Scene: Eastern Skies Pavilion – Middle Realm
A realm floating on sacred lotuses and war banners, home to cultivators who once warred against gods and dragons alike. It is here we find Fairy Yue Lian, now known as Lady Lotus Blade—once a soft-hearted herbalist, now an icy empress cloaked in divine flame.
She knelt before her sect's ancient mirror of fate, gazing into its shimmering waters.
In the depths of the mirror… a man in tattered farming robes, laughing as he sat beneath a vine-covered tree, surrounded by divine animals.
Her hand trembled.
Yue Lian: "You're still alive… Yuan."
Flashback: Mortal Realm, 70 Years Ago
She was once a kind disciple from the medicine sect, staying often in the Hidden Farmer Village to harvest herbs. That's where she met Li Yuan, a young man planting vegetables under the moonlight.
They were in love. She gave him a pendant made of spiritual grass. He promised to build a home with her under the star tree.
But then came a war between sects. Her master offered her a chance to ascend—on the condition she sever all mortal ties and aid in the destruction of the "useless farmer who hoarded sacred herbs."
She agreed.
That night, when the flames swallowed the village, she was the one who marked his house with a death talisman.
Scene: Present – Lotus Blade Palace Balcony
Now, she watches younger disciples train, none aware of her past.
A younger female disciple bows beside her.
"Master Yue, there's talk of a divine realm forming from the barren planes—one untouched by all major sects. No origin recorded."
Her eyes narrow.
"A realm born from nothing?"
The disciple nods. "And… rumors say its air smells like wild mint and gourd flowers."
Her breath catches.
Yue Lian (thinking):Only he grew mint in his farm. Even gods found it too stubborn.
Scene: Upper Realm – Divine Farmstead
Li Yuan waters glowing soil while two divine goats bicker in the background. The system floats beside him in jelly-form.
System (mock-serious):
"Warning: Threat Level Love Approaching! Former traitorous flame inbound. Prepare emotional shields, sir!"
Li Yuan: "She chose power. She got it. Let her keep it."
But as he says it… his eyes glance toward the shrine sapling where the pendant made of spiritual grass now grows as a flower.
Final Scene: Eastern Skies Pavilion
Yue Lian stands at a cliff's edge.
"I know he hates me… but I must see what he's become. Just once."
Behind her, her Sect Elders whisper.
"If that realm bears divine qi, we must conquer it before others do."
She doesn't respond—but in her hand… she still holds the second half of the spiritual grass pendant.
QUOTE
Love twisted by ambition. Power cursed by regret. What will she find when she enters a realm where no one is welcome… without the farmer's permission?
END IF CHAPTER