Volume One: The Lich Cataclysm 140. Wangshu Seizes Her Opportunity, Transforms into the Moon of the Netherworld

"Your Majesty!"

Seeing Wangshu in such a state, Changxi steeled herself and called out boldly.

Only at Changxi’s call did Wangshu slowly return from her trance, her expression complicated as she looked at Changxi.

“It’s nothing. You’re right; great changes are upon us. Perhaps this is where my opportunity lies.”

Suddenly, Wangshu’s gaze grew clear, and in an instant, she seemed to have entered a state of enlightenment.

“This is enlightenment! Judging by her earlier behavior, Her Majesty has not yet broken through, only lacking a fateful chance. Now she’s entered enlightenment directly—doesn’t that mean her opportunity has arrived, and her breakthrough is imminent?”

Understanding this, Changxi hurried to seal off the Lunar Star. Even then, worried it might not be enough, she set up countless layers of wards and prohibitions.

Only after finishing did she breathe a small sigh of relief.

What she didn’t notice was that, as she was setting up the protections, a milky white ray of light shot out from the heart of the Lunar Star, flashing and vanishing straight into Wangshu’s body.

Changxi had thought this enlightenment would consume a long time, but to her surprise, it wasn’t long before Wangshu awoke from her trance.

Yet when she found Wangshu’s cultivation unchanged, disappointment washed over her. It was a sobering reminder of how much harder breakthroughs became the higher one climbed.

“What are you thinking about?”

Wangshu, seeing Changxi’s expression, unexpectedly felt her mood improve.

“Nothing!” Changxi quickly tried to conceal her thoughts upon hearing the question.

Wangshu didn’t press further; she merely shook her head with a gentle smile, then said to Changxi, “Let’s go.”

Changxi, startled, didn’t immediately react. “Your Majesty, where are we going?”

“Didn’t I just have an enlightenment? It’s time to seek the opportunity for a breakthrough!”

Seeing Changxi’s bewilderment, Wangshu grinned playfully. “Well? Still dazed? The more you stand there, the more muddled you become. Come now!”

Without another word, Wangshu turned and flew off.

Changxi hurried to follow.

As she did, she realized they were heading towards the Blood Sea.

“How strange—why is Her Majesty going to the Blood Sea? Isn’t it said that few living beings can survive there? Even though Her Majesty is powerful, there’s no need to go to such a place…”

Yet no matter how she pondered, no answers came to her. She could only hasten after Wangshu.

When Changxi finally arrived at the edge of the Blood Sea, she found Wangshu had been waiting there for some time.

Wangshu looked at Changxi and frowned. “Well, you’re a bit slow. I suppose I’ll have to endure the trouble of bringing you along, otherwise we might miss the critical moment.”

With that, Wangshu’s power surged, and a pale moon-colored ribbon shot out, wrapping around Changxi and carrying her swiftly into the Blood Sea.

Changxi remembered that upon hearing Wangshu’s words, she’d wanted to let Her Majesty go ahead alone—after all, the matter of seeking the Way was paramount. Who could have predicted that, in the next moment, Wangshu would simply bring her along with a magical ribbon!

“We’re here! Stay on the sidelines and watch. As a fellow of the Lunar lineage, this may prove of great benefit to you as well.”

With a flick of her ribbon, Wangshu set Changxi down securely at the source of the River of Forgetfulness.

“So this is the river’s source, and those must be the Flowers of Reincarnation… How beautiful they are!”

Staring at the banks of the river, Changxi could not help but sigh in awe.

“Beautiful? Sometimes, the more alluring a thing is, the more poisonous it becomes.”

Wangshu, hearing Changxi’s words, commented quietly. Something seemed to cross her mind, for her gaze became lost, fixed upon the flowers before her.

But soon, Changxi noticed Wangshu’s eyes grow clear again, and now they were filled with an unwavering resolve, as if nothing in the world could ever shake her heart.

Suddenly, a gentle aura appeared in their midst.

“It is the Merciful Lady of Tranquility.”

Upon seeing the newcomer, Wangshu spoke directly.

“What brings you both to the Netherworld?”

The Lady of Tranquility smiled softly at Wangshu and Changxi.

“I imagine you already know, Lady. We are here to seek the Way.”

Wangshu made her purpose plain, without hesitation.

Hearing this, the Lady of Tranquility said nothing more, gazing at the two calmly.

Wangshu swept her eyes over the depths of the Netherworld, then parted her vermillion lips.

“Such is the fickleness of fate! I was born upon the Lunar Star, have cultivated for countless ages, and long ago reached my current realm. Yet I have sensed no opportunity to seek the Way—who would have thought my destiny would be fulfilled here in the Netherworld?”

Both Lady Tranquility and Changxi listened in silence as Wangshu spoke. It was clear that, even now, a trace of regret and hope lingered in her heart.

But as the falling flower finds no current, so are dreams unfulfilled.

“Enough. Perhaps this is fate.”

In the end, only a long sigh remained.

In that moment, the two saw Wangshu’s aura shift utterly—a state beyond words, one that could only be felt.

Meanwhile, atop Mount Buzhou, a Daoist in blue gazed across infinite space, his eyes falling upon the Netherworld. He said nothing, only watched.

Within the Netherworld, as Wangshu’s entire being reached its zenith, her lips parted:

“The Earthly Path lies below; I, Wangshu, sense a lack in this Netherworld—darkness without light. I am willing to become the Moon of the Underworld, to illuminate its depths, and bring a glimmer of light to all wandering souls! Let the Nether Moon arise!”

As her words rang through the void, all the great powers of the primordial world learned of her sacrifice for the Netherworld.

At that moment, Changxi’s face changed dramatically at Wangshu’s proclamation.

“Lady Wangshu!”

She rushed forward, desperate to stop Wangshu from becoming the Moon of the Underworld.

But the Lady of Tranquility simply raised her hand. A gentle surge of power bound Changxi, holding her fast in place.

“Lady Tranquility, why are you doing this?” Changxi’s eyes pleaded with her.

“Do not be anxious. This is something that not even I can change, let alone you. Besides, this is both her tribulation and her opportunity.”

Indeed, Wangshu’s tribulation had not fully passed—she had merely seized the chance hidden within it.

“But…”

Even after hearing these words, Changxi could not calm her heart.

On Mount Buzhou, the Daoist in blue continued to watch in silence.

Meanwhile, within the Palace of the Purple Tenuity Star, the Emperor of the Purple Tenuity turned his gaze toward the Netherworld as well.

Watching Wangshu’s actions, he was suddenly struck by understanding, and in that instant he made a decision he had always hesitated to make—a decision that would alter the course of his destiny forever.

Back in the Netherworld, Wangshu’s body suddenly burst forth with a brilliant yet gentle moon-white light.

Changxi gasped. “That is—!”

Even as she spoke, high above in the ancient starry sky, a thread of essence descended from the Lunar Star, along with a purest sphere of lunar brilliance.

Answering the call of the Lunar Star, Wangshu’s form turned from moon-white to a deep, misty blue, transforming into a luminous source, and Wangshu was no more.