Actually, Mu Zhian had a vague premonition even before he met the master of the Abyss.

Because before Ye Yu arrived at the Abyss palace, the three portions of Heavenly Dao Energy were suspected to have been taken away, and Lin Ling happened to have three portions as well… To say it was a coincidence was a bit too much of a coincidence.

A sacred object like Heavenly Dao Energy, even the great powers of the Nine Provinces, most of them couldn’t even produce one.

The greater possibility was that the master of the Abyss had given the three portions of Heavenly Dao Energy to the Spirit Dragon for safekeeping, then lay down in the ancient coffin, entering the depths of the Heavenly Palace through it, and fell into a deep slumber.

No… according to Yuanluo, it wasn’t slumber, but just an empty shell.

Mu Zhian gazed at the breathtakingly beautiful woman before him. Black shackles bound her fair wrists, and chains also bound her ankles. Her long, flowing hair cascaded down her back, her head lowered, her long, curled eyelashes partially obscuring her eyelids.

Just a single glance was enough to calm even the most restless heart.

It even made one feel an uncontrollable urge to submit to her.

This was an immortal, an Immortal Ascension Realm immortal who possessed the divine ability of creation.

“I can’t sense any aura from her. Is this also because she’s just an empty shell?” Mu Zhian suddenly asked softly, a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Yuanluo nodded gently and said in a low voice, “Mmm… Her spiritual sense has probably been away from this body for a long time.”

As she spoke, her gaze seemed to lose focus, the light in her red eyes gradually dimming, her legs slightly weak.

“Then where did her spiritual sense go…?”

Just as Mu Zhian finished speaking, he noticed something was off with Yuanluo’s condition and quickly supported her shoulder, “Are you alright? Do you want to leave here first?”

He suddenly realized that Yuanluo’s condition had been off ever since they saw this immortal.

Yuanluo glanced at the young man, a faint, weak smile appearing on her pale face, “It’s nothing, you’re underestimating me, aren’t you? I’m the New Heavenly Dao…”

“Didn’t you notice the sun behind you has dimmed quite a bit?” Mu Zhian retorted.

A halo was slowly rotating behind Yuanluo, like a turntable, always emitting a dazzling light when it spun.

However, since they approached this door, the light behind Yuanluo seemed to be gradually dimming.

“That has nothing to do with me being here. I just feel a little tired—”

“W-what are you doing? Don’t pull me…”

Yuanluo suddenly found that Mu Zhian was actually grabbing her hand and was about to approach the slumbering ‘immortal’. She hugged Mu Zhian’s arm tightly, her feet digging into the ground to resist his pull, refusing to move an inch.

Looking at this scene, Mu Zhian couldn’t help but chuckle, “So it’s because of this immortal… Are you afraid of her?”

“Not afraid, just—”

Before she could finish, Yuanluo suddenly found herself floating in mid-air.

Mu Zhian unceremoniously bent down, scooped her up, and carried the New Heavenly Dao in his arms.

The girl’s soft body was light and graceful, as if weightless, and the white silk stockings made from Nirvana Silk added a silky smooth touch, making even Mu Zhian’s heart flutter.

“Your Spiritual Energy is fading quickly. If you stay here any longer, I might not be able to see you again,” Mu Zhian said.

“Although I’m unwilling… you’re right, this place is a bit strange.”

“By the way, have you had enough fun?” Yuanluo rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. “Hurry up and leave this place, if you don’t want to lose me.”

Mu Zhian couldn’t help but admire the silver-haired milf’s soft body in his arms, her snow-white dress clinging to her delicate frame, her translucent white silk stockings, and her currently weak and helpless, pitiful appearance, even her slightly pursed red lips.

In her, Mu Zhian seemed to see a combination of Bai Ruoxi, Wei Mengrou, Yao Meng, Lin Ling, and many others.

“It would take at least a year to have enough fun with this,” Mu Zhian sighed with emotion.

Yuanluo rolled her eyes seductively, “Only a year? I’m the embodiment of your XP, after all. A year is underestimating my charm, isn’t it?”

Mu Zhian didn’t say anything more, but carried her out of this grotto-heaven in a princess carry. On the way, he couldn’t help but look back again.

On the boundless meadow behind them, countless withered trees grew, their branches reaching towards the steel-gray sky, a chaotic web of chains filling the air.

And the woman was quietly slumbering within a ‘spiderweb’ woven from those chains.

Quiet, peaceful.

He carried Yuanluo out of the grotto-heaven, the green sandalwood door silently closing behind them.

As if the world had returned to silence.

