In the ever-changing Primordial God Realm, countless tales of love and hatred have unfolded since time immemorial. The stirring, epic sagas of the celestial gods continue to play out even now. In the face of passion and enmity, ten thousand years of cultivation can be cast aside in an instant; even life and death are sacrificed without hesitation.
Amidst the ethereal mists of an ancient forbidden land at the edge of the world, the curtain was rising on a final confrontation between deities.
One man, his eyes containing ten thousand years of permafrost, stood awe-inspiringly at the center of a vortex where spiritual energy clashed incessantly. His silver battle armor was stained red with blood, yet his expression remained calm, save for a sigh filled with infinite melancholy. "Ming Yan, three thousand years have passed. Can you still not let go of your jealousy and hatred toward me?"
The other man wore crimson armor, his entire body wreathed in blazing, arrogant flames. "Imperial Brother! Do you have any idea what I have sought these past three thousand years? Do you know the truth of what happened with Su Ling back then? Su Ling... she was looking at you the entire time! And Father... Father... In short, all of you! You and Zhong Han shall both pay the price for your past mistakes today! Today is the day of reckoning!"
With that, violent surges of frost and flame collided relentlessly, causing the surrounding mountains and rivers to tremble and collapse. One pressed forward relentlessly; the other retreated step by step.
"Stop!" A peerless man with features as delicate as misty rain flew down from the clouds. Brandishing a spiritual sword, he charged into the fray between the two, shouting, "Ming Yan! Bing Que! Both of you, stop! You were both wrong about what happened back then! Though Bing Que did indeed wrong you, Ming Yan, he has already paid for it with three thousand years of being frozen in ice! His inner core is only half-intact now! Ming Yan! Do you still intend to strike the killing blow? Do you have no idea of Qiong Yu’s final, painstaking intentions?!"
"Qiong Yu is already dead!" Ming Yan swept his sword in a wide arc, instantly causing the newcomer to cough up a spray of blood. He screamed maniacally, "I have painstakingly planned for three thousand years! I will not allow any of you to disturb me! I shall activate the ancient Heaven-Defying Array! Bing Que! Huai Xiao! None of you can stop me! I will slaughter my way to the ends of the heavens!"
"I will not allow you to touch Bing Que!" A fourth person descended from the sky—a proud, aloof man in fluttering green robes. Bing Que sneered, "Nan Qin! Why have you come? Have you not suffered enough? I have already severed all ties with you; our debts to each other are settled. Go back! This has nothing to do with you!"
Nan Qin gave a cold smile. "My coming has nothing to do with you, Bing Que. This is my own choice. If there is blame, blame that irresponsible smile of yours from years ago. If there is blame, blame the ruthlessness of the world!"
In the distant past, amidst the flowing fragrance of the years, that single smile that had captivated all living beings had forged the inextricable karmic bond of today.
With a long cry, he charged upward with his sword. The horizon glowed with a stunning radiance born from the intensity of their emotions. Who could have known that each combatant’s heart was twisted with agonizing pain? A thousand years of grievances were all transformed into a downpour of blood.
As the great gods fought their way to the stone wall of the Heavenly Array Cavern in the Far West Forbidden Land, the heavily wounded Nan Qin suddenly burst into loud laughter. He raised his long sword and resolutely severed his own arm. Then, he slowly turned his head and smiled at Bing Que. "Do you still remember the little page boy, Green Bamboo, from three lifetimes ago?"
Using his severed arm as a key, he slowly opened the stone doors of the Heavenly Array!
"Nan Qin, you bastard! Do you think you can open the Heaven-Defying Array before me to help Bing Que? I won't allow it!" Ming Yan flew forward.
"Nan Qin!" Bing Que also lunged forward, disregarding his heavy injuries to manifest his true form—a Azure Dragon—to bite and restrain Ming Yan. Ming Yan, in turn, transformed into a Scarlet Dragon, clawing at him until blood flowed freely.
Chu Yao sighed, "I ask the world, what is love... Alas, what a world-shaking, disastrous karmic bond!"
