Chapter 497 - 495: Nerida Arrives in Amarantha

Chapter 497: Chapter 495: Nerida Arrives in Amarantha

At these words, Celeste Grant looked at Javier Sinclair and asked, "You have a way?"

"Yes."

He gave a slight nod.

Javier Sinclair placed his chopsticks on the rim of his bowl. As he slowly lifted his gaze, his once deep, dark eyes turned gold. An ancient, mystical power swirled around him—the Power of Laws.

He simply raised his eyes to the sky.

Divine Power flowed through his golden eyes, piercing straight through the void. In that instant, a clear image appeared before him...

「At the same time, elsewhere.」

In the Immortal Domain’s land of Grendale, deep within Eldoria in the Gloomfang.

The region here was vast, with endless mountains and rivers.

An ancient Empyrea existed here, called Silvanis.

Nerida had arrived here half a year ago, right after she ascended to the Upper Realm. If not for the Spiritual Energy being over ten times denser than in the Lower Realm, she would have suspected she had come to the wrong place.

Upon arriving in the Upper Realm, Nerida’s first thought was to ask about The Exalted One and her madam. But to her surprise, none of the Cultivators here had ever heard of them, let alone the Demonic Domain or the Immortal Domain.

All they knew was their own nation, Silvanis, and that no other places existed beyond it.

At first, Nerida thought this might just be a remote corner of the Immortal Domain, which would explain their limited knowledge.

It wasn’t until she tried to leave Silvanis to find her madam that she discovered she would always end up back here no matter which way she went. In other words, there was something strange about this place. She couldn’t get out.

Over the past six months, she had tried to leave from every direction—north, south, east, and west—using every method she could think of. But no matter how she left, she always returned to this nation. This place was a world unto itself, like a pocket dimension sealed off from everything else.

’Anything can happen in the Cultivation World,’ Nerida thought calmly. ’If I could get in, then there must be a way out. I just haven’t found the right method yet.’

Nerida now stood on a mountaintop, holding a Magic Treasure to survey the terrain. For some time now, she had been studying the lay of the land and its spiritual veins day and night.

She had discovered that the entire nation of Silvanis was built on top of a great Array. The Array here was extremely ancient and mysterious, its design intricate and interlocking.

Because of this, Nerida didn’t dare to act rashly. The slightest misstep could not only get her killed but also doom everyone in Silvanis.

She stood her ground.

Nerida looked up at the sky.

She murmured to herself.

"Looks like I still need to study this more carefully."

"Madam, wait for me. Your subordinate will find you soon."

’It’s been six months.’

’I miss Madam and the others.’

’I wonder if The Exalted One is taking good care of Madam. And their little Princess... I wonder how old she is now. I haven’t even had the chance to hold her once.’

’Forget it. I’ll head back first and figure it out later.’

Just as she turned to leave, she heard someone call out to her.

"Wife, wife, are you there?"

Hearing this voice, Nerida’s expression changed. She abruptly stopped the foot she had just put forward, stumbling slightly.

Her eyes darted around, instinctively looking for a place to hide. But the person’s figure had already appeared in her line of sight.

’How did he get here?’

She glanced up and saw a slender man standing not far away. He wore cyan robes that resembled an ink wash painting, with a jade clasp tied to his forehead. His face was as gentle as jade, and he carried an air of immense nobility.

Seeing him, she muttered under her breath, "What have I done to deserve this?"

Seeing there was nowhere to hide, Nerida stood there with a cold expression. The man in cyan robes trotted up to her. He said, "Wife, why did you come here all by yourself? If not for the Melloria flying ahead to guide me, I wouldn’t have been able to find you."

As he spoke, he slowly approached, and a bee landed on his finger.

This man was Aeron, the Young Master of Silvanis and its future heir.

He was close now, but he stopped three paces away, perhaps fearing she would be displeased.

Nerida: "..."

Meeting his gaze, Nerida felt an inexplicable sense of guilt. "I was just taking a walk," she said.

Hearing this, Aeron simply smiled and said nothing more. He stepped forward, reaching out to take her hand.

"Wife, you’ve been out all day. Let’s go home."

’Home... Home...’

The word "wife" seemed to float slowly above Nerida’s head. Hearing it filled her with complicated feelings.

Yes, you’ve guessed correctly.

This nation of Silvanis was an Amarantha, a place that followed the custom of women marrying men. In other words, the head of the household was the woman. Other than that, things were the same as what she knew. For example, women still gave birth to children, but the children took the mother’s surname.

Of course, if a woman were to marry into a man’s family, it would be considered marrying in. In that case, the children could take the father’s surname. It was equivalent to a man marrying into the woman’s family in the world she was familiar with.

He spoke again.

"Wife."

Nerida raised a hand to stop him.

"Your Highness, the Young Master."

The moment she spoke, he cut her off.

"Aeron. Call me Aeron."

"You’re my wife; you can call me Aeron. Calling me ’Your Highness, the Young Master’ is too formal." ’We’re supposed to be the closest of people, so why doesn’t my wife understand?’

Nerida glanced at the man standing before her. Her gaze swept over his face, her feelings too complicated for words. After a moment of silence, she said, "Alright, Aeron. But you should stop calling me that. The word ’wife’ sounds strange."

’Sounds strange?’

Hearing this, Aeron stared straight at her, his eyes filled with confusion and a hint of hurt.

’It’s been so long, even a stone should have warmed up by now. But her? She’s still so stubborn and unyielding, completely focused on leaving, without any regard for his feelings.’

’He used to dream of finding a gentle wife, to spend a life of harmonious bliss together. But then he had to meet her, and he fell head over heels for her.’

’And she was the one who made the first move!’

He gritted his teeth at the thought.

"What’s so strange about calling you wife? Haven’t men always called their Taoist Companions ’wife’?"

Nerida said, "Aeron, I’ve told you before. I’m from outside Silvanis. I don’t belong here."

As soon as she finished, he frowned slightly and said, "Does it matter where you come from? So what if you’re not from Silvanis? You’re from somewhere else. Don’t you people look for Taoist Companions? Or do you Cultivators from the outside world only know how to focus on your Cultivation, live lonely lives, and never marry? What’s the point of that?"

This... she was actually speechless.

’Her goal in Cultivation was to become stronger.’