“The palace gates are open!”

The Imperial Guards and palace servants who had been guarding outside the palace gates for several days saw the gates swing wide open and all retreated to both sides, respectfully welcoming the immortals out.

Walking out through the palace doors, Kong Hou saw everyone standing guard outside. “Everyone has worked hard these past days.”

The crowd hadn’t expected Kong Hou Xianzi would actually take the initiative to speak with them. Their emotions stirred, they shook their heads. “Xianzi, you’re too courteous.”

They must remember this wonderful day and record this matter in their family genealogies—this would be enough for their descendants to boast about for several hundred years.

Kong Hou wore gorgeous flowing immortal robes, and her hair bun had also been specially styled. Since she was leaving this realm today, she naturally had arrived with great fanfare and would leave with equal splendor. Passing by the Imperial Guards, Kong Hou stopped and said to the Imperial Guards commander, “Thank you, Lord Commander, and all the Imperial Guards brothers for helping me drive away insects, mosquitoes, ants, and beasts.”

“Xianzi has done so much for the common people of the realm, yet what we small ones can do for Xianzi is merely insignificant.” The Imperial Guards commander was deeply honored. He hadn’t expected that Kong Hou Xianzi, who had remained inside the building the entire time, would actually know what they had done. “Being able to serve Xianzi is our honor.”

Kong Hou’s gaze swept over them. “I noticed that among you, three people carry hidden ailments. Were you injured in the past?”

The Imperial Guards commander was secretly shocked. The brothers who could serve Kong Hou Xianzi this time had all experienced great storms. In the ten years since His Majesty ascended the throne, he had encountered several assassination attempts. Some Imperial Guards had lost their lives, others had been injured—this was already commonplace. He hadn’t expected Kong Hou Xianzi would see through it at a glance.

Kong Hou waved her sleeve, sending forth three streams of spiritual energy that unblocked the meridians of the three Imperial Guards. She smiled and said, “I’ve been in the mortal realm for some time now. Today, I should return.”

“Xianzi…” The Imperial Guards commander hadn’t anticipated Kong Hou would suddenly announce her departure. He stood speechless for a long while, unsure whether he should try to persuade her to stay or respect the immortal’s wishes and respectfully send her off. He secretly glanced at the two immortals behind Kong Hou Xianzi. One resembled an unsheathed cold sword that made people dare not look directly at him. The other was like a fierce tiger from the mountains, making people dare not harbor even half a thought of disrespect.

“Please wait.” Emperor Jing Hong strode in with great strides. Behind him followed the Empress, the Crown Prince, and ministers from the Six Ministries. After the Ji Family dynasty’s fall, although Kong Hou had served as a puppet princess for nearly four years, she hadn’t interacted much with Emperor Jing Hong.

She and this emperor could probably be called familiar strangers.

“Thank you, Xianzi, for not holding past grievances and saving the common people of the realm.” Emperor Jing Hong straightened his robes and bowed deeply to Kong Hou, then lifted his robes and knelt before her. He still remembered that years ago, after he seized control of the realm, he had made Kong Hou kneel like this. At that time, he felt the Ji Family’s sins were grave—they should not only kneel to him but also to the common people of the realm.

But now Kong Hou had saved countless millions of common people. Even though he held the honored position of emperor, kneeling to Kong Hou was proper.

“Your Majesty need not do this.” Kong Hou raised her hand to help Emperor Jing Hong stand without letting his knees touch the ground. “I saved the common people of the realm because we of the old Ji Family owed them, and also because I cannot bear to watch the people fall into suffering. After I leave this realm, Your Majesty should not specially favor other members of the Ji Family because of me. The nation, the state, and the people are what matter most. I sincerely hope Your Majesty and the Crown Prince will not forget the original intentions you held when you overthrew the Ji Family dynasty.”

Emperor Jing Hong bowed again. “I will remember.”

“Now my mortal ties are complete. I cannot easily come to the mortal realm again.” Kong Hou turned her head to look around this luxurious palace, committing its appearance to memory. “May the common people of the realm never again suffer from war or epidemic, may the weather be favorable, the rains timely, and may they live in peace and prosperity.”

