Chapter 9

◎Merit◎  

“…Zhuo Ying, my younger sister!”  

Ting Yun, held firmly in Xie Cexuan’s grip, couldn’t believe his ears.  

What did she just say?  

Jealousy? What nonsense was this? He was a man—even if she adored Chen Ye, why would she feel jealous…  

No.  

Ting Yun caught the faint, inscrutable coldness in the young girl’s distant gaze and suddenly understood.  

The jealousy was a lie, but the murderous intent was real.  

Yet this only deepened his confusion.  

He had only met Chi Shui Zhuo Ying once three years ago on Mount Kunlun. Back then, she was the sole female disciple under the Utmost Subtlety Sage, residing in the most remote side peak.  

Their first encounter had been when Chen Ye was to be formally appointed as the Barren Sea Young Lord. Ting Yun had been asked to escort his junior sister to the Barren Sea for the ceremony.  

In his memory, Chen Ye’s junior sister spoke little. When she lowered her gaze to read, her eyes were both beautiful and detached—like an immortal herb untouched by worldly affairs in a celestial paradise.  

Only when she saw Chen Ye did she seem willing to engage with the world, descending into the mortal realm to clear every obstacle in his path.  

And during the Young Lord’s coronation that day, Chen Ye had dismissed the ceremonial officials, insisting that Zhuo Ying personally ascend the platform to tie the Jade Token around his waist.  

—”A-Ying, today you bestow upon me the Young Lord’s Jade Token. In the future, when I become the sovereign, I will grant you the position of Grand Fate Controller, and we shall rule the Barren Sea together.”  

—”One day, no one else will dictate the fate of our lives.”  

Standing below the platform at the time, Ting Yun had felt that if there was one person in this world they could trust never to betray them, it would only be each other.  

But now—  

“Is it because Chen Ye didn’t find a way to bring you to the Barren Sea? Zhuo Ying, my younger sister, you’re intelligent. You must understand this was only a temporary measure. The Empress promised to build nearly a thousand temples for the Barren Sea’s immortal clans—think of the immense Power of Faith that brings. With this strength, your senior brother can truly secure his position as the Young Lord…”  

“Truly secure it?”  

Zhuo Ying chuckled at his words and took slow, deliberate steps forward.  

“The Barren Sea hasn’t been peaceful lately, has it?”  

Ting Yun’s struggling paused.  

“The human realm didn’t send a hostage to the Barren Sea—they sent a princess who could marry him. This alliance will bring him an immeasurable amount of Power of Faith. The throne is within his grasp, and the other princes of the Barren Sea will undoubtedly act.”  

Zhuo Ying stopped before him, her expression as serene as distant mountains, yet her words carried the weight of bloodshed:  

“His brothers will come for him one after another, and Chen Ye won’t hold back either. Fratricidal strife, rivers of blood—the Barren Sea will soon face upheaval.”  

Ting Yun’s eyes widened in shock.  

She was confined as a hostage in the Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace, under heavy surveillance—how could she know so much about what was happening in the Barren Sea?  

Xie Cexuan also regarded Zhuo Ying with surprise.  

He had assumed her feelings for the so-called Barren Sea Young Lord were extraordinary. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to help him ascend back then, even using him and Divine Lord Feng Li as stepping stones for the Young Lord’s rise.  

But now, hearing her speak of the Barren Sea Young Lord again, while it seemed she kept close tabs on him, there was no warmth in her concern—only a faint undercurrent of killing intent beneath her calm surface.  

Had she turned against her senior brother?  

Because he hadn’t saved her and brought her to the Barren Sea?

Xie Cexuan released the dumbstruck Ting Yun from his grip, casually tossing him to the ground. The previously visible irritation and impatience in his demeanor had noticeably subsided.

It was as if some inexplicable anger had dissipated.

Zhuoying slightly furrowed her brows. “Why let him go?”

Fu Yao pressed his temples. “Don’t join Xie Cexuan in his madness. He’s the son of the Eternal Life Emperor from the Mount Sumeru Immortal Realm. Killing him would mean starting a war between the Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace and Mount Sumeru.”

Zhuoying’s expression showed a hint of regret.

“I told you, I have a way to clean up the aftermath for you.”

Hearing this, Xie Cexuan nudged the disheveled immortal lord on the ground with his black battle boots.

His tone carried a semblance of sympathy, but the smile on his lips was wicked:

“What did you do to offend this black-hearted lotus?”

Zhuoying: ?

Ting Yun was equally distraught. “I didn’t! How could I have offended her? Zhuo Ying, my younger sister, there must be some misunderstanding—”

“What kind of sister is she to you? Disgusting.”

Fu Yao cut him off, shifting the topic.

“The urgent matter now is about his sister’s mortal trial. Xie Cexuan, what exactly happened?”

Xie Cexuan replied leisurely, “What else? We were a step too late. This guy sneaked into the Fate Registry Library of the Fate Administration Office and scribbled a few grand lines on his sister’s blank fate scroll—”

“Noble lineage, perfect marriage, free from illness and disaster, peaceful death in old age.”

