His heart skipped a beat as Gen Qi, reacting extremely quickly, flew up to the eaves, simultaneously searching for where her primordial spirit might be while secretly marveling.

Such a powerful transformation technique—the clay figure below was imbued with thick immortal energy, and its expression was even more lifelike than the previous mud person. Despite being on guard, he had still been fooled a second time.

Was he getting old?

As far as his eyes could see, there was no sign of a fleeing soul. Gen Qi frowned in confusion, yet his peripheral vision caught the clay figure below darting toward the outside of the immortal gate with remarkable speed.

Gen Qi: ???

What was that?

The mud on her body fell away with a rustling sound as Er’er wiped her face and ran far away without looking back, the Mirror Flower Water Moon tucked safely away.

Her transformation technique naturally wasn’t that powerful, but she was clever. When substitution wouldn’t work, she employed the tactic of deceiving the heavens by crossing the sea—turning herself into a clay figure was much simpler. As soon as Gen Qi’s attention wavered, she could escape.

She hadn’t expected the Upper God would be so easily fooled.

…

…

After sprinting frantically for dozens of miles, Er’er hid inside a cloud and warily looked behind her.

No one was pursuing.

With a sense of relief, she lay in the cloud catching her breath. She fumbled to take out the Mirror Flower Water Moon and concentrated, asking with her divine consciousness: “I’ve found it, what now?”

Kan Ze’s voice didn’t respond in her mind. It was as if he had only briefly returned to life before disappearing again.

Frowning in difficulty, Er’er turned the Mirror Flower Water Moon over, examining it from all angles. Finally, she concentrated her mind, deciding to view once more the scene of Run Ji being persecuted by the Divination Master of the Heavenly Dao.

The Mirror Flower Water Moon possessed sentience and could automatically show the scene its holder most wanted to see. However, after staring at the mirror surface for a long while, Er’er only saw a patch of white mist.

“What’s going on?” she muttered, tapping the crystal with her hand. “Was it damaged by the water?”

As if protesting these words, the Mirror Flower Water Moon trembled slightly and displayed Li Ye’s face.

Er’er was startled, staring at his magnified features, and suddenly felt her heart sink.

The boss was still trapped in the Upper Bing Palace.

Turmoil had erupted in the Nine Heavens, with those advocating for war and those urging restraint arguing bitterly before the Divination Master of the Heavenly Dao. Everywhere was tense with vigilance and strict precautions. Under such circumstances, she alone had no way to rescue him.

After looking at the Mirror Flower Water Moon and confirming it wasn’t broken, just unable to show Run Ji’s scene, Er’er tucked it back into her bosom and then looked toward the sunset clouds on the horizon.

Zhong You had led the Netherworld forces up to the Fifth Heaven. The celestial army led by Qian Tian was being held back in the Western Sea by the Dragon Clan and had not yet received news. However, the immortal energy above the Fifth Heaven was too burdensome for the ghosts and spectres, reducing their fighting strength by more than half. With Li Ye delayed in coming to their aid, Zhong You didn’t feel very confident.

If they continued fighting, they had enough numbers, but without someone to guide them, casualties would be extremely heavy.

But if they retreated, they wouldn’t be able to face Li Ye, and casualties wouldn’t be any better.

Just as he was at a loss, Zhong You saw a beam of light flying toward him.

“Be careful, Your Majesty.” The guards raised their death spears, vigilantly standing before him.

Zhong You looked through the gap in the death shield and saw that the light was like fire yet also like water, sometimes red, sometimes blue, sometimes yellow. It came with imposing momentum but took human form several yards away from the death shield.

“It’s the female immortal who accompanies Upper God Li Ye,” Zhong Su recognized her and quietly reported to Zhong You.

Zhong You was delighted and hurriedly ordered his men to step back, personally going forward to welcome her.

“What does the Upper God say?” he asked straightforwardly. “Is there a shortcut to save us some effort?”

