The Star Lord Chang Sheng of the Palace of Trials - Chapter 1
(T/N: hehe….this is a very short novel with only 35 chapters…just feel bored with translating novel with hundreds of chapters…. yeah.. This novel is little bit cliché but want can i say…i just love cliché soooo much novel…hehe… I’m hana_lumina and my nickname is cliché novel translator…hahahhahah…)
Chapter One: Even a Dog Needs to Watch Its Master Before Attacking
This story begins in the Heavenly Palace—the place we all know where the Celestial Emperor sits in command, surrounded by heavenly soldiers and generals.
Star Lord Chang Sheng had just received a commendation at the Lingxiao Hall and was on his way back to his residence.
Star Lord Chang Sheng is a celestial official specifically responsible for overseeing the trials of immortals descending to the mortal realm.
Recently, the Dragon King of the East Sea had plotted rebellion and was punished by the Jade Emperor.
After having his cultivation destroyed and being sent to endure five lifetimes of mortal trials, he was further sentenced to be suppressed under the Heavenly Tower for five thousand years.
Star Lord Chang Sheng had just been specially summoned to the Lingxiao Hall to be commended by the Jade Emperor for perfectly ensuring the Dragon King’s completion of his five lifetimes of trials.
Of course, being praised for something like this didn’t bring Star Lord Chang Sheng much joy.
Successfully making others suffer—no matter how well the task was carried out—only earned resentment.
Sure enough, before he even reached the Palace of Trials, trouble had already come looking for him.
The visitor was Jiang Hui, the fourth son of the Dragon King of the East Sea.
Jiang Hui wasn’t a favored son in the East Sea, so he planned to stage a grand “avenge my father” act to win support from his kin and seize power.
Jiang Hui: “Star Lord Chang Sheng! You subjected my father to endless humiliation over five lifetimes—I’ll make sure you die by my staff today!”
With that, Jiang Hui brandished the treasured weapon of the East Sea—the Cloud-Piercing Staff.
Of course, Jiang Hui wasn’t actually planning to kill anyone; he was just here to put on a show.
But when he noticed how slender and frail Star Lord Chang Sheng looked—so delicate that even a strong breeze might carry him away—his confidence swelled, and he boasted loudly.
Star Lord Chang Sheng sneered coldly and stepped back.
A flash of white light erupted, and a tall, imposing warrior appeared on the spot.
This man had sharp eyebrows, piercing eyes, and wore a suit of battle armor.
His swift movements clearly marked him as a formidable warrior.
Jiang Hui wondered if he had simply been unlucky enough to encounter some passing god.
Jiang Hui: “I am Jiang Hui of the East Sea. My grievance today is solely with Star Lord Changsheng; I have no intention of offending anyone else. Your imposing presence speaks volumes—may I know who you are?”
The warrior simply replied, “No need for words. Make your move.”
Jiang Hui: “Are you determined to protect Star Lord Chang Sheng?”
The warrior said nothing, merely gesturing with his hand: “Come at me.”
Afraid he might have encountered a real powerhouse, Jiang Hui said hesitantly, “At least give me your name before we fight.”
“Niyan.”
Jiang Hui wasn’t well-acquainted with the figures in the Heavenly Court since he rarely accompanied the Dragon King there.
But he prided himself on knowing every famous warrior by name.
Yet he had never heard of “Niyan,” so he assumed this must be some insignificant figure.
Gaining confidence again, he charged forward with his staff.
However, he didn’t even take three full steps before his Cloud-Piercing Staff was sent flying.
What just happened?
Jiang Hui wondered in shock.
Niyan: “I’ve heard the Cloud-Piercing Staff of the East Sea is an unparalleled divine weapon. Seeing it today, it lives up to its name—my halberd couldn’t even scratch it.”
Halberd? Did he use a weapon?
Jiang Hui was utterly confused.
Niyan: “Come again.”
Weaponless now, Jiang Hui prepared to throw a punch. But before he could react, Niyan dashed forward at an astonishing speed, pinning him to the ground.
In an instant, Niyan’s hand was firmly gripping Jiang Hui’s throat.
Niyan: “You’ve overstepped.”
Jiang Hui tried to resist, but Niyan’s right hand began to glow with white flames, radiating immense spiritual energy.
Jiang Hui: “Who… who are you really?”
Niyan: “Niyan.”
With that, Niyan stood up, bowed respectfully toward Star Lord Chang Sheng, and waited for him to pass before silently following behind.
Jiang Hui, on the other hand, lay on the ground, unable to get up for a long time.
That overwhelming, soul-crushing strength had sapped all his will to fight.
Niyan’s true form was the White Tiger, a divine beast personally assigned by the Queen Mother of the West to guard Star Lord Chang Sheng.
