#Heavenly Emperor Mu Qing

[biboomerangboi]

Been thinking about the homoerotic potential of Xianle Quartet again and I think I’ve figured out the best/funniest way for the post canon dynamic to play out: Xie Lian gets his offical harem.

And no I don’t mean Xie Lian just gets to hold hands with everyone. I think Hua Cheng who wants Gege to be happy and give him everything he wants but also genuinely believes he’s better than Feng Xin and Mu Qing starts acting like the Wife and Feng Xin and Mu Qing are Xie Lians concubines.

I think it would start with Hua Cheng giving them strictly solicited times to be with Xie Lian and then later when Xie Lian admits he feels something more about the two of them he would get real into it.

He makes it extremely clear he’s the first and most important wife in this game and they play by his rules. They deal with his times and get to see him give Xie Lian really extravagant gifts to wear when he spend time with them as well as giving him lots of love bites not to mention lots of little digs and because Fengqing are Fengqing they instantly match the energy.

The Harem games begin.

There’s so much side comments and subterfuge and of course fights to see who is the favourite while also convinced that it won’t be them because they start to notice all the beautiful things about their competitors in a really homoerotic way.

They would all start to act nice with each other when they are with of Xie Lian because they notice that he likes that and they have points to win. So there are lots of group spars and meals with a general play nice vibe to them. Until they reluctantly start to like playing nice but are also be thinking fuck these guys. These two guys are the worst people in the world.

Then of course Xie Lian goes away for a few days on a mission and they all lose it . They will literally have no one to perform for and yet they are all still being so petty and in each others business, then each others faces, and then suddenly they are all in each others bed.

Xie Lian naturally comes back to this and is delighted by this development.

[potatosaresweet]

i love seeing discourse surroundning mei nianqing cause i have literally no idea how to feel about him. he's so girlfailiure coded. he runs away from his crazy ex but doen't even try to win custody of their shared pseudo son and just fucks off drawing pictures in some ruins about said ex. he looks down on mu qing for the crime of being poor.he tells little baby hong-er that he's a cursed monster and is going to die. he's all love is love being gay is okay with xie lian but severely judges his taste in men. he literally had the heavenly emperor torment him for centuries and yet his biggest headache in life was his 17 year old lousy disciple. he helps his disciples defeat his evil ex and then returns to him and spends the rest of his life chilling with him under a mountain. he's cool with all sorts of war crimes but draws the line at being poor and dating ghost kings. what even is this man on.

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

Most iconic Xie Lian moments according to me

Contains spoilers!!!

"Xie Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry"

Keeping every memento of his worst time ever as a reminder of why being kind and forgiving is worth it

When he runs off after he gives Hua Cheng CPR that one time pretending he's looking for his hat

When he keeps roasting Xiao Ying's looks even as she's dying

When he was a prince and he was told his future looked dark and he said that can't be cause he only wears white

Eating food off the ground

Building his own temple, we love a girl boss

When he pet E'Ming like a little puppy after being explicitly told not to ever touch it under any circumstances

Putting Banyue in a pickle jar

When Wuming said he would follow Xie Lian to the death and Xie Lian went "youre already dead"

Breaking rocks on his chest for money

Being trampled to death as general Hua, doormat core

The whole Fangxin Guoshi arc, whew 🥵

Carrying around a big ass bag of scraps everywhere

When he became jealous of Hua Cheng's special someone not realizing the very obvious fact that he was Hua Cheng's special someone actually

Slapping tf out of Qi Rong for making fun of Hua Cheng being blind in one eye

Pretending he had no idea who Nan Feng and Fu Yao were

When Mu Qing and Feng Xin were freaking about how creepy the Ten Thousands Gods Cave was whilst he found it incredibly romantic

Being a bit too into pretending to be Hua Cheng's puppet on Mount Tonglu

Feeding into E'Ming's praise kink

When he disguised himself as a pregnant lady to be possessed by the evil fetus spirit and it worked

When he disguised himself as a woman so badly he looked hideous and needed help to not look like that

When he spent the entirety of the Xuan Ji capturing business in his wedding dress disguise, including meeting Pei Xiu like that

It hurts, it hurts, it hurts-

When his response to the sex pollen was to kill himself

"I do not worship god, i am god!"