Looking at the immortal woman wreathed in ethereal energy before him, Emperor Jing Hong suddenly thought that if the deposed Ji Emperor of the past had possessed such character and breadth of mind, he would have been a worthy minister supporting a wise ruler, rather than causing great chaos across the realm and seizing the emperor’s throne.

“After today’s farewell, I’m afraid we will not meet again. Everyone, take care.” Kong Hou smiled and curtsied slightly to everyone. Her curved eyebrows and brilliant star-like eyes made the Empress somewhat dazed—she seemed to see again that little girl who secretly sat behind the decorative rocks eating pastries.

Ji Kong Hou was still the same Ji Kong Hou.

“Respectfully sending off Kong Hou Xianzi.” The Empress slowly curtsied in return. She watched as the young woman and her companions rose into the air, slowly ascending into the sky, finally disappearing into the clouds and mist before straightening her body.

She knew this was the last time she would see Ji Kong Hou in this lifetime.

From now on, immortals and mortals were separate—never to meet again for all eternity.

If time could flow backwards, she wouldn’t coldly watch the little girl hiding behind decorative rocks eating pastries before silently leaving. She wanted to take her hand, give her abundant food, and let her live a life truly befitting a princess.

However, nothing could start over.

Just like those missed moments in time, and… The Empress turned her head to look at the emperor beside her who was no longer young and handsome, the man she no longer admired.

“They can’t see us from below anymore, right?” Kong Hou secretly looked down below the cloud layer.

“Don’t worry, they can’t see anymore.” Lin Hu whistled, and the flying celestial horse pulled the carriage out from the clouds. He turned to glance at the ethereally elegant Kong Hou and jumped onto the carriage.

“Good that they can’t see.” Kong Hou instantly transformed into a boneless lazy worm, flopping onto Huan Zong’s flying sword and not wanting to move anymore. Her spiritual energy had been depleted too severely, and when her soul returned to her body, she had also been schemed against by the evil cultivator. Being able to fly away with great fanfare from Emperor Jing Hong’s presence had already used up almost all the spiritual energy in her body.

“Saving face at the cost of suffering.” Lin Hu shook his head with a small arc. He truly couldn’t understand these young people—barely able to walk, yet still having the leisure to care about appearances.

Just as he finished muttering this sentence, he saw his young master glare in his direction. He silently closed his mouth.

How had he forgotten that his young master had also developed the habit of being extremely protective? Better not provoke him.

“Lying on a sword isn’t comfortable either.” Huan Zong bent down to lift Kong Hou who was sprawled on the sword, leaped onto the carriage, and placed her on the soft cushions in the carriage compartment. “If you’re uncomfortable, sleep for a while. When we reach Lingyou Realm, cultivating for two days might provide some relief.”

Kong Hou yawned and wrapped the blanket around herself. “When we get back, let’s dual cultivate first. The effect will be better.”

“All right.” Seeing her wrap herself up like a caterpillar, Huan Zong found a thin blanket to cover her. “Sleep peacefully.”

The boundary opening between Lingyou Realm and the outside world didn’t transmit people to a fixed location, but rather selectively deposited arrivals in five places within Lingyou Realm. These several entry and exit points were located in the outskirts of Yong City, the outskirts of Pei City, Camellia Mountain, Ice Snow Lake, and Hundred Flowers Valley. So throughout all four seasons of the year, cultivators would set up stalls selling things in these five places—all selling curious oddities from the cultivation world at extraordinarily expensive prices.

A box of pastries might sell for two spirit stones, a handkerchief could sell for ten spirit stones.

Kong Hou didn’t know the exit opening wasn’t fixed. When she first came from the mortal realm to Lingyou Realm, she had been directly transmitted to the outskirts of Yong City.

When she was awakened by the hawking sounds outside the carriage, she pulled back the curtain to look outside. Discovering the accents of the vendors selling goods outside seemed off, she assumed these vendors were from out of town.

“Xianzi, buy a pearl flower. This pearl flower has talismanic inscriptions added to it—it can emit colorful light at night.”

Kong Hou: “…”

It’s not a lantern—why would anyone wear such a pearl flower on their head late at night?

Sticking her head out to look around several times, Kong Hou said somewhat hesitantly, “This place… doesn’t seem to be outside Yong City?”

“This is near Camellia Mountain, but it’s not far from Yong City. It will only take two or three days to get there.” Lin Hu said, “Miss Kong Hou, is there anything you’d like to buy?”

