Knowing what was on her mind, the former Lingying Goddess spoke again, “Now I’ll take you to see. I’ll reverse time, and I want you to witness everything with your own eyes. What you see now is an illusion of me sealing myself away. I’ve been waiting for you here for a very long time, and today, ‘Feng’ has brought you to me. Let ‘Feng’ take you on the journey ahead, feel everything with your heart, and don’t be surprised; all of it is real, and the woman you see there is indeed you.” As she finished speaking, from the east, a blazing fire ignited, accompanied by a phoenix’s cry; the fire phoenix spread its enchanting wings and flew towards Xiaotu. She was somewhat puzzled and excited; her past life’s memory had always been a mystery, never spoken of by the four elders, leaving only fragments in her mind. Hearing her words, surprise was inevitable; the person in front of her wasn’t the real Lingying Goddess but merely an illusion, dispelling her doubts. “‘Feng’ is your mount, and it will be your most loyal friend.” Xiaotu took these words to heart, feeling an inexplicable connection to the fire phoenix, wondering why seeing it would make her involuntarily tear up and call out its name, “Feng.”
“Feng, take me to see.” She called out, looking into those bright phoenix eyes like glass in fire, her heart involuntarily drawn. The response was a high-pitched phoenix cry, as if answering her call. Feng lowered its body, seemingly inviting her to mount, and Xiaotu, with one hand on Feng’s back, climbed aboard, tightly gripping what seemed like burning feathers. Sensing its master had settled, Feng spread its wings, soaring into the heavens, flying out of the Milky Way.
Flying above the Milky Way, under the moonlight, the silver-clad woman watched their receding figures and sighed deeply. The waters of the Milky Way can reflect a person’s true spirit; you could see clearly that there was no reflection of her in the river, yet the Milky Way remained calm…
“Shhh” Time flowed back to millions of years ago. Beyond the Three Realms, at the edge of the cosmos, in heaven beyond heaven, cave within cave, sky within water, and cliff within cave. Two miraculous plants were growing, one being the cherry blossom, a golden cherry blossom shining with golden light on every branch. The other was a black poppy, somewhat eerie, with a dark mist hovering above. These two plants, gathering the spiritual energy of the world and growing in a place rich with spiritual energy, were bound to be extraordinary. They would eventually cultivate human forms, and the God Emperor had already decreed that they would become two goddesses of the divine realm, revered by all. That day was the day both flowers reached their full bloom; the golden cherry blossoms opened grandly, emitting a rich cherry fragrance, with rays of light showering down on the mortal world. The black poppy, however, exuded an evil aura, emitting a deadly toxin that almost caused a great calamity. Yet, somehow, the cherry blossoms and the black poppies seemed to counterbalance each other; their fragrances mingled in the air, neutralizing each other, preventing disaster, but from then on, people understood that these flowers were lethal…
Perhaps, at that moment, everything was already fated; they were destined to counter each other, their characters and natures vastly different…
Riding on the back of the phoenix, Xiaotu watched the scenes unfold, though they were before her eyes, she could not touch them. Two goddesses ascended; one was the “Lingying Goddess,” the other the “Poppy Goddess.” This Lingying Goddess was naturally herself, and as she looked at the woman in black standing beside, she recognized her face. Heavens, she was the Poppy Goddess, identical to her. Her mind went blank; she was that female demon, looking exactly like her. “This is where you and the Poppy were born; now you know her true identity, right? You are twin sisters.” An ethereal voice sounded, and Xiaotu turned to see it was the illusion person, who had followed all along. In the vast cosmos, Xiaotu sat on the back of a fire phoenix, her silver clothes fluttering, white hair dancing in the gentle wind, like the most beautiful silk. What, I and she are twin sisters? But she’s clearly a goddess, the supreme goddess of the divine realm, yet the person she saw exuded an aura of evil, of darkness, suffocating to behold. “You don’t need to be surprised; keep watching, you’ll discover more. Witness the truth for yourself.” With that, she too leaped onto the phoenix’s back, with no resistance from Feng. Back then, the Poppy Goddess was decreed by the God Emperor to be sealed in the deepest layer of the underworld because she was born to rule over darkness, with an inherent evil energy that posed a great risk if not sealed early. However, no one could have anticipated that Poppy would actually establish the Demon Realm at the very bottom of the world. The Demon Realm was cruel, bloodthirsty, cold, and merciless, making it the fiercest species in the Three Realms. The God Emperor repeatedly sent gods to exterminate it, but they were defeated time and again. “God Emperor, let me try.” In the great hall, there was dead silence because the God Emperor was once again enraged over how to eradicate the Demon Realm. Given how vicious and ruthless the Demon Realm was, who would dare to go and meet their doom? Unexpectedly, Goddess Lingying stepped forward to volunteer. “Lingying, you oversee the Wan Yue Dynasty and the safety of all beings. This journey is fraught with peril, and if something happens to you, how could I face the people of the Wan Yue Dynasty?” It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered sending her; everyone was aware of the strange events that occurred before the two goddesses took their positions, clearly showing they were mutually supportive and antagonistic. Her going there might offer a glimmer of hope. “If I don’t go, the beings of the Three Realms will suffer, not just the people of the Wan Yue Dynasty.” Her words made all the gods present feel deeply ashamed; despite being a woman, Goddess Lingying understood righteousness profoundly. Thus, in the golden hall, voices volunteering for the mission came one after another. Seeing these scenes unfold, the gates of memory finally opened wide, and Xiaotu’s eyes tightly shut, her mind filled with images of her past life, flipping like pages of a book…
“Fei, I have fulfilled my duty. In the future, you must remain loyal to her and assist her in returning to her divine position as soon as possible.” Having said that, she transformed into a wisp of smoke, disappearing into the vast cosmos. She opened the gates of time and space, reversing time to let Xiaotu see all this with her own eyes, to awaken her sealed memories. Now her task was complete, and she had to leave…
Another phoenix cry echoed, lingering throughout the cosmos, reverberating in the cracks of time and space. Everything returned to normal, to tranquility… The person lying on the phoenix’s back had her eyes tightly closed, her delicate face streaked with tears, as memories of the past slowly awakened.
