Ye Ling confirmed that the watcher consciousness within Baima's soul had completely vanished before returning her soul. Simultaneously, he erased the nascent destined personality about to emerge from Baima's soul and reclaimed all power the watcher had bestowed upon Baima.
After resolving all potential hidden dangers, Ye Ling withdrew his Ink Domain, allowing Baima to regain consciousness.
"Benefactor?" Baima came to her senses and called out instinctively upon seeing Ye Ling standing before her.
She had no memory of what had transpired, yet she felt as though she had just undergone an exceptionally perilous experience.
"Benefactor... did something significant happen just now?" Baima, unable to suppress her curiosity, asked Ye Ling.
"It's nothing major, but it's better that you don't know," Ye Ling smiled at Baima, not mentioning the watcher.
"Is that so..." Hearing Ye Ling's reply, Baima's eyes dimmed, believing Ye Ling still did not accept her.
However, she knew she had no right to demand anything from Ye Ling. She turned and asked with a smile, "Benefactor, you were gone for thirty years. Now that you've finally returned, would you like to stay for a while longer?"
"I have not failed your high expectations; I have unified the world and become the greatest empress in history."
"Now, all under heaven belongs to me!"
Ye Ling looked at Baima's expectant gaze, sighed softly, and then shook his head. "No, my affairs on the White Feather Continent are all concluded. Others are waiting for me in other parts of the universe, and I must depart as soon as possible."
During the thirty years Ye Ling spent in seclusion on the White Feather Continent, he had monitored the watchers from the shadows while also using the Seed of Origin to revive Little Mao Mao and the Ten Thousand Poisons Beast.
In these thirty years, Ye Ling encountered no unforeseen events. Little Mao Mao and the Ten Thousand Poisons Beast had both successfully recovered and were currently resting in his small world.
There was nothing left on the White Feather Continent that held his interest.
"Is that so..."
Baima's eyes dimmed again upon hearing Ye Ling's words, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment.
Although she knew Ye Ling would eventually leave, his departure being so swift left her immensely disheartened.
However, Baima did not remain dejected for long. Mustering her courage, she asked Ye Ling, "Then, Benefactor... may I leave with you?"
"I have become strong enough now. If I follow you from now on, I will absolutely not be a burden. I only wish to be your little follower!"
Ye Ling chuckled, "You would abandon your supreme imperial throne to become my follower? Why would you do that?"
Baima nodded. "This is my dream! Thirty years ago... I should have died. It was you, Benefactor, who gave me a second life. I also know very well that my achievements today are all thanks to your help!"
"On this White Feather Continent, I have no remaining kin, and I have no attachment to this world... As for you, Benefactor, you are the only one I wish to follow!"
"I hope you will take me with you!"
Baima poured out all that she wanted to say in one breath, then anxiously watched Ye Ling, awaiting his reply.
As a woman, having gone this far, she couldn't believe Ye Ling wouldn't agree.
Unfortunately, what Baima received was not the answer she desired.
After listening to Baima's words, Ye Ling simply shook his head and said to her, "Baima, while I am grateful for your words, the dangers of following me are beyond your imagination. You are too naive."
Baima quickly replied, "I don't care about danger!"
Ye Ling stated, "This is not a matter of you not caring. Those dangers are inherent, and they will always find me. Although your strength has now reached the pinnacle of the White Feather Continent's world, in the grand scheme of the Three Thousand Universes, your cultivation has not even entered the threshold.
"In the Three Thousand Universes, there are countless people who could kill you. As for my enemies, they are terrifying existences that transcend the Three Thousand Universes. If you follow me, you will only be a hindrance.
"While these words may sound harsh, I hope you can understand that your staying on the White Feather Continent is best for everyone.
"This, this..."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Baima opened her mouth, speechless.
It was only then that she fully understood that her desire to follow Ye Ling was merely a wishful fantasy.
Even if she spent her entire life, she would likely be unable to keep pace with Ye Ling.
Ye Ling saw Baima's dejected state and knew he had caused her significant distress.
However, Ye Ling knew in his heart that he could not possibly take Baima away from the White Feather Continent.
In the future, he would encounter countless watchers, and if Baima were by his side, she would become a vulnerability that could be exploited with a single blow.
Ye Ling sighed softly, then used his power of creation to condense a jade bottle filled with a spiritual medicine and handed it to Baima. "Take this."
Baima came back to her senses, took the jade bottle, and asked Ye Ling, "Benefactor, what is this?"
"Water of Forgetfulness," Ye Ling replied.
Baima's body trembled.
Ye Ling continued, "From now on, I will not return to the White Feather Continent. If you find yourself in too much pain, drink this Water of Forgetfulness and forget me completely. Furthermore, as compensation... this Water of Forgetfulness will greatly enhance your power, allowing you to rival the Heavenly Dao of the White Feather Continent."
"Forget Benefactor?" Baima's pupils contracted sharply. "I cannot!"
"You will. In your long life, I am merely a passerby who existed in your world for a few days. I am not that important to you."
Ye Ling smiled faintly at Baima, then did not linger on the White Feather Continent, dissipating like a gust of wind.
"Benefactor!!!" Seeing Ye Ling vanish again, Baima cried out once more.
Alas, Ye Ling offered no response.
He had already left the White Feather Continent.
"Gone again..."
Baima looked at the Water of Forgetfulness Ye Ling had given her, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"You come and go as you please... leaving an imprint on my heart, making me pine for thirty years, yet you don't even want to spend a day with me, and in the end, you want me to drink the Water of Forgetfulness and forget you completely..."
"Why?"
"Ye Ling!!! Why!!!"
Baima looked up at the cloudless sky and screamed hysterically. The deep affection in her eyes slowly turned into resentment.
She glanced at the Water of Forgetfulness in her hand, then crushed it without hesitation. With a choked sob, she gazed at the sky and shouted hysterically, "Ye Ling... you will never make me forget you..."
"No matter how high you are, I will one day chase you down!"
"Ye Ling, you just wait!"
Baima's voice, like thunder, exploded over the capital city of the Heavenly Wheel Kingdom, vibrating in the ears of countless people.
Everyone looked in Baima's direction with shock, all curious about who this "Ye Ling" was that the peerless and eternal empress spoke of, to have driven the eternally wise emperor to such a state!
The entire White Feather Continent was stirred by Baima's voice.
However, all of this was no longer Ye Ling's concern.
At least... not for the time being.