He never left Star Lord Chang Sheng’s side, which explained why he had never been seen on the battlefield.
Anyone familiar with the Heavenly Court knew of Niyan’s terrifying prowess.
It was said that Niyan was undefeated, save for one loss against Erlang Shen.
But that was understandable—after all, the White Tiger was one of the Four Divine Beasts, alongside the Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise.
But why would someone as important as the Queen Mother assign the White Tiger to guard Star Lord Chang Sheng, a mere overseer of divine trials?
The truth was, Star Lord Chang Sheng’s true form was the very first Flat Peach borne from the Queen Mother’s celestial peach tree.
Overjoyed at its creation, the Queen Mother granted it intelligence and allowed it to cultivate into human form, naming it Zhinuo.
Later, when the Jade Emperor needed someone impartial to oversee divine trials, the Queen Mother offered Zhinuo for the role.
As Zhinuo had no family ties or personal relationships in the Heavenly Court, he was seen as the perfect candidate.
However, despite his advanced cultivation, Zhinuo’s essence remained that of a celestial peach.
His body could grant immortality, immense spiritual power, and even resurrection.
Naturally, many beings—gods, demons, and monsters alike—would covet his flesh and blood.
Thus, the Jade Emperor gave him the title Star Lord Chang Sheng and ordered that only a select few deities, including Niyan, could know his true identity.
The Queen Mother then assigned Niyan to ensure that not a single drop of Star Lord Chang Sheng’s blood would ever be spilled.
For nearly ten thousand years, Niyan had performed his duty flawlessly, protecting Star Lord Chang Sheng through over a thousand assassination attempts without ever allowing him to bleed.
Star Lord Chang Sheng: “We’re not returning to the palace yet. Let’s go find Xiao fan. The sooner this matter is settled, the better.”
Niyan: “Understood.”
Who was Xiao fan?
Xiao fan was the deity responsible for mortal destinies, overseeing every individual’s fortune and karma.
Whenever immortals descended to the mortal realm, their trials would affect mortal lives, requiring Xiao fan to adjust mortal destinies accordingly.
However, not every deity was as diligent as Star Lord Chang Sheng.
Xiao fan’s work was tedious and uninspired, so he had developed a unique method: getting completely drunk before writing mortal destinies.
As long as the balance of fortune and misfortune was maintained, the details hardly mattered.
This approach explained the bizarre coincidences in mortal life—finding treasure while unclogging a toilet or tripping into the arms of one’s Mr. Right.
At this moment, Xiao fan was predictably drunk, standing on his desk in his pavilion above the Narcissus Pond, singing loudly and pouring wine into the pool below—causing a light rain to fall in the mortal realm.
Star Lord Chang Sheng hurriedly joined forces with Niyan to help him down and said, “What are you doing!”
Xiao fan didn’t take Star Lors Chang Sheng seriously at all and continued singing loudly, “A laugh from the vast sea~ The surging shores… shores of grass~”
In a fluster, Star Lord Chang Sheng escorted Xiao fan into the study of Chenxi Palace.
[One must bear responsibility for one’s actions]
In the world of immortals, the Heavenly Palace is referred to as the Upper Realm, which, in mortal terms, is equivalent to the capital city.
If there’s an Upper Realm, naturally, there’s also a Lower Realm.
The so-called Lower Realm is where the common immortals live.
Generally, those holding official positions in the Heavenly Palace reside in the Upper Realm.
Of course, a few highly respected great deities, such as Supreme Lord Taishang and the Queen Mother of the West, choose other places to reside.
But that’s another story.
Ju Fang was a little cat immortal living in the Lower Realm.
Calling her an immortal might be too generous; she was basically just slightly better than a spirit.
She didn’t have much spiritual energy, but cats are naturally agile.
When it came to physical skills and escape speed, Ju Fang was never at a disadvantage.
If she weren’t a girl, she’d definitely be a hooligan.
Since childhood, she had been the boss among kids, gathering all kinds of animal immortals around her. Well, rather than “gathering,” it was more like they submitted to her tyranny.
There were little mouse immortals, mantis immortals, and even the myna immortal Wu Yi—all of whom couldn’t beat her.
Speaking of which, Wu Yi, who had been bullied by her since childhood, recently landed a small official position in the Celestial Kitchen, effectively climbing up the ranks to become an upper-class immortal.
But no matter how high the position, a bird still couldn’t beat a cat.
Thinking about the delicious dishes in the Celestial Kitchen, Ju Fang threatened, bribed, and coaxed until Wu Yi finally agreed to sneak her into the palace to taste the Celestial Kitchen’s leftovers.
Wu Yi, looking around nervously, whispered, “Not just any immortal can enter here. Keep a low profile, or I’ll get punished!”
