Chapter 2606: Reunion

Hearing this, the women put away their teasing smiles and became serious. "Alright!"

They had first arrived at this ancient time shard, then traveled from the Demon Imperial Tomb in this shard to the even more ancient Celestial Realm. Now, they all felt as if a lifetime had passed.

Only Ji Xiaoxi hesitated, asking, "What about my aunt?"

Zu An ruffled her hair and comforted her, "Don't worry. The information I received from Houtu confirms that Headmistress Sister is not in danger; on the contrary, it's an opportunity for her."

Hearing him say this, the worry in Ji Xiaoxi's eyes dissipated somewhat.

The others then asked about their recent trip to the seabed, and Zu An briefly recounted it to them.

The women, however, secretly pulled Pei Mianman aside to ask if Zu An had encountered any new beautiful women on this trip.

Pei Mianman thought of Princess Ni Huang but ultimately didn't mention her. "No," she said. "He's heartbroken right now; he's in no mood for romance."

She mused that this wasn't entirely a lie. After all, not long ago, Princess Peacock had even sought out Zu An at the Sea Clan's Dragon Palace, but he had hidden in the Underworld and refused to see her.

Clearly, he didn't want to delay the young lady's future any further.

After being rebuffed multiple times, Princess Peacock likely guessed his intentions. She cried for days and nights in the Dragon Palace, and many members of the Sea Clan felt sympathy, secretly interceding on her behalf.

But Zu An never responded, and in the end, the princess could only leave disheartened.

Pei Mianman had quietly tried to persuade Zu An earlier, but he was indeed heartbroken and had neither the inclination nor the desire to hold her back.

Meanwhile, Zu An asked Xie Daoyun, "Have the affairs of the demon race been settled during this time?"

Xie Daoyun nodded. "The remaining demons have been purged, and the demon race has recovered its former territory."

She had even carefully left behind images in the Sealed Land, waiting for a future Zu An to discover them, all to ensure the temporal loop closed.

"Won't there be a problem with your sudden disappearance as the Demon Saintess?" Zu An asked, a little worried.

"Don't worry," Xie Daoyun replied. "The demon race has its own royal family. Previously, when we faced the otherworldly demons, everyone was desperate, so it was fine. But now that the external threat is gone, with Yu Men Beiqing's prestige, staying here would easily provoke suspicion from the demon royal family, which could lead to internal strife." As the resourceful Saintess of this era, Xie Daoyun naturally saw this clearly.

Yun Yuqing snorted, "If you ask me, what good are those so-called demon royals? If it weren't for you turning the tide and stabilizing the situation, coupled with Ah Zu's efforts, what kind of kings would they be? Why don't you become the ruler? Not many in the entire demon race would oppose it. And then, you could make Brother Zu your empress consort..."

Xie Daoyun finally couldn't hold back. Her face flushed red as she covered Yun Yuqing's mouth. "Stop messing around! That would change history; how could that be allowed?"

Yun Yuqing's eyes darted around. "Oh, so you're just worried about changing history, are you? That proves you have such thoughts deep down, doesn't it? Ow, stop tickling me!"

Seeing the two beautiful young women playfully bicker in such a delightful scene, a smile appeared on Zu An's face, and his somewhat gloomy mood brightened considerably.

Over the next day or two, Xie Daoyun handled the aftermath, while Zu An seized the opportunity to visit Fire Cloud Cave. Reflecting on recent events, he couldn't shake the feeling that the person in Fire Cloud Cave was somewhat mysterious and seemed to have intentionally led him to the ancient Celestial Realm.

He intended to figure it out and see what connection that person had with the Human Emperor.

However, when he arrived at Purple Ganoderma Cliff, he found no one there.

Not only was there no person, but even the entire Fire Cloud Cave had vanished without a trace.

Zu An was utterly bewildered. Who was the person he had seen last time?

He felt as if an invisible hand was manipulating everything.

