25 Ruined Elysia’s Tear

Jun Meng Chen's brain had completely broken down, his thought processes returning a giant blank. He simply couldn't comprehend the extent of Hong Meiyun's audacity and courage, to dare completing the marriage process without the presence of either party. Before the towering rage set in, the petrified Jun Meng Chen's neck made creaking noises as it slowly but surely turned back to face Hong Meiyun's increasingly uneasy countenance.

Previously, Hong Meiyun would sneakily introduce mortal or immortal female partners to Jun Meng Chen right after a military exploit or exercise as a method of teasing Jun Meng Chen's determination to remain single during the entirety of his tenure at the World Tree Domain. Although he would have to deal with the brokenhearted waterworks of these women each month, Hong Meiyun's antics had never crossed the line of marriage in her schemes, leading to a somewhat unique method of interaction among the hyper-social First and anti-social Third Generals.

This time however, she had crossed the line, invoking his fury. Ignoring the conditions imposed before the beginning of his smelting trial, Jun Meng Chen drew his blade once more, preparing to attack Hong Meiyun with the intention of killing. Just then, the nearby space distorted, and the old World Tree stepped forth before her, standing in front of Jun Meng Chen.

"Little Jun, what's gotten you so mad that even Moran is screeching his head off, complaining that you're going to tear down my plaza? If you need to fight against little Hong, do it in the unclaimed territories, not here."

Jun Meng Chen sneered, his voice exceedingly cold. "I heard an interesting matter just recently," he said. "Is it true that I somehow obtained a caring wife, a useless mortal at that, without even obtaining my consent?" The iciness in his voice caused Hong Meiyun to pale, and the World Tree to cough lightly. Why does the grunt work of coaxing this little boy always come down to him?

"Little Jun, I did bring that mortal into the immortal realm. However, Lord Yggdrasil was the one who married her to you. Don't come venting on my pitiful little abode, it can't take the rage of the mighty Jun Meng Chen, third-grade ambassador of the Divine Palace."

Hearing the World Tree's confession, Jun Meng Chen's killing intent lessened, his grip on the snow blade loosening and allowing it to fall on the floor. If it was some prank by the World Tree, then his rage would instantly skyrocket to the sky, indiscriminately attacking everywhere to vent his anger.

However, if it was the Yggdrasil, the Pavilion of All Life, that was a different matter. He couldn't simply throw a tantrum against a Pavilion Head just because his life code was rudely interrupted.

Marriage in the immortal realm generally required several prerequisites. First, the pair must be approved by delegates from the Pavilion of All Life and the Pavilion of Amorous Exchange before they could become engaged. Afterwards, the couple must live together for a predetermined period before the marriage knot could be tied and sealed by the Tianzun Imperial Court. Only then would they be recognized by the immortal realm as husband and wife.

The other mainstream method of completing the marriage process was if either the Pavilion Head of the Pavilion of All Life or the Pavilion of Amorous Exchange directly selected a pairing. In that scenario, the Tianzun Imperial Court would evaluate the pairing, with the judgement finalizing the circumstance. No matter what the concluding judgement was, it couldn't be repealed by even the Tianzun Head Imperial Censor.

The marriage Jun Meng Chen was thrown into was of the second type, in which the Pavilion Head of the Pavilion of All Life, Yggdrasil, had chosen his partner. In this case, all he could do was to grit his teeth and live with his partner, a former mortal. If she dare antagonize him, he promised to make her life a living hell!

Turning his back on the two flustered heavenly entities, Jun Meng Chen quickly strode off, leaving Chi Yuan to appease the startled General and World Tree. Finding a secluded area, he withdrew a specialized jade pendant engraved with a cyan tear, before infusing it with spiritual qi. Within moments, all traces of Jun Meng Chen in that area had vanished, without even his divine essence trace remaining.

When he arrived at his treasured residence, his fury indeed soared to the higher heavens. One again, he was powerless at reverting the changes.

The residence, Elysia's Tear, was the third masterpiece created by his mother as a budding immortal architect, also representative of his identity of the Third Young Master of the Jun Family of the Divine Palace. Consisting of the highest grade materials, spiritual herbs, and with the most detailed pre-configuration construct installed on the residence, Elysia's Tear was a personal resort that was self-sustaining and extremely comfortable to reside in. Jun Meng Chen used to return to this residence after a major upset, for the aesthetically pleasing scenery and architecture calmed his soul, healing his homesickness.

But what was this!? Where did his precious Elysia's Tear go, and where did this atrocity appear from!?

When Jun Meng Chen had first stepped past the entrance gates of the residence, the first thing greeting his eyes was a giant purple, crystalline lotus. With translucent leaves emitting different attributes of divine essence at its highest purity, the lotus was extremely ideal for any immortal to temper and consolidate his divine essence, raising its maximum concentration.

However, Jun Meng Chen had imposed upon his residence at a truly inopportune time, to witness the beautiful lotus engage its 'feeding' session.

Before Jun Meng Chen's twitching eyes, the purple lotus sent several strands of divine essence to probe around the spiritual medicine and herbal gardens, before selecting an assortment of divine herbs. Forcefully yet prudently extracting these herbs, the strands of divine essence dragged these spiritual panaceas into the base of the lotus, where the pitiful immortal treasures were decomposed into pure divine essence, then absorbed without mercy.

