Once the doors opened, Aldrian was greeted by a grand, luxurious hall. He looked around and thought that nothing had changed compared to his visions. Even the smallest details were positioned exactly the sa. He rembered that he sotis interacted with his followers here—Feng Xuanyan, Long Shentian, and a few others.
Even when they were still young and not yet powerful, they had already been visiting this place to et with him and discuss many things.
His eyes turned nostalgic as he walked in, moving deeper into the palace. He knew the palace’s structure, and it seed he already understood where the second calling was coming from. He passed through many hallways and beautiful gardens inside the palace as he walked slowly. He couldn’t help but reminisce about the past with his followers in every part of the palace he passed.
He kept walking, following the second calling until he reached a chamber with another set of double doors. Aldrian raised his eyebrows—this one was much different from what he rembered. In his mory, there was no such chamber. And the doors, the very place he sensed the second call from, had never existed in his past life.
Did Feng Xuanyan and Long Shentian make a few changes? It seed so.
It looked like his prediction was wrong. He had thought the second call ca from a place he already knew, but now it appeared to be from sowhere new—hidden beneath the palace.
He opened the doors and found a wide staircase leading downward to an underground area. There was no darkness here. The illumination crystals lining both sides of the walls bathed the entire path in light.
Aldrian continued to walk, and each ti he descended the stairs, his heart beat a little faster. Ever since entering the core area of the forest, he had been anticipating his eting with Feng Xuanyan and Long Shentian. There were many things he wanted to talk about—and quietly, he missed them.
However, he had already prepared for the worst. The first vision he received from the calling had shown a giant golden bone. He had prepared himself for the possibility that they were already—
Aldrian bit his lip slightly as he imagined the worst, but he kept walking. After more than ten minutes, he finally reached another pair of doors. He stopped in front of them for a mont, inhaled deeply, then opened the doors to see what lay inside.
The interior was a vast hall, so imnse he felt like an ant within it. This was the sa hall he had seen in his vision when the golden bone first appeared. It had also appeared in the vision he saw when he looked into the mory of the Heavenly Scarf of the Divine Phoenix.
He did not dwell on how he had finally reached this place—his eyes were instantly drawn to sothing not far ahead. Sothing that made his eyes tremble and his chest tighten.
The source of the calling ca from a small stone tablet placed in the center of the hall. But on both sides of the stone hall stood two gigantic skeletons, each from a different kind of creature.
His body felt frozen as he bit his lip hard. He had told himself he was prepared for the worst, but now it seed the worst had truly happened.
He finally took a step toward the skeletons with a heavy heart. As he walked, mories of Feng Xuanyan and Long Shentian surfaced—how they interacted with him, the way they spoke, their smiles, how they had followed him loyally since they were young.
His steps grew heavy as he neared one of the skeletons. His eyes remained fixed on it until he finally reached the golden skeleton.
His trembling hand touched the skull of the skeleton, which belonged to a phoenix. Although the skeleton was many tis smaller than Feng Xuanyan’s true form, he could feel the connection. Still, even at this reduced size, the phoenix’s skeleton was so imnse it made him feel like a small insect standing before it.
His hand continued to tremble as he leaned forward and pressed his forehead against the skull.
"In the end, you’ve already left ," he thought.
He stayed like that for a few monts before lifting his head to look at the other skeleton. Gently, he tapped the phoenix’s skull a few tis, then turned and began walking toward the dragon’s skeleton.
The dragon’s skeleton was also humongous, and its long body had to coil around itself just to fit inside the already massive hall. Aldrian walked toward it, his eyes tracing the majestic skeleton until he finally saw a section of bone that stirred a sense of déjà vu. It was the sa piece he had seen in his first vision of this place.
He continued until he stood before the dragon’s skull. Like with the phoenix, he reached out and touched it, then pressed his forehead to the bone, as if trying to feel the presence of the being that had once stood before him. The one who, in the past, had been one of his closest followers.
He remained there for a few monts before lifting his head again. Even though both skeletons had been lifeless for a long ti, their golden bones still radiated divine energy—powerful enough to benefit any divine being who cultivated near them.
There was sothing else he noticed. It was the sa sensation he had felt when he sensed his golden energy in Feng Xuanyan’s blood. These skeletons seed to contain traces of his golden energy. In other words, their bodies had been tempered with it while they were still alive.
He sighed with a heavy heart as he looked at the two skeletons again. These two were among the followers who had shared many mories with him. Perhaps because they had been with him since they were young, as far as he could rember, he had held a soft spot for them.
Aldrian turned his attention toward the stone tablet and walked to stand in front of it. Like the other stone tablets he had found, this one also bore an inscription.
To the brightest star that shone upon all the universe
Our god whom we worship
Our master whom we follow
Our teacher whom we respect
Our parent to whom we offer our deepest filial piety
We hope you succeed in your journey
May your light shine ever brighter
May the Great Emperor of All Heavens continue to reign sovereign
Aldrian did not move for a while after reading the inscription. Only after a minute spent collecting his thoughts did he reach out and touch the stone tablet. His heart beat fast as he closed his eyes and channeled his energy into the tablet. It then shone with a bright golden light, and before Aldrian could react to anything, his consciousness was transported sowhere else.
He felt a refreshing sensation as a gentle wind swept over his body. The breeze was just right—not too cold, not too strong—and it soothed his heart and mind.
When he opened his eyes, he saw a beautiful landscape of lush greenery and floating islands in the distance. This was a scenery unlike anything found on the Barisan continent. Mountain ranges stretched along the horizon, and a flowing lake disappeared beyond sight in both directions. Nurous kinds of flora and fauna thrived here—this place was its own world. It felt like a true heaven.
But this scenery was not unfamiliar to him, as he had already seen the sa view in his past life. He now stood on a hill, which allowed him to see everything more clearly. Right beside him was a plum blossom tree in full bloom. Its flowers released a fragrance he knew well, and as he inhaled it, his soul felt refreshed.
He was enjoying this mont, but two figures were already waiting behind him. Not wanting to keep them waiting, he turned around and looked at the figures in front of him.
They were exactly as he rembered from his mories and visions. The man was truly handso—so much so that he could make every woman in the universe fall for him at first sight. The woman was truly beautiful, like a goddess of heaven who could drive every man in the universe go wild for her.
There was no weakness in their outward appearances, even though so features showed they were not entirely human.
At this mont, those handso and beautiful faces—faces that could make the universe tremble—showed the expression of those holding back tears. Their eyes were already red, especially the woman’s, as tears began to fall. Seeing them like this, Aldrian’s heart, which had been beating fast, began to calm.
Even if it was only their will, at least he was finally eting them.
His expression softened as if he wanted to soothe them.
"Why are you crying? Aren’t you happy that I have co?" he said, trying to lift the mood.
The man and woman did not answer. Instead, they suddenly prostrated themselves before him.
"Your Majesty, welco back," they said in unison.
Aldrian could only smile warmly at their display and nodded.
"I’m back, Feng Xuanyan, Long Shentian."
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