257: Chapter 257 Yaochi Comforts Longji

Hearing this, Princess Longji leaned lazily against the jade railing beside the Heavenly Pool. "Imperial Mother, of course I know all this."

As she spoke, she kept playing with the stem of a lotus with her nimble fingers.

"But... I really can't think of any reason why the Heavenly Sovereign would scheme against me?!"

"Aren't the Water Virtue Star Lord and the Gods of the Four Seasons also from the Human Race? If the Heavenly Sovereign really had a scheme, he would have to consider the Water Virtue Star Lord and the others, wouldn't he?"

It was precisely because the interests of the Human Race and the Heavenly Court were so deeply intertwined that Princess Longji had been so certain earlier that her father would agree to let her travel among the Human Race.

But she hadn't expected things to turn out this way.

Yaochi looked at her daughter's confused and aggrieved expression as she leaned against the railing, and shook her head helplessly.

She stepped forward, extended a jade-like finger, gently poked Princess Longji's forehead, and instructed softly:

"You, your thinking is far too idealistic."

"The Water Virtue Star Lord is not a bargaining chip between the Heavenly Court and the Human Race."

"To put it strictly... the entire Water Department cannot even be considered part of the Heavenly Court..."

Wincing slightly, Princess Longji rubbed her forehead and sat up straight, turning to pout at Yaochi, her eyes filled with confusion.

What did she mean by the Water Department not being part of the Heavenly Court?

If they weren't the Heavenly Court's, could they belong to the Human Race?

Sensing Princess Longji's confusion, Yaochi put away her smile, intending to tell her about the history of the Heavenly Court's development!

She turned to look at the serene and vibrant Heavenly Pool and said softly, "When the New Heavenly Court was established, our forces were weak, and the Six Saints of the Heavenly Dao were unwilling to help your father and me."

"Seeing that even the Saints would not help us, who were nominally their Junior Brother and Junior Sister, the myriad spirits of the Great Desolation also refused to take the Heavenly Court seriously."

"In the entire Great Desolation, only the Human Race helped us back then."

"Most of the resources for establishing the New Heavenly Court were provided by the Human Race, and the price the Heavenly Court paid was promising that the divine positions of the Water Department would always be held by members of the Human Race."

"Ah?!" Princess Longji was shocked.

Yaochi continued, "So, even if your father resented the Human Race and slew all the current deities of the Water Department, in the end, once the Human Race sent a few of their clansmen up to heaven, the Water Department would still belong to the Human Race."

"This was the price left behind when the Heavenly Court first rose."

"Wait... Imperial Mother!"

Listening to the history, Princess Longji found a loophole and said, "Since the Human Race offered help when we needed it most, and the relationship between the Human Race and the Heavenly Court is still good, Father should be all the more willing to let me go. Why is it like this?"

Why would he worry that the Heavenly Sovereign would scheme against the Heavenly Court?

From all this history, she extracted one key piece of information: the Human Race and the Heavenly Court had a very good relationship.

The daughter of the Earthly Sovereign serving as the God of the Four Seasons, and the Water Virtue Star Lord being a deity highly favored by her father, were proof of this.

Hearing Princess Longji's words, Yaochi was slightly taken aback, then couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Pfft."

She turned around to look at her daughter's shining eyes, which thought they had grasped the key point, her own gaze a mix of helplessness and sighing.

"You silly girl, you really have been protected too well by your father and me."

Yaochi took Princess Longji's hand, conjured two jade round stools, sat her down, and said earnestly:

"It is precisely because the relationship between the two sides is 'good' that your father must be on his guard. In this Great Desolation, relationships are the least reliable things."

"Think back to the past; the Three Pure Ones were practically inseparable, yet haven't they also gone their separate ways now?"

"Back then, the Human Race offered help in our time of need for the sake of the Water Department's divine positions. That was an exchange of interests, not selfless charity."

"Now, the Heavenly Court has risen, and the Human Race has also gone through the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, becoming the number one force in the Great Desolation. Naturally, the two must play a game of chess against each other."

