After the Healer God finished his account, Ye Yu and Yu Buxia froze where they stood. It turned out there was such a story between them: a botched procedure had left the divine steed castrated. Humiliated beyond endurance, it chose to end its own life.
Was it saved? Yes.
Did it survive? No.
To make matters worse, it suffered unspeakable indignities afterwardâit must have left the scene in tears! Under those circumstances, flying into a murderous rage at the first meeting hardly seemed unreasonable.
Yu Buxia remained silent so long that the Healer God, via the Communication Stone, felt compelled to defend himself: âCan this really be blamed on me? Iâm not even an equine vet, and during the treatment the Radiant Sovereign didnât tell me whether that steed was male or female. Its coat was so thick I merely trimmed it a bitâmy hand slipped.â
âOf course, Iâm not claiming zero responsibility. I did offer to compensate with a finer mount, but she refusedâand then attacked me on sight!â He sighed. âWhat could I do? Thatâs just how it happened. I know the Sovereign has a temper I canât handle, nor could I hide forever. Youâll have to smooth things overâafter a hundred thousand years, a dead horse canât be brought back to life. Let it go!â
As the glow of the Communication Stone faded, Yu Buxia tucked it back into his Storage Ring, an awkward expression on his face. Perhaps this really proved that Radiant Sovereign lacked any senseâbut he still muttered stubbornly, âWas that really so important? Did the creature really want to die because of it?â
Ye Yu offered a solemn explanation: âIt was. It truly felt life wasnât worth living without it.â
At this, Yu Buxia sneered slightly, then glanced at the slumped form of Radiant Sovereign on the table and quietly asked, âSo what do we do now?â
Ye Yu shook his head. âI donât know.â
Indeed, until now he had never imagined that Radiant Sovereignâs way of expressing affection could be so... extreme. Perhaps the book was sound, but reading comprehension mattered even more!
The Somnolent Godâs concoction was powerful: Radiant Sovereign had slept for two full days and nights. Upon waking the next morning, its first act had been to seek Yu Buxiaâits murderous aura almost suffocating.
Ye Yu gently interjected, âStop looking. Yu Buxia has already fled.â
An Ancient God abandoning her own Divine City and running off? It sounded absurd, yet it was exactly what happened. As Radiant Sovereignâs close friend, Yu Buxia knew her temperament well. Upon waking she would surely rampageâand battle him on the spot. Possessive souls were like that. Better to escape than endure her wrath; after centuries her rage would subside, and the affair would be forgotten. Balance City could serve as her outletâshatter it if she wished and rebuild later. Better still, he mused, it could become Radiant Sovereign and Ye Yuâs âmarriage city,â a perpetual gift.
Before departing, Yu Buxia had one last declaration: âI donât like you, Ye Yu. I really donât. My appearing in that room was a misunderstanding.â
Upon hearing Ye Yu relay all this, Radiant Sovereignâs frosty expression thawed considerably. She asked tentatively, âReally?â
âOf course,â Ye Yu said. âBut please, no more of those bizarre books. Your comprehension... itâs different from everyone elseâs. With me, it neednât be so complicated.â
Ye Yu rose and took Radiant Sovereignâs hands. That day they formally became Daoist partnersâand left Balance City in her care.
Half a month later, Little White awoke. It had fully assimilated the fragments of Shen Kangren within and advanced to the early Golden God Realm. Its outward form remained that of the little white ram; only when revealing its true nature did it blaze crimson, murderous as a sea of corpses and blood.
Little White had inherited Shen Kangrenâs ferocious sanguinary aura and near-invincible regeneration. Even pulverized to dust, as long as a trace of flesh survived and time was granted, it could be reborn. In every sense, it was now a miniature Flesh Evil Godâand with time and cultivation might well become an enhanced version. This was excellent news for Ye Yu, who eagerly anticipated Little Whiteâs future growth.
Upon Little Whiteâs awakening, Ye Yu resumed merging various divine beasts into it. Yet Little Whiteâs realm now surpassed Ye Yuâs by far; such fusion drained his spirit too thoroughly, limiting him to two sessions per day. Progress was therefore slow.
During this period, Yu Buxia sent a message via Communication Stone, asking after Radiant Sovereignâs moodâhad she cooled off? Ye Yu, assuming they intended to return, replied that Radiant Sovereign was in good spirits and they might attempt reconciliation. Unexpectedly, Yu Buxia was merely curious, with no plans to come back. She explained she was still gathering materials and would return later to ask Ye Yu for help with fusionâhoping heâd not forget his original promise.
Ye Yu could only sigh. Yu Buxia was fine in every wayâexcept her gloomy suspicion. It was just a favor to aid in fusion; endless preemptive warnings were unnecessary.
After the conversation, Ye Yu gazed upon the deserted Balance City and felt the need to venture out. Months had passed; the alchemical pills heâd stocked were long gone. Without external aid, he would have to cultivate bit by bitâsomething he disliked. Breaking through a realm swiftly was the dreamâs main theme; he couldnât afford to dally here.
He approached Radiant Sovereign and proposed journeying beyond the city to procure more pills. She offered no objection. After their clash with Shen Kangren, she had sensed a breakthrough opportunity and planned to attempt a secluded breakthroughâperhaps ascension to the pinnacle â NĐŸvĐ”lŃgÒ»t â (Only on NĐŸvĐ”lŃgÒ»t) Ancient God Realm wouldnât be far off.
The next day, Ye Yu departed Balance City with Little White in tow.