Chasing after her husband? Is it even possible to win him back?

"Eighth rank?" Chu Xunfeng guessed a number casually.

"You're too timid. Even a ninth-grade pill isn't enough. You need a tenth-grade divine pill." Ao Hanli curled her lips. "You've eaten the Phoenix Blood Dragon Bone Pill before, right? My dragon bloodline can serve as the base for a ninth-grade supreme pill. Ninth-grade supreme pills are useless to us."

"..." Chu Xunfeng was silent for a while, and asked the system in his mind.

Do you have a tenth-grade divine pill?

Elixirs containing the rules of heaven and earth cannot be refined by anyone below the divine realm.

A divine realm?

[Above the Three Profound Realms, one transcends death and life, thus escaping the rules of heaven and earth of the Nine Provinces and Three Regions, standing shoulder to shoulder with heaven and earth, and can be called a Saint Realm. The Divine Realm is even above the Saint Realm.]

Such elixirs... Chu Xunfeng looked at Ao Hanli's back with a hint of pity. It seems that a long lifespan and a strong physical foundation come at a price.

However... only pills containing rules can break through this barrier... which means that, according to the rules, the Dragon Clan does not allow body tempering?

After his thoughts had been wandering for a while, Ao Hanli's shout brought Chu Xunfeng back to reality.

"We've arrived." Ao Hanli glanced back at the young man who had come to his senses, then looked away, walked forward, and pushed open the palace gates.

Chu Xunfeng peeked into the main hall of the palace. The person sitting on the throne was no longer the tall, aloof woman from the platform earlier that day, but a small, childlike girl.

The sound of the gate being opened attracted the attention of the Azure Dragon God. The loli God stared at the human youth following behind Ao Hanli with sparkling eyes, "Little Hanli, and Little Xunfeng, you've arrived."

"Mother." Ao Hanli smiled at the loli goddess.

"Divine Lord." Chu Xunfeng bowed respectfully to the loli Divine Lord.

"You're too kind, too kind. Little Xunfeng, come here, sit here, and Little Hanli, come sit here too." The Divine Lord beckoned to the two of them, and after they sat down, he couldn't wait to ask Chu Xunfeng, "Little Xunfeng, which True Dragon Senior's inheritance did you receive today?"

“Ao Jie,” Chu Xunfeng answered honestly.

"Oh!" The loli goddess's eyes widened. "He's a member of my great-grandfather's clan, a magic cultivator named Azure Dragon who controls wind and thunder."

"Yes." Chu Xunfeng nodded.

"Little Xunfeng, you've done the Dragon Clan a great favor this time, and you've also prevented many bad things from happening. Logically speaking, there should be another banquet after the Dragon Gate Gathering, but as you know, the Demon Kingdom simply doesn't have the energy to do those things right now." The Loli Goddess put on a serious expression, but unfortunately, her chubby little face only made people think she was pretending to be mature.

Yes, very cute.

"However, some procedures still need to be followed." The Loli Goddess stood up and looked at Chu Xunfeng. "Little Xunfeng, let me ask you, how old are you this year?"

"Huh?" Chu Xunfeng was taken aback, but under the serious gaze of the Loli Goddess, he still obediently replied, "I'll be twenty when summer comes."

"Hmm..." The Loli Goddess nodded in satisfaction, her gaze sweeping back and forth between the Dragon Girl and the young man.

That meaningful gaze made both the man and the dragon realize something.

Ao Hanli pursed her lips and lowered her head.

Chu Xunfeng felt a bit amused and exasperated. "Divine Lord, the things you said should happen... it can't be..."

"It's the one you're thinking of." The loli goddess put her hands on her hips and tilted her head slightly. "We definitely have to grant them a marriage! Grant them a marriage!"

"Having inherited my clan's legacy, you're practically half a dragon now, so you have to obey Mother Queen's arrangements." The loli goddess chuckled. "Like Xiao Xiu and Xiao Hong Ji, those who inherit the legacy must marry one of my clan's true dragons."

Chu Xunfeng's lips twitched twice, "Divine Lord..."

