Ten thousand miles away from Emerald Bamboo Mountain, a grand city stands here, the capital of the Great Gan Dynasty, Zhuxing City.
Zhuxing City, named after the continent, is the political, economic, and cultural center of the Zhuxing Continent. It has a population of nearly 100 million, and the Daqian Imperial Palace is located within Zhuxing City, making it a city within a city.
The Hall of All Stars was the palace in the Great Gan Imperial Palace where the emperor held court and handled official business.
The magnificent hall was quiet at this moment. In the center of the hall knelt a figure dressed in black with a white mask on his face.
"So they hid in such a faraway place, no wonder I couldn't find them all these years." A gentle voice came from above the hall, and it was a woman speaking.
"Yes, we searched for five years before finally discovering their whereabouts by chance from a bamboo shoot gatherer. However, we did not disturb them and immediately returned to the capital," the man in black said in a deep voice.
"Hmm, well done. Don't disturb them. Sigh, after hiding from me for so many years, you've finally found me." The woman sighed softly.
"Black One".
"Your humble servant is here."
"I'm planning a trip. What do you suggest I prepare?"
A figure slowly appeared, a woman with stunning beauty, tall and slender, with an oval face, a red headband, her hair piled high, a golden phoenix crown adorned with a pair of dragon hairpins, and a strand of hair hanging down her back. She wore a golden dragon robe, which was gorgeous and noble, highlighting her sexy and beautiful temperament, but her every move revealed a ruthless and decisive nature.
The man in black, named Hei Yi, quickly lowered his head.
"Your Majesty, this matter must be handled with care."
"What I need are suggestions, not opinions." A chilling aura suddenly descended, and Hei Yi was almost forced to the ground by its pressure.
"This humble servant knows his mistake," Hei Yi quickly replied.
"snort…"
The woman was none other than the Great Gan Emperor, and the only female emperor in the Great Gan's thousands of years of history, Lin Linglong, also known as Empress Linglong.
"Alright, you may leave. Remember, I will be leaving the capital in three days," the Empress said.
"Yes, sir, I will arrange it immediately." Upon hearing this, Hei Yi felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and quickly stood up and left with his head bowed.
After the person left, the Empress gently waved her hand.
A figure appeared in front of him in an instant; it was a woman in white.
"Greetings, Your Majesty," the woman said respectfully.
Looking at the newcomer, a hint of tenderness appeared in Empress Linglong's eyes.
"I've said it so many times, when there are no outsiders, we call each other sisters."
"Xiaoxiao wouldn't dare," the woman said.
"Fine, do as you please!" The Empress said with a hint of helplessness.
"You heard what Black One just said, right?"
"I heard you," the woman replied.
"Ten years. The old man has been hiding from me for ten years. I've finally found him." Empress Lingling narrowed her eyes slightly, a hint of dissatisfaction on her face.
"Get up," the Empress continued.
Upon hearing this, the woman slowly stood up.
“What happened back then was not Your Majesty’s fault. Your Majesty need not worry about it. It was that person’s own choice,” the woman said.
"That person? He's your brother, and you call him that?" the Empress said with a smile.
"My heart belongs only to His Majesty," the woman said. It turned out the woman's name was Lin Xiaoxiao.
"Sigh, if I had insisted on not letting him go back then, maybe he wouldn't have died..."
"Xiaoxiao, am I cold-blooded? I knew he was facing a nine-out-of-ten chance of death, yet I still didn't stop him, and even secretly hoped he would go." The Empress gave a self-deprecating laugh.
“Your Majesty, even if he doesn’t go, someone else will. His life is no different from anyone else’s. Besides…” Lin Xiaoxiao paused here.
"And what else?" the Empress asked.
"Besides, His Majesty has always kept him in his heart all these years, and that's enough," Lin Xiaoxiao said softly.
Upon hearing this, the Empress's expression turned slightly sad, and her eyes became somewhat unfocused, as if she were recalling something.
Both of them fell silent.
"You should come with me too. It's been ten years since we last met. He is, after all, your father," the Empress said after a long silence.
Lin Xiaoxiao raised her head to look at the Empress, her eyes filled with respect.
"Yes," Lin Xiaoxiao said softly.
Inside the Taoist temple on Green Bamboo Mountain, a beautiful little house has been added to the vegetable garden that the old man used to grow vegetables.
The crowd curiously circled the house.
"Master, how did you do that? How did a room appear with just a wave of your hand?" Zhu Zhu asked curiously.
"It cannot be said, it cannot be said," Li Daoyi said mysteriously.
"Mengmeng, come down quickly." At this moment, Xiaolongnu called out to Mengmeng, who had climbed onto the roof.
"No, Taoist brother, I want to go inside and play," Mengmeng said coquettishly.
Helpless, Li Daoyi could only beckon Mengmeng into his hand and grab the little girl by the back of her collar as he headed towards the Mental Time Chamber.
Upon reaching the door, Li Daoyi turned to the crowd and spoke.
"Come and see for yourselves, you'll be absolutely amazed," Li Daoyi said with a smile.
"Awoo..."
Little Black was the first to jump to the doorway, wagging its tail obediently.
Li Daoyi slowly pushed open the door, and a beam of white light emanated from inside.
"Heave-ho." The little girl Mengmeng disappeared instantly from Li Daoyi's grasp, and in the blink of an eye, she jumped in with Xiao Hei.
