Tessa Quinn got up and walked out.
She found everyone gathered on a nebula, pointing and talking.
Ian Tai was there too, gazing at the starry sky.
She walked over and stood behind Ian Tai, expressionless.
Ian Tai turned to glance at her and asked mildly, "You're awake?"
"You always die before me." Tessa replied just as coolly.
Ian Tai pointed to the sky. "Look."
She looked up. At some point, a new constellation had appeared in the sky.
"The Twin-Lotus Constellation," Ian Tai said. "It's the bridge from the Three Thousand Worlds to the Ancient Divine Realm. Its birth will bring forth more undying Ancient Gods."
Tessa felt a complicated mix of emotions. "If I break our contract, the Twin-Lotus Constellation will be destroyed, and the Ancient Divine Realm will collapse. So you and I are bound together forever—until the universe ends."
"That's right. Congratulations," Ian Tai said with a faint smile.
"Congratulations to me?"
"The Twin-Lotus Constellation was born from love nourishing the Origin Lotus," Ian Tai said. "Tessa, you love me deeply. Maybe that love is buried by time, or twisted by the loss of our children, but it's always been there. So I congratulate you—for getting to stay with the one you love for eternity."
"Then maybe I should pity you," Tessa said. "You're stuck with someone who doesn't love you for eternity."
"I don't mind," Ian Tai looked at her.
Don't mind... A familiar frustration welled up in Tessa's heart, and she turned around and went back.
"Let's go see it together," Ian Tai said. "Aren't you curious what's inside the world born from our love?"
"Not interested." She turned to leave.
Ian Tai said, "I just saw that Lan went in."
Tessa paused. "This time, he didn't break any rules. You can't lock him up again."
Ian Tai didn’t say a word and headed toward the Twin-Lotus Constellation.
Tessa Quinn frowned and followed him.
It was a beautiful constellation.
No black holes, no storms—just dazzling nebulae with colors that soothed the soul.
At its core, a swirling star formation looked just like ripples on a blue lake—serene and comforting.
When she arrived, Lan and Ian Tai were standing by the Star Lake.
Lan’s expression was sour. "So, things turned out just as you wanted!"
Ian Tai: "Thank you for your help."
Lan: "Ha!"
Help you? Please! I just... couldn't do anything about it!
"Forced melons aren’t sweet," Ian Tai said, lifting his chin with a strangely smug air.
Lan glanced at Tessa Quinn and said, "You should tell that to yourself! Look at Tessa Quinn, does she seem sweet to you?"
Ian Tai looked at Tessa Quinn. "How do you know she isn’t?"
Tessa Quinn: "I’m not."
Ian Tai said nothing.
Suddenly, a vortex appeared above the Star Lake.
All three stared at the swirling vortex.
This was the passage from the Three Thousand Worlds to the Ancient Divine Realm.
Anyone who ascended here gained the right to eternal life.
At the end of the vortex, a breathtakingly handsome young man appeared.
He really was breathtakingly handsome—so much so that the Star Lake itself paled in comparison.
But... he looked so familiar... Tessa Quinn felt like she was about to stop breathing.
The young man stared blankly at the three before him, then walked over, poking Tessa Quinn and Ian Tai. "Father God? Mother God? Am I in some kind of illusion?"
Tessa Quinn pulled him into her arms. "Ray, my Ray... you actually made it here!"
"Is it really you, Mother God?" Ray Quinn asked in confusion. "You look a bit different than before... Where is this place?"
Tessa Quinn took his hand and started walking back. "Mother God will explain everything."
But Ray Quinn stopped, grabbed Ian Tai’s hand, and said, "Father God, come on!"
Ian Tai, the almighty Emperor of the gods, obediently followed his wife and son—like a giant, well-behaved dog.
Lan shook his head. "I always knew this kid was something else. He climbed up here so fast..."
He turned to leave.
But then, another vortex formed above the Star Lake.
Lan stared curiously as a woman was pushed out of the vortex.
She looked just as lost, glancing around—until she suddenly spotted Lan.
Her eyes lit up, and she dashed over to hug him. "Divine Lord! I finally found you again!"
Lan looked like he'd been struck by lightning. "Azure Flame? Weren't you dead? How'd you end up here?"
"Someone saved me! Then I wound up in the Otherworld and cultivated for tens of thousands of years before coming here! My savior told me I'd find you if I came, and they were right!"
Lan peeled her off and bolted.
Azure Flame instantly transformed into a giant interstellar Fire Drake and spread her wings to chase after him.
......
The regular meeting day for Empress Tessa Quinn and Emperor Ian Tai.