To be cautious, Leng Jing flew relatively slowly this time. Clad in headscarves, the White Mink and Leng Qingqing passed through the rain clouds and reached the serene heights tens of thousands of feet above. There, the bright moon hung in a clear night sky crowded with stars, and the waves of clouds stretched out like a vast sea—a magnificent aerial wonder. The two of them untied their headscarves, opened their bundles, and began to snack. This was a level of refinement never before seen: who else could claim to sit atop a dragon amidst a sea of clouds, enjoying fine food while taking in the view?
In high spirits, Leng Qingqing began to sing a little ditty he had composed himself: "My little treasure flies so fast, the phoenix wails in jealous past—"
The White Mink joined in the chorus.
Leng Jing turned his head back and barked sharply, "Shut up! Don't get crumbs on me!"
"It’s just a bit of fun. Xiao Jing, you’re so tyrannical," Leng Qingqing grumbled, though he and the mink continued to eat and drink to their hearts' content. He even dipped a small fried fish in sauce and fed it to the white dragon.
Around midnight, seeing the terrain below flatten out, it appeared they were approaching the desert. Leng Jing began to descend slowly. The Great Desert stretched for ten thousand miles, an endless expanse. Leng Jing flew low over the sands; by the light of the bright moon, Leng Qingqing could clearly see the dunes from the dragon’s back.
As they ventured deep into the wasteland, they looked back to find that the edge of the desert had vanished. Everywhere they looked were yellow dunes. The desert night was bitterly cold, so Leng Qingqing and the mink pulled out quilts to wrap themselves in. They even tried to drape a quilt over Leng Jing’s dragon head, but he arrogantly shook it off.
After another hour of slow flight, a bizarre sight finally came into view.
In the heart of the desert, a canopy of roiling black clouds hung low, touching the earth to form a gargantuan pillar of vapor. Where the pillar met the ground, mist diffused outward in a state of constant expansion. Leng Jing explained, "The true source of that long-bodied monster was discovered by me not far from here. It seems that place where the thick clouds gather is the source of the leaking celestial monsters."
The White Mink cried out, "If we follow that cloud pillar, we can reach the Celestial Realm, right?"
"It seems so," Leng Jing said softly. As they were discussing this, countless points of light suddenly shot toward them from beneath the thick clouds. Leng Jing warned, "Hold on tight."
Leng Qingqing and the mink gripped the dragon’s horns with all their might.
The points of light streaked past them. Terrifyingly, they grew more numerous until they fell like a dense torrential rain, making them impossible to avoid. However, this was the world’s fastest "dragon-shaped Ferrari." Evading the dense cluster of light orbs was no trouble at all. Amidst this airtight assault, Leng Jing did not retreat; instead, he pressed forward, closing in on the source of the lights.
It was worth noting that these swarming points of light were actually individual fireballs. Upon hitting the ground, they triggered instantaneous high-heat flames, which then transformed into crystals of extreme cold—a strange power that defied the laws of nature.
Leng Jing wove through the web of fireballs and finally reached the edge of the thick clouds. Only then did they see the culprit behind the strange lights. It was a massive, black, ladybug-like creature sprawled limply on the ground. Its bloated belly was covered in countless pits of varying sizes. These pits pulsed and flickered; the light orbs were being discharged from its abdomen.
"Aaaahhh... Aaaahhh... It hurts so much..." Piercing shrieks erupted from the monster’s head, where a nearly distorted human face was screaming continuously.
With every scream, a round of light orbs would fire from the monster’s belly, shooting into the sky like scattering fireworks.
"Someone kill me... kill me..." the face continued to shriek in a shrill, ear-piercing voice. The white dragon flew over the monster, continuing resolutely into the depths of the thick clouds.
Once they entered the clouds, a truly hellish scene unfolded before the three of them. Within the mist, where lightning flashed and thunder roared, the air currents were turbulent. Countless grotesque monsters were squeezing out of a circular rift at the very top of the clouds. The base of the clouds was already carpeted with layers upon layers of monsters, entangled and biting one another amidst a chorus of screams.
The White Mink covered its mouth, nearly vomiting up the snacks it had eaten. It was a horrific and disgusting sight.
"Are we going to enter the Celestial Realm through the place where those monsters are leaking out?" the mink asked, feeling faint.
"Of course," Leng Jing replied. A circular barrier of light formed around him, shielding them from the surrounding currents. Despite his powerful barrier, Leng Qingqing and the mink could still feel the fierce, howling winds.
