Past Connections!

It is said that Zhou Hao had Jiulong pull the carriage, carrying Liu Yu and Yun Yuchan away from Perching Dragon Gorge. They traveled through the Nine Heavens Gale Layer and the Thunderfire Layer, and finally reached the Cloud Sea Realm.

This Cloud Sea Realm has no soil at all; it is all clouds. The celestial chariot travels through the cloud sea as if it were traveling on solid ground.

Countless sacred mountain peaks rose and appeared from beneath the Cloud Sea Realm, resembling enormous floating islands—a truly magnificent and boundless spectacle.

"This sea of clouds is not ordinary white clouds, but celestial clouds. It is entirely formed from the condensation of spiritual Origin Power and primordial power. It is said that its origin lies at the source of the Milky Way, formed from the evaporation of the Weak Water outside the Jade Pool Wonderland Realm. It took countless years to become this Cloud Sea Realm above the Heavenly Realm." Zhou Hao explained with a smile as he saw the two women admiring the beautiful scenery outside the celestial carriage.

Although the two women had been to the Eight Views Palace the Lihen Heaven before, they had been in the Red Dust Immortal Mansion the whole way, and this was the first time they had seen the Cloud Sea Realm.

"Senior brother, is this Cloud Sea Realm as large as the Heavenly Realm?" Liu Yu asked, seeing that the journey was filled with misty white clouds, stretching as far as the eye could see like a vast ocean.

"How could it be as big as the Heavenly Realm?" Zhou Hao shook his head with a smile. "The Heavenly Realm is as vast as nearly a thousand mortal worlds. This Cloud Sea Realm only covers most of the Eastern Victory Divine Continent and a small part of the Southern Jambu Continent."

"At the southern end lies the Heavenly Court, at the northern end are the immortal mountains and sacred islands such as Penglai and Yingzhou, to the east is Kunlun Mountain, the ancestral home of our Dao Sect, and to the west is the Jade Pool, which we are heading to this time."

"Senior brother is truly knowledgeable," Liu Yu praised with a smile, and Yun Yuchan nodded in agreement.

"This is common sense. In the Heavenly Realm, it's practically common knowledge, if not universally known. It doesn't deserve your praise," Zhou Hao said, rubbing his nose with a sense of helplessness.

Ever since the two women became pregnant after he coaxed them into 'practicing martial arts,' they have been finding all sorts of excuses to praise him.

Phrases like "You have such broad knowledge" and "You're so capable" often made Zhou Hao blush with embarrassment.

He wanted to assert his authority as a husband, but the two women simply stroked their bellies and said they couldn't disturb the children in their wombs, which made Zhou Hao restrain himself and dare not act recklessly anymore.

In fact, given their cultivator physiques and the abundance of various immortal herbs and elixirs to nourish their fetal energy, as long as they are careful, even casting spells and engaging in combat will not be a problem, let alone anything else.

The two women had been terribly 'bullied' by their senior brother before, and had been forced to practice mostly shameful dual cultivation techniques, so naturally they wanted to 'take revenge' now.

Of course, these are all private conversations and amusing anecdotes between husband and wife, so I won't go into detail here.

They traveled through mountains and rivers, heading straight for the Jade Pool in the west. Soon they saw a Milky Way coming from the west, winding its way before them and heading north.

The Milky Way is also called the Celestial River. Especially at this point where the river changes direction, the current is rapid, and countless eddies stir up endless stardust, making the originally deep and clear river water look like a silver ribbon, bursting with dazzling rosy light.

"How beautiful!" Liu Yu and Yun Yuchan by the sight of the Milky Way, which was divided in two ways: the western side was calm and clear, while the northern side was dazzling with silver light. In particular, there was a small island in the middle of the river, no more than ten thousand feet long and wide, and the hillside facing them was covered with golden flowers.

"This place is precisely a place where Yin and Yang meet in the Cloud Sea Realm," Zhou Hao said with a smile. "Look at the clear water coming from the west; it is actually the weakest and most yin water."

"This water is so shallow that even a mustard seed cannot float on it, and a feather cannot buoy it. Even a celestial being would sink to the bottom without the corresponding magical treasure."

