When Xuanzhu heard that her nemesis, who had sacrificed herself to the Dao just to stop Xuanzhu from ascending, had finally died, she couldn't bring herself to be happy.
After much thought, she figured it was probably because she regretted not being the one to finish the job herself.
One day, the Heavenly Emperor personally came to the barren lands where she was imprisoned. His attitude had completely changed, and he spoke ingratiatingly:
"There's a great chance to get revenge on Changyi, the Buddha Lord who made you end up here..."
Xuanzhu jingled the shackles on her hands and smiled deliberately. "If the Buddha Lord has been reborn through a Buddha lotus, she must be innocent and adorable now. How could I bear to hurt her?"
"...I will let you leave the barren lands and regain your freedom."
"Deal. What do I have to do?"
"Break her heart."
From the bottom's perspective:
Changyi, the Divine Lord, was born with the heavy responsibility of purifying the resentment of the Three Realms.
As one of the Nine Heavens' Buddha Lords, her daily duties had remained unchanged for a thousand years, until she met the female Asura who kept coming to the Heavenly Palace to cause trouble.
They were enemies, and whenever they met, they would start fighting after barely three sentences.
Until the day her tribulation was about to begin, and she received the Dao Ancestor's decree before the Nine Venerables to stop that woman from passing through her tribulation.
Everyone said that the Buddha child and the Asura could never coexist, and that she would sacrifice herself to the Dao rather than let the other ascend.
As she fell through the thick mist and violet lightning, all she could think was: Since we were never destined to walk side by side, perhaps it was better to make sure she would remember me forever... even if it was with hatred.
Note: In this story's version of the Heavenly Court, all immortals are women. The top and bottom are women who love and hate each other; no tragedy.
Theme: Finding the path that suits you best.
