My Master Disconnected Yet Again Chapter 231-240

Chapter 231: Authority to Transmigrate

"My calculations are not always accurate." The Godfiend looked at Shen Ying as a flash of something darted through his eyes. "Whatever happened afterwards was outside of my calculations. That was why I chose Hui Ling. She was just a puppet, formed from nothing with Zi Chen's demonic Qi. She accidentally entered the River of Forgetfulness and obtained a soul. She was never a part of the Three Realms. Hence, I granted her wish when she asked me for strength."

So on the day of the Great Competition, the white light that appeared in Hui Ling's jade pendant, and the aura that was following Shen Ying around, was really the Godfiend.

But did Hui Ling already know of her identity from the very beginning?

It was no wonder that she had always picked on Shen Ying. If she really was formed from Zi Chen's demonic Qi, she would not be able to fight against the power of the Godfiend.

"But the immortal realm and the demonic realm have always been against each other. Are you not afraid that a fight will break out between the two realms, causing more souls so perish?" Yi Qing suddenly asked. He looked up at the man not far away from him, frowning. If not for Master, the demonic and immortal realms would have broken out in a fight a long time ago. What was the point of merging the realms? "When the divine beings isolated the demonic realm, weren't they trying to avoid this? As the ancient Godfiend, the demon who created all other demons, do you think that you're rescuing them or sending them to their deaths?"

The moment he finished speaking, Lonemoon stared blankly at him. It took Lonemoon awhile before he could respond. That's right, the Godfiend claimed to be rescuing the demons, but merging the two realms was going to result in a major sacrifice.

"Whether they emerge dead or alive is not within my calculations." The Godfiend's expression remained unchanged, as if it did not matter in the least whether the demons were dead or alive.

"You-" The two men were obviously exasperated.

"What I'm worried about is the balance." "What rotten balance!" Lonemoon could hardly keep himself from shouting. "If you really cared about balance, you would not merge the immortal and demonic realms!"

The Godfiend fell silent for awhile and scanned the two of them. "You're focusing on the survival of the two realms, but I'm looking at the cycle of the Three Realms."

"What do you mean?"

"There is a limited number of living souls in this world!" The Godfiend lowered his voice. "The demonic realm is a part of the Three Realms. Even though the River of Forgetfulness in the demonic realm cannot enter Samsara, things change… The immortal realm cannot enter the demonic realm, yet mortals can become demons. As time goes on, what do you think is going to happen?"

"…'" The two of them paused. Indeed, when mortal demons ascended, they entered the demonic realm.

From the looks of it, mortals could only enter the demonic realm but could never come out from it. As time goes by, more and more souls in the demonic realm would not be able to enter Samsara. The number of souls that can be reincarnated in the Three Realms would reduce. One day, there will be no more souls left.

"That's why it's not important to me whether the demons are dead and alive. What is most important is the balance in the Three Reams."

If one focuses on the survival of the entire world, even if the immortals and demons fought to their deaths, they would just re-enter the River of Forgetfulness. In the grand scheme of things, this did not make a difference to the world.

Suddenly, the two of them fell silent.

"What about me?" Shen Ying broke the silence. She looked up at the Godfiend. "Where do I feature in your plan?"

"Well.." The Godfiend smiled and hesitated. Then, his grin widened. "You have special powers. I'm just afraid that things might go wrong, so-"

"I'm just an insurance plan?"

"Heh heh heh…" There was guilt in his eyes. He immediately regained his official demeanour. "It's proven that even though things did not play out as I planned, it is because Shen Ying is here that the immortal and demonic realms managed to merge more than a few hundred thousand years ahead of schedule. This has saved a great deal of souls from disappearing forever."

"So… You did good?" Shen Ying narrowed her eyes.

He immediately looked indignant. "Everything I did was for the sake of the Three Realms, and for the world."

"To save the Three Realms?" Shen Ying looked at the Godfiend squarely in the eyes. "You're making yourself seem extremely selfless and noble, like you've done nothing wrong? Is that why you expect everybody to cooperate with you and be used by you, and to throw aside everything at that? "It was for..."

"The sake of the world!" Shen Ying suddenly laughed mirthlessly. "You said it before and you were right to say that everybody has a duty to save the world! But you're freaking forgetting that this isn't even our world!"

"…"

"The River of Forgetfulness? Samsara? What has all of this got to do with Father Niu and I?"

"I-"

"If you wanted to save the world and merge the realms, and if you wanted to predict the future, I have nothing to say about that. But don't drag people into this mess if they have nothing to do with it in the first place. You've brought us full circle, and given us all of this nonsense about the Three Realms perishing, and you expect us to act like nothing has happened? Heh… Do you think that we from the alternate world are so easily bullied?" "No, I just-"

"Even children in kindergartens know that you need to seek others' consent first if you want their help. You did not even bother to ask us before you dragged us from an alternate world into this place. That isn't getting help - that's kidnap!"

"…"

"Just because you have reasons and valid excuses - just because you wanted to save the Three Realms - you think you can capture us as you please?"

"…"

"May I ask, did we enter your River of Forgetfulness? Or did we eat any of your grains by mistake?"

The Godfiend: "…" Yi Qing and Lonemoon: "…"

Er, she did indeed eat their grains - and a lot of it at that.

"I hate being kidnapped! Especially being kidnapped for a good purpose!" Shen Ying got to her feet and looked down, twisting her lips in a nasty grimace. "No matter how many people you saved, no matter how much you achieved, you owe Father Niu and I an apology! And I… I love using violence to extract apologies!"

She suddenly clenched her fists and there was a loud sound of bones cracking. The Godfiend jumped and subconsciously retreated several steps. In a flash, Shen Ying appeared right in front of him, ready to strike!

"Wait!" The Godfiend became pale. His casual and proud demeanour was completely gone by now. Who was the real Godfiend? He retreated about five or six steps when he saw her approaching and raised his voice hastily to explain himself. "I did get your consent before I transmigrated you!" "My ass!" Lonemoon reacted immediately. He was almost bought over by that story. It was indeed important to save the world, but they did not even belong to this world. They should not have been taken into this world to save it - and by force at that. If they helped, it was out of the goodness of their hearts and not out of a sense of responsibility. What they hated was not that they were forced to save the world, but that they were being used and taken for granted. According to the Godfiend, if not for Shen Ying, the Godfiend would not have even bothered to explain this entire situation to them.

"Shen Ying, he's buying time. Hit him!" He really wanted to take revenge for the suffering that the Godfiend caused them to endure.

"It's true! I'm telling the truth!" The Godfiend quickly retrieved something from his robes and handed it to Shen Ying. "I really did get your consent before I transmigrated you. If you don't believe me, look!"

Lonemoon glanced and saw that it was a letter that the Godfiend was holding. That letter did not look like it was from this world - it looked like it belonged to the modern times. Shen Ying hesitated, then took the letter. She pulled out a piece of paper.

She scanned it, then suddenly looked furious. Her face drained of all colour until she looked as pale as the paper she was holding.

Shit!

Chapter 232: The Horror of the Older Sister

Shen Ying's hands trembled as she read the words on the paper. It was taking every ounce of her willpower to stop herself from throwing the paper aside. She stared into blank space, face becoming red and then pale, and then greenish, and then purplish. In just a few seconds, she was completely cured of her long-term facial paralysis.

"Shen Ying?" Lonemoon nudged her as she stood rooted to the ground. "What's going on? What does the letter say?" He could not help but step forward to look at what was written on the letter.

Shen Ying retracted her hands and heaved a long sigh. Then, her expression changed. She suddenly smiled warmly at the Godfiend. She fluttered her eyelids and sweetened her voice. "Mr Godfiend, may I ask if there's any other way I can help you? Forget merging the two realms - even if you want to merge four, five, six, or seven realms with the Three Realms, I will help you! Would you like to give it a shot?"

The Godfiend: "…" Yi Qing: "…"

Lonemoon: "…"

"No matter, you can take your time to think about it. Once you decide, you can leave it to me. You won't even have to pay me." Her tone took a hundred and eighty degree turn.

"Shen Ying, you must be crazy!" Lonemoon glared at her in disbelief. This was such a sudden change in attitude!

Shen Ying acted like she could not hear him and smiled even more brightly "Whether you want to move the world to save it, merge the realms or build walls, I'm professional about it all. Just tell me, don't worry!"

"No… No, thank you!" The Godfiend looked slightly fearful. Were his eyes playing tricks on him? The woman who was smiling so brightly at him was really Shen Ying?

"Alright, no worries! Your satisfaction is my goal." She fluttered her eyelids once more. She was just short of asking him if he wanted a kiss!

"Hey, hey, hey! Shen Ying…" Lonemoon reached out and touched her forehead with the back of his palm. "Are you crazy?"

Shen Ying slapped his hand away and glared at him coldly. "Get away!" She turned to the Godfiend and plastered a bright smile onto her face once more.

