Chapter 78 (3/3): Purple-Robed Fairy, Killing Two Birds with One Arrow

“What? You expect me to wait?” The man’s face darkened instantly. 

“Do you know who I am? I am Lou Gold Dog, one of the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions. You’re just minor Celestial Officials, yet you dare stop me?”  

Su Fu’s anger flared, ‘No, this was ridiculous. A candidate had become a true god of one of the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions? That rank was leagues above the Heavenly River Navy.’

If the Heavenly River Navy were ordinary soldiers, then the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions were like local governors—one was administration, the other execution. 

The gap was huge.  

A Stellar Official would be treated with respect and privilege wherever they went. 

They could even enter the Peach Banquet and share in the precious peaches.  

And herself… well, never mind. 

She was only a minor maidservant, at best serving tea and attending to the gods during the banquet.  

Su Fu clenched her teeth, ‘How could the starting identities differ so vastly?’ 

Others were high-ranking Stellar Lords, and she was not only a maid but a demon in disguise.  

How did she know this man was a candidate? 

Because he was so recklessly arrogant.  

A true Stellar Lord would never behave like this. 

The Heavenly Court’s rules were strict, and all deities had their duties and constraints.  

Not to mention the Stellar Lords—Taibai Jinxing himself, the Jade Emperor’s favored official, would never act so recklessly on the Queen Mother’s grounds.  

This man was abusing his status for privilege, completely ignorant of the Chinese divine system. 

In the Heavenly Court, the higher the rank, the stricter the adherence to rules.  

“This kind of lawlessness must come from candidates of privilege-heavy divine systems. They’re used to the rights their gods enjoy and think they can run wild here too. Maybe it’s a candidate from the Greek divine system? Their gods are full of scheming and rivalry—Zeus himself often acts on whims, doing as he pleases.”  

“Or perhaps the Norse system? They value strength and combat. Whoever’s strongest rules, and defying authority is common. But the Chinese system is completely different. If you cause trouble here, the heavenly laws will come after you. If not the laws, then the Heavenly Dao.”  

At that moment, Su Fu noticed the expression of the purple-robed fairy beside her, Little Seven, suddenly turn grim.  

Little Seven stared at the disruptive “Star Lord” with disgust, murmuring, “They invited too many riffraff to this banquet again. There really are all kinds of people. I should tell the Queen Mother to kick them all out.”  

Su Fu was taken aback.  

That was… not right.  

Moreover, in Little Seven’s eyes was not only disgust but cruelty and malice—naked hostility.  

There was even a strange anticipation, as if waiting for those people’s misfortune.  

Su Fu’s scalp tingled, ‘No true Seven Fairy would ever say such things.’

The Seven Fairies serving the Queen Mother were famed in mythology for their gentleness and kindness.  

But the “Little Seven” before her was full of malice, utterly unlike the genuine article.  

A sudden thought flashed in her mind: ‘this “Little Seven” was imitating, but maybe had not truly become a fairy.’  

“It still retains the vicious and brutal nature of an abnormal being, not yet fully erased…”  

She suddenly recalled the Hei Bai Wuchang she’d seen in the S-level Underworld Instance not long ago.  

Those two Underworld officials showed almost no abnormal signs—their words and actions were indistinguishable from true gods.  

“So, this is the difference between A-level and S-level Instances? Abnormals in A-level Instances can simulate a god’s appearance and basic powers, but cannot fully replicate them.”  

At that moment, the Stellar Lord was already surrounded by several Heavenly River Navy soldiers, their spears aimed at him as they tightened the encirclement.  

The Star Lord looked flustered and said, “You can’t treat me like this!”  

The leader of the Navy spoke coldly, “Trespassing into Yaochi’s inner grounds and disrupting the Heavenly Court’s order—escort them all away!”  

Amid the Star Lord’s terrified shouts, he and his attendants were forcefully taken away by the Navy, soon disappearing from the Yaochi entrance.  

