Years slipped by quietly.

For Shen Qianlin, who had been in secluded cultivation within the Small Nether Realm, it felt as if only a few years had passed since she last saw Wang Sheng.

Wang Sheng, who had wandered outside the world for a thousand years, was no longer the same person he once was, though.

The two strolled like old friends, chatting about small, ordinary things while stopping here and there. Wang Sheng spoke of his experiences outside while they looked at the scenery and avoided making any improper gestures.

Xi Lian, who had followed them the entire way, was deeply puzzled.

When they reached a street corner, Shen Qianlin came to a stop. She raised a hand to smooth the hair by her ear, a gentle smile appearing on her lips.

"I should be going back."

"Mm. Want me to see you off?" Wang Sheng gestured upward.

Even though his Primordial Spirit was gone, traveling through the air still posed no difficulty.

"No need." Shen Qianlin shook her head lightly. Her clear eyes rested on Wang Sheng, as if she wanted to imprint him into her memory.

A few seconds later, she looked away and asked softly, "Is there anything I can do for you? I heard from the Hidden Earth Sect that things haven't been going smoothly for you out there."

"It's been alright." Wang Sheng breathed out slowly. "Smooth or not, I've made it this far. Just cultivate without worrying about me, Senior."

"Mm." Following the etiquette of ancient times, Shen Qianlin bowed slightly.

The brightness in her eyes slowly faded, becoming still like an ancient well. Her jet-black hair gradually turned silver white. Primal qi gathered, forming a faint breeze that gently lifted her long hair.

Wang Sheng knew that the one standing before him now was no longer the senior he was familiar with. It was Lady Meng, the immortal of the Small Nether Realm.

To protect the Small Nether Realm, a woman from every generation of the Shen family became a successor to Lady Meng, offering themselves to the secret treasure. The Hidden Earth Sect also maintained control over the Small Nether Realm through them.

Shen Qianlin had yet to fully merge with this power. The entity before Wang Sheng was a combination of Shen Qianlin's and her predecessors' consciousnesses.

Calling her Lady Meng was most fitting.

Lady Meng lowered her head slowly as a wooden staff appeared in her hand. "Greetings, Lord Fei Yu."

"No need for formalities." Wang Sheng sighed inwardly and smiled faintly. "Senior wanted to see me. Sorry for any trouble we caused you, Lady Meng."

"You are too courteous, my lord. I am but a fragment of spiritual consciousness residue. Now that Qianlin has accepted this Daoist heritage, I should return to dust. I should not have appeared here, but there is a matter I wish to report. From what my immortal perception has heard, you seem to be searching for the descendants of Suiren."

"Oh?" Wang Sheng raised an eyebrow. "You know of this?"

"A little, but you are searching in the wrong direction."

Lady Meng glanced at Xi Lian and Qinglin, then switched to telepathy. "In the past, when I remained here to suppress the Small Nether Realm, aside from guarding the Reincarnation Stone, Emperor Ziwei also entrusted a task to me."

"What task?" Wang Sheng asked.

"He once said that the Realm of Exiled Immortals has existed since the Ancient Era as a place of exile. Some captured beings of other races were banished here. The ancestors of the Hua Republic were also exiled here, though that was long ago."

Ancestors of the Hua Republic? Suiren? Xuanyuan? The Human Emperor?

A spark flashed in Wang Sheng's mind. He quickly replied, "What else did Emperor Ziwei say?"

"He did not elaborate further on this matter. However, I do know that His Imperial Majesty once used the Reincarnation Stone of the Small Nether Realm to search for a particular soul.

"He spent over six hundred years searching and even ordered the ghost wardens of the Small Nether Realm to seek out souls with accumulated virtue, which he then sent to reincarnate through the Reincarnation Stone. One day, he finally said, 'At last, I have found you.'"

Wang Sheng frowned. "Who did he find?"

"That, I do not know, but it should be a lone soul that has been reincarnating continuously on this planet since the Ancient Era. Perhaps that is the one you seek."

Lady Meng then bowed once more.

"This is all I know. The task His Imperial Majesty entrusted to me was to guard that soul. Unfortunately, over the past thousand years, primal qi was cut off, and Daoist sects stormed into the Small Nether Realm. I no longer know where it has been reborn."

Wang Sheng frowned. "Since it's such an important soul, does it have any mark or symbol to identify it?"

Lady Meng shook her head. "I only know that it continues to reincarnate endlessly. It seems some powerful restriction has been placed upon it, one even His Imperial Majesty could not break."

She then hesitated, as though holding herself back.

"If you have something you wish to say, please go ahead."

"It may be the Human Qi Seal you are searching for."

Wang Sheng fell silent.

Leaning on her staff, Lady Meng sighed softly. A trace of spiritual light flickered in her eyes, then quickly faded. "If you have no further questions, I will return to my post in the Small Nether Realm."

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior. Please stay safe."

"I am yours to command at any time."

Lady Meng turned. Using a refined escape technique, she dissolved into a wisp of wind and vanished.

Wang Sheng stood still, thinking it over. In the end, he could not help but laugh in disbelief.

So that's the Human Qi Seal? A lone soul that even the Immortal Emperor could not kill—or perhaps did not dare to kill. Not only is it forced to reincarnate endlessly in the mortal world, but some kind of restriction is also preventing it from leaving Earth. As I expected, anything connected to the Immortal Emperor never leads to anything good.

