Chapter 10

◎Dependence◎  

…How could it possibly be negative??  

The ever-gentle smile on Wen Chang Xing Jun’s face cracked slightly before fading completely, replaced by an expression of utter disbelief.  

Having ascended to immortality for two centuries, Xie Cexuan had never witnessed such a scene. After a brief pause, he frowned and asked:  

“Wen Chang Xing Jun, is there something wrong with the incense, or is it your Merit Administration Office? In the hundreds of thousands of years since the Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace was established, who has ever seen an immortal with negative Merit?”  

Wen Chang Xing Jun snapped out of his daze and glanced at the silent Zhuo Ying.  

Most likely, the problem lay with the person.  

Since Princess Zhuo Ying had not undergone the standard ascension process, and although she had traveled all the way from the Great Yong to the Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace as a hostage, her level of sacrifice was limited. Thus, Wen Chang Xing Jun had already anticipated that her Merit Points might not be particularly high.  

But negative Merit Points? That was simply outrageous!  

“Princess Zhuo Ying, please don’t be too disheartened. Perhaps… perhaps there’s something wrong with this incense—”  

Zhuo Ying interrupted his attempt at consolation and calmly asked:  

“Star Lord, what consequences will I face if my Merit Points remain negative?”  

Wen Chang Xing Jun: “Well… if you weren’t an immortal, it wouldn’t matter much. After all, there are plenty of unscrupulous people in the world… *ahem*—I don’t mean to imply that you, Princess, are unscrupulous. In any case, if your Merit remains negative, the immortal energy you cultivate will likely be used to fill this deficit.”  

Seeing Zhuo Ying fall silent for a long while after hearing this, Wen Chang Xing Jun assumed she was distressed and quickly signaled Xie Cexuan with his eyes to offer some words of comfort.  

The Young God of War, who had been observing from the sidelines, did indeed speak up—though not in the way Wen Chang Xing Jun had hoped.  

“Chi Shui Zhuo Ying, is your Merit so low because you’ve done too many unscrupulous deeds for your shixiong?”  

His hand rested lazily on the hilt of his sword, and his half-smiling tone carried not a shred of comfort—only the unmistakable delight of someone enjoying another’s misfortune.  

Xie Cexuan had no major flaws, save for his tendency to hold grudges.  

If Zhuo Ying had deceived him into risking his life for her own sake, he might have let it slide—especially now that he’d gotten to know her and found he didn’t actually dislike her.  

But she had done it for someone else.  

Being used as a tool to benefit a stranger was not something Xie Cexuan, with his temperament, could easily overlook.  

And judging by this, the unscrupulous deeds she’d committed for her shixiong probably numbered more than just one or two.  

*Tsk.*  

For someone as cold and detached as her, just how close had she been with that shixiong of hers to willingly do so much for him?  

Zhuo Ying, however, remained oblivious to Xie Cexuan’s convoluted thoughts. After a moment of contemplation, she asked:  

“If I hire a large group of people to offer incense in my name, can I make up for the lost Merit?”  

Wen Chang Xing Jun’s eye twitched.  

“Incense is merely a formality. Some individuals perform good deeds but, due to various circumstances, cannot have temples built in their honor. Yet, when the Heavenly Dao settles accounts, the reverence people hold for such immortals in their hearts will still be converted into Merit. Princess, it’s best not to dwell on unorthodox methods. Besides, where would you even get that much money?”  

As a hostage, she was strictly forbidden from unauthorized communication with her homeland—lest she be suspected of colluding with the enemy.  

“Aren’t the banks in the mortal realm full of money?”  

Wen Chang Xing Jun reiterated: “Even if Your Highness’s immortal powers allow you to descend to the mortal realm in the future, you must not recklessly use immortal techniques—or you will suffer backlash.”  

“Why would I need to use immortal techniques?”

Zhuoying raised her eyes, a trace of confusion flickering in her dark pupils.

