Chongming's outstretched hand froze in mid - air and finally retracted.
Yaohua's mind was in a turmoil, but she knew this was not the time to be entangled in love. She softly said her thanks, "Thank you, Master, for searching for me these days. I'm fine now."
Chongming hesitated and asked, "Why have you become so distant? Has something happened?"
"Master, don't worry. I'm just a bit exhausted after the recent battle," Yaohua replied. Then she quietly stepped back and went off alone to find a way to enter the Divine Tombs.
At this moment, Muhua should still be inside the Divine Tombs. She must find him as soon as possible and kill him!
Chongming was left standing there, feeling dejected.
The gentle breeze blew a petal slowly onto the unmelted snow. He vaguely felt that things shouldn't be developing like this.
One day, Yaohua finally found an opportunity to steal the key to the Divine Tombs and was about to enter.
But when she stood in front of the Divine Tombs, celestial soldiers and generals surrounded her.
Looking at the vast army, she couldn't help but be shocked. "You—"
"Yaohua, you colluded with the demons and stole the key to the Divine Tombs. What punishment do you deserve?!" The solemn figure of the Divine Lord appeared.
Beside him was not Tuyang, but a young immortal Yaohua had never seen before.
"You, Muhua! When did you escape?" Yaohua looked at the figure. Her heart sank, but what she said seemed to be automatically muted.
Due to the time - space regulation, she couldn't say anything about the future.
Seeing this, Muhua took the opportunity to sow discord. "Divine Lord, look. This woman opens her mouth but says nothing. She must be punished by the Heavenly Way. She colluded with the demons to open the Divine Tombs. Her plot must be huge. She must be severely punished!"
The Divine Lord nodded without suspicion and shouted in a deep voice, "Then summon the Heavenly Punishment to punish this traitor who colluded with the demons. Heavenly Punishment!"
Boom!
A purple thunderbolt as thick as a fist appeared, sparking as it struck towards Yaohua.
In the nick of time, a figure in white appeared in front of her and took the punishment for her.
The Divine Lord narrowed his eyes slightly. "Chongming, your disciple has betrayed the Celestial Realm and colluded with the demons. According to the law, she should be struck by forty - nine thunderbolts. Are you going to defy the Heavenly Rules for her? Or have you also colluded with the demons?"
Chongming was struck by the thunder and let out a muffled groan. "I'm willing to take all the punishment for her. I hope you all will spare her life, considering that she hasn't caused any losses."
"Spare her?" The Divine Lord sneered. "If I spare her today, who knows how many traitors will appear in the Celestial Realm in the future? She must be severely punished."
Chongming suddenly looked up, his tone firm. "No matter what happens today, I will protect her."
The Divine Lord laughed mockingly in an ambiguous way. "So, you mean to betray the Celestial Realm for her?"
Chongming shook his head. "It's not a betrayal. But if you insist on punishing her, I will never sit idly by."
After saying that, amidst the uproar, he directly drew his sword and cut the chains that bound Yaohua. He returned the key to the Divine Tombs and took Yaohua away under everyone's suspicious gazes.
The Divine Lord felt very unhappy because his face had been lