The Gates of Return and Hope

The hundred-meter-tall colossal gate cracked apart, and with a thunderous roar that shook the heavens, it completely shattered and collapsed.

The mysterious gate had truly been opened.

Did this herald that the path to the Celestial Realm was now unimpeded?

Yet the sight that unfolded before everyone sent doubt and suspicion rippling through their hearts. Beyond the gate stretched an empty, silent void, seemingly endless.

Even so, the little snow-white beast was the first to charge in, crying out "Ya-ya!" This was the space opened by the wooden box her mother had left her. The little one's heart churned with anxiety and excitement; her fluffy ears trembled lightly, and her tiny paws were clenched tight.

Xiao Chen followed close behind, afraid she might encounter danger, surveying everything around him.

The old farmer, gripping the Armageddon War Spear, hesitated only a moment before charging in as well, the tip of his spear pointing into the distant void.

"So this is the Primordial Celestial Realm? Not even a blade of grass. Too desolate, isn't it?" Jin Sanyi cradled the Doomsday Heavenly Halberd as he shuffled in hesitantly.

Fatty Zhuge—now conditioned by habit—began scanning the surroundings the moment he entered and muttered to himself: "I wonder what delicacies the Celestial Realm has to offer? The path to the Ancestral God realm is long and arduous—I shall search high and low!"

In the far-off grey void, a hazy phantom suddenly took shape.

It was a stretch of sea with a golden beach, floating in the void, with a golden sun hanging in the sky above it.

The seawater was a clear, pure blue. Fish could be seen leaping above the surface, and sunlight scattered down, making every grain of sand on the golden beach gleam with tiny specks of light. Not far off stood a cluster of elegant buildings surrounded by lush trees.

On the golden beach, directly facing the group, sat a large sunshade. Beneath it, a woman of peerless grace, dressed in an avant-garde style that revealed large expanses of fair skin, lay languidly on her side in a chaise lounge, seemingly lost in dreams. On a wooden table beside her were various fruit juices, their fragrances wafting through the air.

The first to arrive, the little snow-white beast Keke, eyed the sleeping beauty warily and asked in a childish voice: "Who are you?"

The woman of exquisite beauty seemed to sense something. She opened her starry eyes lazily and sat up with a languid motion. Her long, waterfall of blue hair cascaded down, set off by her snow-white skin, making her even more stunningly beautiful.

"My child, you've finally come."

"You are…" The little snow-white beast tilted her head to study the woman before her, but the call of blood kinship instantly confirmed that this was her closest family.

Keke trembled with emotion. At the sound of that affectionate voice, the little one's big eyes instantly brimmed with tears. A single blink sent crystal droplets rolling down, and she rushed forward swiftly.

She was about to cry out "Mother!" when the blue-haired woman suddenly let out a small yawn. Before Keke could reach her, she collapsed back onto the chaise lounge and murmured dreamily: "So sleepy… I can't hold on… Mm… I think my child is here… I can't sleep anymore… I've already slept—I don't know how many thousands of years…"

"Mother…" Keke blinked her big eyes and flew over quickly, gently shaking the blue-haired beauty.

Behind her, Xiao Chen and the others were stupefied. This beauty was far too… good at sleeping! She had slept for several thousand years. She seemed happy and excited when she first saw the little beast—so why had she fallen asleep again in the blink of an eye?

"Mother…" Keke shook her gently, and the blue-haired woman finally woke again.

"Oh, my child, I've finally seen you." The blue-haired woman picked Keke up tenderly and kissed the little one affectionately. "My precious little darling… I'm… getting sleepy again…"

As she said this, her grip loosened, letting Keke slide back onto the chaise lounge, and she herself fell asleep once more.

Now Xiao Chen and the others were completely dumbfounded.

Asleep again?

It was hereditary—absolutely hereditary! At this moment, they finally understood why the little beast was so fond of sleeping. To have a mother like this… left them utterly speechless.

How could this be?

"Mother, wake up," Keke said, a hint of grievance in her childish voice. She had just met this closest family member—how could this happen?

"Oh, baby, Mama's awake." The blue-haired woman lifted Keke cheerfully, examined her closely, then hugged her to her chest again, doting: "My little darling is just too cute—Mama loves looking at you more and more. But I'm sleepy again…"

Her voice grew softer and softer, and finally she let Keke fall like a free-falling object onto the golden sand, while she herself fell asleep on the chaise lounge again.