“What I mean is, we could borrow money from a bank, hire people to create the illusion of flourishing incense offerings, mold me into a deity who specializes in absolving the sins of evildoers, and then sell them Merit Talismans—like buying one talisman to atone for theft, two for arson—”

“With this, we’d have both money and my Merit Points, without using any celestial magic in the mortal realm. Doesn’t that make sense?”

…It made too much sense.

Wen Chang Xing Jun even pondered for a moment. Given the illiteracy of many mortals, Chi Shui Zhuo Ying’s scheme might actually work.

But what kind of crooked path was this!

Not only would the immortals of their Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace never consider it, even those from the neighboring Mount Sumeru Immortal Realm wouldn’t stoop to such unscrupulous methods.

Xie Cexuan gave her a thumbs-up:

“The Heavenly Dao sentencing you to negative 10,397 Merit Points truly wasn’t unjust.”

Zhuoying: ?

“P-Princess, please remain calm. I will report this matter to Tianhou and the various immortal masters of Fusang Academy. We’ll all discuss how to resolve this issue. I’ve heard Yan Jun has been assisting with your recovery recently—just focus on recuperating and cultivating.”

And please, for heaven’s sake, stop that clever little brain of hers from scheming further.

Wen Chang Xing Jun wiped cold sweat from his brow.

Zhuoying paused.

“Everyone will discuss it together?”

“Of course. Otherwise, how could you possibly resolve such a massive negative Merit deficit alone?”

After a long silence, Zhuoying nodded very slowly.

The incense stick in her hand was nearly burnt out, and the shocking Merit Points before her eyes gradually blurred.

Zhuoying stared blankly at her Merit value.

In this lifetime so far, her schemes for Chen Ye had been limited—far from enough to accumulate such a terrifying amount.

The only possibility was—

The Heavenly Dao had factored in the sins from her previous life.

It demanded she repent for the lives she’d taken in her past existence.

Expressionlessly, Zhuoying pinched out the dying ember of the incense.

In her past life, before her reforms, the Barren Sea Celestial Clan had been oppressed by the other Four Seas Celestial Clans for millennia.

She had withstood pressure from Barren Sea’s aristocratic families, spearheaded new laws, and implemented reforms. To achieve this, she executed many powerful clans, enabling Barren Sea to grow strong enough to eventually annex the other Four Seas, abolishing their rampant human sacrifice practices and ensuring Barren Sea’s people would never again live in fear of being captured and offered as tribute.

Generals who slaughtered thousands on battlefields could ascend to godhood. Yet when she eliminated those parasitic aristocratic families entrenched for millennia, the Heavenly Dao demanded her repentance?

She would not repent.

Not only that—she would make those who truly deserved punishment repent to her.

–

“—Lord Qing Yuan! Lord Qing Yuan!”

In the corridors of Fusang Academy, Crown Prince Fu Yao, who had spent three days searching the entire Heavenly Palace, finally cornered Qing Yuan Shenjun, head of the Censorate.

“This lord is currently heading to the Hall of Assembled Sages for discussions with other immortal masters. If Your Highness has no urgent matters, please wait in the Lecture Hall for your lessons.”

“I do have urgent matters.”

With a dark expression, Fu Yao doggedly followed the swiftly moving Qing Yuan Shenjun.

“Why was Ting Yun let off lightly for breaking into the Fate Administration Office and tampering with the Fate Controller’s Brush to interfere with an immortal’s tribulation?”

Qing Yuan Shenjun: “According to heavenly law, thirty-seven strikes of tribulation lightning hardly counts as ‘lightly.'”

Unable to contain himself any longer, Fu Yao grabbed Qing Yuan Shenjun’s arm:

“He is a Descendant of the Ancestral God, possessing the bloodline of the ancient phoenix. A few strikes of heavenly lightning are nothing more than a scratch to him! Mount Sumeru Immortal Realm probably sent him to raid the Fate Administration Office precisely because of this!”

