Chapter 31 Extra: Heavenly Wounded Star Lord [VIP]

Chapter 31 Extra: Heavenly Wounded Star Lord [VIP]

Chapter Summary: She deserves a lifetime in return.

"Tian Shang! Wait for me!"

Outside the Zichen Hall of the Heavenly Palace, after the banquet celebrating the Heavenly Emperor's long life.

Tian Gu Xingjun caught up with Tian Shang Xingjun, who had already arrived at the Nine Heavens Gate, in a few steps. He shoved him and turned his face away, saying with exasperation, "You really are something else. Knowing that Tian Kui is that kind of person, how could you still clash with him in front of the Heavenly Emperor?"

"Could you tolerate his affected, obsequious manner?"

Tian Shang suddenly turned around, his hands clenched into fists, his brows furrowed tightly.

"Drinking really does lead to trouble!"

Tian Gu accompanied him to the gate to the lower realm, his face showing worry. "You know he is highly regarded by the Heavenly Emperor, right? Now he has to go to the lower realm for training. Have you thought about how to deal with this?"

"A mere three thousand merits, what's so difficult about that?"

With a wave of his sleeve, Tian Shang waved his hand and gracefully leaped away.

The lower realm is Jingyang Mountain in Haidai.

The Heavenly Star Lord, who had descended to the mortal realm, stood atop the mountain, facing the wind, gazing at the surrounding mountains.

The seemingly deserted area was not due to bad luck.

Long before descending to the mortal realm, he had already spoken with the old man of destiny who owed him a favor a hundred years ago, and had already learned that on this day and in this place, a natural disaster would occur at the foot of Jingyang Mountain, causing the deaths of thirty people!

The Heavenly Emperor punished him by sending him to the mortal realm, but did not prevent him from using immortal magic.

Saving thirty lives with a flick of the finger—a mere three thousand merits—is that not easily attainable?

Seeing the fierce wind arrive and the mountains roar, Tian Shang Xingjun's lips curled up slightly, his face full of smugness.

There's just one small problem... Remembering something, Tian Shang subconsciously looked around and frowned slightly.

This place is so remote, if he, a graceful immortal, suddenly appeared in front of those thirty people, wouldn't he scare them so much they fainted?

A wild rabbit poked its head out from the grass, glanced at the seemingly foolish immortal standing on the mountaintop, oblivious to the wind, and then darted away.

As he caught a glimpse of the dusty figure out of the corner of his eye, Tian Shang Xingjun's eyes lit up.

How could he suddenly make such a foolish mistake, when his immortal power is unaffected by changes in physical form? Transforming into a common animal in the mountains would be a perfect solution to his current problem.

How could a celestial being like him be reduced to a dusty, gray hare?

A silly-looking deer, a dirty squirrel, chirping birds... Tian Shang looked around the forest, and after a while, his eyes lit up again.

Got it!

Tian Shang took half a step back and transformed himself.

A snow-white fox suddenly appeared on the hilltop.

Such an elegant and unconventional style is befitting his status as a dignified immortal lord from the upper realm!

Tian Shang shook his fur with great satisfaction, then strode confidently down the mountain with his head held high and chest out.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a thunderclap ripped through the sky, and a violent storm, lightning, and thunderstorm erupted in the Jingyang Mountain area.

Tian Shang hid behind a pine tree and looked down.

As expected, torrential rain poured down from the foot of the mountain, causing the mountain to collapse.

The "little matchbox" carrying thirty people, which was hovering on the winding mountain road, seemed to have drunk alcohol, swaying and tilting precariously.

Soon, another sharp bend in the mountain road came into view.

"boom!"

"Sizzle!"

Half of the mountain collapsed with a deafening roar, accompanied by the ear-piercing, terrifying screech of the bus brakes.

Now!

Tian Shang darted out of the dense forest, reaching the "matchbox" that had been swept away by the mudslide. He closed his eyes, sat cross-legged, and channeled his immortal power.

One, two... twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!

The rocks piled on the matchbox gradually melted away, and the thirty passengers were lifted to an open space, their pale faces gradually regaining their rosy color.

Tian Shang let out a soft breath, rubbed his fluffy head with his little paws, wagged his tail, raised his head, and was about to leave with an air of arrogance.

"careful!!"

"Boom!"

Before they had taken two steps, a startled shout, distorted in tone, accompanied by a deafening roar, came hurtling after them. Tian Shang's heart sank, and he instinctively twitched his fox ears, raised his tail, and abruptly turned around; upon seeing the scene before him, his eyes narrowed in shock.

"boom!"

What I see before me is as if painted by a master artist, with every stroke and line rendered with exquisite detail.

A deafening mudslide, seemingly capable of destroying the world; before the mudslide, a tiny fairy maiden, her face etched with urgency and unease, appearing as insignificant as an ant.

They were clearly terrified and frightened, and were clearly on the verge of collapse, staggering and faltering.

They are clearly out of danger...

Before he could see her face clearly, everything went black before Tian Shang's eyes.

The crisp, almost overwhelming scent of grass and leaves filled his nostrils, nourishing his heart... He was held in the soft, comforting embrace of the little fairy, his eyes wide open, his expression blank.

Now, no matter how handsome he may be, he is nothing more than an ordinary, muddy mountain fox.

How could the fairy maiden pounce on her so decisively and without hesitation?

