As bai zhi and zhe yan left his side, dong hua focused solely on the container. He walked in its direction and stopped shy of a few feet. Just like his, the power inside the container was equally enormous, he mused. Dong hua, then extended his recently increased cultivation towards the container and enveloped it fully. He could feel the struggle of the merged powers that were wrapped around it. Their grip was slipping and the second he had successfully taken hold of the container; he felt the merge break and cultivations were retrieved rapidly.

With the absolute control over the container, dong hua poked his aura inside it. As his aura spread, he could feel xaio bai's consciousness. Since the bond had been reformed, he could sense an unending well of power in her and in him, too. The powers were identical to each other and because of their re-forged bond, they were fully compatible. It was no surprise to him, that mo yuan and others had barely held the container from breaking, as it was only his spirit and cultivation that can truly manage the flow of xaio bai's powers. Now with his aura surrounding her, he could sense that she was on the edge of wakefulness but something was causing hindrance here. I would just have to urge her to come back to me, now, he deliberated. Since her mind hadn't woken up, he would have to call out to her. But before he could begin waking xaio bai up, he looked back to make sure that everyone was secured and that their protective shield was in place. Once that was confirmed, he called to her, "xaio bai, wake up now. I am here and I am not leaving without you. I have missed you so, xaio bai. Come back to me, love."

Feng jiu didn't know what had happened, all she could feel was boundations all around her. She was trying to make sense of this, when she heard dong hua's voice. He was calling to her and with so much love in his voice. But hearing, that he had missed her and was waiting for her, made her anxious to get to him. She started to struggle against whatever was binding her, now actively trying to get to him.

Dong hua's call had worked. He could now feel her mind fully awake and running. So, this time, he spoke in her mind, "xaio bai?"

"dong hua, are you really here? Or am I just imagining it?"

"I am really here, xaio bai. Come back to me, love. I am waiting for you."

"what-what did you call me?"

"I love you, xaio bai."

"you-you do?"

"yes, xaio bai. You are the only one for me, my little fox. I am sorry, I pushed you away. But please don't punish me like this. Don't leave me behind. My little love, please come back to me."

"no, dijun, no. I am not punishing you. I want to run back to you so much but something is holding me back. I don't know what it is but I can't move, something is binding me."

"resist it, xaio bai. I know you can do it. My little fox is so strong and so brave. Come back to me, love. It hurts without you."

That was everything she needed to hear. Dijun loved her and he hurt without her, that was what she had been waiting to hear for so long. 'But she can't hurt him, not now, not when he was finally hers', with this thought in mind, feng jiu pushed against her bonds with everything she had. And then she heard a chain break in the background, releasing her to her dong hua.

The group standing underneath the protective shield were oblivious to what was happening on the other side of the valley. They stood under a twenty-six layered shield, one layer created by each of the immortals' present, and watched waiting for the next sequence of events. As they waited, they suddenly heard, the former ruler of heaven and earth, dong hua dijun call out to the young fox queen with such loving words and earnest voice, even they could feel the depth of his emotions from it. Dazed they looked on to see what effect his words would bring, and not a few moments later, the container started vibrating. They thought, his words must have taken effect because the next second, it exploded.

The container that had been jam-packed full with power caused a colossal explosion. Bursts of pure raw power escaped from that explosion. The radiations were so strong that the group had been thrown back even with the protection of a twenty-six layered shield. What they didn't know at that time was, they had only experienced 1 percent of the power due to the shield. A total of 2 percent had escaped from the explosion, the rest had been absorbed solely by dong hua. Most of them collapsed against the back wall of the shield so they didn't saw how bai feng jiu had emerged from that explosion. Only mo yuan, zhe yan and bai zhi had been able to bear the backlash from that explosion. Thus, they had paid witness to that beguiling sight and what they saw, they would never forget in their long immortal life.

Dong hua watched as the container exploded and an ethereal red glow shone within. Slowly, the power started retracting as feng jiu stepped forward from the red haze. She started moving in his direction with her eyes fixed on his and no recognition of their surroundings. The love that was shining in her eyes broke open donghua's rock of a heart.

"I have missed you, xaio bai. Don't you dare to leave me ever again." He whispered softly; it was only for her ears. Looking at her again, after so long, he was overwhelmed by the depth of his love for her. He couldn't even bear to look away from her face for even a second. It had been so hard for them to be together. He swore to himself that he would never lose her again, ever.

Feng jiu walked towards dong hua as she could see nothing but him. Her whole world was centered around him. And with the way he was looking at her, she felt undone. The intensity with which his eyes traced her every move made her breath hitch in her throat. The feeling of emptiness that she had always felt in his absence was now gone. Smiling softly, she moved into his open arms and said, "I have missed you too, so much that I can't even explain. Don't ever push me away again." With that, she snuggled deep in his arms.