Kong Hou silently shook her head. She pulled her head back into the carriage and turned to Huan Zong. “Huan Zong, let’s dual cultivate.”

“Don’t you want to eat something?” Huan Zong asked.

“No need.” Kong Hou said, “It’s only two or three more days to Yong City. If Master and the others discover I suffered internal injuries, I’m afraid they’ll confine me in the cave dwelling for several years without letting me out. Better to dual cultivate soon.”

“All right.”

Huan Zong lit a stick of focus incense, sat down beside Kong Hou, and closed his eyes.

After who knows how long, when he opened his eyes again, it had already darkened outside. Kong Hou was tilting her head watching him.

“What’s wrong?” Huan Zong felt somewhat uncomfortable and avoided Kong Hou’s gaze. He didn’t dare let Kong Hou discover his thoughts. Thinking of his age of over three hundred years, yet harboring such thoughts toward a seventeen-year-old girl, Huan Zong felt there was an ugly place in his heart that couldn’t be moved aside.

“Nothing.” Kong Hou was too embarrassed to tell Huan Zong she was just looking because he was attractive. She lowered her head. “Senior Lin said that tonight we can rest in the city for one night, then continue our journey tomorrow morning.”

Thinking of Kong Hou’s current physical condition, Huan Zong said, “That’s good. After we reach the inn, you can also have a proper hot bath.”

“That’s true…” Kong Hou felt deeply moved. She had been relying on cleansing spells to get by these past few days and had almost forgotten what soaking in a hot bath felt like. She lifted the curtain and said to Lin Hu who was driving the carriage, “Senior Lin, Huan Zong has decided to rest at an inn for one night first.”

“All right.” Lin Hu lightly flicked the whip on the horses. The horses neighed and flew even faster through the darkness.

“When I saw Eldest Senior Brother at Auspicious Pavilion, he was still at Core Formation stage cultivation. I didn’t expect him to break through his mental state so quickly and leap to becoming a Nascent Soul Ancestor.” Mentioning her eldest senior brother, Kong Hou’s eyes brightened somewhat. “I heard Uncle Master Qingyuan say that years ago he valued Eldest Senior Brother’s aptitude and wanted to take him as a disciple. Who knew my master got there first? This matter happened two or three hundred years ago, yet Uncle Master Qingyuan still can’t let it go.”

She often heard the sect’s elders say that Eldest Senior Brother had great cultivation talent. Before she entered the sect, Eldest Senior Brother and Senior Brother Wu Chuan were the most promising disciples of the entire sect’s younger generation.

“Although Core Formation stage and Nascent Soul stage are only separated by one realm, they are as different as heaven and earth. Shattering the core to form the nascent soul requires not just cultivation level, but more importantly, mental state. For Daoist Cheng Yi to break through the demonic obstacles in his heart and leap into the Nascent Soul realm is a matter worthy of great celebration.”

For cultivators with aptitude who could also endure hardship, cultivating to the Core Formation stage was a one-in-a-hundred difficult task. But wanting to advance from Core Formation stage to Nascent Soul stage was a one-in-ten-thousand, or even one-in-a-hundred-thousand probability.

Excluding those pseudo-Nascent Souls piled up with medicinal pills, throughout all of Lingyou Realm, the number of cultivators who had reached the Nascent Soul realm was extremely limited. That Cheng Yi could cultivate to Nascent Soul just before turning three hundred years old was not only a joyous occasion for Yunhua Sect, but also good news for all of Lingyou Realm.

Only when there were more and more young cultivators with high cultivation levels could the entire cultivation world see more hope.

After entering the city, Lin Hu found the best inn and stopped. As the three walked into the inn, they heard some cultivators engaged in lofty discussions.

“Yunhua Sect really doesn’t know what good fortune they’ve had these past few years. First they took in a five spiritual roots genius disciple, then they produced a Nascent Soul disciple under three hundred years old. Other sects have stood firm all these years by relying on hard work, but only their Yunhua Sect relies on luck.”

