Forbidden Read!
Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Third Ascension of the Garbage-Gatherer God to Divinity

A distinguished former young master who descends into the laughingstock of three realms; one who has no incense offerings, a temple, or a devotee. The two followers who used to be his subordinates, both of them had now successfully passed through the Heavenly Calamity, ascended to divinity and became powerful martial gods who each had even overseen their own territory.

With such circumstances, it was obviously impossible for others to not feel even more curious. If you were to ask Xie Lian to choose between Feng Xin or Mu Qing, who made her feel even more awkward, then Crown Prince Xie Lian would definitely reply, "I'm fine with both of them!"

However, if you ask the people watching if they want to see Xie Lian fighting with Feng Xin or Mu Qing, then, then everyone will definitely give different answers according to their individual tastes. After all, there were so many reasons to make the two fight with Xie Lian, so it would be difficult to choose which one was more interesting.

Therefore, when there was a long time of no reaction from Feng Xin because she suddenly stopped talking and instead hid, everyone felt extremely disappointed. Meanwhile, Xie Lian also gathered her courage, and was slightly humbled as she said, "I also did not expect to make a fuss like this. All this was completely unintentional, sorry for troubling everyone."

Mu Qing replied in a cold manner, "Oh, then this is all indeed very, very coincidental."

By accident? Xie Lian also thought this was too coincidental. How could the clock fall right on Mu Qing, while its rise caused Feng Xin's palace to be destroyed? To the people who were looking, it clearly seemed like he had indeed deliberately come for revenge. However Xie Lian was the type of person who had there been a thousand cups of wine with only one cup being poisonous, Xie Lian would have always chosen that poisoned cup.

However, it was impossible to regulate what others believed, so Xie Lian could only say, "I will do my best to compensate the losses of the golden palace of all Heavenly Officials, and the other losses. I hope you all can give me a little time."

There was no need to use brains to understand that Mu Qing clearly wanted to continue his sarcastic remarks. However, since Mu Qing's golden palace had not suffered any losses and the clock that fell on him had even him split into two pieces, it would seem inappropriate if he continued to prolong the matter. Therefore, Mu Qing chose to be silent and not respond to it further. When Xie Lian saw that the bad matter had ended, she quickly left the array.

The next day, Xie Lian was still thinking hard from where she should get those eight million eight hundred and eighty thousand rewards, when Ling Wen invited her to go to Ling Wen Palace Hall.

Ling Wen was the Heavenly Official in charge of managing the personnel portion of Heaven. When humans have the desire to advance in their careers, they will worship it.

From the floor to the very top, the entire Ling Wen Palace Hall was filled with official documents and scrolls. This kind of scene was truly shocking, to the point of being able to make anyone who saw it would shiver in fear.

When Xie Lian walked into the palace, she saw that every Heavenly Official who came out of Ling Wen Palace would carry an extremely high pile of documents. Their faces were pale; and their expressions, if it did not look like they were about to faint, then it would look as if they had been numb. As the two of them finally reached the Palace Hall, Ling Wen turned around and immediately said bluntly. "Your Majesty, there is a matter where the Emperor wishes to ask for your help. Are you willing to help him?"

In Heaven, there were some people who had the titles of Zhen Jun or Yuan Jun. However, there was only one person who could be called an Emperor. However, if the person with the title of Emperor wanted to do something, he would not need the help of others. This was the reason why Xie Lian's gaze looked blank for a while before she replied, "What problem is that?"

Ling Wen gave him a scroll before explaining, "Recently, in the Northern region, there are a large number of diligent worshippers who repeatedly pray for blessings. It could be said that they did not go through their days peacefully."

These diligent devotees are generally divided into three categories. First, the rich: they would pay money to burn incense and build temples to the gods they worshipped. The second category is the monks or priests who will spread their teachings to everyone. And, last but not least, the third category is people whose bodies and minds have been completely watered by faith and belief.

Among them, most of the devotees fall into the first category, because in this world, the rich are like a goldfish swimming in a river. The third category is the least, because if one could really reach that level of faith, then their skill level would already be quite high, too, and it is not impossible if they themselves can go up. The people that Ling Wen was referring to were clearly from the first category.

Ling Wen continued, "Right now, the Emperor cannot pay a visit to the Northern region. If you are willing to take his place and go there, when the time comes, regardless of how many offerings the diligent devotees give, all will be allocated to your altar. How's it?"

Xie Lian received the scroll with both hands as she said, "Thank you very much."

With this request, it was obvious that Emperor Jun Wu was helping him, but he simply turned things around and made it sound as if he was the one who asked Xie Lian for help. How could Xie Lian not notice it? However, he could not find more precise words to express what he was thinking other than the three words he had just said. Ling Wen replied, "I'm only responsible for handling this matter. If you want to thank someone, you have to wait until the Emperor returns and thank him personally. —Oh yes, do you want to borrow a spiritual tool from me?"

