Nezha had done it on purpose.
Ultimately, the reason the Heavenly General guarding the Heaven Realm had completely sealed away her mind and locked away her "humanity," existing on Penglai solely as a Heavenly General, was not simply because of her duty.
It was more that the immortals and gods had departed one after another, and all her teachers and elders had vanished. The young deity who had once distinguished herself during the Battle of the Investiture of the Gods had simply lost interest in the world.
She had already shed her demonic nature, but as a Heavenly General, she could still freely control how much humanity she retained. Somewhere within her, she still possessed a measure of her original "mischievous" personality.
The corner of Rovi's eye twitched.
Yu Mei-ren happened to look over at him. The instant her vermilion eyes met his, she bared her teeth.
Did you do that on purpose?
He could only say that he had not.
But because Nezha had given Yu Mei-ren such an impression of purity earlier, it never occurred to her that Nezha might simply be playing a prank.
Those who know, know.
Rovi sat within the central palace of the new Heaven Realm, which had been constructed atop the Foundation, with the old Heaven Realm as its base and the thoughts of the human heart as its source.
Yu Mei-ren sat beside him.
Their positions were exactly as they had been on Penglai. When Rovi ascended to the throne, nothing about the arrangement had changed.
The palace was supported by coiling pillars and gleamed with gold and jade.
Its name was Lingxiao Palace.
Looking down from here, one could see layer upon layer of nested "dimensions."
The same was true when looking upward.
The Heaven Realm of old had been divided into five directions and supported by five "pillars of heaven." This new Heaven Realm, however, was supported by human consciousness. The human heart divided into layer after layer, woven from countless emotions and desires. The moment the realm formed, it naturally separated into four domains, each containing nine heavens.
Thirty-six heavens in all.
At the highest lay the dwelling place of Sages, pure and free of action.
At the lowest lay the Desire Realm, where every facet of human nature mingled together.
All of this had formed naturally.
Rovi neither interfered nor tried to stop it. He merely watched.
Lingxiao Palace stood in the ninth heaven of the first domain. As the ruling seat of the Heaven Realm, it remained within a stage that possessed both form and desire.
Rovi's true body, however, resided in the thirty-sixth heaven—a realm both formed and formless, chaotic and nameless. It was a place only Taiyi could reach, where Taiyi lay coiled.
Thus, although Rovi sat here, he could see all thirty-six heavens at a glance, stacked and nested one within another.
"You ancestral gods and ancient Sages shall each return to your rightful positions and perform your appointed duties."
Rovi spoke.
The Heavenly Emperor's Edict was absolute.
"We respectfully obey the Great Heavenly Venerable's command!"
"We obey the Great Heavenly Venerable's command!"
"We obey the Emperor's decree!"
Voices echoed through the drifting clouds and mist as the ancient Sages and ancestral gods manifested there bowed in unison.
Nezha cupped her hands and assumed the title of Great Deity of the Three Altars and the Sea Assembly.
She was now a great deity governing the three realms of heaven, earth, and sea—the commander of the armies of "air, land, and sea"—charged with overseeing all that occurred in the heavens, upon the earth, and within the waters.
When she raised her eyes again, however, the Heavenly Emperor's throne before her was already empty.
Rovi and Yu Mei-ren had both departed.
They had returned to the present world, once again appearing above the East Sea.
"They left..."
Nezha blinked. The flame-like mark upon her brow flickered slightly.
The young woman swung the Fire-Tip Spear in her hand, her full thighs turning beneath the hem of her robes as she looked beyond Lingxiao Palace.
"Come to think of it, didn't a golden light soar into the stars over the East Sea just now?"
A radiant smile appeared on Nezha's red lips.
She wondered how those two were progressing.
She had only been trying to help that "Heavenly Empress" along.
Penglai, Yingzhou, and Fangzhang had vanished without a trace.
...
Waves rolled across the vast sea, layers of white foam surging over its surface.
Sword light unfolded once more.
Yu Mei-ren landed steadily upon it, her black fur cloak billowing in the wind. The black fabric draped over her shapely body shifted with the curves beneath it as she stared at Rovi.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you!?"
Rovi did not bother making excuses.
"Yes."
If he rushed to deny it, Yu Mei-ren would never believe him.
He might as well own it.
"You truly are... utterly insolent..."
Yu Mei-ren's face instantly turned red again.
Becoming the Heavenly Empress paired with the Heavenly Emperor had come as far too great a surprise.
As the White Emperor of the West, her status was technically sufficient. Nor was she unwilling. Yu Mei-ren had always felt close to Rovi. Her affection for him seemed to come from the depths of her soul.
She truly did like the man before her.
It had simply happened too suddenly.
After thinking it over, she could only exhale and put on an expression of helpless resignation.
"Fine!"
"Yin and yang must be paired, and the sun and moon must move in cycles. That is the natural order of heaven and earth. I am not doing this for you—only to preserve the balance of the vast Divine Land!"
Even now, Yu Mei-ren still had to find an excuse for herself.
"I don't recall you possessing such lofty ideals."
