Normally, the vegetable seeds in the system space would mature in less than a quarter of an hour after being sown. But these seeds had only just sprouted tiny green tips after several days, which was obviously abnormal.
The system complained, "You really lack common sense. The space is rich in spiritual energy, and with my manipulation and cultivation, the seeds grow fast. These seeds here have no one to take care of them. It's already good luck that so many have survived!"
Yaohua poked the sprout tip with her finger and said dejectedly, "Okay, it seems I can only go and dig wild vegetables then."
The system said slowly, "However, there is a way. As long as you use your spiritual power to ripen them."
Yaohua's eyes immediately lit up. A faint, fiery red spiritual power emerged from her fingertips and landed on the tiny seedlings in the soil.
The vegetable seedlings shot out of the ground and their stems and leaves grew vigorously, reaching as tall as a person!
Then, it was covered with fist - sized chilies. With a bang, they burst, and a pungent smell spread, accompanied by tiny sparks.
Yaohua was choked to tears. She quickly cast a spell to disperse the spicy air and angrily questioned, "System, did you deliberately set me up?"
The system was also helpless. "Host, this is just a tiny chili. It's normal for it to burst when you use so much spiritual power!"
"But I didn't use much spiritual power... cough, cough..." Yaohua wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and complained.
The system was speechless. "You're a strong person at the Nirvana Realm. Even a tiny bit of your spiritual power is ten times stronger than that of an ordinary cultivator."
Yaohua reluctantly accepted this explanation and continued to ripen the vegetable seeds.
What she didn't notice was that Chongming was standing quietly not far away, watching every change in her expression clearly.
After many failures, Yaohua finally returned home with a full basket of vegetables.
The couple cooked. The clattering of pots and pans created a feeling of peace in the years.
At noon, they slept on the same couch. After getting up, they either read books, took care of the flowers and plants, or tended to the fields.
After dinner, as twilight fell, they sat on the steps, watching the clouds in the sky. Yaohua quietly leaned her head on Chongming's shoulder.
But just then, an unexpected guest arrived.
The fox girl appeared in the small courtyard again.
Seeing their vigilant expressions, she knew she was unwelcome, so she didn't say any unnecessary words. Instead, she directly took out an umbrella from her bosom. "This is from the God - Lord. He asked me to give it to you."
After saying that, she turned around and left.
The moment Chongming saw the umbrella, his expression changed drastically.
Yaohua looked at the umbrella curiously. It was a cloth umbrella about three feet long. The umbrella surface looked dirty, with stains, and some parts were dyed brownish - red, like rust.
She said warily, "Master, this is something sent by the God - Lord. Could it be a trap?"
Chongming tightened his lips. After a long while, he sighed. "Even the previous God - Lord didn't have the qualification to tamper with this thing."
He opened the umbrella. Immediately, the umbrella emitted golden light, and rings of light surrounded the two of them. Yaohua instantly felt dizzy, and countless pictures appeared in her mind.
The demons broke into the city and massacred the people. The commoners hid in the temples, praying for the blessing of the gods.
They tore off the cloth of their clothes and gave it to the gods in the temples.
Faith in a desperate situation is the most loyal. Therefore, each piece of cloth carried extremely strong faith power.
Their owners were mothers who witnessed their sons being killed by the demons, teenagers who had their hands and feet bitten off by the demons, women and even children who were raped...
One tragic incident after another, one cry after another, finally turned into a prayer to the gods.
Around the strong willpower was a ring of golden merit light. As long as someone could help them fulfill their wishes, they could obtain this merit.
"What is this?" Yaohua suddenly came to her senses. She touched her cheek and found that without realizing it, she had been moved to tears by this sad and indignant emotion.
Chongming replied solemnly, "This is the Umbrella of the Multitudes, made of the clothes of the common people. It carries the wishes of the people. Everything we just saw really happened."
Yaohua murmured, "What on earth is it like outside now?"
When the war broke out, the demons occupied the God - Lord's territory first. The more brutally they tortured the people, the lower the people's faith in the gods.
Yaohua had seen the demons rampaging in the Celestial Realm before. Naturally, she could guess how they treated the mortals, and her heart felt a pang of discomfort.
Chongming held the umbrella and was silent for a long time. "I may have to return to the Celestial Realm first and discuss the Umbrella of the Multitudes with the God - Lord."
Hearing this, Yaohua immediately snapped out of her sad mood. "No! If the God - Lord knows about this, he will surely send you to suppress the rebellion."
Chongming's eyes showed pity. "If they are really living in dire straits, how can I abandon them?"
"But just now in the illusion, I saw that this Umbrella of the Multitudes came from the God - Lord's territory. The God - Lord ignores his own territory but asks you to help him suppress the rebellion. Isn't this ridiculous?"
Yaohua rambled on, and her words were full of dissatisfaction with the God - Lord.
Chongming couldn't help but tighten the handle of the umbrella. Yes, the God - Lord clearly knew that something had happened in his own territory, but he didn't go to suppress the rebellion. Instead, he used the Umbrella of the Multitudes to blackmail him.
But thinking of the suffering sentient beings, his eyes became firm again. "No matter what small calculations the God - Lord has, it can't change the fact that the people are suffering. If this continues, the people's faith power will weaken, and the God - Lord's cultivation will also regress. Then he won't be able to maintain the formation in the Celestial Realm!"
"The formations in the Celestial Realm are all maintained by the God - Lord?" Yaohua finally understood why her master didn't punish the God - Lord. It turned out there was this reason.
Chongming sighed. "It's precisely because he needs to maintain the formations that he can't leave the Celestial Realm for too long and can't go to suppress the rebellion in person. Yaohua, I must return to the Celestial Realm, but I need to restore my cultivation first."
Yaohua's heart wavered a little, but she was still a bit unhappy. "Are you sure you're going to leave me?"
Chongming rubbed her head. "What silly words are you saying? I will never leave you."
Yaohua threw herself into his arms. "But you still have the demon seed in your body. How can I feel at ease? If you must go, take me with you!"
She didn't want Chongming to face all this alone.
Chongming's eyes were full of complexity. "In the next life, I hope we are just an ordinary couple, working at sunrise and resting at sunset."
Although he had no spiritual power at all now, the days he spent in the mortal world were extremely comfortable and peaceful, far better than before.
Here, ordinary flowers and plants were more lovely than the rare flowers in the Celestial Realm, and even the soil exuded a vibrant atmosphere.
Most importantly, they loved each other and accompanied each other.
Yaohua sobbed in his arms. "Although I know the God - Lord's difficulties, I still hate him! If it weren't for him, we could be an ordinary couple now."