Xuan Yi’s eyes were still being severely harmed by the Sword Energy Transformed into Divine Form. She covered her eyes with her sleeve and jumped around anxiously. “What does his demon form look like?”

Fucang’s face was drenched in sweat. The golden light filling the sky transformed back into Chun Jun and returned to its sheath. Xuan Yi lowered her sleeve and vigorously rubbed her eyes. She saw dark purple demon fog colliding violently with radiant auspicious light. An enormously huge, pitch-black tiger was locked in battle with the battle commanders of the Dingmao Division. In the swirling blizzard, its movements were quite sluggish, yet it surprisingly hadn’t frozen completely solid. This showed its cultivation was countless times more profound than Qing Yan’s—truly worthy of being a great lord of the eighteen ancient clans.

She watched for a long while and sighed somewhat disappointedly. “Really ugly.”

Sorry to have disappointed her. Fucang wanted to laugh, but his body went soft. Immediately, two hands supported him. The dragon princess’s black and white eyes appeared in his field of vision, looking intently at him. “…What’s wrong?”

His divine power was exhausted. Fucang wanted to speak, but his vision went black and he passed out.

Xuan Yi lifted his body and checked him from front to back and side to side. On his back was a long wound—not deep, but pitch-black turbid energy gurgled out. Clearly, there had been one spear he hadn’t managed to dodge successfully.

Behind them, the frozen Fu Luo was still crying patter-patter, crying until Xuan Yi was annoyed to death. With a flick of her fingertip, an enormous ice dragon coiled and twisted around Fu Luo. She was instantly twisted unconscious.

The wild wind grew stronger and stronger. Dense new demon fog gathered on the horizon—probably Suihu Dajun’s battle commanders were rushing over. Xuan Yi released Zhuyin Darkness. An overwhelming blizzard suddenly swept across heaven and earth. Those demon clan battle commanders hurrying over were unprepared and were frozen in place one cluster after another, looking rather comical.

If only she could freeze Suihu Dajun too. Xuan Yi lifted Fucang’s body and sighed.

Because this place involved battle with a great lord, the commotion was tremendous and alarmed several nearby Dijun who had formed battle divisions. Seeing the Dingmao Division locked in bitter combat with the most elusive Suihu Dajun, the Dijun immediately joined in to help.

This great battle lasted a full two months of lower realm time, finally ending with the extermination of Suihu Dajun’s entire faction and the live capture of the Third Prince. When Qing Yan hurried over with several battle commanders, Xuan Yi was already gone. Only the enormous ice dragon remained in place. The Third Prince, bound tightly, lay face-down on the ice dragon’s back with a sheet of white paper pressed beneath his body.

Qing Yan picked up the white paper and looked at it. Written on it in bold, flowing script was a line: “I’m taking Fu Luo back to the upper realm to see Gu Ting. Will return soon.”

He couldn’t help but be completely confused. Who was Fu Luo? And who was Gu Ting?

The battle commanders on the side came to drag away the Third Prince when they suddenly cried out in alarm. “How did the Third Prince’s hair become like this!”

Qing Yan lowered his head to look and immediately burst into hearty laughter. Poor Third Prince—the back of his head had been shaved into a bald patch. His strange-tempered little sister, with Fucang’s divine power exhausted and a belly full of rage with nowhere to vent, could only vent it on the Third Prince’s hair.

*

The extermination of the most elusive Suihu Dajun excited the various deities for several days. Originally, in Baize Dijun’s plan, this great lord was to be saved for extermination last. Who would have thought that because the Third Prince was lustful and licentious, it instead allowed the battle commanders to seize the opportunity and eliminate this biggest troublemaker first.

And Xuan Yi’s action in freezing Suihu Dajun’s battle commanders counted as a great merit. Her merits offsetting her faults, the crime of departing from the Yihai Division was straightforwardly pardoned by Kaiyang Xingjun—not pardoning it had no meaning anyway. The Solar Radiance Crown Punishment probably had no effect whatsoever on the Zhuyin Clan. Rather than offend a member of the Zhuyin Clan, it was better to let her be. At least she truly was of great use in exterminating demon clans.

By the time she returned to Yuhua Hall, several months had passed in the lower realm, while in the upper realm, the intertwined wood, fire, parasol, gold, and green leaves still hadn’t all fallen. Xuan Yi touched each parasol tree as she walked toward Zhengze Courtyard. Behind her, Fu Luo wept mournfully and piteously. Hatefully, the divine realm had now practically emptied out entirely—there wasn’t even a shadow in Yuhua Hall. Otherwise, if the battle commanders saw the Zhuyin Clan oppressing colleagues like this, at least there would be someone who could help her.

