Chapter 1153: A Reflection on a Lake

In the east of the Aurora Immortal Palace, behind the university, was the Young Aurora Hall. The hall wasn’t small by any means. It was shielded from divine will by a spell formation that operated year round. From the outside, the architecture looked utilitarian, with the only unusual aspect being the sea of flowers that surrounded it.

Occasionally, it was referred to by the name Hundred Flowers Hall or Hundred Flowers Palace.

The reality was... the real Hundred Flowers Palace was inside. It was located in the south part of Young Aurora Hall, and at night, it was illuminated by countless bright lanterns that radiated dazzlingly, making it seem like daytime inside.

The exterior walls were made from countless exotic flowers and vines. It was very colorful and exuded a fragrant aroma. Whenever the wind blew, the flowers would rustle and release more of their perfume. The interior was decorated like an immortal paradise. It featured jewels, jade, and gold, all dazzlingly spectacular.

There were flowers everywhere, all vying with each other in terms of glamor and beauty. Some were tender and pure. Some were noble and refined. Some were alluring and enchanting. It was as if every aspect of beauty was gathered here.[1]

In the middle of the hall was an enormous pond. There were rare flowers within it, and their frolicking caused ripples to flow out over the surface of the water.

Most eye-catching of all was a peony that had been brought in from the outside. She was a brightly colored peerless beauty, like the queen of all flowers, and she radiated glamor and charm. Her gauzy clothing swished as she shyly stuck close to Xu Qing.... At a certain point, she gently placed a peeled lychee into his mouth.

Xu Qing ate it as he quietly looked around at the sea of flowers.

The lotuses were pure. The roses were passionate. Every single one of them was so beautiful she could cause the downfall of a city or nation. Their skin was as fair as snow, and their faces as gorgeous as paintings. Some were not just beautiful, but also, exceedingly capable. Some played musical instruments, or danced, or sang for Xu Qing.

In a lovely place like this, it would be easy to forget the time and date. One would quickly fall into something like a trance.

It was just like the poem:

“Beautiful women like flowers in the clouds.

“Up above was a vast blue sky.

“Down below were rippling green waters.”

[2]

Xu Qing sighed deep in his heart.

No wonder the Immortal Lord wants me to tear down the Hundred Flowers Palace

....

Considering he was trying to maintain the image of being Young Lord Aurora, he had come here to the Hundred Flowers Palace to understand what the young lord’s life was like. What was causing Xu Qing the biggest headache though... weren’t the ‘hundred flowers’ here. It was the peony from the outside who kept feeding him lychees.

That peony was, of course, the fox maiden. Xu Qing had won the competition, and thus, the fox maiden had been sticking by his side ever since.

Biting her lip bashfully, the fox maiden spoke in a voice so entrancing it could wrest one’s soul out into the open. “Young Lord, what do you think of your humble slave girl’s lychees? They’re delicious, wouldn’t you say?”

Xu Qing sighed inwardly, and shifted his gaze to look at the woman who seemed like a peony one moment and a devil’s trumpet the other.[3]

“Aren’t you worried someone will realize who you really are?” Xu Qing asked with a frown.

By now, his battle prowess was on a completely different level than it had been in Revered Ancient. It had risen to such a high level that the difference compared to before was like that between heaven and earth. Nowadays, he could fight any god that was not at the Altar God level, and when it came to cultivators, he could fight with any under the Quasi-Immortal level.

Starfire was extremely close to being an Altar God, in other words, equivalent to a peak Imperial Sovereign in the great circle. That meant shē was strong, but not strong enough that he couldn’t fight hēr if necessary. Of course, that didn’t mean he would be guaranteed to win.

“What are you looking at me like that for?” Starfire said, blushing all the way down to hēr neck. “You look like you want to spank me.” Shē shifted hēr body and lifted hēr rear end toward him. “Do you want to? Spank me a bit?”

Xu Qing looked at hēr coldly.

Shē laughed softly. “I love it when you’re all cold like that. Alright, fine. I get it. You’re worried about me, right? It’s just that I have to get out sometimes, otherwise I’ll get bored to death. I was also worried that you would forget about me, Young Lord.”

Xu Qing did not seem to be affected by hēr words. “It is what it is. But what are you really after? Don’t try to keep it a secret. You haven’t forgotten what I told you when you demanded to come with me, have you?”

Shē blinked a few times. “You told me something? Really? I can’t remember.”

“Then I’ll explain again,” he went on calmly. “This place is forbidden to gods unless they’re slaves. It’s up to you to stay alive.”

Starfire smiled charmingly. “Oh, slaves? That’s it? Not a big deal. Didn’t I call myself your slave girl? I’m perfectly happy being enslaved by you.”

Xu Qing ignored hēr and turned to leave. He had come to the Hundred Flowers Palace to further the act, and now he had other things to do.

Seeing that he was leaving, Starfire’s beautiful eyes glittered. “Okay, okay. Your humble slave girl will tell the truth. Happy? The reason I came here is that I’m confident I won’t be noticed. After all, this isn’t real history. It’s a foundation built on memories of the immortal palace, reflected as if on a mirror. That’s all.

“That said, if you can stay in control, you can achieve outstanding results. For example, if you alter the history in the mirror, it will cause space-time fluctuations that will increase your own level of mastery and enlightenment.

