Si Qing clenched his fists tightly.
Ling Ru, with a smug expression, said, "You're unwilling? Then forget it. This Venerable never forces anyone."
"However, you should seriously consider the choice the Heavenly Emperor left you. After all, time waits for no one."
With that, Ling Ru hummed a tune and left.
Si Qing slowly closed his eyes.
The cultivation world.
The All-Element Forest, the Water Element Forest.
Yu Zhen and Li Yu, along with Yue Zhiyin and their group, had gone to the Water Element Forest to hunt monsters.
This left Qi Yu and Si Qing to meditate and rest on the spot.
Following their usual habit, Qi Yu intended to absorb spiritual energy. But for some reason, Qi Yu found that Si Qing had suddenly become exceptionally clingy today.
When she went to wash her hands, he stuck to her.
When she meditated, he clung to her, wanting a hug.
He was like a little shadow.
"Si Qing," Qi Yu said with a helpless sigh, "Why are you always following me? Don't you have anything else to do?"
"I do, but I just want to follow you," Si Qing said, looking at Qi Yu, his hand tugging at her sleeve.
Qi Yu sighed and let him be.
Si Qing stood beside Qi Yu and suddenly asked in a muffled voice, "Sister, if one day I'm gone, will you be sad?"
As Si Qing's true form, he knew everything his clone had experienced.
Si Qing had no idea what to do.
Was his sister's life the only life that mattered? What about Yu Zhen, Li Yu, and the other disciples of the Beiyuan Sect? Were their lives not lives?
But if he died, the Heavenly Emperor would immediately dispatch other heavenly soldiers and generals to the mortal realm.
Si Qing painfully squatted on the ground, covering his eyes with his hands.
Seeing him like this, Qi Yu's heart tightened. She hurried over, "Si Qing, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Or did something happen in the Divine Realm?"
Si Qing remained silent, simply sitting on the ground with his knees hugged, his hands cold. "Sister, I'm a little tired."
He tilted his head, resting it against Qi Yu's collarbone. "Will you sing me the lullaby Mother used to sing?"
He couldn't bring himself to kill his sister with his own hands.
Nor could he betray his parents and the disciples of the Beiyuan Sect.
After much thought, he found no way to make a choice between them.
Qi Yu gently stroked Si Qing's head and suddenly asked, "Did something happen in the Divine Realm?"
Si Qing paused, then shook his head silently, asking instead, "Sister, if I hadn't come down to find you, to find Father and Mother, and you regained your memories in the mortal realm and remembered everything, knowing that Master and Mistress were Father and Mother, what would you… do?"
Qi Yu fell silent for a moment, then gently shook her head. "I don't know either."
Si Qing pursed his lips and buried his head in Qi Yu's embrace.
Just then, a divine light descended from not far away.
Si Qing, held in Qi Yu's arms, was gradually absorbed by the divine light and disappeared in her embrace.
Qi Yu did not panic. She simply stood up and slowly walked towards the divine light.
Only when the divine light gradually faded, revealing the true form of Si Qing, the Divine Venerable, did Qi Yu curve her lips and say, "Si Qing, this is the first time I've seen your true form since my reincarnation. It's wonderful that you've become the God of War and Divine Venerable."
Si Qing, the Divine Venerable, was stunned and asked in surprise, "Sister, how… how do you know I'm the God of War?"
He had deliberately lied when he obtained the God of War's Tears before…
"The God of War's Tears, a divine gift, no believer has ever obtained it," Qi Yu chuckled. "You asked me not to worship, and then when you obtained the God of War's Tears yourself, I guessed that the God of War must be you."
Si Qing, the Divine Venerable, suddenly understood, then chuckled. "Sister, you're so smart. I thought I had kept this identity very well hidden."
"You are my brother. Even though you are now a Divine Venerable, you can't hide it from me. After all…" Qi Yu raised her smiling face. "We are soul twins."
Soul twins meant twin siblings with the same soul attribute, one Yin and one Yang, with identical soul auras.
Si Qing's eyes reddened.
Qi Yu walked over and touched his cheek. "Si Qing, take me to the Divine Realm."
Si Qing's palms began to sweat. "Sister… you…"
"You've been acting strange all along, saying you're tired and clinging to me, calling me sister." Qi Yu hugged Si Qing. "Something must have happened in the Divine Realm that concerns me."
