Xuan Ming said, "Isn't Di Tian working as a butler here? And Da Ming and Er Ming, I haven't seen them in ages."
"Them..."
Xiao Wu pointed to the tallest mountain in the distance, "They're all over there. That's the core of the Dragon Domain, and also Di Tian's lair."
The two did not use their Divine Power to Teleportation, but instead walked slowly through the jungle.
As they walked, Xuan Ming casually asked, "By the way, speaking of Da Ming Er Ming, I remember that Xiong Jun Scarlet King ascended to the Divine Realm not long after they leveled up on Douluo Star, right? Why haven't Da Ming Er Ming gone up yet?"
" Xiong Jun and his group just got incredibly lucky."
Xiao Wu pouted, "Sister Na'er, in order to cultivate the backbone of the Soul Beast Clan, gave them special treatment and threw those guys directly into the God's Forbidden Land. That place is now the most terrifying place in the Divine Realm in terms of energy, because the auras of you and Na'er, two Supreme God, remain there. One day of cultivation there is equivalent to a year outside."
" Di Tian was able to break through to the God King Realm so quickly thanks to that place."
"As for Da Ming and Er Ming..."
Xiao Wu couldn't help but laugh out loud, "These two guys are scared by the work system in the Divine Realm."
"Scared?" Xuan Ming raised an eyebrow.
"Yes."
Xiao Wu vividly described, "They could have ascended to heaven back then. But at that time, Sister Dongdong was implementing a system requiring all employees to work in the Divine Realm."
I heard that after ascending to the upper realms, not only will I not be able to sleep every day, but I'll also be chased by Sister Dongdong with a whip to do chores, write reports, and travel to various dimensions...
"As you know, Da Ming is calm and collected, but he also prefers quiet; Er Ming is even lazier, all he does is eat and sleep. As soon as they heard that being a god is more tiring than being a Soul Beast, these two immediately changed their minds and refused to ascend no matter what."
"Five thousand years later, Ning Fengzhi and the others retired. The environment on Douluo Star changed, and they felt bored. Coincidentally, Di Tian's Elf Star was short-handed, so they were called over."
"Being a mountain king here, patrolling the mountains and bullying little Soul Beast —how carefree!"
Xuan Ming was both amused and exasperated.
So, Bibi Dong's prestigious title of "Empress of the Divine Realm " has become a security door preventing ascension?
"However, there is one advantage to them not ascending."
Xiao Wu suddenly blinked, then whispered mysteriously in Xuan Ming's ear, "That means... nobody cares."
"Nobody cares?"
"Yeah," Xiao Wu said with a mischievous grin, "In the Divine Realm, there are rules everywhere, and eyes are watching everywhere. But here... hehe."
She grabbed Xuan Ming's hand and pushed him directly into a hidden cave nearby.
"This is my territory, our private world."
"Brother Xuan Ming..."
Xiao Wu's voice suddenly became soft and sweet, and she pressed her whole body against him, her big eyes shimmering with undisguised allure.
"Just now on Douluo Star, in front of so many people, there were some things that were difficult to say, and some things that... were difficult to do."
"Now..."
Her fingers gently traced Xuan Ming's chest, her fingertips carrying a hint of burning heat.
"Shouldn't we catch up on that year's homework first?"
Inside the cave, the light was dim, which only added to the ambiguous atmosphere.
Xiao Wu clung to Xuan Ming, her warm breath spraying against his neck like a feather gently plucking at his heartstrings.
However, Xuan Ming stood there, his brows furrowed, and a clear look of difficulty on his face.
" Xiao Wu..."
He tried to push the girl away from his arms, but was afraid of hurting her, so his hand froze in mid-air, unsure of what to do. "Um... could you wait a moment?"
"Wait?"
Xiao Wu paused, looked up, and a hint of doubt flashed in her large, watery eyes, which then turned into a dangerous glint. "Waiting for what? Waiting for that blonde Qian Renxue?"
