"Mother, I'm leaving first."
A handsome young man stood within a teleportation array, waving goodbye to a beautiful woman. The youth was exceptionally handsome with an outstanding aura—like a peerless jade among men, a young master without equal in the world.
The beautiful woman wore loose, flowing robes that had become disheveled, revealing glimpses of her magnificent figure and snow-white skin that shimmered in the sunlight. She was breathtakingly beautiful—willow-leaf eyebrows, almond eyes, cherry lips, high chest, slender waist, and shapely hips. Truly an extraordinary beauty.
The woman walked forward and gently stroked the young man's face, instructing him: "Fan'er, this time the clan ancestors have calculated that an Ancestral Dragon opportunity is about to emerge in the lower realm. Although I don't understand why such a treasure would appear in that barbaric place, but you must seize it by all means. This is extremely important for your future. I've arranged everything—return quickly."
Gu Fan took his mother's delicate hand, wrapped his arm around her slender waist, and pulled her into his embrace with a smile. "I just satisfied you thoroughly last night. What's this? Already feeling empty at the thought of not seeing me for a while?"
The beautiful woman didn't resist her son's impropriety, pressing against him intimately. "I wouldn't miss you, you little troublemaker. With you gone, I can finally rest for a few days and handle court affairs. Since you arrived, I've been absent from court for so long, spending all day in bed. If this continues, those ministers will submit death petitions!"
Gu Fan's hands wandered freely over his mother's body, enjoying her perfect physique. He lifted her delicate chin and said with amusement: "They probably wouldn't even dream that the Moonfall Empress is actually a woman who engages in such forbidden acts with her own son, would they? Hahaha!"
"Hmph~ Aren't you afraid of divine retribution? You're the one who turned me into this!"
Su Qingyue glared at her son playfully, swatting away his wandering hand, then gently pushed him away and adjusted her robes. "Stop fooling around. Hurry up and depart. You haven't even started playing yet and you're already going to the lower realm. With your status, all the women there are yours for the taking. If you see some you like, bring them back as concubines or maids."
"Mother is the most beautiful woman in the world. With such a beauty, how could any other girl possibly catch my eye?"
Being praised by her son, Su Qingyue was genuinely pleased, covering her mouth with a soft laugh. "Such smooth talk! I'm your mother, after all. Don't be like that useless father of yours. My son is so outstanding—naturally there should be women around you. After all, I have no way to be with you publicly."
Gu Fan touched his nose. The "useless father" his mother mentioned was actually Gu Tianxing, Patriarch of the Ancient Gu Clan—one of the immortal families in the Great Heavenly Dao Domain. Known as the Gu Emperor, invincible among his peers, he was a terrifying existence who suppressed an entire era, making even the geniuses of his time unable to breathe.
Due to an incident many years ago, Gu Tianxing and Su Qingyue had grown estranged, rarely contacting each other. They only occasionally heard about each other's current situation through Gu Fan.
"Well then, Mother, I'm going."
"Mm. Be careful on your journey. I'll have someone accompany you to protect your safety."
As if noticing something, Gu Fan glanced at his own shadow briefly, said nothing more, and after sharing a deep, lingering kiss with his mother, stepped into the teleportation array. He transformed into a beam of light and vanished before the beautiful woman's eyes.
Su Qingyue's cheeks flushed pink. Her delicate hand reached into her inner robes and touched herself, then withdrew—covered with moisture. She sighed softly: "What a little troublemaker, only knowing how to bully me."
After speaking, a gentle smile appeared on her face. In truth, from her son's caresses and that final passionate kiss, Su Qingyue had already become thoroughly aroused. She had simply been enduring it—otherwise Gu Fan probably wouldn't have been able to leave.
Su Qingyue raised her jade-like hand. In an instant, her ordinary robes transformed into deep crimson imperial regalia embroidered with the sun, moon, mountains, rivers, and a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix. She donned the imperial crown, and a powerful aura of sovereignty erupted forth. In that moment, Su Qingyue once again became the supreme ruler—the empress whose anger caused blood to flow for thousands of miles, who commanded billions of living beings, the Moonfall Empress.
