Chapter 539: Yanluo Wang Meets Yanluo

Chapter 539: Yanluo Wang Meets Yanluo

Zhao Manying's face froze in shock.

Ji Xinghuo thought she would be furious, or at the very least, show some signs of unhappiness, even if she had gradually come to accept the situation.

However, Zhao Manying was merely surprised. "When did she get pregnant?"

"Over three years ago," Ji Xinghuo replied.

"Huh? Why has she been pregnant for so long?" Zhao Manying's eyes widened in shock, seemingly more astonished by this news than by the fact that Ye Zhen was pregnant.

Ji Xinghuo gave a rough explanation.

He also told her about Ren Jie's initial pregnancy, including the method and purpose, but he carefully omitted the precise timing to prevent Zhao Manying from calculating the dates and realizing that their first intimate encounter had been after he was with Ye Zhen.

"Hehe..." Zhao Manying suddenly laughed.

Ji Xinghuo detected a hint of sarcasm in her laughter.

He wondered if she had discovered something or if she had a different opinion about Ye Zhen's pregnancy, but due to his guilty conscience, he didn't dare to ask directly.

"Manying, aren't you angry?" Ji Xinghuo asked cautiously.

"What's the point of getting angry?" Zhao Manying's expression was complex as she shot him a sideways glance. "Would you break up with Ye Zhen if I threw a tantrum now? She's about to give birth to your child, not just one but three. How can I compete with her?"

Ji Xinghuo felt guilty, but he thickened his skin and smiled. "If you want to have a baby, we can start trying now."

"No."

Zhao Manying refused without hesitation. "I don't want to have children, and I don't like taking care of them either. If it was just you and me, and you wanted offspring, I could consider it. But since you have another woman, and she loves being a mother so much, it's one less thing for me to worry about."

She felt a sense of relief.

Ji Xinghuo couldn't tell if this was her true feeling or if she was just saying it out of anger.

However, in this era, many people, regardless of gender, were indeed reluctant to have children and didn't care about having descendants.

The country's public family policies further encouraged this trend.

Some people only focused on the act of procreation without assuming any responsibility for raising the children, leaving them to be cared for by the government.

Some even skipped the act of procreation altogether and simply donated their genes.

Ji Xinghuo and Zhao Manying had been living together for a long time, and she had rarely shown any interest in starting a family or having children, devoting herself entirely to cultivation and evolution. Their conversations usually revolved around these topics.

He himself hadn't given it much thought either, as he was still young and had no plans for children.

In this regard, his ideas aligned more closely with Zhao Manying's.

But now that Ye Zhen was pregnant, he had to accept it.

Even though Ye Zhen had said that he didn't need to take responsibility and that she could handle everything herself, he couldn't completely wash his hands of the matter.

"I'm not Xia Qingyu," Ji Xinghuo muttered to himself.

Aloud, he said to Zhao Manying, "If you don't want to have a baby, I won't force you. It's your right to choose. But if you change your mind in the future, just let me know."

"Mmm." Zhao Manying nodded slightly.

"It's fine if you don't want to have children, but you can't deny the pleasure that comes with procreation, can you?" Ji Xinghuo's hands began to wander.

"Mmm..."

Zhao Manying let out a soft moan but didn't refuse.

Afterward, Zhao Manying made a request. "When Ye Zhen returns to Earth, I want to meet her."

"Okay."

Ji Xinghuo readily agreed.

However, he couldn't help but worry about Zhao Manying's intentions. What was she planning? How should he bring this up to Ren Jie? Would the two women fight when they met?

The next day.

Ji Xinghuo arrived early in the morning at the villa in the Qinling Mountains. Ye Dongyun was still having breakfast, and when she saw him fly in, she was taken aback, thinking that something major must have happened. "Third brother, did something happen?"

"There is something important I need to tell you," said Ji Xinghuo, asking the bodyguards to leave the dining room before continuing. "Big sister, you're going to be an aunt."

Ye Dongyun froze for a few seconds. "Manying is pregnant?"

Ji Xinghuo shook his head. "No, not her."

"Ah?"

Ye Dongyun's eyes glazed over as she struggled to process the information Ji Xinghuo had just dropped.

"It's my child with another woman," Ji Xinghuo explained. "The birth is in a few days, but we can't let the outside world know, so I need your help arranging a hospital with the highest level of security and privacy. The mother is currently in the Star Realm and will return to give birth."

"Th-this..."

Ye Dongyun's mind was in turmoil, and after a long while, she sighed. "Third brother, I thought you were different from other men..."

"Ahem." Ji Xinghuo felt embarrassed.

If it were anyone else, no matter how many objections or grievances they had, they wouldn't dare say it to his face.

But Ye Dongyun had fewer reservations, and her emotions were complicated at the moment.

"Does Manying know?" Ye Dongyun asked immediately.

Ji Xinghuo nodded.

"Does that woman know about your relationship with Manying?" Ye Dongyun asked again.

Ji Xinghuo nodded once more.

Ye Dongyun fell silent for a few seconds before asking, unable to contain her curiosity any longer, "Are there any other women?"