The lotus completed its feeding session by planting the seeds of the extracted herbs, fully exploiting the Elysia's Tear's self-sustaining construct. Not even fellow lotuses of similar species were spared from this bloodless carnage, making Jun Meng Chen gape in astonishment.

Never before had he seen a cannibalistic lotus engorge itself so much on immortal panaceas and spiritual treasures, then immediately reach out for a second helping! Even more depressing was that when Jun Meng Chen had attempted to either uproot it or attack the lotus, black chains from the sky had descended to ward off the attack, representing that the Divine Script was utilized in this cannibal plant's creation.

Wanting to cry but unable too; desiring to laugh yet the despairing circumstances forbade it so, Jun Meng Chen could only enter the central residence with his head down, constantly reciting calming mantras to ignore the crystalline lotus greedily feeding on its brothers and sisters. Even if the lotus had miraculous effects, he didn't wish to see it a moment longer.

Once he had entered the central residence, Jun Meng Chen's expression eased, for the "invader" of the residence had left it relatively untouched; only the Divine Spiritual Fountain was somewhat drained and was in its automatic replenishment cycle, something Jun Meng Chen cared little for. The Divine Spiritual Fountain was very commonplace within the Divine Palace, hence he was brazen enough to place it in the main foyer.

Once he had toured the main foyer and reached the end, his eyes could not help but narrow, fear and anger both boiling within. On the wall of the end of the hall, the imprint of a blade could be found, while the actual object was missing; the Heavenly Devouring Blade had indeed been taken from its pedestal. Each time he thought of the difficulties with obtaining such a divine object, he could not help but shiver with fear. A treasure of such magnitude, the bearer would indeed shake the Divine Palace.

As he began to explore each individual room, Jun Meng Chen's originally depressed expression gradually eased into a mask of indifference as he confirmed that nothing valuable was withdrawn from the residence, although several rooms were slightly messy, particularly the library. Looking at the massive pile of opened books in the library, Jun Meng Chen slowly exhaled before gently slotting each book into its respective bookshelf.

In some form, he sympathized with this unlucky mortal who had been thrown into his residence from their previous life. Although he was still considerably angry at their inability to keep things tidy and the lotus outdoors, he could indeed sense a hint of panic in the haphazard way the books were perused. Jun Meng Chen promised that when he met this former mortal, he wouldn't exactly kill her on the spot; rather beat her down a little, close enough to reach a recuperative slumber but not crossing the threshold.

Unfortunately for the 'former mortal' Li Xiang, Jun Meng Chen had to rescind that promise when he approached the central core of Elysia's Tear.

The construct of the residence was untouched, without any careless modification that would have reduced the value of the overall object. However, what completely enraged Jun Meng Chen was that the core figure of the construct, the shadowed form that Li Xiang had encountered earlier, was bound by the Divine Script. It was his own residence, and yet he was relegated to the status of a guest!?

Constructs were generally formed with an initiator array, a core figure, and an auxiliary algorithm for the general function of the construct. The initiator array and auxiliary algorithm would define the construct's main and supplementary properties and abilities, while the core figure would maintain the engravings of divine essence, preventing the construct from decaying into a specialized array.

Constructs could adopt and embody a conceptual or abstract entity, whereas arrays could only portray an illusionary hypothetical simulation.

The core figure within a construct allowed for independent function, an artificial spiritual consciousness that followed several abstract concepts to its best. Compared to advanced weaponry capable of multi-processing functions, constructs could embellish and expand previously defined parameters as long as it conformed to the initiator array's defining constants.

Seizing the core figure of a construct meant obtaining the complete ownership of what the construct manifested. If the construct of an immortal had been seized and its core figure enslaved, then that immortal would become unable to disobey the owner's commands. The strength of the restrictive chains determined how long the construct would be enslaved, as the natural passing of time would erode at everything except for constructs with the concept of self-sustaining.

The Divine Palace was forced to release a series of regulations regarding the use of constructs after realizing that the constructs of immortals without a spiritual core could be very readily and easily seized, as it could easily provoke wars among superpower entities. Had they been a step too late, an unceasing and forever escalating war would have erupted in the immortal realm.

Looking at the core figure of the construct of Elysia's Tear, Jun Meng Chen could not help but sink down despondently. Bound with the restriction of the Divine Script, the ownership of the construct would be forever seized unless willingly released. The Divine Script could not be revoked or removed by any use of divine essence or complex array formation, and the restrictions imposed on the core figure were eloquent in phrasing, that Jun Meng Chen could not remove the bindings regardless of his attempts. Truly, his Elysia's Tear had become completely 'ruined'.

Leaning against the cold wall of the basement Jun Meng Chen stared up at the sky, all thoughts of rage promptly discarded after seeing the miserable condition of his heirloom. Oh former mortal partner of mine, I promise not to kill you as long as you release my mother's precious farewell gift. A slight spanking will do, one that you will never forget.

-

In the reception of the Ghost Hall, Li Xiang who had just gotten a respite from the torturous pain, could not help but experience a cold chill running down her spine. For some reason, she could not help but have the premonition that after escaping this hell of a Ghost Feast, she would be thrown into another one.

Before she could think much about it, another wave of pain had started, with each wave twice as painful as the former. The black chains rattled against the cold floor, and screams echoed throughout the dark chamber. Any thoughts of the Golden Residence were very quickly discarded from her mind as the cold, icy pain forbid any thinking or reminiscing, only permitting pain, pain, and even more pain.