As Ye Tianjiao spoke, he lunged forward. Qingye reacted first and kicked him, sending him rolling with his talismans flying, angrily saying, “Coming up here and putting your hands all over the Lady—who do you think you are!”

“That’s enough.”

Jiang Zhaoxue saw Ye Tianjiao looking at her pitifully on the ground, truly pathetic. She instructed Qingye, “I know this person. First take him to change clothes and check if he’s injured. If there’s no problem, bring him back to see me.”

Hearing this, Ye Tianjiao’s eyes showed gratitude. But Qingye was somewhat disdainful, glancing at him. “Get up. Follow me.”

Ye Tianjiao obediently stood up. Before leaving, he saw Pei Zichen in the pool water. He froze for a moment, about to speak, when he heard Jiang Zhaoxue say, “We’ll talk when you get back.”

Ye Tianjiao kept his thoughts to himself, nodded solemnly, then turned to follow Qingye.

Following behind Qingye, he looked up at her and saw her fastening the sachet to herself, muttering in a low voice, “How could it be someone like this…”

Hearing her complaints, Ye Tianjiao’s gaze fell on the sachet he had left behind years ago, and his eyes couldn’t help but soften.

Jiang Zhaoxue watched them walk away. A’Nan jumped onto her shoulder, looking at Ye Tianjiao’s retreating figure with some sentiment. “Ah, Tianjiao has matured quite a bit.”

“After not seeing him for a thousand years,” Jiang Zhaoxue said softly, “he should have matured.”

After waiting a while, Ye Tianjiao returned in changed clothes.

He sat somewhat stiffly across from Jiang Zhaoxue, instinctively glancing at Die Lan and Die Qing sitting behind Jiang Zhaoxue. He wanted to ask something but didn’t dare speak, only steeling himself to greet her first. “Sister… oh no,” he seemed to realize something and quickly said, “Lady.”

“Tell me,” Jiang Zhaoxue looked up to study him. “Why did you run when you saw me?”

“I…” Ye Tianjiao laughed awkwardly. “I’m a person from Jiuyou Realm now.”

Ye Tianjiao smiled so hard he almost cried, forcibly maintaining his composure. “I’m a high-ranking member of Jiuyou Realm after all, so… when we meet… what if you…”

What if their positions were different and she beat him to death?

Jiang Zhaoxue understood his words, closed her eyes, and sighed. “Fool.”

“Haha…”

Ye Tianjiao laughed dryly. Jiang Zhaoxue didn’t waste words with him and said directly, “I was summoning your soul. How did you yourself come over?”

“I don’t know either.”

Hearing this, Ye Tianjiao thought of his summoning talisman and took it out. “I was being chased when I suddenly heard you summoning me. This summoning talisman in my hand lit up, and I came over.”

Jiang Zhaoxue found this somewhat strange. Ye Tianjiao thought for a moment and said to her, “Why don’t you show me that summoning array of yours?”

Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue didn’t hide anything. She knew Ye Tianjiao was stronger than her in the way of talisman arrays. So she raised her hand and drew out the soul-summoning array before Ye Tianjiao. At one look, Ye Tianjiao understood. “Oh, this writing style is similar to my summoning talisman, just with some differences between summoning souls and summoning physical bodies. But my summoning talisman has a stronger sensing ability than ordinary summoning talismans. As long as it connects with spiritual power, it can be directly summoned for transmission. Your spiritual power reached me. Although it was summoning souls, I still came.”

With that, Ye Tianjiao recalled the array pattern from earlier. He hesitated as he glanced at Pei Zichen in the pool water, saying tentatively, “You… you’re summoning souls?”

Jiang Zhaoxue looked up at him but didn’t answer immediately. She only pushed a cup of tea before Ye Tianjiao, raised her hand to dismiss Qingye, and said calmly, “I have two things to ask you.”

“Ah…” Ye Tianjiao immediately knew this wouldn’t be good and steeled himself. “Ask away.”

“The first thing—what happened after you and I parted ways back then?” Jiang Zhaoxue looked up at Ye Tianjiao. “Why did Li Xiuji establish Jiuyou Realm? Why did you march on the True Immortal Realm back then? Since you came back, why have you never thought of looking for me and Pei Zichen?”

Hearing this, Ye Tianjiao’s expression gradually dimmed, his eyes carrying some bitterness. “With this one question, you’re asking about twelve hundred years.”