Every single sweet and tender interaction with Hua Cheng's butterflies that everyone else is terrified of

When everyone ignored him in the communication array because he was cringe

Getting drunk on a tombstone with little ghost fire Hua Cueng after his life fell apart

Controversial but i think his calamity era was also iconic and very sexy

When Heaven's Eye said his lips are exuding evil energy and he turned bright red

And then later when Heaven's Eye said the evil energy is inside him and he immediately changed the subject

Recognizing literally everyone despite their disguises but keeping quiet about it not to embarrass them.

Calling Yin Yu boring and forgettable looking to his face

Defending Hua Cheng, evil ghost king, in front of the whole entire Heavenly Emperor

When he was working in the rice field with Hua Cheng and he kept staring

Being poor

Having ridiculously bad luck

Ascending three times

Big daddy issues even with his dad still alive

When his life had just fallen apart and he didnt know how much a lantern could cost because he had been ridiculously rich all his life

Holding up a massive temple from falling apart???

Kissing Hua Cheng for spiritual energy in front of literally everyone more than once

When he could hear rats talking???

Adopting children

Not iconic Xie Lian behaviors

His abhorrent cooking

Trying to kill himself???

[sweepingboy]

Feng Xin lays in the dust in the arena, breathing heavily, looking up at the demon grinning at him. He doesn't feel bad about losing - the bastard is incredibly good with his sword and it was hard for the archer to match him, but the disappointment that his loss decided the fate of one of his colleagues is more painful. For a moment Feng Xin wondered why the Heavenly Emperor had chosen him for this duel in the first place, but the thought has no time to fully form when the man rises from his throne and announces in a thunderous voice that the demon has earned his reward. As promised he will give a god that will make the perfect spouse for him.

And his choice is General Xuan Zhen.

Feng Xin instantly finds a familiar face in the crowd. They've known each other for so long - sometimes he feels that the slightest detail - the sound of footsteps, a shadow - is enough for him to recognize the man.

He looks shocked, an emotion so foreign to his collected image. The guilt becomes nauseating.

The two have an uneasy relationship. Some would even say that the generals of the South hate each other, but even in their worst times of communication, Feng Xin would not wish Mu Qing, that proud independent bastard such a fate.

"Anyone else? Any god can still compete for the general's hand."

Mu Qing's face turns into a grimace of disgust.

"Wait!" the god of the southeast wants to shout, but his protest dies quickly. What can he do for him-he's already lost.

"Since there are no other volunteers-"

There are no volunteers. After Nan Yang’s crushing defeat, the gods stare at the demon in a daze, afraid to even think of what would happen if one went against his will.

Suddenly, a figure in black easily jumps off the podium and exposes a blade challenging the demon. General Xuan Zhen looks dangerous in the light of the setting sun. His frowning eyebrows, stubborn line of his mouth, cold black eyes and clenched jaw cause General Nan Yang a strange flutter in his chest. Of course. Mu Qing will not let anyone decide his fate for him.

[mikaela-the-slut-expert]

right, dont know if this makes sense but lets say reader (any gender really idm) was a god who had seen the ups and downs of hualian and had always been there for them but despite the mutual feelings between the 3, none of them confessed.

the thing is that, jun wu (ew…) had become obsessed with reader (since they stuck so much by xie lians and hua chengs side, they got noticed by jun wu) and left his obsession for xie lian behind and one day after planning so for many years, jun wu captures reader and theres no word of reader for days, weeks even yet jun wu acts as normal.

would hualian tear up the whole place, get revenge, rescue reader then make sweet love to them? up to you! you dont have to write ab this request btw:)

Rescue Mission

HuaLian x gn!reader

Ignore grammar mistakes

Slight OOC

Slight misinformation

You, Hua Cheng and Xie Lian have spent centuries together

But despite this you've never told them your feelings

And unknown to you, they've never told you their feelings either.

So you're all single but like, everyone else knows you guys are sort of together.

Other people know not to fuck with you when Hua Cheng has obviously staked his claim on you and Xie Lian

Except for Jun Wu, he doesn't care one bit.

Hua Cheng can't have the both of you so Jun Wu decides to obsess over you instead🤷

While Hua Cheng and Xie Lian are deep-rooted in their past, you're a little newer.

You definitely haven't spent 8 centuries with them

Plus how can he not notice you when you're stuck by the strongest martial god, and the strongest ghost king.

