After the Healer God finished his account, Ye Yu and Yu Buxia froze where they stood. It turned out there was such a story between them: a botched procedure had left the divine steed castrated. Humiliated beyond endurance, it chose to end its own life.
Was it saved? Yes.
Did it survive? No.
To make matters worse, it suffered unspeakable indignities afterward—it must have left the scene in tears! Under those circumstances, flying into a murderous rage at the first meeting hardly seemed unreasonable.
Yu Buxia remained silent so long that the Healer God, via the Communication Stone, felt compelled to defend himself: “Can this really be blamed on me? I’m not even an equine vet, and during the treatment the Radiant Sovereign didn’t tell me whether that steed was male or female. Its coat was so thick I merely trimmed it a bit—my hand slipped.”
“Of course, I’m not claiming zero responsibility. I did offer to compensate with a finer mount, but she refused—and then attacked me on sight!” He sighed. “What could I do? That’s just how it happened. I know the Sovereign has a temper I can’t handle, nor could I hide forever. You’ll have to smooth things over—after a hundred thousand years, a dead horse can’t be brought back to life. Let it go!”
As the glow of the Communication Stone faded, Yu Buxia tucked it back into his Storage Ring, an awkward expression on his face. Perhaps this really proved that Radiant Sovereign lacked any sense—but he still muttered stubbornly, “Was that really so important? Did the creature really want to die because of it?”
Ye Yu offered a solemn explanation: “It was. It truly felt life wasn’t worth living without it.”
At this, Yu Buxia sneered slightly, then glanced at the slumped form of Radiant Sovereign on the table and quietly asked, “So what do we do now?”
Ye Yu shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Indeed, until now he had never imagined that Radiant Sovereign’s way of expressing affection could be so... extreme. Perhaps the book was sound, but reading comprehension mattered even more!
The Somnolent God’s concoction was powerful: Radiant Sovereign had slept for two full days and nights. Upon waking the next morning, its first act had been to seek Yu Buxia—its murderous aura almost suffocating.
Ye Yu gently interjected, “Stop looking. Yu Buxia has already fled.”
An Ancient God abandoning her own Divine City and running off? It sounded absurd, yet it was exactly what happened. As Radiant Sovereign’s close friend, Yu Buxia knew her temperament well. Upon waking she would surely rampage—and battle him on the spot. Possessive souls were like that. Better to escape than endure her wrath; after centuries her rage would subside, and the affair would be forgotten. Balance City could serve as her outlet—shatter it if she wished and rebuild later. Better still, he mused, it could become Radiant Sovereign and Ye Yu’s “marriage city,” a perpetual gift.
Before departing, Yu Buxia had one last declaration: “I don’t like you, Ye Yu. I really don’t. My appearing in that room was a misunderstanding.”
Upon hearing Ye Yu relay all this, Radiant Sovereign’s frosty expression thawed considerably. She asked tentatively, “Really?”
“Of course,” Ye Yu said. “But please, no more of those bizarre books. Your comprehension... it’s different from everyone else’s. With me, it needn’t be so complicated.”
Ye Yu rose and took Radiant Sovereign’s hands. That day they formally became Daoist partners—and left Balance City in her care.
Half a month later, Little White awoke. It had fully assimilated the fragments of Shen Kangren within and advanced to the early Golden God Realm. Its outward form remained that of the little white ram; only when revealing its true nature did it blaze crimson, murderous as a sea of corpses and blood.
Little White had inherited Shen Kangren’s ferocious sanguinary aura and near-invincible regeneration. Even pulverized to dust, as long as a trace of flesh survived and time was granted, it could be reborn. In every sense, it was now a miniature Flesh Evil God—and with time and cultivation might well become an enhanced version. This was excellent news for Ye Yu, who eagerly anticipated Little White’s future growth.
Upon Little White’s awakening, Ye Yu resumed merging various divine beasts into it. Yet Little White’s realm now surpassed Ye Yu’s by far; such fusion drained his spirit too thoroughly, limiting him to two sessions per day. Progress was therefore slow.
During this period, Yu Buxia sent a message via Communication Stone, asking after Radiant Sovereign’s mood—had she cooled off? Ye Yu, assuming they intended to return, replied that Radiant Sovereign was in good spirits and they might attempt reconciliation. Unexpectedly, Yu Buxia was merely curious, with no plans to come back. She explained she was still gathering materials and would return later to ask Ye Yu for help with fusion—hoping he’d not forget his original promise.
Ye Yu could only sigh. Yu Buxia was fine in every way—except her gloomy suspicion. It was just a favor to aid in fusion; endless preemptive warnings were unnecessary.
After the conversation, Ye Yu gazed upon the deserted Balance City and felt the need to venture out. Months had passed; the alchemical pills he’d stocked were long gone. Without external aid, he would have to cultivate bit by bit—something he disliked. Breaking through a realm swiftly was the dream’s main theme; he couldn’t afford to dally here.
He approached Radiant Sovereign and proposed journeying beyond the city to procure more pills. She offered no objection. After their clash with Shen Kangren, she had sensed a breakthrough opportunity and planned to attempt a secluded breakthrough—perhaps ascension to the pinnacle ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) Ancient God Realm wouldn’t be far off.
The next day, Ye Yu departed Balance City with Little White in tow.