“What exactly happened?” Jiang Zhaoxue stared at him.

Ye Tianjiao thought for a moment and said softly, “How should I put it? Let’s start from when we parted ways.”

As Ye Tianjiao spoke, he looked up at Jiang Zhaoxue. “Back then, after parting with you, I followed Li Xiuji, bringing the near-death Qian Sisi, along with Mu Jinyue and a group of evil demons to the sealed space. That space was completely void, without any power, and our group all needed power to survive.”

“Sisi and I had injuries that required spiritual power to heal. As for those evil demons, like Xinluo Yi—they seized the opportunity to eat Li Xiuji’s flesh and blood. From then on, they became part of Li Xiuji’s body. When Li Xiuji is strong, they follow him and become strong. When Li Xiuji is weak, they weaken. If Li Xiuji dies, unless they counter-devour Li Xiuji and seize his demigod body, they too must die. But once they succeed in seizing it—”

Ye Tianjiao’s eyes showed coldness. “They would become new demigods.”

“What exactly is this demigod body?”

“The demigod body is actually a ‘shell’ that carries souls,” Ye Tianjiao gestured. “It can transform all powers in the world into the soul, allowing the soul to produce a physical form. But once the absorption of power is cut off, it will slowly disappear.”

“But he didn’t disappear.”

“Right,” Ye Tianjiao nodded. “At first, we were all waiting to die, but the process of waiting was too difficult. Drifting in the deep sea can drive people mad. At that time, Li Xiuji was delirious, as if he could talk to someone. One day, he suddenly drew me a talisman. That talisman enlightened me. I suddenly realized that a space cannot exist independently. It must only be isolated from other spaces by some method. But no barrier can block all energy in the world. Li Xiuji is a demigod, and that talisman meant communicating with heaven and earth. So I drew the talisman. After Li Xiuji used it to communicate with heaven and earth, finally, we allowed power from other spaces to pass through.”

“Then you were saved?”

Jiang Zhaoxue asked casually. Ye Tianjiao shook his head.

“No.” His expression was heavy. “The power that passed through was too weak, not nearly enough to let us survive. We felt despair, but Li Xiuji seemed to receive someone’s guidance. He actually used divine power to modify the space we were in, so that any power entering this space would transform into a power similar to resentment force—what you later called Jiuyou Realm power.”

As Ye Tianjiao spoke, his eyes showed admiration. “Li Xiuji seemed like a natural-born god. He completely understood the rules of heavenly dao and knew how to create things. He absorbed all power to fill himself, then used this power to condense the first seed, the first tiger.”

“Tiger?”

Jiang Zhaoxue instinctively questioned. Ye Tianjiao nodded. “Ah, just a little tiger cub. White with golden patterns, blue eyes, always circling around Li Xiuji. Once I tried to secretly hold it to play with it—wow, he almost beat me to death.”

Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue felt somewhat subtle.

Li Xiuji creating this tiger was also…

But she couldn’t say much, only guessing this was probably a coincidence. She listened as Ye Tianjiao continued, “He didn’t like to talk, basically just sat alone creating things. The spiritual energy of the True Immortal Realm is born from plants and living beings. Jiuyou Realm is the same. He spent a thousand years creating everything the True Immortal Realm had. Jiuyou Realm has long since achieved self-cycling of power. But the problem is, there’s vaguely been a force constantly restricting us.”

Ye Tianjiao pressed his lips together, his eyes showing uncontrollable hatred. “From the moment Jiuyou Realm was established, we sensed this power. It makes vegetation in Jiuyou Realm wither and plagues run rampant. As long as Li Xiuji stops protecting Jiuyou Realm, Jiuyou Realm immediately falls into turmoil. To resist this power, we must constantly absorb energy, especially Li Xiuji. To absorb power, we can only expand. But after expanding, the range Li Xiuji’s ability needs to cover becomes wider. Two hundred years ago, swallowing and his body reached its limit, so we could only break the cauldrons and sink the boats—march on the True Immortal Realm and destroy the Book of Fate.”

These words made Jiang Zhaoxue freeze. She couldn’t help saying, “You wanted to destroy the Book of Fate back then?”

