With these words, everyone understood.
So this one had no interest in becoming the Jade Emperor—she was purely targeting the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li.
She wasn’t familiar with them and might not have initially intended to bombard the palaces of the other immortals at all.
They had been implicated by Li Jing!
This bastard had his own grudge, with no shortage of magical power or treasures, clearly capable of resistance.
But because he couldn’t bear to see his beloved pagoda, which he shared his bed with day and night, suffer a mere scratch, he sacrificed others’ palaces to protect himself.
What a malicious mind!
It had long been rumored that he didn’t get along with the little follower by the Third Prince’s side. Coincidentally, the Third Prince had descended to the mortal realm to vanquish demons these past few days, and Li Jing had likely taken advantage of his son’s absence to mistreat her!
Some palaces near the Cloud Tower Palace were left untouched, yet theirs had vanished into thin air. It was possible that the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King had seized the opportunity to settle personal grudges.
He had wreaked havoc on colleagues he had once looked down upon or disliked, then shifted all the blame onto Shen Fuxing, retreating unscathed as the victim.
This wasn’t human—this was a damn beast!
Taibai Jinxing split off a strand of divine consciousness to join the group of immortals whispering nearby. With just a few words, he helped reverse the public opinion in Shen Fuxing’s favor.
At this point, that was all he could do.
This move was far too reckless—a capital offense punishable by death. She couldn’t possibly be unaware of the consequences.
What exactly had Li Jing done to her? For just those few kicks from that day, Shen Fuxing would never have lost her sanity.
She was an exceptionally clever child. Since she had schemed against Heavenly King Li, she must have foreseen the consequences, and Li Jing’s kicks were also within her expectations.
Moreover, she had been eagerly looking forward to reuniting with her grandfather. Unless pushed to the brink, she would never disregard her own life, preferring mutual destruction just to kill Li Jing.
And then there was that black-red pearl. The more Taibai Jinxing looked at it, the more familiar it seemed, but he couldn’t recall where he had seen it.
With such terrifying power, where had Shen Fuxing obtained it?
Taibai Jinxing furrowed his brow slightly, casting a cold glance at Li Jing. He remained silent, observing the situation unfold.
Wenqu Xing stepped forward and said, “Fairy, do not act rashly. Today, all the immortals are present. Whatever grievances you have with Heavenly King Li, why not tell us?”
“If the Heavenly King truly wronged you, His Majesty, in front of all the immortals, will certainly not show favoritism.”
Shen Fuxing sneered inwardly.
She had already committed a capital offense—who needed their judgment? It was merely a ploy to buy time and devise a countermeasure.
Upon hearing this, the other immortals also urged her to reconsider. Shen Fuxing frowned tightly, finding their clamor nothing but noise.
Did these idiots think they were acting in a TV drama?
The villain schemes meticulously, about to eliminate the protagonist, and a bunch of NPCs gather around to plead. The villain actually hesitates, waiting for them to finish speaking.
If they really finished, he’d have missed his chance.
Why dawdle when success is within reach? They’re just asking for death.
Shen Fuxing paid no heed to the cawing crows around her. She smiled at Li Jing and detonated all the Divine Fire Pills in one breath.
It was just a pity that, despite scheming for so long, she hadn’t been able to see her grandfather one last time.
What heavenly will? That was just nonsense to fool the gullible. She only believed in human effort determining outcomes. That day, she had been careless. When Celestial Master Zhang came to tell her of her grandfather’s whereabouts, she hadn’t noticed Li Jing eavesdropping behind the door.
That was why Li Jing’s anger, which should have been directed solely at her, had implicated her grandfather.
Today, you and I shall perish together. If I can’t have what I want, you won’t live either!
A blinding white light erupted from Shen Fuxing as the epicenter, like an exploding atomic bomb.
The immortals present had assumed she would at least hear them out, never expecting her to be so decisive.
Just from the scorching, overwhelming shockwaves in the air, the gods could sense the immense power of this explosion.
Oh no! Too late to dodge!!
The Jade Emperor was momentarily stunned.
He had thought Shen Fuxing was merely wearing those strange beads to intimidate them, hoping he would take her side.
He never imagined she truly had no desire to live.
“Hurry! Protect His Majesty!!”
“Shen Fuxing!”
“Little Sister Shen!”
“Child, don’t do it!”
Amid the deafening roar, Shen Fuxing faintly heard several familiar voices calling her name.
Both her wrists were simultaneously bound tightly, as if trying to pull her back.
