Chapter 121 - 120

(AN: Thanks a lot for the donation, ScarletBloodMoon! I hope you enjoy the chapter!).

"You… hurry up and release my Master!" The blue-clothed girl was so anxious that she doesn't realize that Esdeath obviously knows of her real identity being a person from the upper realm.

The people of this realm shouldn't have the knowledge of the upper realm unless they are a special case such as Xia Qingyue who has some knowledge about it from her Mother.

"As I said... Our Master wanted to have a word with the two of you. It would be best if you don't make any unnecessary movement..." Esdeath said with narrowed eyes.

Sirius calmly took out a knife and positioned it at the throat of the woman in her embrace.

"Don't!" Sirius's action caused the blue-clothed girl to turn pale. She took a fierce step forward but then immediately retrieved it… Her master was in their hands, weak to the point of having lost consciousness and had no power to resist anything. Even if she was even more anxious and hated them so much that her teeth went numb, she still wouldn't dare to act without thinking. "Y-you… hurry up and let my Master go. Or else… or else I won't be polite! I'm warning you right now, I'm really strong!"

"...You're not very bright, are you? No... perhaps naive is more fitting to describe you." Esdeath said with a sigh.

Her Master is obviously in their hands, so why would you try to show your prowess? In the end, no matter how powerful you are, if the one you tried to save is dead then it won't matter whether you managed to kill your opponents or not.

It would be a bittersweet victory at most...

"I'm not naive! I-I'm very fierce! You don't want to make me angry!"

"..." Esdeath and Altair speechlessly look at this overly naive girl... Even Little Hong'er and Little Nyaruko are not as naive as her...

"Whatever... Now just calmly follow us if you don't want any harm befall your Master. And according to our estimation, your Master doesn't have much time left... If you keep being so adamant in stopping us then you will only have yourself to blame when her time is up." Esdeath said with a wave before the three of them turn around.

At first, the blue-clothed girl was unsure of what to do but soon she quickly follows after them... She's still feeling indignant about the whole situation but there's nothing she could do since her Master in their hands... if not... humph humph! She will show them just how fierce she is!

...

Esdeath's group brought the two visitors to their Master's location.

Issei is calmly standing in front of a beautiful pond located near his room...

There's some simple furniture such as table and chairs situated nearby.

Hong'er, Bai'er, and Nyaruko are happily riding on top of a profound beast. They're treating the profound beast like a race car and have them run around the pond...

The profound beast is acting like a true domesticated pet and they gladly carry their respective tiny tot on their back.

"Yiyaa! Yiyaa! Run faster little red!" Hong'er is the loudest of them all followed by Nyaruko: "Go chase after them and defeat little big sis Hong'er blacky!"

Bai'er only let out a happy giggle while following after them...

"Master, we have brought the two visitors." Esdeath said respectfully.

"Um." Issei nodded slightly.

The blue-clothed girl felt like she just entered a dream world because of how beautiful this location is... How come she and her Master doesn't spot this location before? They clearly had a clear view of the entire Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace...

But her breath stagnated when she saw the otherworldly man who's supposedly these three strangers Master...

She thought that her Senior Brother Hanyi was the most graceful and perfect man she ever knew but now all of her previous thoughts have been turned upside down...

There are no words that could describe this person in front of her... The word "Perfect" doesn't do him any justice either... He's beyond perfection...

That enchanting wine-red eyes, that warm smile... She becomes lost in the reverie just by gazing at his side view...

She's only nineteen years old this year and her worldly experience is pretty much the same as Feng Xue'er from the past... Even other experienced women such as Xuanyuan Yufeng couldn't resist his charm, needless to say about this blue-clothed girl who basically still wet behind the ears...

Esdeath's group who saw this smirked to themselves... It looks like not even a person from the upper realm could resist their Master otherworldly charm...

"Put her down on that bench." Issei said softly while he waved his hand to erect a soundproof barrier surrounding Bai'er's party.

Sirius slowly put the woman in her hands down on the bench just as instructed.

And at the same time, the blue-clothed girl finally snapped out of her daze: "Y-Y-You.. L-Let go of my Master!" She shouted with a stutter.

Even though it seems that her words are directed at Issei, but she doesn't dare to look at him right in the face and she looked at Sirius instead...

"Is that really what you want?" Issei asked the blue-clothed girl calmly.

"O-O-Of course!" She tried her best to sound calm but to no avail. She's feeling nervous and worried at the same time...

"You should know that your Master has been poisoned and she's about to lose her life any second now... But I can cure poison in exchange for something."

"Y-you're lying!" How could the blue-clothed girl believe that? Even though she was dazed by this man's sight before, with her Master's life on the line she couldn't let herself be lied upon: "The flame poison that Master was infected by couldn't even be cured by the Great Realm… there can't possibly be a way to cure it!"

Issei doesn't say anything else before he sends a small ball of green light towards the woman on the bench...

"Ah! Wh-What are you doing?!" The blue-clothed girl thought that Issei wanted to harm her Master so she anxiously dashed forward only to be blocked by Esdeath.

"Go away!" With a furious shout, a faint blue colored ball of profound energy silently erupted from her body.

Esdeath who saw this grinned slightly before she released her own profound energy... While the profound energy the blue-clothed girl's releasing is blue colored, Esdeath's profound energy is colored bluish-red...

Esdeath welcomed the blue-clothed girl's attack with only her left hand.

Bang!!!

Boom

Esdeath's hand made contact with the blue light… that blue light was extremely soft and it seemed especially gentle, so much that it even gave off a bit of an illusory feeling. However, in a split second, it released an extremely terrifying power... but it's still not enough to harm her. It's powerful but not powerful enough...

Esdeath, Altair, and Sirius obviously haven't been idling around for the past three years. Even though their current cultivation seems like they're only at the peak level Monarch, their true combat prowess is already at the Divine Tribulation Realm.

If they were to work together and taking the skills they received from Issei then they can go head to head with someone at the Divine Spirit Realm... They could even give someone at the Divine King Realm a good fight...

The only reason why their progress seems so slow for being the creation of a Godking was because the energy on this realm is already too weak for them. If they were to go to the upper realm then they could progress faster...