“Correct.” Ye Tianjiao nodded, saying in a heavy voice, “According to Li Xiuji, that power constantly suppressing Jiuyou Realm came from the Book of Fate. As the Divine Sovereign’s book of world creation, the Divine Sovereign gave it the strongest power but also the strongest restrictions. Normally, it can’t even directly kill a mortal. But for all ‘anomalies’ that exceed established fate and threaten the world, it can use the power the Divine Sovereign gave it without restriction. That’s why it’s called Heavenly Fate. And our group who created Jiuyou Realm back then—”

Ye Tianjiao picked up a peanut and crushed its shell, seeming casual. “We’re all people Heavenly Fate determined should die. Unless we submit to fate, otherwise, as long as the True Immortal Realm protects the Book of Fate for one day, we and the True Immortal Realm are irreconcilable.”

“What if the Book of Fate was destroyed?” Jiang Zhaoxue looked up at him and continued asking. “Would Li Xiuji still need the True Immortal Realm?”

Hearing this, Ye Tianjiao paused and pressed his lips without answering.

But Jiang Zhaoxue knew the answer.

Perhaps Ye Tianjiao marched on the True Immortal Realm to destroy the Book of Fate, but Li Xiuji didn’t.

Li Xiuji’s body needed a constant stream of energy. Jiuyou Realm’s power alone couldn’t support Li Xiuji. To survive, he only had one path—continuously annexing other territories until he became a god and possessed a true body.

Jiang Zhaoxue knew this was an absolute difference in position between her and Ye Tianjiao.

Except for anomalies like Pei Zichen, people who cultivated True Immortal Realm techniques couldn’t cultivate Jiuyou Realm techniques again unless they destroyed their cultivation and started over.

But for cultivators, destroying cultivation and starting over was worse than killing them.

Even for Jiang Zhaoxue herself, this was absolutely intolerable.

She lowered her head to drink tea, knowing Ye Tianjiao couldn’t answer this question. “What happened later? After he was sealed in Cangming Sea back then, without his protection and with the Book of Fate targeting you, how did Jiuyou Realm get through these two hundred years?”

“Actually, before he marched on the True Immortal Realm, he had already left power to bless the True Immortal Realm for two hundred years,” Ye Tianjiao scratched his head and said honestly, “and also made a series of deployments in case of failure.”

“What deployments?”

Jiang Zhaoxue looked up to inquire. Ye Tianjiao paused. After thinking for a moment, he said slowly, “To be honest, Lady Jiang,” Ye Tianjiao became serious, looking up at her, “this is Jiuyou Realm’s secret. Unless the Master is willing to tell you, I absolutely cannot speak of it.”

He changed his form of address. Jiang Zhaoxue heard the solemnity in it.

She thought for a moment and nodded. “Understood. Then tell me what you can say.”

As Jiang Zhaoxue spoke, Die Lan at her side stepped forward to pour tea into the empty cups of both. Ye Tianjiao glanced at this gentle young man in blue, tapping the table while looking at the composed Jiang Zhaoxue across from him. He heard Jiang Zhaoxue ask, “After he was sealed, what can you tell me about what happened in Jiuyou Realm? Why are you being hunted? “

Jiang Zhaoxue looked up at him. “Since three months ago when Cangming Sea showed unusual activity, why has Jiuyou Realm frequently violated borders and caused conflicts?”

“This…”

Ye Tianjiao considered carefully and said slowly, “All I can tell you is that the seal at Cangming Sea, Li Xiuji’s body, was initially condensed from resentment force. But a body condensed from resentment force cannot bear beautiful things. That is to say, he cannot perceive or remember loving and kind emotions—these beautiful feelings. He can only perceive and remember his negative things. It was later, over a thousand years, that he gradually absorbed the power of all things in heaven and earth to nourish his body. Only then did this divine body gain the ability to bear beauty. But the seal at Cangming Sea that you made cut off his power source…”

“But resentment force cannot be cut off.”

Jiang Zhaoxue instantly understood. Ye Tianjiao nodded. “Correct. Resentment force comes from the human heart. You imprisoned him. He produces pain, struggle, hatred—all of these become his power. When the power from all things in heaven and earth in his body is consumed and he feeds on his own resentment force, the resentment force in his body only becomes more and more pure, becoming a true evil thing. He predicted this result back then, so he specially gave me a pill and told me to take it when he woke. This medicine can help him quickly condense the power of heaven and earth and restore his sanity. At the same time, he had me go find something. After I left, Jiuyou Realm was entirely handed over to Xinluo Yi to manage. But when I returned, the entire Jiuyou Realm was completely under her control. I had long been stripped of power. And she was unwilling to fully carry out Li Xiuji’s purpose, single-mindedly trying to transform Li Xiuji into a true evil thing.”

