Yelan was utterly stunned.
She had never expected Zhao Li to say she loved her—never.
Yet now, with just one sentence—”I can try to love you”—Yelan felt boundless joy rise in her heart.
Warmer than the morning sun, sweeter than gardenia blossoms, it was the most beautiful love confession in the world.
Ming Jing and Ming Yao were also dumbfounded.
Clearly, they hadn’t anticipated this damned little brat to utter such “profound” words.
And it certainly wasn’t something that dog-basket Qing Tong had taught her. She wasn’t sophisticated enough to coach this airhead into saying something like that.
The brothers immediately felt that, though they didn’t know who was behind this little fox, her motives were absolutely impure!
The Ancestor might be bewitched by this vixen, but they had to stay vigilant at all times!
But Zhao Li’s next words left the two brothers stunned once more.
“Yelan, I have so much more I want to say to you. So, could you let me and Xiang Liu into the Moon of the Otherworld? Though the sky is your Asura Clan’s territory, it’s still not as safe as the Moon of the Otherworld. Even if other races don’t dare approach your domain, that doesn’t mean they won’t use some means to spy on it. Like the humans, for example.”
Ming Jing and Ming Yao were genuinely shocked. Because the first suspects they had in mind for orchestrating this little fox’s actions were the humans.
That Qing Tong had always been entangled with the Fifth Prince of the human race and a few other scions of prominent human families. It was entirely possible that those humans had given this little fox some kind of hint through Qing Tong.
But now, the little fox had suddenly exposed this weakness, leaving the Ming brothers utterly perplexed.
Humans were ungrateful and had slandered the Asura Clan. Though the Asura Clan disdained to clarify, that didn’t mean they didn’t hold a grudge.
The feud between the two races had long been quietly brewing.
So even if those human brats had incited this little fox to play the victim, they wouldn’t reveal the humans’ involvement behind the scenes.
Provoking the Asura Clan into an outright battle would only end in disaster for the humans.
If it wasn’t the humans, then it was most likely those slimy eels from the Clear Sky Sea.
Though there was no evidence, and logically, the Dragon Clan, as an ancient race, should be above such petty schemes.
But the Twelve Asura Lords had to serve as the Ancestor’s shield, protecting her and easing her burdens, while also acting as the umbrella for the millions of Asura clansmen, sheltering them from storms and ensuring the Asura Clan’s eternal prosperity. Naturally, they had to be cautious.
Without evidence, they had to consider who stood to benefit.
The Dragon Clan was their second suspect.
Yelan was also slightly surprised.
She wasn’t suspicious that Zhao Li had been secretly manipulated. If Zhao Li had been given some kind of suggestion, how could Yelan, with her Emperor-level cultivation, fail to notice?
Her surprise came from how suddenly sharp and perceptive little Zhao Li had become.
Ming Jing said coldly, “Outsiders are not permitted to enter the Moon of the Otherworld. If you have something to say, say it here. This Saint will erect a spiritual barrier to block all prying eyes. Unless they’re at the Emperor level, no one can break through my shield. You can speak freely.”
Even if the human or dragon Emperors were spying, Ming Jing wasn’t afraid.
With the Ancestor here, how could she allow those two Emperors to eavesdrop?
A single flick of spiritual light would be enough to repel their probing thoughts.
Zhao Li shook her head again and said, “Elder, there are some things I can only discuss with Yelan alone. You see, matters of our marriage aren’t exactly appropriate for you to listen in on, right? What if we start talking about intimate bedroom topics? Would you cover your ears, cover your ears, or… cover your ears?”
Ming Jing’s face flushed crimson. “You—!”
Zhao Li continued, “But with your cultivation level, even covering your ears wouldn’t stop you from hearing. If word got out, wouldn’t that be embarrassing for Yelan? Don’t you think?”
Since when is the private life of the Ancestress any of your business?
Ming Jing stomped his feet in frustration. “You!… You sharp-tongued little fox spirit!”
“Hmm?” Yelan’s eyes narrowed dangerously as she shot him a glare.
Ming Jing immediately wilted, bowing his head. “Ancestress, forgive my insolence.”
Zhao Li was Yelan’s most cherished treasure—how could anyone dare insult her, especially right in front of Yelan? If Ming Jing weren’t the leader of the Twelve Asura Lords and utterly loyal to Yelan, she would have already blasted him with a wave of Crimson Lotus Hellfire.
Zhao Li giggled. “Yelan, don’t be so harsh on the old man. Actually, he’s not wrong. We of the Qingqiu clan are all fox spirits who’ve attained sentience. Those who haven’t remain in beast form, like this jade qilin behind me, doomed to serve as mounts. Though our Qingqiu clan is weak, we’re not so weak as to be reduced to mere steeds.”
The higher an arcane practitioner’s cultivation, the longer their lifespan—and their appearance remains eternally youthful.
Take Yelan, for example—she still looked like a maiden of seventeen or eighteen.
This was one of the greatest benefits of awakening one’s spiritual roots.
Ordinary people who couldn’t become arcane practitioners aged and died naturally.
No matter the race, their lifespans never exceeded a century. But for arcane practitioners, it was different.
Thus, the elder practitioners of the Endless Realm all appeared as white-haired youths.
And the Asura race took great pride in their distinctive racial traits and striking beauty.
Though Ming Jing and Ming Yao were brothers who had lived for fifty thousand years, they appeared no older than thirty.
Zhao Li’s “old man” remark was purely meant to provoke.
