The Heavenly Dao choked for a moment, his face turning beet red.

Xu Lai looked on with a faint smile, not pressing the issue. He leisurely continued to pour wine into his small cup and drink it. At the same time, he poured a cup for the Heavenly Dao as well.

The little fellow's spirits soared, his face brimming with delighted surprise. Wine that The Supreme Emperor drinks must be extraordinary stuff!

He hurriedly accepted it with care. After drinking it, he waited for some grand evolution of his being, but even after a long wait, nothing out of the ordinary occurred. The Heavenly Dao eyed the wine cup suspiciously. Could this wine just be... ordinary wine? That shouldn't be possible. It doesn't befit the status of The Supreme Emperor.

Little did the Heavenly Dao know, this was a wine Xu Lai had specifically picked from his stockpile for Ruan Tang. It was a completely harmless, water-light wine that wouldn't cause any ill effects or intoxication.

After drinking for half an hour, the Heavenly Dao finally couldn't hold back any longer. "The Supreme Emperor, I actually came today because there's something I need to ask of you."

"I'd rather not hear it."

"My Lord Supreme Emperor," the Heavenly Dao continued with a thick-skinned persistence, "when you go to explore the cave where that malevolent artifact is located, could you take me along?"

"Is that all? Fine."

Xu Lai scoffed, "And here I thought you were going to ask for a loan."

The Heavenly Dao was speechless. This Earth was him, and he was the Earth. Would he really be concerned about that little bit of money from Xu Lai?

Wait... In a broader sense, all land under heaven belongs to the king. That means I—I belong to Xu Lai as well.

The Heavenly Dao breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that his human form was male. If it were female...

Hold on. Being male might be even more dangerous!

Goosebumps erupted all over the Heavenly Dao's body. He stole a glance at Xu Lai, then surreptitiously shuffled to the side, maintaining what he considered to be a safe distance.

Xu Lai had no idea what the Heavenly Dao was thinking. If he knew, he would have undoubtedly beaten the guy to death.

The backyard fell into silence.

The Heavenly Dao had grown weary of the scenery in every corner of the Earth. He didn't share Xu Lai's leisurely mood for drinking wine and watching cherry blossoms. He couldn't help but ask, "The Supreme Emperor, is there truly a method for achieving eternal life in this world?"

This question made Xu Lai fall silent for a moment before he finally said softly, "No, and there couldn't possibly be one."

"You mean even those in the Emperor Realm can't truly live forever?" the Heavenly Dao asked, astonished.

"Mm," Xu Lai nodded.

The Emperor Realm was not omnipotent.

Consider the dozens of Emperor Realm corpses in the Samsara Sea. In life, they were all peerless experts who had dominated entire eras, unrivaled in the Universe. When their lifespans were nearing an end, they chose to burn what remained of their lives and their very essence to reach their absolute peak, stepping into the Immortal Realm's forbidden land—the Samsara Sea—in search of a method for eternal life. Yet in the end, they couldn't even achieve a peaceful death. They became mindless husks, reduced to Puppets lingering in the forbidden land, obstructing any other from the Emperor Realm who attempted to enter. The former Dragon-slaying Youth had ultimately become the wicked dragon itself. It made one lament that time was truly the cruelest thing in the world.

And Xu Lai's final fate would likely be the same.

As the Heavenly Dao, he could vaguely sense the fleeting desolation that washed over Xu Lai, and he couldn't help but feel startled. So, even the lofty Supreme Emperor has troubles and moments of melancholy.

The Heavenly Dao suddenly thought of a line from a poem and murmured aloud, "Great beauties, like famed generals, are seldom granted old age by this world."

Xu Lai was taken aback for a second, then burst out laughing. "What a fine line! 'Seldom granted old age by this world'!"

No matter how peerless your grace or stunning your talent, death comes for all in the end. Then, any record of you will slowly fade with the passage of time. Even for those of the Emperor Realm, future generations will not remember you forever. This world was, as always, cruel and indifferent.