They even abandoned the urn containing her ashes that she had been clutching all the way?

Tian Shang remained in his fox form, nestled in the little fairy's gradually cooling embrace, using a sliver of sunlight to trace her faintly smiling features... His mind was in turmoil, and he remained motionless for a long time.

"Hahaha! You little rascal! So that's what you were planning!"

After an unknown amount of time, the rain stopped and the sky cleared over Jingyang Mountain.

A rainbow bridge hangs high, and the mountains are lush and verdant.

The sudden change in the sky and the narrow strait between life and death just now were merely the illusion of immortals playing tricks and mortals blinking an eye.

The Heavenly Lone Star Lord arrived upon hearing the news, standing atop the Rainbow Bridge, smiling as he looked down upon the vibrant mortal realm below: "Your three thousand merits are complete, Heavenly Wound, I've come to take you back to the Heavenly Realm for a drink!"

From the small, now-warm fairy maiden's arms, a fox's head slowly peeked out, glanced at him with a look of utter confusion and bewilderment, shook off its wet body, snuggled close to the fairy maiden's neck, and sat down cross-legged beside her.

"Heavenly Wounds?"

When Tian Gu Xingjun descended to the mortal realm, he looked at Tian Shang, who had a fox head, and then at the sleeping young lady beside him, and suddenly frowned.

"What's wrong with her?"

He looked at the twenty-nine people not far behind him, each with a different posture and breathing normally, and asked with a puzzled expression, "Why is she the only one missing? What is she doing down the mountain?"

The fox's ears twitched slightly, and Tian Shang nestled his head in the cold crook of her neck, his voice low and seemingly normal: "To save me."

"Save...you?!" Tian Gu looked at Tian Shang, then at Pan Yue, his face full of disbelief. "You mean, this young lady...went into the second mudslide to save a mountain fox of unknown origin?"

A sudden pang of sadness struck Tian Shang's heart.

A strange, soft, and lingering emotion suddenly emerged, growing rapidly and weaving into a net that tightly enveloped his heart, which had unknowingly been tainted by worldly affairs.

"Heavenly Lone".

Before he could speak, Tian Shang transformed into human form, looked down at the lifeless Pan Yue, and said in a deep voice, "I'm sorry to have troubled you to come down to the mortal realm... I'm afraid I'll have to owe you your wine."

“Qian…” Tian Gu suddenly frowned. “Tian Shang, what are you going to do? Don’t be impulsive!”

How could a celestial being owe a debt of gratitude to a mortal?

Tian Shang looked at Tian Gu, whose brows were furrowed, his expression calm, clearly having made his decision before Tian Gu's arrival.

"A life-saving grace should be repaid!"

"Repay?" Tian Gu stepped forward, his brows furrowed. "Judging from this woman's appearance, she has no kinship ties with anyone here. Even a celestial being cannot defy the rules of the mortal realm, for the dead cannot be brought back to life. How do you intend to repay her?"

"I owe her a lifetime, and I should repay her with a lifetime."

Tian Shang squatted down beside Pan Yue, took her hand, and said calmly, "Since the mortal realm can no longer accommodate me, I shall create another 'realm' to repay the debt."

“Create… a 'realm'?!” Tian Gu gasped, grabbing his wrist and shouting angrily, “Are you crazy? Do you know what price you have to pay for creating another realm? Becoming a mortal is the least of your worries; what if you were reborn as an animal? What would you do then?”

“In that case,” Tian Shang said calmly, waving his hand and addressing Tian Gu, “I can only trouble you, Tian Gu Star Lord, to lend me a hand, considering that we have been friends for over sixty years.”

"That's enough!"

After staring at each other for a long time, Tian Gu threw down his hand, turned his face away, and said irritably, "With your temperament, once you've made up your mind, not even ten immortal oxen could pull you back!"

Seeing that he agreed, Tian Shang slightly curled the corners of his lips, a hint of seriousness appearing on his face. He took half a step back, bowed to him, and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Lord Tian Gu Xing!"

"From now on, the two worlds will be separated, and the heavens will be wounded, may you live well..."

Tian Gu waved his wide sleeves, using Jingyang Mountain as the center, to help Tian Shang's spiritual power circulate and create a magical realm.

As the world changed and a hurricane struck, the young lady in the center of the formation remained as if asleep, her clothes and hair unmoved by the wind.

Lord Tiangu was startled. He looked again and saw that, apart from the Heavenly Wound, there was still a faint spiritual force in the formation. Although it was thin and subtle, it was extremely firm and unwavering, protecting the young lady in the center from the strong winds.

"Enough, enough... Cause and effect are all part of the law of karma."

Tian Gu suddenly waved his sleeve, took a deep look at the newly created boundary, confirmed that the internal flow had returned to normal, cast a sleight of hand for it, sighed helplessly, and gracefully departed.

In the New Territories, which resembles the mundane world, a small pine seedling, which has long since developed intelligence, has endured a thousand years of wind, frost, rain, and snow, and has stood on the mountaintop for so long that it no longer knows what day it is.

After countless seasons, on another bright and sunny day, in the dense, swaying forest, along the winding mountain path, a clever little fox, pure white and seemingly appearing out of nowhere, darted in...

[Author's Note]

In the novel *Water Margin*, there is Song Jiang, the Heavenly Star of Success; and Lu Zhishen, the Heavenly Lone Star.