"Mr Godfiend, do you have anything else for us?"

"N- N- No."

"Alright, then we'll be off." Shen Ying waved at him and said, "Take care, Mr Godfiend. Till we meet you again, Mr Godfiend."

"Good.. bye?" "Shen-" Lonemoon just started to say something when Shen Ying tugged at him.

The next thing he knew, she was picking up the fruit knife and stabbing the rift. She cut up a huge hole. Then, she picked up Chef in her left hand and Father Niu with her right, jumping into the hole without any hesitation. In a second, they were all gone.

The Godfiend: "…" Was I imagining all of that?

There was a blur before Lonemoon's eyes. Then, he found that they were back in the demonic realm. Little Black's eyes twinkled. He was just about to go toward them, but Shen Ying showed no signs of wanting to stop.

She shouted, "Let's go home!" Then, she picked up the two of them and flew out of the demonic city in a flash. She did not stop until they flew out of the demonic realm and into the Bo Sea Heavenly Palace.

When they  reached  the  rear  hall,  she  kicked  open  the  door and lay down on the floor like a dead dog. She panted for a long while before she finally calmed down.

A while later…

"Chef, nobody followed us, right?"

"N- N- No."

"That's good, that's good!" That scared her.

Yi Qing: "…"

Lonemoon: "…"

What… in the world was going on?

Lonemoon saw that Shen Ying was still clutching the paper in her hands. He snatched it and read the letter. There was only one sentence written on it in neat penmanship.

Little Ying:

Go and help them out! If you don't finish it, you're dead!

Big Sister, Jing.

Jing?

"Your older sister wrote this letter?" Something clicked in Lonemoon's mind. He finally figured something out. Instinctively, he asked, "Shen Ying, your older sister isn't Shen-"

"No!" Before he could finish speaking, Shen Ying jumped up from her place on the floor and covered his mouth. She looked like she was going to burst into tears. "Father Niu! My dearest father. I'm begging you - don't say that name! I want to live for a couple more years. I really do!" Just stop your rotten mouth from giving away our location, alright? Σ(°△°|||)

"Mas… ter?" Not just Lonemoon, but Yi Qing was taken aback by her reaction.

Was she that scary? Looking at the way Shen Ying wanted to bury herself at the prospect of hearing her older sister's name, the two of them really wanted to know what exactly her older sister did to Shen Ying.

"You must be kidding me, Shen Ying!" Lonemoon had never seen her act this way before. "I was just going to say her name. Do you have to overreact?"

"I have to, of course! What if she hears you?" It's scary, alright?

"She can't hear me."

"No!" Shen Ying shook her head furiously and looked around. "My older sister's ears are very sharp!" Lonemoon and Yi Qing: "…"

Even if her ears are sharp, she wouldn't be able to hear what they're saying in an alternate world, right?

"This letter doesn't say anything!" Lonemoon looked at the letter once again. "Why are you so afraid? She's your older sister after all, she wouldn't eat you up, would she?"

Shen Ying turned green. Awhile later, she heaved a long sigh. "Ah, you have no idea! My older sister is even scarier than a cannibal!"

"…"

"What kind of person is Master's older sister?" Yi Qing could not help but ask.

Shen Ying subconsciously trembled. Her expression was twisted once again. "My older sister…" "Wait!" Lonemoon pursed his lips and studied the two of them. "Before you tell your story, can we please come out from under the bed?"

Yi Qing: "…"

Shen Ying: "…"

What the f*ck? You can hide under the bed by yourself - why must you drag the two of us along with you?

——————

An hour later.

"Master, have some tea to calm your nerves." Yi Qing handed the cup of tea over.

Shen Ying was finally calm again. She gulped down a mouthful of tea and handed the empty cup back to Yi Qing. "I'll have one more- No, three more cups!"

Lonemoon pursed his lips. He immediately snatched the cup from her hands. "That's enough from you. What're you doing! Can you talk now? What exactly is the problem? Why are you so scared of your older sister?"

Shen Ying's hand trembled. She looked like she was resisting the urge to hide again. After looking around her, she sighed again and said, "You don't understand!"

"Then help us understand!" Lonemoon could not contain his curiosity. What kind of person could cause the cheater Ying to be this afraid?

Shen Ying sat in silence, drinking a few cups of tea. She scanned the two people around her and finally resolved to speak. "Let me put it this way - all my skills now are a result of my sister's demonic training."

"What?" Lonemoon paused, recalling something. He jumped to his feet. "Your out-of-the-world powers were trained by your older sister?"

"Oh, no! I only got them after I transmigrated." She shook her head. "Other than that."

Lonemoon heaved a sigh of relief. He sat back down and rolled his eyes. "Other than your cheater powers, you have other skills?" Eating and sleeping?

"Hey… I do have some!" Shen Ying thought very seriously for awhile. "Like folding techniques, spatial control, spiritual development, third language skills, brain development, creativity…" She kept throwing these strange-sounding nouns out to them.

Lonemoon: "…"

What is all of this? He had never heard of these things before.

"What are you talking about?" This isn't some kind of cult training, right?

"They're very difficult!"

"Alright, what kind of achievements do you have from learning all of these things for so long?"

Shen Ying frowned. She counted with her fingers very seriously, and then replied, "I obtained more than ten qualifier medals. Do they count?"

"What?" What the hell? Were those awards granted by small district administrators?

Chapter 233: Unlucky Child

"It's difficult to get that prize - they only hand it out once every two years!"

"Master, you're smart beyond comparison!" Yi Qing rushed to affirm his master. "Master, you're high in intellect, and you think outside of the box. It is no wonder that you're able to achieve things that we cannot and think of things we cannot even think of."

Bootlicker!

Lonemoon glared at Chef. Just admit that you don't understand what she's saying! Would you die if you don't bootlick her for one second?

On further thought, Shen Ying was indeed quite smart. Of course, that was when she was not being lazy.

"What's the big deal about all of this? What else can you do?" "Er…" Shen Ying pondered for awhile and replied, "When I'm bored, I can tinker with technological gadgets. Does  that count?"

"IT? You?" Lonemoon scanned her from head to toe. "This is my profession. All you do is play around - that's not considered IT!" What would a bum know about IT?

"I know other things!" Shen Ying exclaimed.

"What?"

"For example…" She thought for awhile more and replied, "Your company had an interstellar game, but the main engine was modified and your company only found out five years later?"

"How did you know that?" Lonemoon was taken aback. That was the main project of their company's game development department. It was the most popular and profitable project at that. Shortly after they released it, however,  some modifications were made to the game. Those modifications did not have much impact on the game, but the company only realised they were made five years later. Since it did not result in any losses, and the modifications improved the main engine, they covered the matter up. Only the top levels of management knew about the matter.

"Oh, I was the one who made those modifications!"

"…" Huh?

Σ(°△°|||)

"Also! I was your main servicing technician. Am I right to say that every noon and midnight, the system would jam for two seconds and there would be no recovery available?"

"… Yes."

"That's because my computer is too slow, so I borrow your network to send documents over." "…" What the f*ck!

(⊙_⊙)

"And your company organised an e-competition. In the finals, the game suddenly broke down and could not be started up again. This resulted in a two-day delay?"

"Yes… what's the matter?"

"Oh, that day, I used your network to send a super huge document."

"…" Damn it!

o(╯□╰)o

"Before we transmigrated, your technology department discovered the holographic technology and intended to release holographic online games, right?"

"That isn't-"

"I wrote the core program. I borrowed your network and forgot to delete it."

"…" Motherf*cker!

"And-"

"Enough!" How many times did you cheat us? He took a deep breath in and tried to stop himself from strangling her. "Did I do something horrible to you in my past life? Why are you always trying to take advantage of me?"

Shen Ying paused. After awhile, she replied him confidently, "Maybe… I was just too bored!" "Bored my ass!" Being bored doesn't give you the right to mess with my network! If you're that capable, go and mess with the Ministry of Defence! Lonemoon inhaled sharply and calmed himself down. "You mean to say that your IT skills were taught to you by your older sister?"

"Oh, that's not counted. I picked those skills up on my own when I had nothing better to do." She looked at him soberly and continued, "I spent about two months on it." It was so much simpler than studying the universe.

What the hell, I can't continue this conversation. Did  she spare a thought for the feelings of those thousands of IT staff working in his company?

"Alright! We'll talk about your older sister next time. Are we just going to forget about the debt that the Godfiend owes to us?" Lonemoon felt indignant about just wiping the debt off like that.

Shen Ying raised her head and looked him in the eyes. Then, she said, "Father Niu, how do you want to settle that debt? Do you want to go back?" Lonemoon paused, his expression darkening. There was a struggle in his eyes.