"Upon reaching this point, where yin and yang converge, and mixed with stardust formed from the refined gold of stars falling from the chaotic void, it transforms into heavy water."

"With such a combination of light and heavy elements, although the scenery is beautiful, it is actually extremely dangerous. Even ordinary celestial beings would not dare to fly across it lightly."

"But that star sand is also an excellent material for refining magical artifacts, often attracting Heavenly Realm immortals to risk coming here to pan for sand. It is said that some of them get trapped in the water and are pulverized by the swirling star sand, thus perishing. This happens almost every year."

"Then there's no powerful figure to intervene?" The two women were astonished to hear that such danger was hidden beneath this beautiful scenery.

"Even if we send people to guard it, there will inevitably be those who will risk everything for the Heavenly River Star Sand. Those who meddle in this might end up with a reputation for monopolizing and hoarding it." Zhou Hao shook his head. "Good advice is useless to those damned fools. They lacked strength and were greedy. If they die, they die. Who can they blame?"

Seeing the two women remain silent, knowing that they were pregnant and therefore sensitive and unable to bear hearing such tragic news, Zhou Hao secretly regretted that he shouldn't have said such unpleasant things.

"Look at those flowers, don't you like them?" Zhou Hao pointed to the golden flowers blooming on the small island in the middle of the river in the distance. "Those are the sacred Buddhist plants called 'Pala Flower.' It is said that they only grow on the Western Spirit Mountain. They are bathed in the light of the Buddha of Bliss and have the wonderful power to ward off evil and calm the mind."

"The reason this place is where the Buddha's disciple, Venerable Ananda, passed through is because he saw the convergence of Yin and Yang here and gained enlightenment. He meditated on this island for ten thousand years and attained the status of a true immortal bodhisattva. Therefore, he left a few flower seeds as a memento, but he never expected them to grow so abundantly."

At this point, Zhou Hao's heart stirred.

Both women were pregnant. If they picked some pineapple flowers and carried them with them, it would not only be very beneficial for their pregnancy and health, but also help them to avoid being harmed by fluctuations in the energy of heaven and earth, such as when they encountered places where yin and yang clashed or where evil energy was rampant.

"Please wait here for a moment, I'll go pick some flowers." Without thinking, Zhou Hao said to the two women, then ordered the golden dragon pulling the carriage to stop, lowered the curtains on the celestial palanquin, activated the protective array of the Eight Views Imperial Carriage, and raised eight-colored celestial light to protect the entire celestial palanquin.

This Eight Views Imperial Carriage was a pure Yang-grade immortal carriage. With its eight-colored immortal light rising, even Pure Yang True Immortal would have to spend half a day trying to break through it. Furthermore, it was guarded by nine golden dragons at the Heavenly Immortal level. Zhou Hao immediately felt at ease and left.

In fact, with the protection of the Eight Views Imperial Carriage, even if they reached that small island, the convergence of Yin and Yang energies would not affect the two women or the fetus in their wombs.

But since it involves his own bloodline...

Even though he was already the Heavenly Emperor, with strength approaching that of a top-tier True Immortal, Zhou Hao was unwilling to take any risks with his two women and his own child.

"Senior brother, be careful." Liu Yu and Yun Yuchan were both a little worried, after all, Zhou Hao had just said that even celestial beings dared not fly across this place easily.

"Don't worry." Zhou Hao turned around and smiled.

If I can't even cross this Milky Way, how can I talk about traversing the Three Realms?

Call!

Zhou Hao rose into the air, transforming into a bolt of lightning, and headed straight for the island covered with bougainvillea flowers.

Although his true self could not match the speed of his Second Primordial Spirit clone who cultivated lightning-based Qi refining techniques, when using the <Thunderclap Lightning Escape Art>, which allowed him to travel tens of thousands of miles in a flash, he could still achieve five or six thousand miles in a single breath, making it a truly divine speed of escape.

However, after entering the sky above the Milky Way, Zhou Hao felt the surrounding void tighten, as if an infinite gravity was pressing down on him.

