Ye Yu’s expression turned instantly grave.
“In Blue Star, ‘fellow traveler’ isn’t exactly a compliment!”
When Motian Jun used those words, Ye Yu couldn’t help but retort on the spot.
“Anyone can eat a bad meal, but you can’t speak carelessly! You and I are not fellow travelers—never were, never will be!”
Motian Jun, clearly taken aback by Ye Yu’s fierce reaction, paused midsentence. He clasped his hands behind his back and turned forty-five degrees to gaze up at the sky, where the Blood Moon hovered over the Netherworld.
“Immortal Ye, do you find the title ‘demonic immortal’ so distasteful? Does it matter that much—‘righteous’ versus ‘demonic’? Why does it offend you so profoundly?”
In the Celestial Realm, news travels fast. Though Motian Jun had only met Ye Yu once, his curiosity was piqued, so he secretly had celestial observers investigate Ye Yu’s background. What they uncovered amused Motian Jun greatly.
Though Ye Yu hailed from the minor Unfeeling Pagoda sect and boasted a hatred for evil, his cultivation methods were hardly orthodox. Witnesses had seen him wielding the Soul-Summoning Banner—a weapon favored by great demonic immortals.
Ordinary cultivators cannot control its vile energy; once it becomes an immortal artifact, its power surges. If too many resentful spirits gather within it, the user’s personality will shift at best, or they’ll fall into demonic frenzy at worst. That is why many demonic immortals in the mortal realm wield it, yet in the Celestial Realm it is exceedingly rare.
Ye Yu’s use of the Soul-Summoning Banner marked him as decidedly on a demonic path—a kindred spirit to Motian Jun. He had hoped to draw Ye Yu into the Three Corpses Hall as a powerful ally. After all, despite Ye Yu’s relatively low realm, he had never been known to lose a battle. Now, standing at the peak of Immortal King Realm, his speed of cultivation bordered on the supernatural. Who wouldn’t welcome such talent? He might reach half-step Emperor Realm in a few short years!
Thus Motian Jun had seized the chance today to probe Ye Yu’s intentions. He never expected Ye Yu to react so strongly, and the rebuke stung.
“I’m not upset at the title ‘demonic immortal,’” Ye Yu said, taking a half-step back. “I just don’t want to be called your fellow traveler.”
Why, he wondered, did Motian Jun feel so...off today? That phrase, “it offends me,” gave him goosebumps. Honestly, could this old fox be a closeted male immortal? Ugh, how revolting! So many beautiful female immortals around him, yet he eyes men? No way would Ye Yu ever join the Three Corpses Hall!
Motian Jun, unaware of Ye Yu’s private thoughts, brightened at the refusal. His recruitment plan wasn’t entirely dead yet. He suddenly turned back to Ye Yu.
“Very well. If you dislike those words, I won’t use them again. Say, why are you standing so far away?”
“Nothing,” Ye Yu replied. “My lady just finished brewing soup for me. I should return to drink it. You’d best head back as well—the Netherworld’s ghostly aura is too heavy for us immortals!”
No sooner had he spoken than Ye Yu streaked away in a beam of light, still facing Motian Jun. He couldn’t bear to turn his back on that possibility.
“Soup?” Motian Jun murmured, shaking his head. Who knew Ye Yu was so devoted to his consorts—and rumor had it he had double-digit partners. Hmm...perhaps that’s an angle for recruitment. With a flash of inspiration, Motian Jun laughed and vanished.
Meanwhile, after leaving the Netherworld, Ye Yu did not return immediately to the Celestial Realm. He traveled on to the Demon Realm. Previously, the passages among the Five Realms had not been fully open, so he hadn’t visited his dream-world consort there. Now, however, with the Great Passage activated, he could freely traverse all realms.
In less than half an hour, he arrived in the Demon Realm—only to find its gate guarded by a legion of idle demons. They chased away all ghosts and beasts but attacked any arriving immortals on sight. The moment Ye Yu stepped through, over a hundred demonic artifacts came hurtling at him. Fortunately, Demon Lord Lingtian and the Four-Elephant Ink-Bamboo Robe shielded him; without them he would have been in dire straits.
Of course, Ye Yu showed no mercy to those fools and shattered them to dust.
Realizing that his celestial aura would draw unwanted attention, he donned a ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) cloak and suppressed his presence, clutching a demonic immortal artifact that exuded faint ghost Qi to mask him as one of the ghost tribes. The ruse worked perfectly—no one suspected him all the way to East Yao Prefecture.
He entered the Demon King’s Hall with ease and met Bai Qingsong, Demon Lord of East Yao Prefecture.
“Where is your master, Xu Nanqiao?” Ye Yu asked.
Bai Qingsong’s face flickered. No one knew he was Xu Nanqiao’s puppet. How did this cloaked stranger discover his secret? He stammered, “Who...who are you? Why do you speak so recklessly?”
Ye Yu, tired of pleasantries, stepped forward and pressed Bai Qingsong’s throat, using the Soul Search Technique. Upon learning Xu Nanqiao had already left East Yao Prefecture, Ye Yu guessed his consort must be in the Celestial Realm seeking him. He had no need to linger; he tossed the crumpled Bai Qingsong aside.
As he turned to leave, he halted, raised a hand—and Bai Qingsong’s storage ring flew into Ye Yu’s palm. Ye Yu had no interest in the puppet’s trinkets, but intended to repurpose whatever lay within.