Some people laughed in agreement, while others felt these words went too far. “In all these years, when has Yunhua Sect ever lacked formidable figures? Not to mention the already deceased elders, just speaking of the three elders Qiushuang, Guyu, and Shujiu—looking across all of Lingyou Realm, who dares not give them face? Even their sect master and the Qiyue Peak master both have Soul Separation stage cultivation. If one person having high cultivation is luck, can so many people still be luck?”

“That’s well said. Only you lot would think Yunhua Sect disciples are lazy and easy to bully. You should recall carefully—among the ten great sect disciples, how many have said a single bad word about Yunhua Sect outside? We small sects only know how to watch the excitement when major events occur, but those great sect disciples see things much more clearly than us. Their attitude toward Yunhua Sect is enough to prove everything.”

Which sect that could rank among the ten great sects was simple? Just because Yunhua Sect disciples acted differently from other great sect disciples and normally didn’t care what others said, one couldn’t truly believe their strength was the weakest. A sect that occasionally dropped the ball but could still be passed down for over a thousand years—that was the most terrifying kind.

“The most formidable thing about Yunhua Sect is that they are united from top to bottom. However, after this matter, their peace will probably be broken.” A clear-bearded cultivator shook his head and displayed an inscrutable expression.

“How do you figure that?”

“This is clearly nonsense.”

After everyone had spoken their piece in a cacophony of voices, the clear-bearded cultivator smiled and said, “According to rumors, years ago the Yunhua Sect master position was almost passed to Qiyue Peak’s peak master Wang Tong. But later, for some unknown reason, the sect master position was seized by Heng Yan. Although these master-brothers have seemed peaceful and calm these years, Wang Tong’s eldest disciple has already reached Nascent Soul cultivation, yet Heng Yan’s eldest disciple—who is also Yunhua Sect’s head disciple Wu Chuan—has not cultivated to Nascent Soul realm. When the two interact in the future, won’t it be awkward? Also, that five spiritual roots disciple seems to have also joined Qiyue Peak. All the disciples stealing the limelight are Wang Tong’s disciples—how could conflicts not arise?”

Hearing these words, everyone deeply agreed. Between sects, and between the sect master’s disciples and peak masters’ disciples, they would more or less compete for superiority. Moreover, Wu Chuan was still the head senior brother—if his cultivation couldn’t match disciples from a branch peak, even if he temporarily had no other thoughts, after subordinate disciples gossiped enough, he would inevitably develop some melancholy feelings.

The three of them had reserved their rooms and sat down at a table in the downstairs hall, ordering several hot dishes and hot soup. Listening to these enthusiastic fellow daoists analyze Yunhua Sect’s future situation, Kong Hou found it somewhat novel.

Years ago, the sect master position had almost been passed to her master, but Master adamantly refused, and the other uncle-masters and aunt-masters also found various reasons to decline. Uncle Master Heng Yan, because he was the eldest in seniority, truly had no way to refuse and reluctantly had to manage the entire sect.

As for whether Senior Brother Wu Chuan would become jealous because Senior Brother Cheng Yi formed his Nascent Soul…

Kong Hou recalled that after she successfully established her foundation, the way Senior Brother Wu Chuan looked at her was like looking at a treasure. Her subconscious told her that not only would Senior Brother Wu Chuan not be jealous, he probably wouldn’t be able to restrain his usually imposing and steady appearance and would hide in his room secretly laughing.

“Don’t take other people’s words to heart.” Seeing Kong Hou spacing out, Huan Zong thought she minded what others were saying. “Affairs of the ten great sects are a topic of conversation for many cultivators during their leisure time. Even if others hear it, they won’t take it seriously.”

“It’s not because of that.” Kong Hou shook her head. “I’m just somewhat curious about how unreliable Yunhua Sect seems in these people’s eyes.”

Huan Zong: “…”

Lin Hu: “…”

It was hard to put into words—three sentences wouldn’t be enough to explain it all.

“Ha, I think you’re just someone from a small sect worrying about matters of great sects. After saying all that, have you received an invitation to Ancestor Cheng Yi’s Nascent Soul ceremony?”

The others burst into laughter at these words.

“Living for nearly three hundred years before forming a Nascent Soul—what’s so impressive about that?” The clear-bearded cultivator who was being mocked by everyone looked somewhat embarrassed. “Liuguang Sect’s Zhenren Zhong Xi is only slightly older than him but has already reached Divine Transformation stage cultivation. Compared to Zhenren Zhong Xi, this Ancestor Cheng Yi falls far short.”