If they had faced this problem when they first transmigrated, Lonemoon would choose to go back without any hesitation. But now that he had been living here for hundred of years - not just ten or a hundred, but three hundred - it would be hard to ask him to leave behind everything and go back. Although he still remembered everything from his past life, he has already begun to take this world as his own. He would probably have difficulty adjusting back to life in his original world.

Lonemoon fell silent. The Godfiend was indeed detestable, but apart from beating him up to take his anger out, Lonemoon would not be able to do anything else. Even if the Godfiend was willing to send them back now, it would not be practical. Lonemoon looked up at Shen Ying and asked, "What about you? Do you want to go back?" She had not been here for long anyway.

Yi Qing looked nervous.

"No!" She exclaimed without any hesitation. Her expression was extremely serious as she shook her head vigorously and said, "It's good here. I have food to eat and a place to sleep. I don't have to learn anything and I can even eat supper!" She could truly be herself here.

"Useless!" Lonemoon rolled his eyes. Indeed, he could not expect much from a foodie.

Wait a moment!

Knowing Shen Ying… Could she be choosing to remain here just to avoid her sister and continue her long holiday?

"…"

Damn it! Why did Lonemoon feel like he was the only one who was losing out?!

"Chef, I'm hungry. Make some supper for us."

"Yes, Master. No problem, Master!" Yi Qing heaved a sigh of relief and returned to the kitchen.

"…" F*cking retard.

"Sect Master," Yu Hong rushed into the door at the same time that Yi Qing rushed out. Feng Ying and Qi Chengyu followed closely behind her. As the big senior sister, Yu Hong always looked composed. Seldom did they see her as flustered as she was now. "It's no good, Sect Master! Xuan Tong is missing!"

"Xuan Tong?" Lonemoon paused. Then, he lowered his voice and asked, "Why is she missing? What happened? Talk slowly."

"I'll say it!" Qi Chengyu stepped forward anxiously. "A few days ago, Little Tong told me that she had an epiphany during the great battle the last time. She was also showing signs of developing sword intent, so she intended to isolate herself and turn into an Exalted Immortal!"

"An Exalted Immortal!" Lonemoon exclaimed. When they undid the seal on Xuan Tong's body, she immediately rose to become a Stygian Immortal. Apart from Yi Qing and Lonemoon, nobody else in the sect was capable of teaching her. Ordinarily, Lonemoon would offer her a tip or two when he was free, but he had been so busy with calculations and predictions given the recent moving of houses that he did not bother to check in on her. As for the other disciples, they were used to training on their own. Lonemoon did not expect Xuan Tong to be so capable as to develop her own sword intent so quickly. She was indeed cut out for being a sword cultivator!

"Yes, that was why Yu Hong and I started to get ready for her to go into isolation these few days." Qi Chengyu glanced at Yu Hong, and her panic heightened. "But this  morning  when  we went to look for her, we found that she was not in her room. There was no damage done to the array outside the house - she just disappeared into thin air!"

"She's in the midst of ascending and the immortal Qi in her body is still unstable. There's no way she would leave now," Yu Hong continued. "And she was at the east side of the rear hall. It's always been quiet there. I also instructed the disciples not to go over and disturb her, so nobody has seen her."

"I also got System to check," Feng Ying interrupted. "I can't detect her aura in the entire heavenly palace. I think she left." Lonemoon and Yi Qing exchanged a meaningful look. "Let's go to her house to take a look!"

They both walked out of the entrance and picked up Shen Ying, the pile of mud, as they exited.

Chapter 234: Searching with an Array

The Invincible Heavenly Palace had hundreds of immortal pavilions for a little over 200 people. That was why Lonemoon allowed the disciples to choose any pavilion that they wanted. The disciples - by some strange work of chemistry - all decided to stay in the houses surrounding Shen Ying's rear hall. Within a few seconds, they arrived at Xuan Tong's pavilion.

Xuan Tong's immortal pavilion was different from the others', which were all surrounded by rich immortal Qi. Xuan Tong's did not have a single immortal herb in front of it. Instead, there were all sorts of plants - potatoes, red potatoes, radishes- even spring onions and garlic.

Lonemoon pursed his lips. He had no idea what Xuan Tong needed all of these things for. Glaring at Shen Ying, he thought, this is all your fault!

The others did not seem to notice this exchange between Lonemoon and Shen Ying. Instead, they did not think the plants that Xuan Tong was growing were any different from any other immortal herbs. They entered the premises from a small road round the side of the pavilion. Yu Hong picked up a token and undid the prohibition array set up around the immortal pavilion. Then, she opened the door.

Compared to the garden outside, the immortal pavilion felt extremely cold and empty. There was no furniture inside the pavilion - only a mat where Xuan Tong probably sat. By the window, there was a white jade vase holding a stalk of flower that was emanating immortal Qi.

Lonemoon released his divine perception and searched the premises. Then, he conjured a tracking seal. Yet, he did not find anything. Xuan Tong was indeed gone, but where could she have disappeared to?

"Little Ying… Sect Master, Elders!" Roasted Chicken Gal anxiously scanned the three people in the room. "Little Tong is of a young age, but she has always been very obedient. She has never made us worry like that before. She would not leave without notifying someone first. Something must have happened to her!"

Lonemoon frowned deeply. "Yu Hong, did you send the disciples to search for her outside the Heavenly Gate? Especially at the islands surrounding the palace?" "We already looked there!" Yu Hong nodded. "We already searched at the hundreds of islands below the Heavenly Palace. We also notified all the country emperors, but nobody has gotten back to us as of yet."

Where could she have gone? He turned to look at Shen Ying, who was beside him. "Can you tell what happened?"

Shen Ying shook her head. Her gaze fell on the flower by the window. "There's nothing?"

"You can't tell either?" Lonemoon turned the jade flute over in his hand. "What exactly happened?"

"Should we ask Salted Fish?" Shen Ying suggested.

"Salted Fish?" Lonemoon paused, then reacted. "You mean Chen Ge!"

Oh yes, Xuan Tong was connected to Chen Ge. Perhaps he could find her. What's more, Chen Ge came over to their palace every two or three days ever since the Invincible Sect moved here. He would even look for various excuses to send immortal weapons to Xuan Tong. Even the blind would be able to see that he fancied Xuan Tong. In any case, all of them came from Feng Cang continent - it was completely reasonable for them to keep an eye out for one another.

Yet, Xuan Tong hated to see him. Nine out of ten times, she would decline to meet him. She never accepted a single gift and even borrowed Lan Hua's and Tao Shu's weapons just to spite him. One of them was a talented Celestial Emperor and the other was a professional weapon refiner who could make even better weapons than the ones Chen Ge had. Everytime Chen Ge saw Xuan Tong using those weapons, he would retreat defeated. Yet, two days later, he would come back again.

The entire Invincible Sect, including Lonemoon, had high hopes for their relationship. The fact that this was departing from the novel aside, although Chen Ge was not incredibly strong, he was a Celestial Emperor after all. After all  that they've been through, he deserved their trust.

"Yu Hong, hurry up and send people to the Heavenly Palace in Feng Cang. Invite Celestial Emperor Chen Ge over here," Lonemoon immediately instructed. "Go over there from the transportation array in our palace!" The day that Yi Qing was coronated, all the Celestial Emperors came to give Invincible Sect celebratory gifts and to return their debts. They also created transportation arrays that led to their respective continents. This made travelling between continents much easier.

"Yes," Yu Hong nodded.

"Chef should go!" Shen Ying turned to Yi Qing for some reason and said, "He's faster."

"Yes, Master!" Yi Qing did not object. In a flash, he was gone.

A moment later, he reappeared, clutching something in his hand. He threw it and said, "Here!"

Lonemoon: "…"

Yu Hong: "…" Chen Ge: "…"

That was too freaking fast, right? Was that an invitation? It was kidnap!

——————

"What? Lady Xuan Tong is missing!" Chen Ge exclaimed. He immediately got to his feet. "Isn't she in isolation? How can she be gone!"

"We're not sure," Lonemoon shook his head.

Chen Ge's expression fell. "But… who could have entered the Heavenly Palace and kidnapped Lady Xuan Tong? This is Invincible Heavenly Palace after all.

We invited you here to ask you if you have any way to locate her." Xuan Tong was still in the midst of ascending and her immortal Qi was unstable. She was not to be disturbed. If they did not find her as soon as possible, she could really be in a dire situation.

Chen Ge glanced at Lonemoon, looking anxious. He heaved a huge sigh and said, "I know what you mean…"

Chen Ge already found out that Xuan Tong was the human form of his demon seed and mental demons when he became a Radish and summoned Xuan Tong. "Although Xuan Tong's soul and mine were one, she has already gone through several rounds of reincarnation. She's already an independent soul. What's more, the demonic Qi in her body is all gone. Apart from a slight telepathic connection, I am no longer linked to her." This telepathic connection was not even strong enough  for Chen Ge to locate her as well.

"What should we do then?" Qi Chengyu was beginning to panic. One could say that she brought Xuan Tong up single handedly. Naturally, she was more worried than anyone else.

