Love Travels through Time (My father who traveled through time and space to cultivate immortality came back to pick me up) - Chapter 83

Chapter 83: The Three Thousand Realms

“Changli’s mother hailed from the Xihai Merfolk tribe. She once rebelled, just as our Nine-Tails did, and the ones responsible for suppressing them were precisely the Zhulong Clan…”

Zhu Rongrong answered ambiguously, “These are all things from a long time ago. I am a bit younger than Changli myself, so I don’t know much about the affairs of the older generation either. All I can say is that the elders are now treating this as a grave threat and are paying close attention to you… So, I hope you…”

Xiang Haikui listened with knitted brows.

As she halted, Bai Xingxian and Lu Xiqiao naturally stopped as well, both turning back to look at her.

Yin Changli had been keeping his attention on Xiang Haikui all along.

Seeing this, his eyes darkened, and he immediately snapped at Zhu Rongrong, “Shut up!”

There was no need to ask; he knew she had been privately transmitting messages to Xiang Haikui to spread idle gossip.

“Wait for me for a moment,” Xiang Haikui instructed Bai Xingxian and the other after a moment’s thought.

Then, leaping lightly, she landed right next to Yin Changli and Zhu Rongrong.

At her request, Yin Changli set up a soundproof barrier around them to ensure that whatever Xiang Haikui said would only be heard by him and Zhu Rongrong.

Xiang Haikui asked, “Senior, do you know about your parents’ past?”

Zhu Rongrong was slightly taken aback.

“Miss Xiang…”

Xiang Haikui ignored her entirely, focusing solely on Yin Changli.

“My parents?” Yin Changli was perplexed.

“Which matter in particular?”

“Senior Zhu told me that due to the unique nature of how Zhulong pass down their lineage, your mother bore offspring merely to wear down your father—she didn’t actually like children, but wanted revenge instead…”

Xiang Haikui recounted everything in full detail.

She observed Yin Changli carefully.

Throughout her account, his brow remained slightly furrowed, his expression showing little change.

“Senior Zhu’s point is that she hopes I can persuade you to return to the clan first to explain things. Preferably, I should go with you as well so the elders can verify in person that I haven’t continued to fuse those two masses of essence qi and won’t harm you. Otherwise, the First Elder will definitely send people to capture me. What are your thoughts on this matter?”

Zhu Rongrong had tried to interject several times but was interrupted every time.

Now that Xiang Haikui had finished speaking, she was finally able to speak, her tone filled with astonishment.

“Miss Xiang, you just said it out loud like that?”

“And why shouldn’t I?” Xiang Haikui finally turned her head to look at her.

“Your reason for persuading me was that you feared Senior Yin wouldn’t be able to bear it. But I find that reasoning entirely groundless.”

What could Boss Yin, who had weathered endless storms and tempests, possibly not be able to bear?

“If you think he can’t handle it, it only proves you don’t truly know him.”

Xiang Haikui lowered her eyelashes slightly.

“Or rather, it’s not that you don’t know him; you just don’t know me, thinking you could bluff me…”

She didn’t believe her own intelligence was enough to fathom the thoughts of the Shanhai Clan’s second-in-command, a Nine-Tailed Fox—so it was better left to Yin Changli to handle.

Zhu Rongrong’s complexion shifted slightly. She pursed her lips and remained silent.

After a brief pause, Yin Changli smiled gently. “A-Kui, go into secluded cultivation with peace of mind. It’s alright.”

Xiang Haikui nodded, let her gaze sweep across Yin Changli’s face once more, and turned around to leave again.

Zhu Rongrong watched her retreating back.

“Lately I’ve heard plenty of shocking rumors about Miss Xiang, and I wondered how someone so young could possibly do all that. Seeing her today, it’s no wonder…”

“No wonder what?”

Yin Changli instantly pulled back his smile, his voice dropping three degrees colder than Ice Spring Mountain itself.

“No wonder she could heavily injure the Emperor, and no wonder she could make you lose your composure.”

Zhu Rongrong met his gaze without a trace of fear.

“However, as a mere mortal woman, that she managed to severely wound the Emperor is something I truly find hard to believe. Have you ever considered that this might be a act staged by her in collusion with the Emperor?”

Yin Changli found it amusing.

“Oh? And the motive?”

Zhu Rongrong said, “The motive, naturally, is to get you to lower your guard against her entirely, trust her completely, and obtain that divine artifact left behind by Shuluoye meant to exterminate the Celestial Clan.”

