"I’m the subject of plenty of rumors already, so don’t add to the chaos." Xu Lai studied Baize intently before speaking earnestly. "In truth, upon closer examination, you are also a beauty with an elegant aura, Baize."
"Hmph." The Second Divine General looked at Xu Lai, her face an expressionless mask. n always knew how to dress their words in attractive guises.
"Supre Emperor, just say that I’m not as beautiful as the Empress and that you don’t harbor any improper thoughts. That’s all that matters," Baize said indifferently.
"Let’s talk about Jing Ke," Xu Lai chuckled softly. Dealing with intelligent people was rather tiring.
But it has to be said, while beautiful won are nurous, a rare woman of virtue and talent like Baize is one of a kind in the entire Immortal Domain. After all, back in the day, Baize was one of the few who had a chance to vie for the Emperor Realm Dao Fruit. Furthermore, with her current Boundary, she could easily possess another’s body or change her appearance, yet she hadn’t. She had maintained the sa look from when Xu Lai first t her, and so she had remained for tens of thousands of years.
"Taotie has a big mouth," Baize said as she turned and entered her cave abode. She carelessly kicked a chessboard aside and gestured with a slight nod. "Please, take a seat, Supre Emperor."
Xu Lai didn’t sit on the ground. Instead, he unceremoniously lay down on the Drunken Dream Stone within the cave. This stone was where Baize usually ditated and contemplated, and sotis where she would take brief rests.
Even the Second Divine General, with her temperant as serene as water, couldn’t help but pause for a mont. But she said nothing, only standing silently before Xu Lai.
"This Drunken Dream Stone was found in the treasury of the Ancient Demon Clan. Its durability is comparable to that of a Quasi-Emperor Artifact," Xu Lai said nostalgically. "This is a real treasure. I offered to refine it into an Emperor Artifact for you back then. Why were you unwilling?"
"May I ask, Supre Emperor, did you co today to inquire about the Drunken Dream Stone or Jing Ke?" Baize asked, her eyes narrowing.
"...Jing Ke."
"A Divine General spotted him in the Western Immortal Domain." Baize waved her hand, and a Jade Slip flew up from the ground to hover before Xu Lai.
He inserted a strand of his Divine Sense. Xu Lai saw a black-robed Jing Ke riding a sword through the starry sky. Unfortunately, the image lasted only for a brief ten breaths.
A sharp light burst from Xu Lai’s eyes. "Where is Jing Ke!"
"I don’t know. The Seventh Divine General lost him."
"Hmm?" Xu Lai frowned deeply. "Divine General Chang is a peak Immortal Venerable. Even against a first-layer Quasi-Emperor, he could hold on for dozens of bouts. How could he have lost him?"
The Seventh Divine General, Chang Nian Gu, controlled the dual laws of ti and space. His combat prowess was great enough to rank among the top five of the one hundred Divine Generals. He was especially fond of fine dining and had once taken Xu Lai on a tour through the Four Immortal Domains to seek out delicious cuisines, an undeniable foodie.
"As for why he lost him, you should ask him, not ." Baize sat down cross-legged, a half-played ga of chess before her.
The Second Divine General picked up a black stone and gently placed it on the board. "Supre Emperor, regarding the two giant corpses we found in the Mass Burial Mound of the Eastern Immortal Domain, I have searched through ancient texts and investigated the matter."
"And?" Xu Lai asked with concern.
CLACK. Baize placed a second black piece, the sound crisp and clear. "They are not creatures of this universe."
"..."
Xu Lai fell into silence.
Two giants of mysterious origin, who had existed in the Mass Burial Mound since over a hundred epochs ago, had once killed more than a dozen Emperor Realm experts. Later, they and Great Emperor Youming perished together. Afterward, the corpse of Great Emperor Youming re-entered the Emperor Realm, carried away the Bronze Giant Gate the two giants had been guarding, and vanished without a trace. From the very beginning, Xu Lai had been suspicious about the true origin of these two giants. They had lived for dozens of epochs, far longer than even those in the Emperor Realm. How could the Immortal Domain possibly harbor such a heaven-defying race!