He had essentially piled every good fortune a mortal woman could wish for onto this divine maiden.

Upon hearing these sixteen words, Fu Yao was so enraged that he immediately drew his sword and pressed it against Ting Yun’s neck.

“Change it back! I don’t care how, but change her fate back now!”

“Over a thousand citizens of Yaoguang City froze to death because of your sister’s negligence. Among them were countless elderly and young children, the youngest just a few months old—barely having seen the world before being buried in that blizzard. How dare you let your foolish, malicious sister live free from illness and disaster, dying peacefully in old age!”

The icy blade pressed against Ting Yun’s throat. He swallowed hard, yet unlike his earlier panic in front of Xie Cexuan, he met Fu Yao’s gaze steadily, his fair face even breaking into a smile:

“Once a fate is written, it cannot be altered.”

Fu Yao: “Aren’t you afraid of being struck by heavenly lightning for daring to tamper with the Fate Controller’s Brush without authorization?”

“If heavenly lightning strikes me, the elders of the Mount Sumeru Immortal Realm will find a way to shield me. Because I am a Descendant of the Ancestral God, the son of the Eternal Life Emperor. Just now, the Crown Prince of Upper Purity Heaven asked how I dared—why wouldn’t I dare?”

Ting Yun appeared the picture of a gentle, honest youth, his smile pure and harmless. Yet beneath that innocent facade lay a chilling indifference.

“Even if a thousand people died, what of it? What if it were ten thousand, a hundred thousand, or a million?”

“This world has always been divided between high and low, noble and base. Some lives are light—their existence or demise hinges on another’s whim. Others are heavy—born adored by thousands, their deaths capable of dragging the world down with them. Such is the injustice of life. Do you really expect my sister, a divine maiden, to atone for those thousand lives? Don’t be absurd.”

He spoke as if stating an irrefutable truth, as though this were the natural order of the universe.

Fu Yao trembled with rage, veins bulging on the back of his sword-wielding hand. For a fleeting moment, he truly wanted to strike down and show Ting Yun just how “light” his own life could be.

But a slender, pale hand gently rested on his wrist.

The pressure from her fingers was almost negligible, yet the serene, water-like aura about her inexplicably rooted Fu Yao to the spot.

“He’s right—the world is inherently unfair.”

Ting Yun blinked in surprise.

A smile spread across his face, and the girl reflected in his eyes seemed to revert to the pure and lovely image she once had in the Kunlun Mountains.

The next moment, he heard her speak in a calm, cool voice:

“So, remember to relay this to Chen Ye: if one day he dies by my hand, he shouldn’t ask why or hold any resentment—because this unjust world has granted me an extraordinary opportunity.”

An extraordinary… opportunity?

Zhuoying smiled ambiguously.

She said nothing more, but that smile alone was enough to conjure many unsettling associations in Ting Yun’s mind.

As an observer, he knew all too well how Chen Ye had climbed to where he was today.

Though the girl before him was only eighteen, her cunning and strategic mind far surpassed her peers.

When he first met Chen Ye, despite knowing his unparalleled cultivation and the countless willing to die for him, among his many well-established brothers, he hadn’t even a ten percent chance of success.

But after Chen Ye met Chi Shui Zhuoying, Ting Yun witnessed firsthand her schemes and watched as Chen Ye rose from an overlooked prince to the celebrated Barren Sea Young Lord.

She could turn the impossible into reality.

Now, with unwavering confidence, she declared herself Chen Ye’s enemy—and she would undoubtedly spare no effort to see it through.

So, as Chen Ye’s ally in the Immortal Realm, might he be one of the wings she sought to clip?

“You… what do you intend to do?”

Ting Yun stared nervously at Zhuoying.

“Zhuo Ying, my younger sister, those mortals I mentioned earlier certainly don’t include you—how could you be compared to them? With your celestial grace and brilliance, you should be cherished like a treasure… Has the Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace treated you poorly, making you resent Chen Ye? Don’t worry, I’ll go to the Barren Sea tomorrow to discuss with him—we’ll find a way to save you…”

“The Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace treats all equally, without distinction of rank. Don’t spread baseless rumors here.”

Fu Yao retorted irritably.

Ignoring him, Ting Yun craned his neck toward Zhuoying and asked:

“What do you plan to do to Chen Ye? The Barren Sea Celestial Clan has just aided the Supreme Purity Heavenly Palace in subduing the mortal realm—relations between the two are harmonious. If you’re trying to sow discord, it won’t work.”

Zhuoying merely smiled, looking down at Ting Yun with inscrutable dark eyes.

“You seem quite fond of your sister?”

Ting Yun stiffened in shock.

“How lovely. I’ve always wished for an elder brother who doted on me. Sadly, I’m the eldest, and my senior brother only aspires to be a lord, not a brother to me.”

Zhuoying covered her lips with a light cough, then curved them slightly.

“Your sister is truly enviable.”

