Chapter 84: Tianling’s Judgment

                  

Meng Ruji knew she had fallen into the Nai River, and she knew Mu Sui had come to pull her out. But then…

Darkness swallowed her.

She felt herself endlessly falling, wind rushing past like whispered incantations, light weaving before her eyes like formation lines. With a heavy crash, she struck the ground.

The blinding radiance softened. Mist surrounded her, and from within it emerged two figures in white robes—a man and a woman, radiant with the compassion of heavenly gods. Their hands extended gently, touching her soul.

Led in a daze, Meng Ruji followed them step by step out of the mist.

Beyond lay a towering platform, cloud stairs stretching for thousands of miles, each tier lined with heavenly gods in white.

“The Divine Platform births a new god.”

The goddess beside her caught a golden thread falling from the sky. She pressed it into Meng Ruji’s wrist, the silk burrowing into her bones.

“The new god is… God of Catastrophic Destruction. Bestowed name, Xinghuo.”

A strange sensation surged through her body. She saw farther, heard the rhythm of heaven and earth, felt the colors and breath of all things flow through her heart.

“Xinghuo.” The divine lord on her other side bent down, his voice gentle. “I am Changning, God of Order. Welcome to this world.”

Meng Ruji looked at her childlike hands and realized—this wasn’t her body. These were another’s memories.

Xinghuo. The God of Catastrophic Destruction.

So Mu Sui’s true name was Xinghuo. His heaven‑granted mission carried destruction.

Unlike Mo Li’s fragmented memories, Mu Sui’s past engulfed her completely. She lived his sensations, his life.

Her hands grew older in an instant. She was now a boy of ten.

Lord Changning’s radiance swept past, tinged with anger. His voice thundered:
“Mortals dare disturb the order of heaven and earth. They demand we execute Xinghuo. Why must Lord Tianling tolerate them?”

Meng Ruji’s heart clenched. She realized she was standing in a great hall, surrounded by gods, judged as the center of their debate.

Voices rose:
“Humans are greedy, monopolizing spiritual energy.”
“Xinghuo is innocent. The human race should be punished.”

Then Lord Tianling spoke, his voice like ancient bells silencing the hall:
“Xinghuo, you are but one link in the cycle of all things. You have no fault, no inauspiciousness. Do not blame yourself.”

Through Mu Sui’s young eyes, Meng Ruji saw Tianling’s calm gaze—gentle, unwavering, spanning centuries.

She remembered mortal legends that painted Tianling as the cruelest god, the one whose death sealed the heavenly gods’ defeat. Yet here, he spoke with compassion:
“Those who would remove you from this world due to ignorance and fear—such people are the ones who should be punished.”

The gods echoed in agreement. Lord Changning smiled, patting Mu Sui’s head:
“Xinghuo, I’ll punish those ignorant cultivators for you. Don’t blame yourself. We gods will protect you.”

And Meng Ruji realized—this was the first spark of the war between immortals and gods.

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