The star portal shimmered into existence beside the very spot I had departed from, its edges crackling with residual energy of past world. Time had barely moved in this realm ~ mere moments had passed since my departure. Xiao Ning shifted her gaze from where she had been staring to meet my eyes, confusion flickering across her delicate features.
"You came back so quickly?" Her voice carried a note of bewilderment. I felt my chest tighten seeing her again.
It was more like nostalgia.
A wave of sensation crashed over me ~ distant yet familiar, like the echo of a half-remembered dream. Before I could process it fully, the feeling faded, replaced by something far more overwhelming.
Power surged through my being, raw and magnificent, straining against the weak laws of this world like a caged dragon. The very fabric of reality seemed to bend around me, unable to contain the law field that now emanated from my essence. The disparity in fundamental laws created such vast differences in what constituted strength. It seems my estimation of ceiling of power was still a little higher. I need to push it down a bit more.
Thank myself, I sealed 90% of power before crossing over, I thought, carefully lowering my physical strength to manageable levels. Each movement required conscious effort as I walked toward the bed where she waited, my body responding with mechanical precision to avoid inadvertent destruction. I have shielded myself, so the seal of the tiny world won't attack me as of now.
The transition between realms crashed into me like stepping off a mountain's edge into thin air. Everything here felt diluted, fragile ~ as if the very space might shatter under too firm a breath.
Xiao Ning's concerned voice cut through my disorientation. "Why are you walking like that? So stiff and careful... did something terrible happen?" Her eyes swept over me, taking in changes I hadn't even considered. "And your hair ~ the color, the style ~ what happened to you in there?"
I couldn't help but smile at her rapid questioning, even as I struggled to readjust to this world's weaker laws. The familiar cadence of this universe's language and mother tongue felt almost nostalgic after so long away.
"I'm recalibrating my strength," I said, lowering myself beside her with the care of someone handling spun glass. "Nearly forty years passed in that reality. My body has grown so powerful that without perfect control, I could accidentally level your entire room."
Her hands flew to her mouth. "Forty years? But it was barely a moment here!" She reached for my transformed hair, fingers threading through the unfamiliar strands. "You should have brought me with you. Tell me everything ~ how did you even get this ability?"
"It was my first attempt at dimensional travel. I wasn't certain how it would work, but I brought Shen Xiu and our Goddess along." I watched her expression shift, preparing for the inevitable reaction. "Don't get jealous ~ let me explain. They couldn't exist natively in that world. Only within my domain's influence, and even then, it required constant energy expenditure just to keep them stable. So I created an temporal field array within my small world. They experienced only seven months total, but they were... well, cramped and bored, confined to such a small area for months on end."
I raised my hand, and three figures materialized. Well, two people and one phoenix, to be precise.
"Finally!" Yu Yan's voice carried obvious relief as she immediately recognized the world's natural laws. The phoenix chirped melodiously, running to my hands with her bigger body for her customary petting session, her flames dancing like liquid fire.
Shen Xiu glanced between me and Ning with obvious amusement. "Well hello there, Xiao Ning'er."
"Reel in your auras " I commanded, already shielding Xiao Ning from the overwhelming pressure. "The people here can't withstand heavenly fate nor celestial-level spiritual emanations. Essence cultivation techniques won't function properly in this reality ~ don't attempt genuine energy manipulation casually. Channel only soul force and heavenly energy. Your celestial realm cultivation here translates to enhanced lifespan and physical strengthening, nothing more. External channeling will just waste your reserves."
Shen Xiu's disappointment was palpable. "That's quite limiting. Though back in the small world, heavenly energy and genuine energy flowed together seamlessly ~ usually the heavenly energy would consume the genuine energy during combination techniques."
"That's because your essence foundation remained relatively weak. I designed the techniques I gave you to function that way to avoid backlash. Now that you've adjusted, you can venture outside and reconnect with your family." I paused, watching her joy at glimpsing Glory City through her spiritual senses. That happiness dimmed as I continued, "Fair warning ~ the seal of this tiny world is still active, so dont try to cultivate or atleast check yourself when you cross about seven miles away from me, if the seal would activate under your presence, step back immediately. And Shen Xiu don't cause a mess out there. You know what befallen your family after I kept you hidden."
