Fu Manman returned to Xue Ya’s Daoist Palace in the Suspended City.

Gu Lan happily stepped forward to inquire, "Junior Sister Manman, how did it go? You’ve been away for several days, did you encounter any trouble?"

Fu Manman’s face revealed no hint of other emotions, she shook her head,

"No trouble encountered, Senior Sister, no need to worry."

Xue Ya narrowed her eyes, relaxed and carefree, "With the Eternal Dao in your hands, what did you see?"

Fu Manman thought about how to explain it to Xue Ya on her way back.

The situation of Wubing was certainly something she couldn’t tell Xue Ya. If it weren’t for her trust in Gu Lan, she wouldn’t even want to tell Gu Lan. Since his situation was so complicated, it was better if fewer people knew, at least until the consequences of revealing his identity could be borne, not many people should know.

"The Obsession Furnace is indeed accelerating. The recent lull in warfare might just be an illusion," Fu Manman said. "The agitation of the Sea of Obsession is also continually increasing. The reason Celestial Venerable Youxuan felt like he was dreaming last time is likely due to the influence of the Sea of Obsession’s agitation."

Attributing the cause to obsession was definitely correct. After all, this thing was equally mysterious and obscure for cultivators, even those in high positions and reaching the peak of cultivation. Why obsession manifests into a True Demon remains unknown.

Xue Ya pondered for a moment, "The recent lull in warfare really is just an illusion. Even the most stable Immortal Continent in other Fallen Immortal Lands is accelerating, how could the Taiping Continent possibly calm down? Seems like we need to hasten preparations for a new round of warfare." She smiled, "It’s good that you came, otherwise I would still be kept in the dark."

Fu Manman shook her head, "This is what I should do."

Xue Ya clicked her tongue, "It’s somewhat regrettable. I thought Fan Wubing had returned."

Fu Manman’s heart was steady.

She didn’t stay long with Gu Lan and soon left.

As soon as she left the Suspended City, Fu Manman raised her hand to elevate the Eternal Dao, enveloping the two of them together.

Seeing the golden radiance passing over her body, feeling the "unchanging" state of the Eternal Dao, Gu Lan was quite amazed,

"Junior Sister Manman, what is this for?"

Fu Manman took a deep breath and said with a smile, "I’m going to tell you something, don’t get too excited."

Gu Lan’s heart skipped a beat, "It won’t be bad news, will it?"

"Would I be smiling while telling you bad news?"

Gu Lan’s heart pounded, her bright blue eyes like trembling dewdrops, "What... what is it?"

Despite the protection of the Eternal Dao, Fu Manman still whispered like a girl telling a secret, leaning close to Gu Lan’s ear:

"Wubing has returned."

Upon suddenly hearing those words, Gu Lan was a bit dumbfounded. It was like being abruptly pulled up from a deep sleep. She stared at Fu Manman, momentarily forgetting to breathe, like a statue. After some time, her chest began to rise and fall, faster and faster, more and more intensely. Finally, she murmured:

"Are you trying to make me happy?"

Fu Manman smiled, "What do you think?"

Gu Lan trembled and asked, "Really?"

"Really."

"Is it really true?"

"It really is true."

"Rea—"

Fu Manman raised her hand and released images intertwined and condensed from qi to interrupt her, "Just tell me if it’s him."

In the images, it was Fan Wubing reuniting with Fu Manman in the Obsession Furnace.

Gu Lan’s eyelashes quivered, and she cautiously reached out to touch the person in the image, "He... looks a bit different from the person in my memory."

Mentioning this made Fu Manman a bit unhappy.

Because, calculating by time, Gu Lan had taken Fan Wubing when he was fifteen. Was that his first time? He wasn’t even an adult yet!

Fu Manman suppressed these small feelings of helplessness, telling Gu Lan:

"It’s been twenty or thirty years, of course, it’s different."

"It feels like a dream." Gu Lan clutched her chest, feeling her heart racing. She looked up cautiously and asked, "How has he been all these years?"

Fu Manman shook her head, "When the time comes, let him tell you himself."

"Can I...?"

"Why ask like this?"

Gu Lan felt a bit sad, "Later, I found out you had made an agreement with Junior Brother Wubing long ago. I was just someone who blundered in foolishly, driven by selfish desires, intruding between you. Don’t you think I’m like a cat stealing fish?" She confessed everything between her and Fan Wubing.

Fu Manman listened and then looked elsewhere, "Everyone has selfish desires, especially when it comes to love. Who doesn’t want their partner to love only them for all eternity? But if you think about it carefully, is this love, or possessiveness? I want to own Wubing’s love alone. When this thought is born, that love is no longer love, but an evident desire."

She looked back at Gu Lan, "I don’t think there’s anything like pure and immaculate love in this world. At least, when you’re a person, it’s impossible. I love him, and it’s mixed with all sorts of desires, wanting to possess him, wanting him to only have eyes for me. But with such thoughts, what right do I have to judge others?"

"Do I... deserve to walk alongside you?"

Fu Manman tilted her head and said, "He thinks he doesn’t deserve you."

"How can that be?" Gu Lan felt a bit guilty, "I’ve always felt like I took advantage of him when he was young and naïve."

Fu Manman smirked, "Senior Sister, to put it bluntly, you were the young and naïve one, taken advantage of by him." Knowing Fan Wubing so well after traveling with him for so many years, she didn’t need much analysis to know that it must have been Senior Sister Gu Lan who offered herself to him back then, not the other way around.