Shan Han smiled bitterly. "If one can fight to the death for the sake of ultimate passion, it is a great joy indeed..."
Finally, the one-armed Nan Qin resolutely blasted open the half-ajar stone doors of the Heavenly Array. He let out a tragic, heroic laugh. "Bing Que! I... have no regrets... WHY?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHO ARE YOU?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY ARE YOU INSIDE THE HEAVEN-DEFYING ARRAY?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY ARE YOU COMPLETELY UNHARMED?!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"We’re taking a shortcut. We heard this leads to the Snake God Clan’s new territory."
"Yeah, doesn't this cave connect to the old ruins of the Snake God Clan?"
"We're just passing through. Why? Do you have a problem with that?"
To everyone's shock, the three individuals standing inside the Heaven-Defying Array—which could turn a person to ash in an instant—spoke up. These three were, of course, our protagonists: Leng Jing, Leng Qingqing, and the White Marten.
"By the way, who are you guys?" Leng Jing asked.
Outside the cave, aside from the two dragons biting each other to death, there was a man lying on the ground coughing blood with a severed arm, and several onlookers.
Everyone froze. Their gazes fell upon the trio, who were actually eating hotpot inside the Heaven-Defying Array.
"The Super Scene-Spoiling Trio."
"Is there a rule saying we can't cook noodles here...?" Leng Qingqing twiddled his fingers.
"Get lost! I'm going to activate the Heaven-Defying Array..." Nan Qin crawled toward them.
"What are you activating it for?" Leng Jing stirred the hotpot with a spoon, looking profound.
"To summon... the Primordial Dragon God... to end the tragedy... the grievances... to restore Bing Que... to make it so Ming Yan can never hurt him again... to let our past turn to ash... to let us forget each other..." Nan Qin wept as he spat blood.
"......" The Leng trio looked at each other. They finished the hotpot at top speed and cleared the area for them.
However, the immortals who continued their entanglements felt a lingering sense of awkwardness. Especially when looking at the patch of the array diagram that had been scorched by the hotpot, their dramatic struggle didn't feel quite as exhilarating as before.
***
"Honestly, even just passing through and eating hotpot gets interrupted," the White Marten grumbled from atop the dragon-form Ferrari.
"Don't you know the saying in the martial world? When you go out, don't provoke three types of people: cut-sleeves, peach-sharers, and Longyang-followers," Leng Jing said, looking back. "Provoking them only brings greater trouble."
Thus, the three continued flying high in the sky, pursuing the message left by Bai Jing—the second of the two nursery rhymes.
"Brother Bai Jing, I believe you must have reincarnated into a good family and are living a happy life, no longer in such pain." Leng Qingqing pressed his palms together in prayer on the dragon's back, then took out some noodles to offer as a sacrifice to the air.
The dragon Ferrari covered ten thousand miles in an instant. Before long, they returned to the skies above the Central Plains. Below them were the dwellings of mortals. Leng Qingqing felt he hadn't eaten his fill earlier and suggested going for soup dumplings. The White Marten agreed, so the three sat down in a small restaurant.
Leng Qingqing ordered a bowl of noodle soup to go with his dumplings, while Leng Jing only ordered a portion of fried small fish. Even after all these years, the eating habits he had formed in the Dragon Palace hadn't changed much.
Leng Qingqing happily devoured the dumplings one by one. The dumplings had sesame seeds in them and were exceptionally fragrant. Leng Jing couldn't help but reach out his finger to wipe a sesame seed from the corner of Leng Qingqing's mouth. Seeing Leng Qingqing like this—looking even younger than himself—Leng Jing unconsciously pinched his chin, wondering what those soft lips would taste like if kissed. A wicked thought gradually began to sprout.
Leng Qingqing was the person who had raised him, and he called him "Father," but the two of them weren't blood-related, were they? What would happen if things developed a step further? Leng Jing withdrew his finger. Leng Qingqing looked at him expectantly. "Why did you pinch me?"
"For fun," Leng Jing said.
"@￥%￥@!" Leng Qingqing got angry.