"Junior Sister Little Hong," Shen Ying  suddenly  called, tugging at Yu Hong's sleeve. "Call Boss Lan down." "What are you calling him-" Lonemoon paused mid-sentence before he realised the reason. His eyes widened. "You mean his Radish Array- Pui, I mean Heart Entrapping Array!"

That's right, the Heart Entrapping Array allowed Chen Ge to pull Xuan Tong over the last time. He would be able to do it again now.

"Yu Hong, hurry!"

Yu Hong realised this and her eyes brightened. She nodded and said, "Yes!" Then, she ran off to call Lan Hua.

Lonemoon pondered for awhile before asking Chengyu and Feng Ying to bring Radish over just in case. Then, he retrieved several immoral meridians and placed them on the garden in front of Xuan Tong's immortal pavilion. At the same time, he dug a huge pit.

By the time everything was in order, Lan Hua and Radish arrived. Lan Hua was quite trustworthy. After hearing a brief explanation and realising that the Shortie was missing, he quickly set up the array.

Everybody in the yard turned to look at a certain Celestial Emperor in white robes.

Chen Ge paused, realising something. He raised his hands cooperatively and said, "I know! I have experience in this." Then, he jumped into the pit Lonemoon dug. Chen Ge thought about the fact that the person that was missing was the person he fancied. He asked worriedly, "Do you have to put some soil on top of my head or something?"

Lonemoon: "…"

Lan Hua: "…"

Shen Ying: "…"

Everyone: "…" Was he suffering withdrawal symptoms from being a radish? What does he want soil on his head for? Why doesn't he grow some leaves on his head then?

Chapter 235: Radish's Indignation

Perhaps it was because they had done it before - this time, Lan Hua was especially fast in setting up the array. Within one hour, he had completed the set-up. Thick demonic Qi began to surge around him, covering the entire garden in an instant. The sky darkened. The originally lively garden seemed much quieter. The demonic Qi rose like vines. It covered the entire ground, together with the array. Even Radish, who had been playing with the soil, suddenly paused. It looked at the garden very seriously and waited for a huge radish to spring up.

Awhile later, it raised its leaf and pointed toward a potato on its right. "Over there, Little Big Sister, it's over there! Over there!"

The next moment, they heard a plop. A huge potato appeared on the ground and another pit appeared. A familiar voice sounded from the pit. "Sect… Master?"

"Little Tong!" Chengyu exclaimed. She ran forward immediately and picked the potato up. There was another plop. She bent over into the pit to pick the potato up again. Chengyu was obviously unsteady - the potato was becoming larger and smaller alternately. "This…" Chengyu looked extremely confused. What was going on?

"Little Shortie!" Shen Ying's face fell. She stepped forward and squatted by the side of the pit. "What exactly happened? Where are you?"

Xuan Tong's body was still becoming bigger and smaller alternately. She looked like she was struggling against something. Her voice came intermittently. "I don't…  I  am. Sect… in here… I have never seen… sealed and there can't be… he's not… divine being…"

Suddenly, her voice vanished completely. The potato also disappeared, leaving behind an empty pit. The demonic Qi surrounding them dissipated at once.

"What's going on?" Lonemoon looked into the empty pit and turned to face the person in the array. "Lan Hua, this is… Lan Hua!"

Pui… Lan Hua spat out a mouthful of blood. His face was white as a sheet, as if he had been seriously injured.

"Holy shit!  What's  happened  to  you?!"  Lonemoon  jumped.

Everybody was obviously shocked as well.

Lan Hua did not answer him. He clutched his chest as he became paler by the second. Yi Qing stepped forward to feel his pulse and then frowned. "The array backfired!"

"How can that be?" Lonemoon's eyes widened. This was not the first time Lan Hua set up such an array. The last time, he managed to drag seven or eight souls over at once without much effort. Why was he reacting this way this time?

"Somebody cast a spell on Xuan Tong - not just her body, her entire soul is immobilised!" Lan Hua inhaled sharply and said, "That person's aura… is very strange! It felt neither like immortal Qi or demonic Qi!"

"He's neither an immortal nor a demon. Could he be a divine being?" "No!" Lan Hua shook his head. "It's definitely not a divine being. The aura felt like… I can't put my finger to it. All I know is once I got in touch with it, I got attacked!"

Lonemoon's expression fell. Xuan Tong - this unlucky child. Why did it have to be her all the time? At least there was a certain target the previous times; this time, they were not even sure who the being was after. What could be confirmed was that this person took her by force.

"Your injuries are not light - regulate your body quickly!" Yi Qing reminded Lan Hua.

Lan Hua crossed his legs and began to regulate his body. The demonic Qi in his body was now extremely unstable - sometimes it was there and sometimes it was not.

Lonemoon gesturing for everybody to leave. Then, he helped Chen Ge out of the pit and instructed Yu Hong, "Go to the Heavenly Gate and see if Blackie is there. He should be on the way. Lan Hua is a demon so we won't be able to help him much with recovery." "Yes!"

The few of them returned to Shen Ying's rear hall, discussing along the way but coming to no clear conclusion. What exactly was Xuan Tong trying to tell them?

"Shen Ying." Lonemoon did not know what to do, so he nudged the person who had not said a single word since they left Xuan Tong's. "Who do you think kidnapped Shortie? Or do you have any idea what the aura that Lan Hua encountered was?"

"I don't know." Shen Ying shook her head. After thinking for awhile, she said, "But what Boss Lan was talking about is probably related to this flower." She retrieved a vase from underneath the table and placed it on top of the table.

Everyone: "…"

Wasn't this the vase on Xuan Tong's window sill? Why did you bring it here? How did nobody notice this? "What's wrong with this flower?" Lonemoon studied it closer. He was just about to activate his immortal Qi to get a closer look.

"A flower!" Radish jumped out of nowhere, as if activated by some sort of command. It sprang onto the table and stared at the vase. "All wild flowers should die - Little Big Sister is mine!" It raised its leaves and charged toward the flower.

"Radish!" Lonemoon exclaimed. This little rascal! He quickly pulled Radish back.

But Radish's leaves had already slammed down on the flower in the vase. Its leaves had immortal Qi too! Lonemoon watched, expecting the fragile red flower to be crushed. Suddenly, the flower released a gust of grey air which not only dissipated the immortal Qi on Radish's leaves, but sent him flying backward!

There was a loud crash. Radish hit the wall and became flattened, as if it just encountered an explosion. The impact was so great that a Radish-shaped dent appeared on the wall. "Radish!" Everybody called.

Everybody in the house was shocked. They rushed forward. Lonemoon activated his earth-elemental technique to peel Radish off the wall, Its pale-white body was now dyed purple.

Radish's entire body seemed to have been struck by something. It stared at Lonemoon blankly. After awhile, as if realising that it hurt, it began to wail so loudly that the walls shook. It turned to bury itself in Shen Ying's  arms.  "Wah… Little Big Sister… Little Big Sister, it bullied me! It hurts!  It really hurts! Ah¬"

The leaves on its head leaked with drops of water that it looked a bit like it was raining. Shen Ying frowned and pulled Radish away from her body in disgust. "It's so ugly!" She handed Radish over to Roasted Chicken Gal, who was standing beside her

"Wah¬" Radish hugged Chengyu and cried even harder.

Radish never felt this hurt since it first met Shen Ying. The vegetation spirit was a pure one, and it only began to form a child's character recently. Although its gender was uncertain, all the disciples in the sect were ladies. What's more, Radish was good with its words so that all the disciples liked him. Apart from Lonemoon and a few others who were jealous of it, everybody else was kind and accommodating toward it. This being the first time Radish got attacked in this manner as well, by a wild flower that had no sentience, no less. No wonder Radish was this hurt!

"Alright, alright, be good, Radish!" Qi Chengyu comforted it for a long time before Radish finally stopped crying.

Shen Ying pointed at the vase on the table. "Did all of you see that?"

Everybody in the house had a sombre expression on their face as they nodded. They surrounded the vase and watched as the flower changed before their eyes. The flower wilted before their eyes, as if it encountered demonic Qi.

Chapter 236: Deal with the Godfiend

Lonemoon produced a hand seal and moved a strand of Immortal Qi towards the wilted flower and examined it thoroughly. "The aura has already disappeared, it should have been depleted when it attacked Radish."

"Grass-type immortal herbs are the most easily infected by their environment." Yi Qing said. "This flower was placed by the window sill, it should have been infected by the other party's aura when he abducted Xuan Tong."

"But we've never seen this aura before." Lonemoon's brows were almost knitting together. "It's no wonder Lan Hua was unable to detect what kind of aura it was, it is indeed weird. It's not Immortal Qi, but not demonic Qi either. Moreover… it's so cold!"

In that moment, he had felt a cold aura filling  the  entire room.

