Chapter 1111: Eye Contact

Long ago, Yun Zhi had discerned that the Immortal Fairy could restore her celestial form at any moment; she simply chose to linger in her junior brother’s spiritual space, refusing to leave.

As the Immortal Fairy was her senior, it would be uncouth to drive her out by force and deny her face, so Yun Zhi had planned to wait until her junior brother encountered danger. Once the senior Fairy intervened, she would no longer have a reason to dwell in that spiritual space.

This was precisely why Lu Yang had repeatedly run into peril without being able to summon Yun Zhi, and why she had made no preparations to grant him life-saving measures afterward.

To her surprise, her junior brother had emerged unscathed each time, without ever requiring the senior Fairy's intervention.

She had thought the Ash Fairy possessed enough might that the senior Fairy would surely be no match for her without restoring her celestial form. Yet looking at the current situation, the celestial form had been restored, only to vanish once more?

The Immortal Fairy glanced at Yun Zhi, and Yun Zhi glanced back at the Immortal Fairy; everything was conveyed in that single look.

Yun Zhi felt a growing headache, realizing that indeed, among all the myriad affairs of the world, cultivation alone was the least troublesome.

“This is no place for talking, please step inside.”

Yun Zhi invited everyone to Heavenly Gate Peak, where the four imperial chairs now seemed far too few.

“Let us simply sit upon the ground,” Yun Mengmeng called out to the crowd, finding a spot beneath the shade of a tree and retrieving a camping blanket from her storage ring to spread upon the earth.

She then produced an assortment of delicacies she had sampled at the market. These were treats she had meticulously selected, fully endorsed by both herself and Qing He, brought back specifically for Little Zhi to try.

By bringing them out for everyone to share, rounding up, it was practically the same as giving them to Little Zhi.

They were all among companions, so there was no need for polite restraint; Lu Yang picked up a long, unfamiliar pastry with a crisp exterior that surprisingly held a savory meat filling, tasting exceptionally delicious.

Lu Yang had only visited the market on the very first day; after that, he had been in secluded cultivation with the Qiongqi clan practicing his culinary arts, leaving many of the market’s delicacies untasted.

“Pastries and the like taste much better if they are heated up,” Yun Mengmeng reminded him. In the short years since she had sought refuge with Yun Zhi, she had already bloomed into a remarkable gourmet.

Lu Yang readily followed her advice, using his Samadhi True Fire to warm the pastry. Sure enough, the flavor ascended to another realm, the texture becoming crunchier while the broth within the meat filling burst forth with rich flavor.

Good things were not to be enjoyed alone, so Lu Yang tossed a sphere of Samadhi True Fire into the air, letting it float so anyone who wished could use it.

Only then did the group begin to review the recent events.

Yun Zhi listened as she ate, nodding frequently—mostly because the moment she finished one piece, her good sister would immediately stuff the next into her hand.

“To think the Ash Fairy had such a history.”

Yun Zhi let out a soft sigh, yet she knew this was the only possible outcome.

The Ash Fairy’s strength was beyond question; even the senior Fairy dared not hold back when facing her. Capturing her alive would have been an immense challenge, and given the Ash Fairy’s pride, she likely would never have allowed herself to be taken alive.

The Ash Fairy had stood near the realm of transcendence, and since Yun Zhi had never dealt with such a person, she wished to understand more about that particular boundary.

“How exactly did the mastermind manipulate the past that History Scribe Xian witnessed? Was it a hypothesis built upon reasonable prerequisites?”

Yun Zhi’s brow furrowed slightly; interfering with the Dao Fruit of Insight already surpassed the capabilities of the Dao Fruit of Karma.

“Could it be that the mastermind possesses more than one Dao Fruit?”

Yet that ought to be impossible. In theory, only the lineage of Devouring could assimilate other Dao Fruits, and the Devouring Dao Fruit belonged to the Emperor of Heaven.

A Dao Fruit was unique; if the mastermind possessed the Devouring Dao Fruit, then the Emperor of Heaven could not possibly hold it.

“Senior Qing He, what are your plans for the future?”

“Wherever Milady is, there I shall be,” Qing He stated firmly, resolved to continue following her mistress's footsteps.

