Chapter 5: Pink Faith
Venerable Yanluo waved his hand casually once more. The scene that appeared was one familiar to Zhu Yanyi: her home. More precisely, the Zhu family ancestral hall. In her previous life, what Zhu Yanyi was most proud of was not her fame, but the reestablishment of the Zhu family ancestral hall. Due to the peculiar circumstances of past eras, the origins of the Zhu family elders had long been lost to time. A person cannot exist without roots, and those of Huaxia with traditional minds would never forget their ancestors.
If there were no roots, she would simply establish them herself. Zhu Yanyi’s family register began from her father’s generation. It should have started from her grandfather, but he had disliked living with her father during his lifetime, leading to a division of the household. Thus, Zhu Yanyi simply began the register from her father’s generation and established the Zhu family lineage. She even purchased a separate manor and furnished it as an ancestral hall. Her previous marriage had ended in failure, leaving her without offspring, so after death, she was enshrined within the Zhu family ancestral hall. Yet, observing the comings and goings of those offering flowers and mourning, Zhu Yanyi felt a slight surprise. Some of them were even her devotees.
Venerable Yanluo perceived the surprise in Zhu Yanyi’s eyes. “These are your devotees mourning you. Because you devoted most of your wealth to charitable deeds in life, those who grieve for you have chosen to mark your lunar birthday, the third day of the third month, as a day of remembrance. This is of little consequence. What matters is that you observe the faint pink aura that appears after they mourn.” Venerable Yanluo pointed to the auras. With each person who came to pay respects, a single thread of pink light seemed to emerge. It was very thin, yet exceedingly gentle.
“What is that?” Zhu Yanyi asked, curious.
“Power of faith,” Venerable Yanluo replied. “I told you upon your arrival that you would feel warmth here because your benevolent heart drew it in. What creates this warmth is your power of faith and karmic merit. Ordinarily, possessing karmic merit is commendable. Yours alone is sufficient to allow you to reincarnate into a noble household. However, your power of faith has amplified your karmic merit, enabling you to ascend directly as an immortal. Yet, the Immortal Emperor is currently rectifying the Immortal Realm. The ascension of spectral immortals has been temporarily halted, let alone the direct ascension of a soul form like yours. If we do not grant you ascension, your soul form will not endure long before dissipating into heaven and earth. Should a soul form like yours dissipate, it would draw the displeasure of heaven and earth. Though it would not shake the foundations of the current realms, it remains undesirable. Thus, we can only offer you a choice: would you wish to cultivate as a spectral immortal, or reincarnate anew to mend the regrets of your previous life? If you choose spectral cultivation, I shall send you to the Spirit Pool of the Hell Path to cultivate. This will primarily serve to consolidate your soul form while awaiting the time for ascension. Once the path to ascension is reopened, you will be among the first batch of spectral immortals to ascend. If you choose reincarnation, we will also provide corresponding recompense, striving to ensure you suffer no further regrets.”
Indeed, though Zhu Yanyi’s previous life had been peaceful, she still harbored regrets. For instance, she had wished to become a master of studies, but due to a lack of diligent learning in her previous life, she had only passed into a lesser academy. If life could be begun anew, she hoped to become a scholar of renown. For another, her previous marriage had failed, leaving her without children. If given another chance, she hoped to find a kindred spirit and have children of her own.
She tilted her head, looking at Venerable Yanluo. “In truth, you have long foreseen my choice. I know nothing of spectral immortals. I am merely an ordinary person, without the ambition or desire to become an immortal. Therefore, the greatest hope I hold is to restart my life and mend my regrets. I choose this path.”