Er’er stood before him, and with a shift of her gaze replied: “Of course there is. I’ve come to guide you.”

She needed to see Li Ye first—only he could stop this war. But for that to happen, she had to first let this conflict grow larger.

There were several weakly defended areas in the Nine Heavens. The Netherworld forces had a major advantage in that they moved quickly. With her guidance, they would encounter the fewest celestial soldiers.

“But…” Zhong Su hesitated, “Before Zhu Yan left, he specifically instructed that without his message, we shouldn’t change course.”

Zhu Yan? Er’er stopped and turned to look at him: “Where did he go?”

“The Western Sea,” Zhong Su answered. “If not for him, we would have been caught in a pincer attack by the celestial army.”

Although the Lower Ding Palace respected the Upper Bing Palace, how was it that Zhu Yan, who was doing so well as a ruler, would so resolutely follow Li Ye in stirring up war?

Casually creating a token imbued with Li Ye’s energy, Er’er raised her chin: “I’ve come to convey the Upper God’s words. Even if Zhu Yan were here, he would have to obey His orders.”

Sensing Li Ye’s immortal energy, Zhong You nodded and said no more, directly letting out a long howl.

The ghosts and spectres densely packed in the clouds seemed to have received the order and stopped, waiting. Er’er turned, waved her hand, and the great army behind her followed her, avoiding the main road and rapidly moving toward remote areas.

On the way, Er’er opened the Water Moon Mirror Flower again and silently thought of the name Zhu Yan.

Zhu Yan was only a True Lord, about ten thousand years old. The scenes about him in the Mirror Flower Water Moon were few, so few that there was only a small segment.

Rustle, rustle.

The sound of fabric rubbing.

Clunk.

It seemed something had been put down, and the scene went dark.

Then, daylight suddenly broke, and the surroundings were near the Heavenly Gate, without a single figure appearing.

The scene ended abruptly there.

Er’er thought she had seen wrong and silently thought of Zhu Yan again, but the result was still the same segment. From beginning to end, not even Zhu Yan’s back was shown.

Was he the one who placed the Mirror Flower Water Moon near the Heavenly Gate?

But Zhu Yan was only just over ten thousand years old. By the time he became an immortal, Run Ji had already been dead for tens of thousands of years. Using this to convince Li Ye wouldn’t make sense.

Putting the treasure back into her sleeve pocket, Er’er thought for a moment, then turned to Zhong Su and asked: “Has Lord Zhu Yan been resting well these days? With his constitution, he still has old ailments that haven’t healed.”

Knowing she was Li Ye’s person, Zhong Su didn’t think much of it and immediately answered: “How could he attend to that? Lord Zhu Yan, being the Upper God’s confidant, has so many matters to attend to, and also bears the heavy responsibility of the Western Sea front. It’s remarkable if he can meditate for even two quarters of an hour.”

Er’er clicked her tongue, smiling admiringly: “He’s still as dedicated as ever.”

“It’s the Upper God’s good fortune to have such a right hand,” Zhong Su said with great feeling. “Though an immortal, immortals also love beauties and power. But he is different—incorruptible, devoted only to serving the Upper God.”

“From your tone, it sounds like you’ve tried to tempt him?”

“I wouldn’t dare, just shared drinks with him twice,” Zhong Su said. “He ultimately wasn’t interested in anything.”

Sighing as she stroked her chin, Er’er narrowed her eyes: “Indeed, when he was at the Upper Bing Palace, he was always alone, never seen being friendly with anyone. It seems that once this matter is resolved, the Upper God should reward him handsomely.”

At the mention of rewards, Zhong You, who had been lying in his palanquin, suddenly rolled out, lightly patted Zhong Su’s shoulder, and then smiled: “My son has misspoken. Female Lord, please don’t take it to heart. Those who seek power are all wallowing in mud—he has his designs, no different from the rest of us.”