What method could make a little fool become smart?

Sitting on his throne, Li Ye silently pondered for a long time, finally concluding—he just needed to be smart enough himself, as this little fool was beyond saving.

The beyond-saving little fool bounced out through the barrier, meeting Zhu Yan’s thoughtful face.

“Immortal Er’er,” he beckoned.

The people chattering around them all stopped talking. Er’er walked over and cupped her hands in greeting: “The Upper Bing Palace is a place of tranquility. I hope all immortals could speak more quietly.”

Though these people feared Li Ye, they wouldn’t easily give face to a little immortal. Li Mi looked at her for a moment, about to act out, when Zhu Yan suddenly moved to block him.

“We were about to disperse,” he smiled.

The people behind him were somewhat displeased, but seeing that the Upper Bing Palace was already sealed with a barrier and Zhu Yan intended to dismiss them, they exchanged glances before sweeping their sleeves and turning to leave.

Zhu Yan smiled at Er’er: “The immortal has had a tiring journey.”

…

…

Having ridden on the supreme being’s cloud chariot, how could she be tired? But since he was so polite, Er’er returned the courtesy.

Standing closer, Zhu Yan quickly noticed something different about her.

“This…” he raised his eyebrows and chuckled, “No wonder the Supreme God has only been regulating his breath lately instead of continuing to cultivate.”

So much precious spiritual energy, all saved for her?

Er’er scratched her head somewhat embarrassedly: “Supreme God is generous.”

Generous only to her. In all these years, let alone giving spiritual energy to others, other immortals could barely approach him.

Originally thinking that after driving her away last time, their relationship had ended, who would have expected that someone as cold as Li Ye would rather leave the netherworld gate closed than not bring her back.

Zhu Yan couldn’t help but reexamine Er’er, then sighed.

“There are many affairs at the gate recently. The immortal should be very careful.”

Hmm? Er’er was quite curious: “Careful of what?”

Hesitating, Zhu Yan glanced at the barrier behind them.

Leaving words half-spoken was too frustrating. Er’er pulled him to stand farther away and blinked: “Speak softly, I won’t tell anyone else.”

“Due to the unexpected disappearance of the ruler of the Kan clan, many immortal sects in the Nine Heavens are quite displeased with the Supreme God. Many immortals from the Li Gate have had their essence cores unexpectedly destroyed, and even the Supreme God himself has encountered multiple killing formations,” Zhu Yan sighed helplessly. “If this continues, even if he doesn’t have rebellious intentions, he’ll be forced into rebellion.”

Er’er looked at him with a complex expression, thinking that the one who killed Kan Ze was indeed Li Ye, so what was this victim’s tone all about?

Noticing her expression, Zhu Yan shook his head: “Kan Ze’s death was his own doing.”

“Not because his immortal techniques happened to counter those of the Li clan?” Unable to hold back, she spoke her mind.

Zhu Yan choked slightly, then thought seriously: “If you put it that way, that’s also true, but if Kan Ze hadn’t participated in the plot to murder the Supreme God’s birth mother Gui Ji tens of thousands of years ago, the Supreme God wouldn’t have been so merciless.”

“Wait.” Er’er frowned as she listened. “Birth mother?”

Wasn’t Supreme God Li Ye an ancient immortal born from heaven and earth? Where did a birth mother come from?

“That was a fabrication by the Heaven Diviner to deceive the Supreme God.” Zhu Yan lowered his eyes. “The Supreme God was born from flames, refined by Gui Ji with her divine essence. He was supposed to transcend the Nine Heavens’ Ten Gates and become a supreme god. But the Diviner had aspirations to control the Nine Heavens and was unwilling to let others share in it, so he tricked Gui Ji onto the God-Slaying Platform. Joining with a group of immortals with nefarious intentions, they brought her to her death.”

“The Supreme God was barely preserved by Gui Ji’s essence core before her death. Kept in the dark for tens of thousands of years, if not for the spiritual connection between mother and son, the Supreme God might never have discovered the Heaven Diviner’s conspiracy.”

Zhu Yan clasped his hands behind his back, gazing distantly toward the horizon: “After all, this place is under his control now.”

Er’er stared in shock, her eyes wide.

What was going on? The supreme being killed for revenge? So Kan Ze was one of those who harmed Gui Ji?

Thinking this way, she suddenly understood why the supreme being desperately wanted to find the key to Mirror Flower Water Moon. Mirror Flower Water Moon could transport immortals through time; tens of thousands of years ago, this treasure was likely on the God-Slaying Platform. That’s why Kan Ze used it as bait to set a killing formation for Li Ye, betting that Li Ye would want to know the truth.

So, after seeing Mirror Flower Water Moon, Li Ye’s desire to open the netherworld gate—did this mean that the one who harmed Gui Ji was truly the Way of Heaven’s Diviner?

But the Way of Heaven’s Diviner was the lord of the Nine Heavens, the holiest of heaven and earth. How could he be such an insidious, treacherous villain?

“Hard to believe, right?” Zhu Yan asked.

Nodding honestly, Er’er scrunched her face: “This isn’t something a little immortal should know.”

She was just an eight-hundred-year-old child!

Covering her head and shaking it, Er’er bid farewell to Zhu Yan: “I’m going back. Take care, True Lord.”

