In the celestial palace atop the Nine Heavens, the Heavenly Emperor sat on his couch wearing only his inner robes. Still recovering from his grave injuries, his complexion remained an unsightly pale. In his hand, he held a flower-shaped mirror typically used by women—had Sansheng been present, she would have recognized it as an artifact from the Palace of Fate, a treasure used by the Fate Goddess to observe the lives of mortals in the lower realm.
The mirror, roughly the size of a face, reflected the Emperor’s deeply furrowed brows. After what seemed like a lengthy contemplation, he finally muttered an incantation and swept his hand across the mirror’s surface. The previously still surface rippled like disturbed water, and as the waves settled, two figures gradually appeared in the reflection—Er Sheng and Chang Yuan.
At that moment, they were sharing a sweet kiss, their faces radiating contentment and happiness.
The Emperor’s chest tightened, his dark eyes narrowing dangerously. Unable to contain his fury, he crushed the flower-shaped mirror to powder, instantly destroying the scene within. He let out a cold laugh, his heart burning with rage. “Very well, very well! Fate Goddess, you’ve certainly grown bold.”
The mirror’s powder danced in the air briefly before settling to the ground. The Emperor rose, stepping over the powder as he donned his outer robes and walked toward the door.
“Guards! Summon War God Mo Xi!”
From the Imperial Palace’s position at the peak of the Nine Heavens, one could survey the entire celestial realm. The Emperor fixed his gaze on the Palace of Fate and declared, “I shall imprison that rebellious dragon in the Abyss of Ten Thousand Heavens once more, never to taste freedom again. This will restore order to the world.”
Despite his words, when he closed his eyes, his thoughts dwelled not on the affairs of the state or the welfare of his subjects. Instead, he remembered the Fate Goddess standing before him, neither humble nor proud, saying: “Your Majesty, you have no empress now, and with such a stern face every day, you’re unlikely to find one in the future. I don’t aspire to sit upon that lofty throne, but I care for you—why not return my feelings in kind?”
But now, the Star Lord of Fate, who should have been loyally serving the celestial court with devotion, had descended to the mortal realm for some inexplicable dragon. They had even…
Fate Goddess, you have committed the crime of deceiving your sovereign!
In the mortal realm, Chang Yuan and Er Sheng had finally located Purple Scale Town after three days of inquiries, as mentioned by Beauty Kong.
Upon entering the town, Er Sheng hadn’t noticed anything unusual, but Chang Yuan’s brows were slightly furrowed. As they reached the entrance of an inn, Er Sheng suddenly stopped, staring at the building for a long while before asking, “Chang Yuan, haven’t we been to this town before?”
“We have,” Chang Yuan replied. “Three years ago, during the zombie outbreak, we stayed here.”
Er Sheng’s heart stirred—this meant her hometown, the village where she grew up, lay to the north of this town.
In all these years, Er Sheng had never returned to visit her village, even though it would only take a day or two by sword flight from any direction. She had deliberately avoided confronting her past as if by not returning to confirm their fate, the simple people of her memories could continue living happily in her mind.
But today…
A bitter smile touched Er Sheng’s lips. Leaving the village had marked her first step on the path of cultivation, and now… she was returning because of her journey to the Nine Nethers Demon City. The workings of fate and karma were truly unpredictable.
“Er Sheng, do you know how to enter the Nine Nethers Demon City from here?”
Er Sheng was shaking her head when a voice interrupted: “Hmm, the little girl keeps her word at least.” Beauty Kong, dressed in rainbow-colored robes, approached slowly from the other end of the street. His attire was exceptionally magnificent, though the hat atop his head seemed somewhat excessive and cumbersome. This didn’t prevent him from successfully drawing the attention of many commoners. He appeared to revel in being the center of attention, walking with increasing pride until he reached Chang Yuan. Suddenly frowning, he looked Chang Yuan up and down and said, “Last time you had your eyes closed, looking as pale as a ghost, so I forgot about comparing our beauty. But now I see you truly have the qualifications to compete with this king.”
Beauty Kong snapped open his fan and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Chang Yuan. “Little girl, you be the judge—who’s more beautiful?” After asking, he smiled coquettishly with a hint of mischievous malice. “If you dare say I’m less beautiful than him, I’ll crush the remaining half of the antidote.”
Er Sheng remained silent for a moment before responding, “Since you’re using such methods to threaten me into lying, I have no choice. Fine, you’re more beautiful.”
Beauty Kong’s face twitched, but before he could speak, Chang Yuan’s voice deepened: “What antidote?”
Er Sheng’s face paled, her eyes darting around uncertainly. Seeing this, Beauty Kong suddenly laughed: “The little girl hasn’t told you? Even if she didn’t, you should have guessed. An ancient dragon afflicted with dragon-slaying poison—you should know the outcome better than anyone. Without the antidote, forget about staying conscious; even staying alive would be difficult.”
Chang Yuan’s gaze sharpened as he stared intently at Er Sheng: “You agreed to go to the Nine Nethers Demon City in exchange for the antidote?” His tone was unprecedentedly severe.
“I…” Er Sheng stammered, unsure how to respond. After a long struggle, she finally managed, “Chang Yuan, I was afraid of losing you… if you disappeared, I would truly be alone.”
Chang Yuan’s throat tightened, leaving him momentarily speechless. After a while, he sighed: “I told you I would always stay with you. I thought you suddenly wanted to go to the Nine Nethers Demon City just to find a place to belong, somewhere you could call home, but…”
He paused briefly, his gaze turning cold as he stared at Beauty Kong: “I won’t let you compromise on anything for my sake.”
