"Don't, don't laugh... this was just an accident."
Seeing this, Gongsun Zhixue couldn't help but blush slightly and turn her face away.
Gongsun Zhixue naturally knew what Su Qing was laughing at; it was nothing more than the fact that she had put on these clothes in a very strange way.
Before this, Gongsun Zhixue had always been in a spirit form...
Wanting to wear any kind of clothing was entirely a matter of a single thought.
Therefore, Gongsun Zhixue had no idea how to actually put on clothes...
Her current outfit was just something she had haphazardly thrown on and tied together. After making sure nothing was exposed, she had come out.
As for the resulting effect!
It went without saying... it was slightly comical.
Looking at Gongsun Zhixue's amusing appearance, Su Qing shook her head helplessly and then said:
"Leng Xiang, I'll leave her to you. While you're at it, teach her how to dress properly."
Su Qing had originally intended to go herself, but seeing Gongsun Zhixue's expression, she guessed the girl probably didn't want her help, so she simply handed the task to Leng Xiang.
It just so happened that Leng Xiang was better at these things anyway.
Leng Xiang had been standing by her side. Hearing Su Qing speak, she nodded and then directly pulled Gongsun Zhixue back into the room.
Gongsun Zhixue had intended to refuse, but she could distinguish between being embarrassed for a moment and being embarrassed forever.
So, she could only honestly follow her inside and let Leng Xiang have her way.
Leng Xiang had looked after Su Qing for so long, so she naturally helped Gongsun Zhixue change into proper clothes very quickly.
When she came out of the room again, her entire image had been completely refreshed.
In a goose-yellow chest-high ruqun, paired with her petite frame and hair hanging straight to her waist, she gave off a lively and lighthearted impression, like a young lady from a noble family.
Su Qing looked her over carefully and couldn't help but nod in satisfaction.
This outfit was indeed as she had imagined, quite suitable for this girl.
Although her outfit was no longer strange like before, being stared at by Su Qing, Chang'e, and the others still made Gongsun Zhixue feel a bit embarrassed...
However, now that she had transformed, she clearly couldn't just turn back into her original form at will, nor could she hide like she used to.
In the future, she would inevitably have to face such gazes.
"Don't be shy; you're actually quite cute." Su Qing was not stingy with her praise; after all, she did look quite good.
"Th... Thank you."
"How does it feel after transforming?"
"Emmm, it's very different... from when I was a tree. Not being able to root into the soil makes me... a bit unaccustomed."
"The difference between a human body and a demon body is very large. You'll gradually get used to it over time; just take it slow," Su Qing said with a smile. "Besides that?"
"There's also..."
In the back-and-forth Q&A with Su Qing, Gongsun Zhixue focused her mind on the conversation, and naturally, she no longer cared so much about the gazes of others.
Seeing Gongsun Zhixue gradually calm down, Su Qing knew her goal had been achieved.
So, she found an opportunity to end the topic and told Gongsun Zhixue to go and cultivate properly.
After all, there was still the Divine Immortal Tribulation ahead. Only after passing those lightning tribulations would she truly reach the Divine Immortal Realm.
Gongsun Zhixue naturally knew what was important, so she nodded obediently and went back to her cultivation.
The Transformation Tribulation had already been so terrifying; the remaining two tribulations would naturally not be simple. Since the heavens had left her a period of time to prepare, she certainly couldn't waste it.
Grasping this opportunity and striving to survive the remaining tribulations was the most important thing at the moment.
After Gongsun Zhixue went to cultivate, Chang'e left the courtyard a short while later and returned to her own Guanghan Palace.
Although she was usually very idle, she wasn't completely without things to do, nor could she run around everywhere.
Now that the matter was settled, it was naturally time for her to return.
After Chang'e also left, the courtyard returned to its previous quietude.
Although Su Qing had long since grown accustomed to such a life, seeing the familiar courtyard change its appearance slightly still made her feel a bit unaccustomed for a moment.
But clearly, such lack of habit would not last long.
Because before long, Su Qing would be leaving the Moon Palace to return to the mortal world for her cultivation.
She sat in the courtyard, and thinking about leaving, she did indeed feel a bit of reluctance...
Although if she wanted to stay, the seniors wouldn't truly drive her away, she really should go back.
Forty-nine years was not long, but it wasn't short either... this much time was enough for her to do many things.
Setting everything else aside, just using this time to build temples and Daoist monasteries for herself was enough to lay down some foundation.
Therefore, after careful consideration, Su Qing still decided to leave. After all, the most important thing now was still to improve her own strength.
Moreover, the most important point was that the current environment was destined to make cultivation more difficult as time went on.
