijun would undoubtedly do so without hesitation! Those who can merge with the Dao by sacrificing themselves are Daoists. Our identities in the world are, naturally, the Demon Ancestor, the Demon Emperor, and the Heavenly Emperor."
Dijun suddenly asked, "Then shall our Yao tribe immediately send troops and attack the Ancestral Wu Hall?"
Qingling shook his head. "It is too late. I sense that Houtu is already connecting with the Earthly Dao!"
On the land of the Wu tribe, Chang'e stood up and resolutely ascended to the Taiyin in broad daylight. She carried Hou Yi's corpse back to the Moon Star.
Chang'e's flight to the moon was filled with sorrow. She looked north, her peerless beauty revealed to all beings for the first time. In that moment, she captivated countless creatures.
On the Moon Star, beneath the osmanthus tree, Chang'e knelt and buried Hou Yi's corpse. Chang'e sat quietly under the osmanthus tree. The vast Moon Star was silent, with only Chang'e's solitary silhouette. Chang'e wept three thousand tears, sliced her wrist, and watered Hou Yi's corpse with her blood and tears. The love and affection, life and death, etched in Chang'e's heart for Hou Yi, all dissipated. She sat beneath the osmanthus tree, golden osmanthus flowers falling upon her. A bright moon rose in Chang'e's heart. The bright moon and clear breeze chilled her heart, and she would never bloom again in eternity. Chang'e pointed at the osmanthus tree, and a figure emerged, revealing Hou Yi's form. Chang'e sighed softly, "You aided me in a tribulation; I shall grant you a nascent soul. From this moment forth, we shall never meet again." Chang'e had once sought an immortal pill from the Queen Mother of the West. Hou Yi, relying on its heaven-defying efficacy, was born with a nascent soul amidst the dispersion of life and death, as if reborn. The figure of Hou Yi asked blankly, "Who am I?" Chang'e shook her head, "I do not know." "Then where should I go?" "You... stay here. If you wish to know your past, cut down the osmanthus tree. All your past is beneath the osmanthus tree." Chang'e's voice became cold, devoid of any emotion. Chang'e turned to leave, and with a flip of her hand, moonlight like a blade severed a red thread tied to her wrist. The other end of the red thread was connected to the roots of the osmanthus tree, and this connection was now broken. The Moon Star, as always, fell into tranquility. Fairy Chang'e sat alone in her palace as she had for ten thousand years. The Jade Rabbit, a spiritual creature born from the Moon Star, kept her company. No one knew that Chang'e, who possessed unparalleled beauty and was the Moon Goddess of the Nine Heavens, had once entered a tribulation through love, attained the stillness of the Taiyin, and had become a being of the thirtieth heaven of Da Luo. The profound love of the past was merely a tribulation, and once it was passed, it was over. On the Sun Star, the nine Golden Crow corpses were gradually consumed. Within the nine Luo Sheng flowers, the nine sleeping princes of the Yao tribe were gestating. In the future, they would only believe it was a nightmare. Xihe was overjoyed and personally delivered the nine Golden Crows to Qingling at Jianmu. Despite her reluctance, she did not wish for her children to face such mortal danger again. Qingling took out the immortal pill he had treasured for a long time and pondered for a while. He could see what Chang'e had done, and the heaven-defying efficacy of the immortal pill was indeed rare. He summoned Taiyi once more and made a deal with him. Taiyi looked at Qingling with a strange expression for a long time, even suspecting the efficacy of this so-called immortal pill. Qingling would not tell him that Hou Yi was born because of it, as that would sever the ties between the Yao tribe and the Taiyin. Now, on the Taiyin, there was only one deity, the Moon Goddess of the Nine Heavens, Chang'e! Although Taiyi doubted the efficacy of the immortal pill, he ate it in one gulp. However, with a darkened expression, he returned to the Heavenly Court. He clearly remembered that person had said with a straight face, "You should think of it this way: by taking this immortal pill, you might not die, and then you could sacrifice yourself in a moment of life and death to save your elder brother's life, or perhaps someone else you wish to protect. One immortal pill, two lives saved. You've hit the jackpot!"