“Zhou Hong, you scoundrel, I thought you were dead. I almost went to join you,” Lu Qianqian said, crying.
“Remember from now on, I won’t die so easily. Don’t just decide to die for me at the drop of a hat. What if I didn’t die? Wouldn’t you have died for nothing?”
Lu Qianqian sobbed for a long time before calming down.
Long Xuan also walked up and called out from behind with a smile, “Senior Zhou Hong.”
Zhou Hong released Lu Qianqian and turned to look at Long Xuan.
“Hello Long Xuan, I didn’t expect you to be alive too.”
“Heh heh, I am, after all, in the Integration stage. It’s not difficult to survive. I just didn’t expect that in just twenty years, you would already be in the Mahayana stage, while I’m still in the middle stage of Integration. Now it’s my turn to call you senior,” Long Xuan said with emotion, her heart filled with mixed feelings. She seemed to recall the time when Zhou Hong was pursuing her.
It was a pity that her mind was occupied by another man back then, and she never considered Zhou Hong. But now, Zhou Hong had earned her respect.
“Long Xuan, we are friends, there’s no need to be so polite. Just call me Zhou Hong,” Although Long Xuan had rejected Zhou Hong’s past pursuit, Zhou Hong had long since let it go. Moreover, although he and Long Xuan hadn't become a couple, they had shared intimacy.
“Thank you!” Long Xuan lowered her head, her mind wandering.
“By the way, Zhou Hong, you’ve exterminated all the giants. Did you encounter any trouble during the process?” Long Xuan suddenly looked up again, as if she had thought of something.
“What do you mean?” Zhou Hong frowned slightly, not quite understanding.
“There’s something I’ve never told anyone. When I was on the Deep Sky Continent before, I once went on patrol and encountered a man. That man was about the same size as us humans, yet he was an immortal. When I saw him, I thought he was also one of our human guardians, so I had a chat with him. Then I learned that he wasn’t our human guardian; he was from the Immortal Realm.”
“From the Immortal Realm?” Zhou Hong was slightly surprised. He hadn’t encountered anyone from the Immortal Realm at all.
“I’m not lying. That man was very young but gave off an air of immortal cultivation. Although he didn’t go into detail at the time, I learned from him that he was a disciple of some immortal sect in the Immortal Realm. He came to the Deep Sky Continent to look for something, and he had even asked all the giants above to help him search. That’s why I asked you, did you not encounter any resistance when you exterminated those giants? Has that immortal sect disciple from the Immortal Realm already returned? If he hadn’t returned, he shouldn’t have allowed you to exterminate the giants, right!” Although Long Xuan was asking Zhou Hong if he had encountered resistance, her expression seemed more eager to know if the man from the Immortal Realm was no longer there.
“I didn’t encounter any disciple from the Immortal Realm, but Long Xuan, you’re more interested in finding out if I met that person, aren’t you?”
“No, I didn’t,” Long Xuan’s face flushed slightly, and she quickly denied it.
“Heh heh, no wonder you didn’t think highly of me back then. So, you met a disciple from the Immortal Realm. It’s understandable that you were smitten with an immortal,” Zhou Hong smiled slightly, seeming to understand why Long Xuan had rejected him back then.
Long Xuan didn’t say anything more, as if admitting it.
“Tell me about that disciple from the Immortal Realm. What was he doing on the Deep Sky Continent? And how could someone from the Immortal Realm come to the mortal world?” Zhou Hong quickly asked.
“He seemed to be looking for something very important. His sect worked together to open a spatial rift and send him down. I don’t know what it was. If you didn’t encounter that person up there, then perhaps that disciple from the Immortal Realm has found what he was looking for and returned to the Immortal Realm.”
Zhou Hong nodded and didn’t want to ask any more questions.
At this moment, Long Xuan’s expression seemed a little dejected. She had talked a lot with that immortal realm disciple. Long Xuan had even told him that she was from here. The immortal realm disciple had also said that he would come to find her when he was done. However, over a hundred years had passed, and he hadn’t come to find her. Now, he was gone.
“Zhou Hong, you’ve broken through to the Mahayana stage now. When will you ascend to the Immortal Realm?” Lu Qianqian shifted her gaze from Long Xuan, having no interest in Long Xuan’s affairs. She quickly looked at Zhou Hong with concern.
“I’m not sure. Some people ascend in just a few decades, others in a few centuries. I will ascend when I receive the summons.”
“Mm-hmm, I forgot to congratulate you. You’ll soon leap over the dragon gate and become an immortal, no longer one of us mortals.” Lu Qianqian’s eyes revealed a complex emotion. Once Zhou Hong ascended to the Immortal Realm, they would be forever separated. Lu Qianqian knew her own limitations; with her talent, she had no chance of breaking through to the Mahayana stage. In the entire Tianyang Continent, throughout history, very few had been able to ascend to the Immortal Realm. Even Long Xuan had at most a 3% chance.
“Why the long face? When I ascend to the Immortal Realm and settle down, you can come and join me,” Zhou Hong said with anticipation.
“Forget it. By the time you ascend to the Immortal Realm, we’ll be permanently parted. With my talent, there’s no way I can ascend to the Immortal Realm,” Lu Qianqian gave a bitter smile.
“Why are you so lacking in confidence?”
“That’s just the reality. Even Senior Long Xuan’s chances are slim, let alone mine.”
Zhou Hong didn’t say much more. He calmly considered it and indeed, ascending to the Immortal Realm was like an ant turning into a dragon. How many ants could achieve such a transformation?
“It’s okay. When the time comes, I’ll take you with me,” Zhou Hong didn’t take it to heart, because if he wanted to, he could bring Lu Qianqian with him.
“Stop joking,” Lu Qianqian rolled her eyes.
Zhou Hong just chuckled. He only needed to take Lu Qianqian into his personal world, and he could easily bring her to the Immortal Realm.
Time passed slowly.
Soon, three months passed. A very, very long rope was completed. This rope stretched from the Deep Sky Continent all the way to the Tianyang Continent. All the surviving humans climbed up along the rope.
Thus, all the 10 billion surviving humans on the Tianyang Continent climbed to the Deep Sky Continent via the rope and settled there.
Zhou Hong no longer concerned himself with the humans. He found a place on the Deep Sky Continent and, with Lu Qianqian, they lived a life for two while awaiting the summons to ascend.
Soon, 30 years passed.
Finally, Zhou Hong received the summons to ascend.
Early one morning, Zhou Hong woke up from his dream. In the dream, he heard a voice say that he had been chosen by the Taiyi Immortal Sect in the Immortal Realm and that he should report to the Taiyi Immortal Sect after ascending. However, before ascending, he needed to do something for the Taiyi Immortal Sect.