Xihe was shocked to see Zu An transform into Emperor Jun. For a moment there, she wondered if he was the real Emperor Jun, and if he had staged this farce in order to win her fancy. The so-called Goddess of Wu Mountain could also just be one of Emperor Jun’s women. And she had to concede that his strategy worked. She did feel something for him now.

“Are you really Emperor Jun?”

“Of course not. I’m not so bored as to create a new identity just to self-cuckold!” Zu An huffed.

Xihe also didn’t think that Emperor Jun would go this far for a woman. “How did you transform into him?”

Noticing her shock, Zu An reverted to his original appearance and replied, “I have an ability that allows me to transform into others.”

“How do you know what Emperor Jun looks like?”

“I've clashed with him in the future.”

Xihe’s eyes lit up. “Is it over me?”

Zu An pondered. “You could say so.”

“Who won?” Xihe’s eyes twinkled with curiosity.

“I wasn’t a match for him then, but I foiled his ploy.”

“Tsk. You’re just saying that to salvage your reputation.”

“The future you still chose me. Isn’t that a victory?”

Xihe blushed. “You must have misled me somehow...”

This was dangerous territory. She was still engaged to the Celestial Emperor. It was one thing for her to escape from the marriage ceremony, but it was another thing for her to get involved with another man.

She banished the miscellaneous thoughts in her mind and asked, “Do you intend to march into the Celestial Court to steal the immortal medicine just like that?”

“Earlier, those celestial guards mentioned that Emperor Jun went missing. This is a good opportunity to sneak in now that he’s absent. No one will question my identity, especially if I have you, the Celestial Empress, to testify for me,” Zu An said.

Xihe felt as if she had been forcefully brought aboard a pirate ship. “If you leave right after stealing the immortal medicine, I’ll have to bear the consequences.”

“By then, you wouldn’t be the only one to have been fooled by my disguise. They won’t be able to single you out and demand that you take responsibility,” Zu An said.

Xihe thought those words made sense. She had a bold personality, or else she wouldn’t have escaped from her marriage ceremony with Emperor Jun. She was fascinated by Zu An’s plan.

It’d be wonderful if he remained as Emperor Jun from now on... As soon as that thought surfaced in her mind, she jolted in horror. She hurriedly suppressed those notions.

Along the way, Zu An asked Xihe for more details about the Celestial Court. Only then did he learn that the Celestial Court in this world was located elsewhere.

Other than Emperor Jun, the Celestial Court also had War God Donghuang Taiyi, who was placed on the same level as Emperor Jun; there were also the transcendent Nuwa and Fuxi[1], though those two hadn’t revealed themselves for many years now.

Under Emperor Jun were the Ten Fiend Generals, of which Guiche was a member.

The Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan and Flame Emperor Shennong were both powerful fiends who opposed Emperor Jun. The two had joined forces in hopes of replacing him.

Emperor Jun himself was the Fiend races’ King of Myriad Birds. Everyone revered him.

The Yellow Emperor ruled the Dragon race, which had an irreconcilable grudge against the Fiend races.

The Flame Emperor had the Vermilion Bird’s bloodline, which should have put him on closer terms with Emperor Jun. However, the Vermilion Bird and the Golden Crow had always been rivals competing for the position of the Fire God, putting them on terrible terms.

Besides, the Flame Emperor also had the Divine Ox’s bloodline. That was why Xuanyuan invited him to join forces and deal with the stronger Emperor Jun.

Worried for Yaoji’s safety, Zu An made haste and soon arrived at the Celestial Court.

At the southern Celestial Gate, Zu An noticed red lanterns strung up and ‘喜 (Joyous Wedding)’ characters plastered everywhere. However, the celestial guards had grim faces devoid of the slightest joy.

“Who is it?!” The celestial guards tensed up upon sensing someone heading in their direction.

“It is I,” Zu An placidly replied.

His magnanimous yet graceful speech pattern won Xihe’s admiration. This fellow’s acting is impeccable. Could his claim of being my future lover be a lie as well...

“Celestial Emperor!” Surprised but delighted, the celestial guards quickly bowed to him.

Zu An nodded before heading in with Xihe.

Soon, the other people from the Celestial Court heard the news and rushed out to welcome him. Powerful individuals rushed in from all directions. Xihe secretly introduced them to Zu An.

Just then, a voice echoed, “Demoness, how dare you return!”

It was Guiche. It was about to rally the surrounding people to curb Xihe when it noticed Zu An. It shuddered, and it suddenly found itself at a loss as to what it should do.

Zu An coldly said, “She is my wife and the future Celestial Empress. Is this the attitude you have been taking toward her?”

The intense pressure coming from Zu An horrified Guiche. Not knowing how to justify its actions, it hurriedly bowed and said, “I deserve to die...” It didn’t know how to explain its action.

Just then, immortal music played. A nebula suddenly formed out of nowhere, and light gushed out from within.

A figure manifested from the light. He had silver hair resembling the celestial river and flames that blazed at his hair tips. That same hair naturally left dao marks in space. He wore a black emperor robe with dark golden embroidery that appeared to be forged into countless primordial beasts. His very presence emanated authority.

Xihe tensed up upon seeing him. She wanted to inform Zu An that the man was Donghuang Taiyi, but she feared that he would sense her telepathy. She became anxious, fearing that Zu An would give himself away.

“Taiyi.” But Zu An had met Donghuang Taiyi before, so he wouldn’t make a mistake here.

“Guiche has already reported the matter to me. It’s not at fault for this matter. There is a misunderstanding.” Donghuang Taiyi stared intently at Xihe. “Where’s that fellow who has a seven-colored divine halo?”

Xihe’s heart clenched up. Before she could think of an answer, Zu An pulled her behind him and said, “I’ve already killed that fellow.”

“Oh?” Donghuang Taiyi was surprised.

“You doubt me?” Zu An’s face darkened.

Donghuang Taiyi chuckled. “Of course not, brother. No one is a match for you in this world.”

Guiche had described that mysterious man to be a formidable expert, but no matter how strong that fellow was, how could he be stronger than Emperor Jun?

Donghuang Taiyi continued asking curiously, “Brother, you have been missing for some days now. Where did you go?”

“There was a matter that I needed to verify. Later, I learned about what happened to Xihe, so I headed over to fetch her back.” Zu An didn’t give a concrete answer. There was no need for him to do so, since no one in the Celestial Court would dare interrogate the Celestial Emperor.

As expected, Donghuang Taiyi didn’t probe despite Zu An’s vague reply. “You returned on time. We can finally complete the marriage ceremony.”

Xihe’s heart beat nervously. Am I really going to marry the man who refuses to even divulge his name to me?

1. Nuwa and Fuxi are said to be the creators of humanity. ☜