"Qin Jiujie is quite the ruthless character." As she watched Qin Jiujie disappear, Tan Tailan's gaze flickered. Regardless of whether it was his merciless treatment of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qin or his retaliation towards the Faceless Other King, his actions had clearly demonstrated his character. He was decisive and unforgiving.

Perhaps he would be like a fish in water in the Origin Reversion Institute.

"It's a pity that Qin Jiujie managed to escape. He was the main culprit who caused Grandpa's predicament." Li Luo felt that it truly was a shame. The Faceless Other King's body had been torn to shreds and its two remaining natal facial skins were now in Qin Jiujie's hands. At the very least, one threat had been dealt with.

"There wasn't any choice. We can only wait for another opportunity to avenge this hatred."

Tan Tailan had come to Li Luo's side. The Origin Reversion Institute's ploys were far-reaching and secretive and their backup plans were endless. Even the four Heavenly Emperor powers had fallen to their schemes, and if it hadn't been for her, the situation would have had an undoubtedly tragic end.

Li Luo nodded before he turned towards Qin Beiming, Qin Baiyan, Qin Yi, and the rest. All of those from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qin looked crestfallen and their faces were pale. Abyssal City had sunk into the ground and the World's End River had rushed into the void around it. The people in the city were probably in dire straits, and the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qin had undoubtedly suffered a heavy blow.

This was especially the case for the Blackwater Armies... It was very possible that this generation had been completely wiped out.

As a foundational pillar of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qin, it could take tens of years of careful cultivation before they could rebuild it.

It was clear that they had suffered the most in this incident. They had lost a Dual Crowned King as well as numerous Hall Master-level Duke experts like Qin Lian. However, they couldn't blame anyone else for this. Heavenly Emperor Qin's eyes had gone bad with age if he had actually accepted such a traitorous individual into their midst. At this point, Divine Tiger King Zhao Zong and White Elephant King Zhu Yuan gathered up the remnants of their people. After a quick head count, their expressions turned unsightly.

Both of the Heavenly Emperor powers had lost quite a lot of their soldiers.

The two Single Crowned Kings had no intention to linger around any longer, so they respectfully bade farewell to Tan Tailan and quickly headed out.

With that, the experts from the smaller powers scattered as well. Regardless, they all paied their respects with a clasped fist towards Tan Tailan before leaving as thanks for turning the situation around.

Lu Shuanglu and Zhang Cuicheng also bade farewell to Li Luo before miserably leading their people away. They wanted to leave this godforsaken place as soon as they could. It was unfortunate that the teleportation array between the World's End River Region and the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent was still sealed off, meaning it would be a day or two before they could return.

Regardless, there was now momentary peace. The heaven-toppling battle that shook the entire World's End River Region had finally come to an end with Abyssal City sinking into the void. All of the numerous factions returned to their home grounds completely exhausted and with heavy casualties.

The weight on everyone's hearts seemed to have been lifted as there was now space to breathe.

The change to the Stygian Rain of Calamity had been huge. It led to numerous Kings taking to the field and even attracted the descent of the Tri-Pupil Enigmatic Fetus. In the skies above, in a gap within the World's End River itself, a gigantic petrified eye that emanated a gloomy aura was still fixated on the World's End River Region. This was the transformed form of the Tri-Pupil Enigmatic Fetus.

Although it had not managed to descend successfully, its continuous stone gaze would bring about far-reaching effects upon the World's End River Region. As a Grand Devil King, its gaze was capable of making one feel uneasy, possibly breeding negative emotions within them.

Thus, one could imagine that it would be difficult for the World's End River Region to regain its previous prosperity, and the number of treasure hunters would decrease.

Perhaps when the teleportation arrays reopened, there would be a large exodus of treasure hunters from the World's End River Region.

The changes that had occurred here had greatly alarmed them.

After this change, the World's End River Region would surely become more desolate.

The Grand Devil King's actions might have been simple, its mere gaze looking down upon them, but that same action had turned a flourishing land of treasures into a barren wasteland. Р

……

Heavenly Dragon City

The entire city was filled with white decorations and a heavy atmosphere lingered in the air.

They were all mourning Li Jingzhe's death.

Other than Tan Tailan, Li Luo, and a few others, everyone else had thought that Li Jingzhe had truly fallen. A Quasi-Triple Crown King's fall was a grievous blow to the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li. Thus, the entire bloodline was sad about it.

In a quiet courtyard in the depths of the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion.

Tan Tailan was living here temporarily, and Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e stayed with her. Everyone knew that the family had been separated for many years and had a lot to catch up on. Thus, even Ox Biaobiao wasn't around, giving them space to reminisce.

After the outsiders had left, Tan Tailan turned towards her children with a warm smile on her face. She had been very worried about them.

