Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 287: The Mysterious Maiden

After saying so much, Laojun showed signs of fatigue. These long-buried memories, once stirred up, were like ancient relics unearthed from the past—requiring the removal of countless layers of dust, stirring up turmoil in the heart.
Wukong asked, “If we can move now, does that mean we’ve reached this ‘Huiyuan’ era?”
Laojun nodded. “Yes. Though we survived this great calamity, we were almost reduced to nothing. We don’t even know how many thousands or tens of thousands of years we spent in the Creation Furnace.”
“After getting up, the first thing we noticed was that the furnace had changed—it could provide endless spiritual energy for us to absorb. We were overjoyed and began cultivating immediately.”
“The furnace supplied abundant and pure spiritual energy, and since our spiritual realms had already surpassed ordinary levels, our cultivation progressed rapidly. Thus, after thousands of years, we reached the level of Hunyuan Golden Immortals.”
“One day, that man appeared out of nowhere. When we saw him, we were shocked. It turned out that a sage of unknown cultivation level now appeared ordinary, covered in severe wounds.”
“The four of us hurriedly used spells to heal him, but none of our spells had any effect. He smiled bitterly and said, ‘When the calamity of Huiyuan came, I rushed to save a few people. I was struck by the forces of chaos and ended up like this. No healing is possible—chaos forces have nothing to do with any spells; they’re useless.’”
“At that time, in our hearts, he was still our all-powerful master. Lingbao quickly asked, ‘What can save our master?’ He replied, ‘Nothing can save me. I can barely survive here in this furnace. Once I leave, I’ll be reduced to ashes—not even a speck of dust will remain in the world.’”
“Since he said so, even if we didn’t believe it, we had no choice but to accept it. In my heart, that man was a god—the supreme god of the universe!”
“He also said, ‘By calculation, the world should now be stable. You may go. The three Yuanshis, the Taoism you’ve established is what I’ve spent my life learning—you must carry it forward.’ His gaze then turned to the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden and he said, ‘Mysterious Maiden, you are exceptionally intelligent. As long as you don’t go astray, your future is boundless. Be careful.’”
“From his words, it seemed like farewell. And after that parting, we didn’t know when we’d see each other again.” At these words, sweat appeared on Laojun’s forehead. Taking a deep breath, he said, “I thought we’d never see each other again. But perhaps… perhaps it’s possible…”
Wukong grew worried and said, “Laojun, if it’s not convenient today, let’s talk about it another day.”

Laojun waved his hand and said, “It’s fine. Everything is difficult at the beginning. Next time, he might not have the courage to bring it up.” He continued, “His words to the Nine Heavens Goddess were quite strange. The Nine Heavens Goddess has never done anything evil—how could she have gone astray? Upon hearing his words, she only lowered her head and remained silent. Although we are siblings, none of us consider ourselves her elders, so naturally we couldn’t interfere with her.”

“That man, after saying that, went to another room and brought out two children—a boy and a girl, as beautiful as golden boys and jade girls. He said, ‘These two children were saved by me when the calamity of Yuanlai came. Since they were able to escape that calamity, they must have good fortune ahead.’”

“When Yuanshi heard this, he asked in a trembling voice, ‘Does the master wish to entrust his children to us?’ The man nodded and said, ‘If that’s the case, what’s the point of living? You three, go outside and carefully store this furnace. Hand it over to these two children. I’ve already taught them how to use it. When Yuanlai comes again, it will still protect your lives!’”

Upon hearing this, Wukong suddenly understood and said, “The Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother!” Laojun replied, “It’s them.” Wukong murmured, “So the Creation Furnace was in their hands all along.” Then he looked up at Laojun and asked, “And then, you left?” Laojun said, “Of course. We took those two children out of the Creation Furnace. The world outside was clear and bright, but still in a primitive state—few people lived there, yet there were countless birds and beasts. After leaving, we turned back to check the Creation Furnace. That man leaped out of it and instantly turned into ashes, leaving no trace at all!”

Wukong asked, “Are you sure he was completely destroyed, with nothing left?” Laojun replied, “At that time, my cultivation level was only that of a Taiyi Golden Immortal, but my realm had already reached sainthood. Based on what I knew, that man truly disappeared from this world—there’s no doubt about it!”

“From then on, we rebuilt the Taoist foundation in this world and helped those two children become the supreme Jade Emperor and Queen Mother. We also gave them the Creation Furnace as promised and never interfered again.”

Wukong understood. No wonder Laojun was so lenient toward the Jade Emperor—there was such a profound reason behind it. Since his mentor had entrusted his children to them, and the Three Pure Ones were regarded as divine beings, they naturally couldn’t break their promise. Otherwise, where would the integrity of Taoism lie?

Wukong asked again, “So… where did the Nine Heavens Goddess go?” Laojun replied, “After leaving the Creation Furnace, she parted ways with us. We don’t know where she went. The three of us tried to find her, but she usually avoided us.”

“Later, she accidentally killed the Creation Divine Ape and thus perished in this world.”