“Why?”

“She’s a resentment wraith.” Ye Tianjiao reminded. “She only looks like a normal person. She has a brain, that’s all, but she’s a lunatic. She just hopes Li Xiuji will completely go mad and kill people everywhere. That way there will be more resentment force for them to absorb.”

“Who are ‘they’?”

“Oh, just the people who went to Jiuyou Realm back then,” Ye Tianjiao said casually. “Among the evil demons who survived back then, besides Xinluo Yi, there were four others. Li Xiuji named them Zhou Pan, Zhou Shi, Zhou Min, and Zhou Lian. These four are Jiuyou Realm’s Four Demons. Jiuyou Realm is divided into four domains and one hundred sixty-five cities. Aside from the main city Cangdu directly administered by Li Xiuji, the others are managed by the Four Demons. Originally I managed Zhou Pan and Zhou Min, while Xinluo Yi managed Zhou Shi and Zhou Lian. But because I… I was devoted to the dao and loved cultivation, before I knew it they all mixed together. Later I went to find something for two hundred years, and when I returned I was truly alone.”

Ye Tianjiao sighed. “Three months ago, Li Xiuji woke up. I was just preparing to deliver the medicine when I was suddenly ambushed by a grand array Xinluo Yi had prepared long ago. Then Zhou Shi hunted me down all the way out. Now Li Xiuji has probably been taken back by them. Without the medicine, his situation is likely dire. So I think… Sister,” Ye Tianjiao said, wringing his hands somewhat nervously, “although I’m a demon cultivator of Jiuyou Realm now… we still have some friendship and basis for cooperation.”

Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue was somewhat confused. “Cooperation?”

“Look, right now I need to see Li Xiuji and feed him this pill,” Ye Tianjiao said, taking out a box and placing it on the table. Then he glanced at Pei Zichen beside them, saying meaningfully, “And you need to resurrect Pei Zichen. How about this—you help me feed this pill to Li Xiuji.”

With that, Ye Tianjiao opened the box, his expression solemn. “I’ll help you resurrect Pei Zichen. How about it?”

Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue stared carefully at the box and leaned forward.

Qingye, Die Lan, and Die Qing beside her also leaned forward.

Ye Tianjiao was somewhat confused. “What are you all looking at?”

“That,” Qingye examined carefully, then pointed at his box to confirm, “your medicine melted.”

Hearing this, Ye Tianjiao was shocked and turned the box around, his eyes immediately widening.

He saw that in the brocade box, the pill had long since turned into a brown substance, soaking into the soft cushion.

It looked like a puddle of mud.

Ye Tianjiao knew in his heart what this thing was. It wasn’t an ordinary pill. Melting like this meant it was gone.

His heart was both panicked, hateful, and anxious. Jiang Zhaoxue studied him. After seeing Ye Tianjiao’s expression change several times, he seemed to remember something and said calmly as if nothing was wrong, “Oh, I took the wrong one.”

With that, he closed the medicine box and tucked it into his sleeve. After rummaging around for a while, he took out another box and placed it on the table, opening it with an immortal air. “It’s this one. As long as you feed him this medicine, I’ll resurrect Pei Zichen for you.”

“Just like that?” Jiang Zhaoxue found it hard to believe.

Ye Tianjiao said solemnly, “However, there’s something special about how this medicine must be fed. You need to make some sacrifices.”

“What sacrifices?”

“This medicine,” Ye Tianjiao steeled himself, forcing himself to make an absurd statement sound righteous, “must be fed mouth-to-mouth by you.”

“Go to hell!”

“Insolent!”

“Absurd!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Qingye, Die Lan, and Die Qing all spoke simultaneously. Qingye directly pressed his head onto the table, pounding it “bang bang bang” without stopping.

After just two pounds, Ye Tianjiao couldn’t take it and quickly said, “No kissing is fine! Just seeing him is enough! Just feed it to him when you see him!!”

“Hmph.”

Hearing this, Qingye finally felt satisfied and let go, turning to Jiang Zhaoxue. “Lady, this person lies through his teeth, but he’s very cowardly. Why not let me personally torture him—surely then it will all be truth.”

“Sister!!”