Lord Qing Yuan was forced to halt and cast a sidelong glance at him:

“And what does the Crown Prince propose we do with him?”

“Of course, strip him of his immortal bones, cast him into the cycle of reincarnation, and bar him from ever rejoining the ranks of immortals again!”

“His Highness the Crown Prince has quite the legalist temperament.”

The Divine Lord remarked indifferently before shifting his tone:

“If raiding the Fate Administration Office warrants stripping immortal bones, then killing an Upper Purity Heaven immortal would also warrant the same. Previously, the Hall of Heavenly Kings clashed with Mount Sumeru immortals over apprehending the Divine Maiden. If they knew that both major and minor crimes carried the same penalty of bone-stripping, why hesitate? They might as well kill one after another until they reach the Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace, sparking an all-out war between the two clans. Is that what His Highness the Crown Prince intends?”

Fu Yao was momentarily stunned, wanting to refute but finding no grounds, his face darkening with fury.

“I used to think Lord Qing Yuan was the most impartial inspector in the Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace. Who knew he’d turn out to be such a fence-sitter!”

Lord Qing Yuan ignored his words and stepped into the Hall of Assembled Sages within the Academy.

The Hall of Assembled Sages served as a resting place for the Academy’s immortal instructors and was also used for disciplining students when necessary.

At this moment, the hall was filled with numerous immortal instructors.

It was rare for the instructors of Fusang Academy to gather in such numbers. With Lord Qing Yuan being the last to arrive and take his seat, the meeting finally commenced.

Wen Chang Xing Jun was the first to speak:

“In my opinion, this matter boils down to two reasons. First, Princess Zhuo Ying’s temple in the mortal realm is too remote and small, and the Great Yong royal family hardly mentions her contributions. In contrast, the other princess who served as a hostage among the Barren Sea Celestial Clan has been heavily promoted by the royal family. Even before her temple was completed, countless devotees were already offering sincere worship.”

He had recently investigated the mortal realm and found the Great Yong royal family’s treatment of the two princesses to be starkly different.

This was how they portrayed Princess Zhaocui—

The Barren Sea Celestial Clan dwells in a remote and barren land, warlike by nature, often stirring violent storms and towering waves to intimidate coastal inhabitants. Their assistance in suppressing the human race for the Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace stemmed from resentment over humans worshipping only the gods of the Four Seas while neglecting the Barren Sea.

Princess Zhaocui, pitying the suffering of the people, willingly sacrificed herself to marry the Barren Sea Young Lord, ensuring peace and prosperity for those living near the Barren Sea, freeing them from the fear of divine wrath.

In reality, few people lived near the Barren Sea.

According to reports from the Six Household Gods under the Fate Administration Office, Princess Zhaocui had insisted on going to the Barren Sea out of infatuation with the Young Lord.

To ensure she wouldn’t be mistreated there, the Emperor and Empress ordered the people to construct thousands of temples in honor of the Barren Sea immortals.

As for Princess Zhuo Ying, this was their portrayal—

The Emperor and Empress cherished Princess Zhuo Ying deeply, unable to bear seeing her suffer in the Barren Sea, so they sent her to the Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace, the pinnacle of the Immortal Realm, to enjoy a life of luxury.

Moreover, due to the snow calamity in Yaoguang City, public resentment toward the Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace had reached a boiling point.

Some scholars openly condemned Chi Shui Zhuo Ying for failing to prevent the disaster despite her position in Upper Purity Heaven, watching as countless innocent lives perished. They argued that Great Yong should never have worshipped such a princess.

The extreme polarization in their reputations was undoubtedly fueled by someone behind the scenes.

“The other reason is that Princess Zhuoying met the Young Lord of the Barren Sea when she was ten years old. They’ve known each other for eight years now, and their bond as fellow disciples is quite strong. Her influence was evident during the struggles among the Barren Sea princes for the throne, which also entangled the Young God of War and Divine Lord Feng Li. This is likely why the Heavenly Dao deemed her morally deficient during its reckoning.”

