Chapter 109 Chapter 109 "Your vision is really getting worse and worse...

Fuxu, who always wears black, broke with his usual style today and wore a dark blue robe.

On the contrary, Lan Qi, who Jiu Zhao had always admired, was adorned with a dark jade crown and a black frost robe. He was calm and composed, not even slightly like a defeated opponent.

No one informed Jiu Zhao that the Divine Emperor would be waiting at the entrance to the barrier, and she never expected to run into Fu Xu and Lan Qi there.

In most cases, encounters in this world always come unexpectedly.

The moment he looked over, no emotions of love or hate emerged in Jiu Zhao's mind.

She only felt that although the two people were right in front of her, they seemed as if separated by a huge chasm.

On the other side of the chasm, concrete human events were twisted into abstract symbols, representing her lost, naive past.

On this side of the chasm lies the present that is in her hands, and the future that she can still choose.

The emergence of this thought made Jiu Zhao's slightly dazed pupils silently regain clarity.

Yes, they, and my younger self, are already in the past.

And constantly looking back at the past is often the most meaningless thing.

Everyone can only look forward.

We also have to look forward.

After all, even a powerful being like a god cannot reverse time.

After saying "long time no see," Jiu Zhao turned her gaze back to where the Divine Emperor was. Seeing his face, just as Zhu Yan had said, full of energy, she let out a reassuring smile. Then, her expression quickly calmed, and she bowed deeply to the Divine Emperor, respectfully calling out, "Your son has returned, and I greet Father God."

Her meticulous salute dispelled the tense atmosphere in front of the barrier.

Then, except for her, the God Emperor and Lan Qi, everyone knelt with their arms clasped together, performed the full ceremony, and shouted "Greetings to Her Majesty the Goddess."

This also includes Zhu Yan.

Their hands, which had been tightly clasped together along the way, separated because of this.

Lan Qi's calm gaze swept across Jiu Zhao, glancing down at the young man kneeling beside her. He then said politely, "It seems that Her Highness the Divine Princess has not only successfully completed the mission entrusted to her by the Divine Emperor, but has also found a solution to another major life event. This is truly cause for celebration."

Jiu Zhao raised his hand and said, "Stand up."

Facing Lan Qi's gaze, she stood a little closer to Zhu Yan's position and, as a matter of course, clasped their fingers together again. "It's natural. A thousand years have passed since my 30,000-year-old coming-of-age ceremony. I'm no longer a child. It's always right to start a family first and then a career."

She openly acknowledged Zhu Yan's identity, and the Divine Emperor nodded and said, "Zhao'er, it's good that you and A'Yan have returned. Ye Zun is also enthusiastic by nature. Upon hearing that you had returned to report on your duties, he didn't want to wait in Ziwei Palace, so he insisted on coming here with me to welcome you."

Ye Zun is Lan Qi’s official title, which means “the supreme being born from the tempering of karmic fire.”

The word "demon" is the opposite of immortal and is inherently lowly in meaning. It is just a derogatory term used by immortals behind their backs.

Jiu Zhao also followed suit with a polite bow, saying, "Father God and Ye Zun are so concerned about me. I am deeply grateful for your concern."

…

When everyone was present and Jiu Zhao finished reporting to the Divine Office, the Divine Emperor held a welcoming banquet in Xuanji Palace.

The most honorable seat on the left side of his seat was assigned to Lan Qi, who came from afar.

Jiu Zhao sat on the right side, and when the banquet began, he ordered people to move Zhu Yan's seat to the place closest to him.

Seeing this, the God Emperor just smiled and joked.

His tacit agreement made the immortals look at Zhu Yan with even more different expressions.

The banquet was filled with the clinking of glasses and the guests toasted each other, creating an atmosphere of a night without sleep.

Amidst the noise of orchestral music and laughter, Fuxu sat below Lan Qi, sipping the wine from the jade cup with his eyes fixed on a certain point, and occasionally, when he saw gods and several demon envoys coming to toast him, he would raise his head and drink without saying a word.

When Jiu Zhao heard that he was seriously injured, he looked at him carefully for a moment.

But there didn't seem to be any signs of serious injury on his body.

Since it wasn't obvious on the surface, she simply stopped bothering herself and turned around to deal with another group of guests who arrived with their glasses raised.

She knew that she could not drink much, so she asked the maid to bring her a mandarin duck wine pot. She turned the mechanism so that one side contained wine and the other side contained water.

The banquet lasted a long time, and Jiu Zhao accepted every toast, drinking cup after cup, remaining lucid and conscious. During her years of seclusion, she had been overwhelmed with paperwork and government affairs, and under the guidance of her teachers, she had matured considerably, no longer possessing the arrogant and domineering demeanor she once had.

From the mutual love between him and Zhu Yan to the complete transformation of his personality and vision.

The immortals saw her transformation, and the thoughts hidden under their tongues changed again.

Among them, the happiest one was the God Emperor. In the past, when he heard his subjects praising Jiu Zhao, he knew it was just flattery and ingratiation, so he didn't say much. But today, he changed his reserved attitude and frequently took the initiative to speak out his praise, with a sense of pride that he was honored.

There is no child who does not want his or her parents to be proud of him or her.