"Don't bear it alone. You can't handle it just by trying to hide it."
Si Qing suddenly burst into tears.
He knelt on the ground, on the verge of collapse. "Sister, the Heavenly Emperor holds my primordial essence core and forced me to choose between you, Father and Mother, and the Beiyuan Sect."
"I'm sorry, I can't do it. I can't choose."
"I can't choose…"
Qi Yu looked at the distraught Si Qing, her hands clenched into fists. She turned, raised her hand, and conjured two dummy figures of herself and Si Qing, placing them in the Water Element Forest to act as stand-ins. Then, she grabbed Si Qing's wrist.
"Si Qing, stand up and take me to the Nine Heavens. My affairs, whether life or death, I will decide for myself."
…
The Nine Heavens.
Although Si Qing had agreed to take Qi Yu up, he had been trying to dissuade her along the way.
He had even considered becoming a fallen immortal.
But Qi Yu forbade it.
Qi Yu forcefully entered the Nine Heavens. When she reached the outer palace, she did not let Si Qing enter with her, telling him to wait outside.
Si Qing tugged at Qi Yu's sleeve, wanting to speak but hesitating.
Qi Yu looked back at Si Qing, leaving him with a "Wait for me" before turning and walking in without looking back.
Inside the Heavenly Palace.
The Heavenly Emperor was not surprised by Qi Yu's arrival.
He quietly continued his calligraphy, letting Qi Yu stand there until he finished copying the characters. Then, the Heavenly Emperor withdrew his hand and looked at Qi Yu. "That child Si Qing, I knew he wouldn't be able to do it. But I didn't expect you to follow him here."
"Your Majesty, let's talk," Qi Yu interrupted him. "I know the real reason you asked Si Qing to kill me. It's probably because after the High God Ling Ru possessed my body, she couldn't fully control it since I, the original self, still existed, right?"
The Heavenly Emperor's expression turned grim.
Qi Yu looked up. "If that's the case, then how about this."
She placed one hand on her forehead, extracted her primordial essence core, and held it in her palm. "Use my primordial essence core to exchange for my brother's primordial essence core, and to restore my parents' immortal positions."
The Heavenly Emperor snorted. "Are you joking? Si Qing, Liu Yu, Li Yu – the three of them, one is your brother, one is your mother, and one is your father. Back then, your parents did so much to prevent you from being possessed, causing chaos in the Nine Heavens. If I were to restore their immortal bodies, wouldn't they turn the heavens upside down?"
"I will make them forget my existence," Qi Yu lowered her gaze, staring at the primordial essence core in her hand. "This way, they will accept… Ling Ru. With my primordial essence core, Ling Ru will be able to fully control my body."
"In that case…" The Heavenly Emperor was tempted by Qi Yu's offer. "It's not impossible. However, you are now a congenital spiritual artifact. After losing your primordial essence core, you will fall into the Hell of Extreme Cold in the Six Paths of Reincarnation. This Emperor will not let you out again. Are you sure?"
"Restore my mother to the position of High God Liu Yu, restore my father to the status of Holy Lord Qilin, and return Si Qing's primordial essence core. You, Heavenly Emperor, swear to the Heavenly Dao that for all eternity, you will not harm them in the slightest, nor will you scheme or frame them. You will also bless the Beiyuan Sect with eternal prosperity. If you break this oath, your soul will be annihilated."
Qi Yu looked directly into the Heavenly Emperor's eyes.
"As long as you do these things, I will agree to hand over my primordial essence core and fall into hell. Otherwise, I will ensure that High God Ling Ru can never fully control my body. When the great calamity arrives in a hundred years, Ling Ru, who can do nothing, will be useless, and the entire Three Realms will be buried with her!"
As she spoke, Qi Yu clenched her fists tightly.
If… the Heavenly Emperor agreed, then using her own life to exchange for the safety of the entire Beiyuan Sect, her parents, and her brother, would be worth it.
Although acting on her own was somewhat selfish.
Although she knew her parents and Si Qing would likely prefer to die with her.
But the Three Realms were innocent, and the disciples of the Beiyuan Sect were also innocent.
As long as her parents and Si Qing didn't remember her, there would be no concept of losing her, and they probably wouldn't be sad, right?