"Just because I didn't before doesn't mean I can't now. I am the White Emperor of the West, the deity who governs Metal!"
Yu Mei-ren raised her red lips.
The blush on her face had not faded, but now that she had found a justification, she no longer looked as flustered as before.
She stretched out a hand and gave it a small wave. As the furred cloak shifted around her shoulders, the beauty of her figure remained plainly displayed before Rovi's eyes.
Rovi flicked his sleeve and watched Yu Mei-ren approach him slowly, her bare feet stepping across the sword light.
Why did something feel... slightly wrong?
He raised an eyebrow.
Then Yu Mei-ren suddenly reached out and seized his collar. Still gripping it, she rose onto her toes.
"Do not misunderstand."
"This is only for the sake of the Divine Land..."
Their eyes met.
A sly glint appeared in Yu Mei-ren's vermilion eyes. Her other arm slowly wrapped around Rovi's waist as her bare, pale body pressed against him.
In a sense, Yu Mei-ren had deliberately "reasoned things through" this way.
It gave her an excuse to convince herself.
An excuse to approach Rovi as though it were only natural.
An excuse to...
"Bully" Rovi as though it were only natural.
Her red lips curved and brushed lightly past his ear. Her raised body swayed softly as she lifted one leg slightly.
"What is it?"
"Are you going to retreat?"
At that moment, Yu Mei-ren displayed boundless allure.
The current "Queen Mother of the West" possessed a sensual charm she had never shown before.
For countless years, Yu Mei-ren had remained in the place where she was born.
She had existed for an unimaginably long time. She had lived through the height of mythology and the era when the Vanguard of the Umbral Star arrived on Earth. She was older than many immortals and gods—more "ancestral" than many ancestral gods.
Yet she had never stepped beyond the boundary she had drawn around herself.
She had tried once, at the very beginning.
All she received in return was malicious treatment and "kindness" concealing greed.
An Elemental born from the planet could read the human heart. She had never been deceived, but that only caused fear and loathing to take root within her.
The ancestral gods had once tried to draw her out of her self-imposed prison, but even they had failed.
Then, one day, someone fell from the sky and took away the place where she had always lived.
That day, the man laughed and cursed as he pleased, yet showed her neither malice nor greed, nor even the condescending pity of someone looking down upon her.
That day, he took her away from the place where she had slept for so long.
He showed her the real world.
And without realizing it, she began to step beyond the limits she had drawn around herself.
Little by little.
Bit by bit.
Threads of the past passed before Yu Mei-ren's eyes. Countless details she had once ignored or failed to notice now brought an inexplicable, knowing smile to her face.
That was why she had said—`
I can improve too.
And she had said something else long ago.
For you, I will no longer remain where I am.
Yu Mei-ren slowly embraced Rovi.
She pressed her lips against his, laying that softness upon his tightly closed mouth.
She finally admitted the feelings she had long since become unable to conceal.
She had already fallen in love with him.
Rovi's brows drew together.
Simply pushing her away had never been his way.
Even before his state of mind began to change, he had always despised those who refused to take responsibility.
Why court someone if you had no intention of marrying her?
As a primordial god, with the power of the Root upon the Throne of Heroes behind him, he had every confidence that he could give those who loved him—and those he loved—the happiness they desired.
Rovi flicked his sleeve, using its long fabric to conceal their figures above the sea.
His palm gently stroked the young woman's slender waist. Their lips remained joined as the sea breeze rose and fell around them and layers of mist gathered over the boundless ocean...
Perhaps only a moment passed.
Perhaps it was a long time.
Yu Mei-ren exhaled and slowly drew away from Rovi.
Her face was faintly flushed, but she still gave a soft laugh.
"I knew I had not misjudged you."
He was not the kind of man who would push someone away for the sake of his so-called "dignity."
"Of course not."
Rovi sounded quite confident.
"I told you. There is nothing in this world that could make me retreat."
"Tch... How confident."
Yu Mei-ren pursed her red lips slightly.
"Regardless, I shall be in your care from now on."
"Your Majesty the Heavenly Emperor~?"
"Understood, Your Majesty the Heavenly Empress."
Rovi flicked his sleeve and slowly took the hand Yu Mei-ren offered him.
After their earlier intimacy, their divine statuses settled into place.
At that very moment, the mist spreading over the vast sea suddenly churned into violent disorder, as though a wind had blown through it—or as though something were rapidly approaching.
"Emperor-Lord—no, Your Majesty the Heavenly Emperor, save me!"
A figure shot into view.
Long, snow-white hair became a streak of silver lightning in the wind. As she skimmed across the sea, she stirred up layers of white mist, sending water droplets exploding to either side. Her long robes billowed around her, outlining a tall and graceful figure.
The newcomer was someone who had met Rovi once before and had provided him with two instances of "assistance."
She was also an acquaintance of Yu Mei-ren.
Wuzhiqi.
She hurriedly burst through the layers of seawater and mist and arrived before Rovi. Her body hung in midair as she panted heavily, her chest rising and falling. She looked thoroughly disheveled.
"Your Majesty the Heavenly Emperor, help me! Stop the one behind me!"
