That year, Sangmo ascended and faced the lightning tribulation.
The tribulation was unprecedented and never to be repeated, the God of Agriculture Ze Lin protected her with his divine power until it was completely exhausted.
It coincided with the autumn harvest in the Mortal Realm, and Ze Lin was unable to bestow his blessings in time.
The people, who had toiled hard for a year, ended up with nothing to harvest.
The Mortal Realm was strewn with starving corpses, and both master and disciple Sangmo were stripped of their immortal ranks and thrown into the Heavenly Prison.
At that time, Sangmo had just experienced the tribulation, she was utterly disoriented, trembling uncontrollably at the slightest sound of thunder.
And yet, both were subjected to the pounding of celestial thunder daily.
The feeling was as if being roasted from the inside out, the pain penetrating deep into the bones and throughout the viscera, leaving them without taste or smell for a long time, a ringing in their ears, and darkness before their eyes.
After a few days, Sangmo started losing her mind.
She held her head, grinning foolishly at anyone she saw; as her mouth gaped open, drool would uncontrollably stream out.
Sometimes she would rant and rave, claiming she was a demon of destruction, saying she would annihilate heaven and earth.
Ze Lin couldn't bear to see his young disciple suffer, so he took all the heavenly thunders upon himself.
But after that came the Extreme Fire Purgatory and the punishment of a thousand swords piercing the heart.
Before many days passed, Ze Lin's divine body was damaged.
At that time, Sangmo, with a vacant expression on her face, was shackled to a heavenly pillar with thick Binding Immortal Locks.
As Ze Lin endured the punishment of a thousand swords piercing the heart, he was suspended mid-air by freezing iron chains, his blood flowing down like a waterfall.
Sangmo climbed over to him, using her hands and feet, and looked up with eyes so pure, devoid of any stray thoughts, "Master, does it hurt?"
"Sangmo will blow on it, blowing on it will make it stop hurting."
The Divine Officials witnessing the execution couldn't bear to watch this scene and wept.
Many put forth petitions, arguing that the child was innocent and the master had erred, and the crime should not extend to the disciple.
On the day they were taken from the execution ground, Sangmo's heart was torn with grief as she clung tightly to the iron locks and refused to let go.
Ze Lin cursed at her, telling her to leave; Sangmo remained unmoved, not even the thunder she feared most could make her release her grip.
Later, Ze Lin sighed lightly and softened his tone to coax her, "Sangmo, go back first and clean up the God of Agriculture Hall inside and out, remember to prepare medicine for your master's injuries, it really hurts right now."
The already muddled Sangmo was easily fooled, "When will Master return?"
"Very soon, Sangmo you must hurry, if I see the God of Agriculture Hall in a mess, I will be angry."
Sangmo obediently nodded, "Sangmo is very capable."
Upon leaving the execution ground, Sangmo was knocked unconscious from behind by the God of Food and brought back to the God of Food Hall for treatment.
She was treated for nearly half a month, and when she woke up, Ze Lin had already been cast into the Reincarnation Well.
Sangmo collapsed into tears, ran barefoot with disheveled hair to the Reincarnation Well, and was denounced by the heavenly soldiers.
A Divine Official's loss of control due to emotion was a grave taboo; Sangmo was cast into the Sea of Illusions for dozens of years.
The waters of the Sea of Illusions were bone-chillingly cold, void of any sound, where one couldn't touch anything, capable of obliterating all fixations.
Each day a Divine Official would come to ask her, "What do you wish to do?"
Sangmo's every response was the same, "I want to bring Master home."
Every time she answered, that Divine Official would sigh softly and say, "Foolish child."
Then they would lock Sangmo in an even deeper place.
Until the day Sangmo was moved to the bottom of the sea, there was nowhere lower for her to descend.
That day, the Divine Official came before Sangmo again and asked that question, "What do you wish to do?"
Sangmo, about to answer and still confused, suddenly had an epiphany, and her in-mouth words took a turn, "I want... to sleep."
The Divine Official shook his head as usual, "Fooli..."
"Hm?!"
The Divine Official was overjoyed, "Well done, well done, you've finally passed the trial."
He extended his index finger and pressed it against Sangmo's forehead, "Good child, if you want to sleep, then sleep."