Suddenly though, she remembered something. "what you said to me in mind before, is that true? Did you mean it?"

"I meant everything I said, xaio bai. But what exactly are you talking about?", he teased.

"don't tease me, dijun. You know what I am talking about. Say it again, please. I need to see you say it, for my fragile little heart to believe" He chuckled at her relentless nature and conceded.

"I love you, xaio bai."

She blushed red all over. "I love you too", she said shyly, hiding her face in his chest.

"you love who?"

"I love you, dijun." She repeated, thinking maybe her voice had been muffled by his chest.

"try again, xaio bai." This time, she looked up at him with a question in her eyes. He replied with a raise of his eyebrow. Then she got it and hid her face deeper in his chest.

"I love you, dong hua." She said softly into his chest.

"that's right, xaio bai. That is perfectly right." He rested his face on top of her head, holding her tight in his arms.

While these two were busy soaking each other in, they didn't take notice of anything around them but the three still statues at the other end of the valley were registering everything. Zhe yan, mo yuan, and bai zhi couldn't have moved even if they had wanted to, the scene in front of them was transcendental. When bai feng jiu had appeared in the midst of the red aura, soaking up all the power around her, they couldn't believe it was their xaio jiu. To them, it was her yet at the same time, it was not. Their xaio jiu had been a beautiful but simple girl. But the women that had emerged from that mystical red mist looked like her yet dramatically different.

Feng jiu's skin had an angelic glow to it. Her straight black hair was now a dark ruby red that fell down to her knees in perfect waves. But the most striking difference was her aura that glowed red with so much divine power that it felt unreal. They had seen this kind of aura on only one person before and that person was standing right in front of her. Separate, they had such distinct yet equally powerful auras but as she walked towards him, their auras began merging. Her red aura had started seeping into dong hua's bright azure blue one and the result was a soft purple aura that radiated with warmth and love encompassing both its owners. The three ancient gods stood stock still, with amazement in their eyes, trying to soak everything in.

Unexpectedly though, their attention was grabbed by something else. They heard a loud chirping and singsong sound from above. Tearing their eyes away from the sublime scene in front of them, they looked at the source of that noise and were again left slack-jawed. As they watched, large flocks of birds started appearing in the sky. There were not just sixty or seventy birds like the previous celestial sightings but thousands of them. Birds of all shapes and sizes, all colors and patterns were hovering in the sky, chirping, and singing. Even extinct birds like the phoenixes were also present. It seemed like every tribe or species of birds that existed in this universe had come here to celebrate bai feng jiu. They looked like they were welcoming the arrival of a queen, their queen.

The visual exuded with power and the three old gods were not blind to it. Understanding the divine significance of what they were seeing, they dissolved the shields and kneeled. As mo yuan, zhe yan and bai zhi knelt, others also kneeled with them, the implication of what they were seeing was not lost on them. And they weren't alone.

The burst of power when the container had exploded and bai feng jiu had emerged, had called out to all the animals of the realms. Their happiness was apparent from the sounds of hoots and shouts that had been heard throughout the realms. Those who could manage had run out to that qingqui valley to meet their queen. Soon, the whole valley was filled with all kinds of animals, all kneeling in front of bai feng jiu and dong hua.

When feng jiu lifted her gaze to take in her surroundings, she was shocked, it looked like they were standing in the middle of an animal court. Seeing the birds covering the sky and the kneeling animals in front of them, she couldn't comprehend what was happening. So, she turned her questioning gaze towards dong hua. Dong hua understood her confusion and in a soft voice, he said, "they are welcoming their queen, xaio bai. Look inside your spirit, you'll find your answers there."

She did what he told her to, closing her eyes she poked her core that was previously unknown to her and gained access to her primordial spirit. It showed her everything from what she was, what her powers were, where they came from, the extent of her existence, her whole truth everything she wanted to know went through her mind in flashes of information.

Coming back to reality, she clasped dong hua's hand and turned towards her greeters, calling for them to rise. With the wave of her hand, all present stood up and the birds took perch on trees, shrubs and any vacant space they could find and waited for their queen to continue. Their wait was not in vain.

"I heartily express my gratitude to everyone present here for such a warm welcome. I will never forget this. I appreciate you coming from far and beyond all the way down to my humble abode. I urge you all to stay here for as long as you wish. I would be delighted to host you all. These woods are open for everyone, take home wherever you like, and rest for a while. These grounds are under my control and no harm will ever come to you here."

"and as your queen, these are my words to all living, my doors will always be open for you. No matter what pain or strife you may have, I will love you like a mother and like a teacher, I will be just."

When she was finished, she heard all their voices in her mind, chanting one thing only, "all hail the queen".