"Not bad." Esdeath's praised lightly after she successfully blocked the attack.

"What?! H-How is that possible!?" The blue-clothed girl was extremely shocked… This woman's profound strength is only at the peak level of the Sovereign Profound Realm. That last strike should've left her half-dead...

Her own cultivation realm is at the early stage of . There shouldn't be anyone from this lower realm that's capable of blocking her attack... Then how come this woman could easily block her attack?! And to top it off, she seems completely uninjured!

Granted that attack just now wasn't her full power but it should've been enough to handle those who are at the peak level Monarch like Esdeath...

"Young miss." Compared to the blue-clothed girl's evident panic, Issei's voice sounded a little sharper than before: "I understand that you're feeling anxious about your Master... And just like you, I really hate it when others wanting to harm those who are close to me. Those who usually break this creed of mine usually ended up dead or even worst... The reason why I haven't done anything to you was because I know that we're in the fault for suddenly kidnapping your Master out of the blue like this and also because your attack doesn't have any killing intent behind it... But I would advise that you stop your hostile behavior or we would be forced to retaliate."

His sharp voice made the girl flinched while fear started to creep up on her body...

Esdeath's body trembled lightly while her cheeks started to flush... Ahhh... Master... To think that you consider us as someone close to you~, this Esdeath is in bliss... She thought jubilantly inside her mind.

Even Altair and Sirius also had their cheeks flushed slightly... they both clearly share the same thoughts as Esdeath...

At this time, the blue-clothed girl suddenly felt the white-clothed female on the bench slightly stir before slowly opening her eyes. Although she was expressionless, her eyes were still as beautiful as dreamy stars.

"Master!" The blue-clothed girl shouted in surprise before she ran straight for her Master's direction.

This time Esdeath doesn't block her path and let her passes through.

Then, she said fearfully, "Master, h-how are you? Please don't have anything happen to you. You almost scared me to death before, uuu…"

As she said that, the blue-clothed girl was already crying uncontrollably. She cried not only because she's feeling worried about her Master but also because she's being 'bullied' right now...

The white-clothed female's chest slightly moved as she said softly. "Xiaolan…? did you feed me something? And where is..." She slowly rose from the bench only to get her words stuck on her throat when she sees Issei.

Although her reaction is not as conspicuous as the blue-clothed girl, she still becomes dumbstruck from seeing him...

The white-clothed female personality is extremely calm and mild. Her heart and mind are pure and without a speck of dust... but when she saw this man before her, her calm heart started to beat erratically. Her feelings started to become disordered and if it was in the past, this act would've made her poison rebound but now it doesn't react in the slightest...

"Ah?" The blue-clothed girl was stunned. "I… didn't. I didn't give Master anything to eat. Master suddenly fell from the sky earlier and then passed out. Then… Then... These people brought Master here." She said while sobbing softly.

"..." The white-clothed female hastily snaps out of her stupor and her eyes flashed with bewilderment and surprise. She said softly, "...When I lost consciousness, my life energy was already depleted. I would undoubtedly die in the next thirty breaths and never wake up again… Why would I reawaken… the poison in my life vein has weakened by a full thirty percent…"

"Ah?" The blue-clothed girl once again was stunned in place.

"Was I… saved by… an expert…" The white-clothed female's voice gradually weakened as her eyes started to survey her surroundings, at first, her eyes locked onto Esdeath, Altair, and Sirius but finally, it locked back onto the same man that she first saw.

Her cheeks inadvertently reddened by a tiny bit... She quickly used her profound art to calm herself down...

"You must be Mu Bingyun.." Issei suddenly said.

His words made the two women become alarmed.

"...Who are you? How did you know about my name?" Mu Bingyun asked with her guard up. It's not rare for someone wanting to harm her considering her status and with how many people feel dissatisfied with her...

"Who am I and why I know about you is not important... But I wanted to make a deal with you." Issei said dismissively.

"...What deal?" Mu Bingyun asked cautiously.

"I can cure you of your poison." Issei straightforwardly said.

"..." Mu Bingyun who heard Issei's words went silent while the blue-clothed girl started to shout excitedly: "Master! He can cure you! He really can cure you! He's the one who did something to your body and that's why your poison has been cleansed by thirty percent! It must be! I saw it with my own two eyes!"

The blue-clothed girl looked up at Issei: "Please, can you save my master? It was my fault before. I shouldn't have jump into conclusions like that... The debts I owe to my master are as weighty as a mountain. If Master is no longer alive, I… I also do not want to live anymore. Please… if you are willing to save my master, I… I will do anything for you."

"I only need one thing from your Master. And it shouldn't be hard to fulfill." Issei said calmly.

"...Can you tell me about it first? The thing you wanted me to fulfill?" Mu Bingyun asked. If it's anything that goes against her conscience then she won't accept it...

"I want you to bring someone to the upper realm with you and I want you to take her into your sect. She's someone from the , it shouldn't be hard right?"

"...That's it?" Mu Bingyun asked in confusion. She thought that his request would be something hard to achieve but if that's all she needs to do then it is very easy...

"That's it. You might as well meet her now."

Issei then sends a voice transmission towards Xia Qingyue asking her to meet him... Less than a minute, Qingyue arrived at their place...

The current Xia Qingyue is already grown up... She just recently turns twenty years old.

Her beauty even already surpasses Mu Bingyun.

She wears no makeup, but it doesn't matter, for the heaven itself seems to have done everything in its power to sculpt her countenance to perfection. Her skin is a perfect match for the expression "bone of jade, flesh of ice", and not one part of her facial features, her snow-white skin or her vermilion lips, are imperfect, inelegant, or crude.

(AN: Jade-chan is here~ Come and say hello bois~).

However, her perfect countenance also exudes coolness and holiness that averted all eyes. She gives off the impression of a pure, untainted fairy who resides in a world higher than the nine heavens.

Her attaintment in the profound way couldn't be any more perfect and she's ready to step into the Divine path when the opportunity presented themselves before her.

The only reason why she hasn't step into the Divine path was because Issei sealed some of her strength just like Xiaotao did to Feng Xue'er. He needs to make sure that if she were to step into the Divine path, she won't be affected by Nyarlathotep's influences...

