The rain was pouring down in torrents. I hugged Chiyu's body, constantly calling out her name. The warmth on her body was gradually fading away, and her pale face was colder than the frigid icy rain.
I raised my hand and gently touched her forehead. It turned out that her soul was missing. Could it have been taken away by that red - robed woman just now?
What should I do now? I didn't want to drag Chiyu into this mess in the first place. After all, what the Heavenly Emperor was really looking for was the spirit of the snake scale. As long as I left Chiyu's body, the Nuwa Stone wouldn't be able to sense her existence.
Then she could go back to find Gu Yuan, and the two of them might still have a future.
Fate is often like this. The plan is wonderful, but the reality is cruel.
If I abandoned her in this desolate place now, she would surely turn into a cold corpse.
In order to keep her alive, it seemed that I had to possess her body again.
Just as I was struggling, Chiyu's body had already started to stiffen.
I didn't have time to think any more. I quickly rushed into Chiyu's body. No matter what happened in the future, at least she could live one more day.
After returning to Chiyu's physical body, with the soul having a carrier, I felt extremely at ease.
I looked in the direction where the red - robed woman had fled into the forest. I didn't know where she had run to.
In the vast sea of people, it wasn't easy to find Chiyu's soul. That thing had been following us all the time. I guessed that I didn't need to look for it. It would surely come to me on its own.
The most urgent thing now was to find the Earth God's temple. I should first negotiate the terms with the Heavenly Emperor and then consider other things.
The rain was coming down in sheets. I walked on the mountain path, stepping deep and shallow in the puddles.
My clothes were already completely soaked through by the rain, and my shoes were filled with water. Every step I took was extremely heavy.
I didn't know how long I had walked in the rain until I saw an enormous old locust tree. The tree was hung with red ribbons.
It was said that if a locust tree was still lush and had a thick canopy after a hundred years, it was blessed with a connection to the immortals. Many people would hang red ribbons under such trees and write down their wishes, hoping that passing immortals could see them and bless themselves or their families with peace and good fortune.
The canopy of this old locust tree was as big as a bungalow, and its trunk was so thick that five adults couldn't even hug it.
I trotted all the way to the big tree. The dense canopy blocked the heavy rain outside tightly.
I stood beside the trunk, wiped the rain off my face, and thought that it was really a divine tree.
Long Lin had said before that there was a temple here, but where was it?
I walked around the big tree and saw a small house simply put together with tiles behind it.
I had seen this kind of small temple in the countryside before. Usually, it was the temple of the Earth God. In my hometown, there was a custom that after a person passed away, the whole family, wearing mourning clothes, had to go to the Earth God's temple to offer a lamp, burn paper, and report that the person had left. They would pray that the deceased could ascend to bliss quickly, and then they would carry the coffin to be buried.
So although the Earth God was an immortal, he lived in the mortal world and could directly reach the underworld. He could travel between heaven and earth, which was why he was deeply loved by the common people.
I wrung out my wet clothes and stamped my feet three times in front of the Earth God's temple.
After the three stamps, a puff of white smoke rose from the Earth God's temple. An old man in a coarse cloth robe walked out of the smoke.
His clothes were all patched, and he held a gnarled walking stick in his hand. When he saw me, he looked surprised at first, and then squeezed out a kind smile.
His cloudy eyes were squeezed into slits by the fleshy wrinkles on his face.
"Girl, I heard from the Second Prince before that you're going to the Heavenly Court, right?" the Earth God asked kindly.
"Yes. Could you take me to see Long Lin? I need to see the Heavenly Emperor."
"Oh, my dear girl, you can't call the Heavenly Emperor by his name directly. You should call him His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor." It was obvious that this old man both respected and feared the Heavenly Emperor.
"Okay. Please take me to see His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor." I didn't have the slightest bit of good impression of the Heavenly Emperor. Calling him the Heavenly Emperor was already giving him face. But in order to get to the Heavenly Court as soon as possible, I'd better not argue with him.
Seeing that I was quite polite, the Earth God nodded slightly at me. He then used his walking stick to draw a circle on the ground under the tree, enclosing both me and him.
"What are you doing?" I asked the Earth God in confusion.
"Blocking the one behind you. She can't go up to the Heavenly Court."
After hearing the Earth God's words, I instinctively looked back. Sure enough, that red - robed woman had caught up with me again at some point. Now she was almost back - to - back with me.
If the Earth God hadn't blocked her outside the circle, she would have been almost sticking to my back.
Just thinking that she had been sticking to my back all the way, a chill ran up from the soles of my feet to the top of my head, and a cold sweat broke out on my body.
"Wait..."
I wanted to ask her to return Chiyu's soul, but it was already too late as soon as I opened my mouth.
The Earth God's walking stick landed on the ground. I only felt a puff of white mist rising around me, and a feeling of weightlessness welled up from the bottom of my heart.
This feeling was much more uncomfortable than taking a plane. It wasn't until I entered the area of the Southern Heavenly Gate that the feeling of weightlessness slowly disappeared.
My stomach churned. I supported myself on a stone pillar and vomited.
"Oh, my dear girl, this is the dragon - gate pillar of the Southern Heavenly Gate. How could you desecrate it like this?"
"Grandpa Earth God, I don't want to either, but your flying skills are really terrible. I just couldn't hold it back. Ugh..."
I lay beside the stone pillar, retching. Fortunately, I hadn't eaten anything in the morning, or else I would surely have vomited on the stone pillar of the Southern Heavenly Gate.
The Earth God stood in front of me, trying his best to block the Heavenly Soldiers from looking at me.
But we were still seen by the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals guarding the gate.
"Where did this evil spirit come from? How dare you cause trouble here? Are you tired of living?"
A group of Heavenly Soldiers, holding long spears in their hands, strode towards us.
I scanned around. There were at least about twenty Heavenly Soldiers.
The Earth God was really flustered this time. He looked around but couldn't find anywhere to hide. Finally, he simply sat on the ground and looked at me with a complaining look on his face.
"We're doomed. We've lost both the lady and the soldiers. I'm going to lose my official position."
A group of Heavenly Soldiers surrounded the two of us.
I supported myself on the pillar and stood in front. I said to the Heavenly Soldiers, "I'm a friend of the Second Prince. I've come here to see His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor. I hope you can make an exception and let me in."
"Presumptuous! Do you think His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor is someone you can just meet whenever you want? You little demon, with the aura of evil on you, still want to get close to His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor. I'll execute you right here."
These guys didn't even listen to me. A group of Heavenly Soldiers showed their long spears and stabbed at me.
I didn't know how to control the magical power in Chiyu's body at all. I could only watch as the shiny spearheads stabbed straight at my chest.