Deep within the Nine Netherworlds, at the place of reincarnation.
The Houtu Empress and the three Daoists watched Xuanming undergo his tribulation, clicking their tongues now and then as they savored the spectacle.
Sometimes, they even used spells to record it.
They would save those recordings to tease their fellow Daoist Xuanming later.
At one point, Daoist Yuchen went out and returned with plenty of fruit, eating as he watched.
The other three immediately followed his example.
Sure enough, the story became even more flavorful.
They watched Xuanming's reincarnation get sold into the Opera House.
They watched his heart first awaken to love, his strong, strapping senior brother woo him with sweet words, a beautiful and talented heroine fall for him at first sight, and a powerful general forcibly claim him...
Then they watched him bury his childhood sweetheart in tears, poison the senior brother who had treated him as a pawn while weeping, and burn the magnificent red mansion of opera to the ground. The caged canary turned into a darkened Golden Roc and resolutely set off for the battlefield.
When they next saw him, he was licking blood off the edge of a blade on the battlefield, fighting through bloodshed and often covered in wounds...
Later, he met the Jade Emperor's reincarnation. One was a young general harboring a deep secret, the other a prince who appeared to be a wastrel. On the surface, they were mortal enemies who could not stand each other, but in truth, they cherished one another and frequently met in private.
By chance, the prince discovered the young general's secret. Believing him to be a woman disguised as a man, he helped conceal it. The reigning Eldest Princess fell for the young general and used threats and coercion, determined to take him as