Hearing this, Ye Tianjiao looked at Jiang Zhaoxue in terror. Seeing his expression, Jiang Zhaoxue suddenly felt a sense of the common inadequacy of dharma cultivators. She sighed and waved her hand. “No need. Fine.”

Jiang Zhaoxue looked up at Ye Tianjiao and said seriously, “I know you haven’t said everything, but I trust you have no ill intent. Just feed this medicine to Li Xiuji, right?”

As Jiang Zhaoxue spoke, her gaze fell on the table. Ye Tianjiao quickly nodded. Jiang Zhaoxue pondered, “I understand. Then let’s first think of a way to see him…”

As she spoke, everyone fell silent.

Central Continent and Jiuyou Realm had basically had no relationship over the years except for fighting. How could she see Li Xiuji and naturally give him medicine?

Everyone thought left and right. Ye Tianjiao sat restlessly, looking around, then said carefully, “I have a suggestion.”

Jiang Zhaoxue turned to look. She saw Ye Tianjiao reveal an ingratiating smile, gesturing, “I’ve known him for over a thousand years. I understand him. If you write a letter right now saying you want to marry him, he’ll definitely meet with you.”

Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxue paused, suddenly catching other implications. She frowned in disbelief. “Li Xiuji likes me?”

“Exactly!” Ye Tianjiao quickly nodded. Thinking about who was in that shell now, he said with great certainty, “He’s deeply in love with you. Even if he’s completely lost his sanity, if it’s you, it will definitely work!”

“Then that’s even more out of the question.”

Jiang Zhaoxue turned away, not believing it. She only said calmly, “I deceived Pei Zichen once. Unless absolutely necessary, there’s no need to deceive anyone else.”

“You’ve already deceived someone once…”

“But what you said also makes sense.” Jiang Zhaoxue completely ignored his persuasion and analyzed, “I am the Immortal Alliance Leader after all. Now that he’s returned from breaking the seal, it’s appropriate for me to visit for peace negotiations. How about I write a letter to him saying I’ll personally visit Jiuyou Realm’s Demon Palace for peace talks?”

“What if he doesn’t see you?” Qingye asked curiously.

“If he doesn’t see me,” Jiang Zhaoxue thought for a moment and only said, “then we’ll have to put in more effort, make a trip to Jiuyou Realm, and seek another opportunity.”

“It really doesn’t need to be this troublesome…” Ye Tianjiao muttered in a low voice. “You just say you want a marriage alliance…”

“Alright, it’s getting late.” Jiang Zhaoxue put away the medicine, too lazy to deal with Ye Tianjiao’s nonsense. She waved her hand. “Die Lan, you take Young Master Ye to settle in first. Die Qing, have someone draft a formal invitation later and send it to Li Xiuji in the Immortal Alliance’s name. Qingye, you go rest.”

“That,” Ye Tianjiao heard her dismissing everyone and found it somewhat strange, “didn’t you say you had another thing to ask me?”

“Not anymore.”

Jiang Zhaoxue lowered her eyes, speaking calmly. “The second thing I wanted to ask was how to resurrect Pei Zichen.”

Hearing this, Ye Tianjiao froze, seeming to want to say something. But after thinking left and right, he only said softly, “You… you don’t need to be sad. He’ll definitely be fine.”

“Mm.”

Jiang Zhaoxue didn’t want to say more, only saying, “Go rest. Go back and wash up properly. Later I’ll use the Formless Brush to paint your face. A high-ranking Jiuyou Realm member wandering around Penglai isn’t appropriate. From today on, you’re my newly accepted disciple, Ye Chen.”

With that, Jiang Zhaoxue looked up at him, instructing, “When the time comes, you’ll go to Jiuyou Realm with me.”

“Alright.”

Ye Tianjiao agreed, and the group each went to rest.

After everyone left, Jiang Zhaoxue thought for a moment and decided to personally transmit a voice message to Li Xiuji once more.

As a Ninth Realm Fate Master, forcibly attempting to transmit a voice message to someone wasn’t impossible, but it was somewhat disrespectful to the recipient—one of those taboos between cultivators.

However, according to what Ye Tianjiao just said, if Jiuyou Realm was controlled by Xinluo Yi, without voice transmission, Li Xiuji might not even know this formal invitation existed.

So after thinking, she still raised her hand and drew, speaking, “Heavenly dao summons—transmit voice to Jiuyou Xuanming Emperor Li Xiuji.”