Xie Lian replied, "No need. Even though you gave me a spiritual tool, once I get down I won't have any spiritual power, so I won't be able to use it."

Xie Lian had twice been banished from Heaven, so she had now lost her spiritual power. It was easier to overcome while in Heaven, the place where all the immortal beings gathered. After all, spiritual power was so abundant there and its source would never run out or dry up, so he could casually pick it up a bit to use. However, once he returned to the mortal realm, he would not be able to use it anymore. If Xie Lian wanted to fight using spiritual tools, then she could only do that by looking for someone who could lend her spiritual power, something that was extremely troublesome.

Ling Wen pondered for a moment before saying, "Then it's better to borrow the help of some martial gods to take part in your journey."

The present martial gods, other than those who did not recognize him, there were only those who did not like him. Xie Lian understood that very well, and she replied, "That's not necessary either. You won't be able to borrow help from anyone."

However, Ling Wen seemed to have seriously considered it and simply said, "I'll give it a try."

It made no difference whether he tried or not, so Xie Lian did not approve or oppose his words, and allowed Ling Wen to try. Finally, Ling Wen entered the spiritual communication array and announced sensibly, "Everything, the Emperor has an important task to immediately deal with in the Northern region and is in dire need of someone. Which martial god was willing to lend two heavenly officials from their Palace Hall to help him?"

As his voice disappeared, Mu Qing's light voice appeared, "I heard that the Emperor is not in the Northern region right now, so I'm worried that you are borrowing help for His Highness the Crown Prince, am I right?"

Xie Lian thought to herself: "Are you always on guard in the spiritual communication array the entire time...?"

Ling Wen had a somewhat similar nature to him. So, even though he currently really wanted to slap Mu Qing that was blocking his work outside of the array, he still said with a smile. "Xuan Zhen, why are these two days I always see you in the spiritual communication array? It seems that you have stolen the opportunity to relax and become quite lazy now. Congratulations, congratulations."

Mu Qing replied in a light tone, "My hand is injured, so I'm recuperating."

All the Heavenly Officials within the array were entrenched, "First, it wouldn't have been difficult for that hand of yours to split a mountain into two pieces. So, what's the effect of smashing that stupid clock on your hands?"

Originally, Ling Wen wanted to trick two people into being willing to help before he would explain the details. But, not only did Mu Qing guess that detail in one try, he even said it out loud. With the current circumstances, it was certain that he would not be able to find anyone. Sure enough, no one else answered his question after he waited long enough. Xie Lian also did not believe that there would be anyone willing to help her, and she said to Ling Wen, "Look, I told you you won't be able to borrow any help from anyone."

Ling Wen replied, "If Xuan Zhen doesn't say anything, obviously I can."

Xie Lian smiled. "Your words were as if you were carrying a pipe, but hid half of it, and skillfully blurred the scene to some extent. People would have thought that they would help the Emperor, so naturally they were willing. But after they realized that they had to cooperate with me, I was worried that it would cause trouble. How can we work together like that? Anyway, I'm used to being alone, and I didn't lose my arms or legs, so I'm alone. Thank you for your help, I'm leaving now."

Ling Wen couldn't do anything anymore either. So, he cupped his hands to pay his respects before saying, "Alright. I hope Your Majesty's journey will be smooth, and may the blessings of the gods be with you."

Xie Lian replied, "All the taboos are gone[1]!" Waving his hand, he left cheerfully and confidently.

[1]: That is the first part of the Chinese sentence "All taboos are gone and all misfortunes are gone". It seemed, Xie Lian said that as the usual reply there to Ling Wen's sentence of blessing, it was still unclear why in the original text of this novel Xie Lian said that.

***

Three days later, the mortal realm, the Northern region.

On the side of the main street, there is a small tea shop. The front of the store looks not so big and the owner is a simple person, but what they sell is so expensive because of the beautiful scenery. From there, we can see the mountains and the vast puddles, there are also people passing by and a city. They have everything, no, not everything—not that much, it just seems pretty fitting.

Located in the middle of such a scene, if one were to discover the teahouse by chance, it would definitely create amazing memories. The tea presenter in the tavern looked very lazy, as he currently had no customers. So, he moved the small stool to the doorstep of the tavern and began to enjoy the scenery, he looked towards the mountains, the water, the people, and the city. He looked happy when, from a distance, he saw a white-clothed cultivator walking over.

