The wind swept across his robes, swirling around the somewhat disheveled lapels before continuing to blow away.

Long Xu looked at Xin Wu. To say there was no knot in her heart would be impossible, but when she truly saw him, she didn’t feel as angry as she had imagined. Her purple pupils quietly scanned the immortal energy around him, and she felt somewhat moved: “If you hadn’t come out, High God, once your seclusion was complete, you would have advanced another level.”

Xin Wu smiled ambiguously, his face revealing none of his thoughts, only saying: “At my level, advancement is hardly easy. Right now, I happen to be stuck at the seventh layer of the Transformation Realm and need someone to lend me strength.”

Her eyelashes trembled, and Long Xu looked at him in bewilderment.

The previously silent Zhong Su finally couldn’t hold back after hearing this. He stepped forward and grabbed Long Xu’s hand: “We have urgent matters to attend to at home, so we won’t disturb the High God’s cultivation any further.”

Home?

Xin Wu lifted his eyelids, lazily looking toward him. Zhong Su neither avoided nor yielded, directly meeting his gaze, still smiling as gently as a spring breeze: “Surely the High God wouldn’t imitate those ruffians from the mortal realm, demanding payment from passersby on your precious land?”

“Not quite,” his gaze slid downward, landing on the immortal-binding rope still tied around Long Xu. Xin Wu’s eyes contained mockery. “I just want to ask if Princess Long Xu would be willing to help with this favor.”

His heart tightened slightly, and Zhong Su squeezed Long Xu’s hand. After a moment, realizing his grip was too strong, he loosened it somewhat.

…

…

Was Long Xu willing? Did that even need to be asked? From the first moment he met her, Zhong Su knew she had an obsession. That obsession had supported her as she crawled out of the Ten Thousand Ghost Pit, her soul severely damaged, yet somehow she had survived.

At first, Zhong Su thought she was like him, harboring hatred. But compared to his pure and decisive hatred, her hatred for Xin Wu was hesitant and indecisive. Sometimes, he could even detect that her feelings remained unresolved.

That’s why he didn’t want her to leave the Netherworld.

If she hadn’t truly wanted revenge, if she hadn’t been melancholy day after day, he would never have let her return to the mortal realm, no matter what.

In the end, it was his soft-heartedness that had caused this great mistake.

His lips pressed into a line, and Zhong Su opened his mouth, wanting to refuse on Long Xu’s behalf before she could answer.

However, Long Xu still spoke, her voice crisp and lively: “Help?”

She smiled somewhat uncomfortably, tugging at the corners of her lips, but gradually the smile became more natural. Long Xu raised her eyes, looking deeply at Xin Wu, and answered seriously: “I am not willing.”

Zhong Su froze, finally unable to control his expression, looking at her with utter astonishment.

Xin Wu showed no ripples of emotion, as if he had anticipated her answer all along, merely impatiently flicking his sleeve: “I have never been a good person, disregarding the laws of the Nine Heavens, and certainly not caring about others’ feelings. My earlier inquiry was already courteous. Whether you are willing or not has little relevance to me.”

With that, a gust of wind from his palm swept Long Xu from Zhong Su’s hands into his embrace.

Zhong Su had been momentarily distracted and was caught off guard. His face immediately darkened as he materialized his magical weapon for battle.

The mortal realm was not a good place, especially with the morning sun so strong. If he had even a little rationality, he should have left earlier. However, Xin Wu was truly infuriating. If he were to simply surrender her to this mere divine soul, when they would meet again was anyone’s guess.

With this in mind, Zhong Su immediately flew up to attack.

The early morning immortal mountains were shrouded in mist, filled with bird songs and animal cries, a scene of serene seclusion. Yet in midair, there was thunder and lightning, creating quite a commotion.

At first, Long Xu was worried that his divine soul would be injured, but after several exchanges, she sensed something was amiss.

How could a divine soul holding a person still emanate warmth?

Although Xin Wu had always had a cold body, the sensation was still different from that of a bloodless, fleshless divine soul. She was too familiar with it, quickly realizing the truth.

This was his true form.

Zhong Su didn’t know, and he was being beaten back steadily, his face full of frustration. A divine soul typically possessed only one-seventh of the original body’s power. Could he not even defeat one-seventh of Xin Wu?

“Enough.” Amid the intense battle, Long Xu frowned and spoke, her eyes looking toward Zhong Su. “I’ll return in a few days. You should leave first.”

Fighting until his eyes were reddened, Zhong Su looked at her while panting heavily, veins faintly visible at his temples.

“You still can’t let him go?”

This wasn’t about letting go or not. Long Xu shook her head: “If you continue fighting, you’ll be seriously injured. With your intelligence and wisdom, you should be able to see the situation.”

Indeed, Zhong Su had always been most knowledgeable in the art of politics, capable of both yielding and asserting himself, never acting rashly. By reason, he should have stopped after the third exchange. But looking at Xin Wu’s mocking expression, Zhong Su felt unwilling.

There was no rationality to speak of, just unwillingness.

Crack—

The collision of immortal energy and demonic energy exploded in midair like an ink-and-water mist flower.

Zhong Su withdrew and retreated, his body nearly transparent in the brilliant morning sun.

Long Xu watched in silence, still feeling somewhat reluctant. She simply made a spell gesture, casting a thousand-li ground escape technique to send him away.

“Oh?” The person holding her from behind laughed softly against her ear. “Are you so afraid I’ll hurt him?”

“The High God must also be at the end of his strength.” Without turning her head, Long Xu lowered her eyes. “When you’ve had enough, go back to your seclusion. I can guard your seclusion for two days.”

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, and Xin Wu narrowed his eyes, twirling her long hair between his fingers: “Two days?”

“Only two days.”

“Are you so reluctant to part with him?” He sneered. “And to think I felt somewhat sorry believing you had suffered in the Netherworld.”

“Thank you, High God.”

Reaching out to untie the immortal-binding rope, Long Xu expressionlessly brought him back to the cultivation cave halfway up the mountain.

Xin Wu stared at her without blinking, and after seeing how much thinner she had become, he smiled again: “Are you also unable to eat or sleep because of Dui Feng’s death?”

He always spoke like this, liking to pick at his scabs and also making others share in his discomfort.

Previously, Long Xu would have felt disgusted hearing such words. She didn’t owe Dui Feng anything, nor would she be upset about his death. In the world, except for Xin Wu, everyone else’s life and death were merely fate in her eyes.

But now, perhaps because life in the Netherworld had been too miserable, these things felt neither painful nor itchy: “No, after being thrown down from the Nine Heavens, I slept very well and ate many living beings. Later, when I fell into the Ten Thousand Ghost Pit, my soul was devoured alive, and my immortal energy was difficult to maintain, so I lost weight.”

His breath caught slightly, and the light in Xin Wu’s eyes dimmed somewhat: “Are you complaining to me?”

“Not really.” Helping him sit down on a stone platform, Long Xu smiled faintly. “In my entire life, I’ve never tasted anything sweet, so naturally, I don’t know what bitterness is. I was just making casual conversation. If the High God doesn’t like listening, I won’t speak anymore.”

His chest rose and fell slightly. Xin Wu pressed his lips together and said with a solemn face: “Guard my seclusion. In just ten days, I will be healed.”

“I’m sorry, only two days.” She shook her head.

“If you’re not here after ten days, don’t expect peace even in the Netherworld.” As if he hadn’t heard her words, Xin Wu sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.