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He couldn't do it?

Those words slammed into Xue Mo's heart like a hammer. All of her hope accumulated over the course of the journey instantly evaporated into nothingness.

Her pretty little face paled, and her arms trembled. Her eyes started shimmering with unshed tears.

Ye Zichen frowned as well. He naturally didn't think Su Yiyun was deliberately trying to hurt them by saying it like this, but putting it so directly was sure to hurt Xue Mo….

"You should know that the River Styx is also known as the River of Time." Su Yiyun spoke up once more. This time, he was in the center of the great hall. "All departed souls return here, and it is indeed possible to find them here and revive them. But what you might not know is that the River Styx is actually one of my master's divine artifacts."

"What?" Ye Zichen was stunned. The river was large enough to separate the God and Yao Realms and contain every realms' departed souls. To think it was actually just a divine artifact!

How was this possible?

"Did you just say that the River Styx is Emperor Hades' divine artifact?" Ye Zichen choked hoarsely, "Are you sure you're not joking? The River Styx has existed since the birth of the Upper Three Realms, and is the final resting place of all departed souls. You're saying it's a divine artifact?"

"That's right." Even in the face of Ye Zichen's doubt, Su Yiyun showed no sign of uncertainty. "It's a divine artifact. In truth, resurrecting Chen Guangfa isn't difficult. He's an early-stage sky supreme. If we retrieve him from the River of Time, given my master's power, the recoil won't be all that strong. However, my master is currently in seclusion, and I don't know when he'll leave. I can't control the River Styx, so I'm afraid I can't help you."

"Then, the artifact spirit…." Ye Zichen started, but Su Yiyun cut him off.

"Yezi, don't even say it. Given our friendship, if I could help you, I wouldn't have said all that. I only said as much as I did to explain that your request is really beyond me."

"Unless you have other business, you should leave the River Styx as soon as possible. You saw it too, right? We're preparing for war. The yao could start their assault and force their way across the river at any moment. This is going to become the primary battlefield for the fight between the three races. Leave now while it's still safe."

Ye Zichen fell silent. He knew Su Yiyun was speaking from the heart.

"Do you need my help?" said Ye Zichen instead of asking anything else about Chen Guangfa.

"I shouldn't need any in the near future, but after that, it's hard to say. But Master already left me with a back-up plan, so there shouldn't be too many problems."

"Alright. If you need help, you can find Zuo Mo in Raging Flame City. I'll tell her about our relationship in advance. She can both arrange for people to help you and send someone to notify me. Even if I can't help much, I'll always stand by your side."

"Alright." They embraced, and Ye Zichen stood with a sigh. "We won't disturb you any longer then. Good luck."

Next, he turned to Xue Mo. "Let's go."

Xue Mo didn't respond. She seemed to have lost her soul. Ye Zichen sighed and took her by the arm. After hearing out that they couldn't revive Chen Guangfa after all, she'd reverted to her earlier state.

She let Ye Zichen slowly lead her outside, but then a low voice echoed throughout the palace. "If you can convince your father to form an alliance with the River Styx and stay here for the next twenty years to hold down the fort, I can retrieve that youth from the River of Time. Alternatively, he could have one of his avatars stay here instead."

When Xue Mo heard that, she froze, then looked behind her in bewilderment. "May I ask if you are his excellency, Emperor Hades?"

"I am." A man in his thirties suddenly walked into the hall. He was over six feet tall with balanced proportions and perfectly bound hair. His hair was black save for a single streak of silver.

His purple robes were elegant, and his eyes were endlessly bewitching.

"Master!" exclaimed Su Yiyun. "You… You left seclusion!"

When Ye Zichen heard that, he froze. This was Emperor Hades? Then what was up with that kid he saw last time?

How had he aged so much in half a year?

Emperor Hades smiled and nodded at Su Yiyun, then strolled up to Xue Mo. "How about it? Can you do that for me?"

He smiled at her, but she pursed her lips. A long time passed before she said anything. She was delighted that Emperor Hades had made an appearance, but the issue was his conditions.

Both the River Styx and her family represented two peak-level factions. If two such factions formed an alliance, it would have an enormous impact. Also, Emperor Hades wanted her father, or at least one of his incarnations, to stand guard here for twenty years.

Even if her father spoiled her, she didn't think she could convince him to do that.

"Emperor Hades, are you sure you can't ask for something else?" asked Xue Mo.

"Of course not," said Emperor Hades, his tone brooking no room for argument. "If you want to save him, this is the only way. What's so unreasonable about that? You're the God of the Sea, Xue Yang's beloved second daughter. Surely you of all people can move that stubborn old codger!"

"Besides, my request isn't unreasonable. If yao and demons invade, the Divine Mountains won't get off scot-free. All I want is for our two factions to form an alliance in advance. Are you sure you won't even ask him and see how he responds?"

"I can at least try," said Xue Mo after a pause. She bit her lip nervously.

"Good." Emperor Hades nodded in satisfaction. "So long as you can make Xue Yang agree, I'll immediately find that youth's soul in the River Styx. You can go back now."

He waved his sleeves at Xue Mo, and in the blink of an eye, she disappeared from the emperor's palace.

Ye Zichen was still staring ahead in bewilderment. This man was nothing like the youth he'd seen before! "You're really Emperor Hades?"

"Of course. Last time, you saw me during my low ebb. That's why I looked like a teenager," said Emperor Hades with a faint laugh.

"This junior greets Emperor Hades." Now that he was certain that this was in fact the emperor, Ye Zichen greeted him respectfully.

"No need for that." Emperor Hades lifted Ye Zichen to his feet and laughed. "I actually ought to thank you. If you hadn't brought Xue Yang's beloved daughter here, my future plans would have been far more difficult to put into motion. However, if she requests it herself, there's no way Xue Yang will refuse. Right, did you obtain the Xuan-Yuan Sword? Take it out and show me!"

"What do you want to do with it?" asked Ye Zichen, suddenly alert.

"This Emperor hasn't sunk so low as to steal weapons from a kid like you. Besides, this weapon can only unlock its full potential in your hands. Furthermore, if I really wanted to steal it, do you think you could stop me? It's just that the Xuan-Yuan Sword still has two seals that have yet to break. I'd like to take this opportunity to help you open them."