Quinn Shepherd's mind was in turmoil. On the Ghost Ship, he had seen with his own eyes that both Her Majesty the Empress and Absolute Dust were buried in the same coffin, guarded by eight dragons—there was no way he could be mistaken!
Yet the woman before him, named Elaina Cloud, looked almost exactly like Absolute Dust—there was not the slightest difference!
Could anyone in this world truly look identical to Absolute Dust?
"That's impossible!"
Absolute Dust was a perfect body crafted by Venerable Skysoar, a weapon designed to seduce and destroy the Ancient-God Emperor. That shrewd emperor lost his life to her beauty! No one could possibly look like her!
So, could this Elaina Cloud be the Absolute Dust from the Ghost Ship?
A flood of thoughts surged through Quinn's mind: "I escaped the Ghost Ship because I've studied Venerable Skysoar's divine arts in depth—I've already mastered a bit of the Invariant Divine Art. With the combined power of the Four Emperors and the entire Feather-Guard Corps, I barely managed to make it out alive! Who else could possibly do that besides me?"
His heart thundered, but outwardly he remained calm, looking down at Liam Cloud, who was kneeling before him.
Could it be that Liam Cloud possessed some uncanny power, sneaked onto the Ghost Ship, and somehow brought Absolute Dust out?
But the timing seemed impossible.
Right now, Senior Brother Wei Suifeng was still trapped on the Ghost Ship, and before Quinn Shepherd arrived in Heavenly Court, he had tried to rescue Wei Suifeng. If Liam Cloud boarded the Ghost Ship after that, there’s no way he could have matched Wei Suifeng.
And even if he somehow managed to escape the Ghost Ship with Absolute Dust, there’s no way he could have returned to Heavenly Court in such a short time.
After all, the Phoenix Ark Quinn rode was the fastest Emperor’s-Throne divine artifact in existence!
Liam Cloud wasn’t even a god yet. Even if he somehow had such a fast ship, he couldn’t possibly have the power to drive it.
Could he have reached the Ghost Ship before Wei Suifeng, and taken Absolute Dust away? Back then, Cloud-Venerable and Venerable Skysoar were close—most likely the Cloud Clan has records of Venerable Skysoar’s Invariant Divine Art.
Quinn shifted his gaze away from Liam Cloud. "Even if Liam Cloud did take Absolute Dust away, he couldn’t have brought her back to life. After all, Absolute Dust is just a shell for the Empress. Saving a shell is useless to him. Unless... is it the Empress herself?"
He looked at the gracefully kneeling Elaina Cloud, his eye twitching. Reaching out to help them up, he smiled and said, "Get up, please. We’re about the same age—there’s no need for such formal ceremony."
But inside, his thoughts were still in chaos: "If it’s Her Majesty the Empress, then maybe it’s possible. I once tried a soul-calling ritual on the Empress’s corpse aboard the Ghost Ship, only to find she wasn’t dead—and she sensed me too. When she learned I was heading to Heavenly Court, she could have schemed to retrieve Absolute Dust’s body. If that’s the case, then this woman’s body is actually the Empress! She’s the Empress’s puppet! But..."
His thoughts kept multiplying: "But why did the Ancient-God Emperor order the Azure Emperor of the East Heavens to drown Wei Suifeng? He wanted to use Wei Suifeng to get the Ghost Ship, clearly aiming to seize the Empress’s and Absolute Dust’s bodies and use them against the current Empress. Could it be that the one inside Absolute Dust is actually the Ancient-God Emperor?"
His head was about to explode. There were too many possibilities—he couldn’t deduce the truth.
Liam Cloud and Elaina Cloud rose to their feet. Quinn Shepherd smiled and invited them to sit. "I’ve only just arrived here and have no property in Heavenly Court—just borrowing a place for the night. Sorry for the lack of hospitality."
Annie glanced curiously at the back of Quinn’s neck. She noticed the goosebumps multiplying and beads of cold sweat running down his nape—clearly, Quinn was even more nervous than he let on.
"Young master doesn’t sweat from his brow, but sweats from the back of his neck—who did he learn that from?" Annie wondered, growing even more curious.