Li Daoyi shook his head and went inside, and the others quickly followed.
After the initial discomfort from the white light, an enormous white plaza appeared before them. The plaza seemed infinitely large, with a mirror-like white surface. Mengmeng and Xiaohei were seen running happily inside.
"Whoosh..."
Then a sound came from behind them.
"Oh dear, Master, the door is gone!" Zhu Zhu exclaimed in surprise. The door through which they had entered had vanished.
"Your Excellency, how come this place is so big? It looks so small from the outside," Old Man Lin Xuan exclaimed in shock.
Dongfang Bubai and Xiaolongnu also looked at Li Daoyi with great curiosity, wanting to hear what he had to say.
“This is the Mental Time Chamber. Time and space here are very different from the outside world. Just think of it as entering another world,” Li Daoyi said.
"How amazing!" Zhu Zhu exclaimed.
"A mental time chamber? Time?" At this moment, Dongfang Bubai seemed to have realized something and looked at Li Daoyi with a questioning gaze.
"Time flows differently here than outside; one year here is equivalent to one day outside."
"What?" Everyone was stunned, their eyes filled with disbelief.
"Taoist brother, is there any delicious energy here that I can eat?" Just then, a cute voice came from not far away.
Li Dao felt a chill run down his spine. He flashed to Mengmeng's side and picked her up.
The little guy blinked his big eyes and looked at Li Daoyi with an innocent expression, his little mouth pouting and his round face puffed up.
"Little ancestor, please don't do anything reckless," Li Daoyi said, still somewhat frightened.
This girl is reckless; if she absorbs the time energy in this room, wouldn't it be ruined?
"Hmph, so stingy," Mengmeng said with dissatisfaction.
"Little darling, I'll grant you anything, but not this one," Li Daoyi said, patting Mengmeng's head.
The little guy's eyes darted around, and then he said...
"Then I want to eat a hundred spirit peaches."
“Okay,” Li Daoyi quickly agreed.
"Yay... Sister Dragon, make me some juice!" Mengmeng cheered.
Li Daoyi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Three days later, in front of the Spirit Time House, Li Daoyi looked at Zhuzhu, the little girl's face full of anticipation.
"This time, my cultivation won't last too long. There's time in the room, at most half a month. You should practice the body-refining technique I taught you diligently. Every night, I'll have Dongfang and the others prepare a medicinal bath for you. Once I'm out of seclusion, I'll help you establish your foundation." After saying this, Li Daoyi patted Zhuzhu's head.
"Yes, yes, don't worry, Master." Zhu Zhu nodded obediently.
Then Li Daoyi looked at Dongfang and Xiaolongnu, nodded to them, and they already had a tacit understanding, so there was no need for any more words.
Li Daoyi then turned around and walked directly into the Mental Time Chamber.
Seeing Zhu Zhu's reluctance, Dongfang Bubai couldn't help but laugh.
"What? It's only been half a month. You should know that your master was in seclusion for at least a year before."
Zhu Zhu's face immediately turned red.
"Alright, go and cultivate. Although the Body Tempering Technique is only the most basic technique, it is just right for you. To establish your foundation, you must have a strong physique. Tonight, your Aunt Long and I will prepare a medicinal bath for you," said Dongfang Bubai.
"Okay, I'll go right now." Zhu Zhu nodded and walked towards the bamboo forest.
"Sigh, Zhuzhu has become much more cheerful these past few days." Looking at his granddaughter's back, Lin Xuan couldn't help but sigh.
"Old man Lin, I've only ever heard you mention Zhuzhu's father, why have I never heard you mention her mother?" Dongfang Bubai asked curiously.
Lin Xuan's originally kind face suddenly turned angry, and his lips moved as if he found it extremely difficult to speak.
Dongfang Bubai and Xiaolongnu exchanged a glance, their faces full of doubt. What was there that they couldn't talk about with their son and daughter-in-law?
"If you really can't say, then so be it. I just feel that Zhuzhu is too pitiful," Dongfang Bubai continued.
Lin Xuan gave a wry smile upon hearing this.
"It's not that I can't tell you; in fact, Zhuzhu has been asking me about this for many years," Lin Xuan sighed.
“Zhuzhu’s biological mother is none other than the Emperor of the Great Gan Dynasty,” Lin Xuan said slowly.
"The Emperor of the Great Gan Dynasty?" Dongfang Bubai and his companion were immediately startled, then showed expressions of disbelief.
In the past few days, the two of them have learned more about the situation of the Da Gan Dynasty. It is a very powerful country. They just didn't expect that the emperor was a woman, and that she was Zhu Zhu's mother. So, Zhu Zhu is also a member of the royal family.
At the same time, a luxurious carriage pulled by four pure white dragon horses with long dragon horns slowly drove away from the capital, escorted by a group of men in black.
Once outside the city gate, the four dragon horses immediately took flight.
Inside the dragon-horse carriage, Empress Linglong quietly looked out the window through the curtains, watching the capital city gradually shrink from the air. Her mind slowly returned to that rainy night ten years ago, and she seemed to hear the cries of a baby again. Unconsciously, a tear slid down the corner of the Empress's eye.
Seeing this, Lin Xiaoxiao quickly turned her head away, not daring to look at the Empress's frail appearance, but at this moment her heart was also extremely unsettled.
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