He won't let her reach the peak of this world only to be devoured by the Law of Chaos hence Issei created a brand new Divine path free of Nyarlathotep's meddling.

It wasn't too hard, he only needs to tweak some things here and there with the old 'system'.

And his intuition was proven to be correct when he inspected her... The "Heavenly Law" Nyarlathotep created is influencing Xia Qingyue's destiny from the shadows.

But it seems that it's not affecting her that much any longer when he inspected it. There's only some tiny residue here and there but it doesn't really matter.

Nyarlathotep herself said that if she didn't find Issei by now then she would undoubtedly give her "Mark" to Xia Qingyue... And Xia Qingyue also has the biggest chance to attain the Law of Nothingness second only to Issei.

Nyarlathotep doesn't seem to care about anything else when she found her new 'toy' to play with...

Issei couldn't destroy the "Heavenly Law" because it's a part of Nyarlathotep... If he wanted to destroy it then he needs to kill her first... And that is something impossible for him to do at the moment...

"Qingyue greets Elder." Her gaze when she laid her eyes upon Issei couldn't be mistaken with anything else but a gaze of a maiden in love. As if she's looking at someone who meant the entire world to her...

Perhaps if she were to choose between her Mother and Issei, she would choose the latter instead...

Even her voice sounded extremely soft and limpid which could make any men swoon if she were to speak with them in this tone.

Even the blue-clothed female who's basically naive and obviously lacking in this field could tell that Xia Qingyue has feelings for Issei...

She also thought that this newcomer is so unbelievably pretty... She to admit it but even her own Master is not her match...

Xia Qingyue only lacks experience of a mature woman and if she were to given more time then she could reach Nyarlathotep's level in terms of beauty...

But Issei seems oblivious with this... and it's obviously because of Nyarlathotep.

She suppressed his 'love' wanting to corrupt him but it only resulted in making him a bit dense, making his awareness on this field to almost non-existent.

And the 'love' he has towards Bai'er's group is a familial love obviously...

It looks like even though she could suppress his 'love' to a certain extent, it only prevents new 'loved ones' from entering but she can't erase the one that already exists inside his heart though... which is quite vexing to her...

"Um... Qingyue, these two guests are from the or to be exact, they're from the ." Issei nodded at her greeting and he immediately informed Xia Qingyue about their two guests.

Xia Qingyue who heard his words had her eyes went wide before she turns her gaze on Mu Bingyun and the blue-clothed girl.

Mu Bingyun started to inspect Xia Qingyue earnestly as well... There's something special about Xia Qingyue but she couldn't tell just what is it...

Issei taught Xia Qingyue to hide her special physiques because according to Jasmine, her physiques are extremely rare and if anyone were to learn of it then they would undoubtedly start targeting her...

"Ah?" Mu Xiaolan looked at Issei with surprise, "You… you actually know about our Snow Song Realm and the God Realm?"

Of course he knows... he even already knows about your Master, little girl... Esdeath's group thought speechlessly to themselves.

Her reaction made even Mu Bingyun sigh wryly to herself... It looks like her disciple is too gullible...

If she were to be captured by an enemy then perhaps with just a bit of misleading, she would've told them everything... It looks like she needs to educate her more...

"Mm, and I also know that your Master is the ancestor of the ." Issei said offhandedly.

"What?!" There's a loud shout coming from the entrance. It is none other than Feng Qianhui and the other girls...

Issei already sensed their presence and they most likely tag along with Xia Qingyue when they heard that Issei is calling for her. They wanted to see just what Issei wanted from Xia Qingyue but the outcome made them become taken aback...

This woman is Mu Bingyun?! Didn't the Immortal Palace's ancestor already passed away a thousand years ago? Then how come she's alive right now?

They don't doubt their sect elder words but it's quite shocking to say nonetheless...

"Come on in, everyone... No need to stand there." Issei with a sigh. Why do they even need to hide like that?

The girls blushed slightly when they realized that they have been found...

"Elder Ise, you said that this woman is the ancestor of our palace?" Feng Qianhui said in disbelief.

"Um. I'm sure of it... The is not the real name of your profound art. Its real name should be the . Am I right, Mu Bingyun?" Issei said lightly.

Even though the girls could cultivate the art with Issei help, but since it is not the true then their power is quite lacking. It is merely a pale shadow of the true Divine Art.

"You're right... I'm indeed the same Mu Bingyun who created the . And this is my disciple, Mu Xiaolan." Since they've been found out then she might as well admit it...

Her whole body flashed with a faint blue light. Ice spirits danced around and on the palm that she had reached out, a small, delicate ice blue jade tree grew slowly, its icy branches and snow leaves expanding gorgeously.

"Ah! Frozen End Divine Arts!!" The Frozen Cloud ladies all let out a gasp.

Before their eyes were, no question, the Frozen End Divine Arts. Because the thing growing on Mu Bingyun's palm was the most common Tree of Frozen End that was used in Frozen End Divine Arts. But, the Frozen End aura that was released by Mu Bingyun was very different from the Frozen End aura that they knew.

The Frozen End Divine Art that they had cultivated was simply a relatively strong ice attribute profound art.

And on Mu Bingyun, whether it was the profound light, profound energy or the Tree of Frozen End in her palm, they all seemed as if they were alive, as if they possessed an independent soul while releasing cold law they had never before touched.

Mu Bingyun seemed to have thought of something. At the next moment, a small, delicate diamond-shaped icicle floated from Mu Bingyun's body and released a strange, dreamy blue light in the sky.

"That is… the Frozen Cloud Celestial Soul!!!" The disciples of Frozen Cloud all gasped once again.

Everyone present was well aware of what the Frozen Cloud Celestial Soul was. Because this was one of the most precious treasures of Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace, it was the proof of identity for every generation's Immortal Palace Mistresses. It also carried all the arts of Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace and memories of the previous Immortal Palace Mistresses. And in this generation, the Frozen Cloud Celestial Soul was naturally on Feng Qianhui's hand.

In the Profound Sky Continent, the Frozen Cloud Celestial Soul was absolutely unique.

"It is actually not called the Frozen Cloud Celestial Soul. It is the Ice Phoenix Frost Crystal that is unique to the . Even though it is a frost crystal, it will never melt and can be fused into a person's body. It is an extremely good soul vessel." Mu Bingyun explained calmly.