A gentle breeze blew, and the moment the wooden door closed, the slumbering ‘immortal’ seemed to frown slightly.

…

Mu Zhian passed through the hazy white mist and left the Heavenly Palace, placing Yuanluo on a soft, large bed.

Then he sat down beside the bed, “Why do you become so weak when you get close to her?”

“It’s not that I become weak when I get close to her, but that she’s constantly absorbing the surrounding Spiritual Energy,” Yuanluo glanced at Mu Zhian and said faintly. “Didn’t you notice? From the moment you approached the Heavenly Palace, the surrounding Spiritual Energy became much thinner.”

Mu Zhian was stunned. He hadn’t noticed before, but now that Yuanluo mentioned it, he finally realized.

Compared to the Spiritual Energy outside the Heavenly Palace, the Spiritual Energy here was indeed much thinner.

“You mean, that woman has been absorbing the Spiritual Energy in the Heavenly Palace even while she’s slumbering…? But why haven’t I been drained?”

Mu Zhian paused slightly, then slowly shook his head, “No, not only have I not been drained, but I feel like the Spiritual Energy in my body hasn’t decreased at all.”

The slumbering immortal hadn’t absorbed any of Mu Zhian’s Spiritual Energy from the very beginning, so when he and Yuanluo entered the grotto-heaven together, he didn’t realize that Yuanluo’s Spiritual Energy was being frantically absorbed by her.

“Could it be that because you haven’t replenished much of your Spiritual Energy, she’s not interested in you?” Yuanluo asked.

“Or perhaps… because you’re not a living being, so she’s not interested in the Spiritual Energy of the dead?”

The dead…?

If you know how to talk, then talk more…

Mu Zhian sighed softly, “I worked so hard to carry you out from the depths of the Heavenly Palace, safely brought you here… and this is how you thank your benefactor?”

Yuanluo’s silvery-white bangs fell slightly over her forehead. She looked at the young man from behind her bangs, a playful smile on her face, “Shouldn’t carrying me be a reward? I know very well what you were thinking on the way here.”

As she spoke, her delicate fingers gently traced her long, shapely legs, encased in white silk stockings, a playful glint in her red eyes as she looked at Mu Zhian.

Mu Zhian silently rubbed his forehead, “You’d better be careful. If you keep teasing me like this, I’m afraid I won’t be able to resist and will have to suppress you.”

Yuanluo glanced at the young man, her expression turning slightly more serious, “If you weren’t there at the time, I probably wouldn’t have been able to leave that grotto-heaven.”

“So I should indeed thank you properly.”

Hearing Yuanluo’s final, slightly cool and arrogant reply, Mu Zhian couldn’t help but smile, “It’s rare for you to know how to be grateful.”

“The Heavenly Dao has always been impartial.”

Yuanluo paused slightly, “However, although I say that, my very existence is because of you. I don’t really have anything to repay you with…”

She propped herself up with difficulty, the previously dim halo behind her having regained some of its brightness from the Heavenly Court’s Spiritual Energy.

Under Mu Zhian’s gaze, Yuanluo gently leaned against his shoulder, her legs slightly pressed together, blinking her red eyes as she looked at him, and said softly, “If you need any help in the future, you don’t need to be polite.”

“No matter what the request, I will do my best to fulfill it.”

Mu Zhian placed a finger on Yuanluo’s forehead and gently pushed her away.

“Come on, Miss Yuanluo, I don’t think it’s a bad thing for you to emulate the other girls’ personalities, but can’t you just copy their good sides, and not their black-bellied, mischievous side as well?”

He couldn’t help but complain, “Although it’s really alluring, you just keep teasing me but won’t let me kiss you. That’s not thanking me, that’s getting back at me.”

“It’s not always about doing something, is it?”

Yuanluo stretched lazily, revealing her graceful and beautiful figure, and said faintly, “I said before, I just can’t accept Heavenly Court Spiritual Energy, but I can do other things.”

Other things…

Mu Zhian was stunned and said calmly, “I have no idea what you’re talking about…”

“The intimate acts between a man and a woman aren’t just limited to giving Innate Celestial Furnace Spiritual Energy, are they?”

Yuanluo took Mu Zhian’s arm and deliberately brought her rosy lips closer, whispering, “Besides receiving Heavenly Court Spiritual Energy, perhaps you can try other things in the future?”

Her face so close, her warm breath, on this holy and silent palace bed, Mu Zhian could clearly feel Yuanluo’s breathtakingly soft lips.

He composed himself slightly, trying his best to calm the ripples in his heart caused by Yuanluo’s teasing.

