A journey through immortal realms begins with a phantom tale.

night.

Luo Cheng stood on the rooftop, gazing into the distance. In the gray night, faint lights shone through.

These past few days, he had searched many places, but still had no news of Luo Xian. He was still preoccupied with the matter of Lin Mingxing—if the Lone Star had descended to the mortal realm, it would bring news of the Azure Emperor. He and Li Qiang both practiced the Azure Emperor's techniques; he wondered what the Azure Emperor's attitude would be.

Footsteps approached, and Lin Chen and Lin Mengdie walked up to Luo Cheng.

"I haven't heard from her since, so I'm preparing to leave," Luo Cheng said.

"Hmm," Lin Chen responded, his face showing some hesitation, as if he had something on his mind.

Luo Cheng turned around, reached out and touched Lin Mengdie's head, his voice gentle: "Mengmeng, I'm leaving this planet. Will you come with me?"

"No!" Lin Mengdie's expression was firm.

Their conversation interrupted Lin Chen's thoughts. With a mix of worry and reluctance, she urged, "Mengmeng, come with your sister."

She couldn't bear to leave Lin Mengdie on Tianqi Star. Little Mengdie was eight years old this year, but she looked like a four or five-year-old girl, obviously due to long-term malnutrition.

But Xiao Mengdie still shook her head, her expression unwavering.

Lin Chen then said, "Mengmeng, this planet is no longer suitable for cultivation. If you stay here, I'm afraid you'll have a hard time even reaching the Nascent Soul stage."

"I won't leave!" Lin Mengdie remained unmoved. "Sister, my older brother told me the story of the Empress. The Empress's conditions and circumstances were far more difficult than mine, yet she still managed to become an immortal in the mortal world. Why can't I?"

Little Dream Butterfly paused here, silently thinking, "If I can't even overcome this small difficulty, how can I revive my brother?"

She understands everything, yet she doesn't want to understand.

She knew how difficult the road ahead would be, but she had to keep going, and she could only do it alone.

Lin Chen glared at Luo Cheng, his eyes seeming to say: Look at you, telling her stories about empresses! Now look what's happened, she wants to be an empress!

A thought flashed through her mind, and she said with a hint of resentment, "Hey, Mr. Luo, you should try to talk to her."

Luo Cheng said calmly, "Since she doesn't want to leave, let her stay here."

"Hey!" Lin Chen exclaimed urgently, "Do you even know what kind of environment this is?"

She genuinely liked the little girl and wanted to take her away from Apokolips.

"I respect her choice," Luo Cheng said.

"Hey Luo, look at her! She's only eight years old! Are you leaving her here to fend for herself?"

Lin Mengdie tugged at Lin Chen's sleeve and looked at her with a determined gaze: "Sister, the Empress was only four years old when she separated from her brother. I'm four years older than her, so I'm not afraid."

"Ah!" Lin Chen shouted, glaring at Luo Cheng, feeling like he was about to explode with anger.

Lin Mengdie, however, acted like a little adult and comforted her, "Sister, you don't need to worry about me. I can take care of myself."

"You're still so young..."

"Sister, before you came, I could not only take care of myself, but also take care of brother. You really don't need to worry about me."

Little Mengdie spoke adult words in her clear, childlike voice, which made Lin Chen feel a pang of sadness.

"Everyone has their own path, and we shouldn't interfere," Luo Cheng said.

"I don't want to talk to you anymore!" Lin Chen said, then leaped into the air and his figure quickly disappeared into the night.

Lin Mengdie asked timidly, "Big brother, is sister angry? Will she ignore me?"

"She's not angry, and she won't ignore you."

"Big brother, could you tell me more about the Empress's story?"

"it is good."

Luo Cheng spoke very seriously, starting from the Empress reversing time to return to the Immortal Ancient Era to find the Wilderness, and recounting her exploits in the Immortal Realm and her great battle against the strange race.

Lin Mengdie listened intently, her eyes shining as she looked at Luo Cheng, her conviction growing ever stronger.

