One wants to cross the Yellow River, yet it was frozen over with ice and snow; one wants to ascend Taihang mountains, yet it has long since been sealed by a vast expanse of snow.

The azure sky extended for as far as one could see. The summit of Taihang mountains is covered with snow all year round, and it had merged into one with the floating clouds drifting through the horizon. This place was beyond the reach of ordinary birds; only a few white falcons hovered high up in the sky, facing the bitingly cold gales as they turned into several black spots that dotted the dark blue sky.

A giant bird clutched a bundle wrapped in cloth in its claws. It flew through the clouds, spreading its wings as it did so. In the twilight, golden rays of light reflected off its feathers. It swooped down and flew towards the cloud enveloping the top of the mountains, and after breaking through the clouds, dazzling palaces appeared in the middle of the Taihang mountains surrounded by several mountain peaks. The outer walls of the palaces looked like they had been dyed with a layer of red flames in the dusk.

Snow doesn"t acc.u.mulate within the palaces all year round, and it was filled with verdant parasol trees. It seemed like midsummer under the splendid sunshine. An evening breeze blew by; the leaves of the parasol trees covering the mountains rustled, casting shadows with the remaining light of dusk, as if drawing open the curtains to a very long, yet beautiful dream.

The giant bird landed on the platform outside the main palace. Accompanied by a prolonged cry that shook the mountains, it shook open its glittering plumage with a whoosh that seemed to cover the earth, then drew it back to its body again. When the plumes that filled the sky dispersed completely, a tall, young man appeared in its midst.

The man was nearly nine chi tall; he had distinct facial features and there was a bit of a dark gold colour within his pair of pitch black eyes. His upper body □□, the contours of his abdominal muscles could be clearly seen, and his skin was tinged with a bronze tone from head to toe. He wore a pitch black monarch skirt embroidered with golden patterns that hung at his waist, and it fluttered freely in the wind. He held a bundle in his hands as he walked slowly towards the main palace.

The palace was filled with young men and women who were walking about everywhere. When they saw the man pa.s.s by, all of them quickly fell to their knees.

"King Qing Xiong."

The skirt of the man called "Qing Xiong" flew high as he pa.s.sed through the palace"s atrium that was filled with parasol trees, and he made his way straight to the main palace. Night quietly fell; lamps were not yet lit in the main palace. Amidst the natural light shining in, there were three thrones located high up in the palace: two were empty, and a red-haired man dressed in a red garment sat in the middle throne.

His crimson hair seemed just like a blazing flame. His royal robe appeared to be a dazzling reddish-gold even within the dark room, as if a glorious morning sky was flowing through his robe. A long, blazing plume that extended from his belt dragged heavily across the ground. The royal robe on his upper body hung loosely from his shoulders, exposing half of his body that revealed his fair skin and powerful muscles.

When he heard the sound of footsteps, he looked up, and his eyes met with Qing Xiong"s.

He was the king of this palace, and the ruler of the snow region and firmament. Very few people in the world know about the revered name "Chong Ming" now; close to two hundred years flew by, the dynasties of the Divine Land had changed, and its former fame had vanished without a trace from history long ago.

He had a handsome face, blade-like eyebrows, and naturally radiated a dignified and stately air. A burn mark swelling could be seen on his neck that extended all the way below one of his ears.

After a prolonged silence, Qing Xiong finally spoke.

"When Kong Xuan died, he left you an orphan to raise."

"How did he die?" Chong Ming asked coldly.

Qing Xiong shook his head very slowly, and the palace fell deathly silent.

"I won"t raise the progeny of him and some human." Chong Ming said indifferently, "Go to the Sacrificial Cliff in the back mountains and find some place to just throw it away."

Qing Xiong knelt down on one knee and put down the bundle in his hand. When the bundle landed, it gradually grew larger and opened up. The four corners embroidered with lotus patterns emitted a dull l.u.s.ter, and when it was fully opened, a boy appeared in the bundle.

The boy was curled up as he lay sideways. He had beautiful features, but wore a ragged sackcloth robe. His pet.i.te body undulated slightly along with his breathing. He held something in his hands, and his curled up body seemed to be protecting that important item in his arms.

"In terms of human age, he"s four years old now." Qing Xiong continued.

