The myth begins with the Lotus Lantern

Chapter 196 Heaven
"Thank you, Your Excellency."

Ding Lindao said that he heard it clearly. The decree began with "Tiannu," which he had never heard of before, but he guessed that it must be someone like the Grand Steward of Yaochi.

Indeed, the transfer of minor officials like the land deity would not require the decree of the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother unless it was a special matter. The return of the Peach Garden to the Jade Pool was a trivial internal affair that could be decided with just a word from the steward.

Ding Lin cupped his hands, intending to bow, but then felt it would be too impolite. A grand bow of thanks seemed beneath him; he had never been familiar with the etiquette and rules of the Heavenly Court. He raised his hands, but halfway up, he didn't know what to do next.

"I am a man from the mountains and fields... If I have been disrespectful in any way, I hope Your Excellency will forgive me."

Ding Lin simply stopped, scratched his head, looked embarrassed, and pretended to be a clueless country bumpkin who had never seen the world.

"Brother Jin is indeed straightforward. The ancestral order is not the Empress's decree. Fortunately, Brother Jin did not kneel, otherwise..." the man in white laughed.

"Thank you for your guidance, Your Excellency." Ding Lin said, and then he and Que Xian bowed deeply to the silk scroll.

“Brother Jin, there’s no need for such formalities. Our ancestors already gave instructions when I came. I’ve already prepared the official robes and seals for you two, and they’ve been registered in the palace. You don’t need to go through the procedures yourself.”

The man in white handed over the silk spool and pointed to the two trays that were being held up in mid-air by magic.

"Thank you, Your Excellency." Ding Lin stepped forward, took the silk scroll, and as he handed it to the white-robed man, he slipped a two-step Nascent Soul inner core into his sleeve.

The man in white clenched his fist under his sleeve, roughly sensing the quality of the inner core. His smile deepened; his satisfaction wasn't due to the inner core, but rather Ding Lin's attitude.

"Congratulations, gentlemen." A celestial general, seizing the opportunity, offered his congratulations, his palm flashing with light as he presented two bottles of pills. His face showed envy. "I was blind and neglected you earlier. I hope you will forgive me. To be able to serve in the Jade Pool so soon after ascending to heaven, you two have a bright future ahead of you!"

"Thank you for your kind words, sir." Ding Lin smiled and accepted the medicine bottle with Que Xian. It was nothing unusual; it's human nature to seek advantage and avoid harm. He certainly wouldn't hold a grudge, but it was impossible for him to have a good impression of this general again.

Seeing that Ding Lin and Que Xian accepted the gifts, Tian Jiang's smile became more genuine. Both sides understood that this was not a congratulatory gift, but an apology. By accepting this apology, the previous neglect could be considered forgiven.

Immediately, Tianjiang felt a pang of regret, thinking to himself that he had been short-sighted after all. If he had been more patient, he could have forged this good relationship.

Who would complain about having too many connections in the Jade Pool?
“Brother Jin, I will accompany you to your new post.” The man in white said.

"Thank you for your trouble, Your Excellency," Ding Lin said.

"No trouble at all," the white-robed man said knowingly, seeing the general's demeanor. "It's just a matter of passing by. Besides, Brother Jin's position was personally requested by the eldest princess from the ancestor. Perhaps in the future, I will need Brother Jin's help in some situations."

That day, the smile that was plastered on her face became even more forced.

“It’s not a short journey. Coincidentally, Brother Jin is also new here and not very familiar with the heavens yet. I’ll take this opportunity to explain it to Brother Jin as well.” The man in white then looked at the Magpie Fairy. “As for Miss Wenxi, we will be working together in Yaochi from now on. After I send Brother Jin to his post, we can return together.”

"We'll leave it all to Your Excellency's arrangements," Ding Lin and Que Xian said in thanks. The man in white smiled, casually pointed, and the two official robes were put on Ding Lin and Que Xian, while the seals hung at their waists.

"There are many people in the Heavenly Court. When traveling outside, it's best to wear official robes to avoid a lot of trouble," the man in white said again.

……

"In the eyes of mortals, heaven is the place above the earth. All the stars in the sky can be considered to live in heaven. But heaven is not the Heavenly Court. Each of the stars has a star lord who is in charge. They are all outside the Heavenly Court and generally do not set foot in the Heavenly Court except for a major court assembly."

A white cloud drifted by, and a man in white on the cloud spoke eloquently, which Ding Lin listened to intently.

"The real Heavenly Court only occupies a very small part of the sky. When the pillar of heaven collapsed and Mount Buzhou fell, the goddess Nuwa repaired the sky. Half of Mount Buzhou fell to earth and was taken away by the primordial sage. The other half that did not fall was left in the sky after the sky was repaired and became the foundation of the Heavenly Court."

"This Heavenly Court is actually an isolated island, with layers upon layers. We are currently at the very bottom, which is what mortals call the first layer of heaven."

The man in white looked up, and Ding Lin and Que Xian followed his gaze upwards. Before their eyes were layers upon layers of palaces, standing side by side, a sight that dazzled the eye.

"There are thirty-three levels in total. The Lingxiao Palace and Yaochi are at the very top, which is the thirty-third heaven. The residences of the Heavenly Kings and Divine Lords are also in the upper heavens," the man in white explained. As he finished speaking, the circular path came to an end, and they ascended to the second heaven.

Ding Lin and Que Xian looked down and, sure enough, the path they had just walked on was now trampled under their feet.

Further down, the clouds grew deep and vast.

"Heaven...and Earth," the Magpie Fairy seemed somewhat moved. She seemed to suddenly remember something and hesitated, "Your Excellency, when I was in the mortal realm, I heard that one day in heaven is equivalent to one year on earth?"

"Yes and no." The man in white smiled. "Due to the difference in spatial dimensions, the flow of time in heaven and on earth is indeed slightly different, but they are still roughly on the same level, no more than three to five days. That is, three days in heaven is equivalent to five days on earth."

"However, the saying that one day in heaven is equivalent to one year on earth is not entirely wrong. Above the thirty-three heavens is the realm of gods, where great celestial beings cultivate."

"At their level, the spiritual energy required for a single cultivation session is in the hundreds of millions. Since the Lich War, the pillars of heaven have collapsed and the primordial world has been shattered. There are few places in the world left for those with great supernatural powers to cultivate."

"So the Great Celestial Venerable created another place above the heavens to accelerate the flow of time and condense spiritual energy for the gods of the heavens to cultivate. In fact, it is more like a small grotto-heaven. It was passed down by word of mouth, but people in the lower realms did not know about it, so errors gradually arose. In fact, heaven and earth are in the same space-time, so how could there be such a big time difference?" the white-robed man explained.

"We are newcomers and our knowledge is limited. We hope you will forgive us," Ding Lin said. This was indeed a blind spot in his knowledge, and hearing these words, some of his doubts were resolved.

This explains why some of the myths in Ding Lin's memory reacted swiftly to the heavens as soon as they occurred, while others took many years to become clear.

From this perspective, apart from certain deliberate factors, it should be that the person in charge, who possessed great supernatural abilities, was caught up in the difference in the passage of time and was unable to react in time.

(End of this chapter)