If you die, I will be able to inherit your cultivation.

Zhou Ming learned this from his memories of receiving dividends.

Over the course of countless years, the overall structure of the immortal realm has remained largely unchanged.

The various factions, large and small, continue to operate according to the old rules.

There was no great war that shook the entire Immortal Realm, nor any major upheaval that could rewrite the order of the Immortal Realm.

He meticulously reviewed every detail of his experiences with the split soul, searching through all the fragments of memory, but still couldn't find any clues related to the arrival of the Chaos Elder.

Zhou Ming was neither surprised nor disappointed by this.

He knew from the beginning that it would be difficult to detect any trace of that being by relying solely on these few fragments of his soul.

The divided soul itself has shallow cultivation and limited vision. If the old man in the chaos really appears...

Even if someone were to stand silently just inches away from the split soul, the split soul might not be able to detect their presence.

After pondering for a moment, Zhou Ming began to give instructions to the split soul.

That fragment of soul, which had once been forced to bury itself in books and memorize countless volumes of classic texts in the mortal realm, was arranged by Zhou Ming to remain within the Dragon Clan.

The goal he set for this divided soul was for it to find an opportunity to infiltrate the Dragon Clan's intelligence department and lie in wait to gather information from all sides.

The remaining fragments of the soul all went out to gain experience.

Let them travel throughout the immortal realm, searching for other transmigrators who also possess golden fingers.

Zhou Ming had other plans regarding the old man of chaos.

He planned to wait until all the divided souls left the Dragon Clan and went to their respective training grounds before personally testing them.

After explaining the situation, Zhou Ming immediately took action to completely close the spatial rift connecting the Dragon Clan's territory.

After doing all this, Zhou Ming's figure flickered and he teleported directly. The next moment, he was already standing in the imperial palace of the Ming Dynasty.

Ten thousand years have passed in the blink of an eye.

The imperial palace of the Ming Dynasty, however, remained almost unchanged.

The location of the palace, the patterns on the stone slabs, and the extent of vegetation growth are exactly the same as when he left ten thousand years ago.

It seems that the passing years have left few traces within these palace walls.

The Imperial Garden is exactly the same as it was back then.

Su Mingyue was sitting and chatting with a few people around her. They were talking in hushed tones and looked relaxed.

This time, however, there was an extra figure in the crowd.

Zhou Ming's sudden appearance instantly interrupted the idle chatter in the Imperial Garden.

She was listening to Qiu Ju when she caught a glimpse of a figure appearing to her side. She was startled at first, then stared straight at Zhou Ming, freezing in place.

After only a brief pause, she could no longer restrain herself. She suddenly stood up, took quick steps forward, and lunged at Zhou Ming, burying her face in his arms.

She wrapped her arms tightly around Zhou Ming's back, clutching the fabric of his clothes, and raised her hand to gently pound his back again and again.

After pounding her a few times, she slowly stopped, rested her head on Zhou Ming's shoulder, and her eyes quickly turned red.

Her voice was thick with nasal tone. She looked up at Zhou Ming, gently biting her lower lip, her tone a mix of grievance and a hint of shrewishness.

"You heartless bastard, if you don't come back soon, I'm already planning to remarry."

As soon as she finished speaking, she could no longer hold back her emotions. She was still holding Zhou Ming, her shoulders trembling slightly, and she cried softly.

Su Mingyue, who was standing to the side, also saw Zhou Ming at this moment.

Su Mingyue's gaze fell on Zhou Ming, and upon seeing that face she hadn't seen for thousands of years, she stood up, snorted coldly, turned around, and faced away from Zhou Ming, unwilling to meet his eyes.

The moment that cold snort rang out, Bai Jie, who was still holding Zhou Ming and weeping softly, shuddered violently.

She suddenly stopped crying, loosened her grip on Zhou Ming's arm, took a half step back, turned her head and glared at Zhou Ming fiercely, her eyes saying "Good luck to you."

Seeing the scene before them, Chunlan and the others dared not linger any longer.

The group exchanged glances, quietly rose, and retreated, taking all the palace maids who were serving them with them with them, leaving the entire garden to the three of them.

Bai Jie moved her feet and walked to Su Mingyue's side. She lowered her head slightly, her expression apologetic, and spoke softly.

"Sister, I'm sorry, it's all my fault for being so useless."

Su Mingyue glanced at Bai Jie but didn't say anything; her expression was unreadable.

Bai Jie dared not say anything more and stood obediently beside Su Mingyue, no longer making any unnecessary movements.

The scene before Zhou Ming's eyes stunned him on the spot.

Zhou Ming stood there, his mind filled with doubt.

What's going on?

Bai Jie has always been outspoken and straightforward, and acts as she pleases. When did she become like this?

Why do people react like mice to cats whenever they see Su Mingyue?

Is this still the Bai Jie she knows?

Suppressing his doubts, Zhou Ming stepped forward, walked behind Su Mingyue, and stopped.

He lowered his voice and spoke slowly.

"Mingyue, I'm back."

Upon hearing Zhou Ming's voice, Su Mingyue's shoulders trembled slightly.

But she still didn't turn around, and remained silent.

Zhou Ming could see that Su Mingyue's outwardly cold demeanor masked a deep-seated inner turmoil that was far from calm.

He reached out and gently embraced Su Mingyue from behind, pulling her into his arms, his chin resting lightly on her shoulder, repeating the gesture once more.

"Mingyue, I'm back."

Su Mingyue forcefully broke free from Zhou Ming's arms and turned around.

She stared directly at Zhou Ming, her eyes wide open, her face clearly showing anger.

"So what if you're back? I'm not blind, I can see that."

Bai Jie, who was standing to the side, had completely calmed down and stood quietly with her arms crossed, ready to watch the show.

Seeing Su Mingyue's expression, Zhou Ming took the initiative to explain.

"I had no choice. When I was reincarnated, my true spirit was damaged more severely than any of yours, so it took me longer to rebuild it."

Su Mingyue gave a soft snort, her gaze fixed on Zhou Ming without shifting, and questioned him.

"Hmph... When did I blame you for coming back late? Tell me, how many women do you have outside?"

Zhou Ming paused upon hearing this question.

"Uh... that's all, just her." Zhou Ming pointed at Bai Jie.

"My meeting with her was purely by chance. You know me; I'm not the kind of person who would casually flirt with other women..."

Su Mingyue sneered at Zhou Ming's explanation and interrupted him.

"You're not? Your daughter's all grown up, and you've been keeping it from me all this time?"

"Huai'an knows, Bai Ling'er knows, and even Bai Jie knew a long time ago."

"I am the only one who has been kept in the dark from beginning to end. Tell me, why is that?"

Zhou Ming opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything for a moment.

Why? We can't just tell Su Mingyue directly that he's forgotten about it, can we?

I can't exactly tell her that back then I was so focused on reincarnation that I chose to suppress the matter temporarily for fear of complications, and that I didn't inform her in advance, can I?