"Master."

Mo Zhejun opened his eyes and looked at Mo Shentian. "Did you just come back today?"

"Yes." Mo Shentian sat in front of Mo Zhejun, recounting the story of being trapped in the tunnel for several years. He didn’t notice the faint smile on the face of his master, who had long been Zhang Fei’s slave. "I don’t know the identity of that mysterious woman, but she is truly powerful, and my ability to bend reality is ineffective against her."

"Since you’re back, you should forget about that woman." Mo Shentian furrowed his brows. "Currently, this Paradise Realm is in serious danger, and all domains are already on alert. If we are not careful, we will be doomed if those creatures suddenly appear in our domain."

"Where did you get this news?" Mo Shentian asked as his frown deepened.

"I got this information from my slaves in some other domain, and they heard it from the conversations of the cultivators there."

Mo Shentian himself knew that his master had many slaves in other domains to spy on the cultivators living there. "What creatures?"

"They called them shadowy creatures."

"Shadowy creatures? What kind of creatures are they? Where do they come from?"

Mo Zhejun shook his head. "I don’t have clear information about those shadowy creatures, but the people in those domains said they heard about them from Empress Huo and Emperor Long. Both of them are powerful and uphold righteousness, so I don’t dare doubt their words. I’ve discussed this matter with your wife, and I’ve asked her to deploy everyone to monitor every corner of this domain, so we’ll know immediately if those creatures invade ours."

Mo Shentian naturally knew that Empress Huo and Emperor Long would not spread false news, which would tarnish their reputation. Besides, they always cared about security in the Paradise Realm, and they would do anything to protect it. He was skeptical of those dark creatures, though, primarily because his master was unsure of their origins.

Mo Shentian spread his senses throughout the Celestial Demon Domain, discovering many members of his demon race standing guard and watching over all areas of his domain, including his confidants. However, he still did not know that his trusted confidants were under Zhang Fei’s control, and they were acting on his orders.

Mo Shentian contacted the other demon gods to find out the truth of the matter, but Sha Mo, Shang Zhanluo, and Qian Yan did not answer him. Meanwhile, Qi Qingxiu, Ye Mingran, Nalan Shizhe, and several others confirmed the news.

Mo Shentian thought Qian Yan was still in his slumber, so he did not answer him. Since Sha Mo and Shang Zhanluo did not answer him, he contacted their two wives, Shang Luohu and Sha Yuan, who immediately confirmed the news.

"Do you believe the truth of the news now?"

Mo Shentian nodded to his master. "All the demon races have confirmed the news, and they have also ordered their members to be on guard every day."

"In the past, Empress Huo was the strongest cultivator; she could even defeat Long Wuzhao and the previous demon gods. However, I heard from my slaves in other domains that she didn’t have the confidence to fight those shadowy creatures, so she asked everyone to watch over their respective domains, especially since those gates have long disappeared."

Mo Shentian sucked in a deep breath as he clearly remembered Feng Yao’s past strength. Although he didn’t know about her current strength after being reincarnated, he was certain it wasn’t much different from the past, considering her actions several years ago when she returned to the Paradise Realm. "Master, did you hear about the demon gods’ intention to fight me?"

"We both have known for a long time that Shang Zhanluo, Sha Mo, Qian Yan, Ku Shenzu, and Jiu Mozu want to kill you to lead all the demon races."

"What about Wu Mian and the others?"

Mo Zhejun shook his head. "Wu Mian, Ye Mingran, Qi Qingxiu, and Nalan Shizhe don’t have that big of an ambition, so you don’t need to worry about them. Fortunately, those gates disappeared shortly after your departure; otherwise, Shang Zhanluo and the others would have long since attacked our domain if they discovered your absence."

"Sigh." Mo Shentian sighed heavily. "My travels over the past years have been in vain because of the appearance of that mysterious woman, and I’m sure she deliberately locked me in the tunnel. I can’t look for Mo Tianshen because of her, and I’m afraid that he will return to this realm one day to overthrow me."