Although Su Qing had not yet felt an irreversible decay in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, she estimated it wouldn't be too long... it would come sooner or later.
Thinking of this, Su Qing couldn't help but feel a bit melancholy.
But she couldn't afford to be pessimistic or melancholy; what she could do was pull herself together and continue moving forward.
At the very least, there was still time.
There was still a chance.
She tidied her mood slightly and quickly recovered...
After all, there was no point in thinking so much...
Days passed quite quickly, and in the blink of an eye, another two or three months went by.
After two or three months, Gongsun Zhixue's remaining two tribulations finally arrived as expected.
These two tribulations of wind and fire were even harder to endure and more painful than the lightning tribulation. Even from a great distance, Su Qing could hear her screams.
The lightning tribulation was merely a physical pain of the flesh, but these two tribulations of wind and fire were a dual torment of both body and soul.
If she passed, she could step over the threshold to truly become an immortal; if she failed, she would likely have to take a trip to the gates of hell.
So, Su Qing was also somewhat worried about Gongsun Zhixue's tribulation this time.
Fortunately, although Gongsun Zhixue's screams could be heard from far away, she was also resilient enough, and ultimately she successfully endured all the tribulations...
She stepped into the Divine Immortal Realm.
This was the true beginning of a demon's cultivation.
As for whether her future cultivation would be smooth or whether she could go further, Su Qing did not know.
But now, she could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Gongsun Zhixue's matter had finally come to a close, and she could set her mind at ease.
And after Gongsun Zhixue's matter ended...
Su Qing naturally had to prepare to leave the Moon Palace and return to the mortal world.
However, before returning to the mortal world, she still had a few things to do...
First was to find Laojun to ask for an official post in the mortal world, and second was to properly say goodbye to a few friends.
An official post in the mortal world was very important. After all, it would allow her to better accumulate incense power in the mortal world and provide a basic guarantee for her life there.
One could say it achieved multiple things at once.
A few more days passed.
Su Qing went to the Guanghan Palace to drink with Chang'e and asked her how to get to the Heavenly Palace.
Although she had stayed in the Moon Palace for a long time, she had never been to the Heavenly Palace, so she naturally didn't know how to get there or what procedures were needed...
"You're going to the Heavenly Palace?" Hearing this, Chang'e's hand holding the wine cup trembled slightly, and then she lowered her eyes and said, "So that means you're going to find Laojun to ask for a mortal world official post? Which is to say... you're preparing to leave? I thought you were going to stay for another year or two."
"Yes... Gongsun Zhixue has already cultivated to the Divine Immortal Realm, and the matters at Flower-Fruit Mountain in the mortal world have also settled down. It's time for me to return to the mortal world."
"There's no rush; what's the harm in staying a few more years?" Chang'e couldn't help but say.
She naturally knew that Su Qing's cultivation had reached a bottleneck and that further progress had become incredibly difficult, requiring the power of incense to assist in making better progress.
After all, she was the one who told Su Qing that.
But... knowing was one thing, but whether Chang'e was willing to let her leave like this was another.
Naturally, she was unwilling and reluctant.
So, she hoped Su Qing could stay for a few more years...
This Moon Palace had always been lonely. She didn't have many friends in this Moon Palace to begin with, and it wasn't convenient to make friends outside.
Although Yuer was close, she was very busy, and her feelings toward Chang'e were more of closeness rather than the casual ease she had with Su Qing.
As for that Lunar Deity, there was even less to say. She was an old block of wood, quite boring, and often lectured her.
How could she be considered a friend? At most, she was just an elder.
Therefore, how could she bear to let her only good friend leave like this?
If she left, she would be bored again.
However... Chang'e actually understood that she couldn't change Su Qing's mind with just a few words.
Having spent so much time with Su Qing, she naturally knew that Su Qing had the kind of stubborn temper that wouldn't easily change, as headstrong as an ox.
Sure enough, Su Qing shook her head very firmly, not intending to change her mind.
Seeing this, Chang'e couldn't help but let out a sigh and nodded slightly...
"Forget it, if you want to go, then go! Just don't forget the promise you made to me before; come back to the Moon Palace to play when you have time! Even if it's just to accompany me for a drink."
Chang'e took a sip of wine helplessly and said:
"As for the road to the Heavenly Palace, it's actually very simple... I'll just point it out to you! In addition, if you encounter someone blocking the way at the Heavenly Gate, just hand this to him, or you can directly report your own name."
Su Qing was now quite famous in the Heavenly Palace, so the gatekeepers would naturally know her name.
As long as she gave her name, they would naturally let her through.