Everyone was utterly at a loss for words. This was far too much sleeping! No wonder the little snow-white beast was always dozing off—it really was hereditary!

They wanted to shout in exasperation: it wasn't Keke's fault—it was her lazy mother's fault!

"Mother…" The little snow-white beast was aggrieved to the extreme, her big eyes full of tears. She shook the blue-haired woman's body, calling softly: "Mother, wake up."

"Baby, Mama's awake."

"Are you really my mother? Why did you fall back asleep even after seeing me?" Keke asked plaintively.

"Good child, of course I'm your mother. Your mother has only two hobbies in life. First, I love fine food—there isn't a delicacy in the world that Mama hasn't tasted. Second, I love sleeping. Usually I sleep for three thousand years at a stretch. Let others grow old in this world; Mama alone keeps her youth and beauty forever."

"My favorite thing is also food!" Keke's big eyes lit up immediately, then she added in a small voice: "Even though I love sleeping too, I still think Mama is far too good at it. The longest I've ever slept was just over a hundred and fifty years."

"So you see, child, you still have to work hard. Mama's sleepy again."

With that, the blue-haired beauty fell asleep once more.

The group behind them stared wide-eyed. Was this any way to raise a child?

Keke's mother was far too eccentric!

Behind them, Jin Sanyi and Fatty Zhuge had long since started discussing among themselves. Judging by her appearance and demeanor, they felt she really didn't seem like family.

"Is that beautiful woman really Keke's mother?"

"This… doesn't look like it at all!"

Especially when they recalled the cool, aloof Keke's father, it became even stranger. Keke's father—pure white, chewing a blade of grass, wearing dark crystal sunglasses, with that cool attitude—had he married a woman like this?

Jin Sanyi sighed to the heavens: "Better to be Keke's father. Even as a beast, what does it matter? He still married a beautiful wife—a passionate, earth-shattering romance between human and beast, enough to make everyone jealous!"

Fatty Zhuge's white hair fluttered as he said: "Don't worry, one day you'll have your own passionate romance between human and beast."

"'Guan guan the ospreys'—none of your damned business!" Jin Sanyi directly threw the Doomsday Heavenly Halberd at Fatty Zhuge, nearly making him roll his eyes.

"That woman is not human…" The mysterious old farmer, gripping the Armageddon War Spear, looked grim and seemed to be on high alert. "I can't tell her race for now, but this shouldn't be her true form manifesting. That is… a very powerful spiritual imprint!"

For the old farmer to offer such a judgment was enough to show how terrifying the woman was.

Her extreme sleepiness was likely just an outward display. If provoked, the blue-haired woman would undoubtedly unleash an awe-inspiring battle power.

Xiao Chen thought of the two white bones in Paradise Lost. Cultivators of Keke's parents' level could change their forms at will—taking human or beast shape was merely a thought away.

"Mother…" Keke, like a pitiful little thing, scrunched up her face and called out. The blue-haired woman woke up again.

"Oh, my precious little darling. Mama hasn't slept her full three thousand years this time, so I'm still tired. Don't be upset, darling—Mama will force herself to stay awake." The blue-haired woman finally perked up a little. "Mama loves food best, so of course I've prepared a lot for my little treasure. Come, Mama will take you to see."

Saying this, Keke's mother finally stepped off the chaise lounge. With bare, snow-white, crystalline feet, she carried Keke in her arms and walked toward the cluster of buildings not far away.

"Darling, do you like these pavilions? Over here, I excavated prehistoric relics and restored them in Western classical style; over there, it's Eastern classical style…"

But as she spoke, it was no longer Keke's mother holding her—it was Keke struggling to support her mother, who was about to doze off again.

Yet once they entered that beautiful complex of buildings, the aggrieved little beast soon cheered up.

Soon, the others outside heard her happy shouts and excited "Ya-ya!" cries.

"So many spiritual essences!" The little snow-white beast asked timidly in her childish voice: "Mother… are all these for me?"

"Yes, all prepared for my little darling." Keke's mother answered languidly. Then she added lazily: "Give Mama a Celestial Fruit…"

"Mother, the Celestial Fruit is right next to you—only one step away!"

"Mama can't be bothered to move. Baby, throw one over for Mama…"

"Mother, you're too lazy—much lazier than me by many times!"

