Chapter 2619: Asura’s Tear

Strong people weren't lacking among the Shamans, the Asuras, and the Ocean races. They built structures even more quickly than the modern world's technology could manage. What they struggled with was formation designs.

Fortunately, the three races had a strong foundation, and Zu An was adept in formations. It took time, but they gradually perfected each of the formations.

As their work approached completion, however, Princess Ni Huang seemed to smile less.

Soon, it was time for them to part ways. Zu An used a secret art to channel the Six Paths of Reincarnation’s power to open a passageway to the Asura World, allowing all the Asuras to return home.

Princess Ni Huang was the last to leave. The Asura King sighed from the passageway and urged her, “Ni Huang, we should get going.”

Princess Ni Huang lowered her head and replied with a “Mm”. All of a sudden, she rushed toward Zu An and gave him a tight hug. Feeling a wet sensation on his shoulder, Zu An’s body stiffened up a little. In the end, he raised his hands to gently embrace her back.

Pei Mianman displayed no jealousy at that sight. If anything, she only felt wistful. After what had happened with the Mermaid Queen and the Goddess of Wu Mountain, she realized that there was no point getting jealous of lovers who were separated across spacetime.

“Ni Huang, the passageway is about to close,” the Asura King anxiously urged. Opening a passageway between worlds was bound to require a tremendous amount of resources. It had taken a lot of time for the other Asuras to cross the passageway; the chances were that Zu An was already reaching his limit.

“Don’t forget me!” Princess Ni Huang said as she wiped off her tears and ran after her brother. Shortly after she entered the passageway, its entrance closed.

Ox Head and Horse Face walked up to Zu An’s side and said, “The Asuras pride themselves on being a warrior race. They see courage and strength as a virtue. Tears are a symbol of weakness for the Asuras, which is why they never cry except in one scenario.”

“What scenario?” Zu An asked worriedly as he recalled Princess Ni Huang’s earlier tears.

“An Asura woman crying for her lover. They only cry if their feelings for their lover have reached an extreme, to the point of causing them great anguish.” Ox Head and Horse Face were awed. Zu An and Ni Huang had only known each other for a short time, but he had already charmed the Asura race’s princess to this degree.

Zu An’s heart clenched. He fell silent for a long time before Pei Mianman walked to his side and gently grasped his hand. Her consolation brought some warmth back to his icy-cold body.

Following that, Zu An selected the Ten Yamas[1] and established all kinds of roles for the Shamans to take on. He couldn’t stay here for long, so he needed to make sure everything was in place to ensure that the Netherworld could run on its own.

At the same time, he wondered why all the ghost guards were missing when the future him arrived at the Netherworld.

What happened to them, and where did they go?

The more he learned, the more insignificant he felt. There were simply too many things that he was utterly helpless about.

Nevertheless, he still had to try his best. He looked for Ox Head and Horse Face and subtly reminded them to leave a message in the vicinity of the Six Paths of Reincarnation if something huge happened to the Netherworld in the future. In the Netherworld, other than the Oblivion River and Yin Mountain, the Six Paths of Reincarnation were likely the most resistant to the erosion of time.

Ox Head and Horse Face were confused, but they still thumped their chests and gave their word. Zu An made a mental note to check the Six Paths of Reincarnation for information once he returned to his timeline.

Last but not least, he slipped the new World Law Beacon into the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons' palace. He looked at the Mermaid Queen sculpture that was based off Gong Suyin and solemnly bade her farewell.

Everything was finally in place. He turned down the Shamans' and Ocean races' offer to stay and began making his way back to the Fiend races’ imperial court.

While riding on a cloud, Zu An asked the accompanying beauty, “Manman, you seem much quieter in recent days. Is there something on your mind?”

“Too much has happened recently. I’m feeling wistful.” Pei mianman leaned on Zu An’s shoulder while hugging his arm. “After seeing what happened to the others, I can’t help but wonder if we’ll face such a separation in the future too.”

“Let’s cherish every day.” The past Zu An would have promised to protect her well, but after everything he had been through, he'd learned that there were too many things in the world that were beyond his ability to change.

Pei Mianman nodded. Without any warning, she leaned in and kissed him.

There had been too many eyes on them in the past few days, be it in the Netherworld or the Dragon Palace, and it didn’t help that they'd had their hands full with work too. The two of them had hardly enjoyed any private time together. The two of them had too many pent-up emotions that they urgently needed to vent.

There was no need for words; they were too familiar with each other. It didn’t take long for them to be glued together.

“It’s broad daylight. Will anyone see us?”

“Don’t worry. We’re in the sky.”

“What if some powerful cultivators pass by or look toward the sky?”

“No wonder you’re more sensitive than usual. So that’s what you’re worried about!”

“Hey! Don’t talk nonsense!”

...

A cloud in the sky shook intensely for a while. Pei Mianman exclaimed worriedly, “Will this cloud break apart? You need to be gentler!”

“Don’t worry, it won’t break apart.”

...

Looking at the red spider lily tattoo that had appeared on Pei Mianman's lower back due to a rush of blood, Zu An asked, “You often went into a daze whenever we traveled through the Yellow Spring. Were you looking at the red spider lilies?”

Zu An had been busy putting the Netherworld into order, and Pei Mianman had been serving as his secretary. However, in her free time, she had sat by the Yellow Spring and stare dazedly at the red spider lilies.

“Why are you saying this now... I just found the red spider lilies familiar, and it sparked some inspiration.”

“Oh? What kind of inspiration?”

“It’s hard to put it in words. The Paramita Butterfly I acquired seems intricately linked to the Netherworld’s red spider lilies, but I still don’t know what that black butterfly is...”

Pei Mianman suddenly let out an exclamation—Zu An had interrupted her reply. It quickly dawned on her that Zu An wasn’t sincere about those questions either. She felt so frustrated that she clawed him like a little kitten.

...

Xie Daoyun and the others had already gotten anxious from waiting by the time they returned to the Fiend races’ imperial court. Upon seeing the two of them, they breathed a sigh of relief.

“We received news that you were returning, but you were nowhere to be seen even after waiting a while. We thought you encountered danger along the way.”

“I told you. There’s nothing in this world that can threaten big brother Zu now.”

“Hm? Are you sick, Manman? Why is your face so red? Xiaoxi, you should take a look at her.”

...

Pei Mianman was horrified. She would die of shame if Ji Xiaoxi saw through her.

At the most crucial moment, however, Zu An stepped forward and rescued her. “Now that our business here is settled, it’s about time for us to return to our world.”

1. The ten great kings of hell. ☜