Three thousand years ago, Yun Muse became the first deity in the Northern Zhige Continent to be conferred by Heaven and Earth.
This allowed her to quickly rise from an obscure, unknown little mountain deity, eventually becoming the Divine Lord of Donghua Mountain, revered by the entire continent and indeed the whole world.
One thousand years ago, she once made a solemn vow at the zenith of the firmament: if anyone in the Northern Zhige Continent were to achieve another Heaven and Earth conferment, women would become her sisters, and men would become her Dao partners.
A divine vow of the heart is one of the most binding oaths in existence between Heaven and Earth. Even the most powerful deities in the world cannot violate it.
Hearing Feng Niang's words, Yun Muse looked toward the green-robed scholar standing before the mountain shrine on Xiufeng Mountain.
Judging from the inscription on the Heaven and Earth Conferment Monument erected in front of the temple, the person leading this Heaven and Earth conferment was clearly this Hanshan Academy disciple named Li Wangyi.
At this moment, although he was among the crowd, he immediately caught the eye with his refined, unhurried demeanor and extraordinary good looks.
Despite being only in the First Realm, he was able to facilitate a Heaven and Earth conferment, making him truly a remarkable man among men.
"Master?" Feng Niang called out softly, seeing her lost in thought.
Yun Muse snapped back to reality and continued to look down at Li Wangyi and the Peach Blossom Goddess on the summit of Xiufeng Mountain.
She had come here to guard the path for the new deity of the Heaven and Earth conferment, and had indeed forgotten all about her heart's vow.
And yet, as a deity of Heaven and Earth, this vow...
She suddenly spoke, "Investigate whether this Li Wangyi of Hanshan is from the lineage of Elder Zhou Xuan."
Uncomprehending, Feng Niang nonetheless obeyed.
She produced a bronze treasure mirror, wrote the three characters "Li Wangyi" on its surface, and channeled a wisp of divine power into it. As the mirror's light rippled, all of Li Wangyi's background information was displayed.
After carefully reviewing it, she reported, "Master, he is indeed from the lineage of Elder Zhou Xuan. He is the favorite eldest disciple of Zhou Lengxi, the direct grandson of Elder Zhou Xuan, and underwent his capping ceremony just this past January, with the courtesy name Gengxin."
Observing her master's expression, she deliberately added, "He has never been betrothed!"
Yun Muse glared at her.
Far from being afraid, Feng Niang purposely asked, "Master, what about this matter of becoming Dao partners, then?"
Yun Muse looked up at the sky. "We'll talk about it when he reaches Donghua Mountain."
"Reach Donghua Mountain? Will he go to Donghua Mountain? How did you kn— Oh, I understand."
Feng Niang quickly caught on.
Her master would be holding the once-every-century Wandering Deity Assembly at her Daoist domain, Donghua Mountain, two months from now.
Furthermore, since her master had bestowed the grace of path-protection upon the lineage of Elder Zhou Xuan, Vice Hill Master Zhou Lengxi of Hanshan Academy, as Elder Zhou Xuan's direct grandson and the rightful heir to their scholarly tradition, naturally ought to prepare gifts of congratulations.
Now, with Zhou Lengxi not seen descending the mountain, his eldest disciple was heading east instead, clearly intending to go to Donghua Mountain to deliver gifts on his behalf.
"Master is brilliant! It's just that this subordinate still has one question: why wait until arriving at Donghua Mountain to decide on the matters of formalizing the pact and Dao Integration?"
Yun Muse's voice sounded ethereal and distant. "It is eight thousand miles from here to Donghua Mountain. The mountains are high and the waters are far, with many fallen states, blighted lands, perilous lakes, and ghostly domains along the way. If he can arrive safely with the strength of the First Realm, he will be worthy of becoming my Dao partner."
A strange feeling stirred in Feng Niang's heart. With the journey being so perilous, was this supposed to be taking a bride or going on a pilgrimage to retrieve scriptures?
Future master-in-husband, may your journey be smooth, may you break through all difficulties, and may you arrive safely at Donghua Mountain.
This subordinate respectfully awaits the arrival of my master-in-husband in the Eastern Territory!
***
On the summit of Xiufeng Mountain.
The very moment Yun Muse's words—"worthy of becoming my Dao partner"—fell, Li Wangyi felt a sudden jolt.
"Eldest Senior Brother, what's wrong?"
Little Qianjun noticed his unusual reaction and looked concerned.
The young Peach Blossom Goddess Liu Hechu, Guo Hengbei, Guo Nanjun, and Wei Lun all looked at him as well.
Li Wangyi shook his head. He had no idea what was going on, only a vague, lingering sensation that somewhere, something had changed.
Yet he couldn't put his finger on what exactly was different.
Inspecting his consciousness internally and confirming he hadn't fallen victim to any curses, sorcery, or other evil arts, Li Wangyi let the matter go.