Moreover, just a trace of leftover aura was enough to knock the radish away. Although Radish was a vegetation spirit, its cultivation level was not low. From that, they could see that the person who had taken Xuan Tong away is extremely strong.

"From my knowledge, the Celestial World has never had someone with such an aura." Chen Ge walked back and forth frantically. "Could it be… from the Demon World?"

"No!" Lonemoon shook his head and rejected his conjecture. "If the Demon World really had someone like this, when your mental demons opened the gate to the Demon World, Shen Ying should have met them when she entered and not waited until now for them to appear." Moreover, letting someone out to abduct the Invincible Sect's disciple was something that Blackie would not dare to do.

"Then what is this?"

Everyone fell silent and thought for a long while, but to no avail. They all cast different spells, trying to trace the aura, but it was completely pointless. Even Feng Ying had tried using his system, but it did not produce any results.

Lonemoon was frustrated, "Does nobody know who this aura belongs to?"

"There's a person…" Shen Ying thought and said suddenly, "Who definitely knows."

"Who is he?"

Lonemoon was about to ask, but someone suddenly pushed the door open and looked in the house, saying, "Exalted Goddess, I'm back!" The Demon King smiled flatteringly and came over. "The Skyfiend named Lan Hua's injury is not a big issue, I've already helped him to adjust it, he'll be fine after a few days of rest."

"Oh." Shen Ying nodded her head. She suddenly broke into a brilliant smile and said, "Thank you for your troubles."

Blackie shuddered uncontrollably and took a step back.

"Exalted… Exalted Goddess! If you have any order, please say it… Can you not smile at me? When you smile, my legs go weak!" Exceptionally weak.

"Blackie."

"Here!"

"How about another vow, the kind that can help us meet the Godfiend."

Blackie: "…"

Lonemoon: "…"

Yi Qing: "…"

The clueless crowd: "…"

Be honest, Exalted Goddess do you not like Blackie anymore and want to change to another demon?

(; ́༎Д༎`)

————

Five minutes later.

"Exalted Goddess, what vow do I have to make this time?"

"The previous time was dumplings, how about mooncakes this time?"

"…"

"What is it, is it difficult!"

"No, no, Exalted Goddess, no problem Exalted Goddess!" So, a distinct vow sounded immediately in the Bo Sea's Palace and spread throughout half the Heavens beyond Heaven.

[I, king of the Demon World, Li Yin, use my Demon Soul to establish a contract with the supreme Godfiend. Abiding by the rules and laws of the heavens — Tonight, I will make Exalted Goddess Shen Ying eat assorted nuts mooncakes. If I defy this, I am willing to accept severe punishment by the Godfiend.]

Sigh, he would get used to the humiliation after he did this more!

┑( ̄Д̄)┍

"Chef, give me the egg yolk mooncake."

"Yes Master, no problem Master!"

Five minutes later, in the Divine Realm. The Godfiend: "…"

The next time they wanted to summon him, could they use another method?

And…

A certain ancient god was speechless as he stared at the person opposite him, "Have… you finished eating?"

She had already been eating for five minutes!

"Wait a minute!" Shen Ying swallowed the last bite of her moon cake and in her hurry, choked on it. She coughed forcefully and it was Yi Qing who hurriedly passed her a cup of tea that eventually helped her to swallow it down.

Clapping both her hands together to get rid of the moon cake crumbs, she then waved towards the person opposite her. "Hello, Mr Godfiend!" "…" He did not feel fine at all. "You made that little Demon King summon me. What is it about?"

"There's something we need to ask you." Shen Ying took out the wilting flower from her waist pocket. "Do you know what is the aura on this flower?"

The Godfiend looked at the flower in her hand with the same faint smile as before. He nodded and said, "Naturally."

"What is it?"

The Godfiend looked at the three of them, then paused for a while. He finally replied, "You all are trying to find the child that was born from mental demons."

"You know where Xuan Tong is?" Lonemoon asked frantically.

"Naturally." The Godfiend smiled. "I am one of the three ancient Gods who created this world. As long as it is something that happened within the Three Realms, I know it all." "Then…"

"But I can't tell you just like this."

"Why?" Lonemoon faltered. Didn't he enjoy telling them the previous time?

"The previous time, I said that I am already outside the bounds of the Three Realms and cannot interfere with the living beings in these realms. Otherwise, an even greater chaos will appear." The Godfiend sighed and continued, "The child born from the mental demons being sent into  reincarnation, although she was only someone's remnant soul initially, she has now developed her own soul and is considered one of the new beings in the Three Realms. She has her own fortune, so I cannot tell you."

"Bullsh*t!" Lonemoon had originally disliked him, but was even more infuriated now. "Back then, you pulled us to this world. Didn't you already interfere then? There's also Hui Ling's matter." "Hui Ling did not have her own soul, so it naturally didn't count! As for you… you're from a different world, so you're not from the Three Realms. Anything that happens to you has nothing to do with the Three Realms."

D*mn this little b*tch! Lonemoon's expression became grim, but he suddenly thought of something and a spark lit up in his eye. "According to you, we're not from the Three Realms, so you can tell us, right? Since it doesn't count as you interfering!"

"…" The Godfiend was stumped, this wasn't how it was supposed to work.

"But you said it yourself!"

The Godfiend shook his head. "What difference is there between telling you and me interfering directly. Moreover…" He suddenly turned to Yi Qing, who was standing at one side. You're not, but he is from the Three Realms!

Yi Qing faltered, then raised his hands and covered his ears, pretending to not know anything. "Ahhh, I can't hear!" Lonemoon: "…"

Shen Ying: "…"

Godfiend: "…" Do you think I'm blind?!

( ̄_, ̄)

"Don't give us that nonsense, tell us your conditions." Shen Ying stepped forward. If he really did not want to interfere with this matter, he could have just ignored Blackie's vow. Why would he pull them here otherwise, who would believe that he didn't have other motives.

The Godfiend did a double take, but the smile on his face became even brighter. "I indeed have a small matter that I would like Shen Ying to help me with."

"Say it." She took out another moon cake and started munching. "I want you to help me find a person." The Godfiend's expression became serious and genuine worry appeared in his eyes. "Recently, I've been unable to sense her existence, perhaps you can help me find her."

Chapter 237: Missing Person

Shen Ying looked at him with a surprised expression. "Is it your lover!"

"…" The Godfiend's mouth twitched, and he replied after awhile, "You've misunderstood, she's Meng Po!"

"Meng Po!" Lonemoon was stunned and his eyes widened. "You mean… the Meng Po who gives out the Meng Po soup?"

"Soup!" Shen Ying's eyes lit up. "What soup…"

(๑◕▽◕๑)

"Shut up!" Lonemoon glared at her. "That soup will cause you to lose your memories after drinking it, it's for reincarnation!" Did she have any common sense at all, don't be in high spirits after hearing about food!

"Oh." "Memory loss?" The Godfiend faltered, then thought of something and laughed, saying, "That's just a prank by Meng Po. The rumored Meng Po soup is just the water from the River of Forgetfulness. The River of Forgetfulness can cleanse a person's soul, allowing it to return to its original state, so their previous lives will naturally fade away. No matter whether they drink it or not, they will still enter the River of Forgetfulness' Samsara.

Lonemoon: "…"

Damn! So this was what the Meng Po soup was? Doesn't that mean that all those couples in love stories who promised to not drink the Meng Po soup were idiots!

"Meng Po is one of the three Gods of Creation like me." The Godfiend explained in a solemn voice. "Me, Meng Po and the God of Creation created the Three Realms from chaos. Meng Po was in charge of Samsara, I was in charge of light and dark as well as order, while the God of Creation created everything in the Three Realms."

"You're in charge of light?" Lonemoon faltered, "Aren't you the Godfiend?" Was this a joke? "The Godfiend is just a name the demons gave me." He continued with the same smiley expression on his face. It was just like how Meng Po was originally called the River of Forgetfulness.

"You said you wanted to look for Meng Po? What happened to her?"

"I couldn't sense her all of a sudden!" The Godfiend sighed. "Her and I were both born because of the God of Creation's dividing the sky and the earth. She was originally the avatar of the River of Forgetfulness and in charge of the world's reincarnation, creating a harmonic cycle. In the past, she never left the River of Forgetfulness, but this time there has been changes to the River of Forgetfulness. The Demon World was sealed, if she personally came to the Demon World, she would be able to reconnect the River of Forgetfulness."

"She didn't appear." Shen Ying finished his sentence.

The Godfiend nodded. "That's right, that is also why I put in all this effort to combine the Celestial and Demon World." The previous time, he had not finished saying it before they ran off. "Although Meng Po is also one of the Gods of Creation, but it might be because the River of Forgetfulness has interacted with too many living beings from the Three Realms, so she was naturally affected. Her character also changed; in the past, she would often hide, but this time is different."