Chong Ming stared at that child quietly.

Qing Xiong picked up the child. When he held the child in his arms, the child wriggled out of discomfort.

"He looks just like his father when he was little." Qing Xiong said.

With the child in his arms, he went up the steps and stopped in front of Chong Ming, then whispered, "Look — eyes, eyebrows."

Chong Ming didn"t change his reply, "I said, kill it."

Qing Xiong handed the child to Chong Ming. Chong Ming didn"t accept him, so Qing Xiong placed him on Chong Ming"s body. The child moved again, as if he was waking up from a deep sleep. He felt Chong Ming"s bare, yet warm chest and inadvertently grabbed his royal robe. At the same time, the item in his hand slipped out — it was a green peac.o.c.k feather.

"Give him a name. I"m leaving." Qing Xiong left the throne.

"Where are you going?" Chong Ming said coldly, "You"re leaving him by my side, but I"ll kill him when I think of that woman one of these days."

"Up to you." Qing Xiong turned around and faced Chong Ming, then took a few steps backwards and answered, "Di Renjie"s time is up. The human world is gradually becoming a land of yaos. The time for Mara"s revival is at hand, I must discover the truth behind Kong Xuan"s death."

"And I"ll be going now."

After he spoke, Qing Xiong leapt up, unfurled his wings in the air and turned into a giant black bird. With a flap of his wings, he let out a prolonged cry as he flew out of the palace and into the night sky.

When the child heard Qing Xiong"s cry, he suddenly awoke.

The peac.o.c.k feather made of jasper slipped off Chong Ming"s royal robe and landed on the floor, making "ding, ding" sounds as it bounced off the ground and rolled down the steps.

The child"s eyes turned to his hands. He realised that he was grabbing Chong Ming"s royal robe in his hands, and when he looked up, he saw Chong Ming"s eyes.

A teardrop fell onto the child"s face. With a bewildered expression, he reached out and caressed Chong Ming"s face, helping him wipe away his tears.

"Who are you?" The child asked timidly.

Hebei, Youzhou platform; b.l.o.o.d.y maple leaves swirled through the sky. One man and one woman stood in front of a building; the man was dressed in a blue gown, the woman looked beautiful and alluring, and they leaned against the parapet as they overlooked the grandiose mountains and rivers.

"O Heaven and Earth, how boundless and without end! I"m all alone, down my cheeks tears keep rolling on." The man dressed in a blue gown casually uttered, "Bo Yu truly is an unorthodox genius."

"Why are you in such a refined mood all of a sudden?" The woman stood behind him and said leisurely, "After Di Renjie"s death, the human world will gradually become a land of yaos."

"There"s no need to be too anxious." The man in the blue gown muttered, "We still don"t know if that old fart has any other back-up plans. How"s the preparation for Mara"s host going?"

The beautiful woman replied, "The host this time is perfectly willing so the merger has been extremely smooth, but we still need to observe for some time. Speaking of which, aren"t you afraid of stirring up trouble after killing Kong Xuan? What if that man on Taihang mountains stages a comeback…"

"If he wants to come, he would"ve done so long ago." The man in a blue gown chuckled. "Fortune was on the east bank thirty years ago, but it turns to the west after thirty years has pa.s.sed; the golden age of Yaojin Palace has pa.s.sed. Chong Ming is trapped by the flame poison, otherwise he wouldn"t have had to retire 200 years ago. Now, Chang"an belongs to both you and me."

The music of a Sizhu travelled over from afar. He approached the beautiful woman, smoothed out the hair on her temples and studied her face. He whispered, "Let"s go, His Majesty is still waiting."

Twelve years later, in Yaojin Palace at the summit of Taihang mountains, the sun shone brightly in midsummer and a motley of parasol tree shadows swept past like meteors.

A young man wore a dark red, sleeveless short gown and a robe embedded with green patterns was tied around his waist, just like a piece of beautiful jade. He sat on the branch of a parasol tree as he blended a bowl of white pollen in his hands. From time to time, his lively eyes would look into the main palace through the open windows.

Within the main palace, the gauze curtains fluttered in the wind. Chong Ming leaned on the royal couch as he looked out at the mountains bathed in sunshine.