"When I left a thousand years ago, I was already determined to cut off all ties with this world. I never expected that I actually couldn't let go of it and returned here. As a result, I have even gained the hope of surviving. Or perhaps this is also fate destined by the heavens... in the end, I was still unable to have a detached heart of ice." Mu Bingyun explained unhurriedly. Particularly during the few years where her life was approaching its end, she was never able to stop thinking about Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace… and worry about its "Thousand Year Calamity."

That was after all, what she was worried about the most. Those years were the most unforgettable years of her life. Every disciple of Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace's first generation that she had taken in carried a strand of her lifeblood… It was as if they were her children.

She couldn't help but glance at Issei.

This man... just who is he? He never saw him when she last visited... Is he the reason behind the sudden increase in their profound realm? And his profound realm... It's only at the peak level throne...

There's no way things are so simple... his cultivation is most likely a fake.

"She… she… is really the ancestral Palace Mistress?" Gong Yuxian said in startlement.

"Our sect Elder has already said so, didn't he? We believe our sect Elder words from the start!" Feng Hanyue and Hanxue chirped giddily.

"Stop saying it like we don't believe him either..." Chu Yueli said wryly. These two brats... can't they see that they're in the presence of their sect elder? What would they do if their sect elder feels offended because he thinks that they don't believe him? That won't do.

"Everyone, let's stop our bickering for now..." Feng Qianhui berated them lightly: "Let's greet our Ancestor first."

Then they all paid respects at the same time. "Frozen Cloud disciple… greets Senior Ancestor Bingyun!"

"You don't have to do that. Everyone, rise." Mu Bingyun's snowy hand gently lifted. They were all instantly supported up by a gentle force and couldn't help but all rise.

Mu Bingyun then silently looks at them... Even though they seem surprised when they saw her... it's only to that extent...

She can tell that they might feel some respect towards her but the respect they had towards this sect Elder of theirs are much higher... and also... they clearly hold some feelings towards him...

To think that all of them had feelings towards the same man.

She can tell that Issei doesn't have any indecent or l.u.s.tful thoughts as well... And the girls still have their vital yin... the same goes for this man.

What's more important is that all of them are extremely talented... especially this girl who is named Xia Qingyue and this woman who should be named Chu Yuechan.

There's something special about them that made them stand out from the other Frozen Cloud disciples.

The first one exuding a calm and steady aura while the latter is exuding a cold and overbearing aura...

"Then, I take it that you would accept my condition?" Issei asked Mu Bingyun when she's still contemplating.

"Um... I accept." She responded with a nod.

"Good." Issei nodded back before he slowly waved his hand. The appeared on top of his palm and it let out the same green light as he used before but it's larger in scale.

The light then entered Mu Bingyun's body...

Mu Bingyun becomes taken aback when she saw the while Mu Xiaolan only thought that this pearl is quite pretty...

Even though the poison in Mu Bingyun's body was strong, it was far inferior to the poison Jasmine had been inflicted with and also not as toxic as the devil poison Hong'er had previously possessed either. So Issei could easily cleanse her poison...

However… according to her story, she had been infected by this poison a thousand years ago and could not cure it during that entire time. Being able to persevere for a thousand years surely meant that she relied on a massive amount of treasures to forcible preserve her life. It was easy to imagine how far the poison could've spread over an entire millennium.

It was hardly surprising that this poison had completely invaded her soul body and had even taken form to become a poison spirit.

Poison spirits were things he had seen many times before. Only high-level toxins were able to birth poison spirits... His wife, Semiramis often unintentionally created a poison spirit whenever she's experimenting with poisons so he's not foreign about this kind of stuff.

Jasmine poison has not been lingering long enough to give birth to a poison spirit and Hong'er case is pretty much the same since she had her body frozen inside the coffin right after she got inflicted with the poison.

The poison spirit birthed from Mu Bingyun's poison clearly already possessed a high-level consciousness, even so much that it had its own independent life force. That lifeforce was born from Mu Bingyun's lifeline and they were completely linked. If the poison spirit died, there was no question that she would die too. On the other hand, if Mu Bingyun died, not only would the poison spirit not disappear, it would truly become its own independent entity.

As such, if he wanted to disperse the poison in her body, he had to eliminate the poison spirit. And if he wanted to eliminate the poison spirit, he had to sever the connection between Mu Bingyun's lifeline and the poison spirit. And that is very easy for Issei to achieve...

Ironically, if Jasmine poison were to birthed a poison spirit in the past, it would've been much easier for Issei to cure her back then... he can just extract the poison spirit and erase it just like that and she would be cured a lot faster.

When the green light entered Mu Bingyun's body. Issei created a red whirlpool in his hand to extract the poison spirit out of her body...

Hisss!

Followed by the sound of an obscure shrill cry, a streak of fire suddenly fled from Mu Bingyun's body and quickly warped into a sinister-looking flame image.

"Ah!" Mu Xiaolan lightly gasped when she saw the Poison spirit...

The poison spirit struggled with all its might while hissing, but when it saw Issei, it instantly becomes frozen stiff before it started shuddering fiercely...

"Oh?" Issei hummed lightly when he sensed a familiar energy signature coming from the poison spirit... it has traces of Lieyan's energy signature inside of it. Or to be precise, the Golden Crow's flame.

The person who had heavily injured and poisoned Mu Bingyun a thousand years ago… was most likely someone who possessed the Golden Crow God's legacy.

Issei already knew that there were people in the Realm of the Gods who possessed the Golden Crow flames and other divine beings such as the Phoenix and the Vermilion bird. So Issei is not that surprised.

But he didn't know that those from the Flame God Realm and the Snow Song Realm are enemies... Well, it doesn't really matter...

He doesn't really care much about either side. He only knows that it is extremely beneficial for Xia Qingyue to enter the Snow Song Realm... They're strong enough and it's also where the original Frozen Divine Art was from.

He wouldn't mind giving the Snow Song Realm a hand if they were to be attacked by the Flame God Realm but that's only if the Snow Song Realm is not at fault first...