The cultivator looked dirty from the dust, looking like he had traveled a great distance. As he got closer, he walked past the small teahouse, before he suddenly stopped and slowly retraced his steps. The cultivator lifted his bamboo hat and looked up. He only glanced at the tavern before he started to say with a smile. "Little store 'Chance Encounter'[2], the name is interesting."

[2]: Chance Encounter or Meeting Opportunities.

Although this person had a tired-looking appearance, he also had a face full of smiles. Make people who look at him can not stop the corner of their own lips to come up. The cultivator then asked, "Sorry, may I ask if Mount Yu Jun is close?"

The tea presenter pointed out a direction to him, before replying, "The mountain is in this region."

The man breathed a sigh of relief, and fortunately his soul did not come out with the breath. In his mind, he thought, 'I'm finally there.'

Exactly it. This person was Xie Lian.

He left the Heavenly Capital that day. Originally, he had already determined the location where he was going to descend; xie Lian wanted to descend right near Mount Yu Jun. However, who knew that when he left and jumped down without caring about anything, his sleeves instead caught a cloud that was floating freely. Yeah, his sleeve got stuck in the clouds. Even Xie Lian did not know how her sleeves could get caught in the clouds. In essence, he was rolling around at a very high altitude, and when he rolled down, he had no idea where he was. After three days of walking, now he had finally reached the original location he had planned. So, for a moment, she felt very touched.

Entering the teahouse, Xie Lian chose a table beside the window before ordering tea and snacks. Finally, he was able to sit down after going through various difficulties, when he suddenly heard a miserable sound and continuous drumming from outside the room.

The procession was filled with such a strange air. When they first saw, they looked like close relatives delivering the bride. But if one looked at it closely, they would know that the faces of those people, all of them had very serious expressions.The expressions were sad, angry, scared, and the only thing absent was happiness. In essence, it does not describe the wedding procession at all.

However, contrary to that thought, everyone wore flower-red clothes as they played the wind instrument and struck the drum. The situation was really too strange. The tea presenter carried a copper teapot in his hand and held it up high to pour the tea. He also saw the scene, but he only shook his head before leaving.

Xie Lian's eyes continued to follow the strange procession, before she pondered for a moment. He was just about to take a scroll from Ling Wen to look at the contents once more, when he suddenly felt something dazzling flashed by quickly.

As Xie Lian raised her head, a silver butterfly flew past her eyes.

The silver butterfly was shiny and transparent, looking pure and clear. As it flew through the air, it left behind a trail of bright light. Xie Lian could not help but extend her hand towards the small creature. These butterflies are very intelligent. Not only was he not afraid, he even paused for a moment at his fingertips, both of his wings sparkling and actually looking extremely beautiful. Under the sunlight, he looked as if he was just part of an illusion. After a while, the butterfly flew back.

Xie Lian waved at him, something that could be considered a farewell. When he turned back around, there were already two other people sitting at his desk.

This table has four sides. One person sits on the left and the other sits on the right, each taking one side. Both of them were teenage boys around eighteen or nineteen years old. The teenager on the left looks taller, with a fairly clear facial expression and looks handsome. In his gaze, it was clearly a look of hubris and stubbornness. While on the right, she had very bright skin. It looks smooth and beautiful, and soft. However, his expression looked a bit too cold and apathetic, making him not look so happy. Actually, the facial expressions of the two people did not look good.

Xie Lian blinked before asking: "You two?"

The person on the left replied: "Nan Feng."

The person on the right replied: "Fu Yao."

Xie Lian thought in her heart: "I don't mean to ask your name..."

At that moment, Ling Wen suddenly sent out his voice. He said, "Your Majesty, there are two small martial gods from the Middle Court who are willing to help you. They've come down to look for you, and they should've been up by now."

That so-called Middle Court naturally had ties to the High Court. Simply and roughly speaking Heavenly Officials could be divided into two groups: those who ascended, and those who did not. The Heavenly Officials of the High Court were all people who ascended by relying on themselves. Among all, there were only about a hundred people in Heaven, and each of them was extremely valuable. But in the Middle Court, the gods who were there were those who were brought up by "lifting them as representatives". In fact, they should all just be called "Color Officials Branch". However, people call them more often without using the word "Bawahan.

Since there is a High Court and a Middle Court, is there a Lower Court?

There aren't.

Actually, when Xie Lian first went up for the first time, there was indeed the Lower Court. At that time, Heaven was still divided into the High Court and the Lower Court. But then, everyone found a problem. When they introduced themselves and said, "I'm from the Lower Court and it's this-and-so", it sounded very unpleasant.

With the word 'bottom' tucked in there, it makes them feel so low. Among the gods in the Middle Court, there was clearly no shortage of talented people. Their spiritual power was rich and powerful, and each of them was an extremely outstanding and famous figure. The only difference between them and a genuine Heavenly Official was just how much less experienced they were with a Heavenly Calamity.