He frowned, "I am completely unable to sense her. Even the God of Creation doesn't know where she is. You are both from an alternate world and Yi Qing has exceptional fortune. Moreover, Shen Ying… has unique abilities, perhaps you can really find her."

"Why do we have to help you?" They had not even settled the debt from the previous time.

The Godfiend fell silent, and replied after awhile, "If Meng Po is not around, in the long-term, the River of Forgetfulness will lose control and there will be chaos in the Three Realms." He looked at Yi Qing. "Perhaps you three don't care, but can you really watch all the beings in the Three Realms die off just like that?"

Lonemoon was speechless, f*ck! Again with the world crisis. "Of course, I don't have the right to request you to do this." The Godfiend's tone softened and he immediately added, "How about this… No matter whether you are able to find Meng Po, I will tell you the method to connect to your world. How about it?"

"Really!" Lonemoon was stunned. There was actually a method, now he wouldn't have to worry about leaving.

The Godfiend's smile became even brighter as he raised a hand. "I swear to the Heavenly Dao."

"Alright!" Lonemoon nodded and decided to trust him again. "But the Three Realms is so huge, where are we supposed to find her?" Moreover, asking a person with no sense of direction like Shen Ying to look for someone, was he really considering it?

"Meng Po will not leave the River of Forgetfulness for long periods of time." The Godfiend said. "You only need to look for her in the River of Forgetfulness' source. It's simple."

"You mean we have to leave the Celestial World?" Like hell it was simple! What was going to happen to all the wealth that he had taken so long to accumulate! "Also, where is the River of Forgetfulness' source, it can't be… the Underworld?" Holy shit! He was really planning to send them to hell!

"To be precise, it's the Divine Underworld!" The Godfiend corrected him.

"Divine? Underworld?" What did he mean?

"After the Divine World left the Celestial World, we did an Immortal Ascension with the entire world, so we're now the same world as the Underworld."

"Ascension to the Underworld! You mean… the Underworld was initially the Three Realms…"

"Pinnacle World!" The Godfiend nodded. "The source of the River of Forgetfulness would naturally be the elite among the Three Realms." Lonemoon: "…"

Yi Qing: "…"

This was different from what they were taught!

A plethora of things appeared in their head. Hell, Yan Luo[1.In legends, Yan Luo is the king of Hell], the Wuchang Gui[1] and many other things. Moreover, those evil spirits that even normal cultivators could deal with were from the Pinnacle World? They could even move into other worlds!

Why did they suddenly feel like their impression of the Divine World fell to rock bottom?

"Where is the shorty?" Shen Ying suddenly asked.

"Relax, with her life frame, she'll be fine. Her life won't end anytime soon." The Godfiend explained, "Moreover, she's where you will be going." "Xuan Tong is in the Divine Underworld!" Lonemoon faltered. No wonder none of them had ever seen the aura on the flower, it wasn't from the Celestial World? But why would the divine race kidnap Xuan Tong? "That's not right, can the people from the Divine World enter the Celestial World casually?" If they could, why had the Celestial World never seen the divine race all these years!

"After you go to the Divine Underworld, you will naturally understand all these." The Godfiend waved his hand and a white light flashed past, bobbing slowly in front of the three of them. "I cannot interfere with the Three Realms, so I cannot go there personally. If you are ready to go, use your Immortal Qi to activate this, it will bring you to the Divine Underworld. As long as you are within ten feet of Meng Po, it will glow red and I will naturally appear."

Shen Ying stretched out her hand and took it. Lonemoon also lowered his head to look at it and his mouth twitched. As expected, it was another jade pendant! It looked exactly the same as the two pieces Hui Ling had. Did this Godfiend have an obsession for jade pendants?

"I'll be troubling you three then." The Godfiend's smile became brighter as his body faded away with the entire Divine Realm.

"Wait a minute!" They were not done asking him, he could at least give them a general direction to start off.

Lonemoon still wanted to ask him some questions but the scenery in front of them had changed. They were standing in the back palace's courtyard. Opposite them, Blackie was holding a piece of moon cake and munching it, it was assorted nuts- flavored too.

"Exalted Goddess, you're back!" Blackie swept off the moon cake crumbs on his hand. "That was quick! What happened? What did the Godfiend say…"

"Blackie!" Shen Ying cut him off and looked at the empty plates on the table. She squinted her eyes and said, "You can go now!"

Are?[2] He had just arrived!

"Why…" He was just about to ask when Shen Ying glared at him suddenly. Blackie felt his entire body go cold and instinctively shuddered. Why was the Exalted Goddess looking at him like this?

"Demon King, please!" Yu Hong could  read  expressions  well and started to chase him away.

Blackie was confused, but he left, turning back with every step.

"Little Hong, have I done something wrong?" He felt like he had been despised by the Exalted Goddess.

Yu Hong looked at him with a strange expression.

"Huh? What was it!" "Sigh… It's better for you not to know."

"Why not?"

"The sect master hasn't had her dinner today!"

"Huh?"

What did that mean? Explain clearly, so that I can suck up better next time!

Σ(°△°|||)

[1] The Wuchang Gui are the deities in charge of escorting the spirits of the dead to the Underworld

[2] Are is Japanese for huh

Chapter 238: Heading for the Divine Realm

"Do you think we should go or not?" Lonemoon frowned. He answered too quickly earlier - now he was troubled.

Xuan Tong was now in the Divine Underworld and they did not know exactly how she is. Although the Godfiend said she was not in any real danger now, it did not mean she would never be. What's more, she was only a Stygian Immortal and yet she was surrounded by divine beings. It would be a joke to think she would be safe there, especially given her unlucky character…

She was a disciple of his sect after all. All things considered, it would be hard for him to turn a blind eye.

But if all three of them go to the Divine Underworld, whether they would find Meng Po aside, they might not even be able to make it out alive. Given the immortal realm's current situation, it looked like everything was fine. But Lonemoon knew it was only because Shen Ying was holding things together. The moment she left for the divine world, the immortal  and demonic realms would commence battle. The first place that would come under attack would then be their Invincible Heavenly Palace.

"Although the ten Skyfiends have not fully recovered from that time that you defeated them, the Celestial Emperors would be very different. Even if the ten of them combine forces, the demonic realm would stand an equal chance against them. With Blackie in the picture…" They were not being biased, but the skills of the immortal realm were really subpar. "What's more, the demonic realm has Zhan Ting."

Emperor Zhao Hua was still around, but she would not be of much help. If it really came down to it, they were not even sure if the demons would let her off.

"What do you guys think? What should we do now?"

"Huh?" Shen Ying stuttered. She was chewing on food as she turned to look at Lonemoon. "What did you say?"

Lonemoon felt something in his mind snap. "All you can care about is food!" Could she not see that he was extremely anxious? Furious, he turned to glare at the man who was walking toward the kitchen. "And you! Stop frying food! You've cooked about twenty dishes now!"

"Father Niu…" Shen Ying said as a strand of vegetables hung out the side of her mouth. "We have to eat our fill so that we'll be strong enough to discuss these  things.  Chef,  cook  some tomato fried omelettes!"

"Yes Master, no problem Master!"

"That's enough from the both of you!" It was taking all Lonemoon's willpower to keep from slamming the table. "Could you two spare a thought for Shortie?" After all, they've interacted for a couple of years. They practically watched her grow up!

"We're worried!" Shen Ying nodded. "That's why  I'm  asking Chef to cook more dishes for us to eat on the road."  What  if there's nothing to eat there?

"You're… really planning to go to the Divine Underworld?" And you're planning to leave immediately? "What else?"

"But if we go, the sect and the two realms-"

"Father Niu!" Shen Ying suddenly interrupted him. She lowered her voice and said, "Why did you leave the Blackheaven Sect?"

Lonemoon paused. He stared blankly at her. Why? Because the Blackheaven Sect was planning to make Shen Ying and Yi Qing their scapegoats. The sect leaders who were supposed to protect those in the sect were so willing to give up the lives of those under their care at such a critical time. That was why he grew cold toward Blackheaven Sect. Then… he joined Shen Ying!

"Now we're acting the same way as them." Shen Ying pondered for a moment and continued, "Shortie is a disciple of our sect."

Lonemoon stiffened. The knot that had formed in his heart finally undid itself. That's right! Why was he still hesitating? That was one of the Invincible Sect's disciples that they were talking about - how could he allow others to bully her! As for whether they can return, with the cheat around, he had absolutely nothing to fear! The worst case scenario would be that they grab a certain demon and make him swear.

"I understand now!" Lonemoon smiled. He felt his entire body relax. Everything suddenly became clear. Out of instinct, he turned to glare at Shen Ying. "And… get your filthy hands off my shoulder!"

Damn it, she even took the chance to wipe her hands on his shoulder. What did she take him for - a cloth?! Don't think I didn't see that!

"Do you believe that I would chop them off?"

