Inside the Yisu Imperial Palace, every last guest had already been driven out. Even the automated attendants controlled by the Gospel were permitted only in the front hall. Thirteenth Witch Hapi was not allowed to report to the Chief Witch, leaving only First Seat Annan, Second Seat Qinna, and Seventh Seat Nona inside the palace. Everyone suspected the First and Second Seats were busy dividing the spoils, carving up the immense cake of the Gospel anew between two legendary sorcerers. Council members hastily contacted corporate families, and countless transmissions laden with conspiracy crisscrossed the night sky. For many, this was destined to be an unforgettable, sleepless night.
Yet the truth differed somewhat from what they imagined. The Chief Witch was indeed attending to a matter of utmost importance—one far more important than they could have conceived: she was tucking in the little Empress's blanket.
Annan gazed at Diya, who lay sound asleep in bed. The delicately sculpted little Empress disliked sleeping on her back, curling up on her side into a tiny ball like a koala hugging a tree. Her eyebrows twitched faintly. Annan had no idea what she was dreaming about, but it could hardly be a nightmare—Annan had never seen anyone having a nightmare drool so heavily that saliva cascaded down like a waterfall.
The Witch sat by the edge of the bed and gently stroked the Empress's hair.
When she thought about it carefully, their relationship was truly miraculous. In the beginning, Annan had felt almost nothing toward Lisdia. Unlike Yaxiu, she had never yearned so deeply for family. Though her father had died early and her mother had behaved abhorrently, she had been looked after by Banjie, enjoying a happy childhood and youth. After coming of age, she had traveled across the Gospel and witnessed the full spectrum of joys and sorrows. Her worldview was well-rounded and stable, entirely impervious to an unknown little girl like Lisdia.
The turning point that deepened their bond had come after Yaxiu was teleported to Senluo. Banjie had turned into a child as the cost of a miracle, leaving only her and Diya behind from the old Funeral Parlor. For a time, Annan had not known what to do, and Diya had had no idea how to rule a country; the two of them had felt like a pair of little pups left behind to look after the house. Before his departure, Yaxiu had entrusted Lisdia to her care. And so Annan, who had been a daughter for over twenty years, suddenly became the guardian of the nation, the Empress, and her own butler all at once.
Why on earth did she come to like this mischievous little Empress so much?
Was it because Diya gave full support to each and every one of her reforms?
Or was it because Diya would shyly creep over to make amends whenever she made Annan angry?
Or perhaps it was because Diya clung to her with such deep attachment every night when she went to sleep?
Annan leaned down and gently kissed Diya's forehead. Diya let out an adorable little hum, so sweet it nearly melted Annan's maiden heart. The reasons no longer mattered. Some people simply slipped quietly into one's heart unawares—like Yaxiu, like Diya. What mattered was that her life had gained another brilliant splash of color.
After checking that the room's temperature and humidity were set to Diya's most comfortable levels, Annan dimmed the lights to a soft, gentle glow and quietly closed the bedroom door. Entering the antechamber, she found Yaxiu chatting with Qinna.
Though more than half a year had passed, Yaxiu had barely changed in appearance. Yet whether through strength or experience, his former greenness had peeled away, like unpolished jade scrubbed free of dust to reveal an immaculate luster. Clad in the livery of a palace attendant, he leaned against the wall with arms folded over his chest. Standing beside the tall elven matriarch, his presence did not yield an inch, radiating an innate pride born of wielding absolute authority and power.
Noticing Annan's gaze, Qinna curved her delicate brows, subtle coquetry rippling across her expression. She abruptly leaned in and whispered something into Yaxiu's ear, then glided away with graceful steps beneath Annan's murderous glare.
Only after her elven mother vanished down the corridor did Annan walk over and grumble, "She didn't say anything weird to you, did she?"
Yaxiu seemed to snap back to reality only then, blinking as he asked, "What do you think she would say?"
"Offer you some utterly outrageous suggestions," the Gospel's Chief Witch replied, looking somewhat flustered. "Like helping me ascend to demigodhood, or helping her step into the divine realm, or... having her and me serve you together or something."
