Chapter 1162: A Wonderful Morning Glory

It was halfway through the twelfth month of the year 2999 in the Dao Finale of the Nineshores calendar. That meant there was only half a month left until Immortal Lord Nineshores stepped down and Immortal Lord Aurora was inaugurated. It also meant that the wedding day of Young Lord Aurora and the daughter of Immortal Lord Nineshores was just around the corner.

Ordinarily speaking, that wedding would be a major event in the Fifth Star Ring, and would cause countless cultivators to make the long journey to the court to offer respects. In fact, all of the Immortal Lords would come as well, along with their apprentices and followers. However, it was a sensitive time, and not an occasion for ostentatious displays. Therefore, Immortal Lord Aurora refused to have any visiting guests, and would instead have a limited number of attendees to a ceremony held in the immortal palace itself.

That said, it was only natural that there would be gifts and decorations. Lanterns were being hung throughout the palace, and colorful banners were put up everywhere. All of the ladies dressed up. That was especially true in Young Aurora Hall.

All of these were things that had happened historically speaking, but interfering with them wouldn’t have done much. So Xu Qing just let the master of ceremonies continue with all the decorations and other preparations for the wedding.

He was currently in the main hall furthering his study of the sand of time. If situations arose outside that needed to be handled, he would send Zhong Chi out to deal with them.

Time passed slowly. Eventually, the setting sun cast its warm glow into the sky. Within Young Aurora Hall, the master of ceremonies was putting the last wedding decorations into place.

Zhong Chi was making a final inspection of everything.

Pointing at the embroidered balls hanging from the eaves, he frowned, looked at the master of ceremonies, and said, “There’s something wrong with the color of the balls. At first glance they look like they’re made entirely from shivering immortal roses. But in the light of the setting sun, you can clearly see that they have imperfections. What’s more, the total number is inauspicious! There needs to be an even number! Take them down immediately![1]

“And look at the red silk banners! They’re not shiny enough. The magical techniques and immortal power aren’t flowing through them naturally. Take them down! Also....”[2]

Li Mengtu as Zhong Chi was being very responsible and diligent. He felt that it was important to put on a good show. After all, just the day before, Young Lord Aurora really had said some nice things about him to Little Hui from the Spiritguiding Palace. Given his host’s personality, it made sense that he would be profoundly grateful. That said, Li Mengtu was sighing inwardly, as he knew that, historically speaking, the wedding... would turn out to be a bloodbath.

In half a month, the young lord will die violently in this place.... In fact, nobody will make it out alive. Given all the time I’ve spent with Young Lord Aurora recently, I have to admit that he’s a nice person. He’s somewhat given to lust, true. But given who he is, that fact that he’s only

somewhat

given to lust... makes him nearly perfect.

Li Mengtu sighed. He had been increasingly struck with the sensation that life in the immortal palace was nice. He didn’t have much pressure at all. All he needed to do was take care of the young lord and keep him safe. After all, out in the real world, he had far too many responsibilities. He had to constantly struggle to turn things around, both for his clan, and for himself.

Given that he was one of the Shining Stars, it was no surprise that he had noticed his Master seemed to have sinister intentions. But he couldn’t reveal such thoughts. All he could do was work secretly from the shadows to try to change things. If he had to compare the two identities, there was no doubt... that he preferred being Zhong Chi.

As such thoughts ran through his head, he suddenly noticed a floor tile that had a chip in it. Brow furrowed, he opened his mouth to say something about it. However, that was when a brilliant light shone in the evening sky. Then he heard the cries of phoenixes.

All of a sudden, an imperial carriage being pulled by nine phoenixes appeared in midair over Young Aurora Hall. The exquisitely decorated chariot glittered blindingly, illuminating every corner of Young Aurora Hall. The nine phoenixes pulling the chariot were as red as fire, as if the burning sunset had painted them that color.

The chariot was flanked by over a hundred guards with spears in their hands, all of them somber-looking in their black armor. They were Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix’s honor guard, tasked with keeping her safe.

When the carriage appeared, the master of ceremonies clasped hands and bowed.

Li Mengtu’s eyes narrowed slightly, but his expression was one of respect as he hurried forward and offered formal greetings. “Well met, Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix.”

A cold snort drifted out from the carriage. Shortly after, two handmaidens lifted the curtain, and a beautiful woman emerged.

She was none other than Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix, the daughter of Immortal Lord Nineshores! She was not acting like she had been back at the Scourgebolt Cliffs, when her softness was hidden beneath a veneer of anger. Instead... her eyes were piercing, as if she could peer into the depths of one’s thoughts. Her expression was calm, but there was a tempest within it.

She was not dressed like usual. She wore gorgeous blue-and-white palace attire. That, coupled with her furious expression, made her seem like someone nobody would dare to mess with. It was as if her mere presence was enough to prevent anyone from acting rashly.

She walked out of the carriage and into Young Aurora Hall. Once inside, she seemed even more majestic than before. That was because she knew her value and position. She also understood how to use her power to safeguard her own dignity and rights. She had a gaze that seemed capable of seeing through lies instantly. And that gaze was now focused on Li Mengtu in his guise as Zhong Chi.

“Has the Hundred Flowers Palace been torn down yet?” she said in a low, powerful voice. Every word seemed like a hammer blow to the heart.

Everyone else present kept their heads bowed. Even Li Mengtu felt the pressure weighing down on him thanks to her words.