“Stop crying.” Xuan Yi sighed and glanced back at her. “Otherwise, after you finish seeing Senior Brother Gu Ting, you won’t have the strength to cry when receiving your punishment.”

Who knew that upon hearing these words, she would cry even harder.

The charges against Fu Luo for privately consorting with the demon race and for unauthorized departure from the Bingwu Division had already been established. Because Xuan Yi refused to undo the Zhuyin White Snow and insisted on dragging Fu Luo to see Gu Ting first, the deities of the Punishment Division were helpless and could only let her bring Fu Luo to Zhengze Courtyard.

Xuan Yi frowned and endured patiently as she led Fu Luo into Zhengze Courtyard. As soon as she pushed open the door, Yan Xia inside cried out “Ah!” and stood up, which rather surprised Xuan Yi. “Senior Sister Yan Xia didn’t go to the lower realm?”

Yan Xia’s face turned red as she lowered her head to play with her fingers. “I, I took leave… I wanted to stay behind to care for Senior Brother Gu Ting.”

Seeing Fu Luo behind Xuan Yi, her expression first changed, then discovering she was frozen solid, she was instead stunned. “This is…”

With a crook of Xuan Yi’s finger, Fu Luo floated lightly inside. “I brought Senior Sister Fu Luo over to visit Senior Brother Gu Ting. Has he woken up?”

Yan Xia’s expression was somewhat complex. “He woke once yesterday, then went back to sleep… Junior Sister, are you certain Senior Brother Gu Ting is willing, willing to see her…”

“Probably willing.”

Xuan Yi moved close to Gu Ting’s side and looked at the hole in his back. The turbid energy was already somewhat less than before. He was no longer breathing like a thread, but precisely because of this, the intense pain at the wound site had also begun to torment him. Even though he had fallen into slumber, Gu Ting’s face carried a trace of suffering and endurance, covered in cold sweat.

Upon seeing him injured like this, Fu Luo stopped crying instead. Her eyes stared blankly at the wound on his back. By the pillow was placed a crushed Aspidistra waist ornament. He was no longer holding it in his hand.

Yan Xia looked at her tearfully for a long while. Seeing she didn’t say a word, she couldn’t help but stamp her foot. “Aren’t you going to say something? You’ve harmed Senior Brother Gu Ting to this state!”

Before Fu Luo could speak, Gu Ting on the bed suddenly groaned and slowly opened his eyes. His scattered gaze first fell on Yan Xia, but quickly shifted to Fu Luo opposite. He stared at her for a moment, yet surprisingly didn’t say anything. He only reached toward the pillow with difficulty, grasped that Aspidistra waist ornament, and gently tossed it by her feet.

“Leave.” His voice was dry and hoarse.

Several lines of tears fell from Fu Luo. She bit her lip but still didn’t speak. Not until guards from the Punishment Division entered and Xuan Yi undid the Zhuyin White Snow did she pick up that crushed waist ornament and say in a low voice, “Gu Ting, I’m sorry.”

There was no answer whatsoever. The guards led her away from Zhengze Courtyard. Gu Ting breathed heavily on the bed for a long while, then his eyes fixed on Xuan Yi again. Whether in anger or sighing, he said, “…This little devil… you’re the one who brought her here?”

Xuan Yi nodded.

Gu Ting sighed. “I really don’t know what kind of temperament you have… Why are you in the upper realm? Wasn’t the decree to exterminate demons throughout the heavens issued?”

Xuan Yi replied seriously, “I came to see you.”

Gu Ting closed his eyes. “I’m truly… overwhelmingly flattered… Where’s Fucang?”

Just as Xuan Yi was about to speak, Gu Ting suddenly coughed several times. Cold sweat streamed down his face. Yan Xia took out her own handkerchief to wipe it for him, her gaze full of gentle tender affection.

Xuan Yi simply stood up. “I’m leaving. When I have time, I’ll come see you again.”

Who knew Gu Ting would instead become anxious. “What happened to Fucang?”

Yan Xia hastily explained, “Junior Brother Fucang’s divine power is exhausted. He’s still sleeping in Qing Di Palace and probably won’t wake for a while.”

Gu Ting breathed a sigh of relief. This little devil—she didn’t even finish speaking, scaring him until he nearly fainted again. He was just about to muster some energy to properly scold her for twenty thousand years’ worth of grievances, but Xuan Yi had already run off.