Something strange seemed to be ahead.

Er’er rode her little donkey, raising her eyes to survey the area.

The sunset glow and solitary birds flew together, autumn waters stretched to meet the sky in a single color. It should have been a perfect twilight for cultivation and breathing exercises, but from the east, a crimson mist emerged from the southern sky, carrying something tumbling and rolling within it.

Taihe Xianshi had said before that above the nine heavens were countless rare treasures. Whether one could obtain heavenly fortune and advance in cultivation depended entirely on one’s destiny.

In other words, when seeing a treasure, one must strike first!

Excitedly tugging the donkey’s ears, Er’er immediately formed a hand seal: “Heaven and earth follow my will, water gate spiritual realm arise—”

As her words fell, the barrier formed, surrounding them, blocking out the sky and sun, silencing all external sounds.

The crimson mist ahead seemed to sense something, turning to flee. Er’er immediately spurred her donkey forward, nimbly pulled out her thousand-thread net, and leaped toward the red mist, throwing it forcefully.

Caught it.

…

…

The net threads caught the treasure, feeling heavy. Er’er wanted to pull in the net, but when she tugged, she found it quite weighty.

“Must be a large treasure,” she muttered, wrapping the net’s cord around her palm, then yanking hard.

With a swish.

A ghastly pale-blue face appeared in the thousand-thread net, bloodshot eyes peering out from tangled hair, making direct eye contact with her.

Er’er: “…”

What kind of rare treasure was this?

The situation became awkward. Er’er remained silent, pretending nothing had happened, and was about to stuff the thing back where it came from.

In that instant, the eyes in the net moved.

The pupils, gripped by bloodshot veins, creaked like rusty door hinges, slowly reflecting her silhouette. Quick as lightning, a blue-green hand suddenly spread open, veins bulging on its five fingers, penetrating through the thousand-thread net, and firmly grabbing her wrist.

“Aaaah—”

Er’er screamed, grabbing the spiritual tool at her side and smashing it down, attempting to shake the thing off. However, despite several heavy blows, the hand didn’t budge. Not only did it not move, but it also increased its force, with overflowing white light seeping from between its fingers into her skin, causing both pain and itching.

It was trying to devour her spiritual energy.

After the initial panic, Er’er quickly deployed a defensive technique, attempting to seal her meridians to protect herself.

But just as she sealed the Quchi acupoint, she heard several “pop” sounds in her ear.

All the major acupoints throughout her body were forced open by the white light.

For cultivators, having one’s acupoints forcibly opened was taboo, signifying that the opponent’s strength far surpassed one’s own, meaning life was no longer in one’s control. Er’er had only been frightened before, but now she truly despaired.

If even a ghost’s cultivation was higher than hers, what was she doing in the nine heavens? She might as well have stayed in her cave waiting to die—at least she could have lived another hundred years.

Should she end her life now? At least she could save face.

But she feared pain and couldn’t bring herself to destroy her core.

Er’er was completely torn, her little face scrunched up in distress.

At that moment, a fiery red sleeve suddenly appeared from above, carrying flames and lightning, violently cleaving the ghostly hand.

The movement was so clean and swift that Er’er hadn’t even reacted before the hand gripping her was severed. The remnant quickly melted away in the fierce flames, leaving not even ashes behind.

When she looked down, she only saw the golden crow pattern on the sleeve.

Blazing and magnificent, domineeringly hot.

Her heart skipped a beat as she turned around.

The red sleeve fell, revealing its owner’s appearance. A golden crow crown bound his hair, heavenly light illuminated his garments. The newcomer stepped on fire clouds, his long robe sweeping the ground, killing intent not yet dispersed from his fingertips, emanating a sharp and severe aura.

A savior from heaven.

Er’er was overwhelmed with gratitude, reaching out to throw herself at his legs.

But as she looked up, she froze.

A point of golden-red between his brows, eyes of deep, misty color. The person before her shifted his gaze from the thousand-thread net to the top of her head, his pupils reflecting her surprised expression, showing no ripples of emotion.

It was him.

Er’er was dumbfounded.

Before her eyes flashed a scene of world-destroying divine fire. Above the devastated ruins, someone turned back indifferently.

The pitch-black pupils covered with a layer of mist carelessly swept over the corpses of immortals on the ground, landing on her, who barely had half a breath left.

Cruel and violent.

It was him.

Shuddering, Er’er halted her steps.

The Upper God Li Ye before her had not yet fallen into demonic ways, his misty eyes not yet corrupted by savage qi, merely appearing somewhat cold as he looked at her.

“Step aside.”

Er’er quickly retreated three large steps, sycophantically gesturing for him to proceed.

Great lord, you first.

Li Ye wasn’t leaving; he stood before her thousand-thread net that still bound something, and quickly raised his hand.

Fire flashed, illuminating the side of his face. The thing in the net dissipated like clouds and smoke, even its last wisp of soul crushed to powder in his grasp.

Clean.

Withdrawing his sleeve, Li Ye’s expression softened slightly as he looked at the person beside him.

A minor immortal with trivial cultivation, dressed garishly, looking equally garish. Normally, he wouldn’t even bother to glance at such a person.

But now—

He stepped toward her.

Er’er, still immersed in the shock of meeting such a legendary figure, suddenly saw the great lord approaching her. Her knees weakened, nearly kowtowing on the spot.

But unexpectedly, the great lord extended his hand and gripped her wrist where the ghost had injured her.