"Father, do you think I should find a wife?" Leng Jing said intentionally.
"Find a wife for what?! How old are you? Huh?! Are you going to marry a child bride?" Leng Qingqing stuffed a dumpling into his mouth, glaring at him huffily.
"I feel that even a child bride couldn't compare to how virtuous and capable you are at managing the household, Father..." Leng Jing gave a wicked, charming smile.
"You've gone mad, daring to tease your father today! When we get back, I'll annoy you to death! I'll tie three knots!" Leng Qingqing bared his teeth in a threat.
"Hmph..." Leng Jing turned his attention back to the small fish in front of him.
The White Marten slyly nudged closer to Leng Jing, squatting by the fried fish while nibbling on a flatbread. As he chewed, he whispered, "Young Master, I saw it long ago—you have feelings for a certain someone. I saw it over ten years ago. If you ask this old servant, when it comes to matters of the heart, one must be proactive. That fellow you're waiting for only knows how to eat and sleep like a fool."
"Shut up. This is none of your business." Leng Jing stared at Leng Qingqing, who was across from him, drinking a bit of wine and looking thoroughly content.
"How about this old servant gives you a little push? Should I arrange a fake matchmaking session to make a certain someone jealous?" The White Marten continued to smirk wickedly.
"Don't meddle," Leng Jing said.
"You say don't meddle, but in your heart, you really want to, don't you? Heh heh heh... Young Master, just you wait to taste the Old Master's flying jealousy!" A plan began to form in the White Marten's mind.
However, before the White Marten's plan could take shape, a tipsy Leng Qingqing suddenly asked, "Xiao Jing, do you want a mother? I always feel like I've wronged you, Xiao Jing. It's my fault you only have a father and no mother, making it so you don't get a mother's love! So, I've decided to find a mother for Xiao Jing!!"
As soon as these words were spoken, both Leng Jing and the White Marten were startled. Leng Jing hurriedly said, "Father, you're drunk. Go home and sleep!"
But the drunk Leng Qingqing pouted and started to cry. "Waaaaah~~~ But I already filled out the documents and handed them over to them..."
"What 'documents'? Who did you give them to?" Leng Jing really didn't know how many scandalous things this muddled snake had done behind his back.
"I... waaaaah... I participated in the Demon Realm Matchmaking Fair a few days ago and signed all the documents... They said the matchmaking partner would come over in a few days... I was soft-hearted when they persuaded me... They said... a child needs a mother... they made it sound so pitiful, I was moved... waah..." Leng Qingqing said, his face flushed red as he lowered his head.
"Then go cancel it!" Leng Jing slammed the table.
"I can't. They said it can't be canceled. They said the bride will be arriving in a bridal sedan chair very soon..." Leng Qingqing lowered his head even further.
"Didn't you just say it was matchmaking? How did it turn into a wedding?!" The White Marten and Leng Jing were both shocked.
"I don't know either... That's what they said after I paid the deposit for the matchmaking fair... They said... said because the deposit I gave was very precious, they'd let me enjoy the best treatment... the kind where you get married in one go..." Leng Qingqing said.
"That's an obvious scam. What did you pay them with?" Leng Jing asked.
"That dragon horn bonsai you didn't want..." Leng Qingqing said softly.
"Using the Young Master's dragon horn as collateral? You could marry at least a thousand wives with that. Old Master, you got swindled big time," the White Marten sighed.
"............ Fine. We'll wait for the stepmother to show up and see." Leng Jing gave a cold snort, and only then did Leng Qingqing breathe a sigh of relief.
"You're quite pleased with yourself, aren't you?!" Leng Jing suddenly snapped.
"I'm not!" Leng Qingqing grew nervous again.
"You clearly are! You fickle snake!" Leng Jing accused him groundlessly.
"I'm not fickle at all. Back then, when the flower demon from Jade Sea Valley made advances toward me, I didn't say anything. And that yellow wolf, and..." Leng Qingqing twiddled his fingers.
"How many more romantic affairs have you had?!" Leng Jing leaned across the table, beginning to exert psychological pressure on Leng Qingqing from close range.