Beauty Kong raised an eyebrow and slowly pulled out the other half of the antidote from his robes, dangling it before Er Sheng: “Hmm, in that case, this treasure in my hand is useless. Little girl, shall I throw it away?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Er Sheng’s eyes reddened, and she moved to act, but suddenly felt a force on her shoulder holding her back. Chang Yuan gave Beauty Kong a cold sidelong glance, his eyes filled with such contempt and mockery that a vein bulged on Beauty Kong’s forehead.
Chang Yuan spoke calmly: “Follow your heart. If you want to go with him, we’ll go. If you don’t want to go, I’ll reveal my true dragon form right here rather than let anyone take you away.”
Beauty Kong’s face darkened. A dragon’s true form, impervious to weapons, and this dragon was displaying such disregard for his own life… With the Demon Realm’s grand plans about to unfold, he had no energy to battle a dragon.
Er Sheng’s eyes grew moist: “But Chang Yuan, the poison in your body…”
“Tens of thousands of years ago, the Celestial Realm used this poison to slaughter my kind. I survived then, and I’ll survive now,” Chang Yuan said. “So nothing can threaten you. Just speak your mind.”
Er Sheng lowered her head and said weakly: “Chang Yuan, how can I ever repay you… even laying ten eggs wouldn’t be enough…”
Chang Yuan’s cheeks quietly reddened. Er Sheng nodded, seeming to have made a decision: “I want to…” travel the world with you.
Before she could finish her sentence, a lethal attack suddenly descended from the sky, striking directly at Er Sheng. She gasped in shock and quickly pulled Chang Yuan back. Beauty Kong also didn’t dare to meet the attack head-on and had to dodge. After regaining his footing, he looked up and saw the white-robed figure radiating celestial energy, immediately frowning.
Immortal Master Wu Fang’s appearance wasn’t part of the plan.
The commoners watching on the street, frightened by this sudden “thunder from clear skies,” scattered in all directions, each seeking shelter to avoid being caught in the immortals’ battle. In no time, only the three of them and the celestial warrior Chang Wu remained on the great street.
“Demon!” Chang Wu let out a low shout, his Flame-Rising Sword drawing an intense white light. “I thought you had merely strayed into demonic cultivation and intended to help you break free from the demonic seal. I never expected you to willingly fall into darkness, planning to follow these demons to the Nine Nethers Demon City. If I don’t kill you, I betray the immortal way.”
Er Sheng barely managed to block this attack, her heart in chaos as she hurriedly said, “I don’t want to go anymore!”
The Immortal Master coldly replied, “Whether you go or not, we can no longer spare you. Today you harm your fellow disciples, tomorrow you’ll endanger the world.”
Er Sheng’s whole body trembled: “Harm who? I haven’t killed any fellow disciples…” Er Sheng suddenly remembered Chen Zhu, but she only recalled dislocating his wrist, not taking his life. However, thinking carefully, something was indeed strange—given Chen Zhu’s temperament, even with a broken arm, he would have stubbornly pursued them, yet yesterday…
“Chen Zhu… is dead?”
The Immortal Master gave a cold laugh: “You know better than anyone.”
Beauty Kong lazily waved his fan, hiding the strange smile on his lips.
“I…” Er Sheng’s face went white as she stared at her own hands. Could she have accidentally used too much force yesterday? She shook her head, “I didn’t kill anyone, I didn’t kill Chen Zhu.”
Hearing this, Chang Yuan’s brows furrowed tightly. Er Sheng hadn’t killed Chen Zhu—he was certain of this—yet Chen Zhu was now dead. The only explanation was that someone had framed her.
His sharp gaze fell on Beauty Kong. This peacock demon had given Er Sheng three days to find this place on her own. If he wanted to take Er Sheng to the Nine Nethers, he could have simply brought her here himself, both preventing her from changing her mind and avoiding complications. Why specifically give her this three-day deadline…
Before Chang Yuan could puzzle it out, several figures suddenly appeared behind the Immortal Master, flying on swords. Looking closely, they were the various elders of Wu Fang Sect, along with Shen Zui and Ji Ling. Before anyone could react, Shen’s figure suddenly descended to the ground.
Er Sheng stared blankly and called out: “Master…”
“Slap!” Without giving anyone a chance to intervene, a harsh slap landed on Er Sheng’s face. Shen Zui’s face was dark with anger, his usual playful demeanor completely gone: “What a fine disciple I’ve taught!” Er Sheng’s body went limp, falling into Chang Yuan’s embrace from the force of Shen Zui’s slap.
Chang Yuan quickly held Er Sheng, feeling her body trembling. He felt an indescribable sourness permeate his heart, anger flowing through his blood. But he knew that getting angry and fighting now would have no effect—it would only solidify these false charges against Er Sheng. Chang Yuan coldly looked at Shen Zui and said: “Chen Zhu wasn’t killed by her. You shouldn’t have struck her.”
Shen Zui let out a cold laugh: “Do you know whose name that boy Chen Zhu was calling out until his dying breath? Er Sheng, how could you bring yourself to do it!”
“She naturally couldn’t do it, because she didn’t kill him.”
Shen Zui’s gaze finally fell on Chang Yuan: “The internal affairs of my Wu Fang Sect—what business are they of yours?”
“Indeed, they’re not my concern, but you’re condemning my wife for something she didn’t do, punishing her for a crime she didn’t commit—that makes it my business.”
Shen Zui laughed coldly, again and again, drawing his sword and pointing it at Chang Yuan: “Step aside. Wu Fang Sect’s punishment of a wayward disciple brooks no outside interference.”
With the sword drawn, the atmosphere instantly grew tense. The elders in the air all gripped their magical weapons—they had never shown mercy to demons.
In an instant, killing intent filled the air.