Simultaneously, the barrier around them shattered with a “boom,” dispersing like human fireworks, radiating light as it faded toward the horizon.

“Li Ye!” someone shouted in anger.

Before Er’er could understand the meaning behind the great lord’s action, the voice carrying such powerful immortal energy made her throat sweet, causing her to cough up a mouthful of blood.

A flame descended on her brow, protecting her heart meridian.

Er’er raised her head in surprise, only to see the great lord with an indifferent face, meeting the furious newcomer.

“You dare set up a barrier to kill in the Nine Heavens’ Immortal Gate!”

Zhen Huan Gong was livid, leading three thousand immortals to surround them. Countless spiritual weapons gleamed, and spiritual beasts growled lowly. The powerful killing intent purged the evening glow, dark clouds filled the sky for ten miles around, with faint sounds of heavenly thunder.

Er’er had never seen such a scene before. Her legs grew so weak she could barely stand, sliding down against the great lord to sit.

And the great lord, worthy of his status, faced this celestial pressure still standing elegantly, with a refined demeanor, even asking calmly:

“What does Zhen Huan Gong mean by this?”

“You still dare deny? Just now there was an anomaly here, witnessed by many immortals. To cover your tracks, you even openly set up a barrier.”

“Setting up a barrier means killing someone?”

“Why else would you set one?”

Tensions ran high as both sides faced off. Zhen Huan Gong held fierce divine beasts, while Li Ye held the dazed Er’er. A great battle seemed imminent.

However, Er’er suddenly spoke up: “I set the barrier.”

The group of immortals opposite them was taken aback, apparently only just noticing there was another person present.

“You?” Zhen Huan Gong examined her suspiciously.

Li Ye looked down to see this minor immortal with one hand still held by him, the other clutching tightly to his robe. As if finding some backbone, she gathered her courage and said: “I am a disciple of Taihe Xianshi. I just arrived in the Nine Heavens today. I saw immortal energy here earlier and set up the barrier to catch a treasure, not expecting…”

Li Ye squeezed her wrist.

This minor immortal was quite perceptive. Sensing his meaning, she immediately changed course: “Not expecting to offend the Upper God.”

After speaking, she looked up at him, her clear eyes gazing upward, her face full of flattery.

If she had a tail like the divine beasts opposite, she would certainly be wagging it.

With a slight snort, neither heavy nor light, Li Ye withdrew the force he had been applying to her vital point.

Though the great lord was satisfied, the myriad gods and immortals surrounding them were not willing to let the matter rest.

Er’er could hear their discussions.

“The barrier bears this minor immortal’s energy signature, but Kan Ze’s disappearance cannot be unrelated to Li Ye.”

“If he denies it, what can you do about it?”

“All of us in the Nine Heavens are upright and honest people. I never expected such a person…”

After whispering for a while, someone frowned and asked Er’er: “Did you truly only see Upper God Li Ye just now?”

“Yes,” Er’er nodded without thinking.

The divine beasts searched around, colorful immortal arts descended in the area, and the atmosphere was tense.

However, after half an hour of effort, not even a trace of Kan Ze’s energy was found.

Zhen Huan Gong was very reluctant but could only recall his divine beast and cup his hands toward Li Ye: “A misunderstanding. Please forgive us, Upper God.”

Li Ye didn’t even glance at him. Holding Er’er, he walked away. The surrounding immortals opened a path, and he passed through indifferently, his magnificent robes sweeping through the immortal clouds, disappearing into the sunset glow.

Everything seemed logical.

Walking beside the great lord, Er’er only marveled that the great lord indeed had poor relations with other immortals, otherwise, he wouldn’t have destroyed heaven and earth, killing them all without exception.

But as they walked, she suddenly felt something was amiss.

Why was the great lord gripping her wrist?

He was certainly not one to be moved by beauty, nor was he of a nature to be close to others. Earlier, the situation had been urgent, and she hadn’t had time to consider it carefully. Now that things had calmed, she found the hand on her wrist hotter than a branding iron.

“Up-Upper God?” Er’er struggled slightly.

Li Ye came to his senses and leisurely released her hand.

A strange energy seeped out from the wound on her wrist, misty, enveloping Er’er’s eyes.

Even with her low cultivation, Er’er sensed it.

This was not the energy a ghost should possess.

The person those immortals had been looking for was the leader of the Kan clan, Kan Ze, who had the highest water element cultivation.

A hundred years later, Li Ye’s ability to destroy heaven and earth was directly related to the decline of the Kan clan.

How did the Kan clan decline?

The answer seemed to be in the mist before her eyes. Er’er trembled, finally releasing her grip on the great lord’s robe.

Li Ye had been watching her from the corner of his eye.

He saw this little rabbit, who had been quietly grazing, suddenly perk up her ears, alertly wrinkling her nose. Guessing she had figured something out, he couldn’t help but snort with laughter.

Her cultivation? Just a few hundred years’ worth throughout her body—he could accidentally step on her and kill her while walking. But her mind was clever; he could almost hear the wheels turning in her head.

However, since she had guessed, it was time to send her on her way.

Raising his hand casually, Li Ye gathered a small cluster of divine fire.

“Upper God!”

There was an unexpected weight on his leg.

Li Ye looked down to see the little rabbit who had just been perking up her ears now tightly hugging his leg, looking up at him with eyes full of twinkling stars.

“This minor immortal has just arrived and knows no one. Having received the Upper God’s life-saving grace, I wonder if the Upper God is still accepting disciples?”