Mengfei blinked and took in her surrounding. She was in a room she didn’t recognize, not her Jade Peak Palace or her Heaven, Earth, Man Trinity Palace. In fact, it seemed closer to her place back in the Xi Dynasty when she was a mere imperial princess, still unloved by her Consort-Mother and Emperor-Father.
It was a large room, certainly at least equal to her bedroom. Silken beddings, obscuring drapes, jewelry boxes, masterfully crafted furniture, white porcelain painted blue by seasoned painters, and an assortment of snacks upon the table.
The Sword Empress circulated her qi. She could still feel her cultivation. Only it felt as if she was encased by a second skin of foreign origin.
Mengfei looked around for a few moments longer before opening the doors and walking out.
“Madame, the master is asking if you are ready to leave.”
Mengfei paused. She took in the one who called out to her. It was a young servant girl of the first rank. But she could not feel any hint of qi or cultivation from her at all like she was a regular mortal. And who did she mean by madame?
“Leave? Where?” Mengfei asked.
The servant girl showed a surprised expression before schooling it at once. “Today, madame and master are going to visit the Emperor and the Noble Consort.”
Mengfei furrowed her brows. “Does Emperor-Brother need something of me?”
The maid showed a panicked expression. She quickly looked around to see if anyone overheard Mengfei. “Madame, even if you are the most favored imperial princess, you cannot joke like this!”
Mengfei’s confusion grew even more. She tried to recall what happened before she awoke here as the maid led her out towards the main hall.
The last thing she remembered was Emperor Soulfish’s clone, Mirrorevil, emitting a brilliant light that caused his glass body to erupted and engulf herself and her fellow Immortal Emperors, Zhang Cuiying, Eternal Night Emperor, and Cloud Goddess.
As the youngest Immortal Empress, Xi Mengfei was immensely talented and caused all those old monsters to sigh in admiration. She was already less than a hundred years old when she transcended mortality and ascended to the True Immortal level, known as the Pathfinding Immortal Realm.
From there, within a hundred years, she perfected and carved her own Dao and entered the Seamless Immortal Realm, becoming the youngest Immortal Monarch.
But progressing from the Seamless Immortal Realm into the Extremity Immortal Realm was not easy. It might have taken Mengfei tens of thousands of years.
Of course, such speed would still be considered heaven-defying. Other Immortal Emperors needed over a hundred thousand years.
But thanks to a tremendous stroke of luck, after participating in the Dragon Emperor clash, Mengfei broke through and became famous to the point that other realms and worlds heard of her name.
But that also came with a weakness. Among all the Immortal Emperors and even some Immortal Monarchs, her heart and mind were lacking in comparison to her battle strength. This meant that certain soul techniques were especially effective against her.
And Mengfei guessed that Emperor Soulfish used his clone as a catalyst to unleash a devastating soul technique against her and her fellow Immortal Emperors… and Cloud Goddess.
“Master.” The maid bowed to the man waiting at the grand hall. Mengfei observed him.
He was almost two meters tall, with broad and dependable shoulders. He had a pleasant face with a scar on the side of his cheek and sported a small goatee. He looked about ten years Mengfei’s senior based on appearance alone, but his body had not a hint of cultivation.
If you were to compare their real age, then Mengfei would be over ten times his senior.
“Dear.” Mengfei flinched and stepped back when the man reached out with his hand, causing him to helplessly furrow his brows.
“After all these years, you still aren’t used to my touch?”
Mengfei observed the man and found some slight similarities to her Emperor-Father, about twenty percent. Judging by his word and the maid’s action, he was likely her husband by all logic.
Had she stayed in the Xi Dynasty, perhaps she would have been married and gained a Prince Consort.
“Nevermind.” The man shook his head. “It’s fine. Eventually, you will understand my heart. Come, let us go visit Emperor-Father and Consort-Mother.”
At this time, a small blur ran into the hall and crashed into Mengfei. Mengfei looked down and felt a pair of short arms wrap around her waist.
“Mother!”
Mengfei found herself revealing a small smile when she saw who the small blur was. He had an adorable but immaculate face, but his most outstanding features were no doubt that pair of eyes that resembled hers so much.
“Yi’er.”
The blur, Tianyi, smiled rather foolishly. But there was no hiding the glimmer of wisdom in those young eyes.
“Mother, hurry up. I haven’t seen Emperor-Grandfather and Consort-Grandmother in such a loooong time!”
Mengfei blinked. She was not used to Tianyi acting so spoiled, and before she realized it, she was in a black sandalwood carriage pulled by three pairs of horses on her way to the Imperial Palace.
“General Han! Mingzhu Princess!”
The palace guards saluted the group of three once they passed the gates. Three sedans were pulled up for Mengfei, the man, and little Tianyi.
For them to use carried in sedans in the Imperial Palace spoke of great favor. Typically, only the highest ranked of the Emperor’s women were allowed to used sedans within the Imperial Palace. For Mengfei, a wedded princess, and her husband and son to receive such treatment spoke of great favor.
In her memories, she was just an ignored and unfavored princess. She hadn’t been given a title, and even if she reached of age, it was unlikely for her to receive a blessed title such as Radiant Pearl (Mingzhu) Princess.
