Demon Emperor

Chapter 9 The Painted Wall and the Celestial Maiden

"Your Majesty, are you looking for something?"

"Stay outside and keep watch."

"Yes!"

As night deepened, Ruan Hu returned to the mural.

Ruan Hu raised the candle and walked along the wide mural, carefully examining the gods in the mural. The candlelight made the gods' faces appear to be in shifting light and shadow.

He counted them and found that there were a total of thirty-three people in the painting that could be directly identified.

Their clothes were gorgeous and had a Hu (non-Han) style. Their upper bodies were covered with thin, revealing clothes, long skirts were tied around their waists, colorful ribbons were draped over their shoulders, and they had slender figures.

However, he tied his hair up in a bun and wore a Taoist crown.

It resembles the Tao but is not the Tao; it resembles an immortal but is not an immortal.

"Were you watching me during the day?"

At that moment, one of the figures in the portrait moved. Ruan Hu looked up and found that one of the celestial maiden statues was staring at him.

With a blink of his eyes, the portrait changed again.

The woman stretched out her delicate hand, as if inviting him. Her flowing robes danced in the painting, seemingly about to entwine with Ruan Hu's hand.

Ruan Hu was not afraid at all and extended his hand as invited.

Just as his fingers touched the mottled mural, fragments of gold leaf on the ancient mural suddenly began to fall in a flurry.

The scent of sandalwood mixed with aged cinnabar wafted over, and the necklace of the lotus-holding celestial maiden in the center of the mural seemed to glow, making the figure in the painting appear real.

Subsequently.

The entire wall rippled like water, drawing Ruan Hu inside.

The feeling of weightlessness lasted for a full three breaths. When he regained his footing, his boots were already on the white jade bricks.

Looking up, one sees a chilling mist all around, with nine layers of gauze curtains swaying gracefully in the air.

At this very moment, he found himself standing atop the celestial palace within the painting.

Ruan Hu listened intently and heard the melodious music coming from afar.

Accompanied by melodious music.

Dozens of fairy maidens with colorful ribbons fluttered down from the jade pavilion, the one in the lead wearing a blue phoenix hairpin, with snow-white skin and a rainbow-colored dress.

Colorful shawls brushed against Ruan Hu's face, as if stirring his heartstrings.

"To express our gratitude to Your Majesty for saving us last time, we have come here today to host a banquet in return."

A clear, cool voice descended from the clouds.

Ruan Hu turned his head and looked back, and saw the celestial maiden from the painting who had just led the way sitting at the end of the twelve golden steps.

The flower on her forehead was blood-red, and the women around her bowed in greeting.

At first glance, it's as if the scene in the painting has leaped into reality.

Ruan Hu looked up at her and asked, "Who are you?"

The other party replied, "My name is Miaoxiang. I am honored to reside here, so I suppose I am the master of this place!"

Ruan Hu was led up the steps by the other party and entered a grand hall.

Ruan Hu looked up and saw the words "Flying Heaven Palace" written on the plaque above the main hall.

"Your Majesty, please take a seat."

Ruan Hu was welcomed to the main seat and sat at the head of the main hall, while the Heavenly Maiden Miaoxiang stepped aside to serve him.

It seemed that at this moment, he was the master of this celestial palace.

A glass cup filled with amber-colored nectar floated before him. Ruan Hu picked up the glass cup and looked at it. It was so clear that he could see the nectar inside.

"Your Majesty, please drink to your heart's content!"

Miao Xiang sat beside Ruan Hu, her fingers lightly lifting another glass cup, her high-piled hair revealing her beautiful neck as she lowered her head to drink.

The already thin garment made it even harder to conceal her voluptuous figure.

Ruan Hu glanced at the audience openly, then looked down at the audience.

"Since you celestial maidens are holding musical instruments, you must be skilled in music?"

"May I have the pleasure of examining it?"

The Celestial Maiden Miaoxiang smiled and nodded: "Your Majesty, please wait a moment."

The celestial maiden gracefully waved her wide sleeves, and forty-nine mermaid lanterns were lit one after another.

Girls draped in moon-white veils emerged from behind the carved railings, silver bells jingling softly in their hair as they danced, and entered the hall in an orderly fashion.

With a clang.

The curtain has been raised.

Near Ruan Hu's left, a woman held a curved-neck pipa backwards, her sharp dance movements finally frozen in time, her head tilted back to face Ruan Hu.

Her supple figure made it seem as if she had no bones.

As the fingertips gently swept across the four strings, the fragrance of bergamot wafted out and reached the uppermost position.

Then she smiled sweetly and turned around.

Meanwhile, the celestial maiden in the center was playing a phoenix-headed harp with twenty-three strings.

Her fingernails danced as they plucked the strings, her long legs billowing as her pomegranate-red skirt billowed.

The hem of her skirt billowed rapidly.