Once this thought flashed by in his mind, he calmly put the poison spirit inside the . He could just let Naru make use of it later.

Then Issei noticed the shocked face on Mu Bingyun. Even though she has been cured of her poison, there isn't any apparent joy on her face...

"You were about to die earlier but I saved you just now, why do you not seem to feel happy or excited?" Issei asked lightly. Could she be unafraid of death?

Mu Bingyun shifted her gaze and calmly looked at him. "During these past years, I have always been awaiting death. I have already grown indifferent to whether or not I live or die. Now that I'm able to survive, I'm actually somewhat at a loss."

"Though it is true that being able to live is a good thing," Mu Bingyun said mildly at the end.

"Well, your poison is no more. I have already fulfilled my part of the deal now it's your turn." Issei said with a shrug.

Although she wanted to ask just how did he get his hand on the Sky Poison Pearl... She won't ask him about it.

Even though she never saw the Sky Poison Pearl before, since the Sky Poison Pearl is merely a rumor and it has never been seen by anyone.

It was just a guess that suddenly flashed past her mind. The poison in her body has already existed for a thousand years and she was more aware than anyone of its terrifying strength. Even her elder sister, the Realm King of the Snow Song Realm can do nothing about it. But, he's actually able to achieve such progress in a short amount of time. It was impossible for her not to think of the legend that originated from the Primordial Era...

And the fact that he doesn't seem to care whether she recognizes the pearl or not only made her become warier against him... Anyone would've wanted to keep their treasures a secret but he just exposed it without a single care.

It could be seen as a testament to his true strength... Someone who's completely unafraid of having the news of him possessing one of the Heavenly treasures must be by no means weak...

Of course, there's a chance that he doesn't know anything and just haven't thought things through, but her intuition is telling her that it's because he has the capabilities to keep the treasure instead...

"M-Master!"

Mu Xiaolan's shout was filled with boundless joy. She quickly noticed that her master's complexion had now obviously held some color. Then, she noticed her aura, which was several times stronger than before and was so moved that tears instantly tumbled down. "Uuu… Master, are you alright? Are you really alright now? Have you truly been cured of your poison?"

Mu Bingyun reached out and gently stroked Mu Xiaolan's head. "Xiaolan, I've worried you again. But from now on, it seems like our master and disciple relationship will still have a long future ahead of us."

"Uuu… waah!" Mu Bingyun's words made the soft cries of Mu Xiaolan turn into a loud wail. She tightly hugged Mu Bingyun and cried loudly, not caring about how she looked.

*Sniff* This is great. The Great Realm King will definitely be happy after receiving this news."After crying for a while, Mu Xiaolan said with a smile.

"..." Mu Bingyun did not respond but what Mu Xiaolan had said softened her gaze. The corners of her mouth had also hooked slightly, forming a light smile that was beautiful to the point of being illusory.

"Elder Ise, may Qingyue know what deal you had with the Ancestor?" Xia Qingyue asked softly.

"Hm? I asked her to bring you to the upper realm. That way you can find your Mother... Isn't that what you want?" Issei said towards her.

Xia Qingyue's eyes stirred while a warm and sweet feeling started to gush out inside her heart... To think that he still remembers her wish: "Qingyue is grateful for Elder benevolence..." She said with a happy smile.

"Don't mind it. It's only a slight effort from my side." Issei said calmly.

His gaze also swept past the bodies of the group of Frozen Cloud members before he said seriously, "I also have something to announce to all of you..."

When they heard his words, the girls immediately had their attention on him.

"More than three years have already passed since the first time I arrived here and becoming a guest Elder of your palace... My stay here has been a pleasure but it is time for me to leave." His words made all of the palace disciple eyes went wide... without a single exception.

"The calamity that in your prophecy has already passed. From now on there will be no one else that's able to harm any of you."

"Elder Ise, why... why are you suddenly leaving?" Chu Yueli asked anxiously.

"Elder Ise, you… you don't want us anymore?" Feng Hanyue and Feng Hanxue nearly cried.

Actually, inside their hearts, they already know that this day would eventually come...

"Elder Ise... Where will you go? Will you go back home?" Chu Yuechan asked Issei.

"Sadly, I still can't go back to my home... But I will go to the upper realm temporarily." Issei responded.

"Big brother/Father!" Hong'er and Nyaruko ran over at this time.

"Hm?" Issei turned his attention to the two little troublemakers. Bai'er is right behind with a happy smile on her face.

"Come let's have a race!" They immediately dragged Issei with them disregarding the girls and the visitors.

Issei could only smile wryly at them while letting them do as they please: "Sure sure..."

"Ah? He already has a daughter?" Mu Xiaolan said with a little bit of disappointment in her voice even though she doesn't realize this herself.

Even Mu Bingyun is somewhat a little surprised... didn't he still has his vital yang? Then how come he already has a daughter? She didn't realize that there's also slight disappointment sprouting inside her heart...

"Lady Nyaruko is not his biological daughter. You could say that she's Master adopted daughter." Altair who saw their surprised face said lightly.

Mu Bingyun and Mu Xiaolan nodded understandingly... There's a slight relief inside their heart without them realizing it after the revelation...

"En... Elder Ise is extremely gentle and kind when he's dealing with children." Feng Qianhui said with a small smile on her face.

Mu Bingyun and Mu Xiaolan inadvertently smile warmly when they saw how Issei interacts with the three little girls...

"...So, Xia Qingyue, was it? Are you willing to come with me to the ?" Mu Bingyun then asked Xia Qingyue.

"..." Xia Qingyue's gaze wavered when she heard Mu Bingyun's question. Does that mean that she must separate with her sect Elder? Even though he said that he will also go to the upper realm... he doesn't say that he will go to the with her...

Can she still see him if they were to separate?

It means that someday he will completely disappear from her life...

"...Do you feel reluctant parting with your sect Elder?"

"...Yes."

Xia Qingyue doesn't refute her words and only nodded slightly with an upset expression on her face.

"And it seems that you're not the only one..." Mu Bingyun said while observing the other palace disciples.

Their expressions are obvious to all... There are around a hundred disciples in total and all of them share the same feelings...

Was it because of his otherworldly countenance? It shouldn't be... There's no way all of them would develop feelings for him just because of that... right?

