"Hey, don't touch me like that!"
Yunli was happy at first when she felt Derick's hand on her belly. But as his hand lingered, she started to object.
"Your hand has been there too long. What if you hurt the baby?"
"Alright, alright, I'll put you down." Derick quickly carried Yunli into the room and placed her on the bed.
Throughout the whole process, Yunli had a satisfied smile.
Derick glanced at Yunli's bedside, where there was a pile of Qiongshi Bird skewers and other snacks.
Yunli noticed Derick looking at the snacks and blushed slightly. She then picked up a Qiongshi Bird skewers and put it in Derick's mouth.
"You should try the Qiongshi Bird skewers from the Zhuming Xianzhou. They're delicious," Yunli said as she fed him.
"They really are. Very sweet." Derick's eyes narrowed as he savored the sweet taste.
Yunli sat up cross-legged, happy that Derick liked the taste of the Qiongshi Bird skewers.
Then, Yunli looked at Derick and said softly, "Derick, I'm sorry for dragging you over here and messing up all your plans. I was going to find you after I dealt with the demon swords, but…"
She glanced down at her belly.
Seeing her like this, Derick gently pulled her into his embrace, letting her sit on his lap. He comforted her, "This just means that fate wanted us to meet sooner. It was all destined."
"Mhm, yes." Yunli leaned back against Derick's chest, adjusting herself into a comfortable position.
Lying in Derick's arms, Yunli's expression suddenly turned worried. She asked him, "Derick, do you think I can really be a good mother? I mean, considering my age, I…"
It was no wonder Yunli was worried. Although she was of legal age, she wasn't that old. In her grandfather Huaiyan's eyes, Yunli was still a child.
"It's okay. It's my first time too. We'll figure it out together. Besides, we're Emanators. We won't let our child suffer."
In truth, it wasn't just Yunli; Derick wasn't very old either.
In his past life, he was a shut-in not yet twenty, and now, after transmigrating, his physical age was only fourteen or fifteen. It was indeed too early for him to be a father.
He thought about it. In his previous world, his relationship with Yunli would be considered puppy love, without a doubt.
Fortunately, Derick was so powerful that he could make up for this immaturity.
"Mhm, you're right. It can't be that bad."
Yunli thought about it. With Derick's power, even if their child wasn't talented, there was still a safety net.
Besides, even if she and Derick didn't know how to raise a child, her grandfather was still around, wasn't he?
With her grandfather to teach them, their personality wouldn't be a problem or become twisted.
With these thoughts, Yunli's anxious heart calmed down considerably.
And as she relaxed, Yunli felt a wave of heat spread through her body as she lay in Derick's arms.
"Um, Derick…" Yunli whispered to him.
Seeing the look in Yunli's eyes, Derick knew she was feeling amorous again. But he quickly said to her, "Yunli, what about your current condition?"
That could really hurt the baby.
"Right…" Yunli also felt it was inappropriate, but after a moment's thought, she had a new idea.
"But we can still…"
As she spoke, she lifted her small, ice-cream-white feet, wiggling her ten toes deftly.
"Huh!?"
Derick froze.
Yunli leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Didn't you teach me this?"
As she spoke, her expression grew excited.
This feeling of teasing Derick was quite special.
Faced with Yunli's request, Derick naturally had no reason to refuse.
Are you kidding? If he refused now, Derick would start to wonder if there was something wrong with his own body.
---
"That kid Derick must be getting along well with Yunli."
Huaiyan thought to himself while handling official business.
Although he had complained endlessly about Derick before he met his granddaughter, now that they were together, Huaiyan still hoped they would get along smoothly.
This was probably the contradictory mindset of a grandfather.
As Huaiyan was pondering this, he suddenly felt a tremor.
"Hmm!?"
"What's going on!?"
"It's the Incandescent Emperor. There's a disturbance coming from its location."
Huaiyan instantly understood the problem.
The Zhuming Xianzhou imprisons the leader of the Heliobi, the [Incandescent Emperor], and continuously draws energy from it to develop the Zhuming.
However, the Incandescent Emperor is not willing to be suppressed and controlled.