But who knew when the Heavenly Calamity they had been waiting for would actually come. Therefore, some people propose to change that one word—to change the introductory sentence to "I am from the Middle Court and this-and-so". The sentence was much more pleasant to hear, even though both had the same intent. In short, after that change, Xie Lian was still not so used to it even after a while.

Xie Lian stared at the two little martial gods, each of their faces more ominous than the others. It really doesn't look like they're "willing to come to help". So, she couldn't bear to ask, "Ling Wen, I don't think they looked like they came to help me, but instead, they seemed to want to take my dog's head. Have you tricked them into coming?"

Unfortunately, the question doesn't seem to be up. He also now could no longer hear Ling Wen's voice in his ears. Perhaps it was because he was too far away from the Heavenly Capital City, and it had been so long since he had descended, that even his spiritual power was likely depleted. Xie Lian could do nothing more, so first, she smiled at the two little martial gods before saying, "Nan Feng and Fu Yao, right? Since you guys are willing to come help me, allow me to thank you first."

The two of them only nodded their heads, both of them seeming to have a rather haughty attitude. It seemed that even the martial god who was in charge of them, had a reputation that was not much different from that image. Xie Lian asked the tea presenter to bring two more cups of tea. Taking out his own cup, then separating the tea leaves before casually asking, "What Palace are you two from?"

Nan Feng replied: "Nan Yang Palace Hall."

Fu Yao said: "Xuan Zhen Palace Hall."

"...."

This could really make one feel shocked and horrified.

Xie Lian gulped tea in her mouth before asking, "Your Palace General allowed you to come here?"

The two of them replied, "My Istanbul General didn't know I was coming here."

Xie Lian thought for a moment before asking again, "Then, do you guys know who I am?"

If these two little martial gods had come here because they could not think clearly so were easily deceived by Ling Wen, then after finishing helping him, it would be, they would only return to be scolded by their Palace Generals. Very unequal payment.

Nan Feng replied, "You are His Highness the Crown Prince."

Fu Yao said, "You are the right path for the humans of the world, the heart of the universe."

Xie Lian slightly choked, before she asked Nan Feng doubtfully, "Must, did she roll her eyeballs?"

Nan Feng replied, "Right, just tell him to go and get out of here."

Nan Yang's relationship with Xuan Zhen wasn't so good. It's not a secret anymore. So when Xie Lian heard that, she really did not feel surprised. Because, even long ago, Feng Xin and Mu Qing's relationship wasn't that good. It was just that, at that moment, he was the master and they were the followers. The Crown Prince always said that in order not to argue, you should be good friends, so the two of them always refrain from hostile towards each other. When they were already completely irritated, at most, they would just throw each other piercing words.

Seeing that the mess had occurred until now, there was no need to continue pretending to be polite. In fact, the worshippers from the Southeast and Southwest were not being friendly with each other, while the Nan Yang Palace Hall and the Xuan Zhen Palace Hall hated each other even more than their worshippers. The two people in front of this are examples. Fu Yao smiled sinisterly as she said, "Ling Wen Zhen Jun said if you are willing, then you may come voluntarily. So, for what reason should I go and get out of here?"

He uttered the word 'voluntary' with an expression that looked not so convincing. So, Xie Lian said, "Let me affirm this once more. Are you two really willing to do this? If not, really, don't force yourself."

The two said, "I did this willingly."

Looking at those two extremely depressed faces, Xie Lian thought, the words that you two really want to say are 'I want to kill myself', right?

"Incase―"

Xie Lian began, "Let's discuss this work first. You must have known, no, why did we come to the North, so I won't explain it from the beginning..."

They both said, "I don't know."

"..."

Xie Lian could do nothing more than pull out a scroll and said, "Then, I better explain everything from the beginning."

It is said that many years ago on Mount Yu Jun, there was a couple of brides who were about to get married.

The couple loved each other. The bridegroom waited for the procession to deliver the bride, but after she had waited so long, she did not see the bride coming. The groom began to feel anxious, so he started looking for the bride's family. As a result, the father and mother-in-law also told that the bride had long departed. Both families reported the incident to officials before they began searching for the bride in all directions. However, from beginning to end, they never found it.

Even if he had been eaten by a savage beast in the mountain, there should still be the remains of an arm or leg or whatever it was. How could there be nothing left at all? So, it is no wonder that people feel suspicious that the bride herself does not want to get married, so she pretends to follow the procession before finally escaping. But who knows after a few years later, when there was another new couple about to get married, the nightmare repeated once again.

The bride disappeared again. However, this time he did not disappear without leaving a trace. On a small street, people find an unfinished piece of foot eaten by something.

Seriate...