Chapter 125

The moment he spoke, Luo Han knew this was not the Ling Qingxiao she once knew.
Her Ling Qingxiao would never speak to her like this. He would never carry such overpowering authority in his voice. This was the aura of one who had ruled for ages, who had commanded the cosmos and crushed all opposition beneath his feet.
She exhaled softly. Not afraid, not nervous, just quietly resigned. But behind her, the Bodhi Tree and the others tensed like drawn bows.
They had risked everything summoning her back, igniting the time vortex, gathering all their strength to prevent a future catastrophe. The plan was simple: send Luo Han back to the past before it was too late.
And just as the vortex closed…she had returned.
The Bodhi Tree assumed the transmigration had failed and rushed to try again but they’d already been caught. Once Ling Qingxiao intervened, there was no longer any hope of slipping away unnoticed. Worse, he now knew who Luo Han really was.
And it was clear: he intended to take her. They couldn’t let that happen.
The Bodhi Tree didn’t hesitate. Even knowing the danger, it lashed out, green light flaring like wildfire to block his path. The Black Tortoise followed, along with the other Ancients, unleashing their combined strength. But even united, they couldn’t get close.
Ling Qingxiao merely lifted a hand. The gathered energy shattered like glass under his will. With a flick of his palm, waves of oppressive spiritual pressure burst forth, forcing the Ancients back several steps.
Luo Han, too, was caught in the blast blown backward, her footing unsteady. She immediately realized: I can’t beat him anymore. Not this version of him.
Luo Han had never been one to drag out a losing battle. If she couldn’t win and the Bodhi Tree couldn’t either there was no point pretending otherwise.
Seeing that Ling Qingxiao was ready to strike again, she quickly raised her hands in surrender.
“Don’t,” she called. “It’s just the Heavenly Palace, isn’t it? Fine. I’ll go with you.”
She didn’t notice it, but she’d said go back.
“Heavenly Dao!” the Bodhi Tree cried out, horrified. It thought she didn’t yet understand how dangerous this man had become. Ignoring the fact that Ling Qingxiao himself was present, the Bodhi Tree desperately shouted, “Do you even know who he is?!”
Luo Han turned back with a calm, matter-of-fact expression. “Of course I do. He’s Ling Qingxiao.”
A silence fell over the clearing. Even the celestial soldiers behind Ling Qingxiao stiffened in shock. After all these years, no one had dared speak the Emperor’s name aloud.
Was this girl ignorant? Bold beyond reason? Or had she simply gone mad? Ling Qingxiao, too, was surprised, but not at her words.
What startled him was her willingness.
He had expected a fierce struggle. When he’d sensed the temporal disturbance, he was on the verge of launching a war. But instead, he turned and saw the vortex opening in the skies, saw her, standing in its light, eyes meeting his.
He had known immediately: She is the Heavenly Dao.
The laws surrounding her. The aura of another world. There was no doubt.
The Ancients had summoned Heavenly Dao back in secret, behind his back—clearly up to something. He had drawn his sword and severed the rift, but time was fleeting. He hadn’t known whether they’d succeeded.
He left the battlefield and came straight to the origin point. And there she was.
Falling from the sky, right into his hands. He barely had to lift a finger. The barrier shattered. The opposition fell. All too easy.
And then, against all expectations, instead of resisting, she came willingly.
Such a compliant attitude…it was almost suspicious. She must be hiding something.
But even if she was, it didn’t matter.
Ling Qingxiao cast Luo Han a glance, calm and indifferent. “If Heavenly Dao is willing to reside in the Celestial Palace, all the better. Please, this way.”
Luo Han followed him without hesitation. Before leaving, she even turned to the Bodhi Tree and the others, waving cheerfully, “I’m going now. You all should head back too.”
She looked for all the world like a village girl leaving for university, waving a bright goodbye to the folks back home.
The Bodhi Tree was stunned. For the first time in its life, it, a tree, experienced the intense rollercoaster of human emotion. After bidding farewell, Luo Han turned back, smiling as she had countless times before, and walked toward Ling Qingxiao. “Shall we?”
Ling Qingxiao had been watching her closely the whole time, quietly waiting for her to spring whatever hidden trick she had prepared. But when she looked at him with that familiar smile and stepped lightly toward his side, his divine consciousness wavered for a moment.
That tone, that expression, that posture…as though they had known each other for years.
But this was their first meeting.
The lapse lasted only a second. No one noticed except Ling Qingxiao himself. Hands clasped behind his back, he resumed his usual composure, his gaze slightly scrutinizing as it fell upon this sudden manifestation of the Heavenly Dao. Yet Luo Han passed by him without pause. Realizing he hadn’t moved, she glanced back in puzzlement. “What’s wrong?”