But what shocked Mengfei the most wasn’t the treatment, but what the palace called her husband.
General Han.
Back when she was trapped in the hell that was the inner palace, she had heard of the name of the great General Han, Han Fei.
He was the great War God of the Xi Dynasty. His background was that of a commoner. But through his abilities, he rose meteorically through the ranks and became the supreme commander of the Xi Dynasty Army.
The most important thing was that he was young when he attained the rank and enjoyed great trust from the Emperor. Those two factors were quite attractive to many unmarried females.
However, it was the third factor that made many heads over heels for him. Han Fei was a widower. His wife was the daughter of a low ranked official, but she tragically died while he was at war. Even so, he never remarried, citing his deep affection for his departed wife.
Thinking back, perhaps this was also the reason why the Emperor trusted Han Fei so much. With no sons or daughters and no longer marrying, Han Fei posed almost no threat to the Xi Imperial Family.
But back to the main point.
Han Fei’s fame was great to the point that even she, an isolated and unloved princess, had heard of him. She had heard rumors of how much he loved his deceased wife, including the woman who married him would be the most loved woman in the dynasty.
At that time, Mengfei imagined marrying him and finally being experienced what it meant to be loved.
As a woman of the dynasty, she had also been taught the three heavens. First heaven, her father, second heaven, her husband, and the third heaven, her son. It would be her duty to serve all three faithfully.
She thought that since her first heaven did not love, why not seek it out from her second? But before any of that could happen, she was discovered by her master and taken away to embark on the path of cultivation.
Mengfei looked towards her son in this world. In contrast to the foolish expression he showed within the General Compound, Tianyi now sported a lofty and elegant bearing. Mengfei allowed herself a slight smile that she did not realized she had at how some things never change before a thought struck her.
If she was married to Han Fei in this world, then didn’t that mean Tianyi’s surname changed from Xi to Han?
Xi Tianyi
Han Tianyi.
Mengfei frowned at the thought. She felt an unknown and unpleasant feeling well up in her chest. Her brows still furrowed, Mengfei pushed down the unpleasant feeling.
The trio arrived at the Palace of Harmony, where the Emperor and Noble Consort waited.
“Subject greets the holy one.” Han Fei kneeled and greeted the Emperor.
“Subject-grandson greets the holy one.” Han Tianyi followed his father’s example.
The only one who didn’t kneel was Mengfei. She stood with her back straight like the lofty Sword Empress she was. There was a deep unwillingness in her heart that Mengfei herself didn’t understand.
After she had been taken away, she had never returned to the Xi Dynasty until her Emperor-Father passed away, so such a situation never occurred back in the real world. Her Emperor-Father may have passed away, but her Consort-Mother still lived.
But Mengfei left before seeing her Consort-Mother. According to her Emperor-Brother, Consort-Mother lived to the age of ninety-three and was honored due to being Mengfei’s mother.
The situation left Mengfei feeling confused. She remembered how her Consort-Mother would say that she couldn’t live without Emperor-Father many times. Yet when Emperor-Father died, her Consort-Mother enjoyed being the most honored woman of the Xi Dynasty for decades more.
“Quick, beloved subject and filial grandson, rise.” The Emperor laughed before looking at Mengfei and sighing in helplessly. “Fei’er, you’re already a mother. Although we and your Consort-Mother don’t mind you acting willfully in private, you must remember the rules on official occasions.”
Mengfei unknowingly curled her lips.
Willful, her?
Her days back then were saturated with rules to the point that it felt like she was an emotionless doll.
But despite all this, when Mengfei looked at her imperial parents again. She felt a slight resentment and anger, but more than that, she felt peacefulness.
Mengfei knew this was all false. But that didn’t mean her muted reaction to seeing her Emperor-Father and Consort-Mother didn’t surprise even herself. She watched on with emotionless eyes as her Emperor-Father and Consort-Mother interacted with her current family of three. Occasionally they would ask her opinion or converse with her, only to get muted replies. But none of them minded and seemed used to it.
The Emperor kept Mengfei and the two for lunch. Rather than an Emperor and his subjects, it seemed more like a picture of a harmonious family. When they left, the Emperor bestowed many gifts for them to take home, causing those onlookers to watch in envy at how favored Han Fei and Mengfei were.
The next few days passed with relative normalcy as Mengfei got accustomed to her life in this false world. The experience resembled how she would experience countless different possible lives in her meditation.
When a Transcending Mortality Sage entered the Immortal Realm, he would be in the Pathfinding Immortal Realm. It was then that one truly began to comprehend and seek their own Dao, hence the name.
When one discovered their Dao, they would develop it until it became seamless, hence the Seamless Immortal Realm.
To reach the Immortal Emperor level, they would have to push their Dao to the extreme, hence the Extremity Immortal Realm. But for an Extremity Immortal to reach the next stage, the Origin Immortal Realm, they would need to experience different path lives.
Mengfei had already experienced multiples of such lives. Yet this one was too unique as if all her innermost desires were granted. Despite experiencing such a perfect world, she could not bring herself to truly live within it. Yet, at the same time, she couldn’t bring herself to shatter such a world.
For Mengfei, who had always been decisive, this was an unknown experience for her. A few months passed, and just as Mengfei was about to shatter the false world, a change occurred.