“Xue’er, what do you think of Liao Sixin?”

“He treats me very well, devotedly. He said I am his only wife in this life. I believe him, and I am willing to entrust my life to him. And he is brave, just, and kind. I think he is perfect!”

The woman lying in the mud suddenly opened her bloodshot eyes. She struggled to move her body, but the piercing pain from her internal organs was like countless needles stabbing her.

In the past, her father’s words still echoed in her ears. Her approval had ultimately turned into the death warrant that doomed her entire family.

Now Gong Xue understood why Daddy had asked her opinion about Liao Sixin at that time. Daddy had been seeking a definitive answer.

Gong Xue guessed that Liao Sixin and her father had probably discussed the Cloudstrike Cannon. He wanted her father to make a batch of Cloudstrike Cannons for him. Her father had been hesitant and had come to her for the final decision.

Seeing how much Gong Xue trusted Liao Sixin, her father had dispelled his doubts and decided to forge a batch of Cloudstrike Cannons for Liao Sixin to be given to the border soldiers to repel foreign enemies.

Gong Xue, oh Gong Xue, little did you know that your one word would cost the lives of a hundred family members.

“Hehehehe…” Gong Xue let out a chilling laugh as tears streamed down her face.

Birds chirped in the deep forest as the first light of the sun filtered through the branches, illuminating Gong Xue’s broken body.

Her cheeks, smeared with mud, resembled a fine piece of art marred by stains, yet beneath the dirt, her alluring features remained discernible.

After enduring a brutal blow from Liao Sixin the previous night, Gong Xue was weak. Her once pink lips had lost their color, and her face was ghostly pale.

With immense effort, she endured the pain coursing through her body, getting up and staggered forward, step by step.

She didn’t know how long she had been walking when she passed a food stall and overheard a conversation.

“Did you hear? The Gong Family was wiped out in a single night!”

“What? The Gong Family, one of the four major families?”

“Which other Gong Family could it be? They say all hundred members of the Gong Family are dead, not a single survivor. Do you know who did it?”

Upon hearing this, Gong Xue perked up her ears.

“It was a deity-Mu Xian!”

Mu Xian!

“Ha!” At this answer, Gong Xue couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.

“Mu Xian? That name sounds so familiar.”

“Don’t you all remember? Ten years ago, a couple descended from the heavens. The woman, Immortal Meng Yi of the Third Heaven, was unparalleled in beauty and divine grace. The man was Deity Lord Mu Xian, also from the Third Heaven. It’s said that the couple were leisurely traveling in the Cang Ao Kingdom when they met the third son of the great general of the nation, Liao Sixin.”

“I’ve heard about this. But what does it have to do with the Gong Family?”

“Liao Sixin and the Gong family’s eldest daughter, Gong Xue, were deeply in love and were already discussing marriage. However, the Gong Family possessed a secret treasure that only its head could forge, called the Cloudstrike Cannon. It’s said that this Cloudstrike Cannon could kill even a deity.”

“When Deity Lord Mu Xian heard this, he couldn’t tolerate the existence of such a weapon in the world. So, he went to destroy it that very night. But the Gong Family, known for their unyielding nature, refused to give it up. This forced Deity Lord Mu Xian to act. He ended up killing them all. Immortal Meng Yi found out about this and went with Liao Sixin to stop Deity Lord Mu Xian. Although they managed to subdue him, the entire Gong Family was wiped out.”

“How can a deity commit such wickedness? How can such a person even be considered a deity?”

The people at the food stall were indignant, but the story sounded like a joke to Gong Xue.

“Deity Lord Mu Xian has already been brought to justice. Immortal Meng Yi, upholding justice over family, stopped him in time. To provide an explanation to the people, tomorrow at the third bell of noon, at the gates of Su Lin City, Immortal Meng Yi will invoke three paths of Heavenly Punishment upon Deity Lord Mu Xian and seal him in the demonic aura-shrouded Gaoshang Land!”

“Sigh! Poor Immortal Meng Yi.”

“Falling for something worse than a demon!”