"Court is in session!"
Like a phoenix's cry, her voice spread throughout the entire Moonfall Empire. Upon hearing the summons, ministers everywhere hurriedly prepared their horses and rushed to the imperial palace. One minister who had been intimately engaged with his wife immediately abandoned everything upon hearing "court is in session" and rushed to the palace.
For many days, the Moonfall Empress had been absent from court, not inquiring about state affairs. This had caused the ministers to complain and grumble daily, with memorial petitions piling up like mountains in their homes.
A nation cannot be without a ruler for even a day. Yet Su Qingyue had directly suspended court, completely ignoring state affairs, devoting herself entirely to palace matters with her son. The Moonfall Empire and national affairs—all were insignificant before her son's presence.
...
Lower Realm - Celestial Sword Sacred Land
Above the massive plaza of the Celestial Sword Sacred Land, over ten thousand disciples of the Holy Land had gathered. At the center of the plaza stood the most important figures—the Sect Master, the Grand Elders, and even some ancestors whose vitality had declined had emerged from seclusion and were waiting there.
The disciples, who had never witnessed such a grand spectacle, were all puzzled. What kind of important figure would be worthy of such treatment, causing even the ancestors to emerge from seclusion to greet them?
The Celestial Sword Sacred Land was the most powerful force in the Heavenly Wound Realm. Even if ancestors from other major powers came here, they wouldn't merit such a grand reception.
The Heavenly Wound Realm was what the inhabitants of this lower realm called their world. The lower realm wasn't simply one place—of course, people from the Great Heavenly Dao Domain collectively referred to these smaller worlds as "lower realms."
"Senior Brother Liu, do you know who we're waiting for?"
"I don't know either. I've been in the Sacred Land for a hundred years, and I've never seen anything like this before."
"From what I see, this must be an extremely important person!"
"Of course, you idiot!" The crowd glared at the speaker.
At that very moment, the ancestor who had been meditating with closed eyes suddenly opened them wide and whispered: "They've arrived!"
As soon as the words were spoken, seven-colored pillars of light crashed down from above with tremendous force, nearly knocking the surrounding disciples to the ground. Those with lower cultivation couldn't even stand firm.
Seeing this, the Holy Master of the Celestial Sword Sacred Land frowned slightly. His spiritual power erupted, lifting all the disciples who had fallen, and he shouted: "All of you stand firm! What kind of useless bunch are you!"
The pillars of light dissipated, revealing a white-robed youth standing in the plaza. His white robes billowed in the wind with transcendent elegance—not a single speck of dust or leaf touched his body. A hint of melancholy graced his brows, and a faint smile played on his lips, a smile of enigmatic meaning.
"Heavens! How can there be such a handsome and dashing young master in this world?" Several female disciples were completely smitten the moment they laid eyes on Gu Fan.
"He's so handsome, my legs have gone weak!"
"I've never seen such a handsome young man before. 'Peerless as jade, a young master without equal in the world'—this phrase was made to describe him!"
Gu Fan's appearance drove the female disciples of the Celestial Sword Sacred Land into a frenzy. Compared to Gu Fan, they instantly felt that all the senior and junior brothers in the Sacred Land were nothing but worthless trash.
This made the male disciples' jaws drop to the ground. Their normally aloof and cold senior sisters now resembled infatuated maidens, behaving shamelessly before this stranger, practically throwing themselves at him.
An ancestor from the Celestial Sword Sacred Land approached Gu Fan, bowed respectfully, and declared loudly: "We welcome the esteemed Young Master to our Celestial Sword Sacred Land. We feel immensely honored!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the originally somewhat noisy disciples instantly fell silent. Many of them had never even seen this ancestor before, but they had seen his portrait in the Sacred Land's worship hall—he was the oldest and highest-ranking ancestor of the Celestial Sword Sacred Land!
This gave the disciples new insights into Gu Fan's identity. If even their oldest ancestor had to bow and pay respects, what did that make them?
