After the birds and animals left, she turned towards her family and friends, only to find them still kneeling. Filial as she was, she couldn't bear to see them kneeling in front of her. So, she rushed towards them, dragging dong hua along with her. Reaching her grandfather, she started with pulling him up and then zhe yan and mo yuan, saying, "why are you guys kneeling? You are my elders; I am supposed to kneel before you not the other way around." Gradually everyone stood up. Dong hua slipped his hand around her waist, pulled her back against him, and spoke softly, "don't feel bad, xaio bai. They were not kneeling for their precious xaio jiu but in the honor of the queen they saw. Even though they do not fully understand your true nature and reality, they recognized the command and supremacy of the queen they saw, addressing her subjects. Show them what you really are, xaio bai. They have paid with blood, sweat, and tears for you; they deserve the honor, my queen."

She didn't know what he meant by blood, sweat, and tears but she will ask him about it later. For now, what he had said was true, they deserve the respect of seeing her true self, they were the ones she loved most, except for dong hua of course. She nodded at him and he moved away to give her the space she required.

Everyone waited with bated breath as feng jiu slowly took a few steps back and extended her aura. From the brilliant red aura, then flew out a huge phoenix with a rich blood-red body and wings and crown made of fire. This majestic phoenix was the innate form of the queen, since, phoenixes were the first primordial beings of this universe. Seeing her in the phoenix form, zhe yan couldn't control his spirit and his own phoenix self, burst out to pay homage to his queen. The old phoenix bowed to his queen.

Feng jiu, however had a gift for him. A golden symbol of an unfurled phoenix blossom, the same as on her forehead, appeared on his wings before fading back. She spoke to him in his mind, "zhe yan, you have been a father, grandfather, uncle, brother and best friend all rolled into one to me. You have cared for me, since I was a kit like I was your own. And before me, you have given unconditional support to my beloved through millennias' of pains and trials. Thank you for loving me and him so much. This mark I gift to you, if you will accept; this is a part of my essence that will protect you from all that may seek to harm you. It will give you access to anywhere and everywhere in this universe, even the holy blue sea. Also, it is your direct connection to me, you need only to call for me and you'll find me there."

The old phoenix was so touched that with tears glistening in his eyes, he said, "you've honoured me, my queen. I graciously accept."

Next, feng jiu turned into her fox form. The fox was not overly big but just as majestic with a coat of dark ruby red fur, tipped with golden ends and her nine foxtails framing her magnificent body. Seeing her fox form, the entire bai family turned to their innate forms, pulled by the same feeling that zhe yan had, of paying homage to their queen. She gifted them all with a blood red symbol the same as on her forehead. This one ensured their protection from everything that may seek to harm them. They all accepted her gift and turned back to their original forms.

Next, she turned into her dragon form, a gargantuan red fire dragon. It was a regal, ruby red dragon with the scales, wings, and tail all tipped with gold. There, also, sat a golden crown at the top of her head to mark her as the leader of the horde. The queen's dragon form called mo yuan, ye hua and lian song to their true forms, pulled by the same thread like the ones before. The golden, black, and blue dragons bowed to their queen. Again, she gifted them her symbol, though it was in silver, this time. She called out in their minds, one by one, "mo yuan, you are my teacher, my master, even though you don't allow me to call you shifu. You taught me and helped me get through a very hard time of my life that I might not have survived otherwise. I have seen your loyalty, love, and blind devotion for my beloved and that, I have always held in the highest regard. Thank you for loving him even when he made it impossible to do so, thank you for taking me under your wing and nurturing me."

"Lian song, you are probably the only soul in all the realms that my beloved calls a friend. You have stayed by his side for so long and been a true friend to him. I have seen your love, loyalty, and blind devotion towards him. Thank you for being there for him, when I couldn't, thank you for loving him so."

"Ye hua, you are the one my dear aunt loves the most and I love her the most. I am handing her in your care with the trust that you will always cherish her. Soon you will be the heavenly lord. Dong hua and I trust that you will do your best at it, with this belief we are handing over the realms to you. We will always be there for you, should you need our assistance."

