The Celestial Labyrinth: Love Across Ten Continents

Ban was only fifteen years old when he died. Since she was thirteen, her parents had been busy preparing for her marriage. At that time, it was popular for men and women to exchange their portraits, and the one who liked the other would agree. So every day they would bring many scrolls, spread them out in front of Ban, and ask her which one she liked. Ban smiled and said, no one is as good-looking as a god. This was indeed the truth, as it was impossible for a mortal to be more handsome than an immortal. However, her parents misunderstood her and thought that she was going to find someone stunningly beautiful, and from then on they became even busier and more anxious. In the early spring when she was fifteen, her mother pulled her into the house mysteriously. This time she had only a scroll in her hand, which she carefully spread out to show Ban. The young man in the painting, with wide sleeves and a tall hat, was truly stunningly beautiful. "No matter how dissatisfied you are with this one, you will never find another one you like in the world." Mother sighed. So Ban had no choice but to agree, and the two of them signed a written agreement and the wedding was scheduled for May. Unfortunately, Ban died before she could see her handsome husband. When talking about the cause of death, Ban felt ashamed. Her father is a fire-dwelling Taoist priest. Ever since Ban could remember, her life has been filled with Taoist scriptures, alchemy secrets and the like. Whether she likes it or not, burning incense to the gods every morning is a part of her life. Ban didn't know what kind of deity was enshrined in the shrine that day. When she went to the incense hall to burn incense, she only saw purple rice balls on the incense table. That is her favorite snack. She looked around and saw that her parents were not around, so she raised her hand, grabbed one and put it directly into her mouth. Suddenly, there was an inaudible coughing sound above his head. Ban looked up in confusion, only to see a portrait of a god enshrined on the shrine. The white-bearded god in the painting was holding two purple rice balls in one hand, his beard trembling as he ate, and the purple rice was dripping down his beard. She was stunned, and the immortal opposite seemed to have suddenly noticed her. His white eyebrows frowned, revealing an expression that seemed to be surprised, ashamed, and furious. He swung his sleeves suddenly, and in the blink of an eye he turned into a green light and disappeared from the drawing paper. The purple rice ball in Ban's mouth was stuck in her throat due to fear. No matter how she pulled, slapped, hit, or bumped it, the purple rice ball rolled and twisted in the wind like a demon. The purple rice ball just stayed there in a cold-blooded state and could neither be swallowed nor spit out. She was choked to death by a purple rice ball. The weather was very sunny. Aunt Lu, who ran a steamed bun business, got up very early. She opened the door and put out baskets of steamed buns. At the same time, like all Shengzhou people, she always liked to look up at the towering mountains in the distance in her free time. Although Shengzhou is a fairyland where it is spring all year round, that mountain is an exception. The top of the mountain is frozen, and it is freezing cold all year round. Legend has it that immortals live on the top of mountains, eating wind and drinking dew. People rarely see their faces, but often receive many favors from them. Aunt Lu prayed for the gods to bless her, arranged the steamer beautifully, and was about to call out when she heard light footsteps behind her. She turned around and called out, "Xiao Husha, why are you up so early today?" A small face appeared from behind the door. She looked only fourteen or fifteen years old. Her face was pale and red, her eyes were round, and she looked 50% innocent and 50% innocent. Aunt Lu handed her two buns with a smile, "Eat something. Are you hungry?" Ban said "hmm", walked over and sat beside her, eating his buns, and asked, "Auntie, you said last time that there are immortals living on Qingyuan Mountain. Is that true?" "Of course it's true!" Aunt Lu pointed at the rolling mountains in the distance and said seriously, "There are tens of thousands of immortals gathered in the ten continents of the sea, and the Immortal Mountain Qingyuan is one of them. The immortals accept people with predestined relationships as disciples on the mountain, and teach them the way to longevity and the ability to subdue demons and monsters. This is not something Aunt Lu made up. Every day, there are as many people lining up at the foot of Qingyuan Mountain to become disciples as ants." Ban swallowed the bun and stared at Qingyuan Mountain. If he went there, he would be able to find a way home, right? She thought she was dead, but she was actually still alive, just living in another completely strange world. Here there were real immortals, talking spirit beasts, and unheard-of strange things. But there is no home for her here. She remembered that there was a period of time when she was sleeping in the dark, and a voice kept talking to her, telling her to go find Qingling Zhenjun if she wanted to go home. She had been influenced by her father for so many years, but she had never heard of the name of this immortal. Could it be that the one whose immortal body she had discovered was the Qingling Zhenjun? Later, she woke up inexplicably. When she woke up, she was already standing on this magical land. She looked around in confusion, not knowing where to go. Fortunately, she met the enthusiastic Aunt Lu, who took her home to take care of her and she stayed there for five days. "Hey, my daughter is coming back to visit me in a couple of days. Let her take you out to buy some little girl clothes. You two are not too far apart in age, so your tastes should be similar. I'm old now, and I don't know much about flowers and powder." Ban looked down at the gray cloth skirt she was wearing. It was Aunt Lu who cut her own clothes into smaller pieces and gave them to her. The clothes she was wearing disappeared after she took them off, as if they had never existed. "Auntie, since there are many immortals on Qingyuan Mountain, then... is Qingling Zhenjun also there?" If she wanted to go home, she had to find True Lord Qingling, that's what the voice said. No matter what, she had to give it a try. Aunt Lu's eyes widened: "Master Qingling? I haven't heard of him... How about I ask someone else for you?" Ban shook her head: "No, I won't bother you. I'm just asking casually." Aunt Lu smiled lovingly and said, "Child, why are you being so polite? It's just being too polite." Ban also smiled embarrassedly, "Is it difficult to become a disciple at Qingyuan Mountain?" "I heard it's difficult," Aunt Lu pointed at the neighbor's house across the street, "Old Man Zhang's grandson went there two years ago, but couldn't even find the gate. It is said that only those who have a predestined relationship with the immortals can enter the gate to become their disciples, otherwise they will die without being able to enter. But even so, there are still many people going up the mountain every day, there are too many mortals who want to become immortals." Ban was silent for a while, and suddenly whispered: "Auntie, I want to go too." With a "plop", the bun in Aunt Lu's hand fell to the ground in fright.