Dong Yue Wu Kingdom, a mist currently engulfed it.
Standing above the clouds and looking down, the nation stretched out before him, and all was well!
Wu Yu was using the Art of Sword Flight in the clouds. As he looked at the many familiar places below him, those familiar hills were still sharp in his memory.
He still remembered that he was known as the cultivating demon in his youth. He had led the Dong Yue Wu army across the land.
At that time, he was a grand sight without comparison.
But a pity that his worldview had been too low then. He had to thank Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian. Without him, Wu Yu would never have come into contact with the true world of Immortal Dao.
Right now, he was also a cultivating demon in the Immortal Dao!
Looking far out, under the clouds, the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom"s mountains and rivers were like a picture, marvelously beautiful. Although one would age and die, the emotions here were more vivid, and perhaps not as cruel as what was found on the Immortal Dao.
"Although the mortal realm is beautiful, it is so easily shattered."
Wu Yu mused.
Finally, his desire to return home brought him to the old city of Capital Wu.
Capital Wu was not old, but simply shoddy and dilapidated in comparison to the structures of the Immortal Dao world. However, the mottled castle walls blanketed in algae had an even more historical feel to them.
Capital Wu"s royal palace, same as it was before.
Wu Yu was all too familiar with every hall, every courtyard, and every street within it. The 10 plus years of his childhood had been spent growing up within the palace.
Once, he had been the prince of the times!
At that time, he had thought that he was an important person in the world, and one of the most valuable. And now he knew just how small his world had been then.
Right now, seeing the palace from above the clouds, he was filled with complicated emotions.
Especially Imperial Concubine Xi"s palace hall. Presently, its name had been changed, although its appearance remained the same. And then he pa.s.sed through the big, stone archway, landing back where he had once been carried away in the swaying prison carriage on the snowy winter night, Wu You crying.... These thoughts came back to him with a sense of wonder.
Even the dao was not immune to nostalgia.
Returning to Capital Wu, Wu Yu was filled with many emotions, and that too was dao in itself.
"Long live, long live, long live Empress Wu!"
As expected, the sun had just begun to rise, and Wu You was holding morning court as the sun rays caged the palace.
Wu Yu entered the great hall, and the ministers were all discussing matters of national importance. Wu You was in a dragon robe, her expression serious. She was listening to their various concerns intently. With Wu Yu and the Heavenly Sword Sect backing them, the various ministers were all very loyal.
Wu You was the eminent leader of Dong Yue Wu, the likes of whom had never been seen before.
Even for the neighboring countries, they could only lift their thumbs up in approval when the name of the Dong Yue Wu Empress was mentioned.
She had yet to see Wu Yu, although he had already seen her. She was sitting upright on the dragon chair. She was a mortal, and now over 30 years old. Perhaps because of the strain of work, she was already not as young and beautiful as she had been before.
Wu Yu"s heart ached.
Before morning court was concluded, a minister said, "Your Highness, the ministers feel that Your Highness should give some consideration to having a son who will continue the bloodline of the Dong Yue Wu imperial family."
"I already have plans for this matter. No need to belay the issue." Wu You waved her hand lightly, declaring the morning court adjourned. The ministers were helpless, and left in order.
Wu You sat in the desolate golden palace. She waved for the servants to back down as well, leaving her alone in the silence.
Wu You leaned forward and stood, gazing out of the palace. Her eyes were filled with worry as she mused, "The world of the Immortal Dao has no boundaries. I wonder how he is...."
Even as he was thinking of her, she too was thinking of him.
Wu Yu was moved. In that moment, he forgot the dao that had been in his heart. Only the pa.s.sion of kins.h.i.+p coursed through his body.
"Sister." A call that had not left his lips in years. His voice was a little hoa.r.s.e.
"Wu Yu!" Just as Wu You was lost, she saw him before her, and thought that she had to be dreaming. She reeled for a while before she came to her senses that this was not a dream. Only then did she take the few steps forward, leaping into Wu Yu"s arms.
"How is it that you are back...." Wu You was all smiles, but also crying hard at the same time.
Wu Yu was drowning in her pleasure. He felt a warmth in his heart that he had never experienced before. Only then did he realize that perhaps Nangong Wei was not the most important person to him in the world, but instead this big sister who had grown up alongside him.
"Nonsense. I"m cultivating, not in prison. Of course I can come back." Wu Yu laughed.
Wu You was first elated, then she cried hard. Her hands were fast around Wu Yu"s neck, as though afraid that he would run away. Through choked up tears, she said, "But in the blink of an eye, 10 years have pa.s.sed. It"s been 10 years. Why did you take so long to come back? I thought, I thought...."
Wu Yu was struck.
That"s right. From the time he had left the Heavenly Sword Sect until now, year after year had pa.s.sed. It had been 10 years.
10 years, to him, had pa.s.sed as easily as the flick of a finger!
To Wu You, this was a long period of time in her life.
