Li Ye pursed his lips, glancing at the dragon-coiled pillar that was plummeting straight toward the mortal realm, and with a wave of his sleeve, he retrieved it.

The pillar was very heavy and had been falling for quite some time. Even for him, the action was somewhat strenuous. But moments later, the dragon-coiled pillar stood once again before the Heavenly Gate. When the broken surfaces rejoined, they emitted the sound of cracking stone.

The shadow cast by the restored pillar happened to fall across Zhu Yan’s face.

He watched in silence, not attempting to stop it, only glancing at the cat on Li Ye’s shoulder from the corner of his eye, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.

A calm Li Ye was far less powerful than an enraged Li Ye.

And now, Li Ye was excessively calm.

At some unknown point, it seemed his temperament had changed. He was no longer unpredictable in his moods, nor did he disregard all living beings. If one were to ask what special thing Er’er had done to change him, there didn’t seem to be anything in particular. She simply stayed by his side, and the malice in his heart was far less than before.

This was not a good thing.

Zhu Yan gave Er’er a deep, searching look.

…

…

Feeling an inexplicable chill down her back, Er’er swished her tail and nuzzled Li Ye’s face, meowing softly: “You have a wound on your hand.”

Li Ye snorted lightly: “A minor injury. They’re far more severely wounded than I am.”

Where did this pride come from? Er’er sighed inwardly but went along with his words: “You’re valiant in battle, naturally, they’re no match for you. But blood is still flowing, it would be best to bandage it first.”

The injury barely counted as anything, but she seemed very concerned. Li Ye’s face showed indifference, but he still offered his hand to her.

And so, Zhu Yan watched as the snow-white cat danced with her two paws, produced ointment and thin gauze from somewhere, her fluffy tail swishing back and forth as she bandaged Li Ye’s wound.

The scene was touchingly intimate beyond words.

On the verge of speaking but holding back, Zhu Yan’s hand tightened within his sleeve.

As if sensing his gaze, Li Ye’s expression suddenly turned cold. He looked up, his eyes showing slight displeasure: “How are things progressing over there?”

His heart skipped a beat, and Zhu Yan lowered his eyes, cupping his hands: “This humble immortal will go check again immediately.”

With that, he stepped backward and turned to leave.

Er’er was somewhat surprised. While continuing to bandage the wound, she raised her eyes to look at him: “Isn’t Zhu Yan your confidant? Why are you so fierce with him, too?”

“Confidant?” Li Ye savored these two words thoughtfully but said nothing more.

After tying a beautiful butterfly knot, Er’er’s thoughts shifted slightly. She lowered her gaze and asked: “If you catch the Heaven Dao Diviner, will you kill him immediately?”

Is that even a question? Li Ye looked at her as if she were an idiot.

Er’er was taken aback and pouted: “What I mean is, he is, after all, the lord of the Nine Heavens. If his soul suddenly scatters, the world will certainly fall into chaos. You might as well capture him alive first, thoroughly question him about the ins and outs of what happened back then, and then deal with him later.”

Listening to her words, Li Ye immediately understood her intentions and pursed his lips: “No need for your concern.”

Her cat ears drooped, and Er’er flattened her mouth: “You’ve waited tens of thousands of years—can’t you wait a few more days? What if there’s truly been some misunderstanding? Wouldn’t that create great karmic debt?”

Her eyes flickered slightly, as if she had something on her mind. Li Ye gave her a cold, appraising look, then suddenly grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and lifted her before his face.

Her sapphire-blue eyes were extremely beautiful, though they seemed somewhat anxious.

With half-lidded eyes, Li Ye snorted in amusement: “What do you know?”

Er’er shook her head, struggling to paw at his wrist, and then “accidentally” let the Mirror of Flowers and Moon fall from her body.

Catching the mirror with quick reflexes, Li Ye glanced at it and frowned slightly: “When did you take this out?”

“Just a few days ago.” Looking around nervously, Er’er said, “I just took it out casually.”

He had already sunk this object into the pool of the Upper Bing Palace. A few days ago, that pool was still sealed by a barrier and guarded by people from the Nine Heavens. How could she have “casually” taken it out?

Something wasn’t right. Li Ye narrowed his eyes. This little creature feared death and trouble; she wouldn’t have sought out the Mirror of Flowers and Moon unless necessary. What use was this object to her? She hadn’t even stayed in the Nine Heavens for very long; most of what was recorded in it concerned him.

Thinking again of what she had just said, Li Ye raised an eyebrow: “How old are you? Matters that aren’t your concern, don’t concern yourself with them.”

“I’m almost nine hundred years old now.” Er’er pouted, struggling as she spoke: “What isn’t my concern? If it involves you, then I will concern myself with it. Otherwise, if you were to disappear from this world one day, who would I seek compensation from?”

“I won’t disappear.”

“If you indiscriminately destroy the world and return to nothingness, how is that different from disappearing?” She was so angry that she kicked her legs.

Destroy the world, was it?

Li Ye’s eyes shifted slightly.

He had indeed harbored such thoughts before. Returning the world to chaos was the simplest method, without so many complications. But… without the world, she would certainly be bored. She wouldn’t be able to eat yangchun noodles in the mortal realm, nor cause trouble in the netherworld, nor come and go freely in the Nine Heavens.

So, he could be more gentle, just kill the Heaven Dao Diviner.

As for the chaos that would follow, that was the Nine Heavens’ destined fate, nothing to do with him. Being able to spare them was already his merciful benevolence.

Holding her in his arms and stroking her, Li Ye said: “When I catch him, I’ll keep him alive for two days.”

The frantically clawing cat paws immediately behaved. Er’er looked up at him in disbelief: “My words are so effective?”

He rolled his eyes and covered her entire cat head with one hand: “Don’t flatter yourself.”

Holding onto his hand, Er’er was both happy and puzzled. The Li Ye before her and the one in her dreams were completely different people. He had no black cat by his side, only her, this white cat. Did that mean everything was developing in the opposite direction?

“Supreme God,” someone called from a distance.

Er’er was still excited, but upon hearing this familiar voice, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head, making her wilt instantly.

She buried her head in Li Ye’s arms, trying not to listen, but Zhong Qin’s voice grew closer.

“Several old men from the Buddhist temple have arrived. My brother may not be able to hold on much longer.”

The Buddha of the Western Heaven did not like to fight, but as this incident had grown too large, they had finally intervened. Buddhas were most effective against demons; it was understandable that Zhong Su and Zhong Qin couldn’t hold out.

Li Ye raised his hand and tossed her a Buddha-extinguishing Cauldron.

Zhong Qin caught it with both hands and, after a quick examination, her face lit up with joy: “Thank you, Supreme God.”

This was an ancient divine artifact. Because it posed such a great threat to various deities and Buddhas, it hadn’t appeared for tens of thousands of years. It was thought to have been sealed away somewhere, but surprisingly, it was in his hands.

Feeling more at ease, Zhong Qin glanced at the snow-white ball in his arms and couldn’t help but add: “This cat is quite adorable, but there’s too much killing here. I hope it won’t get hurt.”

Li Ye nodded, and Zhong Qin smiled and took her leave.

The cat fur that had been soft in his arms suddenly became somewhat prickly.

Li Ye lowered his eyes, a trace of amusement passing through them: “Is this also a new technique you’ve learned?”