Ji Xinghuo nodded again.

"Never mind, never mind, you don't have to tell me." Ye Dongyun thought that his hesitation was because he couldn't count them all, and her last shred of fantasy about uncorrupted men in the world shattered.

But as his older sister, she could only offer her support.

Ye Dongyun's mind was in turmoil, and she stood up, saying, "Give me half a day, and I'll help you make the arrangements."

"Thanks, big sis," Ji Xinghuo said with a smile.

"You..." Ye Dongyun didn't know what to say, but soon brightened up, "Finally, our family will have a next generation! I never thought I'd become an aunt so soon, I thought I'd have to wait a long time. This is the only good news I've had in a while."

Then, with her bodyguards in tow, she hurried out.

Ji Xinghuo, on his own, used the Displacement ability to enter the Star Realm through the Chaka Star Gate, quietly leaping to the outskirts of Olympia.

The total distance from Olympia to the Bloody Highlands was not enough for a round trip leap.

So he could only fly there.

Ji Xinghuo didn't want to alert the winged people of the Tianyu King Court, so he kept a low profile and flew for about ten hours to reach the Peach Blossom Gorge.

Upon entering the secret realm, he saw Jiang Nancaiyi busy in the garden.

"Caiyi, where's Ren Jie?"

Jiang Nancaiyi looked up, her eyes lighting up with delight, "Xinghuo, Sister is taking a nap."

Ji Xinghuo looked up at the second floor of the wooden house.

Ye Zhen had just woken up from her slumber. Her belly was a bit larger than that of other pregnant women, but it didn't look exaggerated. She wore a loose, casual dress that accentuated her beauty, and her daily movements were unaffected.

"You're here," Ye Zhen said, standing up with ease and floating down from the second floor.

Because she always had a shadow clone with her, she didn't feel the longing that came with being apart.

"Everything is arranged on Earth," Ji Xinghuo said.

While he was flying over from Olympia, his older sister had already arranged for a private hospital in Chang'an, with all the necessary conditions met. Everything, from the doctors to the nurses, had been carefully selected to ensure safety.

Ye Zhen nodded slightly, feeling pleased.

Originally, she could have taken care of these matters herself, but since Ji Xinghuo had offered to help, she naturally wouldn't refuse.

"Shall we go now?" Ji Xinghuo asked.

"Little Sunflower."

Ye Zhen called out to the wooden house, and a beam of light flew out, landing in her hair. A small head poked out and whispered, "Xinghuo brother."

Ji Xinghuo was surprised, "Little Sunflower is also going to Earth?"

This little light spirit butterfly was very shy. He had known Ren Jie for several years, and Little Hibiscus had never left this secret realm.

"Of course!"

Xiao Qi was both longing and afraid, "Sister is about to have a baby, and I want to help take care of the baby."

"Alright." Ji Xinghuo laughed, "Then we're counting on you, Little Sunflower."

He looked at Ye Zhen and Jiang Nancaiyi, "Shall we go?"

Ye Zhen moved closer and said, "This time, Caiyi will come back to Earth with me. As for the plant garden in the secret realm, I'm counting on you. I've pre-treated most of the plants, so you just need to do some simple maintenance, and you don't need to be a plant witch to manage it. As for the special plants, I'll come back regularly to take care of them myself after giving birth, so you don't have to worry about them."

For a plant witch, her plant garden was the foundation of her strength and evolution.

The more powerful the plant witch, the more important the plant garden became.

"Don't worry, I can handle this little task, and I'll ask you if I have any questions." Ji Xinghuo held Ye Zhen's delicate hand, and he had already agreed to leave a shadow clone to help her take care of the plant garden.

Jiang Nancaiyi also moved closer.

A white light flashed.

Ji Xinghuo, along with the two women, entered the Star Realm and leaped three times in quick succession, arriving precisely at Olympia.

As previously agreed upon, they would return to Earth separately.

"You two go first."

Ji Xinghuo watched as Ye Zhen and Jiang Nancaiyi walked towards the Star Gate Plaza.

Nowadays, there were thirteen star gates on Earth, eight of which were controlled by the Asia-Pacific Community. In Olympia, the sectors of the eight star gates were not all connected, but more than half of the plaza belonged to the Asia-Pacific Community, with three Heavenly Kings residing there. Ji Xinghuo also had two shadow clones stationed here to strengthen their control over the star gates.

Today's shift included Cheng Sheng, Qi Feiyang, and Zhu Xiaorong.

Ji Xinghuo hadn't informed them in advance, and his two shadow clones sat motionlessly in the military camp next to the plaza.

Ye Zhen, just like their first meeting, wore a cloth fighting hat on her head, with a light veil covering her face and a green silk scarf obscuring her features, revealing only a pair of captivating eyes and the peach blossom mark between her eyebrows.

Even so, as soon as she stepped into the Star Gate Plaza, she attracted some strange gazes.

Soon, the two women reached the front of the line.

"Please verify your identity."

The Star Realm Army guard stopped them, as those entering Earth had to verify their human identity to prevent infiltration by alien races.