By the final sentence, no matter how hard Annan tried to remain composed, her blush deepened until blood might have dripped from her cheeks. She had no idea why she had blurted it out, making it sound as if she were flirting with Yaxiu. Whenever she saw Qinna, she invariably regressed into a flustered little girl... or perhaps whenever she saw the man before her, she simply could not resist slipping back into the bold, willful young mistress she once was.
Yaxiu chuckled, took her hand, and pulled her down to sit on the sofa. "Lady Qinna told me to either scald you to death with boiling water or freeze you to death with ice water."
"Huh?"
"In short, not to wear you down with lukewarm water," Yaxiu said. "She hopes I can be more decisive with her daughter—either walk toward you or reject you."
Annan froze, a warm yet bittersweet feeling spreading through her heart. Averting her gaze to stare at the pattern on the carpet, she murmured, "Putting on airs as a mother now... You don't need to pay any attention to her."
Yaxiu naturally saw the turmoil in Annan's heart. In truth, the fact that Annan had allowed Qinna into the Witch Political Bureau proved she already wished to accept her mother; she simply had not yet let go of the resentment inside. When it came to such family grievances, Yaxiu had neither the right nor the desire to interfere.
Even so, he suspected Annan would probably be held firmly under Qinna's thumb for the rest of her life. Qinna was neither purely wicked nor purely good; over trivial matters she drove Annan to grit her teeth in hatred, but on critical affairs she unfailingly stood by Annan's side. Because of this, Annan felt both hatred and love toward her, unable to forget her, rationally longing to keep her distance while emotionally unable to stop seeking closeness... And such feelings were often the most deeply etched of all.
"How is Diya doing?"
"Sleeping very peacefully. Her body temperature has returned to normal, though there's no telling when she'll wake up."
"That's good." Yaxiu let out a long breath, as if a great boulder had been lifted from his chest, his entire frame visibly lighter. "Right now, we are undertaking a critically important trial. Coming home might be of tremendous help to Diya. She'll need to sleep here in the palace for a while. But to keep the Sovereign of Stars from noticing us, I need your assistance."
"No problem," Annan agreed without hesitation. "I've already activated the palace's defensive warding barrier, and all attendants are restricted to the front hall. Aside from me, Qinna, and Nona, no one else can enter the inner palace. You can stay here with complete peace of mind."
"I'll also keep watch on the permanent Skygate, but if an angel disguises their strength and sneaks in, the Gospel system might fail to detect them."
"That is already more than enough. If an angel does descend, I will be the one to deal with it." Yaxiu paused. "After that time... all of you advanced to the legendary rank?"
"Yes," Annan nodded. "During this period, we've been hunting and fighting on Ruby Mountain, and every one of us has condensed heterochromatic virtual wings. Right now, we're considering whether to adjust the ratio of sorcery colors in our virtual wings, debating whether to cultivate blended colors or maintain pure colors."
"I recommend pure colors. Blended-color virtual wings at most grant you a certain combat advantage at the legendary rank. But when it comes to the ritual for advancing to demigod and the sorcery paths beyond, pure-colored virtual wings are far more beneficial to a sorcerer," Yaxiu advised. "If you wish to switch your primary sorcery path, the legendary rank is the best window to do so. Once you reach demigod, changing your path means you will permanently miss out on a pure-colored virtual wing..."
Annan listened intently. Yaxiu was nothing like he had been before. As the mortal realm's most renowned demigod sorcerer—a harbinger of chaos wanted across the five nations by personal decree of the Sovereign of Stars—the high-level guidance he offered was an unimaginable treasure of knowledge. Sorcerers across the five nations would gladly pay any price just to obtain a single sentence of his insights on cultivation.
"How are the others doing?"