Like a blazing red lotus. The most dazzling sight is the woman striking the square on the right.

With her left hand, she used an ebony mallet to strike the sixteen iron sound plates in the top row, and the sound condensed into white plum blossoms.

These are female musicians; there are also dancers.

The long hair of the three dancers fluttered to the rhythm of the Jie drums that clung to their bare skin at their waists, and the silver bells hanging from the ends of their hair actually concealed five-tone holes, forming a set of "Sumo Zhe" tunes when the wind blew.

This way of playing music was something Ruan Hu had never seen or heard of before.

The gold rings they wore on their toes were not ornaments, but nine-tone cymbals that could ring on their own.

This is not only an ultimate musical enjoyment, but also an ultimate visual enjoyment.

If at first Ruan Hu only saw the woman's beauty, at this moment he felt that beauty had been elevated in them, becoming extraordinary.

During this time, Ruan Hu raised his glass again.

Asked.

"Where did you gods come from?"

"It looks like a Taoist sect, but it also seems to be somewhat Buddhist, and upon closer inspection, it also seems to originate from the Western Regions."

Ruan Hu looked at Miao Xiang Tian Nu and guessed about her origins and background.

"Is it God, Buddha, or Tao?"

Miao Xiang retaliated, and then told Ruan Hu.

"Your Majesty has excellent eyesight."

"I come from the West, originally a deity from a foreign land. I have traveled to the East and have long forgotten my former name."

"Later, the Women's Kingdom of Xiliang worshipped us for over a hundred years, and we became the gods of the Western Regions."

"Later, the kingdom of the Western Liang Kingdom was destroyed, and the tribes that worshipped the Queen Mother of the West occupied the Western Regions, and we became the female immortals under the Queen Mother of the West."

"As Buddhism spread eastward, most people in the Western Regions converted to Buddhism, and we were transformed into celestial maidens of Buddhism."

"Several hundred years ago, the Central Plains were in turmoil, and a large number of people from the Central Plains went to the Western Regions, bringing with them a large number of classic texts from the Central Plains, including many disciples of the Taoist sect."

"Gradually, our appearance and clothing began to resemble those of people from the Central Plains, and even our speech and behavior changed accordingly."

"As time passed and dynasties rose and fell, gradually no one in the Western Regions began to worship us."

"And so we ended up here."

At this point, even the Heavenly Maiden Miaoxiang couldn't help but feel sad.

"Now he has become a wandering ghost."

Ruan Hu then understood why the other party, despite being a deity from beyond the realm, had such an appearance.

No, or rather, with the changing times, they are no longer gods from beyond the realm, but have been assimilated into the Central Plains.

They also understood why the other party had appeared in Xicheng.

Ruan Hu found it very strange.

Times are changing, people on earth are changing, and dynasties are constantly changing.

Meanwhile, the gods, Buddhas, immortals, and saints on this earth are also changing.

"Do immortals also change as they migrate to different places and as time goes by?"

The Celestial Maiden Miaoxiang nodded and let out a sigh.

"Deities are manifestations of the human heart; how can they not change?"

At this point, Miaoxiang stepped forward and toasted Ruan Hu again.

"Yesterday, that evil spirit finally found the entrance to my paradise. If it weren't for Your Majesty's help in eliminating that evil spirit..."

"I fear that this paradise I have is about to be taken away by that evil spirit."

Ruan Hu suddenly felt that the feeling he had for the word "god" had collapsed.

This deity is truly fragile.

Once the offerings cease and their foundation is severed, even local evil spirits and fierce generals can bully them.

As Ruan Hu drank cup after cup of the exquisite nectar in this blissful paradise, he suddenly felt a little tipsy.

Swaying slightly, he sat up straight and gradually moved closer to the jade table, supporting his face with his hand.

"Your Majesty, please look!"

At this moment, to express her gratitude, the Celestial Maiden of Wonderful Fragrance also stepped down and presented the real Celestial Music of Wonderful Fragrance.

The harp of the Celestial Maiden of Wonderful Fragrance emitted a mesmerizing tremor, and the coiled dragon pillars on both sides of the jade steps suddenly transformed into a pink and white peach forest. Ruan Hu sat in the hall and felt as if the scenery around him was constantly changing.

After a while, he felt as if he were strolling through a peach orchard.

The next moment, he saw a beautiful woman dancing with a sword under the moonlight.

He looked up and saw that he had already flown into the clouds.

He closed his eyes slightly, listening intently to the alluring fragrance.

When you open your eyes again.

The stunningly beautiful celestial maiden, accompanied by a shower of petals, landed before his jade desk.

Miao Xiang's hand traced Ruan Hu's neck, gently caressing his face, her flowing ribbons falling on him like a spring breeze and drizzle.

"If Your Majesty wishes to stay..."

"Be the master of this paradise and enjoy endless joy."

(End of this chapter)