While cooperating with the Xianzhou, it has been looking for an opportunity to break free from its bondage.
It wants freedom.
Sensing the disturbance from the Incandescent Emperor, Huaiyan quickly headed towards its prison.
This time, old General Huaiyan went full throttle, reaching his destination in no time.
A dim, circular grand hall.
Huaiyan strode quickly towards the depths of the hall.
Soon, he arrived in the depths of the hall. Standing on a walkway, Huaiyan could clearly see a massive ball of light beneath his feet.
The ball of light pulsed and shifted constantly, like a talking heart.
Huaiyan met the gaze of the light and instantly felt many unusual images appear in his mind.
—A "tree" of unimaginable size descends from the heavens, its branches piercing the starry sky.
—In the vacuum of space, ships glowing with the light of the sun and moon chased streams of fire like flying moths, swarming towards ever-changing flesh and winged, bird-like humanoids…
—In the sky, radiant warriors wielded spears, halberds, and longbows that spat fiery death. Every one of them seemed to have had their genes sculpted and selected, possessing strength and beauty that surpassed the Xianzhou people of today.
—Even more terrifying, they were cloaked in unnatural flames, as if the fire was a manifestation of their inner courage and rage. They charged again and again, one by one disappearing into the endless darkness, never to return…
---
Huaiyan knew these were all illusions created by the Incandescent Emperor.
These illusions would have a great effect on others.
But Huaiyan had dealt with the Incandescent Emperor for a thousand years and was experienced in handling them.
He quickly circulated energy through his body, dispelling the Incandescent Emperor's influence.
However, the seal around the Incandescent Emperor was now extremely loose.
It could break through at any moment, causing irreparable damage to the Zhuming Xianzhou.
Even Huaiyan himself had to be extremely careful.
After dispelling the influence, he looked to the side.
He saw a female Cloud Knight soldier and a Foxian girl cowering to the side, trembling.
It was noteworthy that the Foxian girl's tail was not a tail, but a mass of Heliobi.
"Is that the Foxian girl from the Ten-Lords Commission who came with Derick? I think her name is Huohuo…" Huaiyan thought to himself.
Looking at Huohuo, Huaiyan initially thought the seal on the Incandescent Emperor was failing because the Heliobus behind her was causing damage.
But after a closer look, Huaiyan realized he had misjudged the little girl.
She and the Heliobus on her were not showing any signs of damaging the seal. On the contrary, they were trying to use their energy to patch the holes in the seal as best they could.
Although Huohuo was indeed trembling with a terrified expression, she hadn't stopped her actions.
"Alright, little one, I'm here. You don't need to reinforce the seal anymore," Huaiyan said to Huohuo.
Seeing Huaiyan arrive, Huohuo felt a wave of relief.
General Huaiyan has arrived. The matter of the Incandescent Emperor should be resolved now.
The tail next to Huohuo also sighed in relief.
Just moments ago, they were touring the Xianzhou, led by a Zhuming Cloud Knight.
Cipher, Sparkle, and the others wanted to go exploring in some interesting places on the Zhuming Xianzhou.
Huohuo, being timid, decided to rest first and asked someone to take her back.
But before Huohuo could reach the inn to rest, Tail noticed signs of a disturbance from the nearby Incandescent Emperor.
Even though Tail was one of the Heliobi, it didn't want to see the Incandescent Emperor break free and endanger the Xianzhou.
So, Tail quickly notified Huohuo, telling her to go check on the Incandescent Emperor.
Although Huohuo was timid, she felt it was her duty to act in the face of the Xianzhou's crisis.
Mustering her courage, she came here with the female Cloud Knight soldier who was escorting her to check the situation and prepare to report it.
But before they could report it, the Incandescent Emperor's seal was about to break.
Seeing this, Huohuo had no time for anything else and could only work with Tail to try and reinforce the seal.
Just as they were about to fail, General Huaiyan arrived.
Huaiyan floated in mid-air, arriving beside the Incandescent Emperor.
"Stop!"
He unleashed the energy within his body, preparing to reinforce the Incandescent Emperor's seal.
However, just as Huaiyan infused his energy, another powerful force surged from the other side of the seal, clashing with the energy he released.