Hearing her mother bring up even the past of the Saints of the Three Pure Ones, Princess Longji's pure white heart was slowly stained with the complex colors of society.

That's right, even the Three Pure Ones had gone their separate ways. She was indeed too naive...

Princess Longji slumped her shoulders in dejection, leaning back against the jade railing. Looking at the lotus stem in the Heavenly Pool that she had rubbed until it was somewhat withered, she muttered unhappily:

"Imperial Mother, why is there constant scheming day in and day out in the Great Desolation?! Hearing you say all this, maybe... I shouldn't go after all... Although staying in the Heavenly Court is a bit boring, at least I won't drag you down..."

Seeing her daughter start to back down, a flash of heartache crossed Yaochi's eyes.

She reached out her jade-like hand, gently pinched her puffed-up cheek, and said softly, "My little Princess Longji, how could you ever drag us down?"

"And your father hasn't refused to let you go to the Human Race yet!"

Princess Longji raised her head, a glimmer of anticipation reigniting in her eyes, though she was still somewhat conflicted:

"Then... since Father has suspicions, surely he won't let me go in the end?"

"That is not necessarily so."

Yaochi continued to comfort her:

"Since the Heavenly Sovereign has personally invited you in front of Guangchengzi and Maitreya, your father can naturally go to the Human Race to verify things. Once he confirms there is no issue, he will naturally agree to let you go travel!"

Hearing this, Princess Longji's mood instantly turned from cloudy to sunny.

She blinked her large, watery eyes and tugged at Yaochi's sleeve, her tone carrying a joy she couldn't hide:

"Really, Imperial Mother? Do I really still have a chance to travel among the Human Race?"

Yaochi nodded. "Of course it's true."

After a roller coaster of comfort, Princess Longji's joy was restored.

"Long live Imperial Mother! I knew Father loves me the most!"

However, before she could be happy for even three seconds, Yaochi suddenly reached out, tapped her forehead, and interrupted her cheering.

"Alright, rein in your mind, which is about to fly out of the Thirty-Six Heavens."

Yaochi tilted her head slightly, looking Princess Longji up and down, a hint of elder severity appearing in her eyes:

"Since your father is worrying about the matters of the Human Race, you should also focus. Traveling among the Human Race is not like admiring flowers and picking grass at the bottom of your Heavenly Pool."

"As the Common Sovereign of Heaven and Earth, the Human Race has produced countless prodigies and possesses a deep foundation. As the Eldest Princess of the Heavenly Court, if your cultivation is too poor, it will be your father's and my face that you lose."

Feeling a bit guilty under her mother's gaze, Princess Longji shrank her neck and protested in a low voice, "Imperial Mother, my cultivation is actually quite good among my peers..."

A Taiyi Golden Immortal's cultivation was considered a powerhouse in any region of the Great Desolation.

"Quite good?" Yaochi's tone grew even more severe. "With your background and Luck, after tens of thousands of years of cultivation, a Taiyi Golden Immortal's cultivation is simply not enough."

As a creature born in the Kunpeng Grotto-Heaven, contaminated with Haotian's Origin and the power of the Heavenly Dao.

Coupled with the Luck of the Heavenly Court and the Luck of being the only daughter of a Saint, having been born for so long, it would not be an exaggeration for her to be a Grand Unity Golden Immortal.

With a gentle wave of Yaochi's hand, a surge of magic power gushed out, enveloping Princess Longji and sending her back to the Heavenly Emperors Bedchamber:

"Go and enter secluded cultivation obediently. Don't let it be that when your father and the Heavenly Sovereign have settled everything and all goes smoothly, you end up unable to go because your own cultivation is insufficient. You won't even have a place to cry then."

Enveloped within the magic power, Princess Longji kept tapping against the barrier in resistance.

However, after hearing Yaochi's final words, she still sat down obediently.

Sitting cross-legged in the Void Realm, she crossed her arms, puffed out her cheeks, and muttered softly:

"Fine, I'll Cultivate..."