“I have been to the Wu Mountain to harvest herbs. It is a good place.” Shennong frowned. “But it’s too far from the Firecloud Cave, and I cannot leave my clansmen for too long. There are still many matters I need to attend to...”

“Don’t worry, I’ll escort Yaoji over and protect her.” Zu An looked at the young jade grass with tender eyes.

Shennong hesitated. His daughter was more vulnerable than ever. It felt too risky to entrust her to someone of an unknown background whom he had only met two days ago.

Xihe saw through his thoughts and got straight to the point. “Be it procuring the immortal medicine or retrieving Yaoji’s soul from the Underworld, these feats are difficult enough to win over any woman in the world. Shouldn’t these be enough to prove his feelings for Yaoji? What else are you worried about?”

“Xihe, don’t say that.” Zu An knew that she was speaking up for him, but those words were still overboard.

“The Sun Goddess’s words are jarring, but they carry grains of truth. I was too inflexible,” Shennong said with a self-deprecating smile. “You have done more than enough to prove your feelings for Yaoji. I can rest at ease knowing that she’s safe in your care.”

He took out a formation disc and handed it to Zu An. “This is a Mountain Protection Formation. It can alter Wu Mountain’s environment, enriching its ki to support the growth of flora and fauna. At the same time, it can also protect Wu Mountain from intruders. This is the only thing I can do for my daughter now.”

Zu An accepted the formation disc. They discussed several more details before Zu An carefully took the jade grass and made his way to Wu Mountain.

Upon reaching the Wu Mountain, even Xihe couldn’t help but exclaim, “This is a good place to cultivate at.” She had to consciously suppress her flames to avoid ruining the environment.

Zu An took out Shennong’s formation plate. Even with his mastery of formations, he still thought that the Mountain Protection Formation was top-notch. He made some quick improvements to it before tossing it into the air.

A light green barrier enveloped Wu Mountain. The clouds became dreamy, and a spirit spring flowed down the mountain peak to nourish its greenery. Ki suffused the entire mountain. Just taking a breath in this environment could lengthen a mortal’s lifespan.

Next, Zu An flew up to the Goddess Peak. In truth, the Goddess Peak was still without a name in this era, and it was only half as tall as it would be in the future. It looked more like a plateau among the mountains.

Zu An planted the jade grass wrapped in Five-Colored Divine Soil atop the Goddess Peak.

Qiu Honglei passed him some nectar from the Jade Pond. “Big brother Zu, the Jade Pond’s nectar harnesses life force and energies from the universe. It has the power to nurture immortal medicine. I’m sure it will be of help to Yaoji.”

Zu An took the jade bottle and carefully poured a droplet on the jade grass. He didn’t dare to use too much, fearing that the Jade Pond’s nectar was too much for the currently feeble Yaoji to bear. He would have to wait for her to grow a little bigger before pouring more.

As soon as the jade nectar landed, the slim jade grass grew a little bigger, and its body emanated a pristine green glow.

Zu An was overjoyed. “Honglei, I can’t be more glad to have met you here! This must be fate!”

“Fate truly works in mysterious ways.” Qiu Honglei knew that Zu An had been blaming himself for failing to save the Goddess of Wu Mountain all these years. His eyes always carried a tinge of regret even when he was smiling. This was the first time in a long while that he finally smiled without burden.

Xihe felt sour. They are as close as family members. I, the wife, am the outsider here.

A pair of warm hands suddenly embraced her. “Xihe, thank you for your accompaniment. Come to think about it, we have been through three generations together now.”

Looking into Zu An’s starry eyes, Xihe’s anger drifted away. This fellow is really my nemesis. Even his smile is enough to spark joy in me.

So, the three of them settled down on Wu Mountain. They spent their time caring for the jade grass while enjoying one another’s company. It was a warm and relaxing time.

Xihe learned more and more about Zu An. As she fell deeper in love with him, she began to worry about why the future her didn’t remember all of these things, as well as the incident of Hou Yi shooting down the suns in the future. But she suppressed her worries instead of shattering this rare moment of happiness. I’ll trust him since I have already chosen him.

In contrast, Qiu Honglei was much more relaxed. She and Zu An fully relished in the joy of a couple’s long-awaited reunion.

During such times, Xihe would make her way to the Goddess Peak to water the jade grass. Seeing it growing greener each day lifted her mood, and she talked idly to it.

“Yaoji, you should quickly grow up and see just how much of a philanderer this fellow is with your own eyes. He actually wants me to join them. How can I, the Sun Goddess, do something like that? That Lady of Nine Heavens is also something else. I thought that she would be a calm and collected person, but she just keeps egging me on. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

“I know what she’s thinking. She wants to pull me to her side, so that we can join forces against that Chu Chuyan. I heard that your future incarnation is a close friend of that Chu Chuyan woman. Is she that scary?

“Haaa. I’m taking care of you now. You must help me save my sons in the future.”

...

Donghuang Taiyi had been urging Zu An to return to the Celestial Palace, but Zu An insisted on guarding Wu Mountain because he was worried about Yaoji.

As Zu An had fulfilled his end of the promise by stopping Shennong from joining forces with Xuanyuan, Donghuang Taiyi could only let this matter drop. He decided to confront Xuanyuan with the Ten Fiend Generals.

After sending off the envoy, Zu An chuckled to himself. What’s the point of clawing at each other’s throats to become the Celestial Emperor in this world? There is already a problem with this world.

A spatial pulsation suddenly rippled, and Houtu emerged from the void. After leaving the dark Underworld, she looked even more ravishing.

Zu An quickly pulled himself together and asked, “Lady Houtu, what brings you here?”

Xihe had previously mentioned that Houtu had never left the Underworld.

Houtu got to the point and said, “I have been thinking things through, and I suddenly realized something. You said that I would forge the Six Paths of Reincarnation in the future, but why didn’t I just do it now?”

Zu An was taken aback.

Indeed, the future Houtu was merely a shadow of her former self; she had to entrust the job of collecting the six power insignias to the relatively weak Zu An in the future. That was a risky move, and she would run the risk of never completing the Six Paths of Reincarnation. In contrast, the current Houtu was a powerhouse comparable to the Celestial Emperor. There was no better time to forge the Six Paths of Reincarnation than now.

Houtu continued, “You are the current Celestial Emperor, and I still retain my strength now. I believe I should forge the Six Paths of Reincarnation right now before figuring out where the problem lies.”