The cloud was wide and beautiful, with a lady in phoenix hairpins and elegant attire standing upon it. With moth-like eyebrows and a refined forehead, she possessed an orchid-like grace. She approached Li Ye directly, her eyes filled with tenderness.

Seeing her, Li Ye halted his actions, merely pursing his lips and frowning, as if anticipating what she would say.

Sure enough, when she drew near, she spoke: “The resentment in your heart is too heavy; you risk falling into demonic ways.”

Li Ye lowered his eyes: “I spent a month in the Netherworld.”

If he were to fall into demonic ways, it would have happened long ago.

Shaking her head gently, she sighed: “The Heaven’s Diviner cast a divination, estimating you would face a great calamity, which is why he sent Zhen Huan Gong to stop you in the mortal realm. Who would have thought your obsession ran so deep that you would lead an army back to the Nine Heavens?”

“With your abilities, even without these Netherworld beings, you could have turned the situation upside down. Yet you insisted on bringing them to humiliate the Heavenly Way.” She couldn’t help but frown. “Li Ye, the resentment in your heart is too heavy.”

If any other lady had spoken to him this way, she would likely have met a bad end. But surprisingly, after she finished speaking, Li Ye didn’t get angry. Instead, he lazily moved his neck and made a sound of acknowledgment.

“My resentment is indeed extreme. So what?”

…

…

If not for the Heaven’s Diviner, why would he have been lonely and without support for ninety thousand years? These people had deceived him like a fool for so long, and now they wouldn’t even allow him to be angry?

With eyes full of mockery, he said: “Queen Mother of the West, I owe you a favor, so I’ll listen to you say a few more words. If you’ve finished speaking, then please step aside.”

So she was the Queen Mother of the West. Er’er suddenly realized, unconsciously licking her cat paw.

According to rumors, the Queen Mother of the West had a good relationship with Li Ye. Long ago, she had even given him immortal herbs, which had saved Er’er’s life. In Er’er’s imagination, the Queen Mother of the West was dignified, majestic, and even stern, but the one before her seemed extraordinarily kind, hearing Li Ye’s words with eyes full of sorrow.

“If I don’t step aside, will you also raise your hand against me?”

Li Ye smiled, without a trace of warmth in his eyes.

The Queen Mother of the West sighed, her gaze moving slightly to fall on his shoulder.

What a beautiful cat, snow-white all over, with eyes like two blue glass beads.

However, it seemed to be a girl transformed, with Li Ye’s immortal energy surrounding her.

With a thought, the Queen Mother of the West stepped aside, watching as Li Ye passed by her. Before he went far, she softly added: “The Heaven’s Diviner also predicted your love calamity.”

His footsteps faltered slightly, and Li Ye’s expression immediately darkened.

“In your view, can such a thing threaten me?”

“Not at all.” The Queen Mother of the West shook her head. “I just found it surprising. I originally didn’t believe that divination until I saw you truly bring this girl by your side.”

Hesitating, she sighed: “Take care.”

Why did those words sound as if she were about to be sacrificed? Er’er felt a bit uneasy. She turned to look at Li Ye, whose mood seemed to have worsened, his face so gloomy it could drip water, the murderous energy around him like sand-filled wind, stinging one’s eyes.

She rubbed her head against his face and let out a “meow.”

Li Ye looked down and rubbed her head before continuing forward.

Dense magical formations fell like spring rain, blocking his path. Li Ye narrowed his eyes, looking through the formations at the Heaven’s Diviner’s palanquin in the distance.

The Lord of the Nine Heavens, under everyone’s watchful eyes, was retreating.

More celestial soldiers surged forward. The magical formations in mid-air grew more numerous, and as if targeting deliberately, they flew directly toward Er’er.

Li Ye waved his sleeve, and fiery golden crow patterns emerged in the air, blocking all the formations. But doing so, he could no longer rush toward the Heaven’s Diviner and could only fall back to the Ten Directions Cloud Sea, landing amidst a sea of flashing blades and swords.

Zhong Qin was leading people in battle against the celestial soldiers. Seeing Li Ye, he immediately brightened: “Supreme God.”

The celestial soldiers were too many, and they were struggling to hold on.

Li Ye pressed his lips together and summoned the Gate of Life and Death with a turn of his hand.

The black and red gate descended upon the Cloud Sea. As the door opened, countless death resentments surged forth.

The exhausted ghosts and demons received reinforcements and immediately counterattacked. Someone’s fresh blood splashed, landing on Er’er’s soft white fur.

Er’er’s eyelids trembled, and her ears drooped down.

These were the ghost and demon armies she had brought. At this point, asking Li Ye to stop would be hypocritical. However, seeing this scene, she truly felt uncomfortable.

“Can I wait in Shangbing Palace?” she asked.

Li Ye rejected without thinking: “No.”

“…” She fell silent, placing her soft paw over her eyes, playing dead.

Both angry and amused, Li Ye pulled down her little paw: “Following me, you’ll have to get used to these things.”

“Who says?” she said in a muffled voice. “A flower planted in cow dung doesn’t have to bloom into dung.”

Li Ye:?

It probably wasn’t his overthinking; this little creature was indeed insulting him.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he grabbed the scruff of her neck, saying with a half-smile: “Shall I put you back in a flower vase?”

“No, no, no.” The wise yield to circumstances. Er’er clutched his wrist with all four paws, shaking her head repeatedly.

The ghosts and demons gradually gained the upper hand. They occupied the Ten Directions Cloud Sea, while the celestial soldiers retreated to defend Yanxian Terrace. Li Ye watched coldly, not rushing to pursue, but waved his hand to raise a watchtower on the altar of the Cloud Sea.

Zhong Qin knew this meant he intended to set up camp and was immediately delighted.

He had never been certain whether Li Ye would abandon them in battle, since Li Ye had never made any promises to them. But setting up camp now meant preparing for a prolonged fight, which meant he couldn’t leave without them.

When fiery clouds filled the horizon, both sides recalled their troops. Zhong Qin led the ghosts and demons, relying on the Gate of Life and Death, to station in the Ten Directions Cloud Sea. Li Ye took Er’er into the room beneath the watchtower, where they happened to meet Zhu Yan returning to report.

“Supreme God.” Though Zhu Yan looked tired, he still stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting. “The matter in the Western Sea has escalated. Qian Tian cannot return from there. Zhen Huan Gong is severely injured, and Kan’s clan is headless. Only Gen’s clan and Ding’s clan have some strength left, but they pose no great threat.”

Li Ye nodded and was about to leave when Zhu Yan quickly produced a red pill.

“This is a water-avoidance pearl, beneficial to the Supreme God,” Zhu Yan said. “It’s a treasure brought back from the Western Sea. If the Supreme God consumes it, even if the Heaven’s Diviner takes an underhanded approach in the future, gathering all remaining forces of Kan’s clan as a blade, they still cannot harm you in the slightest.”

This was indeed a good item. Although Li Ye feared no one from Kan’s clan, being able to guard against the Five Elements’ mutual restraint would certainly be beneficial without harm.

He took the red pill and casually tossed it into his mouth, then stepped forward, entering the small room.

The door closed, and Zhu Yan stood quietly for a moment before turning to leave.

The cat on his shoulder had been scratching him since Zhu Yan appeared. As soon as Li Ye closed the door, she hurriedly transformed back into human form and pounced on him with outstretched claws.

“You…” Before the words left her mouth, her entire mouth was covered by his.

Er’er was so anxious that her eyes reddened. Her tongue invaded his mouth, unhesitatingly retrieving the red pill he was holding.