It's hard not to put a light on you

Jun Wu's obsession starts there. A small prick of intrigue

None of you would have guessed that he would've gone so far

After years of planning, and years of getting closer and closer to you his intrigue and obsession grows

So he finally takes you

Hua Cheng is on alert within the first 2 hours you're missing.

Maybe he's overreacting, maybe he's not.

You've always stayed by Xie Lian's or his side

And if you leave by yourself you would've told them.

When A whole day passed Xie Lian tries to assure Hua Cheng that you can take care of yourself and you're probably just on a mission

He's trying to make himself feel better too.

When three days pass Hua Cheng and Xie Lian think you've gone missing.

You would never do this to them, you would never make them worry

Hua Cheng has the ghost city on high alert and the ghost realm is already looking for you.

Xie Lian does what he can't in the mortal realm, giving people your description and hanging up drawings of you.

He also does what he can in the heavenly realm, after all a god going missing is very important

Especially when it's a god of the upper court like you

The upper court is in a slight panic. No one knows where you are and a lot of people in the upper court are your friends. So of course everyone's a bit in disarray when none of them have heard from you in three days

Not Feng Xin, Mu Qing, Pei Ming, Ling Wen, nor Shi Qingxuan.

You have so many friends, so many people that love you and yet you're not with a single one of them have you

So where are you?

A majority of the upper court brings it to attention to Jun Wu only for him... To act like nothing's wrong

He says gods are frivolous and curious, you may have just gone out alone.

There's no cause for worry he says

But everyone is still wary, especially Xie Lian

When he tells Hua Cheng what happened it doesn't go well.

With you gone missing and Jun Wu playing it off it doesn't take long for Hua Cheng to be blaming the emperor of your disappearance. Whether it's out of spite or genuine thought he doesn't know.

When a week passes Hua Cheng gives up on searching through the ghost realm

Not as in he gave up on you but as in he's breaking into the heavens to search for you instead.

You think Hua Cheng can't find you?

You'd be silly.

Xie Lian doesn't encourage it but he doesn't stop Hua Cheng either.

And maybe he slips some details about the emperor's palace. On accident of course.

Hua Cheng doesn't care to tear through the heavens as he did before for Xie Lian.

He tears through lower court gods and upper court gods who refuse to give details about your whereabouts, and who won't help him.

It doesn't take long at all for Hua Cheng to get into the main palace.

Especially when most of the upper court gods have gone missing...

Coincidentally enough all your friends aren't in the heavens to protect it

Feng Xin and Mu Qing on a mission, Shi Qingxuan out with the earth master. And the security of the heavens, Pei Ming? Apparently he's gone too.

So Hua Cheng can basically walk through the heavens to get to Jun Wu.

Hua Cheng doesn't feel bad for ripping the palace apart to find you.

And he does find you

Locked away in one of the far rooms, puzzles beyond puzzles. He just broke through them though.

When he finds you he's relieved you have no wounds, and that you're relatively okay despite being taken away for a week

Shaken up from being taken away from the people you care for most.

Hua Cheng would kill the emperor right there if Xie Lian didn't make a clear emphasis on just getting you home.

That doesn't stop Hua Cheng from setting fire to the heavens though

Once you're brought home, it's a lot of hugging, tears, and a lot of questions about what happened.

You cry and tell them that you were scared simply for the fact you would never get the chance to tell them you loved them.

They most literally freeze in their spots and are like "??? For real?"

Once all the I love you's pass Xie Lian and Hua Cheng cling to you

Taking you into bed and worshipping you on the sheets.

You've had a busy week, you deserve to be taken care of and that's exactly what they do.

After that they'll never let you be alone again

One of them is always at your side.

Especially Hua Cheng

The silver butterflies become a common sight in the heavens anytime you or Xie Lian are around

[onioe]

Do you ever sit and think about how maybe Feng Xin simple—hid away some days, before Xie Lian’s third ascension? How, after a troublesome ghost and Mu Qing calling him an idiot for the third time that same hour, he just leaves, hiding himself away in a cave.

Do you think he ever spaced out, reverting back to the late Xian Le days? How everyone in the end left him or pushed him out of their lives. A soldier born and trained to protect and serve, his only purpose was to life and die for his prince.

Now he’s a god and the man he had sworn to lay down his life for has been missing for centuries with no proof he’s even alive anymore, with another man who makes it his mission to see Feng Xin pops a blood vessel out of frustration.