It’s only been a few days, but this person has definitely acclimated to this identity. There are no clues like there were on the first day. In fact, if this was our first meeting, I would be hard-pressed to be able to guess she’s really an outsider.

Quickly collecting his thoughts, Li Mengtu said, “The young lord gave orders a few days ago for the Hundred Flowers Palace to be torn down. Unfortunately, your humble servant has been so busy with your wedding decorations, ma’am, that the whole matter of tearing down the palace skipped my mind.... Your humble servant will start the work tomorrow.”

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix glowered at him. “There’s no need to wait until tomorrow. It can be torn down today.”

With that, she strode forward.

Li Mengtu seemed like he wanted to offer a further explanation, and even took a step forward to get closer to her. But her guards pushed him away. All he could do was send a quick voice message to Young Lord Aurora, then hurry after Spirit Phoenix.

“Young Lady,” he cried, “this is manual labor we’re talking about. Let me handle it!”[3]

Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix just continued onward furiously. She had already spotted the Hundred Flowers Palace, and as she and her retinue neared, they were like oppressive black clouds that caused the evening sky to turn dark. A great wind had picked up, blowing through the Hundred Flowers Palace, and causing all the flowers therein to sway back and forth.

And yet... there was a peony there, lounging in the spot that belonged to the young lord. She wore sheer garments which barely obscured her body beneath. Coupled with the languid expression on her face, she seemed to exude flirtatiousness. Hardly paying any attention to the wind from outside the palace, she sighed.

“Keep singing and dancing, girls.”

The hundred flowers laughed. The immortal music swelled.

Outside the palace, Li Mengtu saw what was happening, and his eyes narrowed. He took a few steps back, doing nothing to interfere.

Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix's eyes were full of rage, but her voice was as cold as ice. “Wipe this filthy place out of existence!”

The black-armored guards around her surged with frigid energy as they advanced toward the Hundred Flowers Palace. They didn’t even need to launch an attack. The frigid energy roiling off of them caused everything to freeze over. And after it was frozen, it crumbled into ashes. As they walked forward, everything crumbled around them.

The master of ceremonies, Li Mengtu, and the Young Aurora Hall guards... did nothing to interfere. That was because, normally speaking... the only person in the Aurora Immortal Palace who had the right to tear down the Hundred Flowers Palace was Immortal Lord Aurora. Not even his four apprentices could do it.

But today... someone new showed up who did have that right. And that was the young lady who was about to be married to their young lord! In fact, she had more right to tear down the Hundred Flowers Palace than even the Immortal Lord. After all, the Immortal Lord himself had previously said that the place should be torn down.[4]

In other words, there wasn’t a single person who had the right to stop what Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix was doing.

Thus, her guards marched forward. Rumbling sounds echoed out nonstop. Thanks to the actions of the guards, the Hundred Flowers Palace crumbled into ashes starting from the exterior and then moving in.

Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix stood off to the side, watching coldly.

Li Mengtu sighed inwardly.

Young Lord. Ah, Young Lord. I wish I could have done something

.

As Li Mengtu stood there ruefully, the guards reached the interior of the palace. Now visible was the pond, the hundred flowers, and the fox maiden.

Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix saw all of them. She saw the colorful gauze garments. She saw the debauchery. She saw the endless curves and long legs. Some of the women were enticing, some were seductive, some were pure, some were mature, and some were simply gorgeous. There were even some nonhumans....

Grinding her teeth, Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix said, “Filthy. Obscene. Dirty. You harlots offend public morality! How utterly shameless, you depraved hags!”

The hundred flowers bristled in rage.

But the fox maiden, looking very calm and composed, simply picked up a grape, put it in her mouth, and looked at Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix. She laughed softly.

“Aren’t you quite the beauty? Unfortunately, fate is a cruel mistress. If you weren’t the daughter of Immortal Lord Nineshores, I’m afraid you would have ended up just like us. A wonderful morning glory like you would have ended up right here in the Hundred Flowers Palace, vying with the rest of us to attract the attention of our lord and master.” The fox maiden sighed as if with regret.[5]

Immortal Fairy Spirit Phoenix’s eyes became incredibly aggressive. Whether it was she or her host, they were the same in that, from the time they were small until now, no one had ever spoken to them in such a filthy and sarcastic way. The morning glory suddenly didn’t seem very much like a morning glory. Glaring at the fox maiden, she suddenly thought back to what Fourth True Monarch had told her.

“A place as filthy as this,” she said coldly, “and people as perverse as this... should be driven out of the immortal palace immediately!”

1. Embroidered balls are traditional decorations that are usually made from silk.

Here’s what they looked like

. ☜

2. Red silk banners are another thing you see at Chinese weddings.

Here’s what they looked like

. They often have red flowers made of silk attached to them. The flowers aren’t specifically mentioned in this passage, but it would make sense to me that they do have those. ☜

3. The title used (young lady) here is the title she would bear as the wife of the young lord. It’s more like “young (lord’s) wife” if you directly parsed it out. ☜

4. In chapter

chapter 1147

the Immortal Lord said to tear down the Hundred Flowers Palace. ☜

5. There is some wordplay here that doesn’t come out in English. In Chinese “morning glory flower” is literally a “cow-leading flower.” The “cow-leading” is a reference to the Cowherd from the folktale of the

Cowherd and the Weaver Girl

. The Cowherd is the male love interest in that story, so there are some obvious implications there. What is literally said is that “you would be a morning glory, who ‘leads the cow’ for our lord and master.” ☜