"Hong Jun!"

"Shh…" The young man called Hong Jun raised his finger as he looked down.

The one who had called out was actually a carp yao that had both hands and feet. The yao looked extremely strange; its body was the torso of a carp nearly two chi long while two human legs covered in leg hair grew out from its torso that it stood on the ground with. Two hands emerged from behind its fins that hugged the parasol tree as it cried out upward.

"Come down, quick." The fish yao"s fish mouth was opening and closing now as it spat out a few bubbles. Its fish tail wagged as it urged, "You don"t know how to fly, if you fall and hurt yourself His Majesty will hit people!"

After blending the pollen, Hong Jun whispered downward, "Father has been sitting inside for the whole day without wanting to see anyone. He"d lose his temper if anyone goes in."

"He"s waiting for someone." The carp yao replied, "His Majesty isn"t in a good mood today."

Hong Jun finished blending the pollen in his hands and asked, "Who is he waiting for?"

The carp yao hemmed and hawed. Hong Jun jumped down from the tree and quickly walked around the main palace. Along the way, wherever the young man pa.s.sed by in Yaojin Palace, everyone would bow and call him "Your Highness". Hong Jun would nod in response. After arriving at the back of the main palace, Hong Jun threw out a hook, flew up, and landed on top of the palace.

He bent forward as he silently walked along the top of the palace towards the roof where Chong Ming was. He quietly lifted the glazed roof tiles, and with the medicine bowl in hand, he blew on it gently.

The medicinal powder flew out from the bowl like it was alive and glowed with a white light, all of which flew into the main palace. The carp yao turned sideways and watched from a distance outside the main palace.

Chong Ming faced the lofty Taihang mountains beyond the main palace as he dozed off on a couch. The crimson mark on his neck flashed. Pollen flew over, surrounding Chong Ming as it seemed to form a galaxy of light particles that gradually clung to the crimson mark and formed a layer of frost over it.

The carp yao"s mouth opened a little wider.

Along with Chong Ming"s even breaths, a little bit of the pollen was suddenly sucked in, and at the instant it was sucked in, Chong Ming suddenly opened his eyes and his expression turned extremely strange.

I succeeded! Hong Jun thought to himself. He jumped down the main palace and observed Chong Ming with the carp yao, only to see Chong Ming stand up in a hurry and observe his surroundings. His facial features twitched as he looked out of the palace.

"Father…" Hong Jun was delighted, and just when he was about to call out, Chong Ming abruptly turned around.

"AH… CHOO!" Along with the earth-shattering sneeze from Chong Ming, a fireball the size of a carriage instantly burst out from within the main palace and shot straight towards the mountains outside with a destructive force. It hit the mountainside with a loud rumble.

The mountains shook; within Yaojin Palace, the attendants instantly shouted in panic.

"It"s an earthquake!"

"AH… CHOO!"

Another fireball shot out and destroyed one of the white jade pillars of the main palace. Hong Jun let out a loud cry, then grabbed the carp yao and lunged into the atrium to hide in the pond.

"Ah choo, ah choo! Ah choo!"

Chong Ming sneezed three times in a row. Fireb.a.l.l.s burst out and set the parasol trees in the atrium ablaze, and within an instant, the entire Yaojin Palace transformed into a sea of fire.

"There"s fire! Put it out!"

A fireball fell into the pond in the atrium. The carp yao instantly wailed in anguish, "It"s so hot ah!" Before anyone could register anything, Hong Jun grabbed the carp yao and climbed out of the pond. He scurried around under crumbling parasol trees that had caught on fire, then threw it over the wall before turning around and running towards Chong Ming.

"Father!" Hong Jun ran into the main palace. There was already blazing fire alight within the main palace. Chong Ming covered his mouth and nose, glanced at Hong Jun, and Hong Jun quickly said, "Father! I wanted to help you…"

Chong Ming immediately turned around and unexpectedly sucked in a breath of air. He couldn"t hold it back anymore this time — flames that could blot out the sky burst out with a blast that turned the entire main palace into a sea of fire. Smoldering flames surrounded Hong Jun on all sides, yet Chong Ming darted towards him and suddenly pulled him to his front to protect him in his arms.

