Ji Hongli burst out from the void, and the sky before her suddenly opened up. A gentle breeze brushed against her newly grown dragon horns on her forehead, making them itch slightly. She couldn't resist reaching up to touch them.
"Oh, the Dragon Lady has emerged?"
A clear female voice came from above. Ji Hongli looked up to see Lin Wan lazily leaning on a cloud in mid-air, her white robe fluttering in the wind. Her eyes sparkled with amusement. As Ji Hongli appeared, her figure flashed and she landed before her, her gaze fixed intently on the pair of crystalline jade-like little dragon horns on her forehead.
"This is what you look like after becoming a dragon?" Lin Wan asked, her interest piqued as she reached out. "Let me see—"
"Slap!"
Her hand had barely touched the tip of a horn before Ji Hongli slapped it away.
"Don't touch them," Ji Hongli's ears flushed red as she glared at her. "They're sensitive."
Lin Wan retracted her hand but grinned even wider. "Oh? How sensitive?"
Ji Hongli ignored her with a light snort. Lin Wan didn't press the matter, her gaze sweeping over her. Seeing her full aura and contained dragon might, she knew this trip had been bountiful. As for the battle details—looking at her like this, was there even a need to ask?
Just then, the void suddenly rippled. A middle-aged man in a dark robe stepped out of the air, his face stern and his eyes like deep pools, an ancient and vast aura surrounding him. However, his complexion was somewhat pale and his aura felt a bit unstable, clearly not at his peak.
The two exchanged a glance and instantly understood, bowing in unison. "Greetings, Senior Candle Dragon."
The Candle Dragon gave a slight nod but bowed first to the two of them with solemnity. "I should be the one thanking you. If not for your help, this regret might never have been mended."
Ji Hongli shook her head. "You're too kind, Senior. We benefited greatly from this journey as well."
The Candle Dragon's gaze swept over the dragon horns on her forehead, a flicker of approval in his eyes. "Your dragon transformation is complete. Excellent."
Lin Wan smiled and cupped her hands. "All thanks to Senior's blessing."
After a few pleasantries, the Candle Dragon suddenly said, "I just sensed that you sent some people into a small world?"
Lin Wan was startled for a moment before nodding. "Yes, it's a spiritual realm I've opened, still imperfect."
The Candle Dragon pondered for a moment. "I owe you a debt. Let me help you complete the final laws of that world."
Lin Wan's eyes lit up. "You're willing to help? That's wonderful!"
She immediately opened the entrance to the spiritual realm. The Candle Dragon gazed at it for a moment before suddenly exhaling a breath.
This breath seemed ordinary, yet it caused the Candle Dragon's already unstable aura to weaken further. Within the spiritual realm, heaven and earth were turned upside down in an instant—
The day-and-night cycle that Lin Wan had created with her magic dissipated, replaced by the true rising of the sun and the moon, and the rotation of the stars.
The four seasons naturally manifested: spring winds bringing rain, summer thunder rumbling, autumn frost forming, and winter snow flying.
The twenty-four solar terms circulated endlessly, and the laws of heaven and earth were completely perfected.
Lin Wan closed her eyes, sensing it in awe. "This is what a true world is like..."
Ji Hongli also showed a look of amazement. That single breath from the Candle Dragon had directly bestowed the spiritual realm with a complete heavenly cycle! From now on, this small world would no longer depend on its master's power to sustain itself; it could operate on its own, endlessly.
"Thank you, Senior!" The two said in unison.
The Candle Dragon waved his hand. "It was nothing. If we are destined to meet again, farewell."
Before his words had fully faded, his figure had already vanished like smoke.
Lin Wan retracted the spiritual realm, turned to look at Ji Hongli, and blinked: "Now, shouldn't we find a place to properly study just how sensitive your dragon horns are?"
Ji Hongli gave her a massive eye roll.
The two of them laughed and teased each other as they transformed into streams of light and departed.
Behind them, the entrance to the secret realm slowly closed.
Inside the secret realm—
The once shattered Mount Mang of the ancient era had vanished, replaced by a grand and ancient dragon clan hall. Inside the hall, golden pillars coiled with dragons, bright pearls illuminated the space, and above the dome, stars rotated as if the entire night sky had been captured within the hall.
Zhu Weiyang—once the Peony Immortal—now stood in the center of the great hall. Her plain clothes had been replaced by an ink-black long dress, the hem embroidered with dark golden dragon patterns. There were no longer any floral ornaments in her hair, only an ebony hairpin slanted through her bun. Her eyes remained as cold as they were back then, but there was less arrogance and more realization.
She looked around, her fingertips lightly touching the ancient dragon patterns on the hall pillars, and suddenly understood something.
"So that's how it is..."
She murmured softly, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly. It turned out that all of this was a dream her father had created by reversing time and space, to make up for past regrets.
The hall doors silently opened, and the Candle Dragon slowly walked in. His aura was much weaker than before, and his complexion was slightly pale, but his eyes held unconcealable joy.
"Father."
Zhu Weiyang called out softly. This single call made the Candle Dragon's figure tremble slightly. He couldn't remember how many years it had been since his daughter last called him that. Since her mother's death, she had angrily defected to the Heavenly Court in a fit of rage, and father and daughter had become strangers.
Now that she was willing to call him "Father" again, no matter how great the price, it was worth it.
"Weiyang..."
The Candle Dragon was about to speak when he saw a flash of light in Zhu Weiyang's eyes, and she suddenly said: "Father, I want to go find her."
"Who?" The Candle Dragon was stunned.
"Ji Hongli." A trace of determination appeared in Zhu Weiyang's eyes, "She saved me, and I have already given my heart to her."
The Candle Dragon was struck as if by lightning, his entire body freezing in place. His voice trembling, he said: "You... do you know that she, like you, is a girl?"
"I know." Zhu Weiyang nodded as if it were the most natural thing, her eyes even carrying a hint of confusion, "But so what? Isn't Lin Wan, who is with her, also a girl?"
The Candle Dragon opened his mouth but was momentarily speechless. He suddenly recalled the two girls he had seen outside the secret realm earlier—standing together, they certainly did...
"But she already has a dao companion."
"Men... women taking three wives and four concubines, what's wrong with that?"
His vision went black, and he nearly lost his footing.
At this moment, Chen Chang'an (Lin Wan), who was already tens of thousands of miles away, suddenly sneezed, an inexplicable chill running down her back.
She rubbed her nose and muttered: "Strange, who's talking about me?"
At this moment, she still had no idea just how much trouble she had brought back with her.
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