Reflections

Time always passes quickly… Before anyone knew it, the New Year was already approaching.

During this time, Su Qing hadn't been idle either...

On one hand, there were many matters in the Mortal World, and on the other, there were also many affairs concerning the Changbai Mountains...

These days, Su Qing was constantly rushing from place to place, always incredibly busy.

Besides needing to handle various disasters in the Mortal World, she also needed to first sow the seeds of Incense Power, and then thoroughly discuss with Leng Xiang and Ao Ying how to develop this aspect of the Incense Power.

Because currently, Su Qing's Incense Power in the Northern Continent was still in its nascent stage...

In this era where communication was slow, spreading legends was actually quite difficult.

So, naturally, some manual intervention was required.

What's more, this wasn't her home territory; she couldn't just wait for the Incense Power to slowly ferment on its own.

Aside from the main body's busyness, the clone in the Changbai Mountains was also swamped.

The reason was quite simple... because she alone had to deal with numerous Incense Power prayers from all around, so it was inevitable that she'd be overwhelmed... Furthermore, besides the Incense Power prayers, Su Qing also had to pay attention to that monkey. She had promised Guanyin Bodhisattva to treat this matter seriously, so she naturally couldn't slack off anymore; she still needed to do some things, however small.

However, perhaps precisely because she had started doing things, the Six-Eared Macaque, who already disliked Su Qing, was now even more annoyed with her... at least, that's how it appeared.

Of course, Su Qing didn't care... If she tried and couldn't change things, it couldn't be blamed on her.

Meanwhile, the clone in Xingyang City in the Mortal World had also been quite busy recently...

Although the matters of the medical clinic didn't require much of her attention, for the Incense Power of an entire kingdom, she had also gotten involved in a troublesome affair...

To ensure the Commandery Princess's ascension to power succeeded smoothly, she had many things to do.

And she also needed to pay attention to the appropriate measure. After all, if she did too much, it would, as the saying goes, be "operating outside the rules."

Fortunately, although Su Qing had many tasks and was very busy, everything was actually within her capacity to handle, so even with all this, it didn't cause her to complain incessantly.

After all, despite her busyness, she also had plenty of time to rest.

Moreover, her three bodies could take turns resting...

Anyway, no matter which one rested, it was still her saving her own mental energy.

Although Su Qing was busy... all her affairs were still proceeding smoothly...

This day was the eve of New Year's Eve.

Today, it was snowing, not heavily, but it made for a beautiful scene.

By this day, Leng Xiang, Ao Ying, and a few others, along with Bai Rou'er and her companions, had all returned to the Daoist academy in the Northern Continent...

Because Su Qing had agreed with everyone to celebrate the New Year together, they naturally put aside their current tasks and returned to the Daoist academy.

At this moment, everyone was busy... busy with decorations.

Although Immortals rarely celebrated festivals, since they had decided to celebrate, they definitely needed to prepare properly.

Otherwise, the festival wouldn't have that atmosphere.

After all, celebrating a festival wasn't just about reunion, but also about the sense of atmosphere.

At this moment, Su Qing stood under the eaves, reaching out to catch the snowflakes falling from the sky, her mind calculating other matters...

"Hmm, it's definitely better to invite Sister Chang'e along. Festivals are always more interesting with more people..." After a moment of thought, Su Qing found her answer, clenched her fist, and made a decision.

Once she made her decision, Su Qing didn't waste a moment. She turned back and told Ao Ying about it...

Upon hearing this, Ao Ying had no objections whatsoever.

Ao Ying's thoughts were the same as Su Qing's; since it was a festival, a little more liveliness was good.

Furthermore, in Ao Ying's view, Su Qing and Chang'e's relationship was quite normal... not that of bad friends.

So, she certainly wouldn't have any objections.

After Ao Ying agreed, Su Qing nodded and then turned to leave the Daoist academy, heading towards the Moon Palace.

Su Qing's cloud-soaring speed was naturally beyond words...

With the Phoenix-Soaring Hairpin, her speed reached a terrifying new level.

So, in just a few breaths, Su Qing had already arrived at the entrance of the Moon Palace.

