Ning Hongyue's gaze was instantly nailed to the two figures hovering in mid-air.
They were wreathed in a surging, heart-throbbing aura.
Especially the woman—wrapped in multicolored divine radiance, her appearance almost identical to the Ascended Ancestor in the sect's secret portrait.
Wave after wave surged in Ning Hongyue's heart, yet as Sect Master, she had to force herself to remain calm.
Red Dragon Douluo Wu Yun's beard seemed thicker and rougher than ever, his fiery soul power already burning at its peak as he stared fixedly at Oscar. As long as the other party showed even the slightest unusual movement, he would strike without hesitation.
The sect-wide soul tool defenses still ran at full power, and the air was taut with tension.
Facing a terrifying unknown enemy above, the crowd below watched the three familiar strangers before them with conflicted eyes.
Up in the sky, Ning Rongrong and Oscar finally began to emerge from their extreme shock.
The two looked at each other and, in each other's eyes, saw the same doubt, confusion, and rapid contemplation they themselves felt.
Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, Bone Douluo, and that teenage girl who looked as if she'd been carved from the exact same mold as her childhood self…
This was simply too unreasonable.
If they weren't certain that this was the Douluo Continent ten thousand years in the future, with the spatial coordinates all checked and correct, they would have thought they'd accidentally been dragged into a temporal storm and flung back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect of ten thousand years ago.
Ning Rongrong drew in a deep breath, desperately suppressing the tidal surge of emotions in her heart—
The urge to throw herself into her father's arms and sob,
The joy of seeing Grandpa Sword and Grandpa Bone resurrected from death,
And that sudden, wonderful feeling from seeing herself as a young girl again.
However, divine instinct told her clearly that these people before her were not the dead relatives she remembered.
They were parallel selves, their origins unknown.
The multicolored divine light surrounding her body slowly converged a little, yet the divine power of the Nine-Colored Goddess still shone like warm sunlight, easing part of the suffocating tension while simultaneously revealing her terrifying strength.
She stared at Ning Fengzhi with a complicated gaze, and when she finally spoke, her voice trembled unconsciously.
"You… all of you… who are you?"
The moment she asked, a sharp ache tightened in her chest.
Down below, Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and Bone Rong were finally yanked fully back to reality by that question.
The three of them exchanged looks; clarity and an indescribable excitement flashed in their eyes.
They were travelers from a parallel world, who had somehow, by accident, arrived in this one.
And the woman before them, wrapped in divine light, whose beauty resembled Rongrong's yet was even more dazzling, whose true form was faintly showing through—
She was this world's Ning Rongrong, the one who had truly ascended to the God Realm ten thousand years ago and become the legendary Nine-Colored Goddess.
Ning Fengzhi took a deep breath, trying to calm his restless heart.
He stepped forward, looking up at the Ning Rongrong floating in mid-air. His lips, slightly dry from tension, parted, his voice faintly shaking.
"You… are you… this world's Rongrong?"
"This world?"
Oscar, standing beside Ning Rongrong, sharply caught that key phrase. Compared to Ning Rongrong, who was openly showing her emotions, he appeared much calmer. He frowned slightly and asked in a low voice:
"You're not natives of this world?"
"That's right."
Ning Fengzhi nodded, confirming Oscar's guess before beginning to explain.
"We… because of a special encounter, were brought from a parallel world to this one."
Upon hearing this, Ning Rongrong and Oscar's shock eased a little, giving way to a sudden curiosity.
As gods of the God Realm, their knowledge far surpassed that of mortals.
The Divine Realm connected to countless dimensions; from time to time, knowledge and creations from other dimensions appeared there.
For instance, the video games that Zhu Zhuqing was hopelessly addicted to—delicate, complex constructs—originated from a particular dimension with a highly advanced scientific and technological civilization.
Thus, the concept of parallel worlds was not unfamiliar to them.
But theory was theory.
When your father, grandfathers, and younger self from another world stood alive right before you, that miraculous sense of fate that transcended the walls between worlds, that crushing déjà vu, made Ning Rongrong's heart tremble.
In this moment, the truth became clear.
Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, Bone Douluo, and the young Ning Rongrong standing before her had neither resurrected from the dead nor were they illusions; they were visitors from a parallel world whose history had taken a different path, for reasons still unknown.
The suffocating tension above the Nine Treasure Mirror Gate quietly shifted.
