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Xue Mo never would have guessed that Ye Zichen would get them into the palace in such a way. She stood there quietly and waited, but….

"...." Save for when gentle breezes blew by, the River Styx didn't so much as ripple.

"Caw! Caw! Caw!" A flock of crows flew overhead and cawed, as if mocking Ye Zichen's awkwardness.

Ye Zichen narrowed his eyes at the crows, then glanced back at the shining river water. "This is just an accident. Wait just a little longer."

After urging her to be patient, Ye Zichen walked right up to the riverbank. "Yiyun, it's me, Ye Zichen! Hurry up and let me in!"

Just like before, there was no sign of a response.

Those mocking crows flew overhead once more, their "laughter" resounding through the heavens.

Whoosh!

Ye Zichen tossed a stone at them, but they were surprisingly nimble.

They flipped two hundred and seventy degrees in mid-air and dodged, then shook their wings and flew away with a chorus of caws. A single blob of… something…. Fell from one of their butts… and landed right in front of Ye Zichen.

The corners of his mouth twitched. "Xue Mo, stay calm! I can definitely get you into Emperor Hades' seasonal palace!"

He turned to comfort her, but at the moment, Xue Mo wasn't the one who was nervous. It was Ye Zichen who was starting to panic.

Xue Mo nodded silently. Ye Zichen narrowed his eyes and transmitted with his divine awareness, "What are you doing? Hurry up and meet me here. I've been yelling for you for ages!"

"You're at the River Styx?" A transmission finally appeared in Ye Zichen's consciousness. "Wait a moment, I'll head over right away."

"Hurry!" Ye Zichen urged him on, then turned back towards Xue Mo. "He'll be here in a moment."

As expected, shortly after Su Yiyun said he'd head over, the river water seemed to split as if something had forcefully separated the current, stirring up massive waves.

Su Yiyun and two squadrons of merfolk stood in the rift, then walked out of the river.

"Not bad at all." Ye Zichen nodded his approval.

"Shouldn't you be on the Divine Mountain? What are you doing down here? What business do you have at the River Styx?"

Ye Zichen had originally planned to curse Su Yiyun out for taking so long and recover some of his dignity. To his surprise, Ol' Su beat him to the punch and chastised him instead, leaving him with no face at all.

Worse, Su Yiyun didn't just have two merfolk with him. He had two full squadrons! They stood around Su Yiyun, watching their surroundings on high alert.

Of course, despite his complaints, Su Yiyun still pulled Ye Zichen into a bear hug.

"Please, leave me with a little face, I have a friend with me," whispered Ye Zichen into his ear.

Su Yiyun grinned. "She's the reason I said all that. You have my little sister, but you're still not satisfied? You still want to go out and sow your wild oats? Are you just a drifter at heart? Or do you think me incapable of wielding a knife?"

The corners of Ye Zichen's mouth twitched once more. He pounded his friend on the back, then pulled away from their embrace. Yet his gaze seemed to say...

You win this one!

A little further off, Xue Mo seemed a little tense. Unless she was mistaken, that youth was Emperor Hades' disciple.

It seemed that he was quite close to Ye Zichen. No wonder Ye Zichen was so certain he could get her into the palace.

"I did in fact ascend to the Divine Mountains, but I came back down," said Ye Zichen, answering Su Yiyun's first question. Next, he pointed at Xue Mo and said, "Let me introduce you. This is Xue Mo."

Next, he introduced Su Yiyun. "This is Emperor Hades's direct disciple, Su Yiyun."

"Hello." Xue Mo bowed in greeting.

"Hi." Su Yiyun nodded and smiled back.

Without even giving Ye Zichen the chance to explain, Su Yiyun chuckled. "I know why you're here, but… nevermind, let's talk in the palace."

With that, Su Yiyun gestured for them to follow him, and led Ye Zichen and Xue Mo into the River Styx.

Unlike last time, he sensed no sign of the vicious river beasts' auras.

Furthermore, there were quite a few armed guards outside the palace.

Every thousand meters was a team of six. Their leaders were all sky supremes, while the ordinary members were earth supremes.

The entire stretch of river was enshrouded in a grave, oppressive atmosphere.

Su Yiyun stopped in front of the palace and glanced coldly at the merfolk. "You guys continue your patrol. If you see anything out of the ordinary, report immediately to the commander."

They nodded forcefully, then returned to their posts.

"Let's go." He smiled for the time, then led them inside. "Sit anywhere you like."

Inside the palace's main hall, Su Yiyun nodded at them, then placed a bowl of immortal fruit on the table.

"What's going on out there? It wasn't like this last time I visited." Ye Zichen plucked a fresh fruit and took a bite.

"We've run into some problems lately, so we have no other choice."

"With the yao?" asked Ye Zichen probingly.

Su Yiyun nodded.

"Are the yao really conspiring with demons to destroy the gods?" asked Xue Mo anxiously.

"You told her?" Su Yiyun frowned at Ye Zichen.

"I'm not that loose-lipped. However, we went on a mission earlier. A pack of Subterranean Beasts from the Yao Realm attacked Barren Sands City and ten of the surrounding villages, and their bodies emanated dense miasma."

"Were there any other yao clans present?" asked Su Yiyun.

"If there were, I didn't see them."

"That's good, then." Su Yiyun sighed, but his brows knit even tighter. When he saw his friend's solemn expression, Ye Zichen knew that his old friend had a massive weight on his shoulders.

Although Xue Mo was also concerned about a possible alliance between demons and yao, she was more concerned with reviving Chen Guangfa.

She started to speak more than once, but always decided it wasn't the right time. After a few internal struggles, she clenched her fists and deliberately focused on the immortal fruits off to the side instead.

"Yiyun, we're here because…" When he saw Xue Mo's inner conflict, Ye Zichen decided to explain on her behalf.

"I know why you're here. You want to revive a youth named Chen Guangfa, right?"

Xue Mo immediately set down the immortal fruit she'd just picked up and leaped to her feet. "That's right. We're here for him. Can you please help retrieve his soul from the river of time?"

As she spoke, she grew increasingly nervous. "No matter what price you ask for, I won't refuse."

"Don't be in such a hurry. Sit back down." Su Yiyun pushed her away, then said, "You came here for help. For Ye Zichen's sake, I'm happy to do whatever I can, but I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. I can't do it."