Although it wasn't enough to cause him to fall directly, it did rapidly deplete his internal Origin Power, making him understand why even a celestial being couldn't cross a river.

It should be noted that although his Qi Refining was only at the Earth Immortal of the Void Return realm, the cultivation technique he practiced was the Dao Ancestor-level <Northern Abyss Scripture>, and he had also had many fortuitous encounters, making his Origin Power extremely abundant.

Even if its quality is inferior to that of celestial beings, its quantity is definitely greater.

Moreover, his Dao realm is high, so he consumes less Origin Power when using Evasion Secret Technique.

Even so, after flying for only three breaths and covering less than 20,000 miles, he felt that his internal Origin Power was running out.

"If it weren't for a elixir that instantly restores mana, and if the flight path were any slower, an ordinary celestial immortal would really have to fall and sink into the river." Zhou Hao sighed inwardly, flipped his hand, took out a celestial-grade elixir, and swallowed it to replenish his depleted Origin Power.

The space here is heavy, as if a spatial sealing array has been placed on it. Unless one has fully comprehended and mastered the Heaven and Earth Great Dao, or possesses a rare treasure like the Cosmos Diagram, no one can traverse the void and teleport.

With the elixir replenishing his Origin Power, Zhou Hao flew for another two breaths before finally arriving at the island.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, he felt the pineapple blossoms beneath his feet were incredibly soft, as if he were walking on silk.

A single fragrance wafted from his nostrils, penetrating his very being and instantly clearing his mind.

Bending down for a closer look, Zhou Hao discovered that the veins of this pineapple flower were distinct, as if cast in gold, yet it did not feel cold and hard to the touch like metal.

Sigh

Zhou Hao pinched the golden stem, which was as thick as his little finger, and with a gentle lift, it was as if he were pinching a lump of ox tendon and dragon skin. With his divine body strength, which surpassed that of an ordinary god, he actually used three-tenths of his strength to break the stem.

"No wonder the Pala flower is regarded as a sacred object by Buddhism; it is indeed quite miraculous," Zhou Hao exclaimed.

With just a fraction of his own strength, he could overturn a mountain and crush a celestial-grade magic weapon, yet he barely managed to snap the stem of a single pine flower.

If Earth Immortal Loose Immortal wandering immortal were to encounter this, even with a celestial sword, trying to cut the stem and pluck the flower would probably be an incredibly difficult task.

Zhou Hao held the plucked pine flower in his hand and played with it. The flower felt heavy in his hand, just like it was cast in gold, yet it was so soft to the touch.

If it weren't for the strong fragrance, it would be impossible to tell whether they were real or fake flowers just by looking at them.

Wow~~~

Zhou Hao's hands blurred into a series of afterimages as he picked a hundred and eighty flowers, which he then stored in his Purple Mansion Origin Sea to nurture with his Origin Power before finally stopping.

Just as they were about to turn and leave, they suddenly saw an arrow flash on the other side of the hillside, piercing straight into the sky.

"Are people fighting?" Zhou Hao was taken aback.

However, after arriving at the island, he was so focused on picking flowers that he failed to notice that there were other people on the other side of the hillside, and a fight broke out.

"I've been living a rather pampered life these past few days, and I've forgotten that I must always be cautious and vigilant." Zhou Hao shook his head inwardly and spread his mental energy.

It not only covered the entire island, but also the Eight Views Imperial Carriage tens of thousands of miles away, and even further afield.

Within the range of his consciousness, apart from three male and female cultivators fighting on the back of the hillside, there were no other outsiders.

Seeing that the three men and women fighting were only at the Celestial Immortal level in terms of magical power, Zhou Hao immediately felt relieved.

He first sent a telepathic message to Liu Yu and Yun Yuchan, who were still waiting, then took two steps to the top of the slope and looked at the three male and female cultivators fighting.

On the bank of the Milky Way below, a fat, bald monk and a burly man with a full head of yellow hair were fighting a girl who looked to be only fourteen or fifteen years old.

With a wave of his hand, the bald monk unleashed a burst of Buddhist light, and a vajra soared through the air with fierce momentum, while the blond-haired strongman wielded a white bone demon banner, waving it to unleash a pale, demonic aura that enveloped the girl.