With a loud slam on the table, all the immortal masters turned to Divine Lord Feng Li.

“Absurd!”

“As parents, to show such blatant favoritism is utterly absurd! She merely fabricated a story and manipulated some immortals without causing any casualties, yet she was saddled with tens of thousands of negative Merit Points. The Heavenly Dao is even more absurd!”

Divine Lord Qing Yuan glanced at Divine Lord Feng Li in surprise.

The Censorate was swamped with work, and he hadn’t yet met the Princess since her arrival at the Heavenly Palace.

He certainly hadn’t expected Divine Lord Feng Li, who had shown clear disdain upon hearing that Chi Shui Zhuo Ying was coming to the Heavenly Palace as a hostage, to now speak up for her.

After all, she was the one responsible for his transformation into a female war god in the mortal realm.

“Divine Lord Feng Li, choose your words carefully,” Divine Lord Qing Yuan said coolly. “The Heavenly Dao does not err. There must be a basis for such a judgment. Instead of thinking how to absolve her, consider whether someone like her should even be granted the right to study at the Academy.”

Tens of thousands of negative Merit Points.

What kind of heinous villain would warrant that?

“If she weren’t a hostage sent by the human race and a symbol of the truce between our peoples, she would deserve to be locked in the celestial prison.”

Lord Yan Jun smiled faintly:

“No patient of mine has ever been thrown into the celestial prison before I could cure them. If Divine Lord Qing Yuan wishes to take Chi Shui Zhuo Ying away, he’ll have to get through me first.”

“And me.”

Divine Lord Feng Li said coldly:

“As long as she remains at the Academy for a single day, she is a student of Fusang Academy. Unless the Empress of Heaven herself orders it, I’d like to see who dares to forcibly remove a student from Fusang Academy.”

The atmosphere in the Hall of Assembled Sages grew tense.

Wen Chang Xing Jun sighed inwardly.

Princess Zhuoying, with so many Divine Lords standing up for you, please don’t come up with any more clever but morally questionable ideas.

—

Another bout of Frost Poison had passed.

Zhuoying could feel that this episode was more intense than any before.

This meant the Heart Devouring Gu inside her was nearing complete dormancy, allowing the Frost Poison to rage unchecked within her body.

Alongside the bone-chilling cold came the pain of her meridians gradually healing.

Lord Yan Jun had said that under normal circumstances, meridian healing would take six months. Yet after just ten days, Zhuoying could already sense faint traces of qi circulating as she practiced the Tai Chi Palm Technique.

Though it was still very weak.

Drenched in cold sweat, Zhuoying pushed aside the heavy blankets and slowly sat up on the bed.

In the center of the room, a Blazing Sun Pearl emitted a scorching heat, illuminating the darkness like an unquenchable flame.

This was a gift from the Empress of Heaven to alleviate the pain of Frost Poison episodes.

Zhuoying sat motionless as an ice sculpture for a long while before recovering. She tried to pour herself a cup of water but found her hands trembling too violently to hold it steady.

This wouldn’t do.

Staring at her shaking hands, Zhuoying’s mind raced.

Previously, she had thought enduring the physical pain until the Frost Poison was cured and the Heart Devouring Gu expelled would allow her to cultivate smoothly.

Unexpectedly, she found herself burdened with another debt.

Zhuoying took a deep breath.

Thinking of it as debt was too disheartening—better to treat it as a rehearsal for becoming an immortal.

Once she ascended, she would inevitably have to heed mortal prayers and accumulate Merit for herself—only then could she rise above all other immortals.

But given her current abilities, going it alone was out of the question. She needed allies.

So the next day, on the training grounds of the Hall of Heavenly Kings, a snow-clad fairy, delicate as carved jade, caught the attention of many Celestial Soldiers.

“Which palace does this fairy belong to? She seems unfamiliar.”

“Who is she here to see?”

“She didn’t say, but I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before…”

Chang Meng, just returning from his shift, spotted Zhuoying immediately and waved with a smile.

