Xu Chunniang listened carefully for a while. Feeling that the time was ripe, she separated a wisp of her divine soul and descended into the body of one of the sages, speaking through his mouth.
"Dividing the Immortal and Demon Realms is indeed the finest strategy for safeguarding the peace and purity of the Immortal Realm. Yet there are countless immortals, and having them all dwell together would, in the long run, truly be improper."
After some consideration, several sages nodded in agreement.
"Immortals and demons are different, and even among immortals, there are differences in strength. Perhaps they could dwell in separate regions."
Others held differing views, believing that the Immortal Realm was vast enough that there was no need to divide it into regions.
"When the Immortal Realm was first established, there were already billions upon billions of immortal beings. Every so often, living beings from the lower realms attain the Dao and ascend here. As time goes on, the number of immortal beings in the Immortal Realm will only grow. When that day comes, even this vast land will eventually be exhausted."
Hearing this, some of the sages who had voiced objections could not help but fall silent.
Seeing that the moment had arrived, Xu Chunniang took the opportunity to propose her idea.
"Why not clearly divide the regions and distinguish them by rank, establishing the Nine Heavens, each performing its own duties and remaining in its proper place?"
"The Nine Heavens?"
The other sages were all stirred, and even the middle-aged scholar seated at the head showed some interest.
"What precisely do you mean by the Nine Heavens? We would like to hear the details."
After giving it some thought, Xu Chunniang did not simply copy the Nine Heavens of later generations. Instead, she cast out