Do you think that, even after the fall of the heavenly emperor and a confession between him and Mu Qing, Feng Xin would still believe the two most important people in his life would just up and leave? That they still argue and bicker, but it’s a little different now, it hurts a little more.

Feng Xin would cling himself close to Mu Qing, assuring himself that he man can’t just up and leave. That Mu Qing will see the distant look in Feng Xin’s eyes and wishes he could spare him whatever thoughts pledged his mind.

Feng Xin is always reassured that no one was leaving him again, that Mu Qing would stick with them even if Feng Xin would grow old and wrinkly, that Xie Lian was always one array away. That Feng Xin isn’t as alone as he thinks anymore.

[dokuhan]

Ooh I was minding my own business and I just got hit with the ideal of Mu Qing and Feng Xin winding up as co-Heavenly Emperors because of a statistical issue

Basically their combined temples somehow wind up juuuust a little more than Pei Ming...and everyone decides it would be hilarious to just go with it for a little while.

I might play with this a little.

[budd-ie]

I always see people talking about Mu Qing and how he did bad things and how some of those things we’re moving on from, how his thought possess is justified, etc. and this is all true. But something that I think gets overlooked is that yes Mu Qing is not a perfect person, but his main argument is neither is anyone else.

Mu Qing grew up HOUNDED by people trying to nitpick every single little thing he does and antagonize him just because they don’t like him. Every good thing he does gets ignored, every bad thing he does gets amplified tenfold. And, Mu Qing KNOWS that he is not a perfect person and he KNOWS that he has done bad things and he acknowledges his major mistakes and he apologizes.

But his whole Deal is not that he’s trying to convince anyone he’s a good person, but that he wants people (like feng xin) to understand how hypocritical they are for criticizing him when they too have done bad things, have had bad thoughts, have hurt people, are not perfect. It’s a clear double standard and he’s sick of it! One major theme of tgcf is that not a single one of us, even gods, are perfect, real “perfection” is an unattainable thing, and that what matters is accepting this and choosing to live in spite of this. I think Mu Qing and Xie Lian represent this point best, and this is also one of many reasons why I think Mu Qing is a bit of a foil to Xie Lian (among other reasons, have we all seen their parallels?). And that’s why he’s so fixated on Xie Lian’s suffering. He isn’t happy that he’s suffering, he’s happy because he feels vindicated. It’s proof that Xie Lian isn’t the perfect little godling prince who can do anything and is loved by everyone that everyone (feng xin, from mu qing’s perspective) seems to act like he is. It’s proof that Mu Qing is right, and that nobody has any right to criticize him. It’s a shitty thing for him to think given the circumstances, of course, but I also think it’s an important distinction to make.

(Some plot spoilers under the cut)

So Mu Qing clearly isn’t a saint, but he’s not a demon either. People who Specifically give Mu Qing a hard time for being a bad friend, for leaving, for being a dick, etc. forget that Feng Xin left too (and also criticized him unjustly). As if someone like Pei Ming didn’t cheat on every woman he’s ever seen. As if Yin Yu didn’t tell Quan Yizhen to go die. As if Jun Wu, Heavenly Emperor, the god of gods, didn’t help destroy a nation in the most painful way possible, physically and psychologically torture a kid, commit a TON of murder, inflict biological warfare at LEAST twice…..etc……..out of all the characters who have done bad things Mu Qing is one of the normal ones.

Not better, not worse.

It’s not that what he did wasn’t bad, it’s that everyone else has done horrible things too, and it’s unfair to call him out specifically when everyone else has just as much if not more baggage to check first.

[jonathankai]

I think Pei Ming got appointed as the next Heavenly Emperor and the whole process went something like this: soon after the finale the whole court gathers round and decides that they will need a new leader to supervise the reconstruction of capital. When the question about candidates drops, everyone becomes quiet for a while, Then some guys start talking, dropping Polite HintsTM that they might be just the right person. These people start mocking each other and arguing, but before the fight can catch fire, Feng Xin points a finger at Xie Lian and loudly declares that Xie Lian has single-handedly defeated Jun Wu and thus he is the strongest of them all. Pei Ming agrees with enthusiasm. Mu Qing nods silently but firmly. Quan Yizhen doesn't say anything but he looks at Xie Lian and beams with excitement the same way he did when he saw Hua Cheng's carriage.

Basically all martial gods are thrilled to be next to a guy who won a boss fight.

Everyone who is not a martial god pales and holds their breath.

Xie Lian smiles and says no.

