Chapter 101: The Path Beyond Fate (3)

At Ji Yue’s declaration, Gu Yuan felt a pang of reluctance, but he remained silent. No matter how precious the treasure was, he had no intention of fighting his wife over it.

Ji Yan, on the other hand, after she had calmed down, asked, "What do you plan to use it for?"

Ji Yue exhaled slowly, and with a determined gaze, said, "I’m changing my physique."

"That shouldn’t be possible with the Great Dao Fragment alone, though."

"I know." Ji Yue nodded before explaining, "But the barrier that once enveloped this palace still has some remnants left. It’s made from Refined Star Source. I haven’t confirmed how much remains, but with it and a few other preparations, it should still be possible."

"So, you really plan to walk the path of Star Dao this time..." Ji Yan muttered.

She seemed to be trying to hide her reaction, but Gu Yuan, who had been listening to their conversation, could tell that something was bothering her. Ji Yan seemed down, or perhaps even upset.

What’s wrong?

It was clear that her mood had nothing to do with losing the Great Dao Fragment.

"I’ll start preparing right away," Ji Yue said, looking at her sister. "It will probably take several decades. So you can keep Gu Yuan company on your own in the meantime."

That seemed to lift Ji Yan’s spirits a little. She nodded, then waved a hand dismissively.

"Go on, then. Don’t blame me if you return to find that Gu Yuan recognizes only one wife."

Ji Yue chuckled but offered no comment. She stepped in, caught the front of his robes, and pulled him down to her.

The kiss was possessive, reminiscent of the very first they had shared. She kissed him with deliberate intent, as though fixing the taste of him in her memory before leaving.

It lingered for minutes before she finally drew back. She licked her lips with a faint smile, then turned away and left.

Gu Yuan stood there a moment longer, wearing a smile matching that of Ji Yue, before he shook his head.

"What was that all about?" he asked Ji Yan.

Judging by how eager and excited Ji Yue had been, this was clearly something of immense significance to the twins. But why? He couldn’t make sense of it.

Ji Yan slowly exhaled, seemingly having come to terms with whatever had been bothering her, before she began to explain.

"This is actually related to our reincarnation."

"Didn’t you ever wonder about it? We came to the Cangchen World to find you and obtain the Ascension Door along the way. But why did we need to reincarnate in the first place?"

Gu Yuan grew curious. He had always assumed the twins had died in some battle. It was the most logical conclusion he could come to, given what little he knew of their past. But judging from Ji Yan’s words, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Fortunately, Ji Yan didn’t drag things out.

"We didn’t die. We chose to reincarnate because we wanted to become stronger."

"Although we were among the strongest immortal cultivators, we knew there were still higher realms of cultivation to reach. However, many things had held us back from pursuing them, and one of those things was the weakness of our foundations."

"So, strengthening our foundations was where we planned to start. But then Yue suddenly decided that she wanted to walk a different Dao in this life."

"Walking the Star Path, one that could even encompass Fate, became her goal. Changing her physique from the Sacred Calculation Physique to something related to the stars could help her achieve that."

Ji Yan fell silent, seemingly finished with her explanation. However, Gu Yuan had a feeling she was still keeping something to herself, so he used his ability on her.

[Threads of Providence]

Name: Ji Yan

Age: 69 (9,999,969)

Cultivation: Embryo Realm, Second Stage

Spiritual Root: Fire Spiritual Root (Immortal Grade)

Physique: Primordial Destruction Physique

Providence: Extremely High

Special Note: Ji Huangyan, the reincarnated Annihilation Empress, once stood at the pinnacle of the Great Dao of Destruction. Before her reincarnation, she had heard many stories about her Dao Companion, and meeting you made her happy. Now, with her sister taking a step forward on her cultivation path, she is upset by the thought that she might be left behind.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Left behind?

Gu Yuan lingered on those two words.

Why should she be left behind? Was it because of the Dao?

He pondered the matter. Ji Yue was moving from the Fate Dao toward the Star Dao, while Ji Yan didn’t seem to know which path she should pursue instead of the Destruction Dao.

What came after destruction, conceptually? Annihilation, perhaps? No, there was also the saying that creation followed destruction, but that didn’t feel like a path Ji Yan would walk.

Then again, could someone like Ji Yan have failed to consider even these shallow ideas of his? Gu Yuan lacked the insight into the higher realms necessary to offer her any meaningful advice.

Still, he couldn’t stand seeing his proud woman troubled like this.

"Changing the path you’ve walked before or continuing further along the same one. I don’t know which is the right answer. But it’s not as if choosing one path means you can never take a detour."

Whether it was Destruction, something beyond it, or perhaps an entirely different path altogether, where was the problem?

Gu Yuan chuckled before adding, "Besides, having a fixed destination isn’t nearly as exciting as setting out toward somewhere unknown."

Ji Yan stared at him for a moment, momentarily stunned by his words. Then she smirked.

"Are you trying to cheer me up?"

"No." Gu Yuan shook his head. "I don’t think there’s anything you need to be upset about in the first place, so there’s nothing for me to cheer you up over. I’m merely sharing my thoughts."

"Yes, you’re right." Ji Yan nodded, a bright, stunning smile spreading across her face. "Thank you..."

Perhaps words alone weren’t enough to express how she felt. Ji Yan suddenly threw herself at Gu Yuan, wrapping both arms and legs around his body as she kissed him.

Her kiss was exactly like her: fiery, hot, and dazzling.