Yin Changli replied without a second thought, “She wouldn’t.”

Zhu Rongrong questioned, “How can you be so certain?”

Yin Changli remained silent.

Zhu Rongrong pressed further, step by step.

“Unless you can give me a convincing reason, otherwise, this possibility exists.”

After saying this, she added, “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but the First Elder ordered me to test her, and I need a reason to report back.”

It was not until the figures of Xiang Haikui and her companions completely disappeared from sight that Yin Changli spoke slowly, “There is no reason. I trust her, and I do not doubt her.”

Zhu Rongrong frowned.

“You…”

Yin Changli added, “Go back and tell the First Elder that those two masses of essence qi in her belly have already dissipated—that was her own decision. Likewise, if she had chosen to fuse with them, you could try threatening her and see if she pays you any mind. Of course…”

He abruptly shifted his tone: “I will not give anyone the opportunity to threaten her—no one at all. Before you make a move, I advise you to think it through carefully.”

The warning and murderous intent in his tone were unmistakable. Zhu Rongrong’s brow furrowed even deeper.

“Yin Changli, are those words appropriate for the patriarch of a clan to say?”

“No, they are not.”

“Then why are you…”

“You can go back and report this truthfully, convene the Council of Elders, strip me of my position as patriarch, and select someone more capable.”

Yin Changli curled his lips, giving her a look that plainly said if you think you can do better, go ahead.

Zhu Rongrong’s face instantly darkened.

“Do you truly believe the Shanhai Clan cannot function without you?”

Unfazed and confident, Yin Changli countered coolly, “Is that not the truth?”

Zhu Rongrong was left speechless.

“Since you know that, you should understand why the First Elder and the others are so anxious…”

Yin Changli interrupted, “Let me ask you first: with your cultivation level, you could clearly perceive her physical condition. Why didn’t you just go back and report that to the First Elder? Why go through all the trouble of trying to get her to accompany me back to the clan?”

Zhu Rongrong tried to explain, “I…”

“Did you, just like the Emperor, think that because I now have a weakness, I am yours to manipulate?”

Yin Changli interrupted her again, his tone turning far more ruthless.

“Who you are truly targeting—you know it in your heart, and I know it in mine!”

Zhu Rongrong, who had maintained a righteous demeanor, was forced back two steps by the fierce, menacing aura that suddenly erupted from him.

A flicker of panic flashed across her eyes.

Yin Changli stepped forward, pressing closer, his dark, luminous eyes growing colder by the second.

She was targeting Little Bai.

Right now, it was the most critical juncture for Little Bai’s fusion with the “Inspiration.”

“If Xiang Haikui had believed your nonsense, persuaded me to return, and accompanied me back, I couldn’t possibly have left Bai Xingxian here alone to cultivate in seclusion—I would inevitably have had to bring him along,” Yin Changli sneered, his gaze filled with contempt as he looked at her.

“I have never brought Bai Xingxian back before. Once we make this trip, what would happen afterward?”

Zhu Rongrong’s complexion changed drastically, and she took another step backward.

He had only just begun, but Zhu Rongrong already knew he had seen right through her scheme.

Yin Changli answered his own question.

“After I explain everything and bring the three of them back to Ice Spring for seclusion, the clan will definitely suffer a surprise attack from the Celestial Clan. Many of our people will die, including perhaps several highly respected elders. So, who exposed our location? It could only be one of the three outsiders: Xiang Haikui, Bai Xingxian, or Lu Xiqiao.”

“Under your instigation, Bai Xingxian will become the target of public outrage. What choice is there? After all, he belongs to the Celestial Clan, and he is the Emperor’s own nephew. Once his Inspiration returns, an old dog can’t change its habits—he will bear the greatest suspicion. With public fury incited, our kinsmen will march to Ice Spring to demand justice and confront me…”

His voice was airy and calm, yet it felt like fine, dense needles penetrating everywhere, sending a chill down one’s spine.

Zhu Rongrong lowered her head slightly, her chest heaving irregularly.

Earlier, when he had been repeatedly outmaneuvered by the Emperor and Han Qi, she had genuinely thought he was so blinded by love that he was no longer the man he used to be.

Yin Changli continued, “Your goal is to shake Bai Xingxian’s mindset, causing him to be condemned by thousands during his fusion with the Inspiration, driving him to fall into demonhood with a single thought. That way, I would have no choice but to abandon supporting him.”

If the path to peace was blocked, the only option left would be to activate the divine artifact.