Her face fell as the implications hit her with profound sadness.
"And if some brat named Nie Li approaches you aggressively..." I turned to Xiao Ning. "Wait, is he still unconscious?"
She nodded.
"Never mind then. You have three months before we depart to handle whatever personal affairs you need to address. Just don't cause any troubles"
I turned to the fire spiritual goddess floating nearby. "As for you, Spiritual Goddess ~ you're free to explore, but if you attract your arch-nemesis here and I'm forced to deal with him, I can't explain my current strength level to the Nether Lord. Stay within my shielding ability from my position."
She nodded eagerly and streamed outside in a blur of ethereal golden light.
Finally, I addressed my phoenix companion. "And you, my fluffy Huo ~ we have a spiritual contract long overdue."
This time, when my soul touched hers, the connection formed effortlessly ~ a complete spiritual bond with me as master. The contract granted my soul avatar access to her phoenix flames, though I doubted I'd have much use for that ability at my current power level.
"You can fly freely in the same zone, but if anyone approaches ~ even weaker individuals ~ shift to small bird form and retreat immediately."
After the others dispersed, I found myself alone with Xiao Ning again. Our conversation meandered from my experiences in the other realm to how desperately I'd missed her presence. Eventually, our words gave way to more physical expressions of reunion ~ a thorough workout that helped me fine-tune my power control in the most pleasant way possible. I allowed her to abandon all restraint.
I moved closer, drawn by invisible threads of connection spanning soul. Her eyes fluttered open at my approach, and without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around me with fierce intensity. I returned the embrace with equal fervor, leaning down to capture her lips in a soft, lingering kiss ~ perhaps driven by desperate need to reconnect after what felt like lifetimes of separation.
Author's note: Cultivation accelerates physical and mental maturation. Age is just a number. Don't mind the details.
As my overwhelming power gradually settled into more manageable levels, another transformation made itself known. Perfect adaptations were still in works. Within seconds of my arrival, I'd begun hearing unspoken voices drifting through the air like whispered secrets. Something new had awakened ~ Xiao Ning's thoughts brushed against my consciousness with startling clarity, each mental syllable as distinct as if she'd spoken aloud.
Had this ability emerged from my recent transformation? I studied her serene expression, wondering at this development. Such vivid thought-sensing had never manifested in the God's Domain. Perhaps this reality's weaker laws, or the fundamental differences between life forms here, allowed access to abilities that had remained restricted in that higher realm.
The initial shock of learning about my three decades of aging gradually faded from her expression, replaced by something softer and more accepting. Then, to my surprise, a mischievous grin spread across her lips.
"So I just had my play time with someone who's technically fourty years or more old now," she said with mock solemnity. "And here I was thinking I'd be the more experienced one between us."
"Hmph, why are you talking as if I was the one trying to lead during foreplay?"
After some playful banter, her expression shifted to genuine curiosity. "Tell me honestly ~ how powerful have you become? Could you defeat the Sage Emperor, the one who you mentioned before as the most powerful one?"
Her lighthearted approach to such a momentous revelation filled me with warmth. I laughed softly, pulling her closer against me. "Possibly... but my power isn't stable in this reality yet. Imagine if I attacked him and my strike turned into a gentle breeze upon contact. I need time to adjust and explore these new limitations."
We lay entwined in the aftermath of passion, finding solace in the simple miracle of being together again. Her fingers traced lazy patterns across my skin as she spoke.
"You feel different," she murmured wonderingly. "Divine, almost. Like when I first encountered Yu Yan, but infinitely more intense. It's strange ~ it makes me feel as though I should show you reverence, even now, after we've just been so intimate."
A low chuckle escaped me, though I sensed the absolute truth in her observation. The divinity now coursing through my being was affecting my presence in ways I hadn't fully anticipated.
"That's because I achieved True God status in that realm. What you're sensing is the accumulated faith potential of beings who worshiping me." I activated stronger concealment arrays around my energy fluctuations. "We can discuss that later, but first ~ I have something for you."
I retrieved a book from my ring world and placed it in her hands.
"A picture book?" She turned it over, examining the cover. "Tao, what's special about this? Some kind of hidden artifact like temporal demon spirit book?"
"Not quite. Just read it ~ you'll understand."
