Venerated Venomous Consort

The Firmament Stone started to contemplate the suggestion given by the messenger from heaven. As it pondered, it noticed a sudden drastic change in its environment. It quickly glanced around and saw something surprising. The sky was in utter darkness, and the land was covered entirely by snow! However, in the distance, there was a faint glow of purple light.

A fog seemed to block the light, so the purple glow was only dimly discernible. In a blurred vision, there appeared to be a man, standing in the purple mist. Gu Xijiu finally stood up, her eyes resting on the figure in the purple mist. Her expression clearly showed that she was mesmerized. Slowly, she drifted towards the purple mist.

The Firmament Stone followed her. It was sure that the surroundings had indeed become warmer after the emergence of the purple mist. The cold was less miserable. Was the purple mist the source of her happiness? Was it the only thing that could make her feel alive in the abyss of her sorrowful soul?

Gu Xijiu continued her pursuit of the purple mist. Like a mirage that mimicked her desperation, it seemed that she could never make it far enough to catch the purple mist.

“Master, it is an illusion. You will never make it, so do not waste time on it.”

Gu Xijiu ignored the Firmament Stone and continued her fruitless pursuit. It was, after all, her dream. The Firmament Stone would like to see if she could finally get what she hoped for, so it kept quiet and followed her instead.

After a while, the purple mist disappeared into thin air. Gu Xijiu stopped and stared helplessly at the disappearance of the purple mist. Tears started to fill her eyes. The Firmament Stone felt terrible for her at first. Suddenly, an idea came to it.

…

When Gu Xijiu woke up from her dream, she was surprised to find herself being in a purple sea. The corals were purple. The seaweed was purple; even the shells were purple. The surroundings displayed a glittering array of different purple tones. She sat by staring blankly, lost in thoughts.

The Firmament Stone wanted to bring some excitement to Gu Xijiu. “Master, take a look at this. Isn’t this pretty?”

Gu Xijiu frowned in dismay. She liked purple a lot, but never wished for the entire surroundings to become purple; especially the purple seaweed! The seaweed had covered all the words that she had engraved on the floor. Intuitively, she did not wish to change anything about the layout. Every time she visited the place, she would grieve and at the same time, feel a sense of belonging about the place.

She waved her hands and the purple gardens, which the Firmament Stone had painstakingly arranged, disappeared almost instantaneously. Everything returned to its usual state.

“Do not try to change anything. I do not like it!” Gu Xijiu answered with a hint of disapproval.

The Firmament Stone did not manage to cheer her up, so the failed attempt dispirited it. “Master, I just want you to be happy.”

Gu Xijiu dismissed its concern. “There is no need to make any mess.”

Suddenly, the directed audio spell that was hung at her waist started to flicker. She picked it up and heard Long Siye panting anxiously at the other end. “Xijiu, I… I think I am about to be struck by the catastrophe that one faces before advancing to level ten.”

Thick, red clouds started to roll in and fill the entire sky in tints of red, as though there was an emerging red sun with all its shimmering rays hidden behind the clouds. The clouds drew closer towards the sky above the Tianwen mountain, turning the air into a red glow.

The unusual sign was indeed alarming. The common people looked up to the sky, trying to get a clue of what was truly happening.

The disciples of the Tianwen clan were frightened out of their wits. Ominous red clouds were gathering overhead, like an entire mountain of flames that was about to crush down from above.