“I just wanted to get an identity in here so that if you succeed with the space-time ripples, then I could possibly have that identity permanently bestowed on me. That way, the will of the Fifth Star Ring won’t be constantly trying to reject me.

“Of course, it’s more than your own power that will determine your success. We’ll have to see if the Immortal Paragon will permit you to alter the history in this reflection. Well, that’s everything. Now you can go handle your business. Don’t worry about me, okay?” Shē flashed a smile.

Xu Qing looked over his shoulder at hēr, then left the Hundred Flowers Palace. As he walked through Young Aurora Hall, he thought about everything.

I’d say there’s an eighty to ninety percent chance that Fourth True Monarch was possessed by an outsider. He showed up right in the moment when history was about to be changed. And that means that his dao is in opposition to mine.

The Shining Stars all have their own goals in this place. Based on what Li Mengtu and Li the Chosen did, I can tell that they want to change history. That indicates that there must be two camps here. One camp wants to preserve historicity, while the others want to create ripples in the history of time. I can’t be sure of the details though. I need to do some more investigation before I can make a final determination.

If my speculations are correct, then I should be secretly helping the camp that wants to create ripples in history. I should make sure that they succeed in whatever they’re trying to do. The end result will be the massive fluctuations that I seek! I suppose that my next task should be to figure out which roles the Shining Stars are playing.

The sky was changing color. It was still dark, but dawn was coming. The moon illuminated the sky at this, its coldest point.

Sensing something, Xu Qing looked up at the canopy of heaven.

At this point in history, the blood-red aurora did not yet exist in the sky. There was still a moon and a sun. Similar to the suns and moons of Revered Ancient, the sun and moon here were not simple heavenly bodies. Both of them were living things that contain spectacular power.

Based on his host’s memories, he knew that the moon was named Clearbright. It was delicate and covered with shimmering silver light that filled the world with peace and harmony.

In a month, the moonlight will go away forever. Same with the sun.

As Xu Qing pondered such things, dawn came. The moon gradually disappeared, and the shining rays of the morning sun stretched out from the dark horizon.

In the Fifth Star Ring, the sun was named Fyreblaze. Its exterior was that of scorching fire and dazzling heat. It was so strong and warm that it could bring light and heat to all living beings in the star ring.

Xu Qing watched it rise.

It was daytime. As the morning sun delivered light, it also delivered... a person.

He was a middle-aged man dressed in a utilitarian white robe. The robe was embroidered with elegant cloud patterns, so as he neared, it seemed like a wind was blowing. His features were both ordinary and extraordinary. He had a prominent nose, as well as tight lips that seemed incapable of ever smiling. His expression was as cold as a snowy mountain peak, filled with unfathomable dignity. His bright eyes were like seas, glittering sharply as if they could pierce through to the reality of anything and everything.

Upon entering, his every step imparted a sense of mystery and wonder. Soon, he was standing right in front of Xu Qing.

“Father,” Xu Qing said, bowing his head.

This person was none other than Immortal Lord Aurora! As he stood there, he kept his aura reined inside, making him seem like a dormant volcano that might erupt at any moment. His coldness and apathy came because he had long since come to see through the luxury and vanity of the mortal world. As a result, he was no longer so deeply attached to ordinary things.

Voice cold, he said, “I’m taking you somewhere.”

The moment his voice rang out, heaven and earth spun, and everything blurred. They were no longer in the immortal palace. They were on a frozen lake.

“Follow me. This is the last thing I’m going to do for you as your father.” He started walking.

Xu Qing’s mind was starting to race, but he forced himself to remain clear-headed as he followed.

It was a very special lake. It was like a mirror that reflected the light in the sky, as well as the condition of the heart. When one walked on it, the reflection below would be unique and different.

As Xu Qing looked down, he realized that the reflection was that of his true form! He was stunned, yet the Immortal Lord in front of him didn’t seem to notice or care.

Xu Qing hesitated for a moment before looking at Immortal Lord Aurora’s reflection. His pupils constricted. The reflection looked like Aurora, but his clothes were different. They were black. And his expression... was somber and wicked. Xu Qing looked away, a thousand thoughts running through his head. As they continued, the Immortal Lord remained silent.

Time passed.

Above the lake, a white-robed Aurora and his son walked, one following the other. Beneath the lake, a black-robed Aurora walked with Xu Qing, one after the other.

1. Within this paragraph, it uses the plural female pronoun to refer to the flowers, which obviously implies that the description is not about flowers, but about women. ☜

2. The poetry is an excerpt from the poem “Endlessly Yearning” by

Li Bai

, who is probably the most famous Chinese poet in all history. Frankly speaking, most of the translations I found suck so much that I don’t want to link them. ☜

3. The flower mentioned here is the same one mentioned about a hundred chapters ago. It’s Datura stramonium, a poisonous flowering plant. The flowers sort of look like trumpets. In Chinese, the name of the flower is a transliteration of a sanskrit word, so the specific characters aren’t really important per se. It seems to me the significance is that the flower is poisonous. In contrast, peonies in Chinese culture are considered one of the top flowers, and also a symbolic representation of many things, particularly feminine beauty. By the way, I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before but Er Gen comes from a prefecture-level city in China called Mudanjiang which literally translates as Peony River. The first time I met him in person was when RWX and I flew to Mudanjiang and hung out with him for a couple days. ☜