As soon as she spoke, in Jiuyou Realm’s demon forest, Pei Zichen struck down a resentment insect before him with one sword, instantly stopping his steps, panting without moving.

His body was covered in blood. Blood beads dripped from his sword tip, falling down.

Resentment insects surrounded him as their center, densely surging outward in escape, not daring to approach even half a step.

Who is it?

Pei Zichen was instantly in a trance, almost thinking he was hallucinating. However, after a moment, he heard Jiang Zhaoxue’s voice ring out: “Having heard that the Emperor has returned from breaking the seal, this junior Jiang Zhaoxue, as the newly appointed Immortal Alliance Leader of the True Immortal Realm, wishes to visit Jiuyou Realm to congratulate the Emperor and discuss peace negotiations between our two realms. I hope the Emperor will grant permission.”

Emperor…

Jiang Zhaoxue…

These words drilled into Pei Zichen’s mind. His head slowly cleared somewhat.

Three months ago, after he perished together with the Book of Fate at Lingjian Immortal Pavilion, he woke in this body.

This was Li Xiuji’s demigod body. After waking, he learned his identity from Xinluo Yi.

Twelve hundred years ago, Li Xiuji became a demigod. He and Jiang Zhaoxue, who had returned to the past, sealed him into a space. Afterward, Li Xiuji led Xinluo Yi and others to develop this space into Jiuyou Realm.

However, he had entered the dao as a ghost and had no physical form. Only by cultivating a divine body could he truly “survive.”

So two hundred years ago, he went to the True Immortal Realm, attempting to destroy the Book of Fate and absorb its power to become a god. Instead, he was sealed by the True Immortal Realm.

But when being sealed, he discovered there was another path to godhood in this world—find the other five divine artifacts the Divine Sovereign left behind: Tianji Lingyu, the Mirror of Time, Yuan Luogong, Lingxu Fan, and Zhan Shen Sword. After completely awakening the five divine artifacts, he could become a god and reverse fate.

The essential requirement for the five divine artifacts to recognize a master was “utmost purity and utmost goodness, a gentleman’s benevolence.” Li Xiuji knew he had no hope of gaining the divine artifacts’ recognition, so he reincarnated his soul to become him—Pei Zichen.

Afterward, Jiuyou Realm devoted all its efforts to assist him in obtaining the five divine artifacts, until he gained the artifacts’ recognition and helped him return to Li Xiuji’s “demigod body.”

But after “returning,” he didn’t become a god.

He wasn’t clear on the specific reason and didn’t want to be clear.

This body was too painful. It had no sense of touch, couldn’t see colors, couldn’t smell scents, but it hurt, it ached. Every day at fixed times, he would feel as if his soul was being torn apart, with splitting headaches. Staying inside, the whole person was driven nearly mad.

Day and night thinking of Jiang Zhaoxue, yet thinking of her made it hurt more.

Jiang Zhaoxue didn’t want him.

She had always been deceiving him. Being good to him at first was for the five divine artifacts. Later sparing him was only pity.

But he didn’t want this kind of pity.

Even if he died alone in Jiuyou Realm’s secret chamber, he couldn’t live in her pity.

He forced himself not to see her, but the longer time passed, the deeper his longing for Jiang Zhaoxue grew.

He wanted to see her.

This longing seemed carved into his bones—like a person dying of thirst in the desert craving water. His body seemed to shrink and ache from the absence of this person, yet when realizing this, an extreme fury arose.

The more furious he became, the more afraid he felt—afraid of what he might do if he truly saw her—

What would he do?

He himself didn’t know.

His mind was somewhat chaotic. The only way to dispel it was to slay these endless demons in Jiuyou Realm.

Only during slaughter could he calm for a moment.

He thought he should never see Jiang Zhaoxue again.

He never expected that at this very moment, he would actually hear Jiang Zhaoxue’s voice.

At first, the first sound, he thought was an illusion. However, after a moment, he clearly realized this wasn’t an illusion.

Just one voice disturbed his entire state of mind into chaos. He gripped his sword tip tightly, panting, not daring to make a sound.

Seeing the other party didn’t respond, Jiang Zhaoxue spoke in confusion, “Emperor? Can you hear me speaking?”

The other party still didn’t respond.

