Late at night.

Chi Sha stood alone atop a high platform, gazing into the distant night sky, lost in quiet contemplation. The cool night breeze lifted her waist-long hair, her delicate skirt fluttering along with it, her fair and lovely legs flashing in and out of view, hazy and alluring.

A blush still lingered on her face. Her clear, bright eyes held a new, unusual glimmer, a charm like that of a flower bud nurtured by spring rain, gradually blossoming.

"How is Big Brother?"

Lin Tong's soul drifted from somewhere unknown, coming to a stop beside Chi Sha.

Chi Sha replied expressionlessly, "He's out of danger. He's just sleeping and will wake in a few days."

Lin Tong breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

Chi Sha gazed into the distant night, saying nothing.

Beneath the high platform, the City of Great Beings glittered brightly. The scenery was magnificent, yet it failed to catch her eye.

In the quiet, she finally spoke. "I don't have much time left here."

Lin Tong understood what she meant. "Congratulations. And take care."

Now that she had entered sainthood and attained the Emperor Realm, she naturally couldn't remain in this world. The Great Dao Laws would not permit it.

Unless, in the future, she could reach an even higher realm, one that would allow her to circumvent the Great Dao Laws and travel freely between worlds.

"I never expected you had already prepared for this step so many years ago."

Chi Sha lowered her head to look at her palm and said slowly, "But this is just the beginning. The path of the Great Dao is long and winding; I will seek it from the highest heavens to the lowest depths."

"Indeed!" Lin Tong sighed with emotion. "Reaching the Emperor Realm is only the beginning!"

"Right now, you're just at the initial Profound Emperor stage. Above that, there are the Red Emperor, White Emperor, and the Azure Emperor."

Chi Sha smiled. "And it's only now that I understand what that azure Spiritual Power represents."

Lin Tong simply smiled and said nothing.

Chi Sha turned and descended from the high platform.

Her bare, alabaster feet touched the ground, yet not a single speck of dust clung to them.

However, her gait was slightly unnatural.

Lin Tong followed behind her and asked, "When do you plan to leave?"

"In the next few days."

"Won't you wait for Big Brother to wake up and say goodbye?"

Chi Sha's cheeks reddened as those shameful memories resurfaced. She shook her head gently. "There's no need. That would only add to the sorrow."

Lin Tong said, "Then I wish you a safe journey. I hope we meet again someday."

Chi Sha said, "He is about to go to the undersea Tomb of Civilization. That place is fraught with danger. You must protect him and ensure his safety on this trip."

Lin Tong teased, "Are you worried about him?"

Chi Sha's face remained impassive as she continued, "However, that place is also filled with opportunities related to the Great Dao Laws. It's where I obtained the Chaos Origin—what you call the Li Insect—and also where I acquired the Great Being's Art."

Lin Tong laughed. "Don't you worry. Big Brother will be fine there."

"I heard a few things from Tuof. The Tomb of Civilization is suppressed by a palace—and that palace belongs to Big Brother."

Chi Sha fell silent for a moment before asking, "Is he really the Azure Emperor?"

"The one and only."

Lin Tong said with a smile, "In fact, what you know about him is only what happened during his time in the Lower Realm."

"Once you reach the Upper Realm, you'll learn much more. Then you'll understand just how powerful that man, the one who dominated All Heavens and Myriads of Worlds with a single sword, truly is."

...

Luo Xiu slowly opened his eyes to find himself leaning against a fruit tree.

His surroundings were blurry, simultaneously unfamiliar and yet vaguely familiar.

"Hey!"

A petite figure suddenly jumped down from the fruit tree, clutching a ripe apple.

"Dou Dou?" Luo Xiu cried out excitedly, looking at the petite figure.

"Chen Shuisheng, I, Dou Dou, am leaving now. After Dou Dou is gone, you have to learn how to protect yourself. If you meet a bad guy you can't beat, just play it safe and hide. But Dou Dou was so silly. I obviously couldn't beat that big idiot, but I didn't even know to run. In the end, that big idiot twisted my head off. It hurt so, so much. No matter what, you have to live a good life, okay? Dou Dou doesn't want to see you again, or else you'll try to steal Dou Dou's snacks."

As she spoke, Dou Dou waved her small hand at him, then hugged her apple and walked toward the thick fog ahead.

With every step her small, bare feet took, clusters of red spider lilies bloomed in her wake.

Luo Xiu scrambled to his feet to chase her, but no matter how fast he ran, she only grew more distant, until she vanished completely into the fog.

He sank powerlessly to the ground, crying out as he reached for her vanishing form.

Suddenly, a sharp pain lanced through his mind, and his nearly desiccated Spiritual Ocean began to churn with waves.

He snapped his eyes open and shot up, finding himself on a large, round bed. Everything that had just happened was only a dream.

It was a spacious, luxurious room decorated in a classical, antique style.

"Dou Dou... I'm sorry..." Thinking of the dream where Dou Dou had said goodbye, Luo Xiu's eyes began to well up with tears.

"Don't worry, Big Brother. Dou Dou is fine. The Little Queen saved her. She's still in the Jade Coffin and will probably wake up in a few days." Lin Tong's voice suddenly echoed in Luo Xiu's mind.

Hearing this, Luo Xiu's eyes grew even more tearful, and a lone tear finally slid from the corner of his eye.

"That's great, that's great..."

Lin Tong continued, "You were unconscious for a full ten days. The Little Queen has already left."

Luo Xiu wiped away his tears, his mind replaying the image of the stunningly beautiful face he saw right before he lost consciousness. It was Chi Sha's true face. But when he tried to recall it in detail, the image became hazy, and he couldn't bring it into focus no matter how hard he tried.

"Where did she go?"

"She entered sainthood and ascended to the Upper Realm."

Then, Lin Tong recounted everything that had happened from the moment Luo Xiu fell unconscious until now.

In the two days before her ascension, Chi Sha had used her absolute power to eliminate all the traitors in the Nation of the Great, cleansing the court and once again unifying the vast Penglai Immortal Island. She then spent another two days entrusting all affairs to her ministers and appointing a new king before quietly departing from this world.

...

After hearing all this, Luo Xiu was silent for a very long time.

A mix of complicated feelings churned within him.

They had just barely survived a catastrophe together, yet she was gone before they could even have a proper reunion. He had no idea when he would see her again.

"By the way, Big Brother, she left those two things on the nightstand for you," Lin Tong added.

Luo Xiu turned to look and saw a Jade Seal and a lustrous pearl on the nightstand.

Lin Tong explained, "With the Jade Seal in your hands, you are now the king of the Nation of the Great. She said the Great Being's Art is within the seal and that you should study it well."

Luo Xiu's eyes widened in disbelief. "Make me the king?!"

Lin Tong continued, "She said that you are the only one who can protect the people of the Nation of the Great."

"As for that pearl," Lin Tong said, "she told me it belonged to Xiao Yu and that it's her most treasured possession. It was originally part of a pair. Now you have one half, and she has the other. I think it's her keepsake for you—a token of her love."

Luo Xiu was speechless.

Lin Tong teased, "Don't be embarrassed, Big Brother. The Little Queen is your woman now. She even took the initiative to give you her most precious love token. What's a big man like you got to be shy about?"

"I..." Luo Xiu was at a loss for words. Gloomily, he muttered, "You're right. Now stop talking."

Lin Tong laughed out loud.

Luo Xiu stared at the Jade Seal, then sighed deeply and flopped back onto the bed, completely listless.

"Dammit! I really don't want to be king!"

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