"Freya and Xifulin haven't revealed their legendary strength yet and are still cultivating quietly in the hospital. Tamashi's management of the Thousand Wishes Kingdom of Heaven has been going quite well; it seems a town is already being built there... By the way, Tamashi wanted to return the Thousand Wishes Kingdom of Heaven to you, but she hasn't been able to construct a Skygate leading to the mortal realm. Could you—"
"Let her keep it for now," Yaxiu said, shaking his head. "We don't need a Kingdom of Heaven right now. Taking it back would not only offer little benefit, but could even invite massive trouble."
Circumstances were no longer what they used to be. For ordinary sorcerers, a Kingdom of Heaven was indeed wealth beyond imagination. But for Yaxiu and his companions, an 'immobile, stationary Kingdom of Heaven' was at best an icing-on-the-cake resource node, not an indispensable base of operations.
Setting aside the fact that Yaxiu and his companions could ascend with a Kingdom of Heaven once they passed this trial, even if they could ascend right now, they would never set foot in Heaven.
Heaven housed the Four God-Leaders and the Sovereign of Stars. To them, Heaven was far more perilous than Hell; only an utter fool would deliver his head on a silver platter across thousands of miles. Though he had no idea where the Thousand Wishes Kingdom of Heaven was concealed within Heaven, Yaxiu strongly suspected that the moment he stepped foot there, he would wake all four God-Leaders and the Sovereign at once. Thus, even if he took back the Thousand Wishes Kingdom of Heaven, he wouldn't dare touch it; it was better to leave it with Tamashi.
Although the world secret realm Wishing Pool was quite important, without an Eternal Wonder, it could not be converted into effective combat power.
Only when Yaxiu became a God-Leader would the Thousand Wishes Kingdom of Heaven and the Wishing Pool unleash their true value in his hands.
Having exchanged the essential intelligence, Yaxiu and Annan fell into an eerie silence at the same time. After a moment, Annan covered her face in helplessness, her tone complicated. "Why did you have to bring up that time on your own initiative...? Among us, that's a strictly forbidden topic. For a while, just mentioning your name made the atmosphere unbearable."
Yaxiu felt both embarrassed and amused, unable to resist asking, "Then... how did you all feel?"
Annan hesitated for a second. "Very comfortable?"
The two stared at each other for a brief moment. Yaxiu said faintly, "I was actually asking whether there were any anomalies after you advanced to legendary in that manner... but I suppose I have my answer."
Annan pressed her lips together, her shoulders trembling with fury, and finally couldn't resist punching him. When she caught the irrepressible smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth, rage flared right through her chest. As a legendary sorcerer, she boldly launched an assault against the strongest demigod: "That was exactly what you were asking! You did it on purpose!"
*Click.* Yaxiu reached out and lightly tapped his finger against the collar around Annan's neck. Annan froze instantly—not because Yaxiu had restrained her, but because his action reminded them both of the exact same memory.
"Back when I escaped from Blood Moon, the moment I landed, you and Banjie captured me," Yaxiu said. "You even put a sorcery-locking collar on me and sold me off at a high price to the Four Pillar Cult..."
"It wasn't actually that high of a price," Annan said leisurely. "I only wanted to obtain intelligence on foreign travelers through the Four Pillar Cult... Times change so quickly. A year ago, finding a single foreign traveler took tremendous effort. Now, thousands of foreign travelers enter and leave through the Skygate every day."
"Back then, you put a collar on me, and now it's my turn to put a collar on you," Yaxiu chuckled softly. "I've finally gotten my revenge."
"Didn't we agree to start over? Why are you still holding a grudge?"
"Because lately I've felt that even an encounter so full of schemes has become a deeply cherished memory looking back," Yaxiu said. "I actually miss the days when we charged recklessly through the Gospel. All we had to do was follow the young mistress around and act as your backbone."
Annan lowered her eyelids and said softly, "Now you're the ones running all over the world, while I stay in the Gospel to act as your backbone."
She leaned over him, pressing down toward Yaxiu. The Gospel's most ferocious Purple Moth now possessed eyes as clear as spring water, gazing directly into Yaxiu's. Resting both hands against the sofa, her pale pink lips quivered faintly as she slowly leaned in closer.
Yaxiu raised an index finger to press against her lips, gently shaking his head.
Chapter 1204