Jiang Zhaoxue hesitated slightly, then heard A’Nan sigh. “Stop calling. You already sensed his power fluctuation. He obviously heard but doesn’t want to acknowledge you. Don’t let Ye Tianjiao really fool you—a thousand years ago, you and Pei Zichen joined forces to seal him. Him not wanting to kill you already counts as magnanimous.”

These words made Jiang Zhaoxue’s heart sink as she realized she and Li Xiuji still had some grudges. Her heart felt guilty for a moment. She coughed lightly. “Apologies. This junior was only worried the message couldn’t be truly transmitted to the Emperor’s ears, so I presumptuously disturbed you. I hope the Emperor will give an opportunity. This junior will withdraw first.”

With that, Jiang Zhaoxue cut off the voice transmission.

Pei Zichen felt her aura dissipate. The hand gripping his sword tightened until it drew blood.

He completely couldn’t control himself and closed his eyes.

Once—just see her once.

The thought arose in his heart, and he transformed into a crow and flew away.

After Jiang Zhaoxue cut off the voice transmission, she knew Li Xiuji probably wouldn’t see her. She sighed and began pondering the second plan. She turned to go to Penglai’s warehouse to retrieve the Formless Brush that could change a person’s appearance and aura, then went to Ye Tianjiao’s room to find him.

Ye Tianjiao had just finished bathing and was brewing himself a pot of tea in his room. When Jiang Zhaoxue pushed the door open, she saw that in less than half an hour, Ye Tianjiao had already completely arranged this place as his own room. Aside from changing clothes to Penglai’s attire, the room was full of his talismans, favorite toys, daily necessities…

“Are you planning to freeload here permanently?”

Jiang Zhaoxue frowned.

“As a person,” Ye Tianjiao poured Jiang Zhaoxue a cup of tea, saying leisurely, “wherever you go is life. You have to take good care of yourself.”

“Enough.”

Jiang Zhaoxue took out the Formless Brush and walked before Ye Tianjiao. After studying him for a moment, she raised her hand to cast a spell, saying calmly, “I just transmitted a voice message to Li Xiuji. Li Xiuji didn’t respond. We’ll have to rely on ourselves. Lift your head.”

As she spoke, Jiang Zhaoxue painted Ye Tianjiao’s face while continuing, “Starting today, you’re my disciple. Tomorrow we’ll set out, secretly sneak into Jiuyou Realm. When the time comes, you tell me who Li Xiuji is, and we’ll act according to circumstances.”

“Alright.”

Ye Tianjiao felt the brush painting on his eyes and couldn’t help dodging backward. Jiang Zhaoxue immediately pinched his chin, fixing him in place. “Don’t move.”

“It tickles.” Ye Tianjiao forcibly fixed himself, with some grievance. “I feel like you’re painting right into my eyes, Sister.”

“Call me Master.”

Jiang Zhaoxue instructed him, “Get used to it. When we go there, it’s Xinluo Yi’s territory. Start getting used to it now so you don’t expose yourself.”

“Fine, fine, fine—wait, don’t touch my ears! So ticklish!”

“Don’t move!”

“Hahaha… don’t, don’t! My ears are really ticklish!”

“Don’t fidget.”

As the two pulled and struggled, a crow silently landed outside the window. It stared at Jiang Zhaoxue and Ye Tianjiao, so silent it seemed to merge with the night.

Ye Tianjiao’s face was already mostly painted. After the final ear was finished, Jiang Zhaoxue put away the Formless Brush and turned around. “Tomorrow, when Jiuyou Realm replies to confirm refusal, we’ll immediately set out and go to Jiuyou Realm together.”

“Alright.”

Ye Tianjiao nodded. Then remembering something, he instructed, “Those two male attendants of yours… called Die Lan and Die Qing or something—you can’t bring them!”

“What’s wrong with you?”

Jiang Zhaoxue glared at him and turned to leave.

She walked all the way back to her room to see Die Qing and Die Lan making her bed.

Qingye only loved fighting and didn’t like doing these trivial matters at all. Upon returning to Penglai, aside from personally changing clothes, she had handed over daily management to Die Qing and Die Lan.

Seeing Jiang Zhaoxue return, Die Qing and Die Lan bowed to her, saying softly, “Lady, hot water has been prepared.”

Jiang Zhaoxue acknowledged and raised her hand. “You may leave.”

The two smoothly went out, closing the door for Jiang Zhaoxue and standing guard outside.

