Li Ye lowered his head, staring at Er’er without blinking.

He watched as she grimaced and twisted her ankle, then jumped up and down in place, her goose-yellow long dress rising in beautiful arcs before obediently falling back down.

She seemed unaware of what had happened here. Her small hands clutched him tightly as she looked around in terror at the gradually melting ice crystals: “Whose immortal technique is this? It’s so powerful, actually freezing ten li under your very nose.”

Li Ye came back to his senses. He wanted to sternly question where she had gone and properly settle the account that had caused him such distress. But despite using all his strength to appear fierce, when he opened his mouth, he merely said: “How would I know?”

Helpless, yet tinged with joy.

Er’er looked up in surprise, her almond eyes fixed on the lingering crimson in his eyes, somewhat suspicious: “Who were you fighting with just now that you don’t even know?”

“Mm, I don’t know.” Raising his hand to wipe away a few specks of dirt from her face, Li Ye’s lips curled slightly. “The enemy was hidden, I was exposed.”

How utterly shameless.

Meng Wan moved his somewhat stiff body and called out with furrowed brows: “Junior Sister.”

…

…

Er’er’s ears twitched, and she quickly released Li Ye: “Senior Brother is also here?”

As his waist suddenly felt empty, Li Ye’s face darkened with displeasure. Seeing this little creature intending to run toward someone else, he raised his hand and held her in place.

“Eh?” Er’er was pressed so firmly that her face was buried in his chest. She couldn’t help struggling, “Let me go! I want to check on Senior Brother.”

“No.”

“What?”

“Not allowed.”

“…” Managing to lift her face from his collar, Er’er examined the expression of this powerful figure and found it both laughable and pitiful. “I just want to see if he’s injured.”

His thin lips pressed tightly together. After a long silence, Li Ye said in a deep voice: “I’m injured.”

“Where?” She looked over his body in confusion.

“Internal injury, very serious. If you move now, I’ll collapse.” His expression was solemn.

A question mark slowly formed above her head as Er’er stared at him, her expression gradually becoming complex: “High God, you are a High God.”

Please be mindful of your status—is it appropriate to throw a childish tantrum right now?

The man before her gave a light snort but still held her without letting go. The crimson in his eyes receded, and his gaze became profound and stubborn as he looked at her. Within his nine parts of unreasonableness, there was one part fragility.

Just that one part was enough to soften Er’er’s heart. She sighed deeply and hugged him tightly: “Can we not add to the killing anymore?”

“They wanted to kill me.” The High God was very aggrieved.

“Then, can we not pursue and kill those who haven’t actively tried to kill you?” She softened her voice.

There was disdain in Li Ye’s eyes—since when did he discriminate between those who actively or passively sought to kill him? Sending them all down to the netherworld together was most convenient.

But she was looking into his eyes, and they were too bright—so bright that he couldn’t speak words of refusal.

After a long silence, Li Ye snorted, which counted as agreement.

Er’er let out a long breath, her gaze passing over him to Zhu Yan standing behind.

Zhu Yan’s body was somewhat stiff, but his demeanor remained composed. Noticing her gaze, he paused, looked back at her, and then smiled: “It’s good that Immortal Er’er is safe.”

“Thanks to Lord Zhu Yan’s blessing.” Er’er smiled without it reaching her eyes. “If you don’t scheme against me next time, I’ll continue to remain safe.”

The hand gripping her waist stiffened. Li Ye’s gaze darkened as he slowly turned his head.

“High God!” Zhu Yan finally panicked, quickly cupping his hands in salute. “There’s been some misunderstanding.”

Li Ye stared at him without speaking.

Cold sweat appeared on Zhu Yan’s forehead as he knelt: “The great undertaking is about to succeed. I beg the High God to set aside personal feelings and not let everyone’s efforts be wasted.”

Zhong You had already led people to occupy the Heavenly Gate and the Ten Directions Sea of Clouds. Zhong Su’s side had also taken control of three immortal sects. If Li Ye killed a few more High Gods, the situation in the Ninth Heaven would stabilize. At this critical moment, how could they listen to a young girl’s words?

“Junior Sister.” Yan Cha called softly.

Er’er turned back in surprise, only now realizing that her senior sister had also fallen nearby. She struggled, and this time Li Ye didn’t stop her, allowing her to rush over and crouch beside Yan Cha.

“Why is Senior Sister here too?” She examined Yan Cha, and seeing that she wasn’t seriously injured, she looked at the physical body in her arms. “Is this… High God Chu Yuan?”

“Could you… Help your senior sister with something?” Yan Cha looked at her with a pale face.

Er’er nodded without hesitation. She knew what Chu Yuan meant to her senior sister, and immediately performed the Soul-Gathering Technique.

Perhaps it was the Five Elements energy from the Sky Mechanism Lock that greatly aided her, but this time the technique was much easier than when she had saved Long Xu. Moreover, Chu Yuan’s soul was relatively intact, so it took only a moment to gather his soul in her palm.

When a High God’s soul is forcibly separated from the physical body, it is equivalent to death. Simply returning the soul wouldn’t work—it needed to be nourished first, then guided back. Yan Cha presumably knew this, so she didn’t ask for more. She simply received Chu Yuan’s soul with a lamp and thanked Er’er.

Er’er looked at her emaciated face, feeling somewhat heartbroken: “Senior Sister, you should leave first with Senior Brother. I’ll stay here.”

Yan Cha raised her hand, tucked a strand of hair behind Er’er’s ear, and smiled bitterly: “I never thought that our group of brothers and sisters would end up relying on you.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Er’er grinned. “If it weren’t for all of you shielding me from the Heavenly Tribulation back then, I might not have survived until now.”

With reddening eyes, Yan Cha pressed her lips together and nodded to her. Then she rose, cast a distant glance at Li Ye, and seeing that he had no intention of attacking again, she took Chu Yuan’s physical body and soul and headed back to the lower realm.

Meng Wan didn’t want to leave. He opened his mouth to speak, but Er’er cast a defensive barrier around him from afar, pushing him to Senior Sister Yan Cha’s side.

“Take care of Senior Sister. This journey down will inevitably encounter obstacles,” she waved. “When I find a way to save our Immortal Master, I’ll reunite with you.”

Meng Wan didn’t have time to utter a word before his figure disappeared behind the layered clouds with Yan Cha.

Only when their immortal aura had completely vanished, leaving not a trace to be found, did Er’er finally breathe a sigh of relief.

She turned around and looked at Zhu Yan.

Zhu Yan was sweating profusely under Li Ye’s gaze. Noticing her look, he became somewhat irritated: “Does Immortal Er’er wish to settle accounts with me?”

“Not really.” Er’er smiled lightly. “I’m just curious—aren’t you afraid he’ll kill you too for lying to him like this?”

“This humble immortal has followed the High God for many years without a single deception, as the High God well knows.” Zhu Yan straightened his back. “If today the High God truly wants to execute this humble immortal because of a few slanderous words, then this humble immortal has nothing more to say.”

He wore the aggrieved look of a loyal minister about to be wrongfully slain.

Er’er returned to Li Ye’s side and looked up at him.

This man’s face showed little anger and no confusion. He turned to meet her gaze and asked: “Is there anywhere you wish to go?”