"Heavens, why did I follow you..." The mink covered its eyes with a handkerchief, its claws gripping Leng Qingqing’s hair tightly.
"Oooooh! Charge!" Leng Qingqing, meanwhile, let out a wild shout.
Just as Leng Jing was about to burst through the rift into the mutated Celestial Realm, the already distended circular opening underwent another change. A human head, many times larger than any of the other giant monsters, squeezed its way out!
This head was so immense that the "Ugly Little Snake" looked like a mere speck of plankton before it. The massive head stretched the already crowded rift even further. Many monsters falling at the same time were crushed into meat paste by the pressure of the giant head.
"Aaaahhh!" the giant head began to shriek.
A scream of such volume was enough to deafen a person instantly, but Leng Jing’s barrier dampened the piercing sound, making it sound like an ordinary scream to Leng Qingqing and the others.
"I don't want to fall!" the head cried. "My face will shatter! My beautiful face!"
At that size, how could it still appreciate beauty? Leng Qingqing and Leng Jing exchanged a look as they watched the giant head slowly slide out of the rift. Finally, like an egg slipping through a sieve, it plummeted straight down from the sky. Curiously, the only things trailing behind the head were small, fragmented sprouts of flesh. Because it was so heavy, the giant head hit the ground with an earth-shattering boom, kicking up dust dozens of feet high.
The departure of the head left a momentary gap in the rift. The monsters behind hadn't caught up yet, so Leng Jing accelerated, charging into the rift like a bolt of lightning.
They sped through the nearly pitch-black clouds, faces of countless monsters flashing past. Eventually, Leng Jing’s speed increased to the point where the scenery became a blur of indistinguishable colors, leaving them dizzy. Leng Qingqing squeezed his eyes shut, feeling as though he were suffocating.
It was simply too fast!
The White Mink had long since fainted, foaming at the mouth.
Finally, the white dragon leapt out from the vortex of thick clouds, gracefully circling and flicking its tail above the swirl.
Even at Leng Jing’s maximum, frenzied speed, the journey through the clouds had lasted several hours. Under normal circumstances, Leng Jing could cross the entire mortal continent of Shenzhou in the blink of an eye at such a speed, which showed just how deep and vast these endless clouds were.
Regardless, they had finally reached the Celestial Realm!
"So this is the Celestial Realm... the ultimate goal of every demon's cultivation..." The White Mink stared blankly at its surroundings.
Leng Qingqing looked around curiously, and Leng Jing observed the area with interest as well.
They were currently above a swamp formed from condensed cloud vapor. A gray mist permeated the air, and the withered trunks of many dead trees were scattered nearby—some stuck in the sea of clouds, others floating on the thin surface of the water.
It was a desolate place.
The vortex they had emerged from was now a thousand miles behind them in the sea of clouds.
Leng Jing specifically chose a calm area to land. The three of them sat on a piece of rotting wood atop the water. After staring blankly for a while, Leng Qingqing sighed. "We've been out for nearly a day. Let's have dinner, find a place to sleep, and then go exploring."
This proposal was actually approved by the other two.
Leng Jing gathered the nearby rotting wood and used hemp rope to lash them into a simple raft. It was a mystery why Leng Qingqing had brought hemp rope along, but none of the large bundles of luggage they had brought were missing—they even had an iron pot.
It was as if a whole family was fleeing a disaster with all their worldly possessions.
They propped up the iron pot. Leng Jing used his magic to conjure a small rain cloud, filling the pot with rainwater for the night's soup, and then used his power to bring it to a boil. Leng Qingqing took out noodles and eggs, added oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, and a simple outdoor meal was ready.
"Noodles again," Leng Jing muttered gloomily as he served himself a bowl, eating it with pickles and sesame oil.
These three were actually eating noodles in the mysterious and unpredictable Celestial Realm. On a raft, no less.
The sky of the Celestial Realm was filled with dark clouds, making it impossible to distinguish day from night. Leng Qingqing brought out the bedding, and the three of them made a bed on the raft, drifting along with the current.
It seemed the area had once been a beautiful peach orchard; the black, withered trees were distributed quite neatly. The White Mink couldn't help but ask, "Could this be the legendary Flat Peach Garden, one of the wonders of the Celestial Realm?"
"Perhaps." Leng Jing rested his head on his hands, lying on the slowly moving raft. Watching the eerie, decayed scenery was a different kind of aesthetic experience.