"Senior Ancestor might not understand this but the debt we owe him is so big that perhaps we couldn't ever repay him in this lifetime... All we did was took him inside our palace when he's unconscious. And just from that little kindness from our side... He basically gives the entire world for us... well, our current world that is..." Feng Qianhui said with a sigh as if she could read what Mu Bingyun had in mind.

The other girls nodded along with her statement.

"Of course, we're not saying that we don't owe senior Ancestor but it's just that..."

"I understand..."

"If it wasn't for him then perhaps we won't be here today... The prophecy is indeed real but because of his involvement, we managed to avoid it."

"I see..." Mu Bingyun nodded understandingly at Feng Qianhui's words.

"Then why don't you all just follow him?" She then asked briefly.

"We were planning to but we're afraid of being rejected by him." Feng Qianhui said with a wry smile.

"Hmm..." Then Mu Bingyun when into contemplation once again... she started to observe Issei once again.

Esdeath's group only stand silently to the side since it's completely up to their Master if he wanted to bring them along or not.

"Umm, who are they?" Mu Xiaolan whispered while stealthily pointing at Esdeath and the others.

She's quite curious about Esdeath's identity since she's able to block her attack just now.

"Them? They said that they are his servants." Feng Qianhui said.

"Oh..."

...

Issei then contacted Xiaotao and Lieyan as well about his decision...

At the Little Demon Empress Palace...

"What? His excellency will leave to the God Realm?" Hearing Lieyan's words, the Little Demon Empress was caught off guard. Even her aura had become somewhat disorderly.

She had already heard stories about the God Realm. There were many experts there, stronger than what they could possibly imagine and numerous unknown dangers present.

Issei was the absolute supreme existence of the Profound Sky Continent. None were his match, and perhaps, no, the Golden Crow already said that not even someone from the upper realm would be his match... So even if he were to go to the God Realm, nothing will change other than he won't be around her any longer...

An unfathomable distance and plane existed between the Blue Pole Star and the Realm of the Gods. If he were to really go to the God Realm, it wasn't known how long until they could meet again.

"Indeed. Master said that he will be leaving soon." Lieyan said nonchalantly.

Looks like it's time for her Master to go to the upper realm... She hopes that those who had the Golden Crow legacy from up there won't do anything stupid or their death will be guaranteed...

"...Does that mean that he won't return here?" The Little Demon Empress slightly bit her lip as her chest heaved.

"Who knows... Maybe he will or maybe he won't. It's completely up to him." Lieyan shrugged.

"...Can I... Can I come?" The Little Demon Empress asked in a low voice.

"Oh?" Lieyan raised her eyebrows at her: "To be honest, I'm leaning towards you coming with us... But once again, it's completely up to Master. If he's willing then sure, you're free to tag along. After all, you're the full inheritor of the Golden Crow legacy that I choose. It will be great if you could bear Master's child." Lieyan said with a smirk.

The Little Demon Empress's face immediately blushed furiously... But she doesn't hate that idea at all...

A similar conversation happened with Feng Xue'er and Su Ling'er...

Feng Xue'er is informed by Xiaotao while Su Ling'er is told by Naru and Zin.

Issei told Naru and Zin to accompany Ling'er a few days ago.

Their reaction also pretty much the same with The Little Demon Empress... They wanted to come with him...

...

"Excuse me, but may I ask why don't you bring her with you yourself? You're heading to the upper realm yourself, aren't you?" Mu Bingyun asked Issei who just returned from accompanying the three tiny tot... The three of them stopped playing a racing game and started a game of card that Issei taught them instead...

Xia Qingyue who heard Mu Bingyun words had her eyes lit up. If she could come with Issei instead then she's more than willing.

"Well... Let's just say that it's quite risky if she were to come with me. My enemy is still around and I don't want to implicate Qingyue by bringing her with me." Issei said with a small sigh. If there's no Nyarlathotep then he might just bring Xia Qingyue himself but...

He doesn't know what Nyarlathotep is thinking or what she's hiding. He doesn't want to get Xia Qingyue involved...

She's looking for her mother which is a good purpose in his opinion and he doesn't want to ruin her family...

[Ah~ how cruel, even though we already have a 'daughter' together... I'm not your enemy, Dear Husband~ I'm your rival! There's a difference, okay? And I already said that I won't harm you, didn't I?] Nyarlathotep's playful voice resounded in his mind.

Issei completely ignored Nyarlathotep's words since he doesn't believe her at all...

There's no immediate reaction coming from Mu Bingyun or Mu Xiaolan but the girls had their eyes widen.

They fully know just how powerful he is and didn't he said that he already killed his enemy in the past? Then how come they suddenly still around?

"No need to be worried... Even though they're still around, they're in no condition to fight me either." Issei said in reassurance after he notices the worried expression the girls had.

Only then they sighed in relief...

"Where will you go when you arrive at the God Realm?" Mu Bingyun inquired once again.

"I'm not sure... I guess I will see when I get there." Issei said calmly. Well, he might help Jasmine a little bit but after that... who knows.

"Then how about becoming a guest in my ?" She doesn't know just how powerful Issei is but it will be extremely beneficial for the sect if someone who has the in his possession is staying in the sect.

She's pretty sure that her elder sister would agree with her decision...

"Ise..." When Issei about to respond, Feng Qianhui suddenly spoke: "...Can you bring us with you?"

Issei frowned a little when he heard Feng Qianhui's request.

"...Didn't all of you heard what I just said?" Issei speechlessly asked her.

Esdeath's group chuckled lightly since they already expected this to happen...

"We heard it loud and clear... but it doesn't matter. We won't be able to repay the gratitude we owe you with just one or two lives... We are more than willing to follow you wherever you go. We have prepared ourselves for this moment... so please... let us come with you." Feng Qianhui said with a hopeful expression.

The girls then said in unison: "Please let us come with you, Elder Ise!"

"Your excellency... Please take me with you as well. I will surely be of use to you." At this time, the Little Demon Empress appeared right next to Issei along with Xiaotao. Then Feng Xue'er and Su Ling'er also appeared at the same time...

"Grandmaster/Elder brother!" Feng Xue'er and Su Ling'er said at the same time.

