In a dark, empty void where no one was around.
A shift in the white mist, and Gu Qingshan and Mu appeared.
"Were you looking for me? Did something happen?" Gu Qingshan asked bluntly.
"Yes. I summoned the Saint World Spirit, and then... received a revelation," Mu said.
"What revelation?" Gu Qingshan asked.
"I'm in danger. I have to stay by your side," Mu said.
Gu Qingshan froze.
A scornful laugh suddenly came from behind him.
"Who?" Mu barked.
A set of leather armor appeared behind Gu Qingshan, specks of light glittering across it.
The armor spoke. "I know you, master of the endless source power in the void. Who would've thought you'd need Gu Qingshan's protection?"
Mu raised an eyebrow. "Qingshan, how about lending me that leather armor for a couple of days? I'll teach it how to be a proper suit of battle armor."
Gu Qingshan hurriedly said, "It's a misunderstanding—let me introduce you. This is the Previous Heavenly Emperor, and this is Mu. We're all on the same side, so there's no need for harsh words."
"This leather armor is the Heavenly Emperor?" Mu asked in disbelief.
Gu Qingshan explained what had happened.
Mu's anger subsided, and he explained, "Both of you, my Saint World Spirit, bound to me by contract, gave me a warning—I seem to have prepared for danger long ago, and that preparation has something to do with Gu Qingshan."
Gu Qingshan pondered for a long while before saying, "You made a preparation in the Ancient Era. You left a place for someone from the future, so that they could return to the Ancient Era and anchor all of history, preventing it from changing any further."
"That's right. You went back into the past and became Rod," Mu said.
"Then what about this time?