This time, Su Qing briefly exchanged pleasantries with the female guards at the gate...

Only then did she enter the Moon Palace.

The Moon Palace was as desolate as ever. Not many people could be seen.

They say Guanghan Palace is cold, and it truly was cold...

Not the cold of the weather, but the cold of desolation.

Su Qing had long grown accustomed to the situation here...

She silently headed towards the place where Chang'e usually stayed.

In the past, Su Qing might have asked where she was.

Now, as long as Su Qing knew Chang'e was in the palace, she would just go search in the usual places she frequented... she would always find her somewhere.

So there was no need to ask...

It even felt like a lottery.

Su Qing's luck was very good this time.

She found Chang'e in the very first place she looked.

At this moment, Chang'e was sitting at a desk, holding a brush in her hand, poised as if about to write something.

Su Qing thought about it and decided not to disturb her directly.

After all, it was very frustrating to be interrupted when one wanted to write something.

However, Su Qing watched for a while, only to realize that the woman had merely been holding the brush, never putting it to paper.

It was as if she was just holding the brush and spacing out...

Su Qing was momentarily speechless.

In the end, she chose to speak.

"Sister Chang'e!" Su Qing called out.

As Su Qing spoke, Chang'e immediately shivered, and the brush in her hand dropped onto the paper, leaving a large ink blot...

"You, you're here?! How, how did you get here?" Chang'e seemed a little awkward and flustered, instinctively wiping non-existent drool from the corner of her mouth.

Clearly, Chang'e had appeared awake just now, but she had actually been asleep.

One could only say... Immortals truly were Immortals. Sleeping with open eyes was as easy as drinking water for them.

Su Qing looked at Chang'e, momentarily speechless, and said, "I thought Sister Chang'e was conceiving something special, but it turns out you were just sleeping?"

Chang'e raised an eyebrow at this, saying with slight displeasure, "What are you talking about! I truly was conceiving something at the time..."

Su Qing rolled her eyes...

Who would believe Chang'e's words? Especially since Su Qing had just witnessed the scene.

"Sister Chang'e, don't be so stubborn," Su Qing pouted, saying helplessly, "More importantly, why don't you go to your room to sleep? Instead, you're sleeping here with a brush in hand? Is it some special practice?"

Hearing Su Qing's words, Chang'e snorted softly and then said, "I told you, I wasn't sleeping! I just got too engrossed when I was conceiving something to write. Then, when you came over, you suddenly spoke, which startled me. As for wiping my drool, that was just an unconscious action!"

Her stubbornness further confirmed to Su Qing that this woman had definitely been asleep just now.

After all, she had practically spilled all the details of her situation.

However, Su Qing didn't intend to dwell on this matter with Chang'e...

So Su Qing humored her, saying, "Alright, alright, Sister Chang'e, you weren't sleeping."

Chang'e pouted and then decided not to explain further.

She wasn't stupid; she naturally knew that the more she explained such things, the more she would expose.

She merely asked, "So, why did you come to find me? Don't tell me you just came to startle me!"

Hearing this, Su Qing shook her head and said, "Of course not! I naturally came to Sister Chang'e for something. I came to invite you to celebrate a festival with me!"

"Celebrate a festival? What festival?"

"Spring Festival!"

"What? It's already the Mortal World's Spring Festival so soon? Time really flies."

"Indeed! But for cultivators, the perception of time's passage is actually quite weak, isn't it?"

"You're right about that. But I'm a little curious, why did you suddenly want to celebrate the Spring Festival? For Immortals, celebrating or not celebrating a festival is all the same, isn't it? After all, it's just a mortal festival."

Su Qing shook her head and said, "Although it's just a mortal festival, its meaning is still very good! Besides, isn't it a happy thing for everyone to gather, drink, chat, and have a fun day? If you don't want to celebrate the festival, just consider it a day spent playing with me."

Chang'e shook her head and said, "Who told you I don't celebrate festivals? I seriously celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival every year. I'm only asking because I'm curious why you suddenly want to celebrate a festival."

Su Qing spread her hands and said, "I just suddenly felt it would be nice for everyone to gather."

