"Then you bear no responsibility at all?" Queen Mother of the West said.
"If you hadn't stripped Xiu Xiu of her immortal bones, would this have happened?"
Taishang Laojun said, "I am indeed partly responsible. When I stripped Xiu Xiu of her immortal bones before, her life was not in danger. But later, Your Majesty attained sainthood, and Xiu Xiu was nearby, so you took away part of Xiu Xiu's destiny.
"That caused Xiu Xiu's strength to weaken, scattering what little destiny she had left and turning her into an ordinary mortal. Xiu Xiu has already lived for many years. Having lost her immortal power, she is exceptionally old by mortal standards. She will die."
Upon hearing Taishang Laojun's final three words, Queen Mother of the West felt as though a thunderbolt had struck her from a clear sky. Her body froze in place.
Her daughter was going to die?
"I have the Elixir of Immortality. Can't it extend her lifespan?" Queen Mother of the West asked.
Taishang Laojun gently shook his head. "No. Xiu Xiu no longer has her immortal bones, and part of her destiny has been taken by you. Her body is extraordinarily weak and simply cannot withstand any external force. Neither your Elixir of Immortality nor my Purple-Gold Immortal Pill can extend Xiu Xiu's life. Even altering the Book of Life and Death in the Underworld would be useless.
"Because this has already been decreed by heaven. It is not something humans can change."
"Then I'll defy heaven and change my fate!" Queen Mother of the West shouted, slamming her palm onto the table.
Taishang Laojun merely smiled.
Seeing his smile, Queen Mother of the West felt even greater sorrow. Defying heaven and changing one's fate sounded easy, but doing it was extraordinarily difficult. It was