Right now, except for Yin Changli and Xiang Haikui, everyone believed that this mysterious divine artifact could exterminate the entire Celestial Clan. Once the Celestial Clan was wiped out, the Shanhai Clan would naturally become the ruler of the Three Realms.

After finishing his words, Yin Changli raised his right hand.

The fingernail of his index finger gradually grew sharp and long, like a keen dagger, lightly tracing across her elegantly curved, swan-like neck.

“When the war ends, who knows if this life of mine can even be saved? Who in the Shanhai Clan would still be your match? The position of overlord of the Three Realms would fall right into your lap—is that right, little fox?”

A thin red line of blood was drawn across her neck. Under the sting of pain, Zhu Rongrong bit her lip for a long moment before looking up with a smile.

“I suppose I can go back to report now. The Grand Patriarch is still the same Grand Patriarch as before; the elders’ worries were entirely baseless after all.”

The fierce aura vanished completely in an instant. Yin Changli smiled as well.

“Mm. Then I’ll trouble you to return and explain things properly to the elders on my behalf…”

Zhu Rongrong cupped her slightly trembling hands in farewell, but her feet remained motionless for a long time.

Yin Changli asked, “Is there something else?”

Zhu Rongrong went silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled. “The Grand Patriarch foresees everything like a god, but there is one thing you got wrong.”

Yin Changli raised an eyebrow.

“Oh?”

Zhu Rongrong pondered briefly before saying, “Although I had my motives, every word I said to Miss Xiang was the truth, not nonsense.”

She was naturally referring to the matter regarding Yin Changli’s parents.

Having lost all face, she had to win back a round; she couldn’t leave in such a pathetic state. She wanted to see him lose his composure as well.

To her surprise, Yin Changli countered with a question.

“So what?”

Zhu Rongrong was taken aback by the question.

His complete indifference did not seem like an act.

“As husband and wife, one was willing to strike and the other was willing to suffer—it has nothing to do with me as their child, and even less to do with outsiders like you.”

After entering deep into the mountain, they were freed from the howling winds outside, but the temperature plummeted drastically. Xiang Haikui and her companions were so cold that even their toes were losing sensation.

After a difficult journey to their destination, the three of them stood around the “Ice Spring,” marveling at it for quite some time.

This Ice Spring, which caused the Hundred Thousand Mountains to be completely barren, was located inside a valley. Surprisingly, its surface area was smaller than a bathtub, resembling nothing more than a puddle of stagnant water.

If Yin Changli hadn’t provided the exact “coordinates,” finding it really wouldn’t have been easy.

With Muxi guarding from a distance, the three sat down in a cross-legged position around the Ice Spring.

Xiang Haikui and Bai Xingxian sat on the same side, while Lu Xiqiao, who was still emitting a foul odor, was driven to the opposite side.

The chilly air emanating from the tiny pool indeed possessed the effect of focusing one’s mind.

Yet, even after sitting in deep meditation for half a day, Xiang Haikui was still preoccupied with her thoughts—which, naturally, were about Yin Changli’s parents.

Turning her head, the corner of her eye caught a faint layer of golden light enveloping Bai Xingxian.

Her breathing hitched slightly. She recalled how, beside the Soul-Nourishing Pool, Jing Ran—having returned through reincarnation—was surrounded by just such a faint golden light.

She had watched with her own eyes as his golden glow grew increasingly dazzling, experiencing firsthand his transformation from “Senior” into “Emperor.”

At this very moment, a disorienting sense of “history repeating itself” unexpectedly welled up inside her.

Suddenly, Bai Xingxian opened his eyes and turned to look at her with concern.

“Sister Kui, what’s wrong?”

Xiang Haikui’s face grew even paler.

“Can you sense my emotional changes too?”

Bai Xingxian was taken aback for a moment, then nodded.

“Yes.”

She had used the word “too.”

Bai Xingxian thought of the Emperor, realizing that his golden light must have reminded her of something unpleasant.

After thinking it over, he got up and sat behind her, no longer sitting side by side, out of sight and out of mind for her.

Xiang Haikui knew she should stop him and say “there’s no need,” to prevent him from harboring the thought that “possessing a talent brings misfortune.”

But she didn’t stop him; his golden glow truly made her feel uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry, Little Bai. The time has been a bit short, and I haven’t fully emerged from the psychological shadow Jing Ran cast over me.”

Bai Xingxian hurriedly said, “There’s no need to explain, I understand.”

