The hall was quiet, and the smile on Qin Fen's face was unusually strange, as though he had stumbled across something interesting.
Above the Heavenly Court's Outer Thirty-Three Heavens lay another expanse of endless void. It was quiet there too. An illusory figure stood dumbfounded before an enormous screen of light, staring unblinkingly at the image of Qin Fen and the Queen Mother below.
The figure had white hair and a white beard, with the bearing of an immortal sage. Had the Three Pure Ones been there, they would surely have cried out, "Teacher!" That was right-he was the Pangu Consciousness, Hongjun!
"Qin Fen, do you believe in fate?" the Queen Mother suddenly asked. Remembering the opportunity her teacher had spoken of had stirred her emotions. This question had troubled her for years, so many that she could no longer remember exactly how long. Ever since Hongjun's Dao Integration, she had been waiting. Her teacher's disciples had soared to greatness one after another, while she alone remained where she was. It was not that she was fixated on achieving Transcendence and becoming a sage; she simply wondered what her destined opportunity was.
Qin Fen nodded. "I believe in destiny! But I believe even more that destiny is actually in our own hands."
The Queen Mother gave an odd smile. "I believe in destiny too. Tell me, have we met before? Ever since I saw you, I've had this feeling of familiarity."
"You're overthinking it. I'd never seen you before!" Qin Fen shrugged. He was telling the truth. Big Chef had his own stubborn ways-even when flirting, he refused to use canned lines or say things he did not mean. Deep down, he possessed an unusual stubbornness and candor. Yes meant yes, and no meant no.
The Heavenly Dao flushed. "Oh,