He then mobilized the forces of the demon race, the sea clan, and even the Underworld, yet found not a single piece of information. With the Creation Box beginning to stir again, he had no time to linger there.

Speaking of which, when they first entered this time shard, the Creation Box had already lost its divine power and turned into an ordinary stone.

However, in the ancient Celestial Realm, perhaps it absorbed some unique spiritual energy there, because the Creation Box unexpectedly recovered. Not only did it bring them back, but it even had enough power to activate again.

Zu An even wondered if the Creation Box would take them back to the Celestial Realm again.

With a flash of light from the box, Zu An and his companions left the hidden time shard and arrived in another world.

Sensing the distinctly weak and thin spiritual energy around him, and his connection to the Law Beacon, Zu An immediately confirmed that this was their original cultivation world.

This time, the light from the Creation Box in his hand faded once more, turning it back into an ordinary stone box.

Zu An fell into thought. When exactly had this thing recharged in the Celestial Realm last time?

If he could find the method, would there be another chance to return to the Celestial Realm of the past?

"This is great, we're finally back!" Yun Yuqing exclaimed, recognizing the area near the Demon Clan's altar.

Seeing the familiar scenery, the women were overjoyed; after all, this was their home world.

Zu An's heart stirred. He could feel that everything had returned; he had re-established his connection with the authority of this world.

Furthermore, all the magic treasures he had intentionally sent away earlier had returned to his possession, such as the Water of Oblivion, the Treasure-Dropping Copper Coin, and even the Human Emperor's Seal had regained the Human Emperor's authority.

He couldn't help but marvel at the immense power of the temporal loop. If he could thoroughly understand how all this was specifically achieved, wouldn't he then be able to control time?

Because of the Mermaid Queen and the Wushan Goddess, he now urgently yearned for knowledge regarding time.

The Demon Clan's altar was always guarded, and soon, people from various Demon Clan families came out to greet them. "Welcome back, Regent!" they cheered.

Zu An was in no mood to deal with such trivial matters at the moment. He left Yun Yuqing and the others to answer the Demon Clan's questions while he headed to a particular place.

Pei Mianman vaguely guessed his destination. "You go ahead," she said. "We'll make our own way back."

After Zu An left, the women asked curiously, "Where is he going?"

"To the Dragon Palace, of course," Pei Mianman sighed softly.

The women immediately understood and felt no hint of jealousy.

Meanwhile, above the ocean, on a reef, two mermaids, one red and one blue, were playfully strumming a zither. Their long fish tails swayed gently in the water, creating splashes like strings of pearls.

However, a faint trace of sorrow lingered between the eyebrows of the blue mermaid.

"Sister, why the long face? Are you still worried about that guy?"

"He's so capable and always full of cunning plans. Even if he encounters danger, he'll turn misfortune into blessing."

"If that's the case, why do you look like this?"

"I don't know why, but lately I've been having many dreams. Yet, when I wake up the next day, I can't remember what they were about, only the feelings of coldness and loneliness."

Hearing this, the red mermaid quickly swam to her side and reached out to touch her forehead. "You're not sick, are you? Or perhaps under some evil spell? But that doesn't make sense; the Dragon Palace's defensive formations are so complete, who could cast a spell on you without a sound?"

"Don't worry, I'm not under an evil spell; I'm really just dreaming," Shang Liuyu said, clutching her chest. Although she couldn't remember the dreams, every time she thought of them, she felt a pang of heartache.

Only then did Shang Hongyu relax. "It seems you're dreaming of what you think about during the day. Oh, I wonder when that heartless guy will return. But even if he does, he has so many confidantes around him; he probably won't come looking for us right away."

No sooner had she finished speaking than a rainbow descended from the horizon.

She froze completely, rubbed her eyes, and then nudged her sister beside her. "Quick, look! Am I seeing things?"

Shang Liuyu looked back and, seeing the familiar figure, also trembled.

Seeing her, Zu An could no longer restrain the surging emotions in his heart. He lunged forward and embraced her tightly. "I've finally seen you again!"