Jiu Zhao's cheeks were flushed, and when she drank with the God Emperor, she also replaced the liquid in the cup with immortal wine.

Drink three cups in a row to express the sincere joy in your heart for fulfilling the entrustment entrusted by God the Father.

…

When the moon was high in the middle of the night and all things were asleep, the party finally ended.

Although they had officially announced their relationship, they had not yet gotten married, so it was inconvenient for them to go out together. Zhu Yan said goodbye and left first.

Jiu Zhao strolled around the garden of Xuanji Palace for a while to get rid of the smell of alcohol, but then remembered that he still had things to do, so he returned to the palace to look for the God Emperor.

But the timing was inappropriate.

The fairy maid cleaning the hall told her that half an incense stick ago, the God Emperor bid farewell to the last remaining demon envoy, and now he has gone to rest.

Jiu Zhao had no choice but to hurry to the bedroom.

Within the God Emperor's living quarters, strict restrictions are enforced, and no one, regardless of status or rank, is allowed to use magic at will.

Since Jiu Zhao had awakened and wanted to change the outside world's view of him, he honestly chose to walk on his own two legs.

However, the two places were far apart, and by the time they arrived at the God Emperor's bedroom, it was already much later at night. The leading immortal official Dan Deng was standing outside the door to keep watch.

Seeing Jiu Zhao, she was slightly surprised: "Your Highness, why are you here?"

"Aunt Danxuan, is Father God in there?"

Jiu Zhao asked as he pushed the door open and tried to enter.

Dan Deng embraced him again, "Your Highness, the Emperor is taking a bath and preparing to rest. He's been busy with battles these past few days. After defeating the demon soldiers, he's now dealing with the peace talks between the two tribes and subsequent issues. He's been working day and night, and is very tired. If there's nothing urgent, would you please come and see me tomorrow?"

Immortals are not as troublesome as humans, especially high-level immortals, who are endowed with magical powers and spells. Sleeping, bathing, and eating are not necessary.

Jiu Zhao had been with the God Emperor for many years and knew that he would only take a bath to relax when he was extremely tired.

She didn't force her way in. After a few moments of hesitation, she asked Dan Deng, "On my way back, I heard Yan Lang mention that Father God had been overworked recently, so I decided to come overnight to ask about Father God. Since you said that Father God couldn't see me, I'll ask you a few questions. Is Father God in good health?"

"The doctor often comes to check the emperor's pulse and says that the emperor is not seriously ill, just tired, and will be fine after more rest."

Dan Deng didn't think much about it. After answering Jiu Zhao's question, he looked at her with satisfaction, as if he was looking at a child who had finally grown up.

After a few more questions and finding nothing unusual, Jiu Zhao turned around and said goodbye.

The pace of returning was much slower than the pace of coming.

Jiu Zhao was not sleepy at all. She walked while thinking slowly.

There was Zhu Yan in front and Dan Zhao behind.

None of them noticed anything unusual about God the Father.

Moreover, he had personally verified that the confusion, madness, and unconsciousness described by Wu Zhu after being poisoned by the slow poison did not occur.

The visible haggardness was nothing more than the result of the war and the hard work of government affairs.

Jiu Zhao felt more and more that he had fallen into Wu Zhu's trap.

In fact, the God Emperor was not poisoned, but the inner demon that was born could not be eliminated.

It was a mixture of too many unspeakable dark sides from her cognition.

Unconsciously, Jiu Zhao fell deeper and deeper into difficult thoughts.

She was distracted as she walked around a clump of swaying bushes, but because she didn't stop in time, she bumped into a figure appearing from the other side.

When facing a hard chest, the tip of the nose is always the first to feel pain.

Jiu Zhao groaned, his drooping eyelashes blurring the scene before his eyes, and all that remained was his body stumbling backwards unconsciously.

The moment her knees gave way, the person she had collided with stretched out his left hand in time to grab her elbow.

Jiu Zhao was held in his arms in a position that was almost like hugging her, so that she would not fall and make a fool of herself.

The pain in her nose dominated her consciousness. Jiu Zhao didn't notice how ambiguous their postures were. She used the other person's arm to relax for a moment, and the pain subsided. She said vaguely, "Thank you very much. It's my fault that I was lost in thought and didn't notice you turning out. You didn't—"

It's important.

Replacing the unfinished meaning, four big words appeared before my eyes.

Enemies often meet on a narrow road.

Jiu Zhao's breath was disturbed by the mask of the goddess Duan Chi covering his face.

She slapped away the hand that was supporting her elbow, took a big step back, and fled from Lan Qi's arms.

It was not until they returned to a safe distance that Jiu Zhao's expression, which had been changing slightly, regained its composure.

She took a deep breath, raised her eyes, and asked calmly, "Why are you here in the dead of night instead of going to rest?"

However, the other party who was supposed to answer covered his mouth with his sleeves and silently twisted the fingertips that were touching hers.

The pupils that had never flickered were raised quietly.

Under the moonlight, all that can be seen are the light red lips and the cold white skin.

The contrast is too sharp, like a dream or a demon.

Large patches of skin particles appeared on the back of Jiuzhao's neck for no reason.

"From the Supreme God Fuxu to a Nine-tailed Fox Clan bastard, your vision is really regressing."

The demon-like young man half opened his lips and uttered a mocking remark.