Did he use Earth as the place where he disposed of his threats? Sealing the sacred spirit away, binding the Human King's soul... How is the seal even supposed to be broken? Setting aside how many people there are in the Hua Republic, searching through souls one by one will take an enormous amount of effort.

Even with the help of the ghost wardens, it took Emperor Ziwei over six hundred years just to locate that person. Moreover, unlike him, I'm completely in the dark. Am I supposed to rely on official ID records?

He had been given a hint, yet none of the key details. He felt as though he were looking at flowers through fog or the moon's reflection in water. It was truly frustrating.

Xi Lian and Qinglin walked over slowly. Watching Wang Sheng alternate between sighing and laughing while standing still, the two couldn't help but be confused.

Wang Sheng waved a hand. "Let's talk after we get back."

He stepped forward and, using the Heaven-Earth Escape Technique, appeared several hundred zhang away. He intended to find a quiet place to sort out his thoughts.

Xi Lian muttered, "What did that Lady Meng say to him in the end?"

Qinglin, who was beside her, seemed lost in thought. Unlike him, Xi Lian did not like to dwell on things. When she could not figure it out, she simply pushed it aside.

Qinglin smiled. "I told you, Fei Yu won't cheat on his better half. Why won't you believe me, Little Lian?"

Xi Lian rolled her eyes. "Tch. Weren't you too afraid to bet earlier? You did not believe it just now. We are no different. Let's head back."

Qinglin chuckled softly and returned to Wang Sheng's home with Xi Lian.

Over ten minutes later, when they saw Wang Sheng again, he was already bent over writing something. Several sheets of paper were covered in arrows and marked symbols.

A bit worried, Xi Lian watched for a while. Only then did she realize that Wang Sheng was using this method to organize his thoughts.

Without looking up, Wang Sheng said, "There is a new explanation for the Human Qi Seal now, and it is very likely the correct one."

He then summarized what Lady Meng had said earlier and recounted it to the duo.

Qinglin and Xi Lian both looked puzzled. They paced around, each letting their thoughts run wild.

Xi Lian was the first to propose a bold idea. "Fei Yu, is it possible that you're both the Human King and the sacred spirit?"

Wang Sheng shook his head without hesitation. "Impossible. I was the sacred spirit in my previous life, and I did not go through reincarnation back then. The first time I passed through the Reincarnation Stone, I was born as myself. The Immortal Emperor has sealed me on Earth since the Ancient Era and also placed over a thousand restrictions on me."

Xi Lian said with disdain, "That damned Immortal Emperor really is ruthless."

Qinglin wondered, "Could it be someone in your circle, then? After all, you are the sacred spirit. You might have some attraction to that lone soul."

"That is completely unrelated." Wang Sheng paused, then smiled. "Actually, maybe not. Goddess Nuwa created the human race. The Human King can be considered half her child. In that sense, it is not entirely unrelated. We could have some kind of bond from a previous life, like brothers."

Xi Lian snorted. "Why does it have to be a son? Why not a daughter?"

Qinglin and Wang Sheng didn't know how to answer. Neither dared continue the topic. Otherwise, they risked Xi Lian scolding them. Her views on such matters had grown stronger lately.

If the Human King, or rather the Human Emperor, has truly been reincarnating on Earth endlessly...

Wang Sheng recalled certain scriptures he had read before. After thinking carefully, he murmured, "Wouldn't his soul be very weak?"

"It is possible," Qinglin answered. "If only the soul keeps reincarnating, the power of the true spirit would be continuously worn down. There has to be something like heavenly fate, merit, destiny, or something else unseen protecting him."

"For the Immortal Emperor to be wary and unable to destroy him directly..." Wang Sheng stood up and began pacing. His gaze showed a hint of confusion.

The three moved between the living room, study room, and dining area, discussing briefly from time to time, only to quickly reject their own ideas.

Xi Lian suggested, "Why not gather more people to think about this? More people mean more ideas."

"We cannot make this public," Wang Sheng replied. "What if the Immortal Emperor has spies on Earth?"

"Good point."

Wang Sheng sighed and continued thinking. Soon, he seemingly grasped something.

He muttered, "The Immortal Emperor dared to kill even the sacred spirit. Why would he be wary of the Human King? I am not saying the Human King is inferior to the sacred spirit. I am just looking at the situation.

"The Immortal Emperor rules the Three Realms, which means the Human King should theoretically be his subordinate. At most, they would be equals. If the Immortal Emperor wanted him dead, it should have been easy for him to kill the Human King."

Xi Lian added, "Unless the Immortal Emperor does not want to kill him, but also does not want to let him be free."

"Could it be," Qinglin said slowly, "that the Immortal Emperor wants to lock the Human King's heavenly fate within the Time-Cycle Grand Array?"

Wang Sheng smiled. "I think I know where to start."

"Where?"

"Luck."

Wang Sheng snapped his fingers and pulled over the phone lying on the sofa. "If we're right, then the Human King has to be incredibly lucky—no, absurdly lucky! Look for someone with a weak body but outrageously lucky. That should narrow things down a lot!"

Xi Lian and Qinglin exchanged a glance, amused by Wang Sheng's idea.