Chapter 145: The Legend of the Goddess

At the summit of Mount Kunlun.

After Li Hentian finished his report, he hesitated for a moment before asking, "My Lady, the portal is about to open. May I ask when Xi'er will emerge from seclusion?" In truth, what he really wanted to know was whether Feng Fuxi would be able to ascend this time.

Goddess Nuwa chuckled and replied with a non-sequitur: "Ah Tian, you haven't even reached your millennium yet, have you?"

Li Hentian understood the underlying meaning and lowered his head in shame. "My Lady, our Feng clan has been away from the Upper Realm for too long. I have been too impatient."

Goddess Nuwa waved her hand and sighed. "Ah Tian, ascension must happen when the conditions are ripe; it cannot be forced."

"Yes, I understand," he replied. Seeing her look weary and having obtained the information he sought, Li Hentian bowed and took his leave.

Goddess Nuwa nodded slightly and turned to the Heavenly Dragon True Monarch, who was sitting cross-legged beside her. "Brother Long, please escort Ah Tian down the mountain."

The True Monarch rose and gestured for Li Hentian to follow. "Ah Tian, come with me."

Li Hentian felt a surge of joy as he followed him out of the grotto. If he guessed correctly, the Goddess was allowing the True Monarch to share some details about Xi'er’s recent progress.

Sure enough, once they were outside, the Heavenly Dragon True Monarch slowed his pace and walked beside him. "Ah Tian, Xi'er’s cultivation is indeed progressing rapidly, but with little time left before the portal opens, he will have to wait another five hundred years. This is actually a good thing. Once Xi'er solidifies his foundation, his future path will be smoother and lead him further." He stopped, lightly punched Li Hentian on the chest, and chuckled. "Perhaps in five hundred years, you and your son can ascend together—that would truly be a legendary tale."

As Feng Fuxi’s master, the Heavenly Dragon True Monarch’s words carried authority. Having received this assurance, the slight disappointment in Li Hentian’s heart vanished—he knew his own limitations well. While he knew the talk of ascending together was likely just a polite gesture, he firmly believed the promise that his son would definitely ascend in five hundred years.

His eyes crinkled with a smile as he cupped his hands. "I shall hold you to those auspicious words, True Monarch. Please, stay behind." With that, he summoned his flying sword and departed.

The Heavenly Dragon True Monarch watched him go, hands clasped behind his back. However, the moment Li Hentian was out of sight, the True Monarch’s brows knitted into a tight knot. With a flick of his sleeve, he turned and returned to the grotto, looking deeply troubled.

Goddess Nuwa was standing before the White Jade Divine Drum.

As the True Dragon Monarch approached, he asked, "Sister Wa, why did you deceive Ah Tian?"

Goddess Nuwa had been lying through her teeth. Ten years ago, Feng Fuxi had been devoured by his inner demons and had perished. Since then, the True Monarch and the Goddess had been taking turns every day, spending an hour using the Heavenly Dragon’s power to gather his soul. After the soul was gathered, they still had to reshape his physical body to resurrect him. It was a grueling task, and even with their combined efforts, they weren't sure if five hundred years would be enough. Furthermore, before the accident, Feng Fuxi had already inherited the legacy of his past life; once resurrected, he would immediately regain the cultivation level of a Golden Immortal. Once the portal opened, he could travel freely throughout the Three Realms—there would be no need for "ascension" at all.

To the Heavenly Dragon True Monarch, Li Hentian was fiercely loyal to the Goddess—truly one of their own. There was no need to hide such trivial matters from him.

Goddess Nuwa lifted her eyelids, glanced at him, and focused back on the drum surface. "Don't you know? His reputation within the clan is immense. It took great effort to restore the clansmen's confidence and fighting spirit; I do not want any anomalies to shake that again."

The Heavenly Dragon True Monarch knew that "he" referred to Feng Fuxi, not Li Hentian. He raised an eyebrow skeptically. *It’s been over ten thousand years,* he thought. *The man has been gone twice over, yet she still won't even speak his name. Does this look like someone who has truly let go? Love is a poison, one that should never be touched.*

However, there was no point in him saying more. He glanced at the reflection on the drum and leaned in. "How is it going over there?" The first ten years of soul-gathering were the most critical, and they had poured all their energy into it, neglecting everything else. They had rarely used the White Jade Divine Drum.

Goddess Nuwa didn't look up, merely stepping aside. With a satisfied flick of her fingers, she pointed to a figure on the drum. "Look, at his brow!"

On the drum’s surface, Hu Li stood in a dense forest, looking around as if searching for something. Between his brows was the faint, fingernail-sized mark of a blue lotus.

