Xuanhu looked on with an expression of amusement, seemingly quite interested.
"But—Sister Xuanhu, what happened today—"
Lingyan looked at her with some concern.
"It's alright, it's not just today. I'm used to it. Besides—your divine power is weak, so you can't be of much help. But with your immortal peaches, there shouldn't be any major problems tonight."
Xuanhu responded with a reassuring and encouraging smile.
"Then I'll go!"
Lingyan hesitated for only a moment, but still followed her advice and chased after her.
Watching Ling Yan leave happily, Xuan Hu suppressed his smile and lowered his eyes.
A transparent, circular light flashed around her neck.
She reached out and pressed her hand against her fair neck, murmuring softly.
"It will take ten thousand years..."
A person quietly walked out of the hall and asked in a gentle tone.
"what's on your mind?"
"Xiaoyan is a good child—"
Xuanhu sighed, filled with helplessness.
"She's using my name to show concern for you again."
The person approached closer, and the sunlight from outside shone through the heavy doors into the hall.
The light shone on her face, revealing the true face of the person hidden in the palace—it was none other than the young lord.
"Who would have thought that the dignified young lord would skip the grand palace banquet celebrating the emperor's birthday and instead come to this desolate place?"
With a charming laugh, Xuanhu glanced at her with alluring eyes and handed her the immortal peach he had been playing with.
"Give this peach back to her. She is still young and needs to improve her divine power."
"And what about you?"
Shaojun did not reach out. Her gaze was fixed on Xuanhu, and beneath her calm exterior, it seemed that turbulent waves were hidden.
Do I still need it?
Xuanhu walked to her side, gently raised her arm, wrapped it around Shaojun's neck, leaned close to her, and whispered something in her ear.
"That's certainly true..."
Young Master chuckled softly, his dark eyes reflecting a myriad of emotions onto Xuanhu's face.
She reached out and gently stroked the face that could drive even immortals mad, then pulled the person into her arms. With a flick of her sleeves, she vanished in an instant, leaving only the lingering fragrance in the air as proof that someone had once lingered there.
"Damn Gu Zhong! He just ran away like that—"
After a short delay, when Ling Yan rushed out of the Chaos Palace, she could no longer see Gu Zhong. She stomped her foot in frustration and wanted to turn back to the Chaos Palace, but then she remembered Xuan Hu's words and stopped.
She wasn't stupid; she knew that Xuanhu was deliberately trying to get rid of her—perhaps to avoid others seeing her disheveled state, or perhaps for some other reason.
However, Lingyan did not want to return to the banquet. She wandered aimlessly around the vast divine realm and unknowingly walked back to the lotus pond.
The pool, filled with vibrant red and green hues, presents a thriving scene, radiating vitality.
The dewdrops, condensed into round beads, lay lazily on the broad lotus leaves. After resting for a while, they playfully slid down and returned to the clear pond water.
Lingyan hadn't had a chance to properly admire the lotus pond earlier, and now no one was disturbing her.
A gentle breeze blew by, and someone patted her on the shoulder from behind.
Lingyan quickly turned around, only to find that there was no one there.
"who?"
Another gust of wind swept by, and she was already on high alert, ready for a major battle.
However, when she turned around again, she saw a set of bells on the open ground in front of her.
This set of bells is very small and cute, and it shines brightly under the light. I don't know what material it is made of, but it contains great divine power.
"The birthday gift I owe you for your thousandth birthday."
Gu Zhong appeared before her with his arms crossed, smiling broadly.
"It's so beautiful! What's it made of?"
Lingyan was overjoyed. She squatted down, picked up the bell from the ground, and admired it with great affection.
"The bones of the Abyss Beast. Don't underestimate them; they're incredibly powerful artifacts."
Gu Zhong also squatted down and looked at the bell, clearly very proud of the gift he had carefully prepared.
"You certainly know how to make the most of things."
Upon hearing this, Ling Yan raised an eyebrow, her tone changing, sounding as if she was angry again. Gu Zhong knew that she was still resentful about breaking her promise back then, and now was the perfect opportunity to explain further.
"Ahem—At the time, I really just wanted to hunt a strange beast nearby as a gift, but I never expected to encounter the Abyss Beast."
"Then he spent a hundred years recuperating from his injuries."
