"It was the time when Emperor Ku ruled the world. Back then, there are no wars around. The beasts roamed the land freely while the humans lived in their settlements without the worry of any invasion.
I was born as the daughter of a noble and Houyi was born in a small village. Usually, we were born in different worlds that couldn't align with each other in any time period.
But, the sudden appearance of the Cosmic Orb of Malevolence plunged our Diqiu realm into chaos. People became greedy. The nobles wanted to rule, the commoners wanted to hunt down the beasts to get stronger, and the dragons wanted to loot the people, ugh... that was a decade I couldn't forget even after a long time.
As the ancients often say, heroes rise in turbulent times, Houyi's talents as an archer made him well known all across the world over time; with blessings from Emperor Ku, he became the guardian of the world.
During this period, we met each other, fell in love, and became a married couple.
Just as we thought everything would come to an end, the Sun God gets corrupted for some reason and he multiplies nine times to surround our world, intending to destroy all life for some unknown reason.
Houyi accepted the emperor's plea and set out to save the world.
Armed with his celestial bow and magical arrows bestowed upon him by Emperor Ku, Houyi climbed to the peak of Kunlun Mountain, where he had a clear view of the ten suns.
With unmatched precision and strength, he shot down nine of the ten suns, leaving only one to provide light and warmth while taking all of that remnant energy into him to protect the world, almost dying in the process.
Impressed by his efforts, Xi Wangmu, the Queen Mother of the West and Jade Emperor's wife, gave him the elixir of immortality as a reward. Houyi could drink it and ascend to the heavens as an undying immortal but instead, he brought it back to our home to keep it safe.
He actually planned on using it to brew a magical elixir so that even a poor boy in a mountain village gets to enjoy long life spans with immunity to disease and extraordinary healing recovery. But, he wasn't an alchemist.
The only one he trusts to make such an elixir is the mighty Leviathan, which he had a contract with. Who could have expected his own summoning contract would betray him for the elixir?
Houyi and Leviathan fought for days and nights. They were heavily injured and Leviathan's army wanted to raid the world to acquire the elixir in the absence of the guardian.
To protect it from falling into the wrong hands, I had to drink all of the elixir and become immortal while my husband died due to injuries. But, the story doesn't end there.
That evil serpent dragged his body and soul back with it to the depths of the netherworld, a place where all the Deities, even the Jade Emperor, are vulnerable. On the other hand, as I assumed the post of the ruler of the moons, I'm stuck in this palace, not capable of leaving that place.
But, at the same time, there is also an issue of security. If the air in the netherworld is poisonous to divine beings, Chang'e wouldn't be much of a help. Her cultivation might be suppressed to Saint Realm and she might not be a match for Bael.
So, is it necessary to take her with him?
After thinking thoroughly, Mark said, "I accept the task but under one condition." He bowed to her once again and cupped his fists, "Your Grace, I request you to heal my sister prior to our journey so that I get to be in peace."
"That goes without saying, mortal," Chang'e's smile continued to stay on her face as she further added, "After all, we need the power of her Cosmic Orb to defeat that evil monster. Before we go, I'll also help you enter the Demigod realm. Moreover, if you want to remove the Mark of the Queen Mother Goddess, branded on your soul, you would have to be in the Demigod realm.
Until we work on your issues, you can stay here as the guest."
"It was from the Queen Mother?" Mark's heart skipped a beat when he heard it. His eyes widened as he thought, 'No wonder the system said it doesn't have the power to erase the mark.'
"Thank you."
One day later;
In one of the gardens of the Moon Palace, Mark is seen meditating as Chang'e was personally helping him with the breakthrough.
Through her blessing of divine energy, his cells rapidly turned into ether particles, increasing their number every second.
In just an hour, they reached almost 1 billion in number, the bottleneck of the Supreme realm. Mark could feel a burst of energy inside his body. He could sense how strong he had become.
While he might have taken a shortcut to reach such a stage, Mark doesn't feel an ounce of shame for it. If it happens by luck, then, so be it. If it happens by taking the help of a third party, so be it.
As long as his goal is achieved, it is satisfying for him.
On the other hand, The Moon Goddess doesn't look good. She has a deep frown on her face as she continuously pours her divine essence into Mark's body, "Why? It's been absorbed but not being refined. There was a huge wall that even I couldn't break? Is this his limit? No, that cannot be.
He is the holder of the Blizzard Pegasus and some unknown power that even I'm not aware of. There is no way his potential is stuck here. What might be the reason?"
After trying it for another hour, she stopped the process and let out a deep sigh, "It's useless."