Xuan Ming's heart skipped a beat.
How could this girl guess so accurately?
"Ahem..." Xuan Ming explained somewhat awkwardly, "It's not that... it's just that, you know Xue'er's temper. Back in the Divine Realm, I already... well, in a sense, I acted first and asked later. If I come back this time and talk to you first again... I'm afraid she really will tear this Elf Star apart."
"And..."
Xuan Ming's voice lowered, a hint of guilt flashing in his eyes, "Back then, I rushed off to condense my Godhood partly because I was running away. I didn't know how to face you, how to balance this situation. I felt it wasn't fair to you."
"In this matter, I am the one responsible. My greed and my infidelity have led to this situation. I don't want you to suffer because of me, and I certainly don't want to see you hurt because of jealousy and rivalry."
"So, I think we should still..."
"Should what? Should it be based on seniority? Should we go and appease that arrogant young lady first?"
Xiao Wu interrupted him, her tone a mix of exasperation and amusement.
She released Xuan Ming, took a step back, put her hands on her hips, and looked him up and down. This man, who clearly possessed world-destroying power, was incredibly cowardly when it came to matters of the heart.
"Brother Xuan Ming, you are the God of Primordial Beginning! You are the Lord of the Divine Realm, the mighty 'Heaven'!"
Xiao Wu pointed a finger at his chest, exasperated, "Why are you still like this? Can't you be a little more assertive?!"
"What do you mean by 'unfair'? What do you mean by 'we've been wronged'?"
"Do you think we were forced to stay? Do you think we were kidnapped by your so-called Divine Power?"
Xiao Wu's voice became serious. She looked directly into Xuan Ming's eyes. At that moment, she was no longer the lively little rabbit, but a God King had truly experienced the trials of time.
"The reason we stayed, the reason we were willing to accept this seemingly absurd large family, is simply because it was our own choice."
"We love you, and we accept the price of loving you."
"This isn't something you owe us, it's a consensus we share."
At this point, Xiao Wu took a deep breath, stepped forward again, and moved closer to Xuan Ming.
This time, there was no teasing in her eyes, only an intense and unwavering affection.
"And don't use Qian Renxue as an excuse."
"I know her temper. Although she's fierce, she's actually more perceptive than anyone else. Since she agreed to the lottery for the shifts, and since she let me take you away first, it means she's already tacitly approved of it."
"She's not in a hurry, why are you?"
Xiao Wu's fingers gently hooked around Xuan Ming's belt, her voice becoming low, husky, and alluring.
As for me...
"Do you know? I've waited twenty-seven years for this day."
"Twenty-seven years may not seem like a long time in the Divine Realm. But if you include the years I spent working in various mortal realms and tirelessly working for the sake of the Divine Realm..."
I have been waiting for you for over a thousand years.
A thousand years of longing, a thousand years of loneliness, a thousand years of waiting...
Xiao Wu's eyes were slightly red, but she stubbornly refused to let the tears fall.
"I don't want to wait any longer."
"I don't want to wait even a second longer."
Chapter 512 onwards is the future, the present is the present.
Three days later, the morning sunlight filtered through the lush foliage, dappling the entrance to the cave.
Xuan Ming finally carried Xiao Wu out.
At this moment, Xiao Wu was like a boneless shrimp, hanging limply on Xuan Ming's back. Her hands were tightly wrapped around Xuan Ming's neck, her legs were wrapped around his waist, and her face was buried in the crook of his neck, like a clingy koala, wishing she could melt into his body.
Even knowing that there is still a whole year ahead, to her now, this year is only 365 days, 8,760 hours, and 525,600 minutes.
Every number is counting down.
She didn't want to waste a single second, nor did she want to be apart from someone for even a second.
Xuan Ming supported Xiao Wu's legs, letting her cling to him like a pendant. Feeling the warmth from her back and her undisguised dependence, the last bit of resentment in his heart completely dissipated.