"So, where did they co from?" Baize asked softly, looking at Xu Lai while holding a black stone.
"I don’t know, so the investigation must continue."
"Are you certain, Supre Emperor?" Baize’s gaze was completely calm. "The consensus among cultivators is that only the Four Immortal Domains exist in this universe. The results of this investigation could throw the entire Immortal Domain into chaos."
"If I told you to stop investigating, would you?" Xu Lai tilted his head to look at her.
The Second Divine General finally smiled. She waved her hand. "Supre Emperor, please see yourself out. This subordinate will not escort you."
"..."
Throughout the entire Heavenly Court, Baize was the only Divine General who dared to treat Xu Lai so dismissively, even going so far as to shoo him away.
As he turned to walk out, he heard Baize say, "Jing Ke is hiding in the Western Immortal Domain. The Supre Emperor can have the Western Domain Master pay extra attention."
Another Jade Slip flew from the ground and landed before Xu Lai. This one contained Baize’s deductions on Jing Ke’s possible hiding places. Based solely on the ten-second recording from the Seventh Divine General, Baize had extrapolated tens of thousands of potential locations. According to her calculations, the probability of finding Jing Ke among these locations was seventy-seven percent.
"You really are sothing else," Xu Lai couldn’t help but praise her.
See? This is what a reliable subordinate looks like. A simple-minded brute like Taotie, who never uses his brain, is just a massive headache.
With her back to Xu Lai, Baize placed another black piece on the board with a soft CLACK. She gave a casual wave of her hand as a farewell.
Xu Lai headed straight for the Heavenly Court, stuffing all sorts of precious culinary ingredients into his Storage Space. Passing by the treasury, he paused. He had originally intended to pick out a suitable sword for his daughter, but then he rembered that Yiyi already had a high-quality Spiritual Artifact she had picked up sowhere on the Moon. It was more than enough for her to use for so ti.
Therefore, Xu Lai left the Heavenly Court and returned to his Sect in the Eastern Desolate Domain.
Under the care of his Senior Sister, Yu Guiwan, the once-deserted Sect had beco quite lively. The collapsed Sect Gate had even been renovated, leaving Xu Lai lost in thought for a long while.
Over the past one hundred thousand years, Xu Lai had wanted to restore the Sect to its forr glory more than once, but he had given up every ti.
He was afraid. Xu Lai was afraid that even if the Sect Gate remained, his master, senior sister, and senior brothers would never appear there again. Of the five original mbers of the Sect, only he remained, living alone in the Heavenly Court. How could one describe such loneliness and desolation? But now... his Senior Sister had returned.
Xu Lai’s eyes moistened as he stepped onto the stone slabs, entering the mist-enshrouded mountain peak. Plum trees still lined both sides of the stone steps. Under the care of the couple from the base of the mountain, the trees were thriving. It looked to be a bountiful year.
The path was only a few kiloters long, but Xu Lai took a full two hours to walk it. Every spot triggered a mory of things that had happened in the past. These mories were like smoke, never truly dissipating, but deeply etched into his mind.
He walked and walked, finally arriving at the back of the mountain. Xu Lai paid his respects at the graves of his master and two senior brothers before looking around.
Senior Sister... doesn’t seem to be here.
"Little Junior Brother, you were in the Heavenly Court for eight hours, and only now you’ve rembered your senior sister?" a sowhat plaintive voice sounded out.
Xu Lai took a single step and arrived at Tianquan, the spring at the back of the mountain. Tianquan was a small spring, only about a hundred square ters in area.
"Senior—" As Xu Lai looked toward Tianquan, the word "sister" had not yet left his lips when he abruptly spun around.
In that fleeting glance, Xu Lai saw Tianquan was filled with beautiful flower petals. Yu Guiwan was sitting in the very center of the spring, her ethereal, snow-white form faintly visible through the mist.
"Giggle..." Yu Guiwan’s voice was full of mirth as she lifted a snowy-white arm, splashing a trail of water droplets. She bit a pink petal between her lips and asked coquettishly, "Little Junior Brother, care to join ?"
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