The moment those two words were uttered, the Loli Goddess glared fiercely at Chu Xunfeng, "Call me Mother Goddess!"

"..." Chu Xunfeng raised his hand to his forehead, "Divine Lord, please don't joke around. Putting aside my entanglement with the Dragon Clan, I am not worthy of Miss Hanli, even as a man who was married and then divorced."

"Whether I'm worthy or not isn't your decision, that's my business." The little god shook his head.

"I, as someone who's marrying off my daughter, don't look down on this, so what else do you have to say?"

"..." It seems this path is blocked.

Chu Xunfeng smacked his lips.

We need to find a way to cancel this marriage proposal.

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Fate Has Not Yet Arrived

Chu Xunfeng frowned and remained silent, while Ao Hanli lowered her head and said nothing. Only the Loli Goddess remained, pinching her chin with one hand and looking Chu Xunfeng up and down.

"I say, Little Xunfeng," the loli goddess looked at the handsome young man's face, "why are you unwilling?"

“Logically speaking,” Chu Xunfeng raised a hand to his forehead, looking at the Azure Dragon God who seemed determined to persuade him, “God, what need is there for a reason for this?”

"Since there is no reason, why are you unwilling to accept it?" The Azure Dragon God looked at the human youth with suspicion. "Although my demon race does not have as many rules as the human race, human marriages are still based on the arrangement of parents and the words of matchmakers. If you insist on finding a matchmaker, it is not impossible for me to have Xiao Ning'er go to your house to propose marriage."

Chu Xunfeng was speechless.

That's right, how could he forget that the rules of these three regions of the Nine Provinces are different from those of his previous life?

"As for the arrangement of your parents, you inherited the legacy of my ancestors, so you're related to my dragon clan in some way, right? Letting you call me 'Mother' wouldn't be presumptuous." The Azure Dragon God Lord stared at Chu Xunfeng and said, "Isn't this just transferring wealth from one hand to the other, making our relationship even closer?"

Chu Xunfeng, however, only felt a headache coming on. He didn't like this kind of arranged marriage. After all, his last marriage was to a woman named Ning Qiu Ning, who might still be waiting for him somewhere in the demon capital...

Chu Xunfeng remained silent for a while, then shook his head helplessly. "Divine Lord, let's put this matter aside for now. Miss Hanli and I don't know each other very well. We are both cultivators, and we both have the opportunity and ability to control our own destiny. It's inappropriate to talk about marriage at this time."

"Moreover, I, Chu, feel that I am not a good match. My situation is already special, and at this moment I don't even have a place to settle down and make a living."

Seeing Chu Xunfeng's resolute attitude, even though Loli Goddess had countless ideas to follow up on Chu Xunfeng's words and offer solutions, she ultimately remained silent.

The Dragon Clan has no shortage of housing. If Chu Xunfeng wanted to settle down and make a living, he could stay in the Demon Clan and become royalty. Given his actions in this incident, he could be found anywhere. Unfortunately, his ambitions lie elsewhere. The Azure Dragon God also understands that forcing things won't work.

As for quenching thirst... Ao Hanli is really not at the point of being desperate to get married yet.

"Alright, let's leave this matter aside for now." Although the Loli Goddess said this, her expression clearly showed deep regret.

Chu Xunfeng simply pretended not to see or understand it.

“Kang’s remaining power is very small, and he doesn’t actually have many people around him. Most of the vassal kings have been handed over to Xiu’er and Ning’er to handle.” Loli Goddess sat back down and looked at Chu Xunfeng. “Bixie has been properly settled. The rabbit demon family should be safely home by now. I have instructed Hongji to take care of that family.”

Chu Xunfeng nodded, feeling relieved, both because the topic had been moved on and because of the family's situation.

"If you want to know more details, you can go to Ning'er to find out. He's the one who handles most of these things. Xiu'er did mention it, and he might contact you later."

"Thank you, Divine Lord." Chu Xunfeng nodded.

"Well, as for the rest... I won't tell you, it's pointless. Tell me about yourself." The loli goddess's expression became more serious. "What are your plans for the future?"

