The myth begins with the Lotus Lantern

Chapter 290 Tsing Yi
This was followed by a growing sense of doubt.

Even though there is a chapter in "Journey to the West" called "Havoc in Heaven", only the word "havoc" in those four characters is probably true to the name. It was indeed a farce, and the stone monkey only managed to make a commotion at the Heavenly Gate.

It couldn't possibly be because of monkeys.

Ding Lin's thoughts were racing, but since the Five Fairies hadn't said anything, he naturally couldn't say anything either. Ding Lin suppressed his curiosity; sometimes it's better to mind your own business and pretend you don't know.

“But Brother Jin, you are now a Golden Immortal, so it’s not good to make a fuss over this. Otherwise, even if you are punished, you will most likely only be transferred to a higher heaven to lead your troops to guard a certain treasure. It’s safer to stay in this third heaven. We can only cover this up for now.”

The Fifth Fairy's expression suddenly turned serious. She stretched out her left hand, her slender fingers slipping through the slightly curved gap of Ding Lin's broad palm, and clenched her fist. Ding Lin was deep in thought, and by the time he realized what was happening, it was too late to change the position of his hand, otherwise it would be too deliberate. After tucking her forehead, he hadn't reached out to hold the Fifth Fairy's hand, but instead casually placed his hand on the stone table. This behavior was already somewhat unusual.

"Brother Jin, remember, you must stay even more secluded than before these days. Even if there is any commotion outside, do not ask or care. The Peach Banquet is coming soon. With your current cultivation level, you are qualified to enter the Jade Pool for the banquet. Remember, whatever you do, do not go!"

"I can't say it directly, and you shouldn't ask why. You'll know when the time comes. If you can't escape it even in this Peach Garden, and things really don't work out, then you should give up your official position and go to the mortal realm to take refuge for a while!"

The five fairies looked extremely serious.

She was already making it clear that something big was going to happen at the Peach Banquet.

"I understand." Ding Lin nodded solemnly.

“Brother Jin,” the Fifth Fairy was still holding onto Ding Lin, but she stood up from the stone table. “I have to go. We’ve been in this garden for too long. If we stay any longer, there will probably be some criticism.”

Once the conversation turned to business, emotions gradually shifted from the initial excitement of the long-awaited reunion, and reason regained its dominance.

The five fairies released their hands, leaned close to Ding Lin, and gently hugged him.

Ding Lin's body stiffened.

"I'm leaving," said the Fifth Fairy, releasing Ding Lin.

"I'll see you off," Ding Lin said.

The five fairies nodded.

So the human and the demon walked away side by side. When they reached the door, Ding Lin fell slightly behind by half a step. The barrier opened, and the five fairies went out first. Once they left the small building, their relationship was reduced to official business.

Outside the small building, Xin Jia and two maids had been waiting for quite some time. After another round of greetings, Ding Lin and Xin Jia escorted the Five Fairies and their party out of the Peach Garden.

A white cloud rose slowly and drifted away.

"General?" Xin Jia asked tentatively.

Ding Lin had no intention of answering at this moment. He raised one hand, and Xin Jia immediately shut his mouth, watching the white clouds with Ding Lin until they completely disappeared from sight. Only then did Ding Lin finally turn his gaze away and return to the garden.

He then dismissed Xin Jia with a few more casual words.

Ding Lin returned to the small building alone.

Where the Seven Fairies had just lingered, a woman in a green dress sat quietly. Sensing the fluctuations of the barrier opening, she turned to look at Ding Lin.

"Green... Green clothes..."

Ding Lin opened his mouth and said, "What an unfamiliar figure, what a familiar name. It's as if I've returned to that little lake from the beginning."

“They…they…my…name…Qingyi…”

Deepest in my memory is that big blue carp that could even stammer when it spoke.

“Little Red… no, I should call you…” The man in blue paused, then continued, “Ding Lin.”

Ding Lin.

This name is a secret buried deep in Ding Lin's memory, even older than that small lake. Since coming into this world, he has only told one person his real name—Yang Chan.

Ding Lin suddenly felt helpless, not out of fear, but out of tension.

The woman in green silently watched Ding Lin. She thought of the pure and beautiful goddess on the summit of Mount Hua. The scene then shifted to the West Sea, where the seawater was stained red with dragon blood. The vicious dragon girl pleaded weakly. Suddenly, the scene from before flashed back into her mind: the intimacy between Ding Lin and the woman in green.

"Qingyi, I..."

Ding Lin stared at the woman in green, and suddenly felt inexplicably guilty. Just moments ago, when facing the Five Fairies, he was all smiles and sweet talk, but now he had become tongue-tied and instinctively wanted to explain.

