Chapter Eighty-Nine: The Little Fairy

The Divine Ape Great Marshal, is it finished?

When the heavenly soldier saw Yuan Wuji appear before the gate of the Celestial Prison, he stepped forward in greeting.

“It is finished.”

“Please wait, Marshal.”

Just as Yuan Wuji was about to leave, he was suddenly stopped. The heavenly soldier lifted a mirror and aimed it at him, shining it over his entire body, inch by inch.

“What is the meaning of this?” Yuan Wuji asked in puzzlement. He had instinctively raised his guard just now, but after sensing nothing unusual, he slowly lowered his stance.

“Marshal, this is to prevent certain powerful demons and fiends from using your body to escape. It is a replica crafted after the Demon-Exposing Mirror. Every immortal who enters and leaves the Celestial Prison must undergo inspection by this imitation mirror.”

The heavenly soldier explained patiently.

There had been many such incidents in the past, so he could not afford to be careless. Otherwise, if anything happened, the soldiers guarding the Celestial Prison would be the first to bear the punishment.

“Any irregularities?”

“None at all. The Great Marshal may go.” The heavenly soldier took back the imitation mirror and spoke with a trace of apology.

This was part of the heavenly soldier’s duty, and Yuan Wuji could not really fault him. Besides, he had just carried away the blood essence of the ox-headed being, and when the mirror shone upon him, he could not help feeling a little guilty. Since he could leave now, he had better do so quickly; who knew what other means might be waiting?

The secret of his power to refine the bloodlines of living beings and continually strengthen his innate divine ability had never been revealed to anyone, not even to Saint Mother Golden Spirit. It was not that he feared she would covet his power, but that she might stop him from cultivating further.

A divine ability of this sort was bound up in enormous karma, and would also generate vast amounts of sin. Given Saint Mother Golden Spirit’s temperament, she would absolutely not allow Yuan Wuji to continue cultivating it. But Yuan Wuji, having come to the Primordial Wilderness, knew that power was the foundation of all things. Without power, one would forever remain a minor figure. He could not part with the strength granted by the Devouring Heaven Demon Heart and the Myriad Demon Heart; he needed the power of those two demonic hearts.

Now that he had obtained the blood essence of the ox-headed being, there was no way he would refine the bloodline power in the Palace of Heavenly Thunder. Little Jade’s Heavenly Fox Grand Art had also reached a sufficiently profound level; if he returned to the residence, it was very likely she would notice. Thus, the Divine Ape Great Marshal’s residence was likewise not an option.

Though Yuan Wuji had Saint Mother Golden Spirit standing behind him, and there was basically no immortal faction in Heaven daring to provoke him, he had also never bothered to cultivate ties with the other immortals.

His mind was entirely occupied with thinking where he might find a good place, and he had not expected that after a single trip to Heaven, he would not even have a place to stay.

“Great Marshal Divine Ape, is that you?”

A graceful figure in violet appeared before Yuan Wuji and interrupted his thoughts.

“Little Fairy?” The one who came was the youngest of the Seven Fairies, the Violet-Clad Fairy. Back then, she had spoken up for Yuan Wuji, so his impression of her had always been quite good.

“You still remember me? I thought you had forgotten.” It seemed that Yuan Wuji remembering her was a surprise to her. Delighted, she came right up before him, her delicate little face almost touching his monkey face.

“What are you doing here?”

The little fairy asked happily, her large violet eyes fixed on Yuan Wuji’s own. She showed no fear at his appearance, nor any astonishment at his strange aspect, as though none of that existed in her eyes. She merely stared at him with unblinking intent.

“Just wandering about. Not doing anything in particular.”

“I came to your residence before, but you weren’t there.” As she said this, a faint note of grievance entered her voice.

You came to my residence? Why did no one tell me? Little Jade also seemed never to have mentioned it.

The slight grievance in those large violet eyes made Yuan Wuji feel a little embarrassed in return. Someone as pure-eyed as the little fairy was something he rarely saw. Under that gaze, even Yuan Wuji could not help but feel a trace of bashfulness.

“I had a task to carry out these past few days, so I was not in Heaven.” Yuan Wuji casually made up an excuse and brushed it off.

The little fairy could not quite make sense of it, but she seemed to trust Yuan Wuji immensely, and said very seriously:

“A true man should be like that.”

As she spoke, she also patted her own still-undeveloped chest, as if strongly supporting Yuan Wuji.

“Yes, yes!” Yuan Wuji did not know how to answer her, and could only nod awkwardly from the side.

“Great Marshal, what do you like to eat?”

“Great Marshal, do you have any special divine abilities? Show me.”

“Great Marshal, I heard you are very formidable.”

“Great Marshal...”

The little fairy seemed to have turned into a sparrow beside Yuan Wuji, chirping non-stop. Before he had even figured out how to answer the first question, the second had already come crashing down upon his head.

“Great Marshal, do you think my residence is beautiful?”

Before he knew it, Yuan Wuji had been led by the little fairy to her dwelling. Each of the Seven Fairies had her own separate residence, so aside from a few household attendants, there were no outsiders in the little fairy’s abode. Even the attendants were all women, clearly because they were worried that male attendants in the residence might create many inconveniences. So they were all female soldiers; presumably the other fairies’ residences were the same.

“Oh? This is your residence?” Yuan Wuji said with slight surprise. As expected of the Jade Emperor’s daughter, even her residence was considerably larger than the Divine Ape Great Marshal’s own.

“Yes! Isn’t it lovely?”

“Little Fairy, do you live here all by yourself?”

“Besides these servants, it’s only me.” The little fairy pointed to the female attendants who were cleaning.

If that was truly the case, then his secluded place for cultivation had found its way. But being seen by these household soldiers would be troublesome; still, deceiving them would be no great matter.

“Change.”

Yuan Wuji transformed into a hair ornament and inserted himself among the little fairy’s violet tresses.

“Come, let’s go look around your residence.”

“Why transform at all? Just go in directly.” The little fairy said unhappily. She had sincerely invited Yuan Wuji to be her guest, not to sneak in secretly.

“You are the Jade Emperor’s daughter. If I were to enter openly, and the Jade Emperor found out, he would punish me. You don’t want me to be punished, do you?”

“Well then!” Though she was very reluctant, the little fairy would dislike nothing more than seeing Yuan Wuji punished because of her.

As the little fairy walked toward her residence, she kept touching the hair ornament Yuan Wuji had transformed into. She always felt that her hair was somehow strange, and even her steps seemed unnatural. Her mouth drooped downward in a thoroughly aggrieved expression, making Yuan Wuji feel as though he had done something terribly wrong.

“Your Highness the Princess.”

Seeing the little fairy return, the servants at work all set down what they were doing and respectfully greeted her.

“I know, I know. You do this every time I come back.”

The little fairy waved them off impatiently and returned to her room.