"I understand your concern for your brother because I’m also worried about him, but I’m sure he won’t be able to return to this realm anytime soon, and I’m sure he’s still busy improving his cultivation in the Three Mortal Realms. For now, you don’t need to think about your brother or the other demon gods, and you must focus on protecting our domain from those shadowy creatures."

After they talked about some other things, Mo Shentian immediately left his master’s place without noticing the changes in Mo Zhejun.

.

.

.

Mo Shentian had returned to his palace, and he went straight to his royal chamber to meet his wife, Mo Zainan, to discuss those shadowy creatures with her.

Mo Zainan felt tense in her heart, and she was worried that Mo Shentian would suspect her. Fortunately, her husband was still preoccupied with his thoughts and didn’t notice anything. She explained several things to him about her plans to prevent those shadowy creatures from escaping their surveillance.

"You can take care of everything, and I’ll help monitor from afar." Mo Zainan nodded to Mo Shentian, who immediately spread his senses to search for his children. He found his three sons busy with their own affairs and his two daughters busy cultivating in their rooms. "Since when have our daughters been serious about their cultivation?"

"They focused on their cultivation shortly after you left for the tunnel." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Mo Shentian nodded slightly. "In that case, I will go to my seclusion place now, and you can contact me directly if there is any change to the situation in our domain."

"Yes." Mo Zainan released a sigh of relief after her husband disappeared. ’For now, I will patiently wait for Zhang Fei to improve his cultivation and clean up those creatures, and he will take me away from this place once he can match my husband.’

.

.

.

Puyang Yeyu opened her eyes, but she found herself in a place that was unfamiliar to her. She tried to use her cultivation, but her powers simply wouldn’t appear. "What is this place? How did I get here? Why can’t I use my powers?"

"You don’t need to be confused about this place." Puyang Yeyu frowned for a moment before becoming surprised at the sight of Zhang Fei. "This place is a dream, so you cannot use your cultivation here; your current state is merely your subconscious."

"A dream?" Puyang Yeyu was shocked by that because she had never heard of such an ability before. "Why did you bring my subconscious here?"

Zhang Fei sat beside her. "I just want to spend time with you."

"What do you mean by that?" Puyang Yeyu was not worried that Zhang Fei would hurt her because he had already helped her to heal her injuries.

Zhang Fei lifted Puyang Yeyu’s chin and looked at her eyes. "Would you believe me if I said I liked you the moment I saw you?"

Puyang Yeyu’s jaws dropped, and her lips formed an O shape.

"Haha," Zhang Fei laughed softly as he pushed Puyang Yeyu’s chin up. "I told you the truth; I was attracted to you the moment I saw you."

"But how? Why?"

"There is no how and why in feelings."

"I—"

"Do you think you’re too old for me?" Puyang Yeyu nodded at Zhang Fei. "You are indeed old, but age means nothing to cultivators like us, right? I only know that I’m attracted to you, but I can’t spend time in the Puyang Clan getting to know you because I have a lot of problems on hand to deal with. That’s why I used my dream technique on you, and I can spend time with you getting to know you wherever and whenever I want."

Puyang Yeyu was at a loss for an answer to Zhang Fei. "Anyway, I want to thank you for healing my injury."

"No need to thank me." Zhang Fei lifted Puyang Yeyu to her feet. "I’ve adjusted the flow of time in this dream, so we can spend time getting to know each other without worrying about the outside world."

Puyang Yeyu felt awkward and uncomfortable when Zhang Fei took her hand, but he was clearly much stronger than she was in the dream. "Where did you get this ability?"

"I am Hu Tianlang’s sole heir, but I am also a demon, and this dream is one of demon abilities." Puyang Yeyu was shocked to hear that, but Zhang Fei immediately created a qi screen, showing the stone monument left by his predecessor. "The writing on the stone is his handwriting, and he has long predicted my appearance. I am a human, a heavenly fox, and a demon."

After Puyang Yeyu read the writing on the stone monument, Zhang Fei removed the qi screen. He showed his three forms, leaving her stunned once again. After all, no one has three forms at the same time in their universe, and he is the only living being who has them. "Tell me, what kind of place do you miss the most, Yeyu?"

"I like a small lake with a waterfall on the side."