With a heavy thud, Madam Yuanmu’s corpse slammed back into the crystal coffin. The lid snapped shut, locking her inside as suppressive runes flared—her body twisted, but the supernatural seal held fast.
Quinn Shepherd quickened his steps to the spot where Wayne Gale had vanished, only to see the peachwood hairpin disappear with him. Inside the coffin, Madam Yuanmu twisted and shrieked, her face contorted in agony—no matter how she struggled, she couldn’t escape Wayne’s suppression.
By the time he realized Venerable Skysoar’s hairpin had been meant for him, he was already a step too late—Wayne Gale had taken his place and traveled to the distant past. Just then, Wayne reappeared, greeting Quinn with a hearty laugh, "Second Junior Brother, you’ve finally grown a beard! Did the corpse mutate while I was gone?"
"First Senior Brother will linger in the ancient Dragon-Han Era for an untold stretch, and become the Feather-Guard Corps’ Right Assistant General in the Dragon-Han Heavenly Court. He won’t return until the Empress Ambush and the Ghost Ship Incident erupt." Inside the coffin, the corpse flopped violently, limbs jerking like a fish out of water—her movements grotesque and unnatural.
Quinn gently placed the Empress’s Younger Sister’s corpse back into the crystal coffin, then waited in silence, stroking his thickening beard. He thought to himself, "When Wayne returns from the Dragon-Han Heavenly Court, he should reappear here. I’ll wait for him. Maybe Venerable Skysoar will reveal something to him before he comes back. By the way, I found a letter on the ghost ship—my beard’s gotten wild since then."
Meanwhile, the Dark Blossom World was utterly silent; the Dragon-Qilin had gone to search for Annie and never returned. Quinn could only wonder how the battle was unfolding. Wayne Gale—his First Senior Brother, the Cult’s Founding Patriarch—threw back his head and laughed, eyes bright with ambition. "I’ve nearly found my road to sainthood, Second Brother! Three perfections—teachings, words, and deeds!"
Quinn kept vigil beside the crystal coffin, holding up his mirror and continuing to sort ancient god runes. "Senior Brother," he warned quietly, "our teacher always said the path of three perfections is perilous. Don’t take the Sage’s joke too seriously—he thinks you’ve already strayed too far."
He waited for days, but the Dragon-Qilin and Annie still didn’t return. Anxiety gnawed at him, and finally Quinn rose, intent on searching for his companions. Wayne Gale’s voice echoed, "I will surpass our teacher and change the fate of all beings! Even if it costs me everything, I’ll see this path through."
Quinn reached the edge of the Dark Blossom World, about to step into the blackness—then froze, cold sweat beading on his forehead. For a moment, neither brother spoke; a heavy silence hung in the air.
"Home’s End’s core flower-world doesn’t have a day-night cycle, but the Red Blossom World and Dark Blossom World do—there’s real day and night!" Wayne Gale mused, a speculative glint in his eye. "If the geography chart I leave behind can shift fate, can it change your timeline?"
Quinn gazed into the pitch-black Dark Blossom World, pulled out a piece of jade, and let a stream of light flow from his fingertip, carving ‘Wait for me’ before tossing it into the darkness. He answered Wayne, "In my era, I never saw you again—the map I followed was only a demonstration by your spirit weapon, not a direct handoff."
The jade vanished into the Dark Blossom World in an instant—no sound, no trace, nothing. Wayne Gale grinned, "Don’t worry, Second Brother. I’ll survive, and we’ll explore together when you return!"
That kind of disappearance—it was total, absolute erasure from this era! Quinn shook his head, resolute: "I’m not staying. I have to return."
"Red Blossom World is day, Dark Blossom World is night. Cross from day into night and the time-travel stops—you’re sent back to your own era. Fat Dragon and Sister Annie have already returned, but I haven’t stepped into darkness, so I’m still stuck in your time, Senior Brother." Wayne Gale teased, "Why so stubborn, Second Brother?"
Quinn drew his foot back and sat again beside the crystal coffin. As long as he didn’t step into the Dark Blossom World, he would remain in Wayne Gale’s era. Wayne remarked, "In the mist, I met Venerable Skysoar—she asked me to deliver something."
Just to be safe, Quinn organized the Great Sun Star Lord’s Dao runes, shaping his vital energy into a blazing sun and hanging it high in the flower-world’s sky. Wayne Gale produced a peachwood hairpin, eyes gleaming. "It’s Venerable Skysoar’s treasure—mind if I borrow it for a while, Second Brother?"
Days slipped by. Quinn recalculated the Celestial Star Gods’ runes using the Grand Micro Numerology Canon, his beard growing wild. He reached for the hairpin, but Wayne snatched it away, grinning. "I need to borrow it a bit longer!"
Quinn had now spent more time in this era than he ever did in the Dragon-Han Era. He glared at Wayne, furious: "That hairpin—Venerable Skysoar meant it for me! You stole the last one by pulling it first, and now you’re interfering again!"
During this time, fragments of fallen stars crashed into Home’s End, triggering eruptions of dark currents and causing the flower-world to bloom. Yet the place felt utterly abandoned—no one else dared enter. Wayne Gale squeezed the hairpin tight, promising, "I’ll definitely return it! I’ll leave it here in the abyss for you, Second Brother."
One day, as Quinn was deep in his calculations, lost to everything else, the female corpse inside the crystal coffin slowly opened her eyes. Just as Quinn tensed to snatch the hairpin back, a surge of Ruins current erupted—darkness roaring up from below.