Ling Qingxiao remained motionless, as did the celestial soldiers behind him. At last, without a word, he turned and began walking away. As he passed, the entire army instinctively stepped aside, clearing a path for him. Not one dared breathe too loud.
Luo Han quirked a brow. He’s definitely harder to deal with than the younger version.
She sighed and quickened her pace to keep up.
The Bodhi Tree and Black Tortoise could only watch helplessly as Luo Han walked calmly at Ling Qingxiao’s side, even seeming…happy. The Bodhi Tree had believed she was buying time, surely she had a backup plan. It waited. And waited.
Ling Qingxiao led Luo Han all the way back to the celestial army. Still, nothing.
The Bodhi Tree fell silent for a long time, then murmured, “Did…something go wrong?”
“It appears so,” the Black Tortoise replied. “Her clothes are different. Her cultivation is no longer mortal. Looks like the time-travel did succeed...but something deviated. She somehow came back.”
The assembled Ancients fell silent.
They had no alternatives left. Only the Heavenly Dao could travel through time and only she could alter the past to save the world. To help her understand the mission, the Bodhi Tree had painstakingly compiled countless memories from different lifetimes and major events, distilling them all into one book, linear, cause-and-effect, clear as crystal.
Luo Han should have understood. So what happened?
The Bodhi Tree was dying to know, what exactly was her interpretation of “saving the world” that led to this outcome?
—
Above the clouds, the celestial army stood in perfect formation. Rows upon rows of soldiers waited in silence. Even without their Emperor present, not a single soldier dared make a sound.
Then they saw him return. Their Emperor. With a woman beside him.
A...woman?
Heavenly Star Lord Tianyu blinked in disbelief. He couldn’t make sense of it and carefully probed, “Your Majesty, the Demon Realm has already challenged us three times. Shall we strike?”
Ling Qingxiao looked down. The earth was packed with troops as far as the eye could see. The brightest lights of spiritual energy marked the positions of Ye Zhongyu, Yun Menghan, the Red Lotus Demon King, Feng Yuchen, and the High Priest of the Wu Tribe.
Farther away, a towering red light pillar pierced the heavens, oozing with dark and sinister Qi.
Ling Qingxiao looked for a moment, then turned back and said calmly, “Sound the gong. Withdraw the troops. We return to camp.”
Tianyu nearly choked. Withdraw?!
Still, he dared not question. He immediately relayed the order. Though the army had already formed their battle positions, the moment the Emperor’s command rang out, not a single general or soldier hesitated. Without complaint, they retreated.
Luo Han updated her mental records again. Not only had Ling Qingxiao’s cultivation skyrocketed, but his authority now commanded absolute obedience. Clearly, much had transpired since his ascension.
The celestial troops withdrew in perfect order.
Tianyu noticed, however, that Ling Qingxiao wasn’t returning to the central command. He hesitated. “Your Majesty...what now?”
“Hold your position,” Ling Qingxiao ordered. “I’m returning to the Celestial Palace. Until I return, no one is to act without permission.”
Tianyu had been shocked more times today than in the past thousand years combined. He braved one final question: “May I ask...why return now, Your Majesty?”
Ling Qingxiao had never been one to explain himself.
The moment Tianyu saw his face darken, he realized he had overstepped. He quickly prepared to kneel and apologize, but Luo Han smoothly cut in, rescuing him: “He’s sending me back. I don’t really know the way, so…it seems I’ll be troubling His Majesty to escort me personally.”
Only then did Tianyu dare glance at her. Military discipline had forbidden him from looking earlier. He’d only glimpsed a vague outline and hadn’t dared stare.
Now that he saw her clearly, first thought: she was stunning, second thought: Why does she seem familiar?
He was certain they had never met. And yet, a strange feeling of deja vu lingered.
Ling Qingxiao noticed it, too.
And not just with himself, Luo Han had spoken to Tianyu with a tone of effortless familiarity, as if they were old friends. A faint twinge of displeasure flickered across Ling Qingxiao’s face before he swiftly smoothed it over.
“Maintain high alert in the coming days,” he instructed. “Keep watch on the Demon Clan. Do not falter.”
Tianyu snapped to attention. “At once!”
—
Beneath the clouds, Yun Menghan stood surrounded by protective guards, her heart in turmoil. She had never asked for any of this. She just wanted a simple, quiet life as a mortal woman. But fate had dragged her again and again into the heart of chaos.
Now, a great war was looming and countless men were about to fight over her. The thought made her want to disappear.
She lowered her eyes, lips pressed together, miserable. But everyone else was still staring upward, eyes fixed on the golden cloud that pulsed dimly overhead.
