Chapter 699: Ah?

Sitting on the very edge of the crowd, Shen Shuibi stared blankly at the sky.

For Shen Shuibi, it had been several centuries since she left Li Qi.

Several centuries, for her, were neither too many nor too few.

After all, she was already over ten thousand years old, and if one accounted for the time flow differences caused by some marvels within Mount Luofu, she was now roughly fifteen to sixteen thousand years old.

For a fifth-rank, this was still very young, even excessively young, and precisely because of this, Shen Shuibi was considered the 'Little Sister' type within the current Zhang Lu Small Team.

Though she was actually the second strongest among them.

The Small Team she was currently on a mission with had been assembled jointly by several war zone commanders, all of them the strongest Zhang Lu, and the mission they were executing was top secret.

To form this Small Team, these war zone commanders each found ways to free up considerable power from their own Zhang Lu; for instance, Bo Yue had dumped all Zhang Lu missions on Li Qi, then transferred others into this Small Team.

As for the mission they were performing, it was part of a grand plan being set up. Shen Shuibi only knew a portion of this setup; her part was to construct a defensive line of Yin power.

This was very difficult, but with the resources invested by so many Zhang Lu and war zone commanders, it was finally completed without major incident.

There were many, many difficulties and stories in between, and they had experienced numerous battles and adventures, even encountering siege warfare from the Human Dao, with casualties that were not low.

However… several centuries had passed, and now, this mission was complete. Currently, all surviving members were gathering for a final farewell.

This simple banquet had no specially prepared delicacies or drinks, only some food brought by everyone themselves, all very ordinary, some even being things like plum-flavored Bigu Pills.

After all, not every fifth-rank carried food with them, unlike Li Qi.

Shen Shuibi sat alone at the edge of the gathering, looking at the defensive line she had constructed over the past few centuries.

It was a gigantic interstellar Great Wall, a component of a grand project, similar to the Human Dao's war fortresses, but using a different type of technology.

This was a defensive line of Yin power, and naturally, most of the creators were female.

Just like the Little rabbit, most lives inherently possessing Yin power were female, so this place was basically like a girls' dormitory now.

However, there were still some males who cultivated Yin power, and they were among them, seemingly quite popular and not excluded.

But these matters had nothing to do with Shen Shuibi; she remained as reclusive and silent as ever, her favorite thing to do being to stare blankly in place.

But at this moment, a fifth-rank Zhang Lu, holding a cup of wine, floated over to Shen Shuibi and said, "Whew, finally done! This was really tough. You, you're so active when working, but why do you hide in a place like this during a gathering?"

"Nothing, I don't really like too many people," Shen Shuibi replied, looking at the other person.

The person in front of her was named Jiao, a humanoid species, though with slight differences. Her figure was extremely slender, her waist only the size of a fist, her fingers as thin as chopsticks, and her facial features were not human but resembled… a snow cicada. Her entire body was snow-white, slightly translucent, emitting a faint blue-white glow, like a sculpture, yet possessing considerable beauty, not ugly at all, giving one a feeling of an 'elf'.

Jiao came from a fourth-rank world, a world that also followed Shaman Dao. She was an Incarnation of Dao Resonance孕育 from the natural spirit of a certain landscape there, and she ultimately chose to join this war.

"You're always like this. It's hard to imagine… someone like you could find a husband. What kind of person could possibly endure this coldness and be with you?" Jiao sighed and said.

She was the only person with whom Shen Shuibi had formed a 'friendship' over the years, because the Little rabbit was too reclusive, cold, and always a bit dazed. Only someone with Jiao's gentle personality spent over a hundred years to strike up a conversation with her.

Only then did their relationship become what it was now.

"He… doesn't really care about these things," Shen Shuibi thought, pondered for a moment, then said.

"I think I can imagine how you two get along," Jiao shook her head, her expression a little helpless.

It was indeed imaginable, there were only a few possibilities.

Either he was a naturally outgoing, thick-skinned man who didn't care how cold she was, stubbornly clinging to her, and just as a good woman fears a persistent suitor, he managed to conquer an ice queen like Shen Shuibi.

