The Twenty-ninth Branch of the Three Corpses Hall.
That was the name of this ruined sect, easy enough to remember.
Here, Banxia finally met the Demon Heaven Lord.
At this very moment, he looked utterly haggard, every trace of his former vigor gone—he seemed a completely different person. Banxia felt light-headed. Had someone taken over his body?
When he saw Banxia, the Demon Heaven Lord grew excited and hurried forward. “Ye Yu—where is he? Is he still alive?”
“He is indeed alive,” Banxia said, clenching her fists. “He’s asleep right now.”
“Sleeping?” The Demon Heaven Lord’s face went pale. He muttered to himself, “How could he be sleeping? An immortal of his caliber—why would he sleep?”
Banxia’s expression turned grave. She opened her mouth to plead his help—yet the Demon Heaven Lord was like one possessed, impervious to reason. She felt utterly helpless.
“Tell me,” he pressed, “why would he sleep at this moment? Did he learn I was coming and hide? Or is he even nearby, watching me now?”
He looked around in fear as though Ye Yu might appear at any second.
Banxia frowned. His terror seemed extreme—was it because of that False God? Though Ye Yu had never gone into detail, she knew that after slaying the False God, he had journeyed to the Netherworld before returning to the Celestial Realm. According to the Demon Heaven Lord, he and Ye Yu had fought side by side, yet had both been overwhelmed by the False God.
If that was true, then the Demon Heaven Lord likely betrayed Ye Yu—and that guilt now haunted him. An idea for saving Xiao Meng bloomed in Banxia’s mind.
“My Lord,” she began. “Ye Yu really is asleep—and he doesn’t know I came out—but there is one thing I am sure of: he was furious after battling the False God.”
At those words, the Demon Heaven Lord’s face changed. “Furious? So what? I only wanted to survive—what fault is that? I prepared for ages to ascend into the Divine Realm; I cannot let my journey end at the final step! I... I had no choice.”
He looked at Banxia with pleading eyes. “Banxia, I summoned you here hoping you would speak well of me to Ye Yu. I fled during that battle, and I regret it. If possible, I want to be friends with Ye Yu again—to fulfill our promise and ascend the Divine Realm together. Will you help me?”
His voice had become almost a supplication. Banxia seized the moment. No wonder he was acting so strangely—he’d fled the battle and felt intense shame. A traitor asking for friendship? The absurdity made her lips curl in disdain.
“My Lord,” she said seriously, “I come from the Three Corpses Hall, and I will do what I can. I will feel out his attitude when I return. But there’s one more thing: Xiao Meng is currently with Ye Yu. If he wakes and sees the death aura above Xiao Meng’s head, what excuse will I have?”
“That’s trivial!” The Demon Heaven Lord made a hand seal and tensed. A spectral calf appeared before him, then dissipated.
Afterwards, he smiled ingratiatingly. “I have lifted the ‘Doomed Demise’ spell on your beast. Return now—and please say kind words on my behalf. Also... never again ignore my Communication Stone!”
“Understood!”
Banxia agreed and immediately left. Truth be told, she never wanted to stay another second in that place.
Watching her depart, the Demon Heaven Lord’s smile faded and his gaze grew frigid. “Do you think she’ll speak for me?”
“Probably not,” said a young man behind him, fanning himself with a paper fan. This was Tao Huaming, in charge of the Twenty-ninth Branch. “She only came because of her worthless divine beast. Now you’ve lifted its doom, she sees no threat and will ignore you entirely.”
The Demon Heaven Lord gave a wry laugh. “I may have lifted that beast’s death curse, but not hers!” He summoned Banxia’s fading image in his palm, the death aura still swirling above her head. “Give her a few days. If she dares defy me—if she fails to plead my case to Ye Yu—then let her die! The Three Corpses Hall needs no disloyal dogs!”
Tao Huaming cupped his fists. “Your decisiveness is worthy of our Lord of Evil Immortals. Yet I’ve long wondered—why do you value this Ye Yu so highly?”
The Demon Heaven Lord did not answer. A flash of hidden terror passed through his eyes.
“Value him?” When Ye Yu had still been weak, “value” might have applied. The Demon Heaven Lord had studied Ye Yu’s fate and seen his greatness to come. But never had he expected Ye Yu to grow so quickly that he could slay a False God. Now, it was no longer “value” but “fear.”
He truly worried Ye Yu would strike him for his betrayal—and that fear drove his frantic behavior.
Meanwhile, back at °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Wuwei Tower, Banxia first sought out Xiao Meng, who was playing with Ye Nian. The little beast seemed its old lively self, and the death aura above its head had vanished entirely. Banxia’s relief was overwhelming; she scooped up Xiao Meng and spun around, then turned to Ye Nian. “Has your father woken up yet?”
“Father’s awake,” Ye Nian said. “He’s probably busy with important matters in his room.”
That answer sent Banxia’s mind racing. “Important matters”—and it was midday under the blazing sun!
“It must be cultivation-related!” Ye Nian added. “Aunt Banxia, can you play with me now?”
Banxia blinked. “Give Auntie half an hour—then I’ll come back to play, okay?”
Ye Nian nodded vigorously and resumed playing hide-and-seek with Xiao Meng. Truly, hide-and-seek was only fun with Xiao Meng; A Kong was too big and bad at hiding.
Banxia’s form flickered, and she soon arrived at Ye Yu’s room. Seeing no rune array at the door, she pushed it open and stepped inside—only to find Ye Yu sitting cross-legged, eyes tightly closed.