But if she didn't want to and wished to keep a low profile, using the document she provided to pass would be the same.
Su Qing took the document, nodded, and said, "Thank you, Sister Chang'e..."
"Don't thank me. Since you'll be leaving soon, just accompany me for a good drink today!" Chang'e rolled her eyes; she didn't care about Su Qing's thanks, only saying, "You shouldn't be so urgent that you have to leave today, right?"
Su Qing smiled at the words and nodded, "Of course I'm not that urgent! Since Sister Chang'e wants me to drink with her, then I'll accompany you."
"That's more like it." Chang'e curled her lip and stopped mentioning the matter of her leaving.
She only talked about other things.
The two drank for a long time, and Chang'e was rarely a bit later in getting drunk than before.
She didn't talk nonsense today; she just grabbed her and leaned close, closing her eyes, not knowing what she was thinking.
Su Qing was in no hurry to leave Guanghan Palace either, staying with her until the evening.
She had always thought she was eloquent, but sometimes she felt she was very poor at speaking.
The next day.
Su Qing flew toward the Heavenly Palace holding the document.
Before long, she had arrived before the South Heaven Gate.
Outside the South Heaven Gate, the divine general guarding the gate had never seen Su Qing, so he naturally stopped her immediately to ask her purpose.
Seeing this, Su Qing didn't waste words and handed over the document in her hand to the divine general.
After looking over the document, the divine general's attitude immediately became more respectful. He didn't ask further who Su Qing was and directly let her through.
Although the divine general didn't recognize her, he recognized whose signature was on the document.
With a document from the Palace Mistress of Guanghan, no matter who the visitor was, they were not someone they dared to easily block...
So they obediently let her through.
Arriving at the Heavenly Palace for the first time, Su Qing couldn't help but be slightly shocked by the scenery of the Heavenly Palace.
However, this trip was not for sightseeing but to find Taishang Laojun, so she naturally had no heart for the views.
She remembered that Taishang Laojun lived in the Tushita Palace within the Thirty-Third Heaven.
So she didn't stop, flying all the way toward the Tushita Palace on the Thirty-Third Heaven.
Su Qing's journey was unimpeded, and she soon arrived outside the Tushita Palace.
Only as she looked at the plaque of the Tushita Palace...
Did Su Qing realize after the fact...
After Wukong was caught by Erlang Shen, he was imprisoned in Laojun's Eight Trigrams Furnace to be refined.
And Laojun's Eight Trigrams Furnace was right here in this Tushita Palace.
In other words, Wukong was currently imprisoned here.
Running here herself... was it perhaps a bit inappropriate?
Su Qing pondered for a moment, then shook her head slightly and thought, "Forget it, I'll just play it by ear... there's no point in thinking of so many strategies."
With a plan in mind, Su Qing didn't care about anything else and walked directly into the Tushita Palace.
Entering the palace.
Su Qing searched around a bit and unknowingly circled to the location of the Eight Trigrams Furnace...
However, beside the Eight Trigrams Furnace, Su Qing did not see Laojun, nor did she see Laojun's Green Ox.
She only saw a small Daoist boy fanning the fire outside the Eight Trigrams Furnace...
And inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace, flames flickered, but a figure could be faintly seen tossing and turning.
It seemed that figure was Wukong.
Su Qing withdrew her gaze, pretending not to have noticed the situation inside, and simply said, "Little Daoist boy, is Senior Laojun in the palace?"
The Daoist boy was originally dozing off. Hearing the noise, he trembled slightly, clearly startled.
He hurriedly stood up, turned his head to look at Su Qing, and seeing it was Su Qing, he breathed a slight sigh of relief and shook his head:
"Master is not in the palace. Master went to the Thirty-Fifth Heaven today to find two other seniors for a drink, and I don't know when he'll be back. Does the Immortal have some important matter for Master? Do you need me to go report it for you?"
"But... but I still have to watch this Eight Trigrams Furnace; I don't dare to leave easily..."
The small Daoist boy looked at Su Qing, gave a cunning smile, and said:
"How about this? Immortal, help me watch this Eight Trigrams Furnace while I go to the Thirty-Fifth Heaven to report to Master! How about it?"
He had been guarding this refining furnace for a long time and had already grown impatient. Now that he had a chance to take a trip to the Thirty-Fifth Heaven, he naturally wouldn't let it pass.
"This?"
Su Qing was a bit dazed by what the small Daoist boy was doing, but after thinking for a moment, she also agreed.
After all, if she just waited for Senior Laojun to return...
Who knew how long it would take!
So it was better to agree to the small Daoist boy's condition.
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