…

Though the others couldn't see the scene inside the buildings, they could clearly hear their conversation. They exchanged glances, not knowing what to say. Poor little beast, to have such a lazy mother—truly…

"Mother, you fell asleep again…"

"Mother, you're lying on top of me…"

"Mother, you're biting the Celestial Fruit but haven't chewed yet—don't fall asleep…"

"Mother, you—"

Such a pitiful little thing! How could she have such a lazy mother? Everyone deeply sympathized with Keke.

Just then, Keke's mother's voice finally lost its languor. She said to Keke with deep affection: "Darling, don't blame Mama. When your father and I went to the Otherworld to kill the bad guys back then, we accidentally injured ourselves, and that's why I'm so sleepy."

Shortly after, the stunning blue-haired woman strolled out lazily, a small yawn barely stifled. Without holding Keke's hand this time, she looked at Xiao Chen and the others and asked the little beast: "Darling, are they all your friends?"

"Yes," Keke nodded firmly.

"Then I'll let it slide, or else Mama would have thrown them to Mars." The languid woman spoke casually, but everyone felt her domineering air. This was definitely a being of overwhelming strength.

The mysterious old farmer let out a cold snort, and the Armageddon War Spear in his hand trembled slightly.

But Keke's mother just yawned repeatedly and said: "Since they are my little one's friends, don't try to compete with me. I'm too lazy to bother."

Her "too lazy to bother" was absolutely genuine—she really was too lazy, too lazy even to walk now.

"Darling, do you have any regrets in life?" Keke's mother fought off sleep and asked with effort.

Keke tilted her head and thought seriously, then said: "Yes."

"Mama left this spiritual imprint here waiting for you, darling. Who in life can avoid regret? Your father and I will give you one opportunity to defy fate, so that your life will know no remorse and you can march ever forward."

Keke immediately scratched her head sheepishly and muttered: "Actually… I don't have that many regrets."

Shua—

Keke's mother traced a lazy arc in the void, and on the golden sand two radiant gates appeared.

"These are the supreme treasures your father 'borrowed' from the Otherworld back then. One is called 'Return'—it implies that past events can be revisited. The other is called 'Hope'—it implies that hope can always be born in the future."

Keke's mother spoke casually, but the others were intensely shaken. If this was true, these two gates seemed incredibly defying.

"'Borrowed' from the Otherworld?" The old farmer asked in shock.

"Yes. Unfortunately, these two supreme treasures were not perfected. They are filled with too many variables. They were refined by the collective strength of the Otherworld powers. Borrowing them back then took an enormous effort."

Keke's mother sighed as she said this, but everyone understood that 'borrowing' was a polite term; at the time, Keke's father had undoubtedly stolen them, and a fierce battle had ensued.

"Darling, you can enter the 'Return' gate to resolve one regret of yours. Past events can be revisited. However, because the treasures are incomplete, your father imposed many restrictions. The things you can change are limited to yourself—this was done for your own good, to avoid danger. Otherwise, even if your father came back, he couldn't save you."

Keke's mother's words were staggering. This treasure was truly defying! Perhaps some Ancestral Gods could reverse time to kill their enemies, but that was always limited to direct confrontations, sending both parties to the past. Even then, the target could take sufficient precautions to avoid being killed in the past. No one could truly reverse all of history and completely change the past—that was impossible! For if it could be done, what meaning would the present have? An Ancestral God reversing everything would change and annihilate all that exists. That was impossible!

But here, 'Return' was set before their eyes. According to Keke's mother, its power seemed far greater than an Ancestral God's time-reversal technique. If it were truly perfected, even if it couldn't alter history, it would still be a great killing weapon!

"How many past events can be revisited?!" The old farmer, gripping the Armageddon War Spear, found it hard to remain calm. He stared fixedly at the blue-haired beauty.

How many past events could be revisited?

Everyone fell silent.

"How many past events can be revisited?" Keke's mother was rarely not lazy. She hugged Keke, swept aside her blue hair, and said: "Can life start over? You can go ahead and try. You only have one chance."

"I want to go back and fight! I want to go back and fight!" The old farmer, holding the Armageddon War Spear, saw his momentum climb unceasingly. He had completely transformed—from simple and rustic to sharp, battle-hungry, and utterly brilliant—as if he had become a different person!

His grey-white hair all stood on end and whipped wildly as he roared to the sky: "I want to go back and fight! I never experienced that final battle of ages past, and I have regretted it for eternity…"

The old farmer's battle intent rose to its peak, and in one stride he stepped into the 'Return' gate.

Could past events truly be revisited?

Could the past really come again?

No one knew.

But every person present walked toward the Return gate, because each one carried regrets in their heart.