“Don’t worry! If we’re discovered, I won’t drag you down!” Ju Fang said confidently.
Wu Yi nervously led the way ahead.
“Just one more turn, and we’ll reach the back door of the Celestial Kitchen.”
“Wait! What’s that smell? It’s so fragrant!”
A rich, sweet aroma wafted into Ju Fang’s nose.
Sniffing carefully, wasn’t that her favorite braised pork?
She couldn’t control her feet any longer and leaped over the wall where the smell came from.
Wu Yi hurried after her.
“No! That’s Chenxi Palace—we’re not at the Celestial Kitchen yet!”
Ju Fang, of course, paid no attention.
On a stone table in a pavilion before her were plates of pastries, osmanthus shrimp dumplings, ginseng chicken, and other delicacies unseen in the Lower Realm.
And, of course, there was her favorite braised pork.
Drooling at the sight, Ju Fang stared wide-eyed.
Wu Yi panicked and quickly swept several plates of food into his chest and flew up a tree to keep them safe from the cat’s claws.
“This is the meal of Immortal Xiao fan! If you want to eat, you can have anything from the Celestial Kitchen. You can’t touch this!” Wu Yi said in alarm.
“I’ll just eat one piece. They won’t notice,” Ju Fang said, licking her lips.
Seeing that Wu Yi had no intention of coming down, Ju Fang smirked, “Do you think I can’t climb trees?”
With a light push off the stone table, Ju Fang leaped onto the tree.
Her kick sent some cups and plates tumbling into the Narcissus Pond below.
Wu Yi, feathers nearly falling out from fright, yelled, “No! They fell into the pond!”
Oh? So this guy fears that! Ju Fang thought.
Her mischievous nature flared, and she began sweeping everything on the stone table into the Narcissus Pond one by one.
“How dare you cause chaos in Chenxi Palace!”
A male voice rang out from afar.
Ju Fang turned and saw a slender, fragile-looking man dressed as a scholarly immortal.
Just as she was about to silence him, Wu Yi called from the tree, “That Narcissus Pond connects to the mortal world! Look at the disaster you’ve caused!”
Hearing this, Ju Fang quickly peeked into the pond.
What she saw was catastrophic!
The cups and plates, mundane tableware in the heavens, turned into enchanted objects once they fell into the mortal world.
Luminous wine cups and Xuanhuo porcelain plates transformed into meteoric tornadoes and other natural disasters, plunging the mortal world into chaos and suffering.
Oh no! Ju Fang thought.
Without hesitation, she leaped into the Narcissus Pond.
Indeed, the one who had just spoken was Star Lord Chang Sheng.
Seeing the little cat spirit not only showing no remorse but also seemingly attempting to flee, he shouted, “Descending to the mortal world without permission is an even greater crime! Niyan, seize…”
Before he could finish, Star Lord Chang Sheng realized that the little cat spirit wasn’t running away—she was diving straight into the disaster zone.
Ju Fang used her meager spiritual energy to prop up collapsing houses, allowing villagers to escape.
She then toppled a large banyan tree to block villagers from being swept away by surging floods.
What is she doing? Star Lord Chang Sheng wondered.
In all his years in the Heavenly Palace, whenever an immortal committed a crime, they’d just kneel on the ground and accept punishment.
When had anyone ever gone down to rescue people themselves?
During the war between gods and demons, countless mortal lives were lost under the gods’ casual axe swings or whip lashes, and the punishment was typically just a few hundred years in confinement or some minor tribulations.
Once punished, they’d return to their revered positions.
Punishment was merely for appearances’ sake—to silence criticism.
The concept of making amends was foreign to them.
But now, he saw this little cat spirit, despite her limited spiritual energy, using her physical body to block a tornado, buying time for villagers to escape.
Wu Yi, seeing Ju Fang’s dwindling strength, wanted to help but feared Lord Chang Sheng would misunderstand and think he was fleeing.
So he shouted, “I’m Wu Yi, a kitchen officer from the Celestial Kitchen! I’ll help Ju Fang first and return to face punishment later!”
With that, Wu Yi jumped down as well.
So this little cat spirit’s name is Ju Fang! And Wu Yi… this little bird is brave despite looking like a child.
Star Lord Chang Sheng thought.
As soon as Wu Yi descended to the mortal realm, he hurriedly rescued the villagers from the river.
Once everyone was mostly safe, he turned to help Ju Fang, only to see her small body unable to withstand the raging tornado.
She was torn apart, her body and soul separated, and she perished on the spot.
Star Lord Chang Sheng was utterly stunned!
Even though throwing cups into the Narcissus Pool was no small matter, it shouldn’t have cost her life!
Ju Fang’s sacrifice seemed to have worked; the tornado was actually dispersed by her.