He didn’t feel hurt; in fact, he felt a sense of quiet joy in his heart.

When he first learned of his identity, he hadn’t thought too much about it. However, as the process of fusing with the Inspiration progressed—just as his uncle had said, Inspiration was the source of life and the light of wisdom for the Celestial Clan—it was as if he were slowly awakening, realizing with hindsight what immense expectations his uncle held for him, and how heavy the burden on his shoulders truly was.

The shift in identity had left him feeling somewhat lost and out of place.

But gradually, he realized he had been overthinking.

His uncle didn’t care about his mindset at all, ordering him to pull the carriage just as before, and scolding him at the slightest disagreement just as before.

Lu Xiqiao hadn’t changed either.

Ever since learning that his uncle wanted to support him to become the Emperor, Lu Xiqiao had begun flattering him in every way, just as he flattered Xiang Haikui, changing his address from “Brother Bai” to “Big Brother Bai,” babbling all day about “when you hit it big, don’t forget me.”

Xiang Haikui had been in secluded cultivation lately to heal her injuries and hadn’t been in contact with him, which had initially worried him slightly.

Now, everything was fine.

Seeing his golden glow and feeling displeased, she expressed it directly without any hesitation—that was how it should be.

After Bai Xingxian resumed his deep meditation, Xiang Haikui also quickly composed her mind, not wanting her mood swings to affect him.

By first concentrating her mental energy before slowly letting go, entering a half-dream, half-awake state, her perception of time became blurred.

Without knowing how much time had passed, Xiang Haikui felt Tian kuang becoming somewhat restless.

It was likely anxious that she couldn’t break through to the Ninth grade.

After all, Lu Xiqiao, sitting opposite her without making a fuss, had already entered the middle-to-late stage of the Tribulation Transcending Realm.

Above the Eighth grade was the Ninth grade, and only after breaking through the Ninth grade could one step into the Tribulation Transcending Realm.

This meant Lu Xiqiao was currently two major realms higher than her.

Bai Xingxian was even beyond comparison; after the Inspiration fusion, his cultivation realm changed by the day.

“There’s no comparison here; neither of them is human.”

One was the son of the Celestial Crown Prince, and the other was the fruit of the Jianmu tree. How could Xiang Haikui compare with them? Her cultivation journey was already riding a rocket, yet she still couldn’t compare to those who were born standing at the peak.

She tried to soothe Tian kuang, but its restlessness grew increasingly intense.

A sense of vigilance arose in Xiang Haikui’s heart. Could it be that the elders of the Shanhai Clan had truly sent people to capture her? But Tian kuang’s agitation didn’t seem like a warning of danger.

Out of necessity, Xiang Haikui awakened from her meditation. Strangely, there was nothing abnormal in her surroundings. Lu Xiqiao was still meditating opposite her, and glancing at Bai Xingxian, the golden light around him had grown even more dazzling.

Frowning, she continued to look around.

Finally, she noticed that something was amiss with the Ice Spring before her.

The Ice Spring was merely a small puddle, not deep at all, with a thick layer of ice at the bottom. But now, a dark shadow had appeared below the ice layer, looking like the top of a person’s head.

Since her divine sense could not penetrate the water of the Ice Spring, Xiang Haikui leaned forward, wanting to get a clearer look.

Yes, it was indeed the top of a human head. The person was wearing a Daoist topknot, with hair so thick it made her envious.

Was someone sealed beneath the Ice Spring?

Just as she was feeling bewildered, the person suddenly raised his head.

Caught off guard, Xiang Haikui saw his face clearly—steep eyebrows, heroic and handsome. But he didn’t seem able to see her; he had only raised his head because he sensed someone probing.

After confirming there was no one around, he lowered his head again. But after staying down for merely a moment, he suddenly raised his head once more, his eyes filled with suspicion.

Then, the heroic man slowly raised his arm over his head, continually reaching upward to test the waters.

Xiang Haikui didn’t dare to breathe, watching his arm penetrate the ice layer at the bottom of the Ice Spring and reach into the water. His arm swung left and right like a windshield wiper, as if touching for something.

The hair all over Xiang Haikui’s body stood on end; under his stirring, the Ice Spring water didn’t even show a single ripple. He was like a ghost, devoid of a physical form.

“What are you looking at?”

Yin Changli’s voice transmission came out of nowhere, startling Xiang Haikui so much she almost fell headfirst into the Ice Spring puddle.

A small black snake slithered over to her side.