"Benefactor, Hero Guo, Sister Guo, please follow me into the temple." Liu Hechu invited everyone into the inner hall of the shrine.
She still needed to bring out her self-brewed peach blossom wine and set up a banquet to thank her several benefactors, which would also count as her very first Wandering Deity Assembly.
Since a deity had extended an invitation, it would be discourteous to refuse. Besides, everyone was curious about what the interior of a divine temple born of Heaven and Earth looked like, so no one declined.
The young Peach Blossom Goddess turned falling petals into soldiers, transforming them into cute little pink sprites that quickly went into action.
One team carried tables and stools, another set out bowls and chopsticks, a third prepared pastries, a fourth went to the wine cellar to fetch wine, and others even ran up the mountain to pick wild fruits, bustling about with great enthusiasm.
Little Qianjun put down her book box to help. The little peach blossom sprites were only about an inch tall, and seeing Little Qianjun—a fellow spirit—lend a hand, they were overjoyed. Chirping and chattering their thanks, they buzzed around her, making the scene even livelier.
After observing the young deity's statue on the main hall's altar, Li Wangyi watched these little creatures busy themselves, finding it a leisurely and amusing pastime.
As for Guo Hengbei, Wei Lun, and Guo Nanjun, they went outside the temple to gather the pile of pink dust that the human demon had turned into.
The human demon was a manifestation of inner demons and possessed no physical body of its own; this pile of dust was the ashes of Feng Gu.
Since they had been teammates, they intended to take him back home.
Before long, the three demon-slaying companions had collected the ashes, and the little peach blossom sprites had finished preparing the banquet.
The young Peach Blossom Goddess's very first wandering deity banquet officially began.
All kinds of pastries and dried fruits had been personally made by Liu Hechu in her spare time after tending to the peach grove. Every single item was exquisite in appearance and exceptional in taste.
In particular, the several jars of two-hundred-to-nearly-three-hundred-year-old peach blossom wine that had been brought out were overflowing with a rich fragrance that almost intoxicated everyone before the seals were even broken.
Even Little Qianjun, who couldn't hold her liquor, blinked her big eyes, feeling curious and wanting a taste.
Ever since their very first encounter on the mountain's horse trail, Wei Lun had been quite fond of Little Qianjun. Seeing her eager to try it, he brought a peach-leaf cup and poured her a share.
"Ow, it's spicy!" Little Qianjun took a sip and was struck by the kick.
Sticking out her little tongue, her face turned flushed red, and her two big eyes rolled in dizzy circles. Before long, she wobbled and collapsed onto the table, revealing her true form to transform into a blade of verdant green grass.
"Is this Little Qianjun's true body?"
Seeing Little Qianjun go down from a single sip of wine, Liu Hechu, Wei Lun, Guo Nanjun, and Guo Hengbei couldn't help but be amused.
Even the little peach blossom sprites responsible for pouring wine and serving dishes nearby stared in wide-eyed amazement at the sight, before clapping and cheering.
Li Wangyi planted Little Qianjun into a white porcelain vase filled with mountain mist and spiritual water, then tucked her back into his little book box so she could fall asleep amidst the fragrance of books.
High above the clouds, Yun Muse had been drooling ever since the peach blossom wine was brought out. Now, seeing Little Qianjun keel over the moment she touched alcohol, she found the wine's aroma all the more irresistible.
As someone whose greatest passions in life were wine and the qin, she flicked her divine robes, preparing to descend upon Xiufeng Mountain.
However, she was stopped by Feng Niang. "Master, since you are unwilling to meet the gentleman right now, you shouldn't go down."
Well, they hadn't formally completed the pact and Dao Integration yet, so she couldn't call him master-in-husband in front of her master for the time being.
Yun Muse furrowed her brows in hesitation.
"The gentleman is merely in the First Realm, yet he was able to preside over a Heaven and Earth conferment. He must be well-versed in various profound Confucian arts. If Master descends and makes a personal appearance at the wandering deity banquet, you might be sensed."
"Even if the gentleman's spiritual awareness can be blocked, the Peach Blossom Goddess and Master are both deities of Heaven and Earth conferment, sharing a similar origin of the Great Dao. She is very likely to notice," Feng Niang continued to advise.
Yun Muse thought for a moment and said, "Then can I just take a few jars? I noticed there's still quite a bit of peach blossom wine left in that cellar."
Feng Niang remained silent, simply staring at her.
Yun Muse flicked her sleeve.
*Forget it, it would be unseemly.*
Yet, watching the people in the temple freely imbibe the peach blossom wine from afar, the Divine Lord Lady of Donghua Mountain felt deeply disgruntled.
With another wave of her cloud-like sleeve, a rumble echoed—
Startling thunder suddenly cracked across the sky, followed by roaring winds and torrential rain sweeping toward the shrine on Xiufeng Mountain.
*Go on, drink all you want, hmph!*