Zhu Yan wanted to say more, but though her legs were short, she ran very quickly. Before he knew it, she had disappeared behind the barrier with rapid little steps, leaving all his words stuck in his throat as he stood there, stunned for quite some time.

***

Crossing back through the doors of the Upper Bing Palace, Li Ye was already on his throne with his eyes closed, supporting his temple.

Er’er lightened her steps, tiptoeing to his side. Just as she was about to wave her hand in front of him, her wrist was caught.

“I’m not asleep,” he said in a hoarse voice.

Previously, if the great demon king wasn’t asleep, she would have immediately rolled far away to avoid annoying him and bringing trouble upon herself. But after hearing Zhu Yan’s words, Er’er suddenly felt her heart soften.

Living tens of thousands of years in hatred couldn’t have been easy; no wonder all he wanted was a good sleep.

Her gaze inexplicably softened as Er’er obediently moved closer to him, rubbing his hand that was on her wrist: “It’s not noisy outside anymore.”

His fingertips moved slightly as Li Ye lifted his eyelids in confusion.

The little thing who had been so foolish earlier had returned from going out with a newfound cleverness. Her soft little hands warmed his cold hands, then pulled them forcefully to the side: “Go to sleep.”

Feeling something wasn’t right, Li Ye held her back: “What did Zhu Yan tell you?”

“Nothing, just chatted a bit.” Looking away, Er’er tugged at him while mumbling, “The bed I conjured isn’t as spacious as yours, but it’s very soft. Back in the mortal realm, my mother, the empress, loved to make velvet blankets for me. In the Nine Heavens, even though Xianshi advocates frugality, Senior Sister still made me three quilts to use. Come try it.”

“…” Reluctantly pressed onto the bed, Li Ye looked up at her, feeling that the resistance she had toward him seemed to have faded considerably.

“You don’t resent me anymore?” he asked.

Er’er blinked, turning her eyes somewhat guiltily: “Is it very obvious when I hold grudges?”

Extremely obvious.

Li Ye wanted to snort coldly but forcibly held back, only pressing his lips together.

Ever since they met again at the Taihe Immortal Sect, she had been full of wariness toward him. Even when she bowed her head and tried to please him, there was always something between them. Now, something had happened, and the estrangement in her eyes had largely dispersed, making her whole person warm and soft again.

“Before… I thought you were a stone that couldn’t be warmed.” Pouting slightly, Er’er said, “I never had ill intentions toward you, but you were stingy with praise and compliments, and when something happened, you showed no mercy.”

With someone like that, it was hard not to hold a grudge.

His hand tightened on the quilt as Li Ye wanted to speak but didn’t know what to say, his face immediately darkening again.

“But I just realized something,” Er’er clapped her hands. “I grew up being pampered, so I think loving someone means praising them, acknowledging them, and respecting them. You’re different, Supreme God. For tens of thousands of years, you’ve lived alone, accustomed to the law of the jungle, inevitably becoming strict. I can’t still expect to be coddled like a child.”

One’s upbringing determines personality. She was loved by many, so she knew how to love. With the supreme being’s cruel origins, the fact that he still retained goodness was already remarkable. Sometimes his cruelty was because no one had taught him gentleness.

She shouldn’t have been angry with him; after all, she would never win in the end.

If the supreme being’s future actions were truly just for revenge, then Er’er felt that everything still had a chance. As long as someone could teach him restraint, teach him compassion and love, perhaps heaven and earth could be preserved, and all living things could still be saved.

Staring steadily at him, Er’er clenched her fist as if to encourage herself.

Li Ye had been frowning a moment ago, but the person before him had such rich expressions that he was puzzled watching her. After listening for a while, he only understood one thing.

She was saying they were from different worlds, which led to misunderstandings, and she would try to learn to understand his coldness and strictness.

Ridiculous. He was a mighty Supreme God; why would he need her understanding?

Rambling on and on like a little old lady.

Disdainfully turning his head away, Li Ye looked at the patterns on the bed curtains for a while, but his peripheral vision couldn’t help glancing back at the bedside.

She still sat beside him, tucking in his blanket, mumbling about everything from how he had spared the Taihe Immortal Sect to how her senior sister used roasted sweet potatoes to wake her up in winter.

For some reason, though it was just an ordinary immortal sect, not comparable to any of the grand and prosperous gates in the Nine Heavens, when she spoke of it, it somehow seemed vibrant and interesting.

After listening for quite some time, Li Ye finally couldn’t help but reach out and pull her into his arms.

Her animated little mouth froze as Er’er stared at him with wide eyes, her ears immediately turning red: “Supreme God, th-th-this…”

Even if immortals didn’t observe the separation between men and women, lying together so naturally was a bit…

The person before her looked down at her in confusion, his natural expression suggesting he was doing something completely normal, making her panic seem particularly unnecessary.

Steadying herself, Er’er tactfully said: “In the mortal realm, only people who like each other would do this.”

“You don’t like me?” he asked, puzzled.

“…”

What kind of question was that? Er’er’s eyes widened.

To say she liked him was impossible, but to say she didn’t like him, she didn’t have the courage.

Looking at his tense jawline, Er’er swallowed and vaguely shook her head.

Snorting lightly, Li Ye pressed her head: “Then it’s fine.”

How is that fine! Er’er bared her teeth, wanting to bite him, but he let out a light sigh, a sound of relief that stopped her action.

“After you wake up,” he said, “don’t call me Supreme God anymore.”