Journey to the West: Treasure Vase of the Great Dao

She gently closed Yuan Hao's eyes that would never see again and sighed softly, "You must be the Immortal spoken of by Yuan Hao!"

"You certainly are an Immortal, only someone as lofty as you can redeem the souls of those deceased children, and only you can kill Yuan Hao so effortlessly." The woman's tone was filled with conviction.

Lu Yu did not speak, which was taken as an affirmation of the woman's statement.

"Since you are an Immortal, I would like to ask you, what exactly is going on with our Kingdom of Women? I once read in the books Yuan Hao brought from outside, a sentence that I still remember vividly: 'Lone Yin cannot bring forth life, lone Yang cannot grow.' Then what are we? Despite being a group of women, we still reproduce and thrive thanks to the Mother River."

Lu Yu looked at the woman in front of him, who bore a face full of pleading, and sighed softly, "The harmony of Yin and Yang gives birth to all things, this is the law of nature. However, the capabilities of Immortals naturally can revive the dead and create life."

The woman suddenly burst into laughter, "So we are merely creations of the Immortals, not even qualifying as human."

In that moment, the woman's eyes were filled with despair; the truth she had so painstakingly sought turned out to be this.

Xuan Yue, however, said, "Even if we are creations, what does it matter? We have blood and flesh, we rejoice at birth and grieve at death, we have emotions and desires, and we experience joy and sorrow. Why can't we be called human?"

Lu Yu looked at Xuan Yue with new respect, truly not expecting her to express such philosophical thoughts.

"Born between heaven and earth, everyone is inherently a creation of the Divine Spirits. Why devalue yourself and claim not to be human?"

Lu Yu's words struck like thunder, echoing in the woman's ears. She looked at Lu Yu incredulously and asked, "Are you saying humans themselves are creations of Immortals?"

Lu Yu said with a smile, "This is common knowledge outside, but you didn't know because you are confined to this small domain. In ancient times, there was a sacred entity named Nuwa, who was moved by the workings of heaven and earth, and she created humans from clay, thus gave rise to the human race."

"What exactly is the outside world like!" the woman murmured to herself.

"Don't worry, you will soon be able to go outside and see the world for yourself, although it may not be as beautiful as you imagine, with killing and desire still pervading the world of men."

When Lu Yu said this, he wasn't simply comforting the woman. Since the Tang Monk and his disciples had arrived at the Kingdom of Women, it naturally proved that this place was one of the nodes. Although he still hadn't figured out what these node-like acupoints were for, he guessed that the seal of Kyushu could expand to these places through the acupoints, forming a real world for humankind.

Once successful, these places would naturally be drawn together, and by then, the Kingdom of Women would have to integrate into the current Three Realms.

Lu Yu's words rekindled hope in the woman. She slowly stood up and bowed to Lu Yu, expressing gratitude for satisfying her curiosity, then proceeded outside with Yuan Hao's body.

"Teacher, where are you going?" Xuan Yue asked.

The woman smiled at her and said, "Xuan Yue, I have become a sinner and no longer have the face to return to the Capital. I plan to bury Yuan Hao's body where we first met. Perhaps I will live in seclusion there, then quietly wait for the day when the cage of the Kingdom of Women is opened, and then I will fulfill my dream to travel everywhere and witness the vastness of the world."

"You are a good child, live well, and perhaps one day we may meet again."

After saying this, the woman, holding Yuan Hao's body, walked out of the cave without looking back. Xuan Yue stretched out her hand, as if she wanted to grasp her teacher's arm, but for some reason, she slowly lowered it again.

Her voice carried a trace of sadness as she said, "Teacher was right, from the day she chose to betray, she could never return to that place again. I should bless her for finally seeing the hope she had been striving for." As she spoke, she wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes.

Turning her head, she showed Lu Yu a radiant smile and said, "Thank you!"

At that moment, Lu Yu felt as though the beautiful girl before him had suddenly grown up.

Perhaps after experiencing so much, she had finally matured, started to face this cruel world, began to calmly accept parting in life and death, and recognized her own helplessness. This was growth, something everyone would encounter, find no remedy for, and inevitably experience.

"Can I ask you for one last favor?" Xuan Yue, wiping away the tears from the corner of her eyes, smiled at Lu Yu.

Lu Yu nodded slightly and said, "Go on!"

"Can you escort me back to the Imperial Palace? I am afraid something might happen to my sister!" Thinking that she had been troubling Lu Yu all this time, and that he had saved her life, she didn't know how to repay him.

As she thought about it, her cheeks involuntarily flushed, and she stole a glance at Lu Yu before quickly lowering her gaze.

"Meeting is fate itself, let's go, I'll take you back," he said.

Xuan Yue followed behind Lu Yu, not daring to look up at him. The passage that had seemed so long on the way in felt so short now. Before she knew it, she and Lu Yu were already outside the cave abode. Stay tuned to My Virtual Library Empire

Lu Yu's broad shoulders shielded her, casting a shadow in which she stood, gazing dumbly at his back, her heart filled with warmth.

Just then, a warm hand grasped hers, the heat from his palm making Xuan Yue's face grow even redder. She asked, with both anticipation and fear, "Lu Yu, what are you going to do to me?"

But Lu Yu hadn't noticed Xuan Yue's change; his mind was still occupied with figuring out where the Monkey and the others might be at this moment.

So, without looking back, he said, "Of course, I'm going to fly you there. The Capital is so far from here, walking back would take who knows how long."

Xuan Yue could only respond softly with an "Oh," letting Lu Yu hold her. Suddenly, a spinning sensation overwhelmed her, and to her surprise, she found a white mist beneath her feet, appearing out of nowhere like a tuft of cotton, very comfortable to stand on.

"Is this riding the clouds?" she asked, her previous shyness replaced by curiosity.

"Mhm," Lu Yu responded softly, then whirled up the clouds.

A feeling of weightlessness came over her, and if Lu Yu hadn't been holding her, she would have fallen. In Xuan Yue's astonished gaze, she and Lu Yu gradually rose higher, the surrounding scenery shrinking rapidly until all that was left to see was a speck.

Then the clouds sped towards the direction of the Capital at a pace she had never experienced before.

Feeling nervous, Xuan Yue grabbed Lu Yu's sleeve, tightly holding onto his arm.