Ever since the exposure of the collaboration between the Brahma King and the alien races, the Asia-Pacific Community had raised the security level of the star gates, implementing stricter inspections.

Their hearts captivated by her exquisite looks, some sneaked glances at her, while others openly admired her, and every man in the plaza felt a pang of envy for the man who had won her heart.

Just then, a figure appeared in the Star Gate plaza and swiftly approached Ye Zhen and Jiang Nancaiyi.

"Yanluo Wang Qi Feiyang!"

"How did he get out? Does he know her?"

As whispers spread among the onlookers, Qi Feiyang's expression remained neutral as he stood before Ye Zhen, taking in her breathtaking beauty. His gaze eventually lowered to her belly, and he could no longer contain his emotions. With a mocking smile, he said, "You used to say that you only wanted to pursue the path of evolution and had no interest in personal relationships or men. So, all of that was a lie!"

"I'm just not interested in you." Ye Zhen's reaction was indifferent as she calmly replied, "Please stay away from me."

Her words immediately made her intentions clear to everyone present.

Yanluo Wang Qi Feiyang was a well-known figure, but he held no sway over this stunning beauty, who responded to him with an uncaring attitude and even disdain.

Furthermore, her identity was not ordinary either.

Qi Feiyang furrowed his brows, feeling that he had lost face.

However, the obsession from his younger years made it hard for him to let go. Putting on a cheerful front, he raised his voice and said, "Ye Zhen, I'm curious as to which man is so lucky to have won your heart and made you willing to bear his child. I'm sure many people would like to know."

"Ye Zhen!"

Upon hearing her name, many of the aliens immediately recognized her identity and their expressions turned to ones of realization.

The first-generation global goddess, Heavenly King "Bai Hua Qing Jun" Ye Zhen, was once a household name, shining like the sun at the zenith of her popularity, with hundreds of millions of fans worldwide. She was the dream lover of countless people, much like the current Sword Immortal, Zhao Manying.

However, after her retirement, Ye Zhen had retracted her image rights and protected her privacy.

Gradually, she became a legend among the older generation of aliens, mentioned only in stories, while the younger generation knew her name from the global battle power rankings but had never seen her face.

Now that they had laid eyes on her, they could truly say that her fame was well-deserved!

However, the fact that this global goddess was now pregnant would surely break many hearts if the news spread.

Just like Qi Feiyang, everyone was curious about the lucky man who had won her affections.

"It's none of your business."

Ye Zhen's expression turned cold.

She didn't want to reveal her relationship with Ji Xinghuo yet, as it would also affect Zhao Manying, and it wouldn't be good for any of the three of them.

However, Qi Feiyang was persistent and wouldn't let it go. Raising his voice, he said, "Don't tell me you don't even know who the father of your child is? A once-revered global goddess has fallen to such a state, carrying a bastard child..."

"You're asking for death." Ye Zhen wasn't provoked by his words; instead, she replied calmly.

"Hahahaha..."

Qi Feiyang burst into loud laughter, feeling a strong sense of vengeful satisfaction. With contempt, he said, "And what are you going to do about it? I don't know what happened to you, but you've fallen from a Heavenly King to a Legend. Even if I stand here and do nothing, can you really bring yourself to make a move against me?"

Ye Zhen gave him a faint smile, her eyes filled with pity.

Suddenly, Qi Feiyang sensed that something was amiss.

In an instant, a mysterious force field enveloped all of Olympia, causing the senses of the aliens present to malfunction. Their vision remained normal, but a light and insubstantial shadow seemed to obscure the entire world from their view.

At the same time, everyone in the Star Gate plaza found themselves unable to move, including the Heavenly Kings from both the Asia-Pacific Community and foreign nations. They didn't even have time to react.

Boom!

A ball of extremely condensed dark red energy exploded under Qi Feiyang's feet, with the blast contained within a half-meter radius. Qi Feiyang was propelled into the air like a rocket, while those around him remained unharmed.

In mid-air, Qi Feiyang's flame shield unfolded, and his Heat Ball ability automatically triggered his Ice Extreme shield as well.

A dual layer of protection—one red and one blue.

However, Qi Feiyang didn't have time to make any further moves before another ball of energy exploded at his feet.

Boom!

This time, the onlookers clearly saw that it was a shadow-like dark energy that exploded with extreme heat and corrosive power, instantly piercing through Qi Feiyang's dual shields and sending him soaring even higher into the sky.

Shadow Blast!

Someone recognized this attack, which involved condensing dark energy to inflict damage from a distance, releasing it with great speed and stealth, and without any trajectory, making it very covert.

Each time the Shadow Blast hit its target, the damage would stack, increasing the corrosive and burning effects.

"He...lp..."

Qi Feiyang's legs had already disappeared, and he screamed in agony.

But before he could finish his plea, a third Shadow Blast accurately struck his head. Without the protection of his shields, and with the previous two blasts having already stacked their effects, the third blast unleashed its full power.

Boom!

Qi Feiyang's body exploded.

As he died, his spiritual energy flames also erupted, engulfing an area of several hundred meters in a brilliant fireworks display above the Star Gate plaza.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end