"The Supreme Emperor, is there another Boundary beyond the Emperor Realm? Has the path of Cultivation reached its end?" the Heavenly Dao asked again.

Xu Lai fell silent, not knowing how to answer. His current Boundary had already reached the known limit of the Immortal Domain: the Emperor Realm. But when he cultivated each day, he never felt a so-called bottleneck; he could still feel the Spiritual Energy within him growing, albeit slowly. Of course, that could just be an illusion. Adding a single drop of water to the ocean each day, one wouldn't actually feel any difference at all.

"The Supreme Emperor?" the Heavenly Dao asked cautiously.

"I don't know." Xu Lai shook his head. He suddenly felt a flicker of understanding for those long-dead powerhouses of the Emperor Realm. Perhaps they weren't just trying to live a second life... They were trying to... seek out the so-called truth.

Places like the Samsara Sea, which were forbidden lands even for those in the Emperor Realm, numbered in the dozens throughout the vast Universe. An Emperor had fallen in every single one.

The Heavenly Dao didn't press further. His current level of existence was still a vast distance from the Emperor Realm. Thinking too much about it now was just needless worry.

"So, Supreme Emperor, when are we heading to that cave?" the Heavenly Dao inquired.

Ishihara Kai of Sakura Country had once brought students from the Kyoto University Judo Club to Dongli University for a martial arts exchange. By some twist of fate during his battle with Xu Lai, Ishihara had used a malevolent weapon of the Spiritual Artifact grade. That very dagger had been used by Jing Ke over two thousand years ago in an assassination attempt on the King of Qin, giving it a most mysterious origin.

"I don't have time for now," Xu Lai replied.

"Huh?" The Heavenly Dao was startled.

"First, I'm here to accompany my wife and daughter on a trip. Investigating the truth comes second." Xu Lai filled the Heavenly Dao's cup to the brim.

Seeing the full wine cup, the Heavenly Dao understood. The Supreme Emperor was showing him the door.

Without lingering, he rose to take his leave. "Then, My Lord, please be sure to inform me when you decide to go." After speaking, his figure flickered and vanished.

With a wave of his hand, Xu Lai placed the tray and wine cups into his Storage Space, then returned to the living room to continue weaving the wedding dress. Right now, he was just Ruan Tang's boyfriend. There was still a long road ahead before he could truly bring her home as his wife. Logically, there was no rush for the wedding dress… but Xu Lai wanted to finish it early.

The night was as cool as water as time quietly slipped by.

At six in the morning, Xu Yiyi and Beibei woke up one after another. They tried the breakfast sent up by the hotel, but after a single bite, they both spat it out.

"Daddy," Yiyi said, looking up pitifully, "it tastes so bad."

Having grown accustomed to Xu Lai's cooking, Xu Yiyi's palate had become increasingly discerning.

Xu Lai understood instantly. He took out various cooking utensils from his Storage Space and began making breakfast for his daughter. Yiyi had wanted to wait for Ruan Tang to wake up so they could eat together, but she waited and waited. When eight o'clock rolled around and her mother still wasn't awake, the ravenous Yiyi and Beibei went ahead and ate first.

By nine in the morning, Ruan Tang still hadn't emerged. Even when Xu Yiyi knocked on her door, there was no response.

Xu Lai was a little surprised. With a sweep of his Divine Sense, he chuckled softly. So, she's been awake for a while now.

But he didn't call her out on it. Instead, he left a note and took his daughter and Beibei to enjoy the scenery on Sakura Hill.

***

「Inside the room.」

Ruan Tang had buried her head deep within the covers, her face flushed crimson. She wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

In fact, she had been awake for an hour. But she was too embarrassed to get out of bed.

The reason was simple: when Ruan Tang woke up, she discovered she was wearing a Magical Girl Madoka cosplay outfit.

That might have been one thing, but what made her completely fall apart was that her underwear had also been changed into the audacious set her secretary had packed in her bag.

Xu Lai must have seen everything yesterday... How shameful. It's just too humiliating!

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