Gu Fan glanced at the old man before him and said: "Your vital energy is depleted. If you had stayed honestly in your coffin, you could have lived a few more months. Now, forcing yourself out of seclusion, you'll only have a few days left. Is it worth it?"
The Celestial Sword Ancestor bowed his head, not daring to look at Gu Fan's face, and said: "To be able to personally welcome Young Master, losing a few days of life is nothing."
"Flattery, well done." Gu Fan smiled without quite smiling.
But the Celestial Sword Ancestor became anxious. "Young Master~ Every word this old one speaks comes from the bottom of my heart. There's no flattery in it whatsoever!"
"Very well. I'm not some man-eating demon after all. There's no need for such formality. Here, this is your reward."
Gu Fan took out a yellow pill and tossed it to the Celestial Sword Ancestor. After receiving it, the ancestor looked at the yellow pill in his hand with a puzzled expression. Despite his vast experience, he couldn't recognize what kind of pill it was.
"This is a Dragon Origin Pill. If you take it, you can break through to the Soul Transformation Realm. It can even allow you to live another lifetime."
This was a pill refined in the Great Heavenly Dao Domain. Naturally, barbarians in a lower realm like this wouldn't recognize it. When the Celestial Sword Ancestor heard that it could help him break through to the Soul Transformation Realm, his murky eyes lit up with radiance, and his hands trembled as he held the precious pill.
"This old one thanks Young Master!" He immediately wanted to kneel, but Gu Fan extended his hand to stop him.
"You're already old. Before all these disciples and grand-disciples, this grand ceremony should be waived."
"Good, good." The Celestial Sword Ancestor looked at Gu Fan with tremendous gratitude.
The disciples of the Celestial Sword Sacred Land were quite far away and couldn't hear the conversation between Gu Fan and the ancestor, but they watched as their oldest and most powerful ancestor kept nodding and bowing to this young man, almost kneeling down. Such a scene greatly shocked these disciples, and they felt awe and even fear regarding Gu Fan's identity.
"Young Master, our Celestial Sword Sacred Land has a total of 17,231 disciples. We all welcome you," the Holy Master, who had been waiting behind, stepped forward to say.
"17,231 people? Then why are there only 17,230 here?" Gu Fan remarked casually.
The Holy Master's body trembled, his face showing signs of panic. Beside him, the Celestial Sword Ancestor also wore a grim expression. They had received notification from the upper realm several days earlier, instructing all disciples to wait here. Now one person was missing!
The Celestial Sword Ancestor's divine sense spread out, and after a long while, he confirmed the number of disciples present. The result was exactly as Gu Fan had said—there were indeed only 17,230 people. One person short!
"No matter. First take me to my residence. I'm a bit tired."
"Yes, Young Master, please follow me."
The Holy Master and the ancestor hurriedly led Gu Fan to the most luxurious and comfortable palace in the Celestial Sword Sacred Land. Watching Gu Fan's figure disappear, both the Holy Master and the ancestor breathed sighs of relief.
The Celestial Sword Ancestor was no longer as subservient as when facing Gu Fan. He straightened his back, his sharp gaze fixed on the Holy Master, and asked: "What happened? Why is one person missing?"
The Holy Master wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I... I don't know either. I clearly gave proper orders."
"Hmph! It's fortunate the Young Master didn't take offense. If he had, our entire Celestial Sword Sacred Land would have been annihilated. Don't use this excuse again next time. I'm going into seclusion. Remember—even if the Young Master orders you to die, you must die before him without hesitation! Understand?"
"Yes! I understand!" The Holy Master quickly replied.
After everyone had left, a flash of anger appeared on the Holy Master's face. He called out: "Someone come! Go investigate for me! I want to see exactly who didn't show up!"
...
Author's Note:
Cultivation Realms
1) Mortal Body
2) Qi Refinement
3) Marrow Cleansing
4) Mysterious Core
5) Spirit Condensation
6) Soul Transformation
7) Return to One
8) ???