Then, he said seriously, “Stop messing around, I have something I want to ask you.”

“I remember you said earlier that the immortal in the depths of the Heavenly Palace is just an empty shell, right? Then where did her spiritual sense go?”

This was what Mu Zhian was most concerned about now.

Earlier, the three portions of Heavenly Dao Energy within his body all had an innate affinity for that ‘immortal’, which meant that these three portions of Heavenly Dao Energy were very likely connected to that immortal in some way.

In the Nine Provinces, the only known person who could produce three portions of Heavenly Dao Energy at the same time was the master of the Abyss.

So the slumbering master of the Abyss was very likely the Immortal Ascension Realm immortal in the depths of the Heavenly Palace, the creator goddess.

Then the question was, after the master of the Abyss fell into slumber, her true body entered the Heavenly Court, then sealed herself, leaving only an empty shell… Then where did her spiritual sense go?

“You already have the answer in your heart, don’t you?”

Yuanluo’s teasing expression faded, and she said with a faint smile, “Even if I don’t read your mind now, I can guess that you already have a name in mind.”

A silent silence.

Mu Zhian looked at Yuanluo’s pure and bright red eyes, not speaking for a long time.

Yuanluo was right. From the moment he concluded that the master of the Abyss was that immortal, he already had an answer in his heart.

Or rather, if it were her, then many of the mysteries that had been bothering him could be explained.

“The Sect Master, is it?” Mu Zhian said softly.

Why could Shang Yanfei live forever, even repeatedly suppressing the Forbidden Lands, her lifespan seemingly comparable to heaven… What if she wasn’t at Dao Integration Realm, but Immortal Ascension?

Immortal Ascension Realm, that was beyond the comprehension of cultivators. Some said she was the immortal who created all things, others said she could make all living beings decay with a single thought.

To her, the entire Xianxia world was just a game. Because after Immortal Ascension, she was immortal and indestructible. Even if she failed, she could restart infinitely.

In short, there were too many rumors about Immortal Ascension in the Nine Provinces, but even now, there was no concrete explanation.

After all, there had only been one Immortal Ascension Realm expert since ancient times. She was the mother of all living beings, the goddess who ascended since birth.

No one had ever seen her. To the common people, she was more of a myth.

“My thoughts are the same as yours.”

Yuanluo said with a smile, “Shang Yanfei took in the Spirit Dragon in the past and raised her, and the Spirit Dragon was born with three portions of Heavenly Dao Energy… The only one who could be connected to that immortal is Shang Yanfei.”

“But it’s strange. I’ve searched for relevant memories in your mind. Shang Yanfei’s spiritual sense is indeed very strong, but not strong enough to make me wary… An Immortal Ascension Realm immortal’s spiritual sense shouldn’t be only at that level,” Yuanluo continued.

Mu Zhian frowned, “So you think the owner of the body in the depths of the Heavenly Palace isn’t the Sect Master?”

“Logically, it should be her,” Yuanluo paused slightly. “But I feel something is off. Shang Yanfei’s spiritual sense is too strange, intermittent, as if it could disappear at any moment. I still think… an Immortal Ascension Realm immortal’s spiritual sense definitely shouldn’t be only at that level.”

Mu Zhian hesitated, “Could it be that the Sect Master shielded her destiny, and the immortal gold chains sealed her true self, so you couldn’t sense it?”

“I couldn’t sense it, then how could you?”

Yuanluo gently caressed Mu Zhian’s chest with her small hand, took out the three portions of Heavenly Dao Energy from his embrace, and looked at him with a smile, “Haven’t you been intimate with her? You should know the strength of her spiritual sense very well, right?”

Mu Zhian was stunned, then, uncharacteristically, he fell silent, somewhat embarrassed.

Yuanluo was also stunned for a moment, looking at Mu Zhian incredulously, “Don’t tell me you were so captivated by her body that you didn’t even notice the state of her spiritual sense?”

Mu Zhian coughed lightly, “Of course, I was concerned about the Sect Master’s condition, but every time I wanted to check her spiritual sense, it was always during our intimacy, and then I seemed to be charmed by some technique of hers…”

“Heh, the dignified Lord of the Heavenly Court is actually so pathetic,” Yuanluo glanced at him sideways, her red eyes filled with disdain.

Then, before Mu Zhian could speak, she suddenly said, “Then why don’t we try?”

Yuanluo extended her hand, the milky white Heavenly Dao Energy seemingly burning, emitting a holy and captivating aura.

She gazed into Mu Zhian’s eyes and said softly, “Using this, let’s see if she’s truly that immortal.”

…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay