"Yes, Kai, five hundred years." Laofen said as Kai didn't meet her gaze.

Both of them already knew that time passed differently in other realms but it was still surprising to see how much time had passed on the elven realm while it hadn't been a year for Kai.

"You know, 500 years isn't that much time for a cultivator. Sometimes it can pass away in almost a blink of an eye. But after you left, it was as though time slowed down for me. I had been holding on pretty fairly before you came but now after that, I couldn't take it anymore.

Guess seeing someone from my past life really broke me up from the inside. After all, I know many people, but do any of them know me closely? The answer is of course no. So when I met you when I was surrounded by such people, something inside me changed." She slowly said as she glanced at the sky.

"That change made me realize that I didn't wanna stay alone with such people who didn't really know me. But I guess I didn't have any other option. I tried holding on for as long as I could but after a century, I just decided to let go.

I passed on the throne and started roaming the entire realm. I met Gaia in this way and I realized that she was happy with how things were going for her. Wish I felt the same way." She added with a dark chuckle before she sat down.

She was wearing plain loose black robes that were a size too big for her. But it didn't look as though she cared about it.

This Laofen was completely different from the Laofen Kai had met some time back. Perhaps she too realized how much she had changed.

"What did you do for the rest of your time?" Kai decided to ask her as she shrugged in response.

"I spent many years roaming the elven realm and studying the structures on the different continents here. But after what was, two centuries I guess, the barrier around the elven realm cracked open." Laofen replied as Kai was even more interested in her words.

"I thought it would last for at least 500 years more years but it looks as though it vanished two hundred years earlier." Kai muttered as Laofen shook her head.

"It would have lasted for that amount of time but people from other realms had started experimenting on it and that is the reason it got destroyed so early." She explained with a sigh as Kai shook his head.

"Some insiders must have been involved too. There is no way that only outsiders did this." Kai added as Laofen sighed again."That's an obvious thing, Kai." She replied before she fell silent again.

Kai wasn't good at small talk, especially with people he was meeting after a really long time.

Though technically, Laofen was the one meeting Kai after a really long time but the effect was still there.

"So have people from other realms started coming here?" He decided to ask since it was a good topic which he was naturally curious about.

"There has been no official visit but the people who were there in the beginning have already infiltrated the elven realm and there is no way to remove them. As you might have seen, there were two guards at the entrance of the realm who prevent intruders from entering the realm." Laofen explained as she went silent again.

'Perhaps living alone for so many years has affected her more badly than I had thought. I am worried about her.' Kai thought as he looked at Laofen's face and sat beside her.

"Laofen, do you still care about the residents of the elven realm?" Kai asked after a few minutes of silence went by.

"Do I still care about them?" She repeated his question as Kai felt that something was unraveling inside her.

"You could have given up the throne long ago but you persisted to be the ruler. That was because you want to make sure that you took care of the realm like your sister did." Kai replied as Laofen slowly looked at his face.

"Take care of the realm like my sister did…" She murmured as Kai continued on.

"But that's not all. You really cared about the people of the elven realm and wished for their wellbeing. If you remember carefully, you even asked me to go to the land of lightning and earth to resolve the issues there." Kai added as Laofen's eyes suddenly started shining.

"Of course I asked you to do that. You even went to the land of air and fire later on!" Laofen exclaimed as Kai gently nodded."And then we also… cultivated with each other…" Laofen added with a little shyness as Kai nodded.magic

"I guess I had started shutting parts of my brain off because of my isolation. Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't come back…" Laofen muttered as Kai smiled and grabbed her left hand with his right hand.

She tightly squeezed it and smiled as both of them stood up.

"As for your question from earlier, of course, I still care about the residents." Laofen added as Kai smiled and nodded.

"But we will have to do something about the outsiders living on the elven realm. They might be gathering some sensitive information and the realms they had come from might be thinking of taking the elven realm under their control." Kai added as Laofen nodded.

"Don't forget about the insiders." She reminded him as an idea suddenly formed inside Kai's head.

"Laofen, I will put an invisibility formation on you, and after that, will you go to the elven capital and see whether there is any outsider or a traitor there?" Kai asked as Laofen immediately nodded.

"But what is they will be hiding using a high-level cloaking formation or a treasure?" Laofen then asked as Kai thought about it for a few seconds before he rummaged inside his pendant and took out a scroll.

"Since the divine core realm is the limit of the elven realm, I can give you this scroll to use. After opening this, you will be able to see anyone using an invisibility formation, a cloaking formation, or anything like that." Kai explained as Laofen hesitated to take the scroll.

"Should I really take this? It seems like an important treasure..." She asked as Kai shook his head.

"It only works on cultivators below the soul realms. It's useless for me anyway." He replied as she nodded and took the scroll.

She slowly opened it as a colorless aura surrounded her body and she could feel some kind of energy moving inside her body.

"Will this work?" Laofen asked as the aura suddenly vanished but she didn't feel anything different about her.

"It will work but be careful. There might be a chance that the person on the realm has his or her cultivation sealed and that they might be at a higher realm. Remember that they can unleash their cultivation for a few minutes before they get kicked out of the realm." Kai explained as Laofen nodded.

"I will call you in such a case. By the way, what will you do till then?" She asked as Kai smiled and looked at the ocean.

"I will go and meet Gaia."