A phoenix cry pierced through the sky; before anyone could register anything, multi-coloured wings unfurled from Chong Ming"s back that protected Hong Jun and himself in its midst. It emitted a chrome yellow light; under the sacred protection of the phoenix, one wouldn"t lose even a strand of hair on their body even if they were submerged in a sea of fire. Both of their garments were burnt until not a single thread was left, revealing their naked bodies.

Hong Jun turned around to look at his surroundings; Yaojin Palace"s main palace was already set ablaze by the Sacred Fire of Samadhi.

Birds flew over from all directions, bringing along with them the acc.u.mulated snow within the Taihang mountains. From bottom to top, they rushed towards the summit like a waterfall in reverse and whistled through the air as they filled up the interior of Yaojin Palace. The blizzard drowned out the flames in an instant before melting one after another.

Two hours later, black stains could still be seen on Hong Jun"s face as he stood outside the study.

"Aiya!"

The ruler hit his palm and Hong Jun cried out in pain.

"How many times does that make this?!" Chong Ming had changed into regular clothes and he held a ruler in hand. He said coldly, "Say it yourself!"

Hong Jun hemmed and hawed. Chong Ming hit him with the ruler again, and Hong Jun cried out in pain again.

"Do you want to burn yourself to death?" Chong Ming chided angrily, "Stand in the front yard until it"s dark, otherwise you"re not allowed to eat!"

Chong Ming hit him for the third time, and he hit him particularly hard this time which even made Hong Jun"s tears fly out.

"Get your a.s.s over there to face the wall!" Chong Ming shouted angrily.

So Hong Jun could only hang his head as he walked over to the yard to face a wall. The carp scratched the scales on its body and followed him over. It squatted beside Hong Jun, then turned its head sideways to scoop up some of the melted snow in the yard to drink.

Chong Ming was utterly enraged. He had to suffer such an unexpected calamity even though he was just lying down at home. When he walked out of the courtyard, he whistled and birds began flying over from all directions, carrying away the burnt branches and rubble washed away by the snow in the main palace with their beaks.

"I told you not to mess around." The carp yao said by his side, "How many times does that make this? Your Father was originally in a bad mood today too."

"How would I know that he"d sneeze." Hong Jun said, "I searched painstakingly for three years just to find this snow lotus powder!"

"All of them already said." The carp yao answered, "Your father"s flame poison can"t be cured, stop tormenting yourself!"

Hong Jun then stopped talking. He stood in front of the wall as his punishment, and after standing for awhile, he shifted his weight to his other leg, then shifted again and was a little bored. So he started studying the burnt gray marks on the courtyard"s wall. It looked like a landscape painting, so Hong Jun reached out and wiped it a bit to make out the outline of the mountain. He was greatly satisfied and thought it seemed quite like a splash-ink painting.

"Your father will scold you again if your hand"s dirty!" The carp yao reminded.

Hong Jun quickly answered, "I"ll wash my hands before eating."

In the afternoon, black smoke was still curling around the main palace. The embers were still warm; snow had melted everywhere and the ground was in a mess. When Chong Ming saw this scene, he really felt like weeping but had no tears.

The cry of a bird travelled over. A giant black bird covered in golden light flew towards the summit of Taihang mountains. When it landed, it turned into Qing Xiong, who was stunned when he walked past the atrium.

"Why is this place in such a state?" Qing Xiong asked in astoundment. He called a young attendant over and asked, "Did an enemy come by?"

The attendant did not dare to answer and only said that His Majesty Chong Ming was waiting in a side palace, so Qing Xiong turned around and entered the side yard.

"Qing Xiong!" A cheer sounded. Before he could even take a few steps, Hong Jun had already pounced over and hugged Qing Xiong"s neck, his whole body riding on his back.

—

In light of the Tianbao Donghua PV that was just released, I was very hyped up and ended up translating a quick teaser chap. If anyone is interested in picking this up, please contact me on Discord @Zryuu#6056! In the meantime, I"ll be updating the novel at least once a month until someone picks it up!

Eng Sub of Tianbao"s Donghua PV:

Also, for anyone who"s wondering, I left the t.i.tle as Tianbao Fuyao Lu cause that"s what it was translated as in the PV.