It’s called the past for a reason

Archbishop Joanna Mota.

A title and a name revered by some and respected by many. Being one of 5 Archbishops currently in the Church of Prasufis, was an amazing achievement in itself but coupled with her incredible cultivation that earned her respect from even the mighty Sect Masters of the Westernord Continent, was what made her name so popular.

And even with such a popular name, it was her beauty that garnered her the most followers. In her youth, she was considered to be one of the top beauties of her generation and she would be the first to say that she aged like fine wine. The allure of her plump hips, juicy ass, thin waist and glorious breasts, was the ultimate fantasy of many men. She was the epitome of, what one would call, a milf.

Her honey-brown unruly wavy hair added a bit of youthful charm to her mature appearance. Her eyebrows were well trimmed and stood proudly above her captivating downturned eyes and attractive grey irises. Due to years of depression after the loss of her husband, she unwillingly adopted an expression of indifference. Her skin was peachy and without blemishes, the pristine white dress she was wearing highlighted her smooth neck and revealed a little bit of her cleavage.

She was the object of desire for countless men yet, at this moment she only had eyes for one man. Although still more than 3 kilometres away, she could easily see Vasari as if he was just 3 feet away. Every movement, every change of expression, every strand of hair was caught perfectly in her grey eyes.

"Vasari, what took you so long to get here? We were supposed to meet here 20 minutes ago."

Archbishop Joanna Mota turned her focus to the short, black-haired young woman who approached the handsome man she now knew was called Vasari.

"Haha, sorry. There were a few stubborn guys who wanted to get close to the castle." Vasari chuckled and patted Hiromi's head as a greeting.

'He really is blind…' Joanna Mota thought as she watched Vasari and Hiromi interact.

"Vasari you should greet Archbishop Joanna Mota," Mason said in a suggestive almost berating tone. He was not sure if Archbishop Joanna Mota would take offence for being ignored.

"Oh I was unaware, please forgive me for my tardiness. Vasari greets Archbishop Joanna Mota." Vasari bowed his head slightly and clasped his hands together in greeting. However, his aim was a bit off and bowed slightly to the right of Joanna Mota.

'So cute~' she thought.

"Greetings." For the first time in what felt like thousands of years, Joanna Mota had a genuine smile stretched onto her face.

Vasari heard her mature and attractive voice and quickly adjusted his position to face her with an awkward smile on his face which only made him look cuter in her eyes.

"Vasari, I'm surprised that I haven't heard of your name before now. Being such a young age with a good foundation and already in the Supreme Qi stage, you are definitely the top most genius to come from this planet."

Although her words sounded like genuine praise, Vasari knew that these old monsters were sly foxes and you always had to be on your toes when dealing with them. Elder Equus was a prime example of that.

He knew that she was trying to bait him out in order to learn about his origins.

"My grandfather was a very strict but generous person. He forced me to train and cultivate every day in the mountains and only recently he allowed me to explore the world. That's when I joined the Aqua Poppy Sect and met my Senior sister over here." Vasari told his made-up story and flashed a bright smile at the end while leaning his arm on Hiromi's head.

Joanna Mota stared at Hiromi for a few seconds before turning her attention back to Vasari. She could feel a potent yang energy coursing through her body and it had the same energy signature as the young man standing next to her. Clearly, she was more than just a senior sister to him and for some inexplicable reason, a tinge of jealousy crept into her heart. However, this emotion was completely unfamiliar to her. She, who's a nation-toppling beauty, hailed as a genius and holds a powerful position in one of the strongest factions of her continent, had no reason to be jealous of anyone yet somehow she was jealous of this young lady who was a literal nobody compared to her.

"Enough about me, what is the situation like regarding the castle? I heard 3 loud humming sounds come from it earlier." Vasari asked the Archbishop like he was talking to a close friend.

Mason, Trent, Allison and the others looked at him with fear-filled eyes. Did this idiot not know how powerful Archbishop Mota was? Was he clueless or just plain stupid? Not even the other Archbishops would talk to her like she was a close friend, yet he dared to do so.