"Is that so? Then no problem!" Chang'e nodded and said, "I'll go with you!"

"That's good then! It's a pity, though, that the Star Lord has matters to attend to and isn't in the Moon Palace, so I can't invite her along," Su Qing said with a touch of regret.

Hearing this, Chang'e gave a helpless smile and said, "The Star Lord is indeed very busy... Recently, the Heavenly Court has been swamped with the matter of the Great Tribulation. And the Jade Emperor doesn't want too many minor deities to know about it, so it's mostly the old timers who are busy... If you often wander around, you would have noticed that many old timers haven't shown their faces lately. Even Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva has gone to the Heavenly Court to help..."

"Ah? Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva went to help too? Isn't he from the Buddhist Court?"

"So what? With the Great Tribulation upon us... the distinction between Buddhist and Daoist doesn't matter much. The urgent task is to find a way to overcome this Great Tribulation," Chang'e said, shaking her head.

Su Qing rubbed her chin and nodded, acknowledging the truth in those words.

"That's true, at this critical juncture, sectarian views really aren't that important anymore," Su Qing nodded, saying, "But we seem to have gone off-topic... So, can you leave with me now?"

"Of course I can! I can leave anytime," Chang'e said, hands on her hips, with a serious expression.

As for going out to gather, Chang'e would certainly never refuse, no matter what...

Su Qing nodded and said, "Then, Sister Chang'e, shall we go?"

Hearing this, Chang'e smiled, then pushed off the table, stood up, walked over to Su Qing, and said, "Alright, let's go!"

Su Qing nodded and left with Chang'e.

This time, Su Qing didn't summon a cloud; instead, she let Chang'e do it, and she rode Chang'e's auspicious cloud back to the Daoist academy in the Northern Continent.

On the way, Su Qing asked Chang'e, "Speaking of which, how exactly does the Heavenly Court plan to overcome the Heavenly Tribulation?"

Chang'e rubbed her chin at this and said, "I don't know too many specifics about that... I only know that if they overcome the tribulation in that manner, then the Heavenly Court will cease to exist!"

"Cease to exist? What does that mean? If it ceases to exist, how is that different from not overcoming the tribulation?"

"Hahaha, I knew you'd be confused. Actually, I was confused at first too... but after the Star Lord explained it to me, I generally understood," Chang'e said with a laugh. "The meaning of 'cease to exist' isn't that it will be destroyed, but rather that it will no longer exist in a physical form in this world. After the Great Tribulation of Heaven and Earth, the spiritual Qi between heaven and earth is destined to disappear, but the disappearance of spiritual Qi doesn't necessarily mean Incense Power will also disappear."

"You mean the Heavenly Court will transform from solid to void? Becoming something that exists within Incense Power?"

"What you said is both right and wrong... More accurately, it will exist within an illusory world created relying on the Jianmu Tree. Although it will still be possible to influence reality through magic at that time, its physical form will definitely cease to exist..." Chang'e said, rubbing her chin.

"..." Su Qing's mouth twitched, and she said, "To me, this is truly a clever trick. And it's not much different from not overcoming it at all."

"Hahaha, you're right about that... but this is already the best method. And it's a method that both the Buddhist and Daoist sects are preparing to use... As for what the Buddhist sect will rely on to create their Buddhist Kingdom, I don't know. After all, that's classified!" Chang'e spread her hands and said, "Also, don't look down on this method... This is actually the limit. After all, if you hadn't disrupted fate and given everyone room to maneuver, everyone would probably just be staring blankly. At that time, the Heavenly Court would probably truly become a legend..."

Hearing this... Su Qing's mouth twitched slightly, but she didn't rush to speak.

Chang'e then continued, "Alright, don't be too melancholic. Although the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth is destined to disappear, because fate has been disrupted so much, the Great Tribulation of Heaven and Earth should arrive a little gentler... At that time, the spiritual Qi probably won't disappear all at once and cause an indelible impact on everyone. According to Taishang Laojun's and their estimations, it will likely dissipate slowly, right? How long this process will last before it completely vanishes, I don't know... Taishang Laojun can't calculate it clearly either, and neither can the Buddha."