It had been ten days since Ye Lang’s arrival at the ancient ruins. During these ten days, Zhao Yarou had been following him around very closely. When he went to the washroom, she’d wait outside. When they showered, she would want to come with.

Of course, Ye Lang completely ignored her when she hopped into his shower, minding his own business. He did not hop out in fear like normal people would.

Zhao Yarou asked him about it too. Why didn’t he run?

Run? I’m a married man. And you’re not even afraid of me taking advantage of you. What’s there for me to be afraid of?

This was Ye Lang’s answer. Zhao Yarou realised that she might’ve just created more trouble for herself. Every time she hopped into the shower, she never stripped naked but instead wore skin-tight clothing.

There were many trivial incidents like that, though they were not important to Ye Lang. Zhao Yarou could be quite petty too, completely unlike empress behaviour.

Ye Lang suddenly realised there was something wrong with her behaviour but couldn’t put his finger on it. He had been buried in research on the ancient ruins so he didn’t think much of it.

He indeed stepped into the position as an alchemist here. He continued his research on things he hadn’t studied in his previous visit. It was a good opportunity for him.

This was an alchemist’s paradise, containing everything an alchemist could dream of. Even Ye Lang wished to do his research in a paradise like that until there was nothing left to study.

He felt like the previous visit was quite short and this eventually ended up as Zhao Yarou’s territory so he couldn’t come. Now, he could do his research in peace.

When he was doing research, he also answered questions that anyone had for him.

The ten days he was here was enough to shorten their research period by one to two years, as it enabled everyone to deepen their studies by a few levels.

Soaring Sky had mastered several alchemy weapons now. They started to invest in manufacturing and equipped their military.

At the same time, because Ye Lang promised to give Zhao Yarou his flying boat’s technology, a new kind of military force appeared – the airforce.

Sha Lan was now preparing to build a powerful, giant aircraft. Although he did not give any more technology, there was enough information in the ancient ruins to build a powerful warcraft.

Of course, Ye Lang didn’t just help the military. He offered a lot of alchemy knowledge that would change ordinary lives for the better.

Ye Lang deliberately led a group of alchemists to start implementing their research on civilian life.

Zhao Yarou did not object to this. Although her objective was to rule the world, it was still important that her people lived well after she did.

Just as Ye lang said, she wasn’t a bad empress at all. She let her people live good lives. If she were the ruler, her people would definitely benefit from the alchemy technology they had.

Everyone did not know that their work here would soon change the entire mainland. Everyone would finally know the importance of alchemy and the popularity of this industry would skyrocket.

Weapons could only be used for war and they weren’t memorable. Commonplace items reminded everyone the impressiveness of alchemy every day, they became unforgettable.

The rise of alchemy after this was unbelievable! A new branch of warfare was created — alchemy warfare, now becoming the third branch after warriors and magicians.

Unbeknownst to Ye Lang, he was the start of the era of alchemy across the mainland!

On this day, after a meal, Zhao Yarou brought Ye Lang to a place. This was a place he hadn’t been before. Behind them were Li Yue and Sha Lan.

During this time, Li Yue had always been with them both, while Sha Lan only occasionally.

At this moment, Zhao Yarou’s expression turned odd. She frequently gave Ye Lang long stares until even he felt uncomfortable. He touched his face, wondering if there was something on it.

If he were careful enough, he would realise that there was a sense of longing in her eyes. Why longing?

Even if he noticed, he wouldn’t care, nor would he think. Her facial expressions were always indicative of something, though he didn’t really care what it was.

In truth, Ye Lang did not notice at all. If he did, he wouldn’t be Ye Lang!

“What’s that place? Feels odd.” Ye Lang sensed that it was a weird place. The style was different from the rest of the places.

There were no buildings here, just a strange alchemy formation on a vast, empty space.

“It’s weird, that’s why I brought you here to check it out,” said Zhao Yarou flatly, staring ahead.

“Oh, I see! Who discovered it?” he asked.

“Is that important? There are many people here, I don’t know who did,” said Zhao Yarou.

“That’s true! Let me see…” Ye Lang walked around, observing his surroundings and the alchemy formation.

He fell into deep thought, for this formation was very similar to one he knew…

“Take your time…” Zhao Yarou smiled. “You’ll have a lot of time to yourself…”

“Yeah, I know I will. You’re going to trap me here, what else would there be for me to do? When will you let me out?” asked Ye Lang as he looked at it.

“I don’t know, ten years is probably a good estimate,” said Zhao Yarou, frozen.

“Shut up! That’s too long!” huffed Ye Lang, not noticing her dreamy look.

“It is too long…” Zhao Yarou still stared into space, as if thinking of something.

“Well if you know it, then might as well shorten the time! Three days is enough!” Ye Lang grinned. He thought Zhao Yarou would argue immediately but she did not reply, merely muttering to herself.

“Ten years…”

“Just stay in there for ten years then, I’ll see you in ten years!” yelled Sha Lan suddenly.

“What?!” Ye Lang was confused. What was Sha Lan talking about? But he realised something was very wrong because his surroundings were changing very, very quickly.

He was about to attempt to run but something surprising happened.

“Your Majesty, what are you doing?” yelled Sha Lan.

“??” Ye Lang suddenly realised there was a silhouette of a person. This shadow pounced on him at high speed, sending him unto the ground.

“Zhao Yarou? What are you doing?!” When Ye Lang realised that it was Zhao Yarou, he didn’t understand why she was doing this.

“Ye Lang!”

“Your Majesty!”

Ye Lang heard Li Yue calling out to him, her screams suddenly cut off. Sha Lan’s voice was also cut off abruptly.

It felt as if he was transported across space.

Yep, he was in a different space now. In a second, he had been transported to a place completely different from the ancient ruins.

What was all this?

“Your Majesty, why did you do that? Do you really care for him that much?” asked Sha Lan in shock as she stared at the point where they both disappeared.

At this moment, Li Yue appeared next to Sha Lan with a sword at her neck. She asked coldly, “What did you do? Where did you send Her Majesty and Ye Lang to?”

Anyone could tell that if Sha Lan’s answer didn’t satisfy her, Li Yue would kill her immediately.

“You too? Aren’t we friends? You’re going to kill me over a boy?” asked Sha Lan, still in shock.

“I would! If anything happens to him, I will kill you!” said Li Yue coldly.

“He’s not dead! But he can only return in ten years. This is a prison built by the Tiangongyue tribe. Their criminals are sent to a special place. The portal back to this world will only be opened after a set amount of time,” said Sha Lan.

“Send me there!” Li Yue said without thinking.

“It’s useless. The first teleportation will send them to one place, then the second to another. Even if I send you over, you won’t end up in the same location as them!” Sha Lan shook her head.

“Then he must find his way back,” said Li Yue. She had a blind confidence in Ye Lang.

“Impossible! This is a prison built by Tiangongyue people, their criminals are all alchemy masters. This is why alchemy cannot be used in these prisons. No one can return until their sentence is up!” Sha Lan shattered her confidence once again.

“Why are you doing this? Why did you harm the empress? Are you betraying the empire?” accused Li Yue coldly.

“Since when have I betrayed the empire? I obeyed her orders to lock Ye Lang up but I never expected her to hop in with him. I don’t know why she would do such a thing…” Sha Lan shook her head. She would never understand this.

“…” Li Yue fell silent. She stared at the spot where Ye Lang and Zhao Yarou disappeared with complicated emotion in her eyes.

Ten years. Did she have to wait ten years before seeing him again?

…