Mortals get a golden finger for immortal cultivation every year

"You actually dare to come back? You should know that he has now advanced to become a god. What does this mean? I think you should know very well. You should be running for your life now. Or do you still want to rekindle your old flame with him?"

Zhao Shuang, who had originally intended to enter the palace, was so shocked upon seeing Zhang Ruoji turn back that he blurted out in disbelief. This was the first time he had ever been so shocked.

After all, for Zhang Ruoji to return here now would basically be suicide. Of course, he probably won't die, but he'll definitely get a severe beating, that's for sure.

"I want to see her!!"

Zhang Ruoji's words left Zhao Shuang speechless with shock. Even the people beside him were equally stunned. They knew a little about Zhang Ruoji's situation. Although they didn't know the full story, they understood what those words meant. It meant Zhang Ruoji was courting death, and a death without a proper burial. They couldn't understand why Zhang Ruoji wanted to see that person. It was unbelievable, even impossible. Yet, the facts were undeniable; they had witnessed it firsthand.

"Are you out of your mind? You should know what this means; it means you could be killed at any moment."

These words weren't spoken by Zhao Shuang, but by Ao Xinyan, who was standing next to her. She simply couldn't believe Zhang Ruoji would say such a thing. The main reason she spoke up was because she and Zhang Ruoji had some classmate relationship, which was why she offered a warning. If it were anyone else, they would probably have run as far away as possible. But right now, she couldn't just stand by and watch Zhang Ruoji go to his death.

“Didn’t you say that those guys have high hopes for me, that I’m the hope for saving the Kunlun Realm? So I won’t die, right? So it’s only natural that I want to see her, right? I want to ask her some questions, so I want you to introduce me to her, so I can get the answers to my long-standing questions from her. And only you can do this; no one else can.”

As Zhang Ruoji uttered those words, it seemed he had finally poured out everything that had been bottled up inside him for a long time. Of course, this was actually quite unlikely.

His words shocked and bewildered Nalan Danqing. He truly hadn't expected Zhang Ruoji to have such audacity. He had learned about Zhang Ruoji and the Empress from Zhao Shuang, and upon hearing that, he too was incredibly shocked, leaving him speechless.

He knew very well that Zhao Shuang was indeed capable of doing this, but he was worried that the Empress would be angry. That would be of no benefit to Zhao Shuang.

"Are you sure you want to see her? You should know that even if you see her, she might not give you an answer. Because right now, she's like a controlled puppet, incapable of giving you any answers. Moreover, everything she's done is to make you hate her. Only if you hate her will you have the motivation to move forward; only if you hate her will you become stronger; only if you hate her will the Kunlun Realm have a little more hope, and those old guys won't be disappointed in you. If those old guys are disappointed in you, your existence will be meaningless, and they can choose someone else. Although your existence is crucial to those old guys, they can make changes. If it weren't for the changes that happened, I wouldn't exist either. So, those old guys don't only have you to choose; they can choose others. Therefore, if you go, you might never come back. So, you should think carefully. I can take you to see her, but on the condition that you are prepared to die. This time, seeing her might mean you never come out again. Of course, you might also come out, and you might learn the whole truth. Because even I don't fully understand the whole truth; I only know a little bit about it."

After thinking about it, Zhao Shuang did not refuse directly, but patiently persuaded her.

“I know all of this, but I still want to see her. I want to find out from her what really happened back then.”

Zhang Ruoji's tone was firm, his attitude resolute, and his expression serious, as if he were prepared to force his way in if Zhao Shuang didn't agree. Of course, with his current strength, he couldn't even defeat Nalan Danqing and Canglan Martial Saint if he tried to force his way in.

Currently, both Nalan Danqing and Canglan Martial Saint are stronger than him, only a hair's breadth away from the Saint King realm, and could break through at any moment. Defeating Zhang Ruoji wouldn't be difficult, but both of them greatly admire Zhang Ruoji, are aware of his past grievances with the Empress, and know about Zhang Ruoji's identity. Therefore, they didn't make a move. Otherwise, if it were anyone else who dared to disrespect Her Majesty the Empress, they would have long since been torn to pieces and shattered into pieces.

"I've already told you what happened back then. Although it wasn't complete, with your intelligence, you should be able to deduce what I didn't say. Therefore, whether you ask her or not doesn't really matter; you already have the answers in your heart, don't you?"

Zhao Shuang's words silenced Zhang Ruoji. Although he wanted to refute her, he had to admit that what Zhao Shuang said was true. He already had an answer in his heart, but even so, he still wanted to ask the Empress himself, to hear the answer with his own ears, rather than relying on his own speculation.

"Right now, even if you wanted to see her, she might not see you. Because you're not qualified to see her yet; your strength is still too weak. When you're strong enough, you'll naturally be able to see her. But right now, you're far from it. So, you should go back and cultivate diligently; don't worry about anything else. I'll find a way to help you with other things, but not now. In short, you need to cultivate diligently and continue to work hard to increase your strength. Only then can you know everything and get what you want from her. You're still too weak; she could tear you to pieces with a single thought." "She might not kill you, but she might. I can tell you definitively that she originally wanted to become a deity, and the tribulation of love she needed to overcome was with you; she needed you to pass through it. But I taught her a technique called the 'Great Ruthlessness Technique,' which can sever all feelings, cutting off all emotions, thus helping her overcome the tribulation. So, now that she has become a deity, it means that her feelings for you have vanished. Therefore, your appearance before her now is tantamount to suicide; she is very likely to attack you. Because she no longer has any feelings for you, I hope you understand."

Zhao Shuang's words caused Zhang Ruoji's originally resolute expression to waver slightly.