Hearing this, Gong Xue, dragging her lifeless body, walked forward in a daze. As she walked, she mocked internally, “Liao Sixin, you’re quite something. Not only did you annihilate my family, but you also easily shifted the blame to a deity. Your cunning runs so deep. I never really knew you.”

“Hehehehe…”

As Gong Xue walked, she laughed and cried at the same time. Her mind was filled with memories of her past love with Liao Sixin. Now, thinking back, it only made her feel sick.

Hatred rooted itself deeply within Gong Xue’s heart. Her eyes turned dark, and when she looked up again, her bloodshot eyes radiated a chilling malice.

At the gates of Su Lin City

A man knelt, bound by ropes, his body covered in a mixture of blood and mud. His hair was disheveled, obscuring his face, but the luxurious nature of his clothes was still evident despite the grime.

A crowd of townsfolk gathered around, but none dared approach, leaving a wide-open space around the scene.

Gong Xue blended into the crowd. The moment she saw Liao Sixin standing in front of the bound man, she clenched her fists, her whole body emanating a murderous aura. Her eyes were red with hatred, wishing she could tear him to pieces.

The appointed time arrived. A strikingly beautiful woman beside Liao Sixin stepped forward towards the bound man.

Gong Xue presumed this woman must be Immortal Meng Yi.

Thus, the bound man must be Deity Lord Mu Xian.

Immortal Meng Yi stood before Mu Xian, her beautiful eyes filled with reluctance. She slowly raised her hand, intending to touch him, but was interrupted by Liao Sixin’s voice from behind.

“Immortal Meng Yi, can we begin?”

Meng Yi withdrew her hand, pressing her lips together. At that moment, Mu Xian lifted his head. A long, bloody gash marred his face, making it look gruesome. Yet, his features were exquisitely chiseled and strikingly handsome.

Looking at Meng Yi, Mu Xian softly asked, “Meng Yi, I just want to know, have your feelings for me over these millennia been real?”

Meng Yi hesitated, her hand forming a fist within her sleeve, and then she turned away.

In that moment, Gong Xue clearly saw a look of relief and serenity flash across Mu Xian’s face.

Gong Xue didn’t understand and didn’t ponder further.

She watched as Meng Yi raised her hand, and the sky instantly darkened with turbulent clouds crackling with lightning. The townsfolk swiftly retreated.

Meng Yi abruptly brought down her arm, and giant bolts of lightning, like pillars of heaven, crashed down upon Mu Xian.

Mu Xian gritted his teeth. Despite the excruciating pain, he suppressed himself from making too much noise. It seemed as though he was enduring and punishing himself.

After the first strike, Gong Xue was deeply shocked, and the townsfolk were filled with awe and reverence.

For the first time, Gong Xue profoundly realized how formidable a deity truly was.

Meng Yi might be able to crush her with just a flick of a finger. Seeking revenge while Meng Yi was around was harder than ascending to the heavens.

The second Heavenly Punishment was even more terrifying than the first. This time, Mu Xian couldn’t hold back and let out a heart-wrenching scream.

After the third strike, Mu Xian’s body was charred all over, lying on the ground like a heap of lifeless flesh.

Meng Yi chanted an incantation, “Depths of Shadow, enshroud the sky and earth. The gate between life and death, half-deity, half-devil, open!”

The world fell silent, and a rift opened in the deep, dark sky, like the gaping maw of an abyss, eerie and ominous.

Meng Yi glanced sideways, her face betraying a slight emotion as she looked at Mu Xian one last time. With a motion of her two fingers, Mu Xian turned into a beam of light and shot into that gaping chasm.

Meng Yi closed the rift, and the world returned to its clear state. The townsfolk, coming out of their shock, burst into waves of cheers.

Liao Sixin, with smug satisfaction, revealed a sinister smile.

Witnessing Meng Yi’s divine power, Gong Xue temporarily abandoned her thoughts of revenge. How could a mere mortal stand against a deity from the Third Heaven?

The heavens consist of Nine Heavens. Even a deity from the First Heaven is terrifyingly powerful, let alone someone like Meng Yi from the Third Heaven-a truly formidable existence.