Martial gods shrug.

Everyone who is not a martial god sighs with relief.

Ling Wen points out that, without Jun Wu and Shi Wudu, the most worshipped god is Pei Ming.

Everyone falls silent for a minute, contemplating this. Then some people start voicing their agreement, others nod along. It seems that Pei Ming is getting court’s support.

Seeing this, Rong Guang laughs and comments that Pei Ming is a vain man after all, not being satisfied with the position of mortal ruler and carving himself a path to the Heavenly Emperor’s throne instead.

Pei Ming pales, then reddens and tells Rong Guang to shut up. While the position of the Emperor is not the one he would chase after, it’s a job that needs to be done, and if he’s trusted with the task, then he will serve the Heavens the best way he can. This is what he tells other officials.

Voices of support become louder and more excited, people start cheering and applauding for Pei Ming, but he asks for silence. He says that when it comes to worship, there are gods who may compete with him. He then addresses Feng Xin and Mu Qing, asking if they want to fight him for the title.

Ling Wen sighs and thinks to herself that when it comes to gods of war, even the future of Heavens would be decided by who throws punches harder.

Without missing a beat, Feng Xin says that he supports Pei Ming. Mu Qing, however, stays silent for a couple of seconds before voicing his support, which prompts Feng XIn to jab him in the ribs with an elbow and say: “What, do you really think YOU can be a Heavenly Emperor?!” To which Mu Qing replies: “Why do you think I necessarily think about myself?! Maybe I’m contemplating other worthy candidates!” Feng Xin retorts that he doesn’t think Mu Qing thinks what he thinks he thinks, but he thinks –  and they proceed to fight for the title of the most thoughtful god until Xie Lian proclaims both of them great thinkers.

So the matter is settled. Pei Ming turns to Ling Wen and says that as the new Heavenly Emperor, he will see to her punishment being appropriate to her hideous crimes.

Ling Wen gives him a sour look and says she’d rather burn her own temples and then lock herself in prison for the rest of her days.

Pei Ming claps her on the shoulder and says he’s looking forward to working with her.

[quetzalpapalotl]

Xie Lian tells Jun Wu that it doesn't matter if people call him a god of misfortune as long as he knows he's not one. But Xie Lian does call himself a scrap god, he tells Mu Qing that beign a scrap collector is his main job. Xie Lian is not ashamed of this fact. The move he defeated the Heavenly Emperor with was the move of a street performer. Xie Lian is proud to be a scrap collecting god because when he was only a martial god he didn't understand the struggles of the common people despite his desire to help them. His 800 year experience as a scrap collector is what sets him apart from the rest of heaven.

[kitakikikitkat]

So I’ve been listening to God Games from Epic the musical, I haven’t listened to all of Epic the musical songs.

Anyways every time I listen to it I think of an au where it’s tgcf x svsss crossover. Where Odysseus is Luo Binghe (maybe after Shen Qingqiu’s death he causes too much chaos and like the martial gods are like woah there sunny boy we gotta have a talk or something) and Athena is Shang Qinghua and he’s like trynna help out LBH (bros his son so he gotta help him out plus bros the protagonist). I’m not sure about that I just thought the role fit SQH or made more sense in my mind (he doesn’t necessarily have to be like the god of wisdom in this crossover just LBH’s advocate or something along those lines).

I’m not sure who Zeus would be though, in my mind the timeline this takes place in is after the ending of tgcf where Jun Wu isn’t the heavenly emperor anymore (I haven’t read all of tgcf yet so I might be wrong on a few details, I have gotten a lot of spoilers about tgcf so I know the gist of how the story goes so I mean no offense if I get any details wrong). Plus mind you that the martial gods who will be deciding whether LBH should be released will be those who are in the upper heavenly court, I’m not thinking if the Greek God would fit the character more like they’re going to be judges of some sort mind you. Like they’re considered “high up” enough to be like “oh your opinion as a judge like martial god is important we gotta see what you say” kinda thing (and the tgcf/svsss characters I put to the epic the musical characters only fit for this song).

Anyways I thought Apollo would be Shi Qingxuan (in this au crossover he’s still there let me be delusional and not remember the unfortunate beefleaf ending) or let’s just think that maybe SQX somehow became a god again (because I really want them to still be a god and madly in love with He Xuan and get their happy ending because I can’t accept the beefleaf ending).

