She stood with hands clasped behind her back, sword intent crisscrossing around her, that perfectly cold face completing the picture.
Beauty that stole the breath.
But Ye Yu had no time to admire it.
He was already racing through countermeasures.
Some time ago, when he took over Tongtian Pavilion, Luo Shu had warned him: the God Alliance had many external enemies.
And the stance of the woman before him looked exactly like someone here for revenge.
There was no doubt about it.
Truth be told, by choosing to serve as Lord of the God Alliance at Tongtian Pavilion, Ye Yu had already considered that danger might come.
He simply hadn’t expected it to come this fast—and this strong.
From the surge of divine power around her, she was at least Ancient God Realm to start.
With his current cultivation at mid New God Realm, picking a fight?
Suicide.
So Ye Yu frantically weighed how to get out alive.
Just then, Luo Shu’s voice sounded in his sea of mind.
“Kid, this woman is from Ancient Sword Gorge, a mortal enemy of our Tongtian Pavilion. You’re still weak—not her match. As long as you don’t admit you’re with Tongtian Pavilion, you won’t die.
“I’ll help prove it. But don’t forget you are Lord of the God Alliance at Tongtian Pavilion. If you get the chance in the future, rebuild it.”
Hearing that, Ye Yu nodded.
He couldn’t help a sigh.
Even at the brink of life and death, Luo Shu was thinking of Tongtian Pavilion. Rare indeed.
A loyal hound who gave his life to the Alliance.
Ye Yu almost wanted to give him a thumbs-up.
But how exactly was Luo Shu going to help?
Curious, Ye Yu suddenly felt a paw clamp around his neck.
A familiar voice came from behind.
“Heng Xuanzhen, leave at once, or I’ll twist this kid’s neck off!”
At that, both Ye Yu and the woman called Heng Xuanzhen froze on the spot.
Brother... this is how you plan to help me?
Ye Yu roared back via heart-voice transmission.
Luo Shu’s face didn’t change.
“You don’t understand. Members of Ancient Sword Gorge are Celestial World immortals—sanctimonious to the core. Maybe she’ll soften and spare your life. Trust me, that’s how it goes in the God Realm novels! The righteous types love doing this!”
After that answer, Ye Yu felt numb all over.
He’d imagined countless possibilities—just not this one.
Brother, even if you think immortals are sanctimonious and you want to threaten her into leaving with someone’s life, at least pick someone she cares about, right?
But I’m a Yokai.
Yes, immortals and demons are mortal enemies—but do you think Yokai have a much better reputation with immortals?
They’re about the same, okay?
You’re using a Yokai’s life to threaten an immortal?
What if she’d rather you hurry up and kill me?
No sooner had he finished that last thought—
—the goddess named Heng Xuanzhen said coolly, “If you want to kill him, kill him. What’s that to me?”
Ye Yu glanced ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) back at Luo Shu and said nothing, but the look on his face said everything.
See? Exactly as I guessed.
What else do you have to say now?
Well?
Luo Shu looked a bit embarrassed and muttered his own explanation. “That’s how the books put it, so I tried it.”
“If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work.”
He slowly took his paw from Ye Yu’s neck and walked forward.
His eyes were already filled with a fatal resolve.
“I am the last ember of Tongtian Pavilion. Kill me and your merit is complete—just don’t drag others down with me.”
Clearly, he was pleading for Ye Yu.
But Heng Xuanzhen was not the sort to be coaxed by a few soft words.
“Rest easy,” she said lightly. “Everyone here will die, and this place will become ruins. I’m returning to Tongtian Pavilion everything that happened in my Ancient Sword Gorge three million years ago.”
Her voice was soft, her killing intent immense.
As she said it, Heng Xuanzhen looked past him to Ye Yu.
Clearly, she had no intention of sparing the low-ranked yokai god either.
Luo Shu couldn’t help a full-body shudder.
So not even the last spark could be saved?
Ye Yu’s brows knit tight at once.
Marked already?
What now—gamble it all?
He swept the surroundings with divine sense immediately, but found no corpses.
At the same time, he focused on Heng Xuanzhen’s hands.
She was absolutely a god-clan adept in the sword.
In that case, could the Shattered Sword War-Demon Art be used against a god-sword?
Uh—wait. Heng Xuanzhen wasn’t even holding a sword.
Right then. If that’s the case, the “gamble it all” option can be crossed out.
No chance whatsoever.
Which left only the second path.
As Heng Xuanzhen took her first step forward, Ye Yu lifted a hand decisively.
“Hold. Before you act, I have a question. Why are you set on destroying Tongtian Pavilion?”
A flicker of anger passed over Heng Xuanzhen’s icy face.
The sword intent around her thickened.
“Three million years ago, Tongtian Pavilion slaughtered two hundred and eighteen of my Ancient Sword Gorge’s god-clan and razed our entire Alliance.”
“If I hadn’t been traveling abroad then, I wouldn’t be alive now.”
“From that day, I swore that in this lifetime I would repay the blood-debt.”
“A blood-debt must be paid in blood.”
Ye Yu nodded. “Fair. That makes sense.”
The answer made Heng Xuanzhen blink.
“Do I need your approval?”
Ye Yu looked to Luo Shu and fired off questions in quick succession. “When Ancient Sword Gorge was destroyed, were you there? Where are the people who did it? And right now at Tongtian Pavilion, what is your position?”
The three questions left Luo Shu momentarily at a loss.
After a brief hesitation, he answered gravely, “I wasn’t there when Ancient Sword Gorge fell. By then I was already gravely wounded—reduced to what you see now. As for those who destroyed the Gorge’s Alliance back then, they either died or left Tongtian Pavilion.”
“As for my status now? I’m afraid I’m just an old watchdog at the gate.”
Saying it seemed to drain the last of Luo Shu’s strength—
—and with it, the final scrap of pride in his heart.