With that, she didn’t bother to observe Ting Yun’s increasingly alarmed expression as his mind raced. Turning to Xie Cexuan and Fu Yao, she said:

“Since you’re not planning to kill him, which of you can spare the time to show me the way? I still need to visit the Merit Administration Office to register my Immortal Status.”

Fu Yao: “…You really never change.”

No one had emerged from the Fate Administration Office—the timid officials there must have already alerted the Censorate. Lingering any longer would only invite trouble.

Xie Cexuan and Fu Yao decided to temporarily take refuge in the Merit Administration Office to avoid the immediate fallout.

Once they had walked a sufficient distance, Fu Yao asked:

“What do you plan to do?”

Zhuoying tilted her head slightly. “Do about what?”

“Weren’t you implying earlier that you’d take action against the Divine Maiden of Mount Sumeru?”

“Oh, that.”

Zhuoying replied with an indifferent expression:

“I was just scaring him. I don’t have time to do something that offers me no benefit.”

Ting Yun appeared pure and naive on the surface, but in reality, he had his own cunning. Otherwise, in her past life, he wouldn’t have proposed marrying her to restrain Chen Ye once he realized Chen Ye’s influence was growing uncontrollable.

But his cunning wasn’t cunning enough.

So, Zhuoying knew that as long as she said those words, Ting Yun would exhaust all means to uncover the so-called opportunity she mentioned. Once he found it impossible to discover, he would grow increasingly restless, as if a sharp sword hung over his head, its fall imminent yet uncertain.

That would torment him for quite some time.

As for whether he would relay her words to Chen Ye—

Zhuoying believed Chen Ye’s choice to stay absent on the day the hostage left the palace was already a unilateral declaration of severance.

He couldn’t be unkind himself and still expect her unwavering loyalty, could he?

“I should’ve known,” Fu Yao groaned, closing his eyes in exasperation. “I actually believed you’d be provoked by his words and start scheming against Mount Sumeru Immortal Realm. I must’ve been kicked in the head by a donkey.”

Fu Yao handed over the task of guiding Zhuoying to Xie Cexuan and headed back to see how the Censorate would handle Ting Yun’s unauthorized use of the Fate Controller’s Brush.

Now, only Zhuoying and Xie Cexuan remained on the path leading to the Merit Administration Office.

“—Do you know how constructing temples relates to the Immortal Register?” Zhuoying asked. “Divine Lord Feng Li only mentioned that, given the time, my temple in the mortal realm should be completed, and I should come to register.”

Xie Cexuan glanced at her. “I thought your mind would be preoccupied with the love-hate saga between you and your senior brother.”

“You seem to have some misconceptions about me,” Zhuoying replied, her gaze fixed ahead. “Between him and me, only one word in ‘love-hate saga’ applies.”

Hate.

A feud that would end only with death.

Xie Cexuan studied her frost-lake eyes for a moment before looking away.

“Why tell me all this? I didn’t ask.”

Despite his words, his expression visibly brightened after hearing her response, and he became more patient in explaining things to her.

“…Aside from the Innate Immortal Embryos of Mount Sumeru Immortal Realm, the cultivation of other immortals comes half from practice and half from Merit. The calculation of Merit involves many nuances.

“The most straightforward measure is the number of temples built by mortals in their honor and the fervor of their worship. To secure both, immortals must diligently cultivate their powers, enabling them to fulfill the wishes of their devotees and thus gain more followers, further enhancing their cultivation. This cycle perpetuates until they attain the Great Dao.”

Zhuoying nodded, only half-understanding.

“So, when some deities seem ineffective, it’s because they lack sufficient power?”

“Exactly. The Immortal Realm and the mortal world are separated by boundaries. The power immortals can wield in the mortal realm is constrained by the Heavenly Dao. Overstepping these limits invites Divine Retribution.”

This was also why the mortal emperor dared to challenge the Immortal Realm.

The mortal world provided faith to the Immortal Realm, and in return, the immortals used the power derived from that faith to protect the people.

Interdependence and mutual restraint—this was the harmony of the Heavenly Dao.

Upon arriving at the Merit Administration Office, Zhuoying couldn’t help but grow curious.  

How much incense offerings would her temple receive? How much merit had she accumulated?  

Wen Chang Xing Jun, who had been waiting for some time, smiled faintly:  

“Princess, you need only light an incense stick, then extinguish it to see your temple in the mortal realm and your merit points.”  

Zhuoying did as instructed.  

The incense smoke curled upward, carrying the prayers of immortals.  

As she blew out the flame, ethereal mist rose from the extinguished incense, and within the haze, the scenery of the mortal world slowly unfolded before Zhuoying’s eyes.  

Wen Chang Xing Jun and Xie Cexuan, who was leaning against the doorframe, also turned their gazes toward it.  

What met their sight was a small, empty temple—and a line of glittering golden characters.  

Chi Shui Zhuo Ying’s Merit Points:  

Negative 10,397.  

Author’s Note:  

Updates will still be at 12 PM from now on! Thank you all for tolerating my editing habits. This chapter comes with fifty red packets—mwah, mwah, everyone!  

–