Anyways and then I thought Hephaestus would be Pei Ming (I don’t know why I thought that would be him but then again maybe it would be someone else, I thought he might also fit Ares but there’s a reason why I don’t think he’d fit being Ares but I also thought he’d fit Zeus).

Then Aphrodite would be Mu Qing because of the whole mom thing that happened with him, I think he would misunderstand LBH and how dedicated he was to the washer woman and might think that LBH should have stayed by his mother’s side and all that jazz. Anyways I think the person that just has to be Ares in my mind is Feng Xin, mainly because I love Fengqing and I want FX and MQ to be together, and in the song there’s this lyric that goes “and tell your lover” etc etc so whoever I thought would fit Ares and Aphrodite had to be two people who I shipped.

The person who I can just think would fit Hera would be Hua Cheng, SQH would be like “oh and he really loves his first crush like would do anything for him” and HC would be like “oh shoot release him then” because it just so happen that SQH “forgot” some details (how SQQ and LBH met again) and HC just thinks to himself about himself and Xie Lian and is like “this kid fr is like me I gotta have him be released so he can continue serving/looking after his crush”.

Anyways the part of the lyrics where it’s “is she dead?” Instead of it being Ares (FX) who asks that because Athena (SQH) gets struck with lightning maybe during this time it just so happens that LBH had been here during the whole trial just in a cage (a see through invisible cage that seals him up or something), and he wakes up and wants to ask the martial gods if SQQ is actually dead and if there isn’t anything that he can do to bring him back. SQH is like “what should I do” because if the gods say “oh yeah he’s dead” then LBH could go on a rampage and end up messing up all the progress he made in convincing the martial gods.

Maybe before SQH went to advocate for LBH he sent a letter to SQQ (let’s just say SQQ didn’t take years to get back and SQQ and SQH had met up secretly) so he just sent a letter informing SQQ of all the things happening and SQQ is the one who’s praying/saying “let him go, please, let him go” and it shows this. Because maybe SQQ isn’t dumb and actually knows that he might have actual feelings for LBH (or maybe he’s still dumb and just telling himself that he is just worried over the system punishing him if LBH is punished by the heavenly court) and the only reason SQQ didn’t try and go with SQH is he still thinks LBH hates him and that he’ll kill him if he sees him or just doesn’t want to cause LBH any trouble or pain from seeing him. So the martial gods are like “Ight the truth is he’s still alive” and it shows this like the whole SQQ praying (SQQ is obviously Penelope) and etc like some sort of projection and that’s how god games song ends for this au.

I don’t know where I was going with this, I just wanted to get people’s opinions over this huge delusional hyper fixation plus write it down before I forget this thought process.

[teufelsabbiss]

Story-idea: Alliances and political marriage

Tianlang-Jun/Yuè Qīngyuán, Mu Qingfang/Zhuzhi-Lang, Mobei Jun/Shang Qinghua

(This would be hilarious if it was mostly from the POV of Cang Qiong's former generation sect leader, so lets run with that.)

A whim changes the fate of the world. Tianlang-Jun can't decide whether to go watch a theater play in a certain city or visit the festival in another. He makes Zhuzhi-Lang choose between a ribbon and a pebble (ribbon for play, stone for festival). In this universe Zhuzhi-Lang picks the stone and this changes everything!

The play is in a city in Huan Hua territory and had they gone there, Tianlang-Jun would've met Su Xiyan. But the festival is in Cang Qiong territory and he is noticed by members of the local sect. The two just stick out too much despite their disguises and there's a brief scuffle in which their demonic aura is revealed before they ditch the cultivators in the many alleys of the city. Tianlang-Jun thinks the chase was a lot of fun. Zhuzhi-Lang very much disagrees with this sentiment.

Cang Qiong's sect leader, after getting informed of this event, sends his head disciple to investigate and assess the threat. Yuè Qīngyuán finds Tianlang-Jun and is really baffled by the joviality of this powerful demon. Since their interaction is very amicable, Tianlang-Jun agrees to drop his disguise. Yue Qingyuan then brings back the weird news.

His shizun is very perturbed that the heavenly demon emperor himself is roaming the human realm, let alone his turf. Just the description of his behavior doesn't make sense! He orders Yuè Qīngyuán to continue spying and glean more information about the demon's motives.