After all, in Jiao's view, while Shen Shuibi was cold and reclusive, she had no subjective malice or rejection. If one got to know her, they would find that the essence of this coldness was actually a kind of daze. If someone could truly endure hundreds or thousands of years of indifference and persist, then perhaps they could indeed win her over.

Or he was a quiet, reserved person just like Shen Shuibi, and the two would just sit facing each other, quietly together for thousands of years, getting used to each other's presence, and thus, affection would grow over time, naturally bringing them together.

However, no matter the scenario, it seemed quite dull.

But then again, Shen Shuibi herself was a dull person.

"What are you imagining?" Shen Shuibi suddenly asked at this moment.

"Hmm… something like this," Jiao thought for a moment, organized her words, and told Shen Shuibi the two scenarios she had envisioned.

The Little rabbit listened, then suddenly let out a soft laugh.

This smile made Jiao pause.

Ah? She laughed?

This was rare; she had never seen such an expression from her in these past few centuries.

"You're thinking completely wrong; he's not like that at all," Shen Shuibi said.

This surprised Jiao even more. This was the first rare instance she had seen in hundreds of years; this reclusive, quiet Moon Essence actually took the initiative to start a conversation.

So, she immediately said, "I'm all ears."

"Actually, there's nothing much to hear, it's just… he's not quite like what you said. Our first encounter actually started by coincidence," Shen Shuibi smiled and began to talk about Li Qi.

Jiao listened intently.

She found that, in Shen Shuibi's description, the man named Li Qi seemed to possess a certain strange temperament; when she was with him, she always spoke more than when she was outside.

At first, Shen Shuibi didn't think he was special, but surprisingly, she didn't dislike being by his side, and she even got very used to it, feeling a sense of… security, like being with family.

This sense of security filled the fear and confusion she felt after the destruction of Mount Luofu at that time.

Yes, security.

That Li Qi wasn't stubbornly persistent, nor did he spend centuries staring blankly with her. He was just normal, like a Mortal, taking Shen Shuibi on travels around the unremarkable Baiyue area.

"Sounds surprisingly ordinary and normal," Jiao thought carefully, then said with a smile.

Yes, from Shen Shuibi's description, although he was a very gentle and simple person, this gentleness gave a very ordinary sense of security.

Shen Shuibi nodded: "It's very normal, but it's just, secure. I don't know if it's intentional, but he basically never touches on things I dislike, except sometimes… he likes to pull my tail."

"Alright, let's stop the topic here," Jiao immediately made a stopping gesture.

With Shen Shuibi's dazed and muddled personality, if she continued, they might hear some bedroom secrets, so it was better not to.

"Hmm, but even though he gives off an ordinary and common feeling, he's actually… quite formidable. He's not as ordinary as he seems," Shen Shuibi said with a smile.

"Quite formidable? For you to give such a评价, he must really have some skills," Jiao said, then continued to ask, "What's his capability?"

"If you insist on asking about his capability… then his most outstanding one should be that he cultivates particularly fast, right?" Shen Shuibi thought for a moment and answered seriously.

Jiao couldn't help but laugh, finding it somewhat humorous.

Cultivating particularly fast, what kind of capability was that?

This was the position of Zhang Lu; everyone here was a super Genius, and who wasn't among the fastest cultivators in their own civilization, or even in this Universe?

Among these Zhang Lu, there were many who started cultivating at three years old and reached a rank at ten years old. In terms of talent, these Zhang Lu had surpassed ninety-nine percent of people.

Seeing Jiao's expression, Shen Shuibi shook her head repeatedly: "It's not what you think; he's truly… especially, especially fast."

The Little rabbit explained to Jiao with a very serious expression: "He only took about a thousand years to cultivate to the fifth-rank."

"Hm—!?" Jiao drew out her tone, making a strange sound.

"A thousand years, fifth-rank!? Wait, does that mean when he first met you, you were fifth-rank, and he was still ninth-rank?" Jiao asked in disbelief.