Not long after, small glowing orbs of light began to gather from all directions.
With a soft ding, these scattered soul fragments merged back together, and Ju Fang reappeared, completely unharmed.
“Could she be immortal?” Star Lord Chang Sheng wondered.
Seeing that Wu Yi had already settled the remaining villagers, Star Lord Chang Sheng dropped a willow branch, allowing Ju Fang and Wu Yi to climb back to the heavens.
[Uh… Where’s the Romance Tribulation Record?]
“I’m sorry for causing trouble. But one person should bear their own mistakes. You all heard it just now—Wu Yi tried to stop me. Please punish me alone. Whether you want to kill or flay me, I’ll accept it without complaint,” Ju Fang said, kneeling immediately upon returning to the heavens.
Star Lord Chang Sheng asked, “Are you immortal?”
Ju Fang replied, “My true form is a nine-lived cat; I still have eight lives left.”
After speaking, she cast a spell, and eight faintly glowing green threads appeared on her wrist.
Star Lord Chang Sheng had initially thought she might be some extraordinary figure with immortality, but now it seemed she was just a wild cat.
He carefully examined the two small immortals before him.
It was clear that Ju Fang wasn’t from the palace; she had likely been smuggled in by this kitchen officer, Wu Yi.
This Wu Yi, who had just displayed a manly courage by jumping down to help, was now trembling with fear—seems like his bravery was used up.
Smuggling a little immortal into the palace and causing havoc in Chenxi Palace—if this matter reached the Celestial Court, Wu Yi wouldn’t just lose his job as a kitchen officer; both of them might face grave punishment.
In the current sensitive atmosphere after the East Sea Dragon King’s rebellion, any investigation might result in both of them being reduced to ashes.
Remembering how Ju Fang had sacrificed one of her lives without hesitation, Star Lord Chang Sheng felt a moment of softness.
After all, it was just some cups and plates falling into the pool—was it worth pursuing so harshly?
Star Lord Chang Sheng said, “You’re not from the palace, are you? These dishes… Immortal Xiao fan doesn’t lack a few of them. As for the disasters below, well, that’s just the mortals’ fate. You may leav—”
Before he could finish, Changsheng Xingjun’s eyes caught sight of the Records of Birth Tribulation and the Records of Death Tribulation on the stone table.
Uh… where was the Records of Romance Tribulation?
“Where’s my Records of Romance Tribulation!?”
Star Lord Chang Sheng suddenly went berserk, frantically searching the stone table.
But the table was sparse, and it was obvious—it simply wasn’t there.
Star Lord Chang Sheng, trembling with rage, pointed at Ju Fang.
“Did you throw my Records of Romance Tribulation into the mortal realm!?”
Ju Fang nudged Wuyi with her elbow and whispered, “What’s a Records of Romance Tribulation? Why’s he so mad?” Wuyi shook his head, clueless.
With an expression like a guilty little kitten, Ju Fang asked, “Can we… buy another one?”
When immortals descend to undergo tribulations, they face three types: the Tribulation of Birth, the Tribulation of Death, and the Tribulation of Romance.
Star Lord Chang Sheng used these three records to plan and record each immortal’s tribulation experience.
Such precious artifacts couldn’t simply be bought.
Despite his anger, Star Lord Chang Sheng knew this was a massive problem, and it couldn’t be blown out of proportion.
Otherwise, these two would face utter annihilation.
Forget it.
He knew it had fallen into the mortal realm, so he would have to retrieve it slowly.
But without the Records of Romance Tribulation, if an immortal suddenly needed to undergo their tribulation, it would be chaotic.
An idea came to him.
Star Lord Chang Sheng said, “The Records of Romance Tribulation is lost. Until we find it, you will assist me in arranging romance tribulations!”
Ju Fang nodded so quickly it was like she was pecking rice.
Star Lord Chang Sheng continued, “And you, Wu Yi! Clean this place up with her, then bring her to the Department of Tribulation Records to report in.”
With that, he departed with Niyan.
At this moment, Xiaofan, slightly sobered up from his drunken stupor, leaned lazily against the study doorframe, silently watching everything.
Star Lord Chang Sheng was famously cold and unfeeling—practically an ice mountain.
Yet now he was privately covering for a mischievous little cat spirit?
Even if the cat was somewhat charming, it shouldn’t have melted that icy demeanor.
Xiaofan chuckled lightly.
This case… is not simple.
As they exited Chenxi Palace, Niyan asked, “So does this mean Ju Fang is now officially part of the Department of Tribulation Records?”
“Mm,” Star Lord Chang Sheng replied.
Niyan firmly declared, “Every blade of grass and tree in the Department of Tribulation Records, Niyan swears to guard with his life.”