Shen Ying immediately retracted her hands and turned to face her bowl once again. They were having prawns tonight! Ah, too bad she did not prepare some paper towels. Now that her hands were so oily, she was having difficulty grabbing the other food. "Master, the fried tomato omelettes are ready!"

"Oh."

Lonemoon conjured a hand seal and wiped the oil stains from his shoulder. He returned to his seat around the table and looked around worriedly. It looked like he had better arrange everything in the Heavenly Palace as soon as possible so that the disciples would not be left behind to worry.

"Don't worry!" Yi Qing placed the plate of fried tomato omelettes in front of Shen Ying and said, "The Godfiend did not hesitate to merge the two realms, and even requested for us to head to the Divine Underworld. It's obvious that he has already thought of everything. It's likely that he has already prepared everything that we might need."

Lonemoon paused. He was just going to ask something when the ground began to shake. From not far away, he felt thick and rich demonic Qi charging toward the sky. A moment later, it filled the entire Heavenly Palace. The Immortal Qi was dissipating from the palace by the second. "This is…" Was that the direction of Lan Hua? Looking at the magnitude of this demonic Qi… "Lan Hua is ascending!"

Lonemoon jumped to his feet. Lan Hua was a Skyfiend. If he's ascending, that means he's going to become… a Demon King!

Lan Hua was a demon, but his heart has always been for the immortal realm. Could it be that this was the Godfiend's plan all along? If Lan Hua becomes a Demon King, even if the three of them left, the immortal realm and the demonic realm would be kept in balance.

Without a doubt, the Godfiend had everything planned!

Lonemoon's worries were by now mostly dealt with. "Shen Ying, let's…" Before he could finish speaking, a golden light appeared beside Shen Ying, engulfing all of them.

"Holy shit! It's that jade token!" Lonemoon exclaimed. It was too late The three of them disappeared. The Godfiend was a liar! He said that this was activated by immortal Qi, but he did not say that any amount of immortal Qi would do!

——————

Somewhere in the Divine Underworld.

Thick immortal Qi covered the entire forest. It looked like a fog that prevented any of them from seeing too far and it seemed to be getting thicker, as if condensing to form something. A few minutes later, the thick and dense forest suddenly became white as snow. Between the clouds, a huge gate appeared, covered with the diagram of many arrays. It looked extremely ancient. All around it, there were talismans with golden words on them floating around. Each of the talismans emitted a strange force.

Suddenly, they heard a tearing noise. The gate opened and a blinding golden light shone from inside, illuminating the entire forest. A heavenly voice floated toward them. It sounded like it was omnipresent - there was no way for them to determine how far away the speaker was. Then, a loud dragon's roar broke through the air. A black figure charged toward them, flying high up into the sky. The dragon's roar seemed to echo all throughout the clouds and the sea so that there was no end to it. The surrounding immortal Qi grew thicker and thicker. The gates disappeared and turned into a blue divine energy that flew toward the figure in the clouds. The black dragon appeared intermittently between the clouds, as if excited to be flying freely in the sky.

A divine voice filled the sky.

"Hahaha… I've finally become a dragon and ascended to the divine realm!" The dragon's voice was extremely loud. It laughed as it left behind bolts of lightning. "From this day on, I am a true divine being."

Once it finished speaking, a loud thunder sounded. The black dragon immediately let out red bolts of lightning that caused the sky to darken. Everything was pitch black. The dragon continued to dance among the clouds, its divine suppression capable of being felt all the way from the ground. The more it flew around, the more excited the dragon became.

"Bai Ze! I will definitely pay you back for all that you've done to me these hundreds of thousands of years!" It sounded like it was making a promise. Then, it spat out a great red bolt of lightning.The crashing sounds echoed throughout the space and the dragon charged toward the ground, lightning bolts appearing all over its body. It looked like it was going to take its anger out on the forest below.

The lightning and frightening suppression went further and further away as the dragon broke through the fire it left behind in the air, through the clouds, and through the trees. The three of them watched as the dragon seemed to charge straight toward the ground.

Suddenly, behind the trees, a figure appeared. The figure was in white robes and had messy hair. She looked up slightly toward the great dragon and, as if out of habit, waved in a greeting. "Hey, Long Worm!"

"…"

Chapter 239: The Black Dragon's Directions

The Black Dragon's eyes were bulging out of its head. Subconsciously, it closed its mouth and swallowed the bolts of lightning that it was going to spit out. But it was too late for it to turn around and too late for it to stop. With a loud roar, the dragon crashed into the soil, uprooting the trees in its wake, just like an underground train gone off track.

Shen Ying heard all the noise and saw the trees forming a single line in the air, then falling back to the ground. From far away, she could hear the cracking sounds coming from the black dragon's body - the sound of something breaking.

"Hey, are you still alive?" Shen Ying reached out for a branch and poked at the dragon's body. Its head was still buried underground. Why was it acting like a pangolin for no reason? Was its bones broken?

Shen Ying took a closer look at the dragon and asked, "Are you really the Director's long worm?" It looked a lot rougher now, but it may still be yummy. The dragon jumped, seeming to have regained its consciousness. Its head burst out of the soil and the entire dragon jumped back several feet. It looked at Shen Ying in fear. "Ex… Ex.. Exalted Immortal, y-y-you… what are you doing here? Is this… is this not the divine realm?"

"You're really that long worm!" Shen Ying  exclaimed, shocked. "Hey! It's been a long time! You look different." Even your horns are different.

"Exalted Immortal… I'm a dragon now. Of course I look different." The dragon trembled instinctively and subtly took a few more steps back. "What's more, I'm like Bai Ze now… I'm a divine being!"

"Oh." Shen Ying nodded. She repeated a business-like phrase that she learned from Father Niu. "You're hardworking."

"Exalted… Exalted Immortal, you're too kind!" The black dragon smiled. "Several hundred years have passed since Exalted Immortal ascended. I'm naturally… Wait! You're an immortal?" The dragon seemed to notice something important. It scanned Shen Ying from head to toe, taking in the immortal Qi that had not quite dissipated from her body. Its eyes twinkled and the fear seemed to drain out of its eyes.

"Huh?" Shen Ying hesitated before nodding. "I guess… so?"

"Then…." It took a long deep breath in and looked straight at Shen Ying. The red lightning re-appeared on its body as an evil grin appeared on its face. "That's great!"

"Huh?" Shen Ying's head tilted.

"Heh heh heh…" It suddenly laughed mirthlessly. The lightning bolts were becoming more and more intense. "I almost forgot, I'm a divine being now. Do you think I'm afraid of you? You're just an immortal - what can you do to me!" It suddenly jumped up and charged toward Shen Ying.

"…" Was it… itching? Two minutes later…

"Exalted Goddess, I was wrong! When I am reborn, I will be your worm and I will die as your worm. As long as you instruct me to, I will go through fire and cross seas for you. I will not quit no matter what."

"It's not that serious." Shen Ying frowned. "I just need a small favour."

"Please go ahead, Exalted Goddess!"

"I just got to this world and I can't find Chef." She looked around, confused. "Bring me out of this forest first."

"Yes, Exalted Goddess. No problem, Exalted Goddess. Count on me, Exalted Goddess!" The black dragon nodded furiously. "Exalted Goddess, do you know which direction the man you are looking for is?"

"I don't know,  I just know  I got separated  from them the moment I landed in Divine World."

"Well… How long has Exalted Goddess been in the forest?"

"Four… Five… Six months?" She forgot.

The black dragon: "…"

This forest was not that big. She could not find her way out even after several months. How did she accomplish something like that?

"Well, would the Exalted… Exalted Goddess mind waiting until we get out of here before we talk more?" The black dragon tried its luck. Afraid that she would not be satisfied, it added, "Please rest assured, Exalted Goddess. I will not leave your side before you find what you're looking for."

"Alright!" Shen Ying nodded obligingly. "Thanks for your hard work." "It's my duty, my duty!" The black dragon laughed nervously. "Well… can the Exalted Goddess please help me out of this rock in the soil? This must be a Divine Mystic Rock. It's so hard that I'm… I'm… I'm stuck!"

"…" So she has to do everything in the end!

"Alright! She retracted the leg that was on top of the dragon's head. Looking around, she picked up the dragon's tail and used a little more strength to pull the dragon out of the apparently hard rock…

There was a loud tearing sound. The black dragon remained in the stone, but in Shen Ying's hand was half of the dragon's tail.

Shen Ying: "…"

"Ah¬!" A blood-curling scream echoed throughout the forest, causing it to be amplified. It did not cease for a long time… "Er… sorry about that! I did not think the rock was that hard!" Shen Ying scratched her head apologetically and immediately switched strategies. "How about I move the rock!"

She clenched her fist and punched the ground.

There was a series of cracks as long lines formed on the solid rock. The rock began to fall into pieces.

The black dragon which was finally able to move: "…"

(⊙_⊙)

Why did it feel like it was lucky not to have been beaten to death by her earlier on?

