The second place he went to was the ruins of her mother’s city.

So many years had passed, and what was once a prosperous city had become a dense forest. Occasionally, he could still find a few bricks from houses beside the tangled roots of large trees.

Shen Qiyuan waited here for two days. He didn’t wait for Ruyi, but instead waited for the Supreme Lord.

“You’ve made it hard for me to find you.” Supreme Lord said reproachfully. “I came down eagerly as soon as I got some fresh news.”

His eyebrows moved slightly as Shen Qiyuan covered his mouth before he could say more.

“Don’t tell me what it is yet.” He said. “Wait until I find Ruyi, then tell us together.”

Supreme Lord pushed away his hand, puzzled: “Your divine consciousness covers all of Great Qian, how can there be someone you can’t find?”

Shen Qiyuan shook his head: “Her cultivation has improved again.”

He didn’t know if it was because of the divine bone in her body, but besides consuming incense offerings, this person could absorb the essence of heaven and earth in this turbid mortal realm. During their recent sparring, she already showed signs of surpassing him.

Supreme Lord’s eyes rolled as he muttered quietly: “I said so, that little girl was not meant to stay in a small pond.”

Shen Qiyuan nodded and brought him along to continue to the next place.

She wasn’t at Immortal Meeting Restaurant, nor Skeleton Tower. Just as the ten days were about to end, Shen Qiyuan suddenly trembled.

He quickly set off, rushing like the wind toward a certain place. Supreme Lord couldn’t quite keep up with him and shouted breathlessly: “Slow down.”

He naturally didn’t listen, instead making the surrounding scenery retreat even faster.

Spring rain fell like butter, fine and misty, enveloping all of Qidou Mountain. Lake light merged with mountain colors, white clouds steamed with evening glow. Someone wore a light gauze robe for spiritual cultivation, standing at the very bottom of the nine hundred ninety-nine stone steps.

Shen Qiyuan saw her, and the light in his eyes immediately softened.

He landed gracefully, his clothing also transforming into those light spiritual robes—brocade sash, black hair, wide sleeves, narrow waist—looking down from atop the steps.

People will always remember the person who made their heart flutter at first sight. Even if they meet better people later, they will always remember the scene of their first encounter.

Ruyi raised her eyes and finally saw the emotion in that person’s eyes.

It wasn’t compassion, it was curiosity.

It was youthful longing, it was restrained joy.

“You guessed correctly.” She gently pressed her palms together, smiling.

Shen Qiyuan dared not tell her how many wrong places he had gone to along the way, only asking: “Have you been here all along?”

“No, I just arrived.” Her beautiful eyes sparkled as she climbed the steps one by one. “You and I truly have a spiritual connection.”

The old mountain gate still stood. The three characters “Qidou Mountain” had not collapsed because of Puhua’s corruption, but instead shone even more brilliantly gold because of the successive cultivators who came to practice.

Watching her cross the long steps, finally about to interlock hands with him.

A voice suddenly rang out beside them: “Hey, I told you to slow down. My old arms and legs can’t handle rushing around like this.”

An extremely mood-killing little old man popped up between the two of them.

Ruyi glanced at him and withdrew her hand irritably: “How did you get here?”

“I came to deliver news.” Supreme Lord stamped his foot angrily. “After you hear this, you absolutely must set out a table of braised pork knuckles for me.”

Realizing something, Ruyi’s expression became serious. Shen Qiyuan walked around the Supreme Lord to stand beside her, gently squeezing her shoulder.

Supreme Lord waved his hand and conjured a white mist. In the mist was a scene of Puhua being punished on the Heavenly Thunder Platform. Already severely injured and not yet healed, with each bolt of heavenly thunder, he no longer even had human form. The nine-headed snake beside him was also being punished together. Perhaps because demons couldn’t withstand the thick celestial energy above, the nine-headed snake had almost turned into a pool of blood.

The two watched calmly and asked simultaneously: “What crimes did the Celestial Emperor charge him with?”

Supreme Lord said quietly: “You know how slowly things are handled up there, so I’m bringing you the news I overheard first to put your minds at ease—the Celestial Emperor charged him with multiple crimes including slaughtering human lives, destroying divine bones, falsely assuming divine registration, and stirring up unprovoked troubles. He stripped him of his divine position, sentenced him to a hundred years of thunder punishment first, then to fall into the animal realm and reincarnate for ten lifetimes, each lifetime scheming endlessly but never achieving a good end.”

Ruyi’s expression relaxed somewhat, but she still picked at her ear: “Animals can still scheme endlessly?”

“The Celestial Emperor said that with his nature, no matter what he becomes, he’ll continue scheming, so let him be an animal, exhausting his efforts to survive and find food, only to have it all come to nothing.”

This could be said to be the heaviest punishment for a Divine Lord since the existence of the Heavenly Way.

Shen Qiyuan lowered his eyes: “When he finishes reincarnating through these ten lifetimes, please let us know.”

“Alright.” Supreme Lord nodded, then smiled. “The Celestial Emperor is determined to reform the atmosphere. When you come back up, it will surely be clear and bright.”

Shen Qiyuan instinctively glanced at Ruyi and didn’t answer.

Seeing his expression, Supreme Lord knew what he was thinking and irritably flicked his whisk: “This one beside you is formidable. Be careful she doesn’t abandon you—why are you still thinking about not being able to abandon her?”

Ruyi kicked him: “They say it’s better to tear down a temple than ruin a marriage. What’s wrong with you, old man, stirring up trouble?”

“Is this stirring up trouble?” He covered his leg and jumped away, aggrievedly. “If you truly had no ambition, how could you have erected a golden statue in Great Xia?”

Only deities could erect golden statues, but if a demon king was worshipped as a god for long enough, who knew if she might eventually stand equal with Heaven?

Noticing that Shen Qiyuan was also looking over, Ruyi very innocently adjusted the hairpin on her head: “I didn’t. Don’t listen to his nonsense. The golden statue in the Great Xia came from my granting every request. When the people wanted to erect it, could I have stopped them?”

Shen Qiyuan’s eyes gradually brightened.

No one decreed that deities must become so only through cultivation.

The person in front of him was still bickering with the Supreme Lord, but his heart felt incredibly secure.

She wouldn’t abandon him again. No matter what the future held, he was part of her plans.

“What are you standing there for? Let’s go.” Ruyi called to him. “Let’s go buy this annoying little old man some pork knuckles to eat.”

Shen Qiyuan came back to his senses, smiled and stepped down the stairs, catching up with the two people ahead, continuing down with them.

Behind them, the mountain gate stood tall and majestic. The three characters “Qidou Mountain” still shone brilliantly gold in their slowly receding view.

When it came to where the best food could be found, the Supreme Lord chose Lin’an City without hesitation. Although Immortal Meeting Restaurant had closed, there were other places. The pork knuckles sold by the street at Houchao Gate looked delicious. Buying five at once, then going to the adjacent tea stall for three cups of tea, they could sit down and have a wonderful meal.

Perhaps because the northern cities had recovered, Lin’an’s prosperity was much greater than usual. Amid the aromas and rising steam, the laughter of passersby was continuous, and even the tea stall owner was particularly talkative.

“Where are you folks from? Are you looking for opportunities in Lin’an? I can tell from this gentleman’s bearing that he’s a martial artist, and he carries a sword—you’re not here seeking revenge, are you?”

Ruyi was too lazy to respond, but she happened to encounter the Supreme Lord, who was stubborn, and he answered everything one by one. In the end, he even said: “Who could he seek revenge against? No one in this city’s his match.”