Knowing that Gu Zhong had been thinking about her birthday and hadn't intentionally not come, Ling Yan's anger subsided considerably. However, she was determined not to give in so easily and immediately retorted with a sarcastic remark.
"If I don't prepare a gift, how dare I go to the realm of gods to seek an audience with the supreme deity? Wouldn't that be too insincere?"
Gu Zhong blinked and said with an innocent look on his face.
"The Abyss Beast is too difficult to refine, so it took a little longer than expected. Please forgive me, Little God."
"Hmm! That's barely acceptable, so I'll mercifully forgive you."
Ling Yan frowned and pondered for a moment, then nodded seriously, all her displeasure and feigned anger instantly vanishing.
"The immortal peach that the High God gave to Xuanhu, was it secretly picked from the peach orchard today?"
Gu Zhong stared at her for a long time, as if he was struggling with something, and then tentatively asked about what had just happened.
How did you know?
Lingyan quickly looked around nervously, as if afraid of being overheard.
"Because you haven't gone to the banquet yet—here, take this."
Gu Zhong answered very easily. She waved her hand in front of Ling Yan, and a huge peach appeared in her hand.
"You actually went back to the banquet, huh?!"
After realizing what Gu Zhong had done, Ling Yan stared at her blankly, seemingly unable to understand why she could come out after going there.
"Just leave one [blank]—many immortals and gods do this—hmm? Could it be that Little God hasn't learned the art of [blank] yet?"
Gu Zhong asked, somewhat surprised.
Do you think all gods and immortals are like you, with boundless divine power?
The little god, who had just been coaxed into submission, suddenly snapped again, turned his head away, and ignored her.
Gu Zhong was quite troubled. Although Ling Yan looked cute when she was angry, she had not seriously learned how to coax a child.
"Then... shall I give you another gift?"
Gu Zhong tentatively said.
"What?"
Upon hearing about the gift, Ling Yan's curious eyes involuntarily turned to Gu Zhong.
"Is there a place you particularly like in the realm of gods?"
Gu Zhong asked another question.
"Come with me."
After scrutinizing Gu Zhong for a moment, seemingly wanting to know what she was up to, Ling Yan stood up.
She led Gu Zhong through the divine realm with practiced ease, and because everyone else was attending the banquet, they hardly encountered anyone.
Finally, we arrived at a magnificent and spiritually rich palace with the three large characters "Wuji Palace" inscribed on it.
Lingyan leaped onto the roof of the main hall, sat down on the ground, and looked up at the eternal light of the divine realm.
"This is it!"
"It is indeed a good place."
Gu Zhong sat down beside her, took out a bone flute from his bosom, and she stroked it nostalgically for a moment before closing her eyes and playing it.
The melody is profound, melodious, and lingering, evoking images of vast天地 (heaven and earth), boundless stars, and a sense of epic grandeur. It perfectly matches the nature of the war god who wages war and slaughters.
When the song ended, Gu Zhong opened his eyes and looked at Ling Yan nervously, as if asking for praise.
"It sounds beautiful! I never knew the God could play the flute!"
Ling Yan clapped her hands, her eyes shining even brighter.
"In the army, when there's nothing to do, I just occasionally put on a show for myself."
"It sounds like life in the military is quite boring."
Lingyan's approach always hits the nail on the head.
"...It's really boring."
Gu Zhong frankly stated that military discipline is strict and it is not a place for frivolous behavior.
"Hmm—if you're bored, you can come to the God Realm to find me—after all, you have my Phoenix Token, so you can come and go as you please—I'm quite bored being alone in the God Realm."
After hesitating for a moment, Lingyan extended an invitation that she considered to be the way friends should get along.
"How could a little god be bored? With your flamboyant personality, you should have no shortage of friends."
Gu Zhong smiled and shook his head, sincerely thanking Ling Yan for being willing to befriend her, but she clearly thought that "boredom" was just an excuse the little goddess made up.
"Actually, in the God Realm, I really don't have any friends I can make—except for Sister Shaojun and Sister Xuanhu. I can tell whether other people have ulterior motives towards me or not, and I really hate those flatterers."
Lingyan muttered to herself in a low voice, her brow furrowed with worry.
"Is that so...?"