As she spoke, Qing He cast a wary eye upon Lu Yang. Under no circumstances could she allow her mistress to be corrupted by this sort of person again!

Lu Yang could not quite comprehend why Senior Qing He looked at him with such an expression, as though she had harbored hostility toward him from the very moment they met.

Hearing the Fairy say that Qing He was her first and most devout believer, he wondered if it was because he treated the Fairy poorly?

Lu Yang felt he treated the Fairy well enough—managing her, playing with her, enduring her trials, letting her possess him at will, and risking his life to listen to her dark history...

Forget it, he decided not to dwell on it; she took the Immortal Fairy as her faith, so it was only natural that he could not fathom her thoughts.

“By the way, Xiao He, do you know where my Polaris went?”

Polaris was the sole star governed by the Immortal Fairy, a place where countless celestial treasures lay buried, possessing immeasurable value. The Immortal Fairy still remembered her promise to Little Yangzi: once they found Polaris, he could establish his own sect and lord over others in splendor.

After the mastermind slew the Immortal Fairy, the world forgot her existence, and Qing He was no exception.

Yet she had firmly remembered that Polaris, the Twin River, and the Mother-Child River were of utmost importance to her. Thus, while the four ancient immortals were locked in combat with the mastermind, she had moved them all away.

“As for Polaris, I moved it outside the Box World,” Qing He said with a tinge of shame. She had relocated Polaris so far from the center of the battle that when the four immortals forged the Box World, it was not included within its bounds.

“It matters not, it matters not. With Little Yangzi here, we will open the Box World sooner or later,” the Immortal Fairy chimed in, not taking the matter to heart, as it was no great issue.

“Fairy, I saw the Box World being opened, but it wasn't me who opened it,” Lu Yang corrected her seriously, knowing he possessed no such grand capability.

“It amounts to the same thing.”

“Will the Box World really open?” Ao Ling, Jiang Lianyi, and Jin Caiwei asked in unison, their eyes shining brightly.

Though the Box World was vast enough, the boundless starry sky of the ancient era was also wonderful, and they all deeply missed the brilliant night sky of old.

Of course, the number of stars they themselves had shattered back then was by no means small.

“It was merely a glimpse of a fragment of the future, not necessarily a absolute truth,” Lu Yang added, remembering that the Immortal of Time had said the future was uncertain; he did not want the three women to rejoice in vain should the Box World fail to open.

“Sister Xiao He, would you like to join our Immortal Lineage?” Yun Mengmeng inquired. The larger the Immortal Lineage grew, the better, and Sister Xiao He's embryonic Longevity Dao Fruit made her practically half an Immortal herself.

“Yes, Xiao He, join the Immortal Lineage and become the Third Master!” the Immortal Fairy said with a grin. Bu Yaolian had labored long and hard, working conscientiously for so many years without complaint even when promoted to Fourth Master; it was high time he rose to Fifth Master.

Qing He waved her hands in a flurry of panic and reverence: “My talent is dull and foolish, how could I ever be worthy of joining Milady’s lineage?”

Lu Yang thought to himself: if your talent is dull and foolish, does that mean bringing an embryonic Longevity Dao Fruit to perfection is considered ordinary?

This was not the first time Qing He had refused to join the Immortal Lineage; even in the ancient era, she had felt unworthy of the Immortal Fairy and declined the offer, a sentiment she still held today.

“Join us, do join us.”

Qing He firmly refused the Fairy's invitation.

“Then you should join our Great Soybean Dynasty!” Yun Mengmeng continued to promote her faction, fulfilling her duties with great diligence.

“The Great Soybean Dynasty?” Qing He was perplexed, having never heard of such a power.

“It is a dynasty established by the First Master, and it is truly extraordinary! I am the Minister of Rites, the three sisters of Ao Ling are Great Generals, Emperor Xia is the Prime Minister, and the Second Master is the Pillar of the State!”

“A dynasty established by Milady?” Qing He was greatly astonished and deeply moved, never expecting that her mistress could establish such a grand faction spanning the Demon Realm, the Eastern Sea, and the Central Continent even without her assistance.

“I will join!”

“Then what official post do you wish to hold?” the Immortal Fairy inquired. Their Great Soybean Dynasty lacked many things, but vacant positions were plenty; anyone joining now could take their pick.

“The Grand Historian.”