When the trumpet sounded, signaling the retreat of the Celestial Army shock rippled through the ranks.
Ye Zhongyu frowned. “We were on the brink of war. Why would he pull back now? What trick is he playing this time?”
“The Celestials are cunning, this could just be a smokescreen.”
A demon cultivator murmured beside Ye Zhongyu, “My Lord, we must remain vigilant. What if it’s a feint?”
“There’s sense in that,” the Red Lotus Demon King agreed. “Ling Qingxiao is obsessed with Menghan. He won’t let her go so easily.”
Yun Menghan lowered her eyes. “The only person I love is Zhongyu. We merely grew up together, nothing more. He is the Celestial Emperor now, surely, he’s long since let it go.”
“How could he let it go?” Feng Yuchen scoffed. “He’s a man of extremes. In all these thousands of years on the throne, he’s turned the once-diverse Celestial Realm into a place where only his word matters. He never moved on from Yun Menghan. With his nature, he won’t just back down. We need to be cautious.”
A wave of chatter and speculation rose among them. Finally, Ye Zhongyu nodded. “Issue a full alert. Let’s see what exactly he’s planning.”
They waited for hours on the battlefield, but Ling Qingxiao truly seemed to have withdrawn. Not just for that day, he didn’t reappear in the days that followed either.
Yun Menghan, tormented by the burden of being caught between two powerful men and convinced Ling Qingxiao still pined for her, was shaken. Why? He was supposed to be obsessed. She was right here at the front lines, so where had he gone?
At that very moment, the man occupying every thought in the Demon Realm had already arrived at the Southern Heavenly Gate.
Ling Qingxiao had expected Luo Han to make a run for it the moment she got the chance, but to his surprise, she hadn’t tried anything. Quietly, obediently, she followed him back into the Celestial Realm.
Was she too confident in her own strength…or did she simply not understand who he truly was?
Either way, once inside Sanqing Heaven, her choices would no longer be her own. Luo Han, unaware of his thoughts, looked around with ease. The Celestial Palace wasn’t foreign to her. In fact, not long ago, she’d lived here.
Comforted by the familiar surroundings, she asked, “So where am I staying? Da Luo Heaven is nice, but the wind gets a bit strong. Could I pick somewhere more sheltered?”
Ling Qingxiao paused. He turned and looked at her deeply. Da Luo Heaven…?
He had originally intended to confine her within Sanqing Heaven, where he could better control the situation. But if she wanted Da Luo Heaven...it suited him just as well. Easier to keep an eye on her. No matter what tricks she had up her sleeve, she wouldn’t get far.
He changed his mind without a word. “Very well. Chongguang Palace is quiet and well protected from the wind. It should suffice.”
Luo Han had stayed in Da Luo Heaven for a month before the time-travel she knew Chongguang Palace well. A whole palace complex, all to herself, she was more than satisfied.
The attending servants, however, were dumbfounded. When they heard the Emperor was personally escorting that woman to reside in Da Luo Heaven, their eyes widened. No one dared speak, only rushing off to make preparations.
As before, Da Luo Heaven remained eerily quiet. Time might sharpen a man’s aura and authority, but it rarely changed his preferences. He still disliked noise. Still disliked people.
The higher they climbed, the quieter it became. Luo Han walked beside Ling Qingxiao, not at all uncomfortable with the silence. He didn’t entrust her to anyone else but personally escorted her to Chongguang Palace.
Luo Han, used to this behavior from the younger him, found nothing odd about it. Soon, they arrived. Ling Qingxiao stepped aside, gesturing her forward. “This is Chongguang Palace. It hasn’t been used in some time perhaps it’s a bit plain. If anything is lacking, feel free to speak.”
Plain? Not even close. Still, Luo Han didn’t reply immediately. She had felt something off the entire way here, and now, she finally realized what it was.
She turned to him. “Why do you keep calling me ‘Heavenly Dao’? That’s way too formal. Call me by my name.”
“Your name?” Ling Qingxiao paused slightly, clearly caught off guard. Heavenly Dao...has a name?
Luo Han caught his reaction and immediately frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean? Of course I have a name, wait. Hang on.”
Another realization struck her. This version of Ling Qingxiao didn’t know her name. And not once during the entire journey had he bothered to ask.
Unbelievable. Anger flared in her chest. “Why haven’t you asked for my name?!”
Ling Qingxiao blinked, mystified by the sudden outburst. Taking her apparent age into account, he humored her, “Then...who are you?”
The words struck something deep. He had once asked her this same question, back when they stood in the depths of the Abyss.
Her anger dissipated as quickly as it had come. She blinked and said softly, “I’m Luo Han.”
I came...to find you.