Wukong felt that the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden would never die easily. He sensed that she was far more powerful than the Three Pure Ones, so he quickly asked, “Reincarnated? Do you know who she was reborn as?”
Laojun replied, “Those who kill the forces of fate are abandoned by them—how could they possibly be reincarnated? There is no such person as the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden in this world anymore!”
Wukong was shocked. Losing this clue about the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden would be a huge loss. He asked again, “Is there anyone else in this world who has any connection to her?”
Laojun said, “You’ve hit the nail on the head. The Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden left behind a daughter, but after her death, that daughter also entered reincarnation for no reason.”
Wukong felt dizzy. He asked, “The Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden had a daughter? Then who was her husband? Who in this world could be worthy of her?”
Laojun replied, “At her level of cultivation, it’s not strange for her to use her own power to create a living being from the essence of heaven and earth.”
Wukong thought about it and agreed. In the eyes of the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, even the Three Pure Ones were probably inferior to her—how would she ever agree to be with someone else?
Laojun continued, “Don’t you want to know who the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden’s daughter is?”
Wukong was overjoyed. “Ah! Does Laojun know anything about her?”
Laojun said, “Even if I did, it wouldn’t be useful. She knows nothing about her mother’s past, and she drank a bowl of Mengpo Soup during reincarnation, forgetting everything.”
Wukong said, “Come on, stop teasing me! Who is she?”
Laojun laughed and said, “You’ve seen her before, even saved her—why do you still ask me?”
Wukong racked his brain but couldn’t recall anything. Seeing Wukong struggling in confusion, Laojun said, “Chang’e.”
Chang’e? She was the daughter of the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden! Chang’e and Hou Yi were deeply in love, but later, due to Tian Peng’s interference, the Queen Mother took her to the heavens and placed her in the Guanghan Palace. Did the Queen Mother know her origin?
Wukong asked, “Does the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother know about this? Did Laojun see with his own eyes Chang’e drink the Mengpo Soup when she was reincarnated?”
Laojun was stunned. “I… I didn’t see it with my own eyes. But she’s just an ordinary woman with a mortal body. She must drink that soup when crossing the Bridge of Sorrow. As for whether the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother know about it, I’m not sure.”
Wukong fell into deep thought. He had heard that the Jade Emperor loved watching Chang’e dance, and the Queen Mother cared for her excessively. If it were all because of Hou Yi, it seemed unlikely. Hou Yi and the others had killed the Divine Ape of Fate—in the eyes of the Queen Mother and others, they were already dead. What use was pleasing the dead?
It seemed that some clues about the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden might indeed be found in Chang’e.

Jiutian Xuannu is extremely mysterious. From Laojun’s account, the fact that she can foresee the secrets of the calamity of Huiyuan is already a terrifying ability. Wukong has ranked her as the second most important figure after “that person,” and this clue must not be missed.
Laojun said, “You already know most of what happened afterward, so there’s no need for me to elaborate.”
Wukong laughed and asked, “Is that it?”
Laojun replied, “What do you mean?”
Wukong said, “I remember last time when the topic of the five kings came up, you left in a hurry. You’ve said so much, but I haven’t heard anything related to those kings.”
Laojun said, “There’s nothing mysterious about it. It was just that on my last visit to Jiutian Xuannu…” A hint of sadness appeared on Laojun’s face; clearly, Jiutian Xuannu’s death filled him with sorrow.
“At that time, Xuannu had already slain the Creation Divine Ape. Worried, I went to see her. To be honest, I had some selfish motives this time—I wanted to ask her how she knew the secrets of the calamity of Huiyuan.”
“When I saw her, she remained as calm as ever, acting as if nothing had happened. After chatting a bit, I finally couldn’t hold back and asked her about it. It turned out that during the last Huiyuan era, ‘that person’ had ordered Xuannu to gather the five kings and the nine-tailed, nine-headed creatures from across the world, using their blood and souls to create arrays. Even Xuannu herself didn’t know the exact purpose.”
Wukong suddenly thought of the Nine-Tailed Fox, the father-in-law and mother-in-law of the Bull Demon King—weren’t they also nine-tailed creatures? The Nine-Tailed Fox King Qinglin had been captured. Could it be that “that person” had truly appeared?
Wukong asked, “What’s so special about them? What’s unique about the five kings and the nine-tailed, nine-headed creatures?”
Laojun replied, “All extraordinary beings are gifts from heaven. Needless to say, the five kings are extraordinary, and the nine-tailed, nine-headed creatures are extremely rare in the world. Later, Xuannu mentioned four words—‘Supreme Sovereign’—but I still didn’t understand their meaning. When I asked further, she remained silent. I knew Xuannu held prejudices against ‘that person,’ but I didn’t know the reason, so I left awkwardly.”
“Since then, I began to pay attention to the five kings and the nine-tailed, nine-headed creatures. Later, when I heard from you that someone was actually trying to get their hands on the five kings, I thought of this matter.”
“That person could very well still be in the world!”
Although Wukong could vaguely guess this outcome, hearing it from Laojun’s mouth still made his body tremble. “That person” was truly too mysterious and powerful. He could uncover the secrets of the calamity of Huiyuan, create a heaven-defying artifact like the Creation Furnace, and even survive that calamity unscathed. If he were really manipulating everything behind the scenes, it would be utterly terrifying!