"You...have been to Mount Hua?"

But the words, once they reached my lips, somehow came out as this.

Ding Lin immediately realized what was happening, and he wanted to slap himself on the spot. He really knew how to rub salt in the wound.

"Yes, otherwise how would I know your name?"

As Qingyi said, a feeling of resentment suddenly rose in her heart, and all the grievances in her heart dissipated in an instant. In mid-air, a green figure flashed and reappeared in front of Ding Lin. A white jade-like palm stood up, wrapped with magic power, and was about to strike Ding Lin's chest.

Ding Lin stood still, neither dodging nor avoiding.

The palm fell, but clenched into a fist halfway down. When it finally struck, the magical power it carried dissipated completely, leaving only a muffled "thud." It seemed powerful, but it was all bark and no bite, and in reality, it caused no harm whatsoever.

"Why didn't you dodge?" The woman in green asked coldly.

“I… I should at least let you calm down first,” Ding Lin said, somewhat breathless. “I… you can’t really kill me.”

"I really want to kill you!" Qingyi gritted her teeth.

"It's not that I don't want to tell you my name, but as you know, when we parted, I hadn't yet developed my throat bone and couldn't even speak. And the time we met again was so rushed that there wasn't enough time, so..." Ding Lin explained in a flustered manner.

"The Third Holy Mother, the Dragon Girl, and that fairy maiden from earlier, and others I don't know about, have not only made rapid progress in their cultivation after leaving that small lake, but in other aspects as well, you, King Golden Scale, are also thriving."

As she spoke, Qingyi became increasingly distressed. She was no longer the weak and frail blue fish she once was. Now that she had become a Golden Immortal, she could kill anyone who wronged her in the next moment. The only thing that could hurt her and that she couldn't bring herself to do was this hateful red carp in front of her.

"There's nothing more, I..." Ding Lin opened his mouth, but after such a long time to calm down, he calmed down from his initial panic. Looking at Qingyi's appearance, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration, opened his arms and hugged her.

"Get out of my way!" Qingyi's body surged with power as she gritted her teeth. Ding Lin's arms, however, were as solid as iron barrels. In Qingyi's mind, Ding Lin should have just advanced to the Golden Immortal realm. Even with the support of the laws, his physical strength should only be at the level of a late-stage Celestial Immortal in such a short time. Therefore, she limited her resistance to that level of strength. Unexpectedly, a powerful force pressed down, firmly established by a Golden Immortal, and instantly grabbed her.

Qingyi was startled and was about to push Ding Lin away again, but in that instant, Ding Lin had already brought his head close and whispered in her ear.

"Qingyi..." Ding Lin called softly, whispering in her ear.

This scene evokes memories of yesteryear.

Under the scorching sun, in a nearly dried-up ditch, a red carp and a blue carp were touching head to head, sharing their life together.

The woman in green gradually softened her resistance.

……

A little while.

The courtyard has been changed.

Inside the pavilion, Qingyi still looked furious, while Ding Lin sat next to her, shamelessly flattering her.

"So, it was the Fourth Princess of the East Sea Dragon Palace who took you away back then," Ding Lin said.

“Yes, the Fourth Princess is fine, but the Four Seas Dragon Clan…” Hatred flashed in Qingyi’s eyes. She had just briefly recounted that experience. Ding Lin reached out and took her hand, and this time Qingyi did not refuse. “Later, I escaped from the North Sea Dragon Palace. I didn’t know the will of Heaven or how to navigate, so I just wandered around aimlessly and entered a land of miasma. Just when I was about to die, I was lucky enough to meet my master. He had just fought with the Ziwei Emperor. When he saw that I was a demon, he rescued me and took me back to Beiming.”

"So, you've been cultivating in seclusion in the Northern Darkness all these years," Ding Lin said.

"And you?" asked the woman in green.

"I was rescued by the Third Holy Mother and stayed in her lotus pond for several years. Later, Erlang Shen couldn't tolerate me anymore, so the Third Holy Mother released me. I originally wanted to go and see our little lake, but due to a series of unforeseen events, I ended up being captured by that crazy woman from Bibo Pool. Let me tell you..."

Ding Lin began to elaborate, recounting the misery of those days, while stealing glances at Qingyi. One could only say that sophistry is an innate instinct of men. As he spoke, Qingyi's complexion gradually improved.

“So, you’re just doing this for revenge,” said the woman in green.

Ding Lin was about to agree immediately, but when he met Qingyi's gaze, he hesitated. Although he was filled with anger at the time, if Princess Wansheng had not been a beautiful and charming woman, he probably wouldn't have been able to bring himself to bite her and would have killed her with a single blow instead of choosing this method.