"There is no one behind you," Yu Mei-ren said.
Wuzhiqi froze.
She turned around and found only endless water and mist, without so much as half a figure in sight.
Relief washed over her, followed immediately by anger and embarrassment.
"No one? That damned bastard tricked me!?"
She quickly composed herself and steadied her posture.
"Wuzhiqi, river deity of the Wei River, pays respects to the Heavenly Emperor!"
Her attitude was even more respectful than before.
Even a demon-god who had once stirred up chaos during antiquity behaved with the utmost reverence before the Heavenly Emperor.
Within the Huaxia pantheon, "Heaven" had always been the existence that ruled over all.
Moreover, Great Yu, who had once sealed Wuzhiqi, had also served as Heavenly Emperor for a generation.
How could she possibly dare act arrogantly?
"And what about me?" Yu Mei-ren smiled. "Come now, you mother monkey. Hurry up and pay respects to the Heavenly Empress!"
"Heavenly Empress, my ass," Wuzhiqi immediately shot back.
As an ancient demon-god and Demon Sage, she naturally did not take the claim seriously.
Then, in the next instant, Yu Mei-ren revealed the majesty of the "Queen Mother of the West" and the "Heavenly Empress."
Wuzhiqi immediately dropped into a bow.
"This one pays respects to the Queen Mother."
Rovi was silent.
How had he never noticed before that this monkey had so little backbone?
He looked Wuzhiqi up and down.
"Your timing is perfect. I'll help you bind the Mind-Monkey within you and remove the seal."
"Consider it repayment for the two times you helped me."
"You mustn't! You mustn't! There is no debt to repay. I merely did what I should have done!"
Wuzhiqi hurriedly refused.
"As for removing the seal, there is no rush. None at all!"
"Why?" Yu Mei-ren's vermilion eyes shifted slightly. "What are you afraid of?"
"I'm not afraid of anything."
Despite her appearance as a mature woman, Wuzhiqi seemed rather timid at that moment. She shrank in on herself and kept glancing behind her.
"You really aren't?"
"Really—"
"You aren't afraid?"
"I'm not! I am Wuzhiqi, one of the Demon Sages of antiquity! There is nothing in heaven or on earth that could frighten me!"
"Really...?"
A hand slowly settled upon Wuzhiqi's back.
The warm breath that followed made her body stiffen and tremble.
"I—you—I..."
"Save me, Heavenly Emperor!"
Wuzhiqi lunged forward and hid directly behind Rovi.
"Hoo-hoo-hoo! And in that state, you still dare call yourself a being born from the same source as me?"
Clear, bell-like laughter rang out.
"Another mother monkey?" Yu Mei-ren frowned.
Rovi, however, stared fixedly at the "person" before him.
Short orange-red hair swayed around her shoulders. Her bright face carried a wild, defiant grin.
She wore red robes whose open collar revealed pale skin. Her figure was balanced and full of youthful vitality.
Behind her, rising from above the curve of her pert hips, a furry monkey tail extended outward and swayed from side to side in the wind.
She floated in the air, faint golden light shining from her eyes.
She was...
"She is a being born from the same source as me—no, more accurately, she is the origin from which I came."
Wuzhiqi was a demon-god born within the Wei River.
Her immediate source was indeed a manifestation of the Wei River, but the river had used a "divine stone" that drifted from the East Sea into its waters as the vessel through which she was conceived.
That was why Wuzhiqi had become a "water monkey."
Her ultimate source was itself a monkey.
The red-haired young woman before them.
The manifestation of the original divine stone from the East Sea.
"No, no, no. I don't have an offshoot that stupid!"
The red-haired young woman scratched her hair and looked at the two before her.
"I heard this idiot say that you two are the Heavenly Emperor and Heavenly Empress?"
"The rulers of heaven and earth?"
Her eyes darted back and forth.
"You aren't the original body, are you?" Rovi saw through her immediately.
The young woman before him was not the original body. Like the goddess Ishtar whom he had first encountered in Mesopotamia, she was manifesting through possession of a vessel.
"Of course not! I was originally supposed to be born a hundred years from now. Thanks to my sister, the 'Holy Mother of Mount Li,' who drew a compatible vessel from the river of time for me to possess, I was able to emerge early!"
The "monkey" spoke as though it were obvious.
There might have been a difference of a hundred years, but being able to gain her freedom ahead of time was naturally an enormous delight.
For Rovi, however, the appearance of this "young woman" was even more unexpected.
A divine stone of the East Sea had manifested as a stone monkey.
There was no way he could fail to guess what that meant.
Sun Wukong, the "Great Sage Equal to Heaven," whose name would one day be known in every household across Huaxia.
She had also been part of his own childhood.
Rovi had anticipated Sun Wukong.
What he had not expected was that Sun Wukong would be born through possession of a vessel.
And the vessel she possessed was someone Rovi recognized as well.
In this world named for the moon, in a later age—or perhaps upon another worldline—she was humanity's final Master, who saved the world during the Incineration of Humanity.
A Gudako-faced Sun Wukong!
---
T/N: whaaaaaaaaaa
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