“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!”

　　“…”