After all these years of waiting, he knew he was a conflicted person, and there were some things he could never let go of. But now that he had taken this step, there was no need to be sentimental anymore.
"Brother Xuan Ming..."
Xiao Wu leaned close to his ear, her voice still carrying a hint of languor and mischief, "I remember, when you and Sister Dongdong were in the Divine Realm, it only took you a day and a night, right?"
Xuan Ming's body stiffened slightly, and his expression became somewhat unnatural.
"Shouldn't we avoid comparing ourselves to others in this kind of thing?"
"Hmph, why can't we compare?"
Xiao Wu persisted, her warm breath brushing against his earlobe with a hint of teasing, "Logically speaking, Sister Dongdong should last longer than me. But..."
She deliberately dragged out the last syllable, her tone carrying a hint of smugness.
"We've been doing this for a full three days! And that's even under the suppression of the rules of the mortal realm."
"Brother Xuan Ming, tell me the truth, compared to Sister Dongdong's mature charm, don't you enjoy my youthful energy more?"
The veins on Xuan Ming's forehead throbbed.
That brat, she really dares to say anything!
"Shut up." Xuan Ming slapped her butt impatiently. "I don't want to answer such vulgar questions."
"Ouch!"
Xiao Wu exclaimed exaggeratedly, but she wasn't angry at all. Instead, she giggled, "Did I hit the nail on the head? Are you shy?"
She pressed her face against Xuan Ming's cheek and teased him with a grin, "Actually, I used to worry about you because you always seemed so serious. After all, you haven't been close to women for so many years..."
"I never expected this, you were just simply enduring it."
Recalling the frenzy of the past three days, Xiao Wu blushed slightly, and her voice softened, "This sudden release almost overwhelmed me..."
Xuan Ming couldn't listen anymore; the car was going too fast, and he was getting carsick.
"Let's talk about something else, like... work?"
"Work?" Xiao Wu was taken aback.
"Yes, work."
Xuan Ming said in a serious tone, "Didn't you say you've been incredibly busy in the Divine Realm these past few years? Have you encountered any troublesome problems? Or perhaps some troublesome dimensional freak? Since we have some time now, I can help you sort it out."
"Awoo!"
Xiao Wu opened her mouth and bit Xuan Ming's shoulder without any hesitation, leaving two neat rows of small teeth marks.
"Are you born in the Year of the Dog?" Xuan Ming's eye twitched slightly.
"I was born in the Year of the Rabbit! Even a rabbit will bite when cornered!"
Xiao Wu said angrily, "You're so insensitive! What time is it? It's rest time! It's our honeymoon! And you're talking to me about work?!"
"I don't want to talk about work! I just want to have fun!"
Xiao Wu counted on her fingers, "I want to eat all the delicious food on Elf Star with you, and see every beautiful sight here. We'll walk along every stream and run across every grassland together."
"When I'm tired, I can lie on the grass and sunbathe; when I'm hungry, I'll have you grill fish for me."
At this point, she leaned close to Xuan Ming's ear, her voice becoming low, husky, and alluring.
"If the mood strikes... then do it anytime, anywhere."
"I don't want to waste a single second of this year on those boring official matters. My world can only have you, only us."
Elf Star, Arctic Ice Plains.
This is the most desolate and purest place on the entire planet. There is no shelter from the forest, no clamor of Soul Beast, only endless ice and snow and the magnificent aurora borealis overhead.
Xuan Ming and Xiao Wu lay on a huge ice floe, covered with a thick layer of snow fox fur, watching the light in the sky dance like ribbons.
That year, they truly achieved "purity".
Without using Divine Power to travel, and without meddling in any other people's business, they were like two carefree elves, measuring every inch of this planet with their own two feet. They frolicked in the hot springs of the Dragon Domain, played hide-and-seek in the Mist Forest, watched the sunrise atop the giant tree, and listened to the whale songs at the bottom of the deep sea.