The tips of the cloaked woman’s toes touched the sky, leaving ripples in her wake. She crossed hundreds of meters in just a few steps and arrived before Jackdaw and the other demons.
“Her Highness, the Holy Maiden!” Jackdaw’s pupils constricted, and he immediately knelt to the ground.
The other demons followed suit, their eyes filled with reverence, piety, and awe as they gazed upon this new arrival.
“Rise, everyone.” Beneath her cloak, all Ye Zichen could see were her red lips opening and closing. He narrowed his eyes to get a closer look just as she lifted her hood.
One eye was black, the other purple. Her hair, too, was split between the two colors.
Her skin wasn’t the demons’ usual black, but rather, a wheat color usually only seen in humans.
When she revealed her face, Ye Zichen’s hands trembled. At the same time, she smiled at him. “Emperor Ye, long time no see.”
After a long pause, Ye Zichen recovered from his shock and said, his voice trembling, “Yige?”
The Holy Maiden arched her brows and laughed, but didn’t deny it. A faint, playful grin tugged at her lips. “I hadn’t expected Emperor Ye to remember an insignificant little girl like me; I’m honored! That said, please don’t call me ‘Yige.” We were never that close, not even in the past.”
Her disdainful tone chilled Ye Zichen’s heart. He took a closer look at her bi-colored hair and eyes. Sun Yige must have fused completely with her other self.
The woman standing before him was no longer his former class monitor, no longer that girl who dared not shout at anyone.
She was the demons’ holy maiden; they’d walked down two starkly different paths.
Not far off, Chi Mei arched her brows. Her gaze darted uncertainly between Ye Zichen and Sun Yige. Gradually, a hint of a smile surfaced on her lips, but no one knew just what she was smiling about.
“The demons’ holy maiden.” Ye Zichen pursed his lips, looking a little helpless. “So, Sun Yige is now….’
“She’s doing quite well. I actually planned to have her take control of our body and meet you herself. After all, you two went through all that together… However, she’s still the same as ever. I was worried that she’d make a fool of herself when she saw you and damage my reputation as a holy maiden.”
The holy maiden smiled. Her eyes flashed, and she turned to Ye Zichen. “I came here primarily to take them with me. Emperor Ye, can you give me face?”
“Please, go ahead.” It didn’t matter whether he considered her as the demons’ holy maiden or as Sun Yige. He couldn’t refuse for either of their sakes.
Perhaps it was due to lingering guilt, or perhaps he had other feelings for her.
He stepped aside, clearing the way forward. The holy maiden flashed him a winsome smile. “Thank you for your benevolence, Emperor Ye. I will remember this kindness for the rest of my life. If you ever wish to visit the Demon Realm, I would be honored to host you.”
With that, she turned to the demon supremes. “Let’s go.”
Then, without so much as giving Ye Zichen a second look, they followed her out of the wastes. Even after they faded from view, Ye Zichen looked off in their direction.
“Hey, they’re gone already!” Chi Mei’s tender white hands waved in front of his eyes.
Ye Zichen came to his senses and arched his brows at her. She pouted back at him, “I really wouldn’t have guessed it, but sweetie, you really get around! You’ve got lovers all over the place. You and the demons’ holy maiden ‘went through all that together?’ Tch tch tch… how terrifying!”
“I’m not familiar with the demons’ holy maiden, but…. Forget it, I couldn’t explain even if I wanted to,” replied Ye Zichen.
“But hey, sweetie….” She grinned wickedly, this pressed her lips to his ear. Her clear, faint breath sent ripples through Ye Zichen’s heart. Elder Liu watched on and frowned, but said nothing.
“Who knows?” she whispered. “In the future, you might really unify all of creation.”
Ye Zichen didn’t quite know what to say to that. He scratched his head at Chi Mei, whose eyes lit up with crafty light.
“Because you have ‘connections’ all over the place!” she continued. “The holy maiden settles the demons, and my word carries quite a bit of weight among the yao. All you’re missing now is a human goddess. If you have the chance, go chat up a few goddesses. You can flirt your way to unifying the Upper Three Realms!”
So that’s what she meant! He should have known Chi Mei had nothing good to say. Ye Zichen couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Don’t you plan to go back to your yao?”
“How can I leave now? We still haven’t dealt with those gods! If I leave, who’ll help you settle things here?” Her gaze said “I’m just concerned on your behalf,” so Ye Zichen simply gave in. He cupped his fists and bowed to her, then turned to the human supremes.
Standing there watching this play out had been torture for them. The whole time, all they could think about was how to hold onto their little lives.
When they sensed his gaze, they immediately tensed up. They looked back at him and awaited his judgment.
All of them were indeed from the Divine Mountains’ top clans and factions. Under ordinary circumstances, they could use their factions of origin to suppress others.
But now….
Could they threaten him?
There was no way!
Using their factions to intimidate Ye Zichen was the most stupid method imaginable.
It was obvious at a glance that the woman the yao called “My Lady” cared deeply about Ye Zichen, and she had a ruler expert by her side, just watching and waiting.
The supremes really wanted to cry. As Sky Supremes, they could rule their own territory even on the Divine Mountains.
But now, in the Lower Realms, Diviners and Rulers were showing up like crazy! They’d been better off on the Divine Mountains!
“Who among you represents the Northern Divine Mountain’s Sea of Innocence?” said Ye Zichen, addressing them for the first time.”
“It’s me!” A middle-aged man stepped forth. Ye Zichen glanced at him coolly until the man showed him the identity medallion at his waste.
He glanced meaningfully at Chi Mei, who nodded at him.
“Come over and stand beside me.”
Although Ye Zichen hadn’t said outright that he’d spare him, everyone present was clever. How could they possibly miss Ye Zichen’s implications?
The man’s face lit up with delight. He remembered Xiao Hu saying that the Sea of Innocence had saved Ye Zichen, he figured Ye Zichen wouldn’t give him too much trouble. Still, he hadn’t known the end result for sure.
Once Ye Zichen invited him to stand beside him, he relaxed completely.
“The representative of the Four Directions Palace, too. Come here.”
A bald supreme immediately stepped forth, his face awash with confusion. Chi Mei looked at Ye Zichen in surprise; not even she knew he had connections with the Four Directions Palace.
“As for the others…. Please, start your performance.”