"..." Issei becomes slightly taken aback with the whole situation...

"Grandmaster, please take Xue'er with you... Xue'er begs you." Feng Xue'er grasped Issei's hand tightly while Su Ling'er went for his other hand.

Su Ling'er who just turned fifteen years old become more beautiful... Her beauty is starting to bud just like Xia Qingyue in the past.

"Elder brother, didn't you said that we will always be together? Then take Ling'er with you." Su Ling'er anxiously said.

Mu Xiaolan jaws dropped open seeing that there is so many heavenly beauty flocking towards Issei... How come there are so many heavenly beauties in this lower realm?

And all of them are flocking to him like an ant to a sugar would... Won't it be catastrophic if he were to go their realm? After all, ninety percent of their realm inhabitants are women...

"...All of you." Once again, Issei becomes speechless with the whole situation.

"Master, if I may..." Lieyan suddenly spoke.

"I think it's better if Master brings all of them along. Knowing their personality, I'm quite sure that even if Master were to refuse them now, they could just go to the upper realm themselves." Lieyan pointed out.

"Won't it leave a bad taste in your mouth if they were somehow got into an accident while they're looking for you? And also, sure in here there might be nobody that could harm them but what if it was someone from the upper realm?" She said with a knowing smirk.

"..." Issei who heard Lieyan words went into contemplation himself.

"What she said is true... Elder Ise, forgive us for being selfish but we will surely look for you even if you were to refuse our request now." Chu Yuechan said firmly.

[Hmm... Just take them along, Dragon King~... Nobody will be able to harm them if they were to come with you, right?] Nyarlathotep said with a grin.

It's you who I'm most worried about! Issei wanted to shout at Nyarlathotep out loud...

"...*Sigh*" Issei could only sigh once again: "You don't have to all of that just to repay me you know..."

"We know, but we wanted to do so anyway. And like Chan'er said, do forgive us for being selfish." Feng Qianhui said. His ignorance in this field is quite vexing but it's also quite cute at the same time...

"...Fine." Under the girls hopeful gaze, Issei finally relented...

"Really!?" Feng Hanyue and Feng Hanxue shouted giddily at the same time: "You will take us with you, Elder Ise?"

"Ah..." He nodded wryly and the girls started to cheer at his agreement.

'Humph... I knew this was gonna happen...' Jasmine who was observing from above harrumphed lightly with her thoughts filled with jealousy.

Xun'er only covered her mouth while chuckling lightly.

Both of them know that there's no way these girls would be able to let him go. They already guessed this outcome from miles away... and for some reason, Issei doesn't seem to realize the girls' feelings for him... how come he's sharp about everything else but not on this particular subject? Is he that innocent? Well, he still has his vital Yang so it might be the case...

When she thought till here, Xun'er blushed slightly and only she knows what she's currently had in mind...

"Then... Since you will take them to the upper realm yourself... My part of the deal is null... So how about my offer of being a guest at my sect? You saved my life and also saved Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace. I am unable to guarantee how much of a help I can repay you with but at the very least, I could provide you a place to stay." Mu Bingyun said calmly.

"...Very well. I will take your offer." Issei said after a little bit of thinking.

He can just make use of her sect as a cover. Since her sect or realm is at the mid-level then there shouldn't be many threat that will knocking into their doorstep...

That way he could just take his time to recover... He needs 3-4 more years to fully recover but... there's the thing with Nyarlathotep.

Well, there's no use to think about it for now. He will handle it when his full strength is back...

"Um, that's a relief and you made the right choice... Movements in the God Realm were much different in recent years than they had been in the past. Especially the great king realms, various abnormal changes have happened within them all. Eight years ago, the Eternal Heaven Realm, one of the great king realms, had announced an earth-shattering event… The new Eastern Profound God Convention would be held in the Eternal Heaven Realm!" Mu Bingyun said lightly wanting to see if Issei knew about this or not.

"Hm? Is that so?" Issei said without much care.

His reaction kind of baffled her a little... He doesn't seem to know about it but he also doesn't seem to care either... Is he from the upper realm or not? Everyone from the upper realm would get excited over this news... Does that mean that he's not from the upper realm? Then where is he from?

Well, he did say that he will only stay on the upper realm temporarily... So that means he's from somewhere else? But where...?

"Divine Region's… Profound God Convention? What is that?" But Feng Qianhui is the one who's feeling intrigued instead.

"It is the most distinguished meeting in the history of the Realm of the Gods. The Eastern Divine Region has a total of nine thousand star realms. Aside from the four great king realms, all the star realms' profound strength is limited to a certain criterion and any profound practitioner below the age of sixty is allowed to take part. The scale of the Profound God Convention is extremely huge and every time it is held, a long period of preparations is needed and huge damages would occur. The past Profound God Conventions would happen around every three thousand years. Only seven hundred years have passed between this session and the last and the preparation time of this session is severely shorter than the previous ones." Mu Bingyun explained calmly.

"Can we participate in the convention, senior ancestor?" Feng Qianhui eyes shone a bit.

If they could participate and if they were to win, they could give the prize to Issei.

"Sadly you can't." Mu Bingyun shook her head. "The preparation time for this Profound God Convention is extremely short, only a mere ten years. According to the time we have left, there are not even half a year left until the Profound God Convention begins. With your profound strength… you wouldn't even be qualified to participate when that time comes."

"Oh..." Feng Qianhui sighed sadly.

"Even though all of you cannot enter Ice Phoenix Palace or Freezing Snow Hall with your aptitude and cultivation, you are still qualified to join Snowfall Palace. I can only bring one person along with me to the upper realm but I'm sure your sect Elder should be able to do something about it?" After all, Issei never asked her to bring him along and only asked her to bring Xia Qingyue before.

That means that he has the means to go up there by himself. The teleportation formation she uses can only bring three people back... She wanted to see just what method he has...

"Mm, I have my own method." Issei nodded at her words.

"Good, then shall we go now?" Mu Bingyun asked.

...

Western Divine Region, Dragon God Realm, Forbidden Land of Samsara. This is the place where Issei first 'visited' when he arrived in the Primal Chaos Dimension...

"Mother, have the Spirit Hibiscus Flowers bloomed already?"