The White Marten, seeing Leng Jing vent such grievances for the first time, smirked. It seemed the Young Master had truly fallen into a vat of vinegar.
***
"Write it down for me. I want to keep it as a record." Leng Jing placed the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone he had bought onto the restaurant table. While eating lunch, he made Leng Qingqing write down everything he had hidden from him.
"Abusing your old father... waaaaah... What should the title be?" Leng Qingqing pouted.
"My Confession." Leng Jing tapped the table.
"Fine, fine... My... Confession..." Leng Qingqing began to write aggrievedly.
Leng Jing let out a breath. At that moment, business in the restaurant picked up. There was the sound of music and drums outside as a wedding procession passed by. Leng Jing glanced sideways at Leng Qingqing. "Is that your 'marriage'?"
Leng Qingqing looked up. "How is that possible? This place is a hundred thousand miles away from where I did the matchmaking! Xiao Jing, you've gone muddled too."
"...... I was just asking." Leng Jing held a cup of tea and looked toward the door. He saw a bright red bridal sedan chair being carried from the East Street through the West Street, preceded by a lively troupe of gongs and drums. Many onlookers' children ran up to ask for candy, surrounding the sedan chair, clapping their hands and singing a nursery rhyme in celebration:
"Red bed, purple room, took Sister's little plaque.
Went to the North to find Sister; Sister's not there, but Brother is.
Brother treats me to candy~ Candy must be eaten now.
Eat it late and you can't go home~ A great big patch, a great big patch~"
"What kind of nursery rhyme is that? It sounds terrible!" the White Marten scoffed.
"Actually, I think it's quite interesting." Leng Jing took out the small iron piece left by the female ghost. "This must be the second nursery rhyme Bai Jing said we would hear! Then this is the 'little plaque given by Sister' mentioned in the rhyme. The meaning of the rhyme is to tell me to go North to find that Myriad Phenomena Tower."
"It really does sound like that's the case. But what does that 'great big patch' at the end mean?" the White Marten asked curiously.
"I don't know what 'a great big patch' represents either." Leng Jing shook his head, then went over to stop a child and asked, "Little friend, what does that 'great big patch' you just sang mean?"
The child shook his head. A child nearby vied to answer, "I know, I know! It means a great big patch of candy!"
The waiter came over to join the fun. "Guest, that's a Fox Immortal song we sing here when asking for candy during weddings. It's been around for a long time, and no one knows what it means. Legend has it that a Fox Immortal taught the locals to sing it. Haha, I sang it when I was a kid too. It doesn't have any special meaning; it's just an auspicious saying!"
"Taught to the people by a Fox Immortal..." Leng Jing thought pensively. So this nursery rhyme indeed came from the Demon Realm.
"The confession is finished..." Leng Qingqing said, silently following behind them.
"A great big patch, the North..." Both Leng Jing and the White Marten stroked their chins in thought.
"The confession is finished..." Leng Qingqing said expectantly.
"What could it mean?" The two profound thinkers were still pondering.
"The confession... WAAAAAAAAAAH~~~~!" Leng Qingqing stomped his foot.
***
Among the records in the martial world regarding the Myriad Phenomena Tower, those held by the Sect of Divine Communication were the most detailed.
The "Ugly Little Snake" decided to investigate the headquarters of the Sect of Divine Communication at night to look for clues. Not only that, but to avoid having to write another ten-thousand-word confession, Leng Qingqing took the initiative to ask to go along.
"Don't follow me." Leng Jing put on his night-traveling clothes in the inn. "You'll expose my movements."
"Then you don't trust me, making me write this and that. I'm not doing it. Besides, Xiao Jing, when you're outside, don't you do bad things too?" Leng Qingqing argued with Leng Jing, following the White Marten's instructions.
"What bad things would I do? Fine, fine, if you want to follow, then follow." Leng Jing glanced at the White Marten, who was playing dead on the bed, and gave a silent, cold snort.
"Then I'll go put on black clothes too." Leng Qingqing also changed into night-traveling attire.
***
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