She began scanning the title aloud. "Tales of Demons and Gods..."
Her colorful laughter gradually turned serious as she flipped through the pages. Amusement gave way to intrigue, then to deep reflection. This continued for an hour under her speed-reading pace, until she reached the section describing Nie Li's bet with Long Yuyin.
"You wrote this? Where's the rest?"
"No I didn't. Perhaps the author hasn't finished, or ran into financial problems?"
"Liar." She pointed to clear tear marks. "I can see exactly where you ripped it apart."
"Well, is that really what you are upset by? that's story is just what was supposed to happen originally. Are you upset rather by it?"
"Upset? Why would I be? I was portrayed lost in first life. Second life, Nie Li is'nt responding to my approaches and any trace of affection started due to realization of past connection and not by accepting what I am..He is more interested in Ye Ziyun. He never loved me, he said it himself after the realization. After I gave him the jade, to Ye Ziyun he said "But the one I Like is you".
"You know what, I think it is more comforting to see this as my third life. I'm more powerful and knowledgeable now, and I have someone even more extraordinary than the story's protagonist actively loving me. Why would I be upset?... By the way how did you get this story book?" Her voice was a little hoarse by the end.
I held her closely. "From the realm I visited. This universe and reality was just a cultivation protagonist story there."
"How can that be possible?"
"Well, such things happen when you have a God who's been bored across multiple eras and realities and decides to get creative." I was referring, of course, to the one reborn through me.
"At least tell me why you tore it apart. And what happens to Long Yuyin? Did Nie Li beat her in that staircase game?"
"It's not a staircase game ~ it's measuring affinity with heavenly cultivation. Anyway, it got rather brutal with Nie Li using a whip to strike her three times, but ultimately both developed feelings for each other."
" He did??" She exclaimed. " Well I can indeed become angry if someone keep on calling me low class. But developed feelings for each other? What the hell..But why tore? you got angry for him?"
"No..I don't really care. As for why I tore it apart..." I hesitated, then decided on honesty. "Several chapters later, there was a sect meeting of various affiliated organizations, and you were there. I saw... romantic scenes with you head-over-heels for him. I can get a bit jealous, you know."
"Jealous? Over me?"
Silence stretched between us. Then her laughter rang through the room ~ warm, teasing, with just a trace of tears at its edge. She actively gave me an intense kiss as if declaring something.
I transmitted a modified technique to her ~ one that could perform essence transformation using soul force while maintaining compatibility with her current cultivation method. It took only a few breaths' worth of effort for my current merged consciousness with LoHP, in the mean time. I thought it was over, but she had more questions.
"What about Ye Ziyun?" The question she'd been waiting to ask finally emerged.
"Ultimately, that's her choice. My and your actions created some estrangement between her and Nie Li. If you're thinking about our... activities during our studies within the temporal demon spirit book, that could be dismissed as mischief between three young girls. We didn't go too far. Body refining and cultivation right?" I gave her a knowing look.
"I've decided to commit to you and not pursue her actively. If she takes the initiative to join us... I wouldn't object. Would you? I decide to honor your opinion in this case"
"Answer this first ~The portal, was that world where you truly come from?"
"No. You know my parents here. I genuinely born here, in this reality. I am just background character in that story. Even I was amazed by it. Remember in the beginning of the story when students in class are shown murmuring...I was there in the story itself."
I took the storybook and flipped its story pages to beginning showing Shen Xiu calling my name along with others like Xiao Ning and Ye Ziyun for high soul force. That's it no more mentions and conveniently forgotten.
It's true. When I asked God to set me up as some nobody in his first timeline so there would be no sense of unfamiliarity when Nie Li see me, he didn't just put a memory into Nie Li's head but possibly in all of reality this new character might be depicted for that one scene. May be in God's opinion it might not really matter any difference in efforts doing either.
" If you're asking whether I intentionally sought you out knowing the story... no, not at all. Don't you remember what I told you before?"
I looked into her eyes as I smiled and said "I received some of Nie Li's memories due to a space-time disturbance involving his soul crossing over. It wasn't difficult to access them with my spirit ability ~ I was gold rank and he was just a normie back then. He didn't even realize what happened."