They get along surprisingly well and Tianlang-Jun is flirting rather heavily pretty soon. Cang Qiong's sect leader sniffs a chance for a powerful alliance with the demon realm and arrogates the role of guardianship for his future successor and begins brokering a marriage between the demon emperor Tianlang-Jun and Yue Qingyuan.

His fellow peak lords are not quite as on board as he thought they would be.

More surprisingly, though, is that the head disciple of Qing Jing peak, who always seemed to hate Yuè Qīngyuán, is the most furious out of everyone in the sect on Yuè Qīngyuán's behalf and even dares to snarl(!) at the demon lord. Until he's convinced that Tianlang-Jun is (in SQQ's words) just as much of a silly idiot as Yuè Qīngyuán and that both have genuine feelings for each other. After that he approves. And somehow Yuè Qīngyuán and Shen Qingqiu seem to have overcome their problems too and are really close now. A bit as if they're brothers. Isn't that weird? The sect leader won't complain, though. Take that, shidis and shimeis, he knew his idea was great!

(Unbeknownst to the sect leader, the complicated relationship of Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu led to a great deal of questioning and meddling on Tianlang-Jun's part. This luckily worked to clear up their misunderstandings. But now Shen Qingqiu has a great deal of hatred reserved for the current sect leader. Yue Qingyuan has to muster all his talent in diplomacy and insist and beg to get both Shen Qingqiu and Tianlang-Jun to drop their murder plans toward his shizun.)

Somehow, without the sect leader noticing, the snake general Zhuzhi-Lang strikes up a friendship with the head disciple of Cian Qao peak, Mu Qingfang. And Tianlang-Jun is nudging them towards courtship. And it works.

Huh. Well, two marriages would make the alliance more steady, right?

The rest of the cultivation world is not fine with this development. The largest sect mingling with demons in such a scandalous way is outrageous! There's only two ways this can go: Either 1) let them do as they please and keep civil, if not outright welcoming of their ways. Or 2) eradicate them. The latter means war with the sect that has the most powerful cultivator's of their era and a heavenly demon and his half-heavenly demon general and their forces combined. Few are brave and stupid enough to demand the war option and those who do are forced to give up for lack of support and are left to stew in the distance.

After a while it's clear that the alliance is actually going well for Cang Qiong territory, the surrounding areas and the human realm in general. There are no protests from the mortals. Especially the tiny villages and outposts along the border to the demon realm are a lot safer now. There's more trading going on and this benefits a lot of people, too.

Then one day the An Ding peak head disciple, Shang Qinghua, is dragged into one of their meetings by a powerful ice demon who demands to marry him. The future ruler of the Northern kingdom, Mobei Jun, was informed of the courtships that went on in the sect and realized what he actually wanted from his human. The mousy little guy misunderstood his intentions up until he makes this declaration in front of everyone.

Now the sect leader is a bit worried, though. What if things go on like this? Will there be more demon suitors? Will their sect be half demonic later?!

And no, his shidis and shimeis are very much not allowed to make fun of him for starting this! If their successors play their cards right, they can assure lasting safety and prosperity for the human realm! And they will ascend soon and it'll not be their problem any longer anyway, so...¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[csilla-nocturne]

Silly AU idea:

Xie Lian is never banished, (Maybe Jun Wu isn't even heavenly emperor?) Hong-er still becomes Hua Cheng.

Other gods are are getting incredibly jealous that Xie Lian has his absolutely devoted, super powerful believer who is always helping him out. They come up with a plan to capture Hua Cheng using Xie Lian as bait.

Xie Lian, after waking up bound thinking he'd just been invited to nice little lunch get together, finding out what they are planing: I don't think this is going to work the way you think it will.

Feng Xin, and Mu Qing when they show up to intervene: This isn't going to work, and you are all fucking idiots. (They know it isn't going to work because they they already tried this once.)

While everyone else is too busy arguing to notice Hua Cheng slips in easily bypasses whatever traps they set up, and leaves with Xie Lian. Well Pei Ming noticed, but he was just there cause he was bored, and all he does is give Hua Cheng a thumbs up, or whatever the ancient Chinese equivalent is while they leave.