Coming just in time, Xiang Haikui hurriedly said, “Quick, look…”

Before she could finish her sentence, the hand—along with its owner’s figure—flickered a few times and vanished completely together.

Following her line of sight, Yin Changli looked into the puddle, only to see the reflection of Xiang Haikui’s hair bun.

“It’s gone,” she murmured in confusion.

“Hmm?”

Xiang Haikui didn’t explain immediately, but asked first, “Why did you come over? Will someone really come to capture me?”

“They won’t,” Yin Changli reassured her.

“I’m just being my usual cautious self, taking precautions just in case.”

“But aren’t you afraid of the cold?” Xiang Haikui worried he might slip into hibernation again.

“Even if I am, there’s no helping it.”

The little black snake tested the waters, wanting to burrow into her plush, fluffy sleeve.

Xiang Haikui didn’t object, so he slithered right in, then asked, “What were you looking at just now?”

“There’s a person beneath the Ice Spring.”

Xiang Haikui recounted what had just transpired.

Upon hearing this, Yin Changli asked, “Did you feel unwell in any way while in deep meditation?”

He suspected her meditation posture might have been off, causing her to hallucinate.

“No,” Xiang Haikui shook her head, confident it was no hallucination, and backed it up with a rather solid reason.

“My imagination isn’t capable of conjuring up a face that strikingly handsome.”

Yin Changli fell silent for a brief moment.

“Perhaps you’ve seen him somewhere before…”

“Impossible,” Xiang Haikui flatly denied.

“If I had seen him before, it definitely would have left a deep impression.”

“In that case…” Yin Changli paused once more before continuing, “you might have seen someone from an alternate world.”

Xiang Haikui was stunned.

“An alternate world?”

Yin Changli explained, “Yes. We call it the Three Thousand Realms. The water in this tiny spring before your eyes doesn’t actually belong to our world; it seeped over from the Three Thousand Realms.”

Xiang Haikui had heard of this before—the Three Thousand Realms referred to the vast multiverse of three thousand worlds.

Yin Changli continued, “Within the Three Thousand Realms, there is a small world called the Nineteen Continents. On those continents lies a pool of water that is actually a water-attribute spiritual artifact. Its spiritual energy is so immensely strong that it caused spatial instability, creating cracks in the spatial barrier between us and the Three Thousand Realms, which allowed the spring water to gradually seep through.”

Xiang Haikui was astonished.

“So this pool of water is a passage connecting the two realms?”

“Calling it a passage is far from accurate. It seeped for tens of thousands of years only to yield this tiny puddle of water, which shows just how microscopic those cracks are. The firmness of the world barrier is beyond anything we can imagine.”

Yin Changli hesitated for a moment, then added, “Your hometown, Earth—I suspect it is also part of the Three Thousand Realms.”

His basis for judgment was the flow of time.

The flow of time on Earth differed from this world’s.

Xiang Haikui’s father, Xiang Heng, had been dead on Earth for ten years, yet he had lived in this world for two hundred years. One year on Earth roughly equaled twenty years here.

The Nineteen Continents, from which the spring water seeped, shared the exact same time variance with this world.

Earth and the Nineteen Continents were likely located within the same spatial dimension, both belonging to the Three Thousand Realms.

At the mention of her hometown, Xiang Haikui’s heart leapt into her throat.

She hurriedly asked, “You know so much about the Nineteen Continents—have you been there?”

If Yin Changli had a way to get to the Nineteen Continents, then going to Earth should be fairly easy, right?

“I’ve never been there. The world barrier is extremely difficult to breach.”

More importantly, Yin Changli had never bothered to study it.

“A long, long time ago, a supreme power from the neighboring Three Thousand Realms shattered the void, pierced through the world barrier, and came to our world. Only then did we learn that there was such a massive world system next door. Its level of development far exceeded ours, and its sheer scale was vast beyond anything this tiny speck of a world could compare to.”

It was through contact with this supreme power that the ancestors of the Shanhai Clan first recognized their own savagery. After much deliberation, they decided to abandon their primitive lifestyle, established various clan rules, and gradually aligned themselves with “civilization.”

The tip of the snake’s tail poked out from her sleeve, lightly sweeping across the Tiankuang sword scabbard.

“The three divine swords—Tiankuang, Tianbao, and Tianren—were brought over by him. Aside from those, there were other treasures and secret manuals on cultivation techniques…”

The more Xiang Haikui listened, the more amazed she became.

How did this supreme power sound like he was here on a poverty-alleviation mission?