Half an hour later.
The statue finally shattered.
Warrior Monk Wuguo opened his eyes again, struggled to his feet, and looked over the mirror-calm Divine Realm around him—then immediately frowned.
Where was the God of Heart Demons? Where had that fellow gone? Why hadn’t he finished him off? Had something changed?
Wuguo pondered for a long time and still couldn’t figure it out. A heavy irritability rose in his chest.
Of course he was irritable. He had thought that with the Divine Realm’s Ancient Buddha inheritance in hand, he would soar at once, sweep away all evil, and found an undefeated Buddhist kingdom.
Who could have expected that in the very first battle after receiving the inheritance, he would almost be slain by a demon god? The blow to his pride was brutal.
No. He still wasn’t strong enough. He had to become stronger. If he had the chance to meet that God of Heart Demons again, he would hack him into eight pieces and torture him to death.
At this moment, Wuguo failed to realize that his temperament had already changed in silence. His Buddha-heart had been dusted over—a mark left by the God of Heart Demons’ Heaven-Piercing Demon Heart. Even though the god had already fallen, the mark remained, and thus the Buddha-heart was stained.
...
Elsewhere, on a cloud bank eight hundred li from there, Han Gu finally met his daughter, Han Yuexi.
It had been a long time, and he felt he owed her. His gaze turned exceptionally gentle as he called softly, “Yuexi.”
Once, Han Gu would never have done that. His first words were always, “Where is your younger brother?” For him to change now was no small thing.
In the past, Han Yuexi might have been surprised. But now, all her thoughts were on Ye Yu, and such details slipped beneath her notice.
“Father, where is Ye Yu? Where is he? I need to see him right away!”
Since her latest awakening, Han Yuexi was certain that Ye Yu hadn’t told her the truth last time. Godstones? Only three uses? All lies. She was desperate to find Ye Yu for one reason: to verify a few things. If true, it would save a huge amount of trouble.
Han Gu’s face stiffened. He muttered, “It’s my fault. I didn’t keep an eye on him, and he got away.”
Han Yuexi stared in disbelief. In this real world, Ye Yu’s cultivation seemed to be only at the New God Realm. And Han Gu, an Ancient God, couldn’t keep track of a New God? How was that possible?
Under his daughter’s doubtful gaze, Han Gu wanted to crawl into a hole. It was awkward—but the world was often absurd. He had assumed Ye Yu and Shen Fuxin were both New Gods and couldn’t have gone far. A casual deduction would reveal their location; no need to rush. He’d just wait ahead for Yuexi to arrive so they could go together—then she could witness Ye Yu’s scummy face and bow out early. What a fine plan.
Just as Yuexi approached, Han Gu made a precautionary deduction—only to find he could not deduce a single thing about Ye Yu. As for Shen Fuxin, they’d met only briefly; he didn’t even know her name, so there was nothing to work with. In other words, a complete waste.
Damn it. If he’d known it would end like this, he should have stuck to them the whole time. But there was no medicine for regret.
Seeing Yuexi’s expression grow solemn, Han Gu reflexively assumed she was upset at failing to see her beloved. He hurried to say, “Yuexi, listen to me—one look at that Ye Yu and I can tell he’s no good. Just now a female ghost-god threw herself into his arms and called him ‘husband’ right in front of me. Such a man is not fit to entrust your life to. And pining in ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) secret won’t do either! There are plenty of good men. I’ll find you a better one.”
Han Yuexi’s face went very strange. “Entrust my life? Secret crush? Father, what are you talking about?”
“Hm? Don’t hide it from me. Do you like Ye Yu, or are you already together? I’m not against finding a Daoist partner, but you must keep your eyes open!” Han Gu continued his earnest lecture.
Han Yuexi didn’t hear a word. “You misunderstand. Ye Yu and I are... friends. We are absolutely not Daoist partners or lovers. Don’t go playing matchmaker at random. If you don’t believe me, I can swear by the Great Dao.”
No one knew her father better than his daughter. Han Gu was suspicious and tenacious by nature. If she didn’t clear this up now, he would gnaw on it forever. So she opened with the big guns.
Han Gu lifted a brow. “So you’re truly not partners? You don’t like him? Then why are you so eager to find him?”
“Because I have business with him, of course. Forget it—his movements are unpredictable, and he likely has a secret treasure that blocks deduction. Finding him won’t be easy. I’ll talk to him next time we meet. But how did you end up with him just now?”
Puzzled, Han Yuexi listened as Han Gu recounted everything after he left the Secret Realm.
When he finished, Yuexi waved a hand. “Impossible. My little brother is in seclusion at the Tongxuan Temple right now, perfectly safe. If you don’t believe me, I’ll take you to see.”
Moments later, father and daughter arrived at Tongxuan Temple, hidden in a secluded gorge not far from Yuexi’s Divine City—an unnoticed place shielded by multiple formations where Han Qianzhang often cultivated.
After unsealing layer after layer of wards, Yuexi led Han Gu inside. From the doorway they could clearly see Han Qianzhang seated cross-legged in meditation.
“Little brother, wake up—Father is here!” Yuexi called softly.
But time dragged on and there was no response. Her heart tightened; something was wrong. She hurried forward and discovered that Han Qianzhang’s body was an empty shell—the real one was long gone.
A chill ran through Han Gu’s bones. Son... where are you?
...
City of Balance, outside the City Lord’s manor.
Little White stared north with dead-fish eyes. So love really can fade, huh?
An hour ago, Ye Yu had returned with an unfamiliar female ghost-god. Before Little White could even greet a “new sister-in-law,” Ye Yu had kicked him out the door, saying the two of them needed to speak of longing and mustn’t be disturbed.
Fine—talk all you want. But why kick me out? And so hard, so decisively!
Big bro, our bond has grown cold.
A breeze drifted by, unable to lift the corners of Little White’s mouth, which drooped from sheer grievance.