Yet Ming Jing could only seethe in silence.
Zhao Li added with a playful grin, “Though if you want to ride me, I’d let you.”
Yelan: “…”
Xiang Liu: “…”
Ming Jing: “…”
Ming Yao: “…”
The shamelessness of that statement was on par with saying, If you want to see my undergarments, I’ll strip them off for you.
Yelan couldn’t help but chuckle, her gaze softening with amusement. “I wouldn’t ride you.”
Zhao Li shared a knowing smile with her before bowing to Ming Jing. “Elder, I truly have some private words for Yelan. Please be kind and allow Xiang Liu and me to enter the Moon of Another World.”
Truthfully, all she needed to do was pout at Yelan—or even without that, if she insisted on entering, Yelan wouldn’t refuse. There was no need to seek permission from the Twelve Asura Lords at all.
But if Zhao Li wanted to stay by Yelan’s side and make up for lost time, she couldn’t afford to alienate her subordinates and put Yelan in an awkward position.
Zhao Li continued, “Actually, visiting the fortress below would be safe too. But that’s where your Asura clan’s vassal families reside. Whether it’s the Empress arriving or just the two of you elders, they’d have to roll out the full ceremonial welcome. Yelan has never liked such formalities, so I don’t see the need to trouble them.”
Ming Yao glanced at his elder brother.
The little fox was right. The Ancestor disliked such grand receptions. But as the emperor of her clan, it was only fitting.
In the past, this little fox had shown little regard for their Ancestor, yet she had an uncanny understanding of her temperament.
If what she said was true—that she would try to love the Ancestor—then that would indeed be a good thing.
Among the three Spirit Emperors of the Wuji Realm, only their Ancestor remained unmarried, let alone without heirs.
Just look at that mudskipper from the Clear Sky Sea. His sons and daughters could be skewered and sold as kebabs. And that cripple in the Immaculate City—his grandchildren could practically be sold by the pound. (Exaggeration)
Only their Ancestor stood alone.
If the Ancestor could find someone who truly loved her, Ming Yao would genuinely be happy for Yelan.
But if this was some kind of scheme, the consequences would be endless.
Seeing that Yelan remained silent, Zhao Li thought to herself. After how she had treated her before, this sudden 180-degree shift in attitude must be hard for even Yelan to accept.
As an empress, she couldn’t just think of herself; she had to consider the clan as well.
But there were some things she needed to discuss with Yelan alone.
In truth, Yelan’s silence wasn’t due to suspicion, as Zhao Li had assumed.
It was simply because Zhao Li’s sudden understanding of her had left her so stunned with joy that she couldn’t speak.
With Yelan’s lofty, untouchable demeanor, even someone as familiar with her as Zhao Li couldn’t imagine her being dumbstruck.
Zhao Li sighed. Words were useless—seeing was believing. She simply released her spiritual energy.
Ming Jing and Ming Yao were stunned once more. This Level 8 weakling had now reached Level 40?
But Yelan, staring at Zhao Li, was utterly shocked.
Within Zhao Li’s surging spiritual energy was a trace of the unique bloodline aura exclusive to the Asura royal family.
Even within a race, bloodlines varied in strength.
Take Qingqiu, for example—the strongest bloodline belonged to Zhao Li, the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox, while the weakest were the Spirit Foxes. Bloodline had nothing to do with spiritual roots; it was purely the inherited strength of a clan’s lineage.
Of course, if one’s spiritual roots didn’t awaken, none of it mattered.
Spiritual root awakening was innate, but bloodline determined the difference in strength between individuals of the same level.
A Level 40 Spirit Fox or Medicine Fox would never defeat a Level 40 Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox. That was the power of bloodline.
The Asura were the same. The strongest bloodline—the purest Asura blood—belonged to the royal family.
Next were the twelve great clans of the Asura Twelve.
What Zhao Li was releasing now was the royal bloodline aura Yelan had sensed earlier.
Yelan couldn’t help but wonder. How did she possess Asura blood?
The only time Yelan had ever touched her was when she transplanted the supreme-grade Heavenly Spiritual Root into her.
But transplanting a spiritual root didn’t require infusing Asura spiritual energy to catalyze it.
Zhao Li’s deliberate release of her spiritual energy clearly meant she knew she had Asura blood—otherwise, she wouldn’t have shown it to her like this.
Now, Yelan finally understood why Zhao Li was so insistent on entering the Moon of Another World.
The purest Asura bloodline within Zhao Li was faint, so even Ming Jing and Ming Yao hadn’t detected it.
But it couldn’t escape the senses of an emperor.
Royal blood was no small matter. If Zhao Li were allowed to roam freely in the Wuji Realm, sooner or later, the Yinglong and the human emperors would discover it.
Yelan flicked a spiritual flame into Zhao Li’s forehead—this was the mark that would allow her to safely cross into the Moon of Another World.
“Come with me.”
Ming Jing and Ming Yao both started in alarm. “Ancestor!”
“Enough.”
Zhao Li withdrew her spiritual energy and said, “Yelan, can Xiang Liu come with us into the Moon of the Otherworld? He’s my most trusted brother. I swear he would never harm the Asura clan. Leaving him at your doorstep just seems so pitiful.”
Yelan smiled and flicked a spark of spiritual flame into Xiang Liu’s forehead. “Done.”
The two Ming brothers could only sigh. The ancestor’s decision was absolute—no one in the Asura clan dared to defy it.