Chapter 221
"Senior sister is right, we should wait patiently."
"Good!"
The two hit it off immediately and laughed.
With the Heavenly Court newly established, Jieyin and Zhunti naturally wanted to stir up some trouble in order to promote the rise of the Western Religion.
The Heavenly Court was shrouded in celestial mist.
Yao Ji's fingertips unconsciously traced the white jade railing.
What lingered in her mind was that small courtyard in the mortal world, and the scholar named Yang Tianyou.
That was the man she met by chance when she secretly descended to the mortal realm to play.
He possessed no divine powers, nor did he understand the mysteries of heaven and earth, yet he had the clearest eyes and the warmest smile in the world.
He would explain poetry and literature to her, take her to see the beautiful scenery of the mountains and fields, and drape a simple yet warm coat over her in the cool night.
During her long and lonely years in the Heavenly Realm, Yao Ji had never experienced such vivid and genuine emotions.
The days leading up to their return to Heavenly Court were agonizing.
Her longing for Yang Tianyou grew wildly like vines, tightly binding her heart and making her lose her appetite and sleepless.
She knew that the Heavenly Rules were strict, and that a love between a god and a mortal was a grave sin against the heavens. But how could that deep affection, etched into her soul, be confined by cold, hard laws?
After agonizing for several days, Yao Ji made her decision.
She shed her celestial gown, donned simple mortal attire, and silently evaded the guards at the South Heaven Gate. Transforming into a streak of light, she plummeted towards the earthly land that haunted her dreams.
In the human world, at the Yang family's small courtyard.
Yang Tianyou was reading by a solitary lamp when he suddenly heard a gentle breeze outside the window, and a familiar fragrance wafted into his nose.
A thought struck him, and he looked up abruptly, meeting a pair of bright eyes filled with tears.
Yao Ji stood in the moonlight, like a celestial being banished from a dream.
He put down his book, strode forward, and pulled her into a tight embrace, as if he wanted to melt all the longing he had felt over the past few days into his very bones.
The two looked at each other in silence, yet their silence spoke volumes.
The Lingxiao Treasure Hall.
The Haotian Shangdi sat regally on his throne, his face as still as water.
The Star Lord Siming presented the Book of Fates with trepidation. It clearly showed that Yao Ji had disappeared from the Heavenly Realm, and her fate was closely intertwined with that of a mortal.
Haotian. Her most beloved younger sister had repeatedly violated the Heavenly Edicts and disregarded the majesty of the Heavenly Court for the sake of a mortal who was only alive for a day!
The Heavenly Court has just been built, and a new great calamity is already brewing. Doesn't she have any sense of the consequences?
Haotian snorted coldly, secretly deciding to bring Yao Ji back to prevent her from being tainted by the Great Tribulation.
"Gather 100,000 Heavenly Soldiers and Generals, and escort them to the mortal realm with me!"
Haotian immediately gave the order.
Before long, the sky above the Yang family courtyard was filled with swirling clouds, turning day into night in an instant.
Golden auspicious clouds spread out, but instead of peace, they carried a suffocating atmosphere of death.
The Heavenly Soldiers and Generals, clad in golden armor and wielding divine weapons, Haotian, dressed in imperial robes, gazed through the clouds, fixing his gaze on that small courtyard.
When the might of the gods descended, all living beings within a hundred miles prostrated themselves, trembling in fear. Ordinary people even knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly to the sky, believing it to be divine punishment.
Yang Tianyou had never seen anything like it before; the oppressive force emanating from the depths of his soul almost crushed his bones.
But when he saw Yao Ji's deathly pale face beside him, a surge of courage from who-knows-where instantly overcame his fear.
He took a deep breath, straightened his spine, and spread his arms to protect Yao Ji tightly behind him.
"Elder sister!"
Yao Ji's voice, trembling with sobs, came from behind Yang Tianyou.
She broke free from Yang Tianyou's protection, looked up at the Haotian, and tears streamed down her face. "Yao Ji knows her sins are grave and is willing to accept all punishment. I beg you, sister, to have mercy and spare Tianyou. He... he is just a mortal. It has nothing to do with him!"
Haotian's gaze passed over Yao Ji and landed on the mortal, his eyes filled with a mixture of contempt and anger.
"How dare you, a mere ant, lay your hands on the bloodline of the imperial family?" She sneered, and an invisible force pressed down on Yang Tianyou.
Yang Tianyou groaned, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, but he still gritted his teeth and persevered.
"I know nothing about any imperial bloodline,"
He roared with all his might, "All I know is that she is my wife, Yang Tianyou's wife! As long as I have a breath left, no one will take her away from me!"
"Stubborn to the end!" Haotian was completely enraged.
She never imagined that a mere mortal would dare to utter such outrageous words to her face.
She stopped looking at Yao Ji and waved her hand, ordering, "Seize Yang Tianyou and throw him into the prison to await his fate!"
Yao Ji... was taken back to Heavenly Court, imprisoned in the Immortal Locking Tower, stripped of half her Immortal Power, and forced to reflect on her actions in seclusion!
The golden-armored celestial being descended instantly, and chains formed from divine power coiled around the two like serpents.
Yao Ji screamed, grabbing Yang Tianyou's hand tightly and pleading, "No! Don't! Sister, please!"
The gods showed no mercy as they separated their hands. Yang Tianyou was taken away, while Yao Ji was lifted up by two fairy maidens, watching in despair as her lover's figure disappeared into the depths of the clouds.
The Heavenly Prison is where the Heavenly Court imprisons deities who have committed serious crimes. It is cold and damp, and its walls are covered with restrictive runes, specifically designed to wear down the will and magical power of the deities.
Yang Tianyou, an ordinary man, was imprisoned here, and his suffering was immense.
The lightning-fast whip left deep, bone-revealing wounds on his body.
The physical torment paled in comparison to the mental anguish. The image of Yao Ji's despairing eyes as she was taken away kept replaying in his mind; he hated his own weakness...
In the endless darkness, an aged voice suddenly rang in his ears. "Foolish child, is it worth risking your life for a fairy?"
Yang Tianyou turned his head with difficulty and saw an old man with white hair and beard sitting in the next cell. Although he was also bound by chains, his eyes were unusually clear.
He was once an old deity in the heavens, imprisoned here for thousands of years for questioning the Heavenly Rules.
(PS: This story is set in the early days of Human Race, where cultivators achieved immortality and entered the Heavenly Court.)
Yang Tianyou, panting, replied hoarsely, "It's worth it."
The old immortal gazed at him silently for a long time, then sighed softly, "You are of mortal body, yet possess the heart of a child. I will tell you a method; whether it succeeds or not depends entirely on your fate. Perhaps it can give you and her a glimmer of hope..."
Yang Tianyou's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked for advice.
Meanwhile, Immortal Locking Tower.
Yao Ji slumped to the ground, her Immortal Power being frantically drained by the runes flowing on the tower wall. The pain of her power being forcibly stripped away almost made her faint.
Whenever the excruciating pain struck, she forced herself to recall every moment she had spent with Yang Tianyou.
Warm memories were the only thing that sustained her through the torture.
She couldn't fall; she had to save Tianyou, she had to be with him!
Despite her weakness, Yao Ji quietly began to gather her remaining immortal Immortal Power, attempting to send a distress message to the outside of the tower using the method of telepathy.
Her target is her former friend, the Fúróng Fairy...