Once Ning Hongyue and the others confirmed that the peerlessly beautiful goddess in the sky was indeed the sect ancestor who had ascended to the Divine Realm ten thousand years ago, as recorded in the sect canon—Nine-Colored Goddess Ning Rongrong—their wariness and hostility dissolved in an instant, replaced by boundless reverence and excitement.
"Lift the alert. Welcome the ancestor!"
Ning Hongyue took the lead and bowed deeply, her voice trembling.
At her signal, the fully armed soul tool formations quickly powered down. The flying soul tools slowly landed, and the energy shield enveloping the sect faded back to its usual calm, gentle state.
All disciples of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect present, regardless of seniority, bowed deeply to Ning Rongrong and Oscar in the sky, their eyes blazing with fervor and awe.
This was a living legend.
The sect's eternal glory made flesh.
By contrast, although Ning Fengzhi and the others from the parallel world were also treated with respect, their status clearly could not compare with that of the true ancestral gods.
Ning Rongrong and Oscar descended slowly, landing before everyone.
Ning Rongrong's gaze never strayed far from Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, Bone Rong, and her teenage self. Her eyes were complex, hard to read.
She forcibly suppressed a strange instinctive impulse in her heart—
A whisper from the depths of her divine nature, telling her that if she were to devour this counterpart in front of her, she would obtain unimaginable benefits, shatter the shackles of a Second-Class God, and glimpse the realm of a First-Class Deity.
The thought chilled her.
She crushed that dangerous desire, letting divine radiance flow through her pupils to maintain her outward calm.
Oscar noticed Ning Rongrong's momentary daze. Knowing she must be in turmoil, he took a step forward himself and spoke gently to Ning Hongyue:
"Sect Master, there's no need to be so formal. Let's first find a suitable place to talk."
"Y-yes, Ancestor… Lord God of Food, please follow me to the main hall."
Ning Hongyue answered in a rush, humbly leading the way.
The group made their way to the most solemn and luxurious main hall at the heart of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Ning Hongyue invited Ning Rongrong and Oscar to take the seats of honor. She and the sect's elders, along with Ning Fengzhi's group, sat to either side. As for Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and the younger generation, they didn't even dare to breathe loudly, and could only stand respectfully behind the elders.
Once everyone was settled, Ning Hongyue asked cautiously:
"I am ignorant and do not know why Ancestor and Lord God of Food have suddenly descended to the mortal world this time. If the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect can be of any service, our sect is willing to die a thousand deaths without complaint."
Ning Rongrong's attention was still locked on her relatives from the parallel world. Her gaze repeatedly drifted to the young Ning Rongrong opposite her, who was also staring right back with eyes full of curiosity.
Because of that, she was a little absent-minded toward Ning Hongyue's question.
Seeing this, Oscar picked up the conversation again. His expression became more solemn as he replied:
"To be honest, we've descended to the mortal world this time on the orders of the God Kings. We have an important mission.
First, we need to understand all major changes that have occurred on the Douluo Continent over the past ten thousand years, especially recent events. The more detailed, the better.
Second, we must locate certain people and investigate certain anomalies.
The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is one of the peak sects on the continent and commands a powerful information network. You are precisely the support we need."
Upon hearing this, Ning Hongyue's heart surged. She instantly realized this was a rare opportunity for the sect to build a direct, close relationship with their ancestral gods.
Terrified of showing the slightest negligence, she quickly began to organize and recount the key information she knew.
She started from the rise of the Sun Moon Empire and the revolution of soul tool technology, then moved on to the Holy Grail War held in Mingdu where the continent's top experts had gathered, and from there to the newly born Sea God of that war…
The moment Ning Hongyue mentioned the words "Holy Grail War" and "new Sea God," Ning Rongrong, who had been slightly distracted, suddenly looked up, meeting Oscar's gaze.
In each other's eyes, they saw identical shock—and understanding.
They hadn't expected to brush up against such a critical mission target so quickly after arriving in the lower realm.
The appearance of a new Sea God was undoubtedly closely related to Tang San's worries.
After that, Ning Hongyue spoke about the guests from the parallel world.
This portion was supplemented by Ning Fengzhi and the others, who had personally experienced it, as well as Ning Tian and Wu Feng, who had fallen into the parallel world and then brought Ning Fengzhi's group back to this one.