“Isn’t that right?” A female cultivator with upturned eye corners, fine eyebrows, and red lips in the corner said, “Looking across the entire cultivation world, who can compare to Zhenren Zhong Xi? Foundation Establishment at ten-some years old, Core Formation at thirty, Nascent Soul at one hundred, Soul Separation at two hundred, Divine Transformation at three hundred. Such a formidable male cultivator—even if he made me his concubine, it would be acceptable. It’s just a pity that these sword cultivators are each more unfeeling than the last. In their eyes, even the most beautiful women can’t compare to the swords in their hands.”

“Stop your wishful thinking. For you people from Joyous Sect, never mind being concubines or kept men for disciples of the ten great sects—if they’d even sleep with you for one night, that would be your good fortune.”

Being spoken to like this, the female cultivator didn’t get angry. Their sect emphasized mutual consent in matters of romance between men and women. The union of yin and yang was an extremely normal matter—she never felt this was shameful. She looked up and retorted with a smile, “Even if we can’t sleep with them, we still wouldn’t be interested in you.”

“Xianzi, look at me—am I worthy of warming your bed?”

After eating and drinking their fill, when many people gathered together, if they started discussing bawdy topics, it was like beans pouring from a bamboo tube—unstoppable.

“Don’t listen.” Huan Zong reached out his hands to cover Kong Hou’s ears. “These aren’t proper words.”

Huan Zong’s hands were warm and large, almost covering Kong Hou’s entire face. She opened her eyes wide in bewilderment, only seeing Huan Zong’s mouth moving but not knowing what he was saying. Had Huan Zong sealed her hearing?

“We’ll go upstairs to eat.”

Huan Zong used a voice transmission technique to tell Kong Hou: “There are too many people here. The atmosphere is foul.”

Kong Hou nodded and very skillfully extended her hand to Huan Zong, which he grasped in his palm.

Someone noticed this scene and laughed heartily. “You all should stop talking. This young master has been embarrassed enough to take his little beauty and hide in a room.”

“We can say whatever we want. Can’t they bear to listen?”

“Maybe we’ve stirred up their passion and they’re going back to the room to…”

The person saying this hadn’t finished their sentence when they were slapped against the wall by a burst of spiritual energy.

Huan Zong stood on the stairs, looking down condescendingly at these cultivators whose joking had lost all sense of propriety, his expression cold as a frozen pool.

The others were frightened into silence by his action. The person plastered against the wall wasn’t seriously injured, just had a front tooth knocked out and a split lip, blood filling their mouth. Using their sleeve to wipe the blood from their mouth, they finally snapped out of their joking excitement.

When people gathered together chattering away, they were easily influenced by the atmosphere, becoming bolder than usual and doing things without considering the consequences.

This person only realized after knocking out a tooth that they had just taken a trip past the gates of hell.

Someone who could flip them onto a wall with a wave of their hand could also kill them in the blink of an eye. They should be grateful this cold-expressioned male cultivator wasn’t someone who loved killing, otherwise they would have no chance to get up from the ground right now.

“Immortal Lord, please calm your anger.” The cultivator reacted, and with a tooth missing from their mouth, their speech had a slight whistle to it. “This lowly one got carried away momentarily and won’t dare speak nonsense again.”

Huan Zong coldly withdrew his gaze, then turned to see Kong Hou looking at him, and a bit of warmth appeared in his eyes.

“Huan Zong, not being able to hear is somewhat uncomfortable.” Kong Hou rubbed her ears, blinking her eyes at him, hoping he would remove the spell.

Huan Zong turned to glance at everyone. They all collectively gasped, almost thinking they had seen a sharp blade unsheathed.

Seeing everyone’s reaction, Huan Zong withdrew his gaze, reached out to tap Kong Hou’s soft earlobe, and her hearing instantly returned. She turned to look at the cultivator with the broken tooth. “Huan Zong, what did he just say?”

“He just spoke insultingly about us.” Huan Zong’s tone was calm. “However, he’s now realized his mistake and won’t dare curse at people anymore.”

“Cursing at people isn’t good. In public places, one still needs to pay attention to their influence.” Kong Hou thought this person must have cursed very offensively, otherwise with Huan Zong’s temperament, he wouldn’t attack a Qi Refining stage cultivator like this.