But it was a step too late.
Lingxiao Palace seemed to be caught in a magnitude-ten earthquake. Purple thunder crackled and exploded, desolate flames roared out, scorching heat surged and howled, turning the place into a living hell, as if trapped inside a furnace.
“Concentrating the explosion in one spot maximizes its power. You foolish girl, so clever one moment, so foolish the next.”
It wasn’t an illusion—Shen Fuxing was one hundred percent certain her head had been knocked.
“Ouch!” she cried, tears welling in her slightly reddened eyes as she instinctively raised her hands to cover her head.
At the same moment, Nezha’s Sky-Mixing Silk and Taibai Jinxing’s fly-whisk pulled her back in opposite directions with such force that Shen Fuxing gasped, feeling as though her arms were about to be dislocated.
A fly-whisk, far more exquisite in craftsmanship and material than Taibai Jinxing’s and appearing exceptionally high-grade, swept across both her hands, finally freeing her.
By the time the Jade Emperor and the assembled gods regained their senses, the Purple Thunder Desolate Fire had vanished, and Lingxiao Palace remained intact.
The cries of cranes echoed endlessly, a strange fragrance wafted through the air, and the sounds of strings and pipes played without being touched.
The one who had arrived was none other than Taishang Laojun!
The Jade Emperor descended from his high platform, and all the immortals bowed in unison.
Shen Fuxing, who not only survived but was also lifted high into the air by a pair of large hands holding her under her arms: “??”
This was the second genius in the Three Realms, besides himself, capable of refining the Thunderous Divine Fire Pill.
This little face, this fiery temper—I adore it immensely.
Taishang Laojun gazed seriously at the bewildered Shen Fuxing for a long while, then bounced her up and down like a father holding a child, one hand holding the fly-whisk, the other supporting her bottom.
“Rise.”
His aged yet authoritative voice echoed, and only then did the immortals stand, including the Jade Emperor, who had straightened up after offering a respectful salute. The entire group was momentarily stunned in unison.
Taibai Jinxing’s thoughts suddenly cleared.
He remembered.
What Shen Fuxing had used wasn’t some strange bead at all—the explosive effect was unmistakably that of the Thunderous Divine Fire Pill, which had once slain demonic beasts and venomous dragons during the primordial era!
No matter how she had obtained it, this was a sure thing.
With the heavy stone in his heart finally lifted, Taibai Jinxing lowered his gaze, stroked his beard, and allowed a faint smile to curl his lips, preparing to fade into the background and enjoy the show.
“Everyone, do you smell something burnt?” Wenqu Xing frowned, opening his folding fan to cover his nose.
Reminded by his words, the crowd finally snapped out of the immense shock brought by the scene before them, covering their mouths and noses with displeased expressions.
What in the world is that? It smells awful.
Following the scent, they saw the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King lying on the ground, charred black like charcoal, his face as dark as soot, his armor crumbling, and atop his head, a freshly made, still-smoking explosion hairstyle.
Some of his eyes were still open, but he had actually been gone for a while.
Glancing to the left, the Ruyi Golden Hoop Staff lay close beside him, faint traces of purple thunder lingering on its surface.
Sun Wukong, still wearing the face of the Handsome Monkey King, flashed his usual cheeky grin. “Oops, my apologies! I just wanted to catch up with Heavenly King Li and forgot that metal conducts electricity.”
“………………”
Silence fell over Lingxiao Palace.
The Jade Emperor had no time to deal with him at the moment. He cautiously glanced at Taishang Laojun, who currently appeared rather amiable. Though his expression remained calm, his teeth chattered uncontrollably inside his mouth.
Earlier, rage had clouded his judgment. But now, seeing Laojun in person, he slowly began to recall that Shen Fuxing’s countless beads looked strikingly similar to Laojun’s Thunderous Divine Fire Pills.
The way the elder held the child, the young Celestial Attendant who possessed the formula for the divine pills, and the child who insisted on finding her grandfather as soon as she arrived in the Heavenly Court…
C-c-could this kid possibly be Laojun’s granddaughter?
The Jade Emperor started to reflect on whether his earlier tone, when ordering Shen Fuxing to kneel, had been too harsh. Did he frighten the child? Probably not… right?
Looking around at the expressions of the other deities, Shen Fuxing—who had been inexplicably saved by Taishang Laojun and was now being cradled like a three-year-old—was utterly bewildered.
She didn’t know this old man at all.