"Haha, the little silver fox actually succeeded. Not bad at all." The Heavenly Dragon True Monarch squinted to confirm the mark was genuine, his eyes curving into a smile. "Sister Wa, once the Goddess takes on such a life-bound guardian beast, she will surely never amount to much. There is nothing to worry about regarding this one." It was only after coming to the lower realm that he learned from the Goddess about this "Goddess" figure. Years ago, that old fool Pangu had promised that if he stayed at the boundary of the gods and demons, he would help him reclaim his throne as the Great Demon King. Little did he know, that old man knew his own catastrophe was approaching and had tricked him into guarding that godforsaken place for tens of thousands of years. How could he swallow such a grievance?

Goddess Nuwa had then explained that the Great God Pangu had always kept this in mind. When facing his own destruction, he had used his final bit of cultivation to imprint a sliver of divine consciousness into a Goddess. His intent was clear: to grant this Goddess the power to shatter the seal of the Demon Realm at a specific time and fulfill his promise to the "One-Eyed Dragon."

However, the impact of Pangu’s destruction was too great. By pure coincidence, the Goddess was struck by the shockwave, fell from the Executioner’s Platform, and reincarnated.

After Pangu’s passing, the Feng clan, as his successors, led the cultivators to form the Divine Realm Cultivation Alliance. In their meetings, for the sake of the Three Realms' peace and sustainability, they voted to suppress the Goddess, ensuring she could never return to the Divine Realm—they all considered themselves Pangu's descendants and dared not openly defy his final decree by killing her.

Thus, under the "watchful eye" of the Alliance, the Goddess reincarnated over and over, cultivating in every life, yet never once even touching the gates of the Spirit Realm.

*What Goddess? She is nothing more than that,* the Alliance leaders eventually thought, letting their guard down. As generations passed, the surveillance of the Goddess became a chore for the head of the Feng clan.

Somehow, the news leaked, and as people embellished the story, the tale of the Goddess morphed into an ancient prophecy. She became the "Demoness," a name that struck terror in the Divine Realm.

When Goddess Nuwa was the Saintess of the Feng clan, she knew little more than anyone else. The truth was hidden in the inheritance jade slips of the first clan leader. It just so happened that the small fragment she possessed contained this very record.

The "One-Eyed Dragon" had once choked on that very jade fragment and passed out. When he awoke and spat it out, he recognized it as Pangu's old relic. Enraged, he threw the fragment to the ground, cursing with the foulest language he could muster, and prepared to crush it.

At that critical moment, the three main souls of Goddess Nuwa emerged from the fragment and revealed the truth she had just read. Upon hearing it, the One-Eyed Dragon was silent for a long time. His resentment, held for years, vanished as he forgave Pangu for his broken promise.

Then, with her silver tongue, Goddess Nuwa persuaded him to provide his full support, using her identity as the Saintess of the Feng clan—the heir to Pangu. After his soul was stabilized, the One-Eyed Dragon volunteered to be her life-bound guardian beast, to which she gladly agreed.

From then on, he became the Goddess's most loyal ally and right-hand man. There was nothing she didn't share with him. For instance, he was the first, and only, person to know and participate in the plan to suppress the Goddess.

Goddess Nuwa smiled, brushing her sleeve across the drum. The light faded, and the image vanished. In a rare good mood, she sat cross-legged on her throne and chatted. "The Goddess’s abilities grow stronger with each life. This time, in less than five hundred years, she reached the ascension stage. Fortunately, she remains as soft-hearted as ever, and we have long since laid our traps. Otherwise… heh, as long as the Goddess cannot ascend to the Divine Realm, the seal of the Demon Realm remains secure. The prophecy will remain just a prophecy."

The Heavenly Dragon True Monarch let out a sigh of relief. "What we are doing is indeed unfair to her, and it betrays the old fool Pangu, but if the Goddess were to arrive in the Divine Realm, the barrier to the Demon Realm would shatter. That would not be a blessing for the Three Realms. As someone from the Demon Realm, I do not wish to see that happen."

His words pleased the Goddess. Like removing a ticking time bomb, the two exchanged a smile, the shadows of doubt in their eyes completely gone.

At the Heart of the Barrier Sea.

"Achoo! Achoo!" Feng Ke'er suddenly opened her eyes, covering her mouth and nose as she sneezed repeatedly. How strange! It had been hundreds of years since she successfully built her foundation, and this was her first time sneezing.

"Mistress." With a flash of silver, Hu Li appeared before her, his face dark and ferocious. "That sliver of divine consciousness has vanished."

Feng Ke'er possessed powerful divine sense. Earlier, she had sensed an inexplicable presence spying on them and pointed it out to the fox.

The Heart of the Barrier Sea was territory that the fox had managed for over ten thousand years! This was a blatant slap in the face!

Hearing this, he leaped up and rushed off in pursuit. Unexpectedly, after chasing for a hundred miles, he had lost the trail.