Chapter 785: Extra Chapter 4: 22

The female official stared fixedly at Xiao Jiu, her brows furrowed tightly.

This guy is really smart.

As Xiao Jiu said, the dream trial has a time limit.

Not only does each small dream trial scene have a time limit, but the overall time limit of the dream trial is also stipulated.

As long as Xiao Jiu doesn't fall into her own examination trap and endures this time limit, she passes.

After all, granting the Yang Realm Yin Envoy a legitimate official post or divine position is not as stringent as ascending to the upper realm to become an upper-realm immortal.

As Xiao Jiu chattered on nonstop, her focus completely centered on deciphering the dream trial, the blood-stained willow branch bracelet in the female official's hand grew increasingly faint, until it turned transparent and vanished.

The female official looked at her empty left hand, feeling somewhat helpless.

She was still outsmarted by this guy.

This dream trial tests her state of mind—whether she will be trapped by money and wealth, familial love, romantic love, and obsession, and whether she can achieve non-attachment, non-obstinacy, compassion yet principled…

Undoubtedly, Xiao Jiu is qualified.

Huff!

Xiao Jiu jolted awake from the dream, and the moment she opened her eyes, her heart began to pound wildly, thump-thump-thump as if it were about to burst from her chest.

She sat up, her whole body sore, the fever had subsided, but the bruised ruler mark on her arm swelled up high.

This female official sure deals a harsh blow!

Xiao Jiu let out a long sigh.

Phew!

If it weren't for Xingchen's reminder, without the eight characters "Remain unmoving, uphold the original heart" constantly warning her, it would be all too easy to fall into the examination's trap.

It is an examination, yet also a norm.

It is a problem Xiao Jiu could face every day.

Such an examination, Xiao Jiu feels, is utterly necessary.

She doesn't care about the outcome; she cares about what impact this matter has had on Liu Junyan.

Li Qingying had been guarding outside; hearing the commotion, she rushed in at once.

Upon seeing Xiao Jiu sitting low-headed on the bed, lost in thought, Li Qingying nearly burst into tears.

Xiao Jiu heard the commotion and turned her head to look toward Li Qingying.

At the moment their eyes met, Li Qingying seemed to see a faint golden light shimmer over Xiao Jiu's body.

That was… divinity?

Li Qingying closed her eyes, fearing that she had become overtaxed from Xiao Jiu's affairs and was seeing things, then opened them again to confirm.

Correct.

That layer of golden light around Xiao Jiu's body is still there!

It's not that she's seeing things.

Li Qingying strode over, took Xiao Jiu's hand, and asked, "Xiao Jiu, are you feeling better? What have you been through these days? I seem to have seen a hint of divinity on you…"

Xiao Jiu opened her mouth to speak, but her throat was too dry, hoarse to the point of being unable to utter a word.

Li Qingying hurried to pour warm water, handed it to Xiao Jiu, watched her sip it slowly, then turned to go prepare food.

No matter what happened, it doesn't matter anymore.

What matters is that Xiao Jiu woke up safe and sound; she's surely hungry, so feeding her first before asking is no problem.

When Li Qingying had finished the meal and brought it to Xiao Jiu, the Big Family, as if they had calculated it, all gathered in Yin Dang Hang.

What Li Qingying could see, A Cheng could certainly see as well.

He exclaimed excitedly, "Sister, congratulations on passing the dream trial and recondensing your divinity!"

Xiao Jiu exclaimed in surprise, "A Cheng, you also know about the dream trial?"

"Just a guess," A Cheng said. "Xingchen's attitude let me make a rough guess, and now it seems I was right."

Li Qingying hurriedly asked, "A Cheng, quickly tell me: after Xiao Jiu woke up, a golden light appeared around her body, resembling divinity—what's going on?"

Actually, by now that golden light is no longer visible.

A Cheng explained, "The Fire Witch God originally left a divinity in the Nirvana Fire Realm, which everyone knows, but after Sister succeeded in Nirvana, she never truly awakened the Fire Witch God's divinity, right?"

This point, it seems everyone has unconsciously overlooked.

After all, Xiao Jiu being able to achieve Nirvana and return to the identity of the Nirvana Phoenix is already impressive.

Whether she has divinity or not, as long as Xiao Jiu doesn't want to become a deity, it seems to have no effect on her or everyone's lives.

But now, A Cheng bringing this up again has made the Big Family suddenly realize.

Exactly, the Fire Witch God originally possessed divinity.

Xiao Jiu, this is… she passed a layer of the dream trial and reawakened her divinity?

Xiao Jiu herself was also somewhat surprised; she asked A Cheng, "Will I have to undergo dream trials in the future? Will passing one add another layer of divinity?"

A Cheng said somewhat uncertainly, "Logically speaking, it should be that way."

Xiao Jiu immediately felt somewhat troubled.

This time she managed to pass the dream trial by using a bit of cleverness, basically scraping through.

Afterwards, she might not be so fortunate.

But A Cheng comforted her, saying, "Sister, you don't need to worry; with experience, what do you have to fear? As long as you are free of greed, hatred, and delusion in your daily life, do more good deeds, accumulate virtue and practice kindness, no dream trial will be able to defeat you."

Doing more good deeds, accumulating virtue and practicing kindness, Xiao Jiu has always walked this path.

Being free of greed and hatred, she can also do that.

But being free of delusion…

Upon thinking this through, Xiao Jiu had Li Qingying take everyone out to talk, as she wanted to ask A Cheng privately.

After everyone had left, A Cheng proactively asked, "Older sister, what do you want to ask?"

In this dream trial, I saw Liu Junyan.

Xiao Jiu told A Cheng the whole matter and her speculation.

A Cheng's brows knotted into a bump: "Older sister, you suspect the Seventh Lord hasn't truly severed the Duàn Qíng Jué Ài, afraid he won't pass the upper realm's final trial?"

Xiao Jiu nodded worriedly.

A Cheng, however, did not agree: "Older sister, the upper realm's trial is completely on a different level from your little dream trial; if what you say is true, the Seventh Lord is in the final stage of the trial, and if such a thing happened, the Heavenly Tribulation would have already struck him—how could he keep anchoring you again and again?"

"Is that so?" Xiao Jiu grew more confused: "If it's not the situation I described, then where does the force that repeatedly drags me into those scenes come from?"

A Cheng pondered for a moment, then said softly: "Older sister, could it be that the Seventh Lord has actually passed the upper realm's trial and is about to report for duty in the lower realm, with his sealed memories gradually being unsealed?"

This was a possibility Xiao Jiu didn't even dare to think about.

Could……could it be like that?

Liu Junyan……is he really coming back?

A Cheng continued along this line of thought: "The Seventh Lord's ascension was especially sudden—could he really give up all of this in the mortal world?"

"Lao Gui was appointed in a crisis, and the Seventh Lord had no choice but to go along with it; if he were determined to definitely return in the future, he could not possibly truly sever the Qīqíng Liùyù with his own hands—at most he could only seal it."

"And the best way to lift the memory seal is to set an anchor point for the memory."

A Cheng said this, then suddenly looked at Xiao Jiu, voice trembling somewhat: "If my analysis isn't wrong, older sister, this is the Seventh Lord seeking you along the memory anchor point…"