Seeing this, Su Fu’s heart sank.  

The direction the Heavenly River Navy was escorting the Star Lord was clearly not the same as his arrival path.  

“Where… are they taking them?”  

Or rather, where were the candidates being taken?  

If the abnormals here still retained some of their brutal nature, what would they do to the candidates?  

A chill ran down Su Fu’s spine.  

Only now did she truly understand what an A-level Holy Land Relic Instance meant.  

The abnormals here were different from ordinary demons.

Because of their close connection to the gods, they were not only powerful but also retained their intelligence and ability to think.  

A ridiculous and terrifying thought emerged in her mind:  

‘Unlike the S-level exam papers, did these abnormals not even realize they were abnormals?  They endlessly approached the divine roles they played, attempting to perfectly replicate the words and deeds of those gods. Yet because their nature could not be completely erased, they constantly teetered on the edge between order and chaos.’  

Such beings were even more dangerous than the perfectly acting abnormals in the S-level Instances.  

Because they were unpredictable.  

The Hei Bai Wuchang in the S-level Instance acted fully according to divine rules.  

But the abnormals in the A-level Instance mostly followed Heavenly Court rules, yet might suddenly erupt their true nature at any moment.  

This semi-authentic state was far more perilous than abnormals fully “in character.”  

No wonder her exam paper had been graded C-level in the S-level Instance—because there was order there.  

Su Fu suddenly felt everything before her growing unclear.  

If Yaochi appeared ethereal and magnificent to the candidates, what did it look like to the abnormals?  

How did these simulated buildings, scenery, even the “gods” themselves exist in the abnormals’ perception?  

Just then, Little Seven suddenly turned her head and gave Su Fu a bright smile.  

“They’ve been dealt with,” she said cheerfully and with satisfaction.

“Let’s hurry. Don’t delay the real task.”  

Su Fu held back the urge to retreat and whispered, “Alright.”  

The Heavenly River Navy escorted the so-called “Lou Gold Dog Star Lord” toward the Celestial River.  

Yuelun Yuan gripped his spear tightly, bringing up the rear of the group.  

The man still struggled, shouting obstinately, “Where are you taking me? If the Queen Mother can’t see me, you’ll all be doomed!”  

The Navy captain was expressionless, not even bothering to reply to the threats.  

Soon, the group reached the edge of the Celestial River.  

Here, the river narrowed sharply, forming a turbulent gorge where the water roared and thick mist filled the air, obscuring the opposite bank.  

“We’ve arrived,” the captain said simply, and the group halted.  

“What do you intend to do?!” Lou Gold Dog finally realized something was wrong, panic-stricken, struggling harder.

“I’m a distinguished guest invited to the Peach Banquet!”  

The captain looked at him, a faint smile playing at his lips.

He drew his spear and drove it straight into the man’s chest.  

Lou Gold Dog’s scream was cut off abruptly.

Staring down in disbelief at the wound, fresh blood flowed steadily, staining his exquisite star-patterned robe.  

Seeing this, the Navy quickly and mercilessly struck down the remaining attendants without hesitation or expression.  

Once all lay in pools of blood, the captain calmly ordered, “Throw them all in. Make sure nothing remains. They’re precious fertilizer—don’t waste it.”  

‘Fertilizer?’ 

Yuelun Yuan’s heart jolted at the word.  

At the captain’s command, the others promptly dragged the bodies forward.

Yuelun Yuan almost instinctively joined in, pushing each corpse into the river.  

But as he neared the Celestial River, he saw countless indistinct things floating on the turbulent surface.

Fighting nausea, he pushed the corpses into the river.  

The moment each body fell in, the surrounding water seemed to boil, tiny bubbles rising as a chilling swallowing sound echoed.  

In no time, all the bodies were swallowed by the river, leaving no trace.  

A thought suddenly surfaced in Yuelun Yuan’s mind: ‘It eats very cleanly.’ 