“Yes…” The cultivator could only swallow blood with their broken tooth. “What Xianzi says is very true. I’ll never dare again.”

Kong Hou nodded and tugged at Huan Zong’s sleeve. “Huan Zong, let’s go back to our room.”

The cultivator covered their mouth and silently cursed—already holding hands and going back to a room together, yet still not letting people talk about it. Clearly just pretending to be pure and lofty.

“I truly haven’t seen such a good-looking man in many years.” The Joyous Sect female cultivator looked up and saw Huan Zong’s face clearly, couldn’t help licking the corner of her lips. “If such a man were willing to spend one night with me, I’d truly be willing to dig out my heart and liver to show him.”

Kong Hou’s steps halted. She turned to look at the speaking female cultivator.

Fine eyebrows, phoenix eyes with upturned corners, thin lips—though not beautiful enough to make one lose their soul, she had her own distinctive charm. Kong Hou frowned, then turned back to look at Huan Zong again, pulling him to stride upstairs.

“Young master, would you be willing to explore the yin and yang of heaven and earth with this humble one? I’m willing to present a superior-grade magical artifact as a gift.” The Joyous Sect female cultivator stood up, her tone husky with a hint of seduction. “In the past, men have always held out things begging me to accompany them, but for you, I’m willing to change my principles.”

Men liked beautiful women, and women also liked beautiful men. The female cultivator thought that encountering such a top-quality man, being able to look at him a few more times was already good.

The other male cultivators were filled with jealousy toward Huan Zong but didn’t dare speak up. They feared their own teeth would also be knocked out by him with a wave of his hand.

The cultivation methods of Joyous Sect emphasized the harmony of yin and yang. It was not only beneficial to themselves but also had many advantages for those who shared pleasure with them. They also had a principle of conduct—they couldn’t touch men and women who had already held a Dao Companion ceremony. Any disciples who violated this rule would have their cultivation methods abolished and be expelled from the sect.

So although Joyous Sect was very uninhibited in matters between men and women, no one considered them evil heretics.

“Being a person, one still needs to have principles.” Without thinking, Kong Hou turned to look at the female cultivator, her face tense. “Without rules, there can be no order.”

The female cultivator smiled. “For the sake of a good-looking man, principles and such things—it doesn’t matter if you don’t have them.” She threw a flirtatious glance at Huan Zong. “Young master, can you see my wholehearted feelings for you?”

Kong Hou took a deep breath, reminding herself—this is a beauty, a beauty full of feminine charm. Don’t get angry.

Huan Zong gripped Kong Hou’s hand, his expression indifferent, having no reaction whatsoever to the female cultivator’s words, as if the female cultivator had never existed from beginning to end.

The female cultivator: “…”

In front of so many people, performing a one-person show by herself was too embarrassing.

Sword cultivators were indeed as bland and boring as the rumors said, wasting such a good face.

She raised an eyebrow slightly, saw Huan Zong and Kong Hou’s hands clasped together, and instantly awakened from her appreciation of his beauty. Just now she had only been thinking about how delicious this man was and had actually forgotten this detail—she had almost committed a great taboo of the sect.

The female cultivator quickly bowed to Kong Hou, resuming a proper tone. “My apologies. I got carried away just now and acted improperly, making a mistake. I’ve greatly offended you. Please forgive me, Miss.”

Just now she had seen this young lady wasn’t very old and assumed she was the sword cultivator’s junior sister, so when the others were making jokes and laughing, she hadn’t participated. Now looking again, she discovered all sorts of problems.

Which senior brother and junior sister would walk holding hands?

Also, that sword cultivator truly hadn’t noticed her, because all his attention was focused on that young lady.

Kong Hou hadn’t expected the female cultivator to change her tune so quickly. Her feelings were quite complicated. The woman had flirted with Huan Zong but was apologizing to her—was there something wrong with this picture?

“Just now I didn’t notice you two were lovers. That was my mistake.”

“Ah?” Kong Hou stared with wide bewildered eyes.

Lovers?

Her and Huan Zong?!

Author’s Note: Kong Hou: Beauties can be appreciated, but no matter what beauty they are, they can’t compete with me for my beauty.