"In my excitement to advance using new techniques, I went to the forest to cultivate and forgot to establish concealing arrays. You happened to witness it, then took you, ran away from a gold rank cultivator while I transformed and followed you home. That was our beginning. I didn't intentionally seek you out. Why? Did you need some prince charming to come looking for you like in the story?"
Well, I'm being somewhat economical with the truth here. Yes, I didn't intentionally seek her out, but as for knowing the story beforehand... cough, cough. That's not worth mentioning.
"It might have been more romantic that way." Hearing her, I embraced and promised that next time I traveled to another realm, I would bring her along. We shared comfortable silence before practical needs reasserted themselves.
I took the book and stored it back in my internal world. "Better to keep it hidden and in my hands."
It seems she also sensed there is more to my details when I didn't fully reveal origin of the realm travel ability. After cleaning up and dressing, we went to check on the unconscious Nie Li.
"Do you want to help him wake up?"
"Not particularly. As you saw, he needs certain realizations to occur in his dream state. Anyway, I'm going to visit my parents ~ are you coming?"
"Wait, let me inform Ziyun first." She wasn't with us because she was cultivating quietly in her family.
I stepped outside and found Ning approaching. "Let's go."
....
The following weeks brought peaceful reunion with my parents. I gave my mother a beauty enhancement pill and provided my father with diluted endurance and body-refining elixirs crafted from ring world materials.
Perhaps due to the absurdities I'd endured, I no longer cared much for the clan, only the parents who had raised me in this world. Yet, they broached the topic of my engagement to Xiao Ning, which had by then become common knowledge among the clan members.
She was ready; I was not. But ultimately a contract in the form of engagement was written. I escorted her home and presented her family with gifts more befitting an engagement ~ exceedingly rare and precious treasures in this tiny world. An unofficial agreement was struck between our families, postponing the formal ceremony for the future.
Ziyun sulked briefly upon hearing the news but eventually offered genuine congratulations. Both girls were often seen in hushed conversations behind my back, though I paid it little mind. Polygamy was hardly uncommon here; engagements served more as a public claim, a safeguard against disputes.
I settled into a comfortable routine, aiding Xiao Ning's cultivation and spending quiet days at her side while testing my abilities. During one such evening, she asked about other women I might have encountered in the alternate realm. I deflected, citing that world's restrictive laws making me live as a woman for over thirty years and the long stretches of isolated cultivation ~ though I conceded that solitude could stir certain needs over the years.
"How old is she—or was it a he? What's their name?"
"Ning, I know you're open-minded, but I haven't crossed that barrier yet. And I'd rather not. Her name was Li Lingshu. As for her age… do you truly want to know?"
"It's important. I truly need it to decide how to approach her if we ever meet. Between different places, customs would be different, language is, cultivation is, lifestyles are, but if it is a woman it is okay to judge by her age..."
Your judgement is .. not wrong.
"You recall I'm functionally immortal now, yes? There are millions of gods in that realm like me. True Gods live until killed, so…"
" Just say it.." I can visibly see her thoughts from her face and in voice echoing in my mind, repeating " Out with it" multiple times. She is not planning to let me go without learning it. I momentarily put on a thick skin and muttered
" She is more than a hundred billion years old."
" OH MY GOD! TAO what have you done?"
"(ᵕ—ᴗ—)"
This, precisely, was why I wasn't prepared to debate inter-dimensional relationships. One lover younger than spring, the other older than the God Domain itself. She grilled me for details about that world, far beyond what I'd initially shared.
From then on, I gave her a little more privacy. I also unlocked soul ocean connection in minute amount to both of my other connections, causing both to surge forward to Peak Demi-God realm faster.
The arrival of Tian Yuan Plateau refugees marked a significant shift in Glory City's dynamics. The newcomers received warm welcomes, their relatively weak cultivation levels raising no suspicions among the established population. As the city's defenses strengthened, ten thousand demon spirit arrays spread throughout the urban core, with additional installations appearing near noble family compounds. Soon, protective formations would envelop the entire city.
The nobility system underwent complete reorganization. Major family status now required either three Legend-rank cultivators or a single Demi-God level practitioner, while minor nobility could be achieved with two Legend ranks. My own family had earned noble status, and Glory City continued its transformation into a truly formidable stronghold.
