"The Void Gate!" Lily Bai suddenly jumped to her feet.
The three of them all looked at her. "You know about it?"
"I heard... I heard His Majesty the Celestial Emperor mention it!" Lily said excitedly. "On the very day His Majesty disappeared, he told me about Sean Shaw's mother—he said she came from the Void Gate! He even gave me an analogy: if the Lotus Realm is a mansion, then the Void Gate is its front door! The Genesis Array is a secret tunnel, and those old wormholes leading to the Demon Realm are basically dog-holes!"
"My father told you that?" Sean Shaw frowned.
"Yeah! So the Void Gate isn't just a legend—it's real!"
"So... if we open that door, does that mean we can bring my father back?" Sean asked, eyes full of hope.
"...His Majesty also said that only the Lord of the Gods above all heavens can open that door. We can't do it."
Sean was silent for a moment, then said, "Lord Noctis, could you possibly take us back to where that door is buried so we can have another look?"
Noctis nodded. "Sure."
"There's no rush," Divine Lord Tanya Quinn interjected. "Hasn't the date for the Crown Princess's Enthronement Ceremony already been set? Let's wait until after that's done—then we can all go together."
Both of them nodded.
"By the way, what brings you two all the way to Cangwu? Are you here to take Little Shrimp back to Drake Abyss?" Divine Lord Tanya Quinn asked.
"No, it's like this..." Lily Bai explained about Bianca Whitefan. "...My mother used a hundred thousand years of Divine Power to preserve my Divine Vein, then poured another hundred thousand years into me. So now, she's lost all her cultivation. Divine Lord, I'm begging you—please let her out so she can enjoy a few good years!"
Divine Lord Tanya Quinn nodded at once. "If that's the case, of course I support you! But... convincing the Lumina Realm won't be easy."
She paused and looked at Sean Shaw. "If you were still the Demon Emperor, you could just let her out and drag her straight into the Wildlands Tribulation Thunder Array—let the Lumina gods like it or lump it! But now you're Crown Prince. If you get too forceful, you'll hurt the Lumina gods' feelings and might even spark a war between Drake Abyss and the Lumina Realm."
Sean Shaw scowled. "I still don't care what they think!"
Divine Lord Tanya Quinn: "..."
"No, no!" Lily Bai pinched Sean Shaw. "I'll go to the Lumina Realm and use my sincerity to win their forgiveness."
"As if they'd ever forgive you! Why bother with all that trouble? Just sneak her out and be done with it!" Noctis said.
"First of all, Heavenly Pool Mountain connects directly to the Spirit Alliance and the Lumina Realm, and it's guarded. The Thunder-Heaven Void-Breaking Chain makes so much noise with its lightning, there's no way to sneak out unnoticed," Lily Bai said. "Second... I want my mom to walk out with dignity!"
"So what's your plan?" Tanya Quinn asked.
"I'll decide once I see how things look," Lily Bai said. "Don't worry, we won't use brute force."
Sean Shaw: "We'll try."
...
Sean Shaw and Lily Bai arrived at the Lumina Realm together.
Lily Bai started laying out her plan: "Sean, wait here for me. I'll be right back."
But Sean Shaw grabbed her and pulled her back. "You want to go alone?"
"Uh... mainly because I think you'd be a little awkward if you went," Lily Bai said. "You know, love rivals always glare at each other!"
"Who's a love rival with who?"
"You and Qilin Divine Lord Soren Lann!"
"Before we got married, maybe. But after the wedding, he's out of the picture." Sean Shaw said darkly.
Lily Bai: "Well... if you're not awkward, then I am! Just wait here and be good—I'm going!"
"No way." Someone yanked her back firmly. "I'm never letting you see him alone again."