It was a very young and tender voice but even though it sounded so young, this voice was unfathomably ethereal. And when one heard it, it was as if a stream of the purest spring water flowed into one's heart, spring water so pure that it was enough to quietly cleanse all of the filth and wickedness inside of it.

"They've already bloomed." An ethereal voice belonging to a woman resounded.

She's also the first person he 'met' in this world...

The amount of benefits she received from absorbing his vital Yang is truly unbelievable...

She thought that it will take her at least ten or so years to be able to leave this place but she only needs a short span of five years... Now she only needs to wait for another two years before she can finally be free of this place...

And not only that... he also gifted him a daughter... She never thought that she can conceive in that one short session of theirs...

She gently turned around in the center of a sea of purple flowers. The sea of flowers was dazzlingly beautiful but it was not an even fraction of her celestial and sacred beauty.

"That's simply too awesome! I want to see, I want to see!"

The tender voice shouted excitedly.

"Alright," The woman gave a light wave of her snowy hand and a cl.u.s.ter of white light gently swept over her lower abdomen.

"WAH! It's so beautiful," the tender voice crowed with delight, "but I want to see it with my own eyes."

The woman gave a faint smile as she shook her head, "Not yet."

"When exactly will I be born?"

"Two years... If nothing goes wrong then you will be born in two more years..." The same day she will be able to leave this place: "These two years will be very short and they will pass in the blink of an eye."

"But I feel that it's really long, I really want to be born sooner. I want to see the Spirit Hibiscus Flowers with my own two eyes, I want to see what Mother looks like with my own two eyes."

The woman stroked her stomach, her warm and gentle voice laced with remorse, "Mother promises you. After these two years, I will bring you to every corner of this universe, and we will go see whatever that you want to see, okay?"

"Mnnnn, hee hee…" the young and tender voice grew happy again, "Mother, don't worry, I'll be obedient."

"That's right Mother," the young and tender voice's tone changed, "among the 'knowledge' that you have imparted to me, there is a part of it that mentions that every living being will not only have a mother but a father too. Furthermore, the father and mother will be together forever. However, why is Mother all alone by herself? Could it be that I don't have a father?"

The woman shook her head, "Of course not, your life was given to you by your father."

"Then why isn't Father at Mother's side? Could it be… that thing known as 'abandonment'?"

"...Your father did not abandon your mother, and it is even more impossible that he will abandon you." She said in the gentlest of tones. 'If anything, it's your Mother who has wronged your father...' She said inside her mind.

She took advantage of him during his sleep... She doesn't know if he will be willing to admit this daughter of theirs or not... will she even forgive her? She doesn't know... she can only hope that he's willing to admit their daughter at the very least. She doesn't mind if she's hated because of what she has done as long as their daughter is not the one who's being hated...

"It's just that... he had to go to a rather distant place in order to accomplish some things. Once you are born, Mother will surely bring you to see him."

"Then… what does Father look like? Will he be just as gentle and just as good looking?"

She gave a small laugh, "That's something you will need to see with your own eyes and your own heart and soul... And to give you Mother's point of view, your father is extremely good looking... even Mother lose to him."

"Ah? Really? Father is even more good looking than Mother?"

"Indeed."

"Wuuuu… I wanted to see father even more now..." the young and tender voice grew small and quiet, "Even though I should be obediently listening to what Mother has said, I… still really want to be born soon and go meet father..."

The woman only give a weak smile at her daughter's words... She's feeling guilty and worried at the same time.

"Mother, I've already learned what race is. Is our race truly the strongest?"

That young and tender voice then becomes even brighter and more pleasant to the ear. It no longer possessed the upset tone that it had before, causing more than a few birds to softly cry out in response. The woman replied to the voice, "In this current era, the dragon reigns above all living creatures, and as Dragon Gods, we are royalty among the dragon race. We are indeed the strong race in the present world."

"Then… Father must also be very powerful, correct?"

The woman said with a smile: "Yes... Your father is the strongest in this world. Nobody is able to come close to his strength... He's the noblest and strongest Dragon God in existence. If Mother is called the Dragon God by many then your father is the Dragon God Emperor... He stands above every living being in this world. And you, his daughter is the Dragon God Little Princess."

"Ehehe, I'm a little princess...? That's great! But mother you're quite silly... since father is the Dragon God Emperor, that means mother is the Dragon God Empress not a normal Dragon God!" The young and tender voice said with a giggle.

"Well..." The woman smiled wryly at her daughter's statement... How come a three years old can be this good at speaking? Is it because she's his descendant?

"...A guest has arrived, Mother will speak to you later." She sensed a presence coming to their location.

She got up and with a wave of her snowy hand, a layer of fantastical white light covered her body, hiding her figure, her looks, and all of her aura...

'Father, where are you? I wanted to see you soon!' The girl thought out loud inside her mind...

...

Issei's body flinched a little for some reason... He frowned a little thinking just what was the feeling he just experienced...

Is it his children that's calling for him? It shouldn't be... They are not even a month old yet...

It's probably his wives... It must be. He smiled softly when he thought about this...

Well, he will surely return to their side soon... Now it's time for him to go to the upper realm.

Mu Bingyun never would have thought that the decision of hers bringing Issei into the sect would actually completely change the situation in the entire sect and even the entire God Realm...

And she never would have thought that the person who supposedly come from the lower realm she brought back would turn the entire God Realm upside down in the near future…

The wheel of destiny for the Realm of the Gods started turning once more at this very moment.

"So this is the ?"

At this moment, they were millions of miles high up in the sky. Looking downwards, an enormous snowy world was below them. Icy mist filled the air and glaciers covered the ground. Every corner of this world seemed to be covered with a thick layer of ice or snow.

The Snow Song Realm, a star realm that had been covered by ice and snow since ancient times.

"Yes, it is..." Mu Bingyun said with amazement still... She never thought that Issei is capable of creating a spatial dimension on his own so easily...

And it's not any normal spatial dimension but it's the higher tier spatial law that enables a person to travel between realm! To top it off, he could also bring the whole Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace with him!

Just who is this man she just met... Mu Bingyun couldn't help but become a little bit worried but at the same time, she also feels that this might be the best decision she ever made...