Finally, Luo Cheng explained the structure of the ethereal world to her: "Mengmeng, this world is vast, containing the realms of cultivation, immortals, demons, and Buddhas, as well as the higher realm of gods. If you can become a god and travel to the realm of gods, you can awaken your brother."

"Yes!" Xiao Mengdie nodded emphatically, keeping Luo Cheng's words firmly in mind.

Before leaving, Luo Cheng used his great supernatural powers to purify the air of Apokolips, mainly by removing radiation energy. At the same time, he also caused a ten-day rainstorm on Apokolips to nourish the land.

The day of parting finally arrived.

Luo Cheng, Lin Chen, Li Mengtian, and Xiao Mengdie said their goodbyes to each other.

Li Mengtian did not participate in this farewell scene. She glanced at Xiao Mengdie, who stood beside her like a statue, expressionless.

Lin Chen held Xiao Mengdie's hand and talked on and on.

"Sister, I will come to find you when I become an immortal."

"Yes, you must take good care of yourself."

Finally, Lin Chen glared at Luo Cheng again. She desperately wanted Luo Cheng to say something—in her mind, if Luo Cheng spoke, he could definitely take Xiao Mengdie away.

These days, she even considered forcibly taking Lin Mengdie with her, but Luo Cheng said, "If you forcibly take her away, she won't be happy."

The teleportation array shone brightly.

The three entered hyperspace and arrived at another planet shortly afterward. Luo Cheng then activated the teleportation array again, and after several such teleportations, they finally arrived at Fengyuan Star.

Li Mengtian stepped out of the teleportation array and saw many cultivators flying on their swords, while others flashed out from beside the array, heading towards the cultivation city. She couldn't help but smile: "This place is really nice."

Lin Chen, however, was somewhat sullen. She knew that they would have to part again.

Back on Apocalypse Star, she had asked Luo Cheng if he could take her with him. She knew that Luo Cheng was going to the Illusionary Star Divine Array and the Ancient God's Treasury, both of which were extremely dangerous—the Illusionary Star Divine Array was the Daoist temple of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, and the Ancient God's Treasury was the Daoist temple of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable. Even if an ancient god were to break in, he would be in mortal danger.

When she left Blue Star, she secretly vowed to follow Luo Cheng wherever he went. But after leaving Blue Star, she realized how vast the universe was. Her cultivation was insufficient; even if she wanted to follow, she couldn't keep up with his pace. She struggled with all her might to fly out of the atmosphere, while he vanished in a flash.

Seeing her downcast, Luo Cheng gently comforted her, "Little Chenchen, this place is perfect for your cultivation. Besides, there's the Ancient Sword Academy and the Chongxuan Sect here; both sects will take care of you. Also, I'll put in a word with the Holy City, so that no cultivator in the Fengyuan Star area will dare to offend you."

Lin Chen grabbed Luo Cheng's hand: "I don't want to be separated from you."

Li Mengtian stood to the side, watching the two of them cuddling for so long, feeling a pang of resentment. However, after arriving at Fengyuan Star and witnessing its grandeur, her mind began to stir—'Now that I'm here, I'm determined to become an immortal!' She even secretly thought, 'Once I become an immortal, I'll capture this guy.'

She put aside her chaotic thoughts and said in a detached tone, "You two keep being lovey-dovey, I'm leaving."

"Hmph, it's best that this damned woman is gone." Lin Chen snorted twice.

Luo Cheng said, "This is a sacred place for cultivation, where Nascent Soul cultivators are everywhere, and there are immortals guarding it. She can't cause any trouble here."

"If you ask me, you shouldn't have taught her to cultivate immortality in the first place. With her personality, she's bound to become a scourge to the cultivation world."

"Let's not talk about her anymore." Luo Cheng took Lin Chen's hand. "Come on, I'll take you to the Chongxuan Sect."

"Great! Great!" Lin Chen immediately perked up; she had long wanted to see what the Chongxuan Sect was like.

With Luo Cheng's cultivation level, he used his divine chess power to protect Lin Chen, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived at the entrance of the Chongxuan Sect.