After a day of massive spiritual power consumption, Jiang Zhaoxue was also very tired. After soaking in hot water, drowsiness struck. She returned to bed and fell asleep immediately.

After she completely fell asleep, not long after, a barrier silently spread across her courtyard. Then ice and snow came from afar in an instant. Only when Die Qing and Die Lan sensed something amiss and before they could even draw their swords, they were frozen in place.

Then a young man appeared, wearing purple-black wide-sleeved luxurious robes with the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers flowing on them. Stepping on ice and snow with a crunching sound, he walked up the steps of Jiang Zhaoxue’s small house and pushed the door open.

The entire room except for Jiang Zhaoxue’s bed was sealed by ice, yet Jiang Zhaoxue had no awareness, sleeping sweetly.

Pei Zichen approached her step by step. In his eyes, everything was black and white. Even she seemed to be sleeping in book pages.

But he still couldn’t control approaching. As he walked, he sensed other people’s auras.

The entire room was filled with others’ spiritual breaths.

The most abundant seemed to be from two butterflies. He sensed those two demon cultivators’ spiritual breaths and sat on the edge of the bed, his gaze falling on her fingers.

Just now, she had used this hand to touch that young man.

She used this hand to grip the other’s chin, used her other hand to draw makeup for that youth.

That should be a seventeen-year-old child, just like his age when he first met her. She was always indulgent with these young people—whether him, Ye Tianjiao, or Li Xiuji, seventeen was always the best age…

The sounds of that child playing around with her earlier echoed in his ears, surging together with the other’s remaining aura on her fingertips. The killing intent suppressed for so long instantly rose.

His breathing became rapid. He stared fixedly at the person on the bed, uncontrollably reaching out his hand toward her neck.

He couldn’t distinguish what he actually wanted to do—whether he wanted to kill her or touch her. He only panted rapidly, irrepressibly extending his hand to her neck, until the moment he touched her—

The warm, soft, smooth sensation poured from his fingertips throughout his entire body like a flood. Startled, he suddenly stood up and retreated, looking in terror at the person lying on the bed.

With this touch, that person’s body gradually gained color.

Starting from the soles of her feet, spreading all the way up.

Snow-white feet, half-exposed calves, pure white gauze long dress, pink-gold blanket covering half her body, her exposed neck smooth as jade, full lips bright red and alluring…

Pei Zichen stared blankly as the person on the bed seemed like a demon revealing her true form in the night. His breathing grew heavier. The intense sensation from earlier still echoed on his fingertips, making him unconsciously swallow the saliva that had accumulated in his throat at some point.

He couldn’t help but yearn to step forward instinctively.

Wanting to touch again…

This feeling of his five senses returning was intoxicating, but he clearly knew—he couldn’t.

If he touched her even once more, he wouldn’t be able to leave tonight.

He had to leave.

He must leave.

He couldn’t stay here, like in the past, letting her toy with him in the palm of her hand.

Pei Zichen turned in panic and left as a flying bird.

The ice and snow shattered as he departed. When he returned to Jiuyou Realm’s Demon Palace, his heartbeat was still racing. He sat cross-legged in the center of the dharma array he had drawn to suppress his violent energy. In this place with no one around, he calmed for a long while before finally having the courage to lower his eyes to look at the finger that had touched her.

He tentatively moved it, his fingertip touching his palm.

No sensation, except for her.

He was originally a spiritual body, essentially no different from a nascent soul. A spiritual body’s five senses were millions of times more sensitive than a physical body. Having no sense of touch was essentially a kind of protection.

But being able to touch only her…

This also meant the sensation of touching her would be millions of times more acute.

He looked silently at his fingertip. After struggling for a long time, he slowly raised it, hesitantly placing it at his nose.

Such a lovely fragrance.

It was her scent—floral fragrance mixed with the freshness of plants and trees.

Yet vaguely, Pei Zichen sensed a familiar spiritual breath mixed within.

This spiritual breath was hidden too secretly, so secret that if he weren’t a spiritual body, he couldn’t detect it at all.

It had habitually concealed itself in heaven and earth, but Pei Zichen’s spiritual body had fought against it for a thousand years. He was extremely familiar with it. In just an instant, he recognized it—

The Book of Fate.

Pei Zichen’s expression turned suddenly cold, instantly realizing.

The Book of Fate was spying on Jiang Zhaoxue.