"Big Sister is old already. I was so worried that by the time you came back, I would already be an old lady stiff as a block of wood...." Wu You"s shoulders heaved as she clutched onto him and sobbed.
These words struck Wu Yu very deeply. He almost stopped breathing for a moment. He recalled the vow that he had once made. Not only would he become immortal, but he also did not want his only kin, Wu You, to leave him. There was a saying: when one rose to power, even his chickens and dogs would rise with him! He had once vowed that after he became immortal, he would also make Wu You immortal!
If a day came when she really grew old, how could he face her?
They were sister and brother, and how could one be ancient and frail while the other was still full of youthful energy....
Wu Yu did not make her any promise. He had kept his words in his heart. But from this day on, his way of dao had found a new unshakable reason!
In his heart, Wu You was still as beautiful as a treasure. He was afraid of seeing this jewel grow old. He was very afraid.
Seeing her face, indeed the marks of the decade could be seen.
"Tell Big Sister what you"ve been through at the Shushan Immortal Sect all these years."
Wu You could feel that he had changed much and had become more mature and mellow.
"I will tell you slowly." Wu Yu clasped her hand and led her to a mountain on the side of Capital Wu. It was the Heavenly Immortal Peak, where Heavenly Immortal Hao Tian had once stayed.
Wu You now only had the ability of a few tiers of the martial way. Her foundation was too weak and her talent was considered poor even amongst mortals.
But Wu Yu would not give up.
He had long prepared for this and had brought many things with him as well. Even if Wu You could not absorb many of them, he at least had to get Wu You into the Qi Condensation Realm. At least in that realm of cultivation, she would have 200 years of life.
Shushan and Yan Huang Imperial City had many rare immortal essences, and a small fraction of them had an extremely high potency which could change the potential of mortals. Wu Yu had evened learnt how to refine an immortal medicine called the Life-Changing Pill, and had refined more than 1,000 of them. He intended for them to refine Wu You"s potential, in order for her to have some foundations in cultivation.
Life-Changing Pills were expensive, and not at all useful to someone of Wu Yu"s level. But Wu Yu still expended all these resources in this area.
"All of these were prepared for you."
"It must have been hard on you to make all these," Wu You fussed.
"Not at all."
Wu You herself had no way to absorb these Life-Changing Pills right now. That was why Wu Yu had to a.s.sist her with the absorption process. This process was rather extended. By Wu Yu"s calculations, helping her enter the Qi Condensation Realm would probably take a month"s time. After that, she could slowly absorb them on her own.
In any case, Wu Yu planned to leave some resources for her with Feng Xueya so he could provide to her according to her cultivation level.
At the same time, the brother and sister began to catch up on their 10 years apart. Wu You was a bit simpler. Right now, Dong Yue Wu was at peace. There were occasional border clashes, but the enemies did not dare to truly attack. They would often concede after negotiations were made.
As for Wu Yu, he naturally spoke of all his time in the Shushan Immortal Sect and Yan Huang Imperial City.
Only then did Wu You know how truly astonis.h.i.+ng his life had been in these years apart.
"Big Sister, do you feel like I made the right decision in leaving Shushan? Would it hurt her?" Wu Yu asked.
Wu You thought about it. "It would definitely hurt this girl. But how should I put it? You cannot go back on your beliefs either, right.... If you could not change her, then you could only leave her. Or perhaps having left, both parties can spend some time cooling down. Isn"t that right?"
And then she said, "A thing like fate cannot be forced. If you are fated, then there will be a time for reunion. Didn"t you say you were returning to Shushan in three years" time? You can just see what she thinks when that time comes."
"Mm."
Wu Yu nodded.
"Sister, in all these years, haven"t you found someone of your heart?" Wu Yu knew that she was still alone. Actually, other mortals of her age were basically all wedded and with children.
Wu You gave a frustrated smile, saying, "That"s not it either. I just haven"t felt the urge to have someone as a companion. It seems like everyone I meet is not quite right. Perhaps I have a rather overbearing temperament."
Although she seemed as warm as water itself, in truth, she would not back down on many matters.
"If someone wants to marry the sister of I, Wu Yu, they cannot be inferior to me. If Big Sister can endure the loneliness, then one day I will let you enter the Immortal Dao and let you be immortal, just as I will be! At the time, your world will be even more splendid!"
That was Wu Yu"s dream.
Wu You smiled lightly. "How could the Immortal Dao be such an easy place to reach?"
"Nothing is impossible, as long as one has the heart," Wu Yu a.s.serted stoutly.
Seeing his expression so resolute, Wu You started, then nodded. "Alright, I believe you. I hope that such a day will come as well. From now on, I too will dedicate some time to it. I will not let you down."
Speaking with this kin of his, Wu Yu had no need to hide anything. This made him feel very at ease. Sometimes, an older sister was like a mother. For him, Wu You was like a mother. Her smile and warm words could soothe Wu Yu"s restless heart and bring him comfort. At such a time, his perspective would clarify, and he could see more, comprehend more dao!