No immortal with a functioning brain in the highest heavens would think he needed protection.

A supreme god who had accessed the Heavenly Gate since the beginning of creation, who when rising could destroy the sea of clouds in all directions, and when falling could still vanquish demons from all four paths—standing in front of Li Ye was no different than an ant extending its spindly little legs, trying to protect a leopard.

What kind of ant would be so foolish?

So whether in the death battle at Forgotten River or the great calamity at Mount Buzhou, even when his divine power was completely depleted and he half-knelt at the mountain peak with his core nearly shattered, no one thought he needed a helping hand.

Nor did Li Ye need anyone’s hand.

He had long ago learned to protect himself, cultivating the Great Way day and night, precisely so that he could remain fearless no matter the circumstances. As long as he was strong enough, he would never need to bow his head to ask for help, nor would he need to consider the life or death of anyone other than himself.

That was what he had always believed.

But.

In the eyes of this low-level minor immortal, he seemed… vulnerable?

…

…

Li Ye’s eyelids trembled slightly. Glancing at her stance—like a mother hen protecting her chick—his brows furrowed then relaxed, then furrowed again. After staring at her disdainfully for a long while, he finally turned away with some awkwardness.

There was such a foolish ant, with arms so thin they couldn’t withstand even a gust of wind, yet she clutched the Snake Tail blade and shouted at Kan Yuan in the distance: “Taking advantage of someone’s misfortune is not the act of a gentleman! I’ll fight you instead!”

It was obvious she couldn’t win; who knew where she found such courage?

Across from them, Kan Yuan’s face turned pale at this sudden turn of events. But from the moment he stepped into the Death Formation, he had no way out. Even if there were not just one but ten unexpected developments, he would not give up.

The Snake Tail blade flew out of Er’er’s hand with a swoosh, crossing the howling pool of death resentment, and returned to Kan Yuan’s hand with a humming sound.

Er’er shrank her paws in pain, fixed her gaze on him, and realized the situation wasn’t good.

This was an immortal of True Lord rank.

Feeling the immortal power in her dantian, she realized it wasn’t nearly enough to fight him. Tricks like creating cotton balls might work once but not twice.

What could she do now?

Kan Yuan clearly wouldn’t give her any extra time to strategize. With a flash of the Snake Tail blade’s edge, it transformed into over a hundred identical blades. Without even responding to her, he attacked directly.

The all-penetrating cold light flashed so brightly that it was difficult to keep one’s eyes open. Er’er turned her head to avoid it, frantically channeling her energy to form hand seals, conjuring a thick defensive shield. Unfortunately, this thing couldn’t block a divine weapon like the Snake Tail blade at all. The moment the blade’s tip touched it, the shield shattered with a bang, transforming into countless wisps of smoke that were carried away by the surrounding wind and snow.

Drawing in a sharp breath, Er’er reacted extremely quickly. She concentrated energy in her hands and barely managed to deflect the blade targeting her vital point.

Her immortal power wasn’t sufficient, but when concentrated in one place, as long as she blocked accurately, it still had some effect.

But she could only protect the vital areas.

Countless blades brushed past her shoulder bones, calves, and waist. Her body, having just undergone the Heavenly Tribulation, had no power to resist. Blood immediately gushed out.

Leaping up to block a blade flying toward Li Ye’s head, Er’er fell back to her original position, her legs trembling with pain.

But she didn’t pause long. Taking a breath, she jumped up again to block another blade flying toward him.

The thick resentful energy in the Killing God Formation had robbed her of the ability to ride clouds and mist. Her small stature couldn’t possibly shield the tall Li Ye completely, so she could only jump up again and again, fall, jump up again, fall again.

Her blue-white robes gradually turned crimson with her blood. Li Ye coldly watched the top of her head rising and falling, thinking she resembled a monkey—she looked like one hanging from the tree, and still looked like one down here.

Why couldn’t she learn from others? When seeing danger, cast aside all feelings of affection, turn tail, and run.

Obstinately standing here as a shield—who would be moved by such a thing?

After deflecting the thirty-sixth phantom of the Snake Tail blade, which then sank into the resentful pool to be frantically devoured by the death resentment, Er’er stood back on the stone, trembling with pain even in her spine. Her thin little frame swayed back and forth, nearly toppling over with it.

Li Ye’s hand supporting the divine wood loosened slightly.

Er’er didn’t look back; her eyes were fixed solely on the blade shadows coming from Kan Yuan.

Taihe Xianshi had once said that transforming one into a thousand was the highest level of illusion. As long as she could block the real one, the other Snake Tail blades would only cause external injuries, not seal her meridians.

She might be weak, but her memory wasn’t poor. Just now, Kan Ze had told her a way to escape. She wasn’t going to stand here waiting to die. However, she had to take the great master with her. If she fled from battle at this moment, the great master would surely not acknowledge the favor she had done earlier.

That would be a big loss for her.

Grimacing as she moved her arm, Er’er held her breath and concentrated, looking toward the rain of blades.

Kan Yuan, red-eyed, formed hand seals, unable to understand how this ancient divine weapon had been blocked by a minor immortal who appeared out of nowhere.

He could control ten Snake Tail blades at once, which should have been enough to break through her defense. Who would have thought that the little immortal would move as if possessed, her form so fast he could barely see clearly, not even slowing down after being wounded by the phantom blades.

Looking incredulously at the top of her head, he confirmed she was indeed a newly ascended minor immortal, not even ranked yet.

Looking again at the immortal power in her hands, white wrapped in red, indicating an unorthodox sect.

By what right?

His heart ablaze with anger, Kan Yuan exhausted his immortal power in one breath, using a compensatory evil technique to borrow power from the surrounding resentful energy.

The surrounding shrieks instantly intensified, as if about to overturn the entire Killing Formation, piercing through to the heavens. Er’er instinctively covered her ears, only to see fifty Snake Tail blades rising with a hum, carrying killing intent ten times sharper than before, charging straight toward them.

It’s over, there’s no way to block this.

Without thinking, Er’er turned and embraced Li Ye.

Great master, run!

Kan Ze had told her that she carried his immortal power. If she circulated her dantian and conjured a defensive shield bearing his aura, it would make the death resentment give way. Beneath their feet was the pool of death resentment—if he jumped with her, they could still survive.

So, Er’er needed to do only one thing—use her remaining immortal power to knock Li Ye into the pool of death resentment.

Like a little calf, she pressed her head against his chest, took a light breath, gathered all her remaining immortal power, and was just about to charge forward when—

Li Ye reached out and embraced her in return.

The man who had been silent as if he had merged with the divine wood suddenly moved. The Phoenix Slayer blade in the stone was released, and the heavy divine wood lost its support. He pulled away, carrying the bundle in his arms, flying like a meteor across the sky toward the open ground on the shore.

Behind them came the enormous cracking sound of tree roots breaking. Er’er, held in his embrace, had only half an eye visible, opened wide in surprise.

A layer of fire light formed a protective shield, the golden crow pattern leaping upon it. The fifty pursuing Snake Tail blades crashed against it. The divine weapon that had seemed unstoppable moments ago now resembled pebbles shot by a child—they came fiercely but fell dejectedly one by one.

Li Ye stood among them, looking down at the blood on his hand.

Warm blood that continued to flow unceasingly from her body.

“Weren’t you the most afraid of pain?” he rubbed his fingers together, his tone extremely indifferent. “Why didn’t you run?”

The thing buried in his embrace trembled slightly, as if finally remembering the wounds on her body, and let out a low, animal-like whimper.

Li Ye smirked, his broad palm pressing against the back of her head, forcing her firmly against his chest.