# 1697
Chapter 1697: Presenting the Peach
"The Peach of Immortality?"
The Queen Mother of the West raised an eyebrow, seemingly unsurprised. "Very well."
She turned to Jialan. "If this palace recalls correctly, after the last Peach Banquet concluded, there was one peach remaining. This palace sealed it inside a golden casket. Go retrieve it for me."
"Yes." Jialan acknowledged the order and swiftly walked toward the distance.
"Lin Qiye, come with this palace." Once Jialan was gone, the Queen Mother of the West turned and walked toward the Alchemy Hall behind her.
Lin Qiye hesitated for a moment before following obediently.
With a gentle wave of the Queen Mother of the West's hand, the doors of the Alchemy Hall opened automatically. After the two entered, they slowly closed, completely cut off from the outside world.
"Why so secretive?" Upon seeing this, Chloe could only helplessly shrug.
Yan Zhong was about to say something when violent coughing erupted from behind them!
They turned to look and saw Huo Qubing hunched over in the ruins, coughing nonstop. Wisps of crimson blood seeped through his fingers and dripped onto the ground.
Seeing this scene, both Zhan Yuwu and Yan Zhong were alarmed. They rushed forward and asked, "Marquis, are you injured?!"
Huo Qubing didn't answer. The color drained from his face, his skin turned deathly pale, and the man appeared utterly haggard.
His lifespan had already been nearing its limit. The fierce battle against Zhurong had drained him too much. At this moment, he could no longer use his power of Domination to control his own body, causing the suppressed illness to erupt.
Wu Quan also hurried to Huo Qubing's side, but upon seeing the other's physical reactions, he froze for a moment before seemingly realizing something. His pupils contracted violently.
Like Huo Qubing, he too was a [Domination Emperor]. What Huo Qubing's current condition truly meant—others might not understand, but he knew best...
This Champion Marquis's life was coming to an end.
"It's nothing... I suffered some internal injuries during the battle." Huo Qubing wiped the blood from the corner of his lips and spoke weakly.
"Marquis, after all, we're merely mortals. How could we possibly defeat the gods... we shouldn't be so reckless in the future!" Zhan Yuwu advised earnestly.
"You fool! What are you prattling on about?!" Yan Zhong狠狠地瞪了他一眼.
Zhan Yuwu realized his mistake at this moment and immediately closed his mouth.
"Impossible, you say..."
Huo Qubing murmured to himself as he gazed at the willow branch formed from Zhurong's corpse on the ground, lost in thought.
...
Inside the Alchemy Hall.
As the two entered, beams of light ignited from various parts of the Alchemy Hall, illuminating the grand hall completely.
In the bright大殿, the Queen Mother of the West slowly turned around, her gaze fixed on Lin Qiye. She spoke calmly:
"You... come from how many years in the future?"
"You've seen through it?" A look of surprise appeared on Lin Qiye's face.
"This palace can still recognize a Hongmeng Lingtai." The Queen Mother of the West pointed at Lin Qiye's body. "Currently, the Hongmeng Lingtai is within the Heavenly Court, and the Heavenly Court is far beyond the realm. How could it appear here? Therefore, you must have come from another time."
"Your Highness has sharp eyes." Lin Qiye complimented casually. "I come from over two thousand years in the future."
"Two thousand years? Such an immense span of time—how did you return?"
"This is complicated to explain... and I haven't fully figured it out myself." Lin Qiye sighed. "The causality of two eras is intertwined, complex and tangled. Even with my power of causality, it is extremely difficult to fully comprehend it.
However, I have a premonition that I'm not far from seeing through all of this."
The Queen Mother of the West nodded slightly. "Since you come from the future, this palace naturally cannot see through you. Since you were able to have the Hongmeng Lingtai as your physical body, in your later years, your relationship with the Heavenly Court must be extremely close... If you need this palace's assistance, feel free to ask."
A gladdened expression appeared in Lin Qiye's heart. Then, as if remembering something, he asked, "Earlier, Your Highness mentioned that the Heavenly Court is beyond the realm?"
"Indeed."
"Where is 'beyond the realm'?"
The Queen Mother of the West raised her hand and pointed toward the sky. "Where the stars reside—that is beyond the realm."
Lin Qiye immediately understood the Queen Mother of the West's meaning. What she called "beyond the realm" referred to outer space in later ages. The Heavenly Court possessed the ability to move freely, so leaving Earth for the skies was no difficult feat.
"What are they going beyond the realm to do?"
"Intercept the Death Star." Before Lin Qiye could ask, the Queen Mother of the West proactively explained, "When you were in the mortal realm, you should have seen a bright crimson star, yes? That is the Death Star."
The crimson star? Wasn't that the Cthulhu Faction god?
Lin Qiye's eyes widened in shock. "They went directly into space to intercept a Cthulhu Faction god?!"
"Cthulhu Faction god?" The Queen Mother of the West furrowed her brows in confusion, seemingly not understanding the meaning of this term. "Not long ago, the Heavenly Lord divined the heavens and sensed that a great catastrophe would descend in a few hundred years. Among them, a Death Star, as a vanguard, was already approaching this world...
Therefore, the Heavenly Lord mobilized the entire Heavenly Court to go beyond the realm to intercept the Death Star and get a glimpse of this great catastrophe's true nature."
Hearing this, Lin Qiye slightly relaxed.
Fortunately... they weren't going to take on all the Cthulhu Faction gods alone. From the Queen Mother of the West's description, that Death Star should be some sort of "scout" sent by the Cthulhu Faction god. It came to survey Earth's situation before the Cthulhu Faction's main forces arrived. It was most likely a Cthulhu Faction deity, though not yet at the level of the Three Pillars.
The Queen Mother of the West had just mentioned the Heavenly Lord, indicating that in this era, the Three Heavenly Lords had already become the Supreme Beings. Add to that the ancient deities in the Heavenly Court, intercepting one Cthulhu Faction Outer God should pose no major difficulty.
The true Cthulhu Faction gods wouldn't descend for a few hundred more years.
"When will they return?"
"I don't know." The Queen Mother of the West shook her head. "Perhaps a few days, perhaps a few months, perhaps a few years."
In other words, before the gods of the Heavenly Court returned, the only deity guarding this land would be at the Jade Pool... And now the Queen Mother of the West had purged the Jade Pool—didn't that mean that the current Great Han Dynasty only had the Queen Mother of the West as its sole deity?
If that were the case, trying to kill Kusuen, this Cthulhu Faction god, would be no easy task... Lin Qiye's brow furrowed slightly.
Just then, Jialan's voice came from outside the hall:
"Your Highness, the Peach of Immortality has arrived."
The Queen Mother of the West opened the Alchemy Hall's doors, her gaze falling upon the small Peach of Immortality in Jialan's palm.
She turned to look at Lin Qiye, her eyes carrying a trace of apology:
"You resolved the counterfeit for this palace and deserve a generous reward... However, it hasn't been long since the last Peach Banquet, and the Jade Pool's Peaches of Immortality haven't ripened yet. There's only this remaining peach... its age is short, and its size is small.
Consider this peach this palace's gift to you. If there's anything else you desire, feel free to ask."
Lin Qiye looked at the small Peach of Immortality, a helpless expression on his face, but he still reached out and accepted it. He bowed respectfully to the Queen Mother of the West.
"Thank you for this gift, Your Highness."
Though this peach was small, it was still a Peach of Immortality after all. For a mortal's fleshly body, it held tremendous benefits and could even extend one's lifespan—Lin Qiye, who had personally eaten one before, understood this best.
With those words, Lin Qiye walked directly to Huo Qubing and handed him the peach:
"Marquis, eat this."