"Plans?" Chu Xunfeng was taken aback when suddenly asked about his future plans, but he was not confused. "I plan to find a place to settle down in the capital for about a month to digest the legacy left by that senior. After breaking through to the third level, I will consider traveling to other places in the three regions of the Nine Provinces."

"A bit of training, perhaps?" The Divine Lord nodded in satisfaction. "A good consideration. Xiao Hanli, Chu Xunfeng will be under your care for the next period of time. Hongji will be helping Ning'er with her tasks during this time."

The Divine Lord hasn't given up yet, and is trying every possible way to bring these two together. Didn't you, Chu Xunfeng, say you didn't know them well and couldn't accept it emotionally? Then let them spend more time together, and who knows, maybe they'll develop feelings for each other?

"I understand." Ao Hanli nodded.

"Alright, that's about it." The Azure Dragon God waved to the two of them. "If there's nothing else, you can go now."

Chu Xunfeng and Ao Hanli rose to take their leave and entered the palace. The atmosphere between them was somewhat awkward until they walked out of the massive gates of the imperial city. Only then did Ao Hanli speak, "Where do you plan to go now? Back to your lodgings? Or to an inn?"

"Let's go to the inn and say hello to Master and the others." Chu Xunfeng glanced back at Ao Hanli. He, Chu Xunfeng, was not the kind of man without brains or emotional intelligence. Since Ao Hanli didn't bring up the previous matter, he was even less likely to bring it up himself.

"Is the main thing to do to find Xu Bailing?" Ao Hanli's voice was tinged with laughter.

Chu Xunfeng glanced back at the Dragon Girl, thinking, "Why bring up something that shouldn't be brought up?"

Seemingly noticing the doubt in Chu Xunfeng's gaze, Ao Hanli smiled easily, "Mother may not know, but can't I see it? The man is willing, and the woman is willing. You don't accept Mother's arrangement because of her, right?"

Chu Xunfeng remained silent for a while. Unable to gauge Ao Hanli's attitude, he could only utter two dry words, "Sorry."

“There’s nothing to apologize for. I didn’t really want to accept Mother’s arrangement either, but arranged marriage is a tradition of the Dragon Clan. My eldest sister, second sister, and fourth brother didn’t refuse, so I couldn’t say anything. I’m relieved that you’re willing to refuse.”

"It's good that you understand." Chu Xunfeng nodded. Although he didn't care much about Ao Hanli's attitude, the fact that the Dragon Girl shared the same thoughts as him made him feel much more at ease.

While it's true that one shouldn't let others' feelings dictate one's own, it's naturally a happy outcome if one can avoid hurting the feelings of both parties.

"You know the way to the post station, right?" Ao Hanli asked.

“I recognize him. Aren’t you going?” Chu Xunfeng asked Ao Hanli.

The dragon girl shrugged. "I'm a dragon, you know. They're from White Emperor City. You can reunite with them and catch up, but I don't really have much to talk about with them, do I?"

"That's true." Chu Xunfeng chuckled, and the strange atmosphere between them vanished abruptly. "Then see you later?"

“Okay, I’ll come see you again tomorrow.” Ao Hanli nodded.

After saying goodbye, the two headed towards their respective destinations. However, halfway there, Ao Hanli suddenly stopped and turned back to watch Chu Xunfeng's figure gradually disappear into the distance.

Ao Hanli did not express her opinion on her mother's suggestion. After all, this was the way the dragon clan had always been, and she did not think she should be special. Besides, Chu Xunfeng was not necessarily opposed to it.

He's a good person and also quite capable.

However, after being sternly rejected by Chu Xunfeng, she still felt a little unwilling and annoyed.

I'm no worse than anyone else, am I?

The Dragon Girl could only sigh and look away.

Never mind, it's not meant to be, so I won't force it.

Chapter Thirty-Five: The Surge of Undercurrents

Spring nights, though slightly chilly, are not as cold as winter nights.

If it weren't for the incident at the Dragon Gate Gathering where Dang Kang forced the emperor to abdicate, the demon capital city should have been quite lively tonight.

But tonight, the capital of the demon race is very deserted. The residents are all staying in their homes, and most of the tourists from outside the Wild Swamp Wetland are staying in the post station.