The captain nodded with satisfaction, “Well done. Let’s go back.”  

The group turned and walked toward Yaochi.

Yuelun Yuan cast a long, penetrating gaze at the surging Celestial River before leaving.  

‘What was it nourishing? Or what was growing?’  

He always felt something was growing, leveling up, which was why it constantly needed “nutrients.”  

Thinking of this, Yuelun Yuan recalled the two maidservants he had met earlier by Yaochi.  

“That white-clothed candidate… is probably doomed.”  

Back at his post, Yuelun Yuan’s expression had returned to normal, standing expressionless among the Heavenly River Navy ranks.  

At that moment, more candidates attempted to approach Yaochi.  

‘More suicidal fools,’ Yuelun Yuan thought without emotion.  

This was the true difficulty of the Holy Land Relic Instance.  

You couldn’t solve it with previous problem-solving methods.  

In ordinary Instances, candidates often crushed most abnormals with their divine skills.  

But here, the abnormals had completely changed.  

Like Divine Summoners ascending to B-rank and undergoing fundamental changes, these abnormals were undergoing essential transformations too.  

They even began laying traps, enticing candidates to make mistakes.  

Yuelun Yuan thought: ‘only the Core Families knew the core truths about these mythic abnormals. Ordinary candidates would never learn this—hence the huge gap.’  

Therefore, with the increased difficulty, the advantage lay with him.

Looks like he could earn a good grade this time.  

Su Fu quietly slowed her pace, trailing one step behind the purple-robed fairy.  

“This isn’t right…”  

She recalled the suicidal candidate and the dispute with the celestial attendant.

Who told him to come here?

Who gave him permission to act like that?  

The attendant’s retreat only encouraged the candidate’s arrogance.  

Until the very end…  

Su Fu suddenly realized—it wasn’t the candidate’s own choice.

From the moment he entered the Instance, he had been deliberately led step by step to break rules, then taken away.  

It was like… the abnormals were consciously setting traps and luring prey.  

If this guess was correct, Su Fu realized the exam’s difficulty was not the competition among candidates, but the battle between candidates and abnormals.  

Or more precisely, the candidates no longer held overwhelming advantage.

They had to use the entire rule system to protect themselves and eliminate abnormals.  

Su Fu lowered her eyes, watching the purple fairy’s flowing robes, even more beautiful in the sunlight.  

‘If the abnormals lure candidates to their deaths… Then this ‘Seven Fairy Little Seven’—does she truly not know her demonic and candidate identities?’ 

“Wait…” her heart skipped a beat.

She had thought she successfully fooled this Seven Fairy Little Seven, but was she actually walking right into the other’s trap at the moment she felt safe?  

Was she the one being led?  

The abnormals suddenly became clearer.

For example, why was this Little Seven so kind, personally taking her to deliver invitations?

Even delaying the task of picking peaches in the Peachtree Orchard for this?  

Deliver?  

Was she that important?  

Something wasn’t right.  

Besides, delivering invitations didn’t seem like a task for an ordinary maidservant.  

The Queen Mother had her own messenger divine beasts—Qingluan and Cai Feng—who were responsible for delivering important messages.  

Wouldn’t it make more sense for such crucial invitations to the Peach Banquet to be delivered by them, as a mark of respect?

Why send someone like herself?  

A thought suddenly struck her: perhaps… the invitations had already been delivered.  

If so, then where was Little Seven actually leading her?  

Su Fu recalled Little Seven’s appearance in detail—not just her face but every cloud pattern on her purple robes, every pearl decoration, all vividly.  

She lowered her eyes.

If she wanted to enter the Peachtree Orchard, why sneak around?

Wasn’t there a perfect opportunity right in front of her?  

Maybe she could… kill two birds with one stone.  

Su Fu’s gaze fixed on the purple-robed fairy’s retreating figure.

Just then, Little Seven suddenly turned back.  

She smiled brightly and said cheerfully, “We’re here.”