This sleep had been so deep that when Sangmo woke up, she discovered her body and internal organs were all frostbitten.
As God of Food, Fan Yao, applied ointment on her wounds, tears streamed down from the heartache.
To Fan Yao's surprise, the first thing Sangmo said upon waking up, with great difficulty, was, "I want to descend to the Mortal Realm!"
The medicine box in Fan Yao's hand clattered to the ground. He hurriedly covered Sangmo's mouth and only dared to let go after sending everyone out.
"Idiot!" he muttered under his breath, pacing back and forth anxiously.
Sangmo's gaze was firm. "Uncle Fan, please help me, otherwise I'll be thrown into the Sea of Illusions again."
"Divine Officials cannot descend to the Mortal Realm in their true forms," Fan Yao said, his tone even more determined than hers.
"As long as I can keep my memories when descending, that's enough."
Fan Yao paused upon hearing this, but quickly reaffirmed, "Absolutely impossible!"
Yet, Sangmo caught that moment of hesitation. "Uncle Fan, please help me. You know me; once I'm set on something, I must see it through."
"Your master entrusted me to take good care of you before he left."
Sangmo turned her head away. "If you won't help, then fine. I'll figure it out myself. Anyway, I must bring Master back."
Her words nearly made Fan Yao stumble and lose his balance. "You little scoundrel, you must have a death wish."
Defiant, Sangmo tilted her head back without looking at him. "Just say whether you'll help or not."
Fan Yao's tightly clasped hands reluctantly unclenched. "If your master knew, he'd probably eat me alive."
At that, Sangmo turned back with delight. "Uncle Fan, you promise?!"
Fan Yao, too irritated to speak, stretched out his hand and pinched hard on the frostbite on Sangmo's cheek. "You blockhead!"
Sangmo yelped in pain. "Uncle Fan!! It hurts to death!"
"You know pain yet won't restrain yourself?"
"That's different." Sangmo grabbed Fan Yao's sleeve and shook it. "Uncle Fan, what should I do?"
Fan Yao heaved a sigh. "There is a way to descend with your memories with legitimacy."
"What? Speak quickly."
Fan Yao fell into contemplation for a long while. "Take on a task."
"Many Divine Officials who have erred, but whose crimes aren't fatal, are assigned difficult tasks by the Judicial Pavilion and thrown into the Mortal Realm to redeem themselves. Once the task is completed, they can return."
Upon hearing this, Sangmo's eyes suddenly shone. "Doesn't that mean I can look for Master while completing a task and guide him back to the right path?"
Fan Yao nodded. "That's right. But this method is fraught with peril. Once in the Mortal Realm, you will have to survive by inhabiting a human body, and the tasks are not easily accomplished. If you fail, you'll never return."
"Moreover, amidst the endless sea of humanity, your master has gone through numerous reincarnations; he could be in the form of a woman, a three-year-old boy, an old man, or he might even have the form of an animal—a ant, a cow, a deer... all these are possibilities."
Sangmo nodded. "Uncle Fan, I understand all that you've said. Even if there's just a one in ten million chance, I still want to try."
Fan Yao sighed again. "Fool!"
.
As her thoughts gradually gathered, suddenly a three- or four-year-old girl wearing a bright red dress with braided pigtails appeared before her.
Her two eyes were enormous, glaring fiercely at Sangmo. "Have you ever experienced the feeling of an empty stomach?"
Remembering the day she descended to the Mortal Realm, Sangmo had bled profusely and hadn't consumed a drop of water. She felt faint and weak, her limbs powerless, and with some uncertainty, she nodded.
At that, the little girl in the red dress went berserk, her piercing scream sounding, "Wrong!!!"
"Have you eaten soil and tree bark? Have you tried the feeling of those things not digesting in your stomach, weighing you down, unable to relieve yourself?"
"How dare you claim you've experienced hunger?!?!"
Sangmo was stunned; she couldn't imagine what that felt like.
But she knew it must have been unbearable; that was certain.
"I'm sorry..." Her voice was somewhat hollow when she spoke.
"One apology and it's over? So many people just died in vain, is that it?" the little girl in red said as she grew more monstrously fierce.
"I'm atoning..."
The girl in red let out a scornful laugh, her smile twisted. "Then stay here, and don't ever return to the Heavenly Realm."