The tactless magpie chattered incessantly as it followed along: “Zijue does what he says. Previously, he said that once he reached the frontier, he could go to war, and I didn’t believe it. How long has it been? A mere grain transport officer has moved into the commanding general’s residence.”

Shen Qiyuan replied irritably: “He’s someone who grew up on the frontier. As long as he returns here, naturally, he can use his former influence to climb back up.”

“How old is he? To leave the frontier and return with people still willing to listen to him—that’s already quite remarkable.”

The hand seal in his hands became distorted. Shen Qiyuan clenched his fist and rubbed his brow with his other hand.

Ruyi tilted her head to look at him: “Angry?”

“No.” He took a deep breath. “What’s there to be angry about? You’re acquainted with so many people—if I got angry at each one individually, I’d have few days of joy throughout the entire year.”

Her face fell: “You’re scolding me.”

“I’m not.”

“How is this not scolding? If this were said about an ordinary person, your words would mean I’m fickle and unfaithful.” Blinking her eyes pitifully, she said, “I originally thought you truly didn’t mind, but who would have thought this is how you think of me deep down?”

“I…” Shen Qiyuan felt both angry and helpless. “If I thought of you this way, why would I maintain that dome barrier? Wouldn’t it be easier to just let a heavenly thunder strike you dead?”

“Wu wu wu.” The black and white wings lifted to cover her face as Ruyi began crying softly.

At first, he thought she was just acting up, but the more he listened, the more wrong it seemed—this person appeared to be genuinely very sad.

Shen Qiyuan hurriedly picked her up: “I swear to heaven, I had no such intention just now. If I’m deceiving you, let heavenly thunder pierce through the dome and strike my head.”

Ruyi opened one eye from between her feathers: “Really?”

“Really.” He lowered his eyes. “I just… I just saw that it’s about to rain, and my heart isn’t particularly cheerful.”

She lowered her wings and asked seriously: “Is your heart not cheerful because it’s about to rain, or because you heard Wei Zijue speaking?”

Shen Qiyuan hesitated, a few strands of black hair falling from his temples, barely covering his eyes.

Ruyi flicked her tail and transformed into an ethereal human form—snow-white skin, fragrant flesh, bright eyes, and white teeth just as before, only the weight pressing on him was much lighter.

His expression changed: “Why are you consuming your true essence?”

“I was afraid you’d brush me off thinking I’m just a bird.” Her eyes were full of emotion as she pressed her index finger against his chin, leaning close to ask, “It’s just jealousy—is it so hard to admit?”

How could jealousy be “just” anything? That was a sinful emotion that only mortals possessed, the cause of countless tragedies. He was an immortal—how could he allow such emotions to persist in his heart?

But she had no intention of letting him off easily. Her approaching eyes seemed to see through his very soul. With their lips almost touching, she continued: “If I whispered secrets with Zijue, keeping only you in the dark, wouldn’t you be angry?”

Shen Qiyuan retreated half an inch: “Not particularly.”

“What if I traveled thousands of li to rush here, half for you and the other half for him?” She leaned closer still.

“…” His brow twitched. Shen Qiyuan lowered his eyes, suppressing all his anger, and retreated another half inch. “It wouldn’t matter.”

She laughed softly: “Young Divine Lord is so magnanimous. If that’s the case, then I’ll go find him.”

Saying this, she rose, her slender waist swaying gracefully, her skirt hem lifting slightly.

Unable to endure it any longer, Shen Qiyuan reached out to pull her back into his arms, pressing her down into the soft bedding with his other hand.

The person beneath him had a face full of a triumphant smile. Seeing the pain on his face, she smiled even more wickedly: “You’re very jealous of him, and have been for hundreds of years.”

His face turned iron-blue: “Yes, are you satisfied now?”

Cold sweat beaded on Shen Qiyuan’s forehead, and combined with his moist eyes, he looked like a large dog driven to desperation.

Ruyi’s heart softened as she reached up to wipe it away for him: “I’m not trying to torment you.”

These words had no convincing power whatsoever as he glared at her while panting heavily.

She said earnestly, “I mentioned this before—jealousy is a normal thing. Including anger and resentment, these are emotions that will inevitably arise when two people love each other. What Young Divine Lord needs to do isn’t eliminate them, but control them.”

Shen Qiyuan was stunned.

Whether it was Puhua or the secret manuals used for divine cultivation, they would often tell him that immortals couldn’t have impure emotions. So every time he flew into a rage, he would punish himself by cultivating bitterly through the entire night. If he felt anger and resentment again next time, he would cultivate for several more days.

But even so, he had never been able to eliminate these things.

He thought it was his incompetence, but she was saying these things were normal and only needed to be controlled.

Soft hands stroked his long hair as the person beneath him sighed gently: “I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time, although your cultivation advances extremely quickly, being overly controlled can also easily lead to qi deviation.”

Last time, hadn’t Puhua seized the opportunity and nearly used her to make him fall into eternal damnation?

Thinking about it this way, Puhua should have known about their relationship early on and had been planning to exploit it from very early.

So, how early was it? Was it when she sacrificed herself to help him become a god, or when she carried him out of Skeleton Tower?

Before he could think further, having consumed her true essence too quickly, Ruyi suddenly transformed back into a magpie.

She plopped down, sitting in the bedding, flapping her wings in dissatisfaction: “Need to quickly get that lost soul back—being a bird person is too difficult.”

Shen Qiyuan came back to his senses and chuckled as he scooped her into his palm: “That’s what you get for fooling around.”

“Wasn’t it all for you?” She jumped up angrily.

The hostility that had been lingering between his brows dissipated. Shen Qiyuan stuffed her into the bedding: “Alright, rest first.”

“You still haven’t told me whether you’ve thought it through or not.”

“Haven’t thought it through.”

“Tsk, such a stubborn mouth—your mouth should be the bird’s beak.”

After grumbling for a while, Ruyi suddenly said seriously: “Shen Qiyuan.”

“Mm?”

“I’ve had many lovers, but the only one I’ve ever truly fallen for is you. From now on, I’ll only have you—I won’t put anyone else in my heart. You don’t need to put anyone else in your heart either.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as Shen Qiyuan replied with feigned indifference: “Mm.”

“I won’t lie to you.”

You’ve lied quite a bit already.

Sighing softly, he tapped her wing: “Sweet dreams.”

The barrier fell, and the courtyard where they resided became the safest place, sufficient for deep sleep. But beyond the barrier, winged demons flew high, crossing the Nine Rivers and silently returning to the military camp.

Like the calm before a storm, this night on both banks of the Nine Rivers was peaceful and tranquil—gentle breeze brushing the grass, bright moon among the willow branches.

However, as soon as the Mao hour arrived, thunderous military drums sounded from the opposite shore. Countless winged demons shrieked as they flew high, stretching over thirty iron chains across the Nine Rivers. Behind them, numerous demons borrowed momentum to climb up, crawling like insects in dense masses toward the Great Qian city walls.

Shen Qiyuan’s eyes snapped open. Before he could speak, he saw that the magpie beside him had already brought a stack of prepared talismans and placed them at his hand.

Understanding her intent, he quickly formed arrays and deployed the talismans.

Intense white light shot up through the sky, instantly illuminating the Nine Rivers area as bright as day.