He had never imagined that Zhao Shuang would actually help the Empress advance to godhood, and at such a great cost. She had even imparted secret techniques to him; this was truly beyond his comprehension. However, upon reflection, he understood. After all, it was only natural for Zhao Shuang to help the Empress break through to godhood. In a sense, this matter had little to do with him.

This is because it's for the sake of the entire Kunlun Realm, not just for his own sake, and most importantly, his relationship with Zhao Shuang isn't very good either.

This alone left him with no reason to be angry, because everything Zhao Shuang had done was for the sake of the entire Kunlun Realm. It was absolutely impossible for the entire Kunlun Realm to be affected for his sake alone. He understood this perfectly well, so he didn't blame Zhao Shuang.

“I must see her no matter what. So, brother, I hope you can help me.”

Although his expression wavered, he still showed no sign of backing down and his attitude remained exceptionally firm.

"Since that's the case, then I won't say anything more. In short, since you've made your decision, I'll help you this time. But remember, this is your only chance. If you lose your life, don't blame me."

Seeing Zhang Ruoji's expression, Zhao Shuang remained silent for a moment before finally agreeing. This decision left Nalan Danqing, Canglan Martial Saint, and the others dumbfounded. They wanted to stop him, but saw Zhao Shuang shake his head, clearly not intending to listen to their advice.

"Then come with me. Let's go to the palace and see Her Majesty the Empress. After all, so many years have passed, and I haven't seen her in a long time. The last time I saw her was a long time ago. Now she has become a deity, and she did so successfully with my help, without needing your power. You know, I have done her a great favor. Let's go and see Her Majesty the Empress."

After saying this, Zhao Shuang directly tore open space. This scene shocked everyone into disbelief. Even Zhang Ruoji, a master of spacetime, couldn't tear space apart in the Central Imperial City. In fact, very few people in the entire Central Imperial City could do this, and no one dared to. Doing so would undoubtedly offend the Empress's majesty. But Zhao Shuang was too lazy to travel, so he could only use this teleportation method to arrive at the palace and pay his respects to the Empress.

“Let’s go, don’t just stand there, or we’ll run out of time. You see, our Empress has now broken through to become a god, and she’ll definitely be busy resolving all the troubles facing the Kunlun Realm. To her, these troubles are no longer important. Moreover, after so much time, the Kunlun Realm’s military training is complete. Although it’s not ideal, it’s barely enough to deal with the upcoming calamities. So, what we need to do now is to help the Empress one last time. Let’s go see her.”

After Zhao Shuang finished speaking, he directly entered the spatial passage he had opened. Seeing the spatial passage opened by Zhao Shuang, Canglan Martial Saint and Nalan Danqing exchanged a glance, then gave a few instructions to their other subordinates before entering the spatial passage themselves. As for Zhang Ruoji, seeing the other two enter the spatial passage, he naturally stepped into it without hesitation.

After they stepped into the spatial passage, the entire passage disappeared completely in full view of everyone.

At the highest point of the Ziwei Palace, divine clouds layered upon each other. Within those seven-colored divine clouds lay the Heavenly Pool. The entire Heavenly Pool stretched for 30 li (approximately 15 kilometers) and was 19 zhang (approximately 63 meters) deep, displaying a deep blue hue.

At the center of Tianchi Lake lies the Primordial Holy Temple, where the Empress resides.

Inside this sanctuary, the Queen was waiting for something. There was no one else in the entire sanctuary.

Outside the temple, a group of people knelt, all of them showing respect and worship.

Suddenly, they sensed a spatial fluctuation within the temple, followed by the appearance of a spatial passage within the temple, from which Zhao Shuang and his group emerged.

At this moment, Zhao Shuang looked at the Empress in the temple. The Empress now was completely different from the one he had seen before; she was more sacred and inviolable, filled with the supreme majesty of a god. But for Zhao Shuang, this meant nothing, and he felt no pressure whatsoever. It could be said that no pressure could be exerted upon him.

"Chi Yao!" Zhang Ruoji uttered the simple two words. But Zhang Ruoji could not see the Empress's face at this moment; her figure was hidden in the divine light.

"He wants to see you and talk to you alone, so I brought him along. However, even though it's just the two of you talking, I'm quite curious about what happened back then. I wonder if I could stay and listen?"

If anyone else had heard Zhao Shuang's words, they would have been terrified. But for Zhao Shuang, it was no problem at all. He then found a place to sit down and invited the others to sit down as well.

His words were not obeyed by the others. Since the Queen had not spoken, they dared not utter a sound or make any noise.

"Alright, don't be so scared. The Queen is actually very easy to get along with, and she's a nice person."

Zhao Shuang's words prompted the Empress in the divine light to speak for the first time, her voice icy cold.

"roll!"

It was just a simple word, yet it was filled with boundless rage and murderous intent. It was safe to say that disobedience could truly mean death. But for Zhao Shuang, these words were clearly not directed at him, but at Zhang Ruoji. "See? I told you not to come see her, but you insisted. And now I've told you to get lost, haven't I? Now you understand what I mean, right? It's not too late to leave now. Leave before the spatial passage closes, and you'll still have a chance to live. If you don't leave, you're very likely to be killed."

Zhang Ruoji did not respond to Zhao Shuang's words.

Or rather, he completely ignored it and pretended not to hear it.

"Why are you so disobedient? You have no right to stand here anymore. Get out of here now and think about your own life."

Zhao Shuang's persuasion was sincere and heartfelt, showing consideration for brotherhood. Otherwise, he would have simply slapped Zhang Ruoji away. Of course, this method would also be considered a consideration for brotherhood, but he didn't do it because he was also curious to know what the Empress would do.

"why?"

This was Zhang Ruoji's first question. This "why" naturally referred to what happened back then. Everyone present knew the meaning of the question, but only the Queen could answer it.

The Empress showed no intention of replying.

(End of this chapter)