"Come give your mother a hug." Tan Tailan grinned sweetly as she stretched out her hands to hug Jiang Qing'e, then she waved at Li Luo.

"That's so pretentious... It's not like we’re still kids..." Li Luo mumbled to himself.

"What did you say?" Tan Tailan's warm words were laced with a hint of danger. She hadn't seen her children for many years, yet this smelly brat dared to say that her motherly affection was pretentious?

Li Luo could only helplessly go into her arms, and Tan Tailan hugged him, placing her head on his shoulder.

Despite his unwilling words, he still reached out and hugged the gentle and elegant lady before him, a strong sense of longing appearing within his eyes.

Jiang Qing'e’s eyes reddened up when she saw the familiar, graceful smile. Who knew just how much the two of them had missed their parents all these years.

A comforting fragrance wafted into her nose as she lightly asked, "Mistress, it's great that you were able to return safely."

Tan Tailan lightly ruffled Jiang Qing'e's hair lovingly and sighed. "It's only been a few years, yet you have become so much more beautiful. Your peerless looks are definitely better than mine when I was young."

"Huh?" Her hand suddenly stopped in its tracks and her gaze changed.

"What's wrong, Mistress?" Jiang Qing'e asked curiously.

Tan Tailan paused. "Your body..."

Jiang Qing'e was quite sharp and immediately understood what Tan Tailan was getting at. Despite how composed she normally was, she couldn't help but to blush.

Meanwhile, Li Luo was feeling a little awkward. He showed a simple smile and explained, "Mother... Here’s what happened... Well, the main thing was that there was an urgent need at that point... Aaaagh!!"

Before he could finish speaking, Tan Tailan had grabbed him by the ear.

"You’re feeling a little proud about all this, aren't you? You idiotic brat, are you actually worthy of my Little Jiang'e?" Tan Tailan's furious voice rang out.

Li Luo was in so much pain that he almost cried. The familiar feeling of getting his ear pulled and this entire situation seemed to be right out of a memory from the past... Who would have thought that so many years later, nothing had changed. At this point, he deeply missed Li Taixuan's presence. If his old man was around, he could definitely share the blame.

Tan Tailan very quickly let go and tenderly hugged Jiang Qing'e even more lovingly, saying in a serious tone, "Little Jiang'e, when it comes to matters of emotion, you have to follow your heart. You can't let gratitude cloud your mind as you wrong yourself."

Jiang Qing'e's face was red as she lightly replied, "Mistress, Li Luo and I have lived together for many years and relied on each other. He has constantly sacrificed himself for me. From the point where he started with a blank palace to the heights he has reached today, his efforts have not been any less when compared to anyone else. He was willing to fight with his life on the line to protect me. Thus, this isn't about repaying gratitude." She paused at this juncture.

"I... I like him. I'm willing to live and die together with him." Jiang Qing'e was normally fairly shy, but she fully expressed her feelings at this point.

Meanwhile, Li Luo's heart was buffeted by waves and he couldn't help but to stretch his hand out and tightly grasp her slender hand.

Tan Tailan felt relieved when she heard the sincerity in Jiang Qing'e's words. It seemed that her dumb son was at least a little charming. She then turned towards Li Luo and said in an approving tone, "You've managed to reach the Duke Stage in four years and escaped from the limitations of your five-year lifespan. That's not bad."

She and Li Taixuan had always been deeply worried about Li Luo's limited lifespan. After all, it was the only way he could resolve the issue with his blank palaces.

Reaching the Duke Stage from scratch in merely five years was incredibly difficult. Even though they knew that Li Luo was talented, there was no guarantee he would succeed.

The bright side was that he had not been crushed by the looming pressure.

"However, you smelly brat.... Now that your vitality has been restored to its peak, just what is going on with your hair? Turn it back right now." Tan Tailan glared at Li Luo's grayish-white hair as she reprimanded him with disgust.

Li Luo sarcastically retorted, "Don't you think it looks quite unique?"

She truly was his biological mother... It hadn't been very long since they had reunited, yet she was already picking on him...

"Mistress..." Jiang Qing'e piped in.

"You're still calling me ‘Mistress?’" Tan Tailan replied.

Jiang Qing'e was startled for a moment before her face turned rosy. "Mother."

There was actually no hesitation in the way she addressed her, because the two of them had always treated each other like mother and daughter. They had a deep relationship.

"What a good girl. When that fellow Li Taixuan finds out about this, he might be even more excited than when he became a Transcendent Duke." Tan Tailan held Jiang Qing'e's face as she smiled sweetly.

It was then that Li Luo scratched his head after hearing Tan Tailan mention the person with the lowest position in the family. "Mother, are we finally going to talk about Father? Why hasn't he returned with you? Furthermore, how did you get here through the World's End River? How did you become a Greater Transcendent Duke?"