The other ladies reined in their teasing smiles and solemnly replied, “All right.”
They had first arrived in this ancient spacetime fragment before being transported into the even older Celestial Court world. So many things had happened that it felt as if they had already lived a lifetime.
Only Ji Xiaoxi was hesitant. “What about my little aunt?”
Zu An patted her head and consoled her, “Don’t worry, I checked with Houtu. Big sister principal isn’t in danger. This is a fortuitous encounter for her.”
That lessened Ji Xiaoxi’s worry.
The others asked Zu An about how his trip to the ocean had gone, so Zu An shared the story with them. In the meantime, the other ladies dragged Pei Mianman aside and asked her if Zu An had encountered any other beauties in the ocean.
Pei Mianman immediately thought of Princess Ni Huang, but she decided against revealing that. “No, his heart is too hurt to romance anyone else.”
She figured it wasn’t a lie. For instance, the Peacock Princess had visited the Dragon Palace several times in search of Zu An, but the latter had avoided her by seeking refuge in the Netherworld. He probably doesn’t want her to become fixated on him.
The Peacock Princess had figured out his intentions after missing him several times and spent days crying in the Dragon Palace. She'd looked so pitiful that some from the Ocean races secretly tried to speak up on her behalf. However, Zu An had still refused to meet her. In the end, the Peacock Princess could only leave with a broken heart.
Pei Mianman had tried persuading Zu An to meet the Peacock Princess, but he was too hurt to consider the Peacock Princess, and the last thing he'd wanted to do was to hinder her happiness.
...
Zu An asked Xie Daoyun, “Are you done settling things on the Fiend races’ side?”
Xie Daoyun nodded. “We cleared out the remaining monsters. The Fiend races have reclaimed their previous territories.”
She even meticulously left a projection in the Sealed Land for the future Zu An to find so as to close the time loop.
“Will there be any problem if you, the Saintess, suddenly disappear?” Zu An was worried.
“Don’t worry, the Fiend races have their imperial family. Previously, we had no choice but to band together to deal with the monsters, but now that the external threat has been eliminated, my prestige as Yumen Beiqing would only stoke the imperial family’s wariness. That could lead to a series of complications.” Xie Daoyun, as the wise Saintess of this era, could tell as much.
Yun Yuqing harrumphed. “What use do we have for the imperial family? The Fiends only survived this crisis thanks to yours and Ah Zu’s efforts. I’d say you’re far more qualified to become their empress! Most people in the Fiend races would support you. You can take big brother Zu as your consort afterward...”
The furiously blushing Xie Daoyun clasped Yun Yuqing’s mouth and said, “Shush! That wouldn’t do. I would be changing history if I did that!”
Yun Yuqing’s eyes rolled mischievously. “Oh~ So you’re only worried about changing history. That means you do harbor such thoughts in mind too. Ahh, stop tickling me!”
The pleasant sight of two beauties bantering brought a smile to Zu An’s face. His gloomy mood lifted a little.
While Xie Daoyun made her last preparations, Zu An took the chance to visit the Firecloud Cave. He'd recently remembered the Firecloud Cave, and he had this uncanny feeling that the mysterious person residing there had been luring him to the ancient Celestial Court world. He wanted to get to the bottom of the matter, as well as figure out the other party’s relationship with the Human Emperor.
But when he reached the Purple Ganoderma Cliff, he didn’t see anyone. The Firecloud Cave had also disappeared into thin air.
As he wondered who he had met back then, Zu An allowed the furious winds to batter him. Somehow, it felt as if an invisible hand was controlling him, as if he was a piece on a chessboard.
He tried tapping into the influence of the Fiend races, the Ocean races, and the Netherworld, but he was unable to gather any intelligence about the Firecloud Cave. It was also then that the Nature Jade Plate began to pulsate. Their time here was finally coming to an end.
The Nature Jade Plate should have lost its divine power and turned into a normal stone when they entered this spacetime fragment. However, perhaps due to the special ki in the ancient Celestial Court world, it had amazingly recovered its energy. There had been sufficient energy to not only transport them back, but even to activate again afterward. For a moment, Zu An An even wondered if the Nature Jade Plate was planning to send them to the Celestial Court world once again.
The Nature Jade Plate shone, and Zu An’s group was transported away from the spacetime fragment into another world. Feeling the thinner ki in the surroundings and the connection with the World Law Beacon, Zu An immediately realized that they had returned to their original Cultivation World.
The light in the Nature Jade receded, and it turned back into an ordinary stone container.
Zu An couldn’t help but wonder when the Nature Jade Plate had recharged in the Celestial Court world. If I can find a way to recharge the Nature Jade Plate, can I return to the Celestial Court world again?
“We’re finally back!” Yun Yuqing could tell that they were in the vicinity of the Demon race’s altar.
The other ladies were also overjoyed to see the familiar scenery. This was, after all, their home world.
Zu An could feel everything reverting to normal. He had already re-established his connection with this world’s power insignia. The artifacts he had given away, such as the Oblivion River Water and the Treasure Sinking Coin, returned to his hands. His Human Emperor Seal also regained its powers as the Human Path's power insignia.
He was awed by the effects of a closed time loop. If he could get to the bottom of this phenomenon, wouldn’t he be able to control time? After what had happened to the Mermaid Queen and the Goddess of Wu Mountain, that was the power he desired the most now.
Someone had been guarding the Demon race’s altar, so it didn’t take long for the different clans of the Demon race to rush over. “Welcome back, regent!”
Zu An wasn’t in the mood to deal with this, so he left Yun Yuqing and the others to answer the Demon race’s questions and headed elsewhere himself.
Pei Mianman had an idea of his destination. “You go ahead. We’ll return by ourselves.”
After Zu An left, the other ladies curiously asked Pei Mianman, “Where is he heading to?”
“The Dragon Palace, of course,” Pei Mianman replied with a sigh.
The other ladies nodded in realization.
On a small rocky island, a red and blue mermaid played the zither while fooling around. Their slender fish tails gently flicked the water, producing ripples reminiscent of pearls.
“Little sister, what’s with that glum face? Are you still worried about that fellow?”
“He is strong and cunning. I’m sure he can resolve any crisis that comes his way.”
“Why do you look so glum then?”
“I don’t know either. I have been dreaming a lot recently, but when I wake up, I can never remember what happened in the dream. All I remember is a feeling of coldness and loneliness.”
The red mermaid was startled. She quickly swam to the blue mermaid’s side and placed her hand on the latter’s forehead. “Are you ill? Or did someone hex you? That shouldn’t be. The Dragon Palace’s defense formations are thorough.”
“Don’t worry, I haven’t been hexed. It’s just a dream.” Shang Liuyu clutched her chest. Even though she couldn’t remember the dream anymore, the thought of it left her with an inexplicable heartache.
Shang Hongyu exhaled in relief. “Your worries in the day must have manifested in your dreams. Haa, I wonder when that heartless guy is coming back. But again, even if he returns, he has so many lovers that I doubt he’d look for us right away.”
Shang Liuyu turned around. The familiar figure before her eyes made her stiffen up.
Looking at Shang Liuyu’s familiar face, Zu An could no longer suppress the raging emotions within him. He rushed forward and embraced her tightly. “It’s so good to meet you again!”