In contrast, the girl had a deep purple wooden plaque floating above her head, emitting auspicious purple light that formed a dense light shield that enveloped her.

No matter how much the monks and strong men activated their magical artifacts and spells, they couldn't break through the seemingly thin purple light barrier, and the two sides were locked in a stalemate.

"Good heavens, who is this girl?" Zhou Hao was secretly shocked. "That purple wooden tablet is definitely a primordial spiritual treasure, and at least a mid-grade spiritual treasure, to have such protection, preventing a Buddhist Arhat and a Celestial Demon from defeating a Earth Immortal of the Void Return."

Don't be fooled by how easily he kills celestial immortals; the difference between Earth Immortal and true immortals is actually quite significant.

If one doesn't rely on God-Devil Body Refining or use the power of one's origin, but only relies on Qi refining strength to activate magical treasures, at most one can only hold one's own against a Celestial Immortal, and killing one would be extremely difficult.

But judging from the fluctuations in the aura of the girl in front of him, Zhou Hao could only sense that she had just entered the Void Return Realm. If it weren't for the purple wooden tablet magic weapon, the monk and the strong man could have killed her with a single spell. How could they have gotten into a stalemate?

As he pondered and tried to guess the girl's origins, he heard the girl below speak.

"Monk, ugly man, how long are you two going to fight? I'm almost out of Origin Power and I'm out of pills to replenish it. If you don't stop, I'll shoot you with my bow and arrows." The girl's voice was clear and crisp, but her words almost made Zhou Hao burst out laughing.

There is no one who, in fighting with others, will only expose their own weaknesses.

If you tell people you're about to collapse, aren't you practically telling the enemy to launch a full-scale attack?

really.

Upon hearing the girl's words, the bald monk and the blond-haired burly man intensified their attacks.

The burly, blond-haired man, whom the girl had called "Ugly Man," roared angrily, "You little plant demon! I don't know how many I consume each year. You dare to act so arrogantly just because you have two innate spiritual treasures? If you know what's good for you, hand over the treasures, and I'll just use your demonic body as a vegetarian dish and let your soul reincarnate. If you still don't know what's good for you, you'll fall into our hands, and we'll use your soul to sacrifice to our demon banner, ensuring you're never reincarnated!"

"No." The girl shook her head immediately upon hearing this. "This wooden sign and bow and arrow were given to me by an uncle. My sister said I can't give them away. Besides, I've only just transformed into human form and just ran out of the valley. I haven't had enough fun yet, so I can't let you eat them."

It turns out it's a newly transformed plant spirit; no wonder it's so naive.

Zhou Hao suddenly realized.

For plants and trees to cultivate into demons is not as simple as for animals that are born with intelligence to do so.

The greatest difficulty lies in simply obtaining the opportunity to develop spiritual intelligence.

"There are a few places in the Heavenly Realm where plants and trees can become spirits. But to be so extravagant as to bestow a primordial spiritual treasure... could this girl have escaped from the cave of some powerful being?"

Zhou Hao remained puzzled.

Seeing that the battle was dragging on without a clear winner, the bald monk on the other side grew increasingly uneasy and immediately urged them on:

"Feiyi Fei Yi, don't waste words with this little demon. Let's just use forbidden techniques. Even if it damages our foundations, it'll be worth it if we can seize these two innate spiritual treasures."

The being who could bestow an innate spiritual treasure upon this Void Return demon is not someone to be trifled with.

Even though one of them comes from a Buddhist family and the other has a distinguished background, if they were to attract the main target, their fate would surely be tragic.

Since the girl hadn't called for help, it seemed she didn't have Signal Talisman with her.

The area was sparsely populated, and the fluctuations in vital energy couldn't spread outwards, which is why the two of them dared to take the risk.

As long as we kill the girl quickly, seize the spiritual treasure, and escape back to our lair, then when the people behind the girl come looking for us, our elders will naturally be there to deal with them.

Thinking of this, the bald monk suddenly slapped his chest with his palm.