The Chongxuan Sect was magnificent; its ancient buildings appeared and disappeared among the immortal mountains, exuding an aura of immortality. This was also the first time Lin Chen had ever seen a truly grand immortal sect.

"The Chongxuan Sect is famous throughout the cultivation world for its weapon crafting skills," Luo Cheng introduced.

"Mhm!" Lin Chen nodded repeatedly.

A young disciple flew out from the mountain gate, greeted Luo Cheng with a broad smile, and said, "It's Uncle-Master Luo! You're back!"

"Are you Yu Hong's disciple?"

"Yes."

"Has Brother Fu returned?"

"no."

Luo Cheng was somewhat disappointed, yet felt it was normal—Fu Shan's lineage simply liked to wander around aimlessly.

He then introduced, "This is...."

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Chen interrupted, "I am his Daoist partner."

She finally understood that if she didn't take the initiative, this guy would never take the initiative.

"Hmm." Luo Cheng was stunned. He knew Lin Chen's feelings, but he had always avoided them. He knew his own situation well; he wouldn't stay in one place for too long, and besides, he always remembered Elder Zhi's words—he didn't belong to this world, nor to this ancient history.

Upon hearing Lin Chen's words, the disciple named Wang Chen immediately bowed respectfully to her.

At this moment, Lin Chen had a satisfied smile on his face.

Seeing her smiling happily, Luo Cheng didn't object. He simply said to Wang Chen, "I'll be going out in a few days. Lin Chen will be staying at Chongxuan Sect to cultivate. Please arrange a place for her to stay."

"OK!"

Wang Chen arranged an excellent place for Lin Chen to stay, which was very suitable for cultivation.

After settling in, Lin Chen dragged Luo Cheng around, wanting to explore the area. Luo Cheng showed her around the Chongxuan Sect, though of course, some important places were off-limits.

After visiting the Chongxuan Sect, Lin Chen said, "In the cultivation world, there should be a market for cultivators, right? I'd like to go and take a look."

"it is good."

Lin Chen held Luo Cheng's hand tightly, unwilling to let go.

This time, Luo Cheng did not use his teleportation ability, but instead carried her on the wind.

Along the way, one could see cultivators flying in the air—some flying on swords, some on magical artifacts, and some flying on the wind like Luo Cheng.

Along the way, Lin Chen looked at the other female cultivators' attire and said, "Everyone is wearing long skirts, can you take me to buy one?"

"it is good."

Soon, the two arrived at the Holy City. The Holy City was the central city of Fengyuan Star. From the void, it was magnificent, with numerous buildings and faint celestial light shining through it—the entire Holy City was clearly protected by a great formation.

Luo Cheng knew that even if an immortal came, it would be impossible to break through the Holy City's protective array in a short time.

In Lin Chen's eyes, this place was like a celestial realm: everyone moved about freely, trading spirit stones and treasures used by cultivators. She was new to the cultivation world and filled with curiosity about everything.

This was Luo Cheng's second visit to the Holy City, and with someone accompanying him, he no longer felt the awkwardness he had felt the last time. A thought even flashed through his mind: 'Finding a cultivation partner wouldn't be so bad.'

As luck would have it, the two had only been strolling around for a short while when they ran into Li Mengtian.

The two women met as if they were enemies.

"Why are you here?" Lin Chen spoke first, his tone unfriendly.

"This isn't your territory, why can't I come?" Li Mengtian retorted without backing down.

"unlucky!"

"Honey, let's ignore her. Take me to see some legal artifacts. I want to buy a few." Lin Chen said, and then winked at Li Mengtian.

Li Mengtian suppressed her anger and said, "There aren't many other types of cultivators, but there are plenty of handsome men. I'll find one too."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she was stunned—she didn't know why she had mentioned handsome guys. Seeing Lin Chen completely ignore her and walk away with Luo Cheng, she felt even worse.

"I've waited for him for sixty years... and he treated me like this! I'll make him regret it!" Li Mengtian thought angrily to herself.

Lin Chen, holding Luo Cheng's hand, said as they walked, "If you ask me, you really shouldn't have taught her cultivation. Someone like her will never know how to be grateful."