"Incandescent Emperor, you bastard, you've already broken the seal!"
Huaiyan said in surprise.
As he spoke in astonishment, a voice appeared in his mind.
Huaiyan knew it was the Incandescent Emperor's ability that was transmitting the voice into his mind.
"Yes. After having my energy drained by you for so long, how could I not make preparations? I deliberately created the illusion that the seal was about to break just to lure you here. Huaiyan, I will have my revenge for the grudge between us."
"So all these years, your cooperative attitude was just a pretense?" Huaiyan asked the Incandescent Emperor.
The Incandescent Emperor admitted freely: "That's right. You're not wrong. How could I willingly contribute my energy to you Xianzhou people!? I was just waiting for the right moment to gain complete freedom and utterly destroy your Zhuming Xianzhou."
Hearing this, Huaiyan secretly increased his power output.
Sensing Huaiyan's power output, the Incandescent Emperor said to him, "I am already free. You'd better think carefully before you unleash your power. If something happens to the Zhuming Xianzhou by accident, your responsibility will be greater than mine."
Huaiyan's expression changed slightly.
In the past, the Zhuming Xianzhou had developed much faster by using the energy from the Incandescent Emperor's body.
However, this also created a hidden danger, making the Zhuming Xianzhou's power supply heavily dependent on it.
Now that the Incandescent Emperor had broken free, it was holding the Zhuming Xianzhou hostage.
If the Incandescent Emperor ran rampant, it would truly have a massive impact on the Zhuming Xianzhou.
If they could find a random spot in the universe for a decisive battle, Huaiyan would have an eighty percent chance of winning.
But with the Zhuming Xianzhou here, it had become a restraint on him.
So, Huaiyan had no choice but to adjust the direction of his energy output.
He shifted from attacking the Incandescent Emperor to containing it, preventing it from moving recklessly.
Sensing the change in Huaiyan's output, the Incandescent Emperor was overjoyed.
This was perfect.
As long as Huaiyan continued to expend his power like this, the Incandescent Emperor had a chance of defeating him.
So, it began to attack Huaiyan's encirclement from all sides.
By concentrating its attacks on single points, it intended to overwhelm Huaiyan's defenses.
And Huaiyan, feeling the Incandescent Emperor's attacks, his expression grew increasingly grave.
---
Meanwhile, Derick was gently wiping Yunli's small feet with a towel.
The thick towel enveloped a pair of snow-white feet, leaving only ten red-painted toes exposed.
Derick applied a little pressure, and the sole of her foot immediately arched into the shape of a half-moon.
"You rascal, you're always messing around!" Yunli glared at Derick and grumbled.
Derick looked at Yunli, speechless.
I was lying still the whole time. Don't you know who was messing around?
Just as he was about to say something, Derick instantly felt the vibrations from the battle between the Incandescent Emperor and Huaiyan.
Derick and Yunli looked at each other, sensing that something was wrong.
"These fluctuations… from that direction… it seems to be where the Incandescent Emperor is sealed," Yunli said to Derick after considering the location.
"Could the Incandescent Emperor's seal have been broken?" Yunli said, alarmed and suspicious.
"I don't know, but for the safety of the Zhuming Xianzhou, we should go take a look."
Derick was also worried something might happen to the Zhuming Xianzhou.
He then looked at Yunli and said, "I'll take you somewhere safe first, then I'll go check it out."
As for where it was safe, it was by Acheron's side, of course.
If anyone could harm Yunli while she was with Acheron, Derick would be truly impressed.
"Okay."
Yunli nodded.
Although she really wanted to go with Derick to see what was happening with the Incandescent Emperor, she knew her current strength was insufficient.
If she went, she would only cause trouble for Derick and hold him back.
At the same time, with a child in her belly, Yunli didn't want her baby to be in danger.
After taking a few steps with Derick, Yunli suddenly realized where Derick was taking her to find a safe place.
If the Incandescent Emperor was causing trouble, and Derick was talking about a "safe" place, it could only mean being with the other girls who also liked him.
Thinking of this, Yunli shot Derick a glare.
But she didn't say anything.
In the current situation, safety was what mattered most.
______
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