Quinn Shepherd watched as Crystal Blaze departed, and Nate Jin was also taken to Fengdu by Lord Hades—perhaps a place where he could finally belong.
"Each of them has their own brilliance. With Lady Umbral’s troubles resolved and the three hundred and twenty-four Umbral World runes established, the Umbral World will no longer be a lifeless realm, but will someday flourish as a thriving heaven!"
Quinn felt a surge of emotion, imagining a future where many cultivators would enter the Umbral World and make it ever more prosperous, with divine arts blooming and competing like a hundred schools of thought.
The Everpeace Reform is no empty slogan. With Lady Umbral’s support, the strength behind the reform will only grow.
But all of this will take time.
For now, neither Everpeace nor the Umbral World has truly grown strong yet.
"This is actually the most dangerous period—at any moment, the flame of reform could be snuffed out."
Quinn furrowed his brow, but soon smiled and put aside these worries. Together with Ivy He, he went to find Bruno the Dragon-Qilin, only to see Bruno being worked to the bone by Ivy and the Western Lands women, who were bossing him around and making him do all sorts of chores.
Bruno looked utterly miserable but had no way to refuse. The Western Lands’ female cultivators practiced divine arts where ‘everything has spirit and everything has a god,’ and would often use strange spells to take control of his body and force him to work.
"Fat Dragon’s actually working so hard?"
Quinn Shepherd was deeply gratified and laughed, "Bruno, you carry my Sword Pill—it's time for us to head back to Everpeace."
The Sword Pill stood over thirty zhang tall and weighed a ton. Bruno the Dragon-Qilin had planned to refuse, but suddenly thought, "I've helped those Western Lands girls with so much work—if I don't help the Cult Master now, I probably won't even get a single Spirit Pill in the future!"
Gritting his teeth, Bruno hefted the Sword Pill. Quinn was delighted: "Bruno really has gotten diligent."
Ever since Crystal Blaze received that trace of pure yin qi from Quinn, her foundation felt steadier, her body healthier, and her mood much brighter.
The two walked and chatted, laughter flowing nonstop.
Quinn escorted Crystal Blaze to the Sunwell and said, "The Emperor will issue a decree inviting you out of seclusion, to use the Solar Ark's sun to illuminate High-Emperor Heaven and Luofu Heaven, restoring vitality to both realms. But don't worry—once we find suitable pure yang and pure yin Spirit Bodies, you won't have to drive the Solar Ark everywhere. Your cultivation is high, but your foundation is unstable. You need to leave the Sunwell and come to Everpeace to study the basics. I'll be waiting for you there."
They parted reluctantly. Quinn watched her disappear into the Sunwell before continuing eastward.
He settled onto Bruno's back and took out the Profound Capital Heavenly Fire, examining it closely.
Ever since acquiring the Heavenly Fire Crystal Pillar, he'd never had time to study it properly—he'd only used it once, and otherwise left it with Crystal Blaze.
"Since it's fire, why does it have substance? How does it turn into a crystalline flame?"