“Princess Zhuo Ying! What brings you here?”

At his words, even those who hadn’t noticed her before turned their gazes toward her.

That’s Chi Shui Zhuo Ying?

No way. The one who made Xie Cexuan suffer a setback shouldn’t be some delicate beauty—she ought to be a mighty heroine!

Yet she looks… like a statue molded from snow?

Xie Cexuan was sparring with a general.

Under the blazing sun, Zhuoying could only glimpse flashes of crimson robes from afar. A sleek black spear tore through the air, forcing his opponent to retreat step by step.

Neither used immortal magic—this was pure spearplay, more exhilarating than any dazzling spell.

Finally, with a dull thud as the spearhead buried itself in the ground, the crimson-clad youth pointed his weapon at the disheveled general and smirked.

“Senior Brother, a bet’s a bet. Your battalion covers our Heavenly Palace patrol shift tomorrow.”

The Thunderclap Directorate soldiers behind Xie Cexuan cheered and clapped. The deputy commander of the Northern Battalion dusted himself off, half-resigned and half-impressed, and punched Xie Cexuan’s shoulder.

“You brat… Two centuries as the Young God of War, and you’ve still got tricks up your sleeve. Next time, archery?”

The youth in red grinned lazily. “Anytime.”

“Young God of War—!”

Chang Meng’s voice carried from afar. Xie Cexuan followed the sound and realized half the training grounds were staring at him.

“You’ve got a visitor,” Chang Meng pointed. “Princess Zhuo Ying.”

Every soldier from the Northern Battalion and the Thunderclap Directorate turned to look.

Chi Shui Zhuo Ying?

Xie Cexuan’s brow arched slightly. He couldn’t fathom why she’d seek him out.

“I’ll see what she wants.”

Tossing his spear aside, he started toward her when a whisper from one of his Thunderclap Directorate soldiers caught his ear.

“Chi Shui Zhuo Ying doesn’t look like I imagined… Could the Young God of War be deceived by her?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Do you think the Young God of War is that shallow?”

“Exactly.”

The voices faded behind him as Xie Cexuan approached the snow-clad figure.

“You looking for me?”

He’d already guessed part of the reason on his way over. His smile was cool as he regarded her.

“Don’t tell me you spent all night thinking and decided the solution was to ask me to help you earn Merit Points?”

He was half-right.

Zhuoying didn’t hesitate. “You’re unwilling?”

Her matter-of-fact expression gave him pause. He scoffed.

“You should be grateful I’m not causing you trouble, yet you dare ask for my help? What were you thinking?”

Xie Cexuan almost wanted to reflect on his own actions.

Had he been too approachable, giving Chi Shui Zhuoying the mistaken impression that he was easy to talk to?

He shouldn’t have helped her that time.

Zhuoying silently stared at him for a moment.

Then, calmly and bluntly, she said:

“I have no choice.”

“In the Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace, the only person I can rely on is you.”

Xie Cexuan: “…”

Coming from Chi Shui Zhuoying’s mouth, these words had an earth-shattering effect.

His usual indifferent and aloof expression froze instantly, and he stared at her in disbelief for a long moment.

“You…”

His ears automatically filtered the words.

*The only person I can rely on is you.*

*I only have you.*

Xie Cexuan stiffened his face and said, “You do know that immortals below the third rank are forbidden from romantic relationships, right?”

Zhuoying: ?

What does this have to do with romance?

But judging by his reaction, those words really worked quite well.

Good. She’d say the same thing to Fu Yao later.

Author’s Note:

Here’s roughly what the female lead did in her past life:

Her boss told her there was a troublesome task that would upset some people. Though the outcome would be beneficial overall, a small group’s interests would be affected, and they wouldn’t be happy.

The female lead thought her boss had treated her well, so she took the blame. After she handled the matter, the boss killed her to appease those she had offended—making everyone happy.

Only the female lead ended up as the biggest fool.