"Yes, so, it's very fast, right?" Shen Shuibi said with a smile.

To be honest, Jiao found it hard to believe.

But Shen Shuibi was not one to lie, and besides, she wouldn't lie about something like this, would she?

Jiao said with some emotion, "Peaceful, gentle, quiet, learned, kind, and then reaching fifth-rank in a thousand years… I'm even curious now, what kind of person could gather so many qualities within themselves?"

Of course, she was just saying it; beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and she didn't think that man would truly be that good.

"Soon, once things here are done, I'll be able to see him. It's really been a long time," Shen Shuibi said, continuing to look up at the sky.

It really had been a long time.

She missed him a little.

Jiao just smiled, then chose to get up and bid farewell to Shen Shuibi.

She had only gone to find her because she was worried that Shen Shuibi might be unhappy being isolated by the crowd. Now seeing that Shen Shuibi was actually quite content, and also had someone with whom she had established a truly close relationship, Jiao naturally felt relieved.

People who live in their own world like this… are quite nice. She was a bit curious how she and that Li Qi got along. Was she this way with her husband too?

Thinking these thoughts, Jiao entered the crowd. She was already very popular and good at dealing with people, which was why she could endure Shen Shuibi's personality and become her friend.

As for the Little rabbit, she had not considered any of that from beginning to end, nor did she know the other party's intentions. She maintained her initial demeanor throughout.

The task was done; they would be going back soon, right?

She wondered if Li Qi, who had shouldered the Zhang Lu missions for so long alone, was tired?

Shen Shuibi thought about her own affairs, completely ignoring social relationships and not caring whether her relationships with these people were good or not.

To her, these things were not important.

The banquet ended with everyone's joyful celebration. In fact, it lasted less than an hour in total; everyone simply celebrated briefly, and Shen Shuibi waited alone, isolated at the very edge, until the end.

Then, a message came through everyone's 'Alliance'.

A fourth-rank would come to take them back. All the arrangements were complete, and in the next few decades, they would personally see what the things they were responsible for actually looked like.

The others were overjoyed about this. They also wanted to know what kind of project it was that so many war zone commanders, secret operations, and so many Zhang Lu were responsible for.

However, Shen Shuibi felt nothing, because it didn't matter to her, but she was also very happy because she could finally go back.

Her daughter, and Li Qi, must both be waiting for her, right?

Thinking this, she also became joyful.

Jiao, meanwhile, let out a long sigh of relief. Finally, they had arrived; now they could return safely.

Everyone waited quietly for someone to come and take them away from here. Although a fifth-rank could Transmigrate through the Void Realm, it still took time.

Only a Great Power above the fourth-rank could truly travel quickly, instead of slowly wandering in the Void Realm for thousands or tens of thousands of years.

Not long after, an indescribable aura appeared here.

There was no imagined sense of oppression; on the contrary, this aura was very peaceful, yet one could still feel a suffocating sensation of tearing reality apart.

The real world that the fifth-ranks depended on was mercilessly torn open by this aura.

Whether it was the Heavenly Dao limits, or the physical constants and chemical properties they relied on, all were torn apart at this moment.

It wasn't a change; a fifth-rank could also achieve a certain degree of change. This was a complete tearing apart. Here, the Law of the real world completely turned into nothingness, and a brand new reality enveloped this place.

It's just… this brand new reality actually didn't differ much from the real world, so they could still understand it.

But at this moment, Shen Shuibi suddenly felt something. She tilted her head and said doubtfully, "Li… Qi?"

As she spoke, Li Qi's figure emerged, appearing beside her, and he flicked her nose: "You recognized me even with my aura deliberately changed?"

"Because it's very familiar, and also, you ascended so fast… I just told someone about your fast ascension," Shen Shuibi said very naturally, without any awkwardness.

On the other hand, Jiao's eyelid twitched.

Wait a minute.

This is Li Qi?

Ah?

Why is he fourth-rank?

Saying he cultivates fast, this is a bit too fast! (End of Chapter)