"Where is that fairy maiden from just now?" Fortunately, Qingyi didn't press the matter. Ding Lin had just breathed a sigh of relief when Qingyi asked this question again.

"After we parted ways in the Western Sea, I traveled all the way to the Sichuan and Chongqing region..." Ding Lin began to recount his subsequent experiences. This time, he did not exaggerate, but told the truth, continuing until he entered the Heavenly Court.

Qingyi paused for a moment, then looked at Ding Lin: "I didn't expect that such a young girl would actually be the Heavenly Emperor's granddaughter. Although there was some misunderstanding at the beginning, I can see that she treats you very well now."

"I know," Ding Lin nodded, offering no excuses.

“I was here the whole time. In her last words, although she was vague, she was actually taking a great risk by speaking to that extent. If someone with ulterior motives found out, even her identity as the granddaughter of the Heavenly Emperor would not be enough to avoid severe punishment,” said the woman in green.

Ding Lin fell silent for a moment.

"So, you've changed now too. In your heart, the one you miss the Third Holy Mother the most now, isn't that right?" the woman in green said softly.

Ding Lin was shocked. In his previous narration, he had tried to downplay Yang Chan's presence and avoid this scene, but he hadn't expected that he would still be unable to avoid it in the end.

Looking at Ding Lin, Qingyi felt an unbearable pain in her heart.

"I……"

Ding Lin opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He could slander Princess Wansheng without any burden, and when he talked to the Fifth Fairy, he could only tell the truth. But when it came to talking about Yang Chan to Qingyi, he didn't know how to start.

He asked himself honestly, and if he were to lay his heart bare at this moment, three-tenths of it would be selfishness, at most half a part would be given to the Five Fairies, and the majority would be the desire to possess them. Of the remaining seven parts, Yang Chan and Qingyi would each take three parts, and their weight in his heart would be equal. The last half part was the feeling of being at a loss at this moment.

Qingyi understood.

"When you hugged me just now," the voice in green paused, "your physical strength had already reached the Golden Immortal level. Logically speaking, since you just comprehended the laws, your physical body shouldn't be this strong."

The woman in green cast a probing gaze at Ding Lin.

Ding Lin seemed to hesitate for a moment, but still stretched out his right hand. His magic power flowed, and his palm began to change, transforming into a dragon claw with six dragon toes that were particularly eye-catching.

“I see,” Qingyi nodded. She was pleased with Ding Lin’s trust, but the bitterness in her heart intensified. “People say that although carp have weak bodies, their bloodline is the closest to that of a true dragon. It seems that what they say is true. After you transformed into a dragon, you were even able to grow six toes.”

"In that case, perhaps you can also cultivate this technique of mine."

“Your little granddaughter is right. The Heavenly Court is indeed unstable right now, but with your current strength and being only in the third heaven, there shouldn’t be any problems,” said Qingyi. She suddenly calmed down. “But if you can become stronger, you will be more confident in the face of changes.”

"What I cultivate is a spiritual treasure technique. According to my master, its origin can be traced back to the ancient god Donghuang Taiyi. It is the innate technique inscribed inside the Donghuang Bell, Taiyi's companion treasure."

"This technique is created by heaven and earth. One only needs to refine various treasures in the world along the way to plunder the laws within them and incorporate them into one's own body. It is extremely easy to master quickly and is truly incredible and domineering."

"In the primordial era, Taiyi made rapid progress with this technique. Despite being born later, he was able to surpass others. In addition, with the Eastern Emperor Bell in hand, he was virtually invincible below the level of a sage."

"In theory, this technique can be cultivated all the way to the Great Luo realm through plunder."

"But in today's world, it is almost impossible."

Qingyi recalled the secrets her master had told her.

The world is constantly degenerating. Each great war has caused spiritual energy to decline. Now, the saints are avoiding the world, not only because of the deterrent power of Hongjun Daozu, but also because this world has become so fragile that it can no longer support any actions of the saints.

Saints, after cultivating to the highest level of the Great Luo realm, rely on the Primordial Purple Qi to entrust a wisp of their saintly thoughts to the heavens and earth. As long as the heavens and earth do not fall, even if all things perish and an era begins anew, they can still exist endlessly. However, once the world falls and returns to chaos, even saints will only face death. The reason why the saints do not appear is not because of tacit agreement, but for their own sake.

Given how fragile the world is, those rare and precious creatures that were once commonplace in the primordial era have naturally become treasures in the present day.

"The time has passed. Now, cultivating the Spirit Treasure Technique is about searching the heavens and the earth. If we can finally achieve a result of the Taiyi Scattered Number, that would be extremely rare."

Qingyi recounted her master's description of the Lingbao Technique.

(End of this chapter)