“So, this afternoon you pretended to be Ban Xia to come see me? And even what came afterward was you?”
Ye Yu gripped Feng Yingzhi’s right hand and stared fixedly at that blue ring. It was unmistakable—he remembered it very clearly from earlier today.
Feng Yingzhi’s eyes reddened as she hurried to explain, “Ban Xia is too timid. She likes you but can’t bring herself to speak. So I planned to confess to you on her behalf. I meant to say it and then leave, but you wouldn’t let me go—didn’t even give me a chance to explain!”
Ye Yu felt a flash of embarrassment. Well, it had all just fallen into place naturally—what was there to explain? Still, it was quite the mix-up: the confession had succeeded, but the target was wrong.
Feng Yingzhi looked anxious as she glanced at the now-sleeping Ban Xia and trembled, “You’ve got to figure out how to explain it to her. You absolutely can’t let her know what happened this afternoon—or it’ll be a mess. If it really doesn’t work, I can just go hide somewhere, dodge the fallout?”
She rose to leave, then noticed Xiao Meng floating nearby. She shivered. In her nervousness she’d failed to notice that this little Azure Ox Spirit Beast was here, too. It couldn’t speak, but it understood human speech and wrote down what it wanted to say with a brush. What to do now—should she kill the beast to silence it?
Sensing her murderous intent, Xiao Meng’s bovine face changed in alarm. It tried to hide behind Ye Yu, then remembered they were on the same side. It wheeled back above the sleeping Ban Xia and tapped repeatedly on her cheek with its little hoof.
Master, wake up! Your best friend not only secretly ate your meal but now wants to kill this poor ox spirit! It’s outrageous—wake up!
Ye Yu pressed a hand to Feng Yingzhi’s shoulder. “You can’t hide forever. All right—let me do the explaining. I’ll soothe Ban Xia. Don’t worry.”
At his words, Feng Yingzhi nodded vigorously. The warmth from his hand reminded her of the afternoon’s scene, and her cheeks flushed bright pink.
Ye Yu then lifted the sleeping Ban Xia and, before departing, tossed Xiao Meng into Feng Yingzhi’s arms. “Can’t take this third wheel with us—it’ll mess up the plan. Better leave it here.”
Xiao Meng immediately burst into tears. Hey, what are you doing? I’ve traveled the Celestial Realm with you, even ventured into the Demon Realm, helping you find people—that counts for something, right? And now you just dump me here? You clearly want me dead! Damn you!
...
A moment later, Ban Xia’s eyes fluttered open. She rubbed her mouth, recalling a dream in which she and Ye Yu lived shamelessly together, feeding each other celestial fruit, until she’d woken abruptly. The loss of that pleasant dream made her sad.
Wait—what was she doing before falling asleep? Chasing Feng Yingzhi for answers! Right—what had that girl done behind her back? And why had she suddenly dozed off?
Just then Ye Yu’s voice came from behind. “You’re awake?”
Ban Xia turned and realized they were not in the Wu Wei Tower but atop an unfamiliar Immortal Mountain peak. “Where are we?”
Ye Yu didn’t answer directly. Instead, he recounted the afternoon’s events and explained why Feng Yingzhi had impersonated her—omitting the less important details. After all, sometimes it wasn’t good to know too much.
Ban Xia fell silent. She understood that Feng Yingzhi had acted out of goodwill, sacrificing her own cultivation research time to set this up. That was a rare kindness indeed, and Ban Xia felt warmth in her heart.
Something then occurred to her: the white sash Feng Yingzhi had been wearing—how had it ended up with Ye Yu? As she opened her mouth to ask, Ye Yu cut in, “Actually, Feng Yingzhi’s words made me realize: time doesn’t matter. If you like someone, why restrain your heart? Ban Xia, will you be my Immortal Companion?”
Taken aback for a moment, Ban Xia then readily agreed. After a brief moment of leaning on each other atop the peak, they returned to the Wu Wei Tower.
The next day, Ye Yu announced to everyone that he’d fallen for Feng Yingzhi at first sight and intended to form an immortal bond with her today. Zhu Die Zhen and Huangfu Baizhi exchanged puzzled glances. They’d never seen interaction between Ye Yu and Feng Yingzhi—how had this bond suddenly formed?
They had no idea that the real interaction had happened only yesterday, during the time they’d given Ye Yu alone. Feng Yingzhi still felt embarrassed whenever she thought of that day, but Ban Xia never mentioned it again. She wasn’t foolish—she saw the key moment and, with Xiao Meng the writing ox by her side, she couldn’t possibly be ignorant. But this outcome was her dream come true. Why blame the well-intentioned friend who made it possible? In fact, she ought to be grateful.
Meanwhile, in the central sky of the Celestial Realm, space suddenly warped. In the next instant, a golden dragon burst forth, bearing Li Ruowang on its back. After days in a secret realm, this Immortal Emperor-level cultivator had finally emerged.
“All right, all right—Yin Feijing, how dare you treat me like this? Not possible—you little fox spirit must have had co-conspirators! Well then, sisters, we’ll settle this properly! Let the human Emperor learn the ways of palace intrigue!” he declared.
...
In the °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Divine Realm, Buddha light blazed. A tall, dragon-like warrior monk suddenly appeared. If Ye Yu were here, he’d recognize him from the dream where negative emotions reigned—the mighty Immortal Emperor – level monk Wu Guo. Now, having stepped into the Divine Realm, his aura was sky-shaking. Golden light flickered behind him, as if a Vajra warrior stood watch.
Wu Guo flexed his wrist and gazed upon the vast Divine Realm panorama. In his heart he vowed that, this time, he would restore the glory of the Buddha Sect in the Divine Realm and slay all fiends and specters!
At that moment, a colossal figure, tens of thousands of zhang tall, loomed into view...