Liam Cloud hurriedly replied, "Venerable, you are too kind. You spread the Dao to all beings, giving everyone hope of becoming gods—your merit is unmatched. I’m here today to fulfill my ancestor’s dying injunction and beg forgiveness before you."
Quinn was surprised. "Cloud-Venerable’s dying injunction? What crime did he commit?"
"Back then, my ancestor had to impersonate Shepherd Heavenly Venerable and Quinn Heavenly Venerable several times to save the common people from disaster. Only by borrowing your names could he rally enough hearts to establish Carefree Haven and give the people a chance at survival. So before his death, he left this command: if any descendant should ever meet Shepherd Heavenly Venerable again, they must kneel and beg forgiveness before both Shepherd and Quinn Heavenly Venerable!"
Liam Cloud stood up and bowed again. "My ancestor already met the Pioneer Emperor and begged forgiveness, but never found Shepherd Heavenly Venerable. Today I am lucky enough to finally meet you. As an unworthy descendant of the Cloud Clan, I beg forgiveness in my ancestor’s stead!"
Quinn was moved. He rose and said, "Cloud-Venerable did nothing wrong. There’s no need for such formality—please, get up."
But Liam Cloud kept bowing. "Even if you do not blame us, I must fulfill my ancestor’s command."
He insisted on finishing the bows before finally rising.
Quinn invited him to sit and smiled, "I met your ancestor Cloud-Venerable here once, though we never had a chance to speak in depth. This Elaina Cloud—where does she come from? I heard from Brother Qi that your Cloud Clan always has one male heir per generation."
Liam Cloud, elegant and refined despite his illness, replied, "Elaina is a recently adopted sister, also surnamed Cloud, but not of the Cloud Clan by blood. I found her clever, capable, and alone in the world, so I made her my sister to look after her."
Elaina Cloud smiled, "When my brother said he was coming to see Shepherd Heavenly Venerable, I begged to tag along. I never expected the Venerable to be so young."
Every expression and smile of hers was so enchanting, it was impossible not to imagine all sorts of things.
Her smile had a different effect on Quinn and Qi Jiuyi. Quinn, with his strong spirit and the discipline instilled by Granny Si, was mostly immune.
Qi Jiuyi, however, saw much more in her smile. Scenes of meeting, falling in love, and spending a lifetime together flashed through his mind.
He even seemed to hear a beautiful, moving melody by his ear; in that instant, he imagined their future children running happily at their knees.
Only when Elaina finished speaking did his daydream end.
His heart thumped wildly, like first love, and his face flushed bright red.
Quinn glanced at him and coughed.
The sound of Quinn’s cough struck Qi Jiuyi like a bolt from the blue, shattering all his romantic fantasies.
Qi Jiuyi was alarmed: "This is my first time meeting this woman, and already my Dao heart is shaken! She’s too beautiful—and doesn’t even try to restrain it."
Quinn laughed, "Elaina and Liam Cloud are a perfect pair. It’s almost a shame they’re brother and sister."
Elaina Cloud blushed, shy as a young girl, glancing at Liam Cloud.
Liam Cloud answered seriously, "Venerable, you jest. I’m a dying man—how could I hold up Elaina? I already have a family and a son. Have you married, Venerable?"
Quinn, still weak but bracing himself, laughed heartily, "Liam, I’m a dying man too! If you don’t mind, you can call me Qin Sect Master like Brother Qi, no need for ‘Venerable.’ To be honest, I only turned thirty-three not long ago."
Elaina was surprised, covering her mouth as she laughed, "Venerable is even younger than me!"
Seeing her graceful bearing, Qi Jiuyi heard that beautiful, seductive song again, and visions of romance flooded his mind once more.
Quinn coughed again, snapping him out of it. Qi Jiuyi broke out in a cold sweat. "It’s over! My Dao heart is ruined! Si Youyou of the Yuan Realm is beautiful too, but she never tries to tempt anyone. This woman, though, wields beauty as a weapon!"
Quinn turned to Liam Cloud, "I’ve heard that when members of the Cloud Clan reach the Divine Bridge Realm and try to enter godhood, they suddenly die. Cloud-Venerable pioneered the Divine Bridge realm, so why do his descendants suffer such misfortune?"