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

Most iconic Feng Xin things according to me

Contains spoilers

Swearing all the time about everything

His idea of a disguise being his face when he was young + Mu Qing's hair color

Being so terrified of women that being in a bath house of them is his biggest nightmare

Having a whole (well. Not whole) child with a woman that became a resentful fetus spirit

Being a deadbeat dad but not knowing he is one for like 800 years

Big Dick General™️

Having a resting bitch face

The fact that he ascended due to being so proficient at martial arts and not being a cultivator

Also having horrible handwriting like Hua Cheng but nobody to help him with it

When Xie Lian ascended and tore down his palace and he was incredibly angry about it in public but secretly excused Xie Lian's debt <3

Being loyal and devoted to the point he used to think it ridiculous that he and Xie Lian would ever part ways

Gifting the golden belt Xie Lian gave him to Jian Lan as proof of his loyalty to her

When he uses his archery skills for busking and he tears into the screen of a brothel so he and Xie Lian run away so they dont have to pay back the damages

^this being how he meets Jian Lan again, and where he goes to spend time with her as he nurtures feelings for her, renting her services some nights without doing anything just to spend time with her <3

When he and Xie Lian refused the rice Mu Qing got for them after the fall of Xianle and drove him away but then went back for the rice lmao

Every time he sees Mu Qing, its on sight

Getting drenched in the blood rain like an angsty teen whilst everyone else took cover and then dripping blood all over the palace of the heavenly emperor

Being appalled at the idea that Xie Lian eats food off the ground???

"Go sweep the floors!"

Not iconic Feng Xin things:

His "second male lead in a romance story" vibes

[divinityshackled]

Merits. Xie Lian was low on merits again, which was nothing new, he had grown used to make a living by collecting scraps in the mortalrealm, it was something he enjoyed as it meant he was able to wander around and explore, connect with people and learn about new traditions and cultures. The world was an everchanging place and Xie Lian loved it, even though it didn’t love him back. He spent the last centuries as a scrap collector, a humble Daoist, and more often than not he ended up in trouble, both accidentally causing it or unknowingly walking into it. But he had been fine. There wasn’t much he needed, if only a bamboo mat and a roof over his head. He was also fine with sleeping beneath the stars, but under certain weather conditions a roof was nice nevertheless.

And even after he ascended for the third time, his favorite place to be was still the mortal realm. Whenever he tried to talk to any of the other Heavenly Officials they pretended not to hear him or if they actually talked to him there were a lot of snarky remarks and mean comments. He was used to it, but that didn’t mean it did not sting from time to time, and there also were Feng Xin and Mu Qing; former friends and companions from his past, now nothing more than strangers. Yes, Xie Lian preferred staying away from the Heavenly business as far as possible, but that didn’t stop Ling Wen and the Heavenly Emperor himself from trying to get the Crown Prince to socialize, or working to get his hands on more merits to make his life a little easier.

“There is a haunted forest and you want me to go investigate because people keep being murdered there? And you believe it is connected to the missing forest guardian? Hmm.”

Xie Lian tilted his head to the side, looking like he was contemplating things when it was already obvious he had no chance to decline, not when it was Jun Wu who asked him to solve this very mystery. Eventually he nodded, accepting the scroll Ling Wen offered him, taking a short glance at it before storing it away in his sleeve.

“Thank you, Ling Wen. I will go to the Nature Palace to ask about the missing guardian and then I will be on my way. I will stay in touch.”

Well, he would try to, but they both knew Xie Lian’s spiritual energy was very limited and it was prone to running out whenever he was in desperate need of contacting Ling Wen in the communication array. The Crown Prince smiled gently and then turned around to leave, making his way over to the part of the Capital that inhabited the palace of the Rain master and the rest of the nature gods and goddesses.

Xie Lian was genuinely surprised when he approached the Nature Palace. While everything was kept in gold like the rest of the city, this part was also incredibly green, with soft grass and trees bearing different fruits, looking ready to be harvested despite it being early spring. He curiously glanced around, but once he entered the Nature Palace he stopped a moment, being in complete awe with what he saw.

The atmosphere in the Nature Palace was calm and relaxing and the Officials walking around did not seem hostile at all, they looked at him with equal curiosity. Xie Lian tried not to stare too much, as he had never seen Officials and guardians like these before; most of them had hooves and their heads were crowned with all different shapes of horns and antlers. The Crown Prince found them all to be rather mesmerizing. He cleared his throat and then slowly stepped forward, he had been away from the Heavenly Court for so long and did not know who was in charge of this Palace, so he approached a lady official with a pair of antlers on the side of her head.

“Greetings. I am here to investigate a matter by the Emperor’s order, it is about a missing guardian from this Palace? Can you tell me more about that?”