When refugees from the Abyss Demon Lands arrived later, the approach became much stricter. Duan Jian handled most interactions according to instructions from his master Nie Li, who remained out of commission in his extended unconscious state.
Nie Li awoke from his month-long unconsciousness and immediately sought an audience with the City Lord. Meanwhile, his friends and allies gathered, their strength steadily growing.
During this time, Xiao Ning'er requested my assistance in breaking through to the Heavenly Fate Realm. I brought her into the Ring World, where she successfully ascended. The moment she returned, my divine sense flared—Ye Ziyun was in peril.
The world's restraints had suddenly lashed out at her. Her soul power had surged too violently, nearly condensing a Fate Flame without heavenly energy within the confines of this tiny world. Without hesitation, I teleported her into the Ring World, shielding her from the backlash. After accepting heavenly energy, fate fire successfully condensed, she emerged victorious.
An hour later, I returned her to Glory City.
"I thought I was going to die for a second…" She exhaled, still recovering.
"I stopped my soul power transmission earlier when Ning'er reached Peak Demi-God," I explained. "But when she broke into Heavenly Fate, the resonance feedback pushed you to the brink. The Tiny World's laws don't permit limit-breaking. I should have anticipated this ~ my apologies."
Xiao Ning'er also bowed her head. "I'm sorry…"
Ziyun shook her head. "It's fine now. The barrier's broken, so we're safe, right? Can we cultivate Fate Souls freely?"
"Only within my Small World, the Temporal Book, or the Nether Lord's Trial Tower," I said. "The Tiny World's restrictions remain. Besides, why rush? The Draconic Ruins will provide better opportunities."
Her expression darkened. "Nie Li told me he faced the Demon Lord in the Trial Tower ~ and him alone, he couldn't defeat him. The Demon Lord might be… like us now."
Xiao Ning'er and I exchanged glances, recalling the details from the original timeline.
"Then there's nothing to fear," Ning'er said calmly. "Between you, me, Tao, Shen Xiu, and the others who've reached Heavenly Fate, even if the Demon Lord brings his entire army… he won't stand a chance."
Ziyun smiled, reassured ~ until a sudden mental call from Xiao Huo, my little phoenix, interrupted us.
"I need to go fetch my fiery troublemaker," I said, vanishing before they could respond.
Nie Li and his friends came later sensing the turbulent aura of heavenly fate from her. " Ziyun.." He sweetly called. " you have achieved heavenly fate? how?"
"Yes...well someone indeed helped me..." Pointing at Ning.
" How?, let us too, I have reached legend rank 4 already.."
" It's not me, its from my fiance. Tao" It seems she said it just for Ye Ziyun to hear.
" Besides, you guys are getting to your sects in a month..why do you need that? Infact she was in a critical situation that he helped.."
Even though I was gone, I was fully aware of what is transpiring elsewhere within the entire tiny world and beyond, my divine sense is very powerful. "Aww, She really know me and my style."
The Phoenix Chase
Outside Glory City, Old Man Ye Mo and the Soul Puppet Ye Yan were locked in a futile battle with Xiao Huo, who circled them with playful defiance. The moment she spotted me, she let out a triumphant chirp and perched on my shoulder, mentally complaining about the two stubborn pursuers.
"Child you—" Ye Yan began.
"She's my contracted beast," I cut in. "Why are you chasing her?"
"We mistook her for a demon beast attacking the city," Ye Mo admitted.
I raised an eyebrow at Xiao Huo. "Were you misbehaving?"
She huffed, turning her head away indignantly.
Ye Mo studied me. "What's your name?"
"You don't recognize me? Tian Chitao of the Tian Qui family. I live in the City Lord's mansion—and I cleared the Nether Lord's Trial. Still not ringing any bells?"
His eyes widened. "You're the one who provided those modified array diagrams?"
"Yep. The very same."
"Strange… I can't discern your cultivation level."
"That's because I'm no longer in the Legend Rank, Elder Ye Mo."
"I wasn't aware Glory City had someone of your talent," he murmured.
"Your daughter and Xiao Ning'er have also reached Heavenly Fate," I added casually. "Feel free to verify."
The two elders exchanged stunned glances before hurrying back to the city, pestering me about the phoenix's origins along the way. I revealed the truth~ the City Lord had gifted me the egg.