Star Empress couldn't help but look at Mingzhi Tian. "That no longer matters. Because he is gone, I have long since come to terms with it. I've only always carried him in my heart, and his appearance."
Mingzhi Tian was stunned. "You... can have two men in your heart?"
Star Empress glanced at him. "The meaning is different. One was my former fiancé, and the other is my current husband. More or less, there are feelings involved, not to mention it's been a persistent worry in my heart."
Mingzhi Tian couldn't help but ask, "If Master Saint hadn't died and had returned, what would you have chosen? Would you abandon your current husband, or...?"
Star Empress faltered, caught off guard by his question. "I don't know."
Seeing this, Mingzhi Tian didn't press further. Star Empress then spoke at length to Mingzhi Tian about what kind of man Ran Yizhou was, and so on, until nightfall.
Seeing that it was getting late, Star Empress said, "It's night. I've been out all day and should return to the Divine Emperor Holy Land Sect. Where are you staying?"
Mingzhi Tian shook his head. "I came here specifically to find you and that Shu Jian Lu. I am temporarily without a fixed abode."
Star Empress said, "Then you should stay here. I have always kept the Divine Sect open using my influence. You are Yizhou's sole inheritor disciple, and the Divine Sect will be entrusted to you to inherit in the future. For the sake of your Master Saint, for my sake, and for the sake of the Divine Sect, bring it to glory."
Mingzhi Tian nodded. "Aunt, I will."
Star Empress shook her head. "Your Master Saint and I are husband and wife in name only. If you don't mind my age, you can just call me Sister Star Chen."
Mingzhi Tian nodded. "Okay, Sister Star Chen."
Star Empress's face flushed. She cursed herself for being shameless. "What am I thinking? I'm already over a thousand years old, I'm speechless with you."
Then, with a slight smile, she looked at Mingzhi Tian. "Uh... you should still call me Star Chen."
Mingzhi Tian nodded slightly. "Alright, Sister Star Chen."
"..."
Star Empress said, "Tidy this place up. Tomorrow, I will have people bring daily necessities and furniture. Then I will talk to you about the 'Shu Jian Lu'."
Mingzhi Tian nodded. "Okay, you take care."
Star Empress flicked her hand slightly, and her figure disappeared as if she had been wiped from the screen.
Mingzhi Tian once again felt the extraordinary nature of a powerful being, making him yearn even more.
He was not a cultivator, so he couldn't perform the feat of instantly transforming the environment with a wave of his hand. He worked hard to clean, and soon, the Divine Sect was spotless, without a speck of dust or a single hair.
Meanwhile, in the Divine Emperor Holy Land Sect, a tall, thin young man in golden armor with a python robe sat on a connected chair. The white-robed elder and the black-robed elder were reporting.
The white-robed elder said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, today at the Heavenly Water Pavilion, the Empress met privately with a man."
The black-robed elder said, "The Empress claims the man is a friend."
Piaoyan Emperor raised his finely arched eyebrows. "How old is that man?"
The white-robed elder quickly replied, "Younger than Your Majesty, and merely a waste at the tenth level of the God Sealing realm."
Piaoyan Emperor clenched his fist. "Star Chen doesn't have many friends in the Divine Emperor Holy Land Sect, let alone someone at the tenth level of the God Sealing realm. Keep a close eye on him. If there's any movement, report it immediately."
"As you command!"
The next day, Star Empress, as promised, sent people to deliver carts of furniture and supplies to Mingzhi Tian. After they were all in place, Star Empress and Mingzhi Tian went to the conference hall to discuss the legendary 'Shu Jian Lu'.
Star Empress said, "Have you heard of the Cultivation Divine Emperor?"
Mingzhi Tian shook his head. "I have only recently set foot in the Desolate Heaven Ten Lands and am not familiar with it."
Star Empress said, "The Cultivation Divine Emperor Gu Luoqi, at the ninth level of the Divine Luo realm, is currently the strongest existence in the ancient cultivation world. He possesses the divine artifact 'Shu Jian Lu', which all cultivators dream of."
"Whoever possesses the divine artifact 'Shu Jian Lu' is known by the world as the Cultivation Divine Emperor! It is said that the 'Shu Jian Lu' contains one hundred and three ancient famous swords, each ranked as a Dragon-grade artifact, capable of cleaving stars and moon, invincible and unmatched."