"I give you three this symbol if you accept. It is a part of my essence. It will protect you from all that may seek to harm you. It will provide you with a direct connection to me, you just need to call for me and you will find me there. It also, allows you to tap into 1 percent of my power but I advise that you use it prudently. If not controlled properly, even half a percent of it could blow apart your entire being. Use it wisely."

The three imperial dragons bowed with respect and gratitude for their queen. Mo yuan was the one to answer for all, "we graciously accept, your majesty. You have graced us with an honour we do not deserve. We are thankful that you think of us in such high regard. We pledge our eternal loyalty to you, today."

With that, the three dragons blew fire up towards the sky, to mark their pledge. Returning back to her immortal form, she addressed them all, "I am the holy spirit of all living and can turn into every form at will. Since there are hundreds of thousands of living forms, I believe we don't have the time for each one of them, today. So, I will skip the rest of it."

Turning to the two men standing silently to the side, she summoned, "Si ming, zhong lin, please come forward. Now, if you will both raise your right hand." With their hands raised upfront, her symbol appeared in blue on their wrist. "Both of you have served my beloved with full loyalty and devotion, even when you were scared for your life from his wrath, you stayed true to him. Thank you for taking such good care of him. I gift you my symbol if you accept. It will protect you from all that may seek to harm you. It will give you a direct connection to both, me and dong hua, you just need to call for us and you will find us there." Both of them kneeled and accepted.

"Rise my friends." She said softly.

Then, feng jiu turned to the ones left. "Chen yu and my uncles from Kunlun, please come forward. No, if you will raise your hands." On their hands, appeared her symbol in white. "You came when my beloved called for you, with no reservations for the risk it might pose to your life. You answered his call with true loyalty in your hearts. I gift you this symbol if you accept. It will protect you from anything that may seek to harm you and it will allow you to call for me anytime you may need my help, you just need to call my name." All of them kneeled and accepted, gratefully.

"Rise", said dong hua. Reaching feng jiu, he claimed her waist again and pulled her against him.

"You have been very generous, my love." He commented.

She placed her hand on top of his, on her waist, and simply said, "they all have been devoted to you, dong hua. Anyone that loves you and is loyal to you with a true heart will always find me on their side."

"Same goes for you, my love", dong hua said, a smile visible in his eyes, only for feng ju to see.

He then, turned around to address their audience and explained, "bai feng jiu is the primordial spirit that is as old as mine. She is the source of all living in this universe just as I am the source of nature. I was made for her and she was made for me. Separate, our spirits are parts of a whole, and together, they form the universe. One cannot exist without the other. She is my perfect match, my better half, my female counterpart, my equal."

"Now, that I have made that clear", he turned his focus to the bai family, "bai zhi, bai yi, bai zhen, bai qian and zhe yan, I ask for your daughter, bai feng jiu's, hand in marriage."

Everyone was stunned when he finished, even feng jiu herself. She had definitely dreamed about this but she never thought this will actually happen, let alone the fact, that he truly asked instead of just stating it. And that, pretty much summed up everyone's mental state at this point. Nobody could have imagined, that one day, dong hua will want to marry someone. That in itself was an idea, too far-fetched. And that little detail of his asking for something was just bizarre.

Then there was zhe yan. Somehow, he was even more floored, that dong hua had included him too. Everyone was aware that to him, xaio jiu was like his first-born daughter, his own flesh and blood. But to actively include him while asking for her hand in marriage had overwhelmed his old heart.

It was Bai zhi that had recovered first and nodded his approval which was then joined with the nodding heads of the other three bais. But, zhe yan was the one that broke the silence, "let me just add one thing. If she ever comes to me crying because you hurt her, I will forget that you are the almighty dong hua dijun, you will have to pay for it. I might not have the power to fight you but you already know the tricks that I have up my sleeve can make you feel the pain deep inside." Hearing this, feng jiu blushed red and hid her face in dong hua's chest. Dong hua just caressed her head and agreed.