"Indeed, if you win the second gamble, you will become a god. The third gamble is based on winning the first; Heaven will spare one soul for you, and I can then reforge a body for you, allowing you to live this life." Chu Xi then looked at Ling Luo Yi and asked, "But Yi'er, aren't you afraid of losing the gamble?"
"Master, if I don't gamble this time, I will only have my soul scattered after another year, with no possibility of reincarnation. By gambling, there is a sliver of hope. If I win, I will live, and the manner of living doesn't matter. Even if I lose, it will be the same as before, my soul scattered, with no difference."
Chu Xi sighed softly and said, "Yes, if I were you, facing such a situation, I would also gamble with all my might."
Hearing Chu Xi's agreement, Ling Luo Yi knew she had passed this hurdle with Chu Xi and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Chu Xi changed the subject and said sternly, "Yi'er, although you won this gamble, I still have a few words for you."
Ling Luo Yi was stunned and quickly knelt down, obediently ready to be lectured.
"Yi'er, because your heart was not sincere, you lost the second gamble."
Ling Luo Yi was bewildered. She could feel three divine bones within her current body, and their energies were consistent; they were indeed hers. How could her Master say she lost the second gamble?
Sensing her confusion, Chu Xi said, "Yi'er, haven't you noticed anything amiss with your divine bones?"
Ling Luo Yi shook her head in confusion.
"Yi'er, you should remember how you died, right? The two divine bones you cultivated before have fused with the barrier of the ancient powerful being outside Xia Ning City due to your sacrifice. Because of the fusion of the two divine bones, a fragment of the Heavenly Star Cauldron, which could forcibly break the barrier, became useless in Li De's hands. You managed to protect the human realm.
However, in this life, your third divine bone did not grow in time, so you could not recall the two lost divine bones. The three divine bones in your body now were cultivated by one of your past lives. Your current body was condensed by me using divine power and heavenly treasures. I specifically fused them with the divine bones of your past life so that your past life's divine bones would not clash with your current body.
If you didn't notice anything wrong with the divine bones, it might be because these three divine bones were also cultivated by you. Although they belong to a past life, they were all cultivated by you, no different from your previous divine bones."
After Ling Luo Yi processed this, she said, "Disciple understands."
In fact, when Ling Luo Yi woke up and discovered she had three divine bones, she thought she had won all three gambles and felt a little smug. Now she understood.
Indeed, with such low odds of winning, how could she have truly won everything?
"Yi'er, have you forgotten? Heaven is displeased with you because you provoked it before. Aren't you afraid it won't let you off because of this? The focus of your first and third gambles is here. If Heaven hadn't spared one soul for you, even if I wanted to save you, I would be powerless. My cultivation is not yet high enough to contend with Heaven for a person. Also, what if I didn't save you? Even if Heaven spared one soul, you could only be reincarnated."
Ling Luo Yi could not refute the first point, but she could refute the second.
"Master, although Heaven is displeased with disciple because I provoked it before, Heaven is very impartial. If I died for the human race, Heaven would overlook this and spare my soul. Also, Master, I once heard Master say that if possible, Master would not want to choose the War Goddess again. I believe Master feels guilty because countless War Goddesses died due to their identities, so if Master could save me, Master would likely do so."
Hearing this, Chu Xi was stunned. After a long while, she said, with a tone that was both admiring and chiding, "Yi'er, your calculations are very accurate."
The previous Saint Sons and Saintesses were all chosen by the First Generation. However, the War Goddess was different from the others; it had the highest mortality rate.
Each War Goddess had the Seal of the War Goddess. Chu Xi could use this seal to teach them and also to hear and see their situations.
While others might not know the cause of their deaths, Chu Xi knew them all clearly, having witnessed them herself. Now that she was a god, she could not interfere in the human realm, and thus could not save them. The burden of so many lives weighed heavily on Chu Xi, so if she could save Ling Luo Yi, she would definitely do so.
"Yi'er, I have one last question. The Demon Emperor is deeply in love with you. Have you ever considered how he would react if you lost the gamble?"
"Master, if I lose the gamble, it's no different from not gambling. If I win, the worst outcome is reincarnation. The lifespan of the demon race is very long. If he remembers me and doesn't do anything foolish, waiting for me, he can wait for my reincarnation. Master, I am risking everything for a sliver of hope not just because I don't want to die, but also because I don't want him to die with me."
Ling Luo Yi knew for certain that if she died and could not be reincarnated, Gu Yun Cheng would definitely die with her!
Chu Xi was stunned for a long time and said, "Enough, you may rise. That is all I have to say."
"Yes, thank you, Master."
Ling Luo Yi rose briskly and leaped down from the lotus platform.
"Yi'er, all that is in the past. From now on, remember that you are now a god, and you are different from when you were mortal. Since you have just woken up, I will tell you about the God Realm. This is the Divine Favor Continent in the God Realm, where all gods reside. However, like us, they are all beings who cultivated to godhood from other races. The native gods do not live here. In the center of the continent, there is a teleportation array that leads to their continent, but without their permission, we cannot go there. They, however, can come here freely..."
Chu Xi told her everything about the Divine Favor Continent. There were no major rules; the general situation was similar to the Sacred Domain, with everything revolving around the Divine Hall in the center of the continent. The rest was the same as the Sacred Domain.
After finishing her explanation of the Divine Favor Continent, Chu Xi said to Ling Luo Yi, "Yi'er, you will live with me now and are also a disciple of my Heavenly Heart Sect. Do you have any objections? If you are unwilling, you can make your own arrangements."
"Disciple has no objections." As she spoke, Ling Luo Yi knelt again and kowtowed to Chu Xi, saying, "Master, although Master said that the past is past, disciple will remember this life-saving grace and never forget it."
Chu Xi sighed and said, "Yi'er, if you truly wish to repay this life-saving grace, you will need to make a trip to the Underworld to meet the King of the Underworld."
"King of the Underworld?" Ling Luo Yi asked, confused.
"Although Heaven spared one soul for you, due to your previous provocation, Heaven scattered your soul across the Six Realms, requiring you to recover it yourself before reincarnation. The scope is too vast for me alone to gather your soul. It was the King of the Underworld who gathered your soul and handed it over to me. I merely condensed a body for you."
"Disciple understands."
"Oh, right, I almost forgot. Yi'er, since you no longer have that body, do you need to change your name?"
When the King of the Underworld came to hand over Ling Luo Yi's soul to Chu Xi, he also revealed Ling Luo Yi's true origins, which is why Chu Xi asked this question.
However, Ling Luo Yi was startled by this, as she clearly remembered telling only Gu Yun Cheng about this matter and did not understand how Chu Xi knew.
Sensing her confusion, Chu Xi explained.
"So that's how it is."
"Yi'er, do you want to change your name?"
"Master, it's just a name. If she can use it, why can't I? Besides, you all are probably more accustomed to this name now."
"That's true."