My Dreams Connect to Ancient Times

"You can see everything, so there’s nothing I can hide from you... How is this?"

After he spoke, he opened his hands. A Gloomy Lamp materialized and floated over, settling into the exquisitely beautiful woman’s palm.

The exquisitely beautiful woman nodded, satisfied.

"You’re not a good person either, but you’re still a little better than that bad guy Haotian. So I won’t smash you!"

The Emperor Corpse’s face twitched, and he was left speechless.

The exquisitely beautiful woman then turned, her eyes sparkling as she faced Lu Xuan. Like a little girl eager for praise, she held up the chessboard and the Gloomy Lamp.

"TA-DA!"

She gave a dazzling smile and drew closer, pulling the Celestial Vault itself nearer to the ground as she said:

"Child, my child, this is the Heaven and Earth Chessboard. With it, even if you haven’t attained your Dao Fruit, you can join the Dao Fruit game when the time is right and become one of the players."

"The board has three hundred and sixty-one points. One point, one stone. One stone, one fate. You have to remember that, okay?"

"And this is the Human Lamp. It’s part of a set with your Celestial Lamp. Later, go find Taiqing and get the Earth Lamp from him. When you combine all three, they can form a Dao Fruit Great Artifact!"

With that, the exquisitely beautiful woman grandly thrust both the Heaven and Earth Chessboard and the Gloomy Lamp into Lu Xuan’s arms, then stared at him in anticipation.

Cradling the two terrifying Supreme Treasures and looking into the woman’s expectant eyes, Lu Xuan felt that familiar sting in his nose.

"Thank you, Lady."

The woman’s smile was so brilliant that the broken world around them began to bloom with life. But that vitality was instantly ground to dust by the three thousand chains.

She chirped happily:

"You’re welcome, you’re welcome... It’s just... it’s just..."

As she spoke, the exquisitely beautiful woman grew a little shy.

Lu Xuan was taken aback and quickly asked:

"Lady, please, what is it?"

"It’s just... could you come and visit me often from now on?" the exquisitely beautiful woman asked, her eyes shining.

Lu Xuan’s heart clenched painfully.

After a long moment, he spoke, his voice trembling.

"Lady, I’ll visit often... I promise."

"It’s a promise!" The exquisitely beautiful woman beamed again. "Then I’ll send you on your way. If you stay here too long, you’ll be tainted by this deathly aura, and that’s no good."

"Remember to come and visit me often."

"Oh, and you can bring your destined partner along too. She would count as my daughter-in-law, wouldn’t she?"

Before the young man could respond, she gave a hurried wave. Lu Xuan, still holding the two Ancient Artifacts, flickered and vanished from where he stood.

After the young man vanished, the exquisitely beautiful woman, still bearing the weight of three thousand chains and the entire Celestial Vault, returned to her original seat. The Emperor Corpse reverted to withered bones, and the Buddha re-entered nirvana. Everything fell silent once more.

She sat alone on the lotus throne, then suddenly grimaced.

"It really hurts."

The three thousand chains dragged slowly through her body, grinding against bone, their mottled rust flaking away.

The exquisitely beautiful woman silently endured the agony, yet a happy smile returned to her face.

’Someone believes me.’

’Finally, one of my children is willing to call me Mother again.’

’I really am Nuwa... I really am Nuwa...’

’It’s so boring all by myself.’

’How many more years do I have to stay here?’

She curled into a ball, her earlier peerless grace gone. She looked just like a lonely child.

She was, after all, just a lonely child.

The Emperor Corpse and the nirvanic Buddha sighed in unison. The exquisitely beautiful woman remained curled up, her head resting on her knees as she watched the roaring flames. And yet, amidst the great loneliness, great despair, and great sorrow that always enveloped her, a different kind of light had begun to shine.

’I wonder when he’ll come back?’