Instantly, a mouthful of Arhat's golden essence blood was spat out and landed on the Vajra in the air.

With the essence of the blood and the monk chanting incantations and casting forbidden spells, the vajra instantly transformed in the air into a thousand-foot-tall mountain, resembling a Mount Sumeru made of pure gold, which crashed down upon the girl.

Seeing the bald monk use forbidden magic, the blond-haired burly man on the other side gritted his teeth and plunged one of his arms into the white bone demon banner in his hand.

Then, a series of chewing sounds came from within the demon banner, followed by the leaping out of a white skeletal demon god.

The skeletal demon was still chewing, blood dripping from its stark white jawbone.

Looking at the blond, burly man again, one of his arms was now just a stump.

"Damn it. To recover this time, I'll have to eat blood for another hundred or eighty years." The blond-haired burly man waved the demon banner with his intact arm and pointed it at the girl in the distance. The white bone demon god immediately let out a shrill scream and roared as it charged over.

Seeing this, Zhou Hao knew that the girl probably couldn't withstand it.

He was also pleased by her innocence; after all, she was a newly transformed demon, her mind like that of a child, truly a blank sheet of paper.

He immediately took a step forward to help.

But at this moment, the girl raised the purple wooden bow she had been holding, and without drawing an arrow, she simply twisted the bowstring with her fingers and drew it taut.

There was a loud 'bang'.

Two purple arrows shot out from the wooden bow.

A gigantic vajra fell directly down from the center, and a skeletal demon god lunged forward from the center as well.

Then the two arrows shattered, releasing boundless purple light that enveloped the Vajra Pestle and the White Bone Demon God respectively.

The forbidden techniques unleashed by the two celestial beings were suddenly trapped by the purple light.

Although the purple light dissipated visibly, it was clearly unable to reach the girl at that moment.

After the girl shot the arrow, she flipped her wrist, and a Signal Talisman appeared out of thin air, which she then crushed.

"It's all your fault for making me crush the Signal Talisman. I finally managed to sneak out, and now my sister is going to catch me again," the girl pouted, huffing and puffing.

Upon hearing this, the bald monk and the blond-haired strongman became extremely anxious. Seeing that the purple light shield surrounding the girl was almost transparent after she shot out two arrows, they knew that she was at her last gasp. They immediately disregarded the forbidden technique that had been previously suppressed and activated another flying sword and a long cone magic weapon to attack the girl.

"Ah!" The girl belatedly realized that the light barrier had dissipated and the floating purple wooden plaque was slowly falling down. She immediately wanted to raise her bow and shoot again.

But her Origin Power was completely exhausted, so she could no longer draw her bow.

Just as they were at a loss, a figure suddenly appeared in front of them.

The flying swords and long cones struck the figure's back, falling to the ground without even a spark.

The girl thought it was her older sister, but instead, she saw a young man standing in front of her.

The young man's eyes were bright and he was staring straight at him, his eyes filled with surprise.

Looking at the young man, she felt a sense of familiarity, but upon closer inspection, she couldn't place him.

"You..." The girl's eyes blinked as if they could speak, "You recognize me?"

"Of course I recognize you." Zhou Hao's lips curled up, his voice so low it seemed to be a murmur.

"If you faint now, I'll carry you back, and that will settle the score from back then..."

Fainted?

Why did I faint?

The girl was completely baffled.

Then a familiar voice rang out.

"Xiangcao!"

The girl was overjoyed. "Sister!"

Zhou Hao felt a slight sting in his nose.

In this life...

Is it still called Xiangcao?

Zhou Hao didn't recognize her before because the purple light shrouded the spirit treasure obscured her appearance and blocked his senses.

Well, I'll explain in detail in the next chapter; I can't finish writing it in this one. Let me clarify something first.

I was quite busy with work before the Lunar New Year, and the week-long hospitalization of Suifeng delayed my schedule considerably.

Now that I've just recovered from my illness, I don't dare stay up too late at night, and my wife keeps urging me to.

Please forgive me, my friends.

I'll update more whenever I have time.

In a couple of days, my wife won't be so strict, so I'll work overtime and write more at night.