"Qingyue?"
Looking at Qingyue, Su Li asked.
Qingyue lifted her eyes to Su Li, a trace of tenderness passing through them.
Their gazes met.
They needed no words to communicate. A meeting of their eyes, a touch of their souls, was enough.
Fairy Qingyue's eyes were deep as the sea. In them, Su Li saw the brilliance of the stars, and his own reflection.
Su Li's gaze, meanwhile, was like a deep, ancient well. In it, Fairy Qingyue saw hope for the future, and her own resolve.
Inside the thatched cottage, time seemed to have stopped.
The clamor of the outside world was shut away, leaving only the two of them and the thatched cottage, bathed in a faint moonlight.
The light was soft as silk, wrapping around them and bringing them warmth and peace. They seemed to merge with heaven and earth, becoming part of the universe, walking alongside the Dao and breathing with nature.
Immortal Dao mist swirled throughout the thatched cottage.
The divine mist seemed to have formed from the essence of heaven and earth, filled with endless mysteries and power.
It drifted slowly through the cottage like the veins of life, breathing vitality and vigor into the space.
Su Li and Fairy Qingyue were immersed in this mysterious atmosphere, their souls seeming to be cleansed and elevated.
They sensed the rhythms of heaven and earth, felt all things grow and change. Their minds were calm and profound, as if they had become one with the entire universe.
At that moment, they seemed to have transcended the limits of mortals and become true immortals. Their very existence seemed devoted to seeking higher understanding and insight, to speaking with heaven and earth and walking alongside the Dao.
After a brief moment of absentminded enlightenment,
Su Li was the first to break the silence.
He turned to Qingyue and asked, "Fairy, I saw you lost in thought just now, your soul wandering. Did something happen?"
When Qingyue's soul had been drawn into that chaotic spacetime, her body had not crossed over with it. Without its soul, her body had been like a walking corpse.
Fairy Qingyue furrowed her willow-like brows and asked Su Li, "Fellow Daoist Su, how long was I out of it?"
"Two hours."
"Only that long?" Qingyue murmured.
"What happened?" Su Li asked.
"Just now, a powerful force drew my soul into a spacetime. It was very strange, almost like another version of the Primal Ancient Realm."
Su Li watched her intently, signaling for her to continue.
Qingyue took a deep breath, trying to calm the turmoil within her, then said, "I entered a strange state. It was as if my soul had traveled to another spacetime. Everything there was different from the Primal Ancient Realm I know, yet it was connected to it in countless ways."
Su Li furrowed his brows. After thinking for a moment, he said, "You mean you saw another version of the Primal Ancient Realm?"
"Everything there was exactly the same as in the Primal Ancient Realm—the mountains and rivers, the plants and birds—all carried an ancient air. I even cultivated there for a thousand years and traveled throughout the Primal Ancient Realm." A trace of bewilderment passed through Fairy Qingyue's eyes. "But you were the one thing missing."
He was missing?
Su Li felt a flicker of confusion.
Su Li furrowed his brows, a puzzled light flashing in his deep eyes. His fingers tapped lightly on the table, as if searching for an answer.
He closed his eyes and sank into thought.
A parallel world resembling the Primal Ancient Realm, where everything was the same, except for the absence of him, Su Li.
Could it be that Qingyue had returned to the true ancient history—the spacetime that followed the course of history?
Su Li asked, "Did you sense anyone else in that spacetime?"
Fairy Qingyue shook her head. "There were others. A grand gathering was being held there too, with an Immortal King lecturing on the Dao and the young prodigies sparring. It was bustling with activity."
Su Li fell silent for a moment, then said, "Perhaps that spacetime was part of real history, and you only traveled there briefly."
"Real history?" A trace of surprise flashed through Qingyue's eyes.
"In that spacetime, I was called Azure Moon. I subdued the Azure Moon Flame and spent a hundred years there."
Su Li's eyes flashed with surprise at her words.
Azure Moon had subdued the Azure Moon Flame. It seemed she really had returned to the true ancient history.
"You subdued the Azure Moon Flame?" Su Li's voice held a trace of surprise. He looked at Qingyue, trying to find some clue in her expression.
Qingyue was silent for a moment, then nodded, a hint of resolve in her eyes.
Her voice grew firm. "Yes, I subdued the Azure Moon Flame. But I already possessed the flame before I went to that spacetime."
Su Li thought for a moment, then nodded in understanding.
Perhaps Fairy Qingyue really had returned briefly to the spacetime that followed the course of history, rather than the one he had manifested through his vast powers.
The thought filled Su Li with emotion. History's wheel rolled ever onward. People sometimes tried to change its course, but in the end, they were still swallowed by it.
Though Su Li felt somewhat uneasy, he decided to use what little Immortal Emperor divine sense he had left to investigate.
He closed his eyes, focused, and spread his divine sense outward, covering the entire Primal Ancient Realm.
Under his divine sense, the entire Primal Ancient Realm seemed to turn transparent.
Mountains, rivers, forests, grasslands—all the scenery was clear to him.
He saw the spacetime Qingyue had visited. It was indeed identical to the Primal Ancient Realm, but the presence of living beings there was much fainter.
Su Li's divine sense pressed deeper, trying to uncover the secret of that spacetime.
He felt as though he had entered an ancient world, one filled with the marks of time and a mysterious aura.
He sensed the fluctuations and rhythms of that spacetime, as though it were telling a story both ancient and distant.
In that spacetime, he seemed to be inside a vast maze.
All around him stood ancient buildings that soared into the clouds and towering mountains. Countless passages and doorways led to unknown realms. His divine sense darted through that spacetime, exploring every corner and crevice, trying to uncover its secrets.
Suddenly, he sensed a trace of Qingyue's aura.
It was familiar and comforting, like the scent of home, filling him with warmth and ease.
Following the aura, he saw everything Qingyue had done in that spacetime.
Su Li saw Qingyue cultivating, comprehending, and exploring there. Her figure moved through the mountains and rivers, her soul merging with that spacetime.
Su Li's divine sense slowly returned. A peculiar light gleamed in his eyes, as if they held boundless wisdom and understanding. The secrets of that spacetime gradually emerged from the fog before him, and he saw the true goal Qingyue was pursuing.
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