After drifting for an unknown amount of time, a wind began to pick up over the water. The gray mist began to flow, and the number of withered trees increased, resembling a forest upon the water.
Traces of the former tranquil beauty remained; judging by the layout of the trees and the signs of careful pruning, one could tell how wonderful this garden must have once been.
Eventually, the floating branches became so numerous that the raft could hardly move forward. Ahead stood a peculiar tree. Unlike the other withered trees, its branches crisscrossed in every direction, resembling a shriveled banyan.
However, what shocked Leng Jing and the others most was that it was a Tree Woman.
The so-called Tree Woman had the upper torso of a woman at the top of the trunk. This naked woman was a tree from the waist down, and even her hands were drooping, bony, withered branches.
Leng Jing stood up and looked up, asking, "Are you still alive?"
The Tree Woman opened her eyes; her pupils were the color of withered wood.
"What are you?" the Tree Woman asked, her voice raspy and filled with static.
"I am the Grass Dragon, Leng Jing. We have come from the mortal realm," Leng Jing replied. "We want to know what happened to the Celestial Realm."
The Tree Woman’s throat moved several times. After making a series of strange noises, she said, "I am the Great Fairy of the Flat Peach Garden. The Celestial Realm has been demonized."
"Where is the source of this demonization?" Leng Jing asked.
"At the Imperial Seat... back then, we all went to enjoy... the source of the disaster..." The Tree Woman squeezed out the words with great difficulty.
"How exactly did the disaster happen?" the White Mink asked, emboldened.
"Back then... the Heavenly Emperor brought the 'Sacred Source'... said to be a holy object that could increase one's power... all the immortals participated in that... the ritual of bathing in the Sacred Source. It was joyful; power surged... continuously... but, our bodies slowly deteriorated..." the Tree Woman recalled painfully.
"That Sacred Source must be the 'Power of the Rift,'" Leng Jing and the others said, exchanging glances. They pressed further, "In which direction is the Imperial Seat?"
"In the... East... Aaaahhh... the pain... the pain..." The Tree Woman’s emotions began to destabilize, and her branches started to shake.
"I... want more... I want... so hungry... give me your strength... I want... more..." The Tree Woman’s tone turned bizarre. It seemed the withering of the Flat Peach Garden was not unrelated to her.
Countless thick, long branches began to rise from the water, gradually swarming toward their raft. Leng Qingqing grabbed Leng Jing’s sleeve and cried, "This thing wants to eat us!"
Leng Jing signaled for them to stay calm. He untied the hair ribbon from his head and lightly pinched it, trailing it into the water. Instantly, a spark of fire from his fingertips traveled down the thin ribbon into the water. Leng Qingqing and the mink watched him curiously, but in the next moment, they were stunned by Leng Jing’s might. The initially tiny flame spread across the water the moment it touched it, quickly becoming a sea of fire. In less than fifteen minutes, the swamp was completely dried up, and every withered tree within a hundred miles was reduced to ash. The Tree Woman was incinerated in an instant, without even a chance to groan.
In the blink of an eye, the watery land became scorched earth, yet the raft Leng Qingqing stood upon remained perfectly intact.
"Young Master’s fire-playing is incredible..." the White Mink complimented, its teeth chattering.
"Playing with fire is easy..." Leng Qingqing started to say a proverb, but Leng Jing cut him off: "Both of you, shut up!"
"...to wet the bed," the mink foolishly finished the proverb. But under Leng Jing’s cold, sharp gaze, it suddenly couldn't hold it anymore and scrambled off the raft to find a place to relieve itself. However, the moment its paws touched the ground, it shrieked in pain from the high heat of the earth.
Now that they had confirmed the Rift was to the East, Leng Jing determined their heading and prepared to set out once more.
[End of Part Two. Part Three begins with Chapter 41.]
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
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天界 | Celestial Realm | Also referred to as Heaven.
蟠桃园 | Flat Peach Garden | A famous location in Chinese mythology (Journey to the West).
罅隙 | The Rift / The Gap | The source of the corruption/monsters.
草龙 | Grass Dragon | Leng Jing's self-deprecating or humble term for his dragon form.
帝座 | Imperial Seat | The throne or capital of the Heavenly Emperor.
圣源 | Sacred Source | The corrupted power source mentioned by the Tree Woman.
大仙女 | Great Fairy | Specifically the Eldest or a high-ranking fairy of the Peach Garden.
神州 | Shenzhou | A traditional name for China/the mortal continent.
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