"There are multiple high-level formations protecting the castle and not even I can break it without destroying this planet. Hopefully, some of my formation experts can figure it out when they get here." She shrugged nonchalantly and her smile remained glued to her face.

"And those humming sounds were you trying to break one of these formations?"

"Correct. Do you know anything about formations?"

"Me? I have no clue. Well, it's not like I can learn about formations due to my lack of vision."

"Yes, you're right, it is a profession that requires your vision…what about alchemy? Have you dabbled in that yet? I'm pretty good at alchemy, so I could give you some lessons."

"Oh really? That would be nice…"

Their voices trailed off as they walked away from the group while continuing their conversation.

Mason and the others were left utterly gobsmacked at what just transpired. It was silent for a long time before Yera spoke out.

"What…what just happened?"

"If I go by the new slang that mortals use, I believe that Vasari used his 'rizz' on Archbishop Mota," Dawn answered with a thoughtful expression, clearly not at all familiar with the term herself.

Allison and Hiromi kept staring at the backs of Vasari and Joanna Mota as their figures grew smaller and smaller, their thoughts running adjacent to each other. Hiromi was thinking about how she was going to tell her mother that she fell in love with a peak-grade womaniser while Allison's thoughts were about how to get Vasari into her bed.

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"So the reason you were looking for the tomb was because you think the tomb belongs to the person who killed your husband? And not because of the techniques, weapons, alchemic products or formations that might have been left behind?"

"I know it sounds petty, but I think this is the only way to move on. I've been grieving for over 30 000 years and I want to move on in my life."

"Why do think that destroying an already dead person's tomb will solve anything?"

"Maybe if I let out all my anger and frustration on the reason for my misery then I will feel better. A few hundred years after my husband died I tried meeting other men but nothing worked out and it was mainly due to me not accepting his death and becoming a miserable person."

Vasari and Joanna Mota sat on a small patch of grass while conversing under the cover of the beautiful night sky and its dazzling stars. In the few hours that they have been talking, Vasari somehow got Joanna Mota to start talking about her feelings and thoughts that she had been keeping bottled inside her for who knew how long. She felt that she was able to trust Vasari and he didn't ridicule her for her strange thoughts, he seemed to genuinely want to hear about her problems and help her overcome them. She felt it was weird confiding in a person thousands of times younger than herself.

There was silence for a long time between the two as they listened to the natural music of the world around them until Vasari started talking again.

"Not long ago, I lost the most important person in my life. At first, I did not take it well, I would constantly blame the heavens for being so cruel, I would blame those who took her away from me and most of the time, even now, I blame myself even though I know there was nothing I could've done to prevent it. Eventually, I learnt to move on and accept that life carries on. I'm not a believer of fate or destiny or a deity like you do, but what I am a believer of…is life and that life moves forward regardless of what happens, so you should too. I'm not saying that you should forget about the past but rather just leave it in the past and start to look at what you have in front of you."

Joanna Mota stared at the breathtaking visage of Vasari with awe evident in her pupils. She found it amazing that a boy so young could have a mindset like his. His maturity made her feel as if she was talking to someone of equal standing to herself instead of an ignorant and hot-blooded youth.

His words got her thinking about what she wanted for her future and in every scenario she envisioned, there was a tall man with long black hair standing beside her as they took on every hurdle blocking their path together.

Before she knew it, her face was, but mere centimetres away from Vasari's.

His hot breath blew against her face and her eyes were drawn to his luscious lips that looked so inviting, enticing one to experience its forbidden taste.

"Vasari…" she whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear.

"Yes?" He whispered back.

"Can I take you back to my room?"

Vasari flashed a charming smile and whispered his answer without much hesitation.

"I would love that."

Whoosh~

In less than the blink of a mortal's eye, the two figures vanished from the small patch of grass, instantly appearing inside a large but cosy bedroom.