As they recounted their experiences, a history completely different from what Ning Rongrong and Oscar knew slowly unfolded.
In that parallel world, during the final decisive battle ten thousand years ago, the Spirit Empire had emerged victorious and unified the entire continent.
The Shrek Seven Devils of that world, apart from Ning Rongrong—who was saved only because she had taken refuge in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—Tang San, Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, Ma Hongjun, and even Oscar had all fallen in battle. None had survived.
That historical flow had been overturned only because an unexpected spatial rift appeared.
As this shocking story unfolded, the expressions on Ning Rongrong and Oscar's faces shifted from disbelief and horror to a heavy, complicated calm.
They had never imagined that in another world, their beloved comrades, who had once stood shoulder to shoulder with them, would meet such a tragic end.
In that world, their Third Brother had never become a god. Xiao Wu, Boss Dai, Zhuqing, Fatty, and…
The Oscar of that world—all dead.
The impact of this news temporarily overwhelmed the strange attraction Ning Rongrong had felt from her counterpart.
She looked at the young Ning Rongrong, unable to suppress a deep, wordless pity… and a subtle sense of relief.
Fortunately, in her own world, that change had never occurred. History there had followed a different path.
Oscar's expression also turned odd. Hearing that he had died in such grief and misery in some other world was hardly something that would make anyone feel good.
He unconsciously tightened his grip on Ning Rongrong's hand, feeling the warmth of her palm.
That warmth dispelled, just a little, the chill from the parallel world's tragedy.
"…That's the general picture."
Ning Fengzhi finished his account heavily, and silence descended upon the main hall.
After a long time, Ning Rongrong let out a faint sigh, her voice sounding somewhat distant.
"I never expected… that the differences between parallel worlds could be so great…"
Among infinite possibilities, she was forced to accept that there existed a world where they had lost.
"Yeah… It's hard to believe."
Oscar shook his head, trying to throw off the unpleasant feeling.
"But, just as Sect Master Ning said, in the end that's something that happened in another world. Our top priority is still to complete the mission of this journey."
Even so, after learning about the tragedy of that parallel world, a faint shadow lingered in both their hearts.
The information they obtained in the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's main hall sent waves surging through Ning Rongrong and Oscar's minds.
The upheaval of the continent, the mysterious Holy Grail War, the birth of a new Sea God, the tragic history of the parallel world…
Everything pointed in the same direction—Haiyuan City, and its unfathomable City Lord, Lu Jingming, hidden in the shadows.
"It seems we'll have to go to this Haiyuan City."
After sorting through all the information, Oscar spoke with a solemn expression.
"According to Sect Master Ning, the Holy Grail War was cut short by the calamity brought by the Lord Ravager. Yet Haiyuan City was extremely active in that battle, saving many people who should have died in the disaster. The newly ascended Sea God is very likely in their hands."
Ning Rongrong nodded as well. Divine light flowed through her multicolored eyes as she added:
"Not only that, Haiyuan City has risen rapidly amidst this chaotic world, has beaten back the Sun Moon Empire, and now controls Star Luo. Their power clearly surpasses what's normal.
We must personally investigate whether they are friend or foe, and how they are connected to the many changes in the lower realm."
At that moment, Ning Fengzhi—who had been deep in thought—suddenly looked up. With a flash of recollection in his eyes and a slight frown between his brows, he turned to Ning Rongrong and Oscar and spoke in a heavy tone:
"Rongrong… Ahem, Nine-Colored Goddess, Lord God of Food, I suddenly remembered something. It might be related to all this."
Hearing how Ning Fengzhi addressed them, a complex light flickered in Ning Rongrong's eyes.
Even though he was only a counterpart of her father from another world, that somewhat distant way of addressing her still made her feel a little uncomfortable.
Oscar sensed Ning Rongrong's thoughts and immediately smiled.
"Sect Master Ning, you don't need to be so formal. Just call us by our names…"
He didn't finish the rest aloud, but Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo understood perfectly.
No one could remain completely unmoved when seeing deceased loved ones again—even if they were only counterparts from another world.
"In that case, I won't stand on ceremony."
Ning Fengzhi nodded. He wasn't used to using honorifics for a daughter, even if she came from another world.
If possible, he genuinely wanted to establish a good relationship with this world's Ning Rongrong and Oscar.
After all, they were visitors from another world. If they wished to truly blend into this environment, having powerful allies would be invaluable.