"Let's go!" Shen Ying jumped down from the mess and took two steps before realising that the black dragon was not following her. "Long Worm, why are you still staring into blank space? Aren't we leaving?" The black dragon was trembling violently. It looked at the remnants of the rock all over the ground. "My… My legs… My legs are jelly!"

"All four of them?" Shen Ying scanned it from head to toe and sighed. She walked back toward it. "Why not I carry you?"

"N-N-No… No need!" The black dragon immediately jumped up. There was a faint black glow and a man in black robes appeared in the dragon's place. "I can… can… can walk now."

Shen Ying acted as if nothing happened. "Long Worm, which way?"

"Let's go toward the east?" The black dragon pointed toward his right, positioning himself behind Shen Ying like a servant girl.

"Alright." Shen Ying started walking.

"Exalted Goddess! East is to your right." "Oh." She immediately switched directions.

"Exalted Goddess, that's your left."

"…"

————

Fifteen minutes later.

A gentle breeze blew through the forest. A man in green robes landed on the rubble that the two left behind. His eyes flashed red in anger as he looked around at the destruction.

"Horrible - who destroyed my Supreme Divinity's Divine Mystic Rock?"

He raised his hand and waved it. A faint white fog rose up out of the Divine Mystic Rock and began to take shape. A moment later, a dragon formed. It turned several colours before it turned black.

"It's that black dragon!" The man's expression became one of utter fury. "Detestable!"

He flicked his sleeve and a huge aura burst forth from his body, causing half of the trees behind him to fall over.

The man looked again at the rubble in front of him. Then, with another gentle breeze, he disappeared.

***

At that time, Shen Ying, who was outside of the forest, looked around at the vast plains around her.

Whoa, she's really out! (⊙_⊙)

Chapter 240: The Lotus Assembly

As someone who was extremely bad at directions and who was stuck in the forest for months, Shen Ying could not help but praise the worm who was beside her. "Good job, Long Worm!"

"It's expected, expected!" The black dragon smiled humbly. The forest was not that big to begin with. "Exalted Goddess, what are your plans?"

"Er…" Shen Ying thought for awhile and glanced at  the narrow path in front of her. "I'll probably go and look around at the crowded places!" Chef should be looking for her. For all she knew, they might bump into each other. The key thing was… "Did you bring anything to eat?" She was not used to not having food to eat.

"Eat… Eat…. Eat what?" The black dragon trembled, thinking about the sea beast that was chopped into pieces previously. Its entire body drained of colour. "Exalted… Exalted Goddess, I underwent grain liberation from a very young age, so I…. I… don't."

"Oh." Shen Ying looked disappointed. She turned around and scanned the black dragon from head to toe. As if discovering something, she said, "Long Worm, you…"

Boom!

Before Shen Ying could finish her sentence, the black dragon's legs turned to jelly and it fell to its knees. It began to cry out, "Exalted Goddess! You can't eat me… I still have to show you the directions. And my flesh tastes very horrible, really!"

"No, I-"

"Exalted Goddess, don't forget that I used to be a demonic wyrm. I'm poisonous - you'll definitely have the runs if you eat me."

"Actually…"

"I know that you're hungry, but I haven't gotten a wife and given birth to little worms. I will not die in peace, Exalted Goddess…" Shen Ying pursed her lips. What the hell was it talking about?

"I did not want to eat you!"

"Exalted Goddess, I'm not… Eh?" The black dragon paused and its tears ceased. It looked at her in disbelief. "You… did not?"

"Yes." Shen Ying nodded. "I don't know how to cook." Chef is not around either.

The black dragon heaved a huge sigh of relief. It looked like it just escaped death. "That's good, that's good. Then what was Exalted Goddess saying earlier?"

Shen Ying squinted at him. "Oh, I just wanted to remind you to change your clothes."

"Huh?" What does she mean? "You… don't know that there's a huge hole in your robes?" Shen Ying pointed toward his back.

"Exalted Goddess, you must be joking." The black dragon explained seriously, "My black robes was made completely out of dragon scales. It would not…" He touched his back lightly and realised that there was a colder spot. He paused mid-sentence.

"Don't you feel like it's a little breezy around your ass?" It's been exposed for half a day.

"…"

A while later…

Ah ah ah¬

A painful cry echoed throughout the space. He forgot that his tail had been torn into half. He had been walking around the entire forest with his butt exposed.

His life was desolate…

——————

The dragon and the human walked side by side for about an hour. They made their way through the vast field and began to see other humans around. Each of them had frightening auras. The black dragon guessed that most of them were divine beings, based on the aura that they were emitting. Perhaps because they cast some kind of hiding spell on themselves, he could not detect their true forms.

They asked around, but did not manage to locate either Yi Qing or Lonemoon. So they continued heading toward the east. The more they walked, the more people they met. In about another hour, they found themselves flying with about  ten other people around them. These people seemed to be heading in the same direction, but they were rushing. There were excited looks on their faces and they flew exceptionally quickly. "This young gentleman." Shen Ying flew closer to one man and waved.

The man paused and looked around, confused.

"Over here, over here!" Shen Ying quickly waved in front of his eyes and the man finally spotted her.

"Fellow Daoist, what's the matter?"

"Where are you headed?" She asked casually, since she still could not find Yi Qing or Lonemoon.

"Eh? Don't you know?" The man looked at her in shock. "We're heading to the Ling Tai Mountain to participate in the Lotus Assembly. We're going to listen to Supreme Divinity Hongyu preach on the open altar."

"Supreme Divinity Hongyu?" Who's that? "The Supreme Divinity opens that arena once every thousand years. Each time, he opens it for three days!" The man explained excitedly. "The Supreme Divinity has exceptional powers. Everybody who listens to his preaching will experience a huge increase in their cultivation levels! That's why everybody's so anxious - they're trying to rush over and get a good spot on the Ling Tai Mountain. I have come over here all the way from the north in order to catch this meeting."

"Do a lot of people attend this Lotus Assembly?"

"Why, of course!" The man nodded furiously. "Everybody in the Divine Underworld wants some advice from the Supreme Divinity. The divine beings aside, even the wild spirits and beasts in the mountains would want to come down and be enlightened by him."

"Oh…"

"Lady, I have to go now. If we're too late, there will be too many people and I might not be able to squeeze up the mountain!" "Thank you!"

"No worries." He nodded kindly at her and sped up again toward the clouds.

"Exalted Goddess, do you want to go to that Lotus Assembly?" The black dragon looked at Shen Ying, who was seated atop the dragon's neck."

"Yes." Shen Ying nodded. "There should be many people attending the open class." It would be easier for her to stick up "Missing Person" notices as well.

"…" What was an open class? The black dragon dared not clarify this with her. It obediently sped up in the direction that the crowd was heading in.

The long worm flew extremely quickly. Moments later, they saw a huge mountain appear between the clouds and in the distance. It was very different from the towering Heavenly Palaces in the immortal realm. The entire mountain was covered in the different colours of the rainbow. It looked like it was emitting light and was exceptionally eye catching. Below the mountain, there were cloud seas that were ever flowing. Lotus flowers at the bottom formed a bridge that stretched out from the bottom of the mountain, leading to a huge lotus stage.

The lotus stage was extremely wide. On top of it stood many immortals and divine beings from all over the place. There were about a couple thousand of them. Each one of them had a bluish divine energy about them. Some were in their human forms but others were in their beast forms.

"So… So many divine beings!" The black dragon's eyes widened. He scanned the crowd of divine beings in disbelief. This was the first time he saw so many divine beings gathered in one place. What was strange was that there were no dragons among them at all.

It was extremely crowded. Yet, despite the crowd, everything was very orderly. All the divine beings queued according to their time of arrival. Very quickly, a long line formed. There was no sign of conflict or of people jumping the queue. Instead, everybody looked very kind and amicable.

This really was the upper-class divine realm! "Exalted Goddess?" The black dragon paused in mid-air, turning to look at Shen Ying quizzically.

"Let's queue first!" She pointed below and the two of them landed right at the end of the line. "Long Worm, ask around." She gestured at the people who landed behind them.

"Alright!" The black dragon immediately approached the various people queueing behind them to ask for Yi Qing's and Lonemoon's whereabouts.

However, nobody could offer any clues. They had no choice but to ask around inside. Yet, the line was advancing very quickly. In just a few minutes, they found themselves at the front of the line. It was only then that they realised there was an array surrounding the entire lotus stage. No one was guarding it. Beside them floated several blindingly golden words.

[The Ling Tai Dharma Assembly accepts all beings except dragons!]

Shen Ying: "…" The black dragon: "…"

Why were they despising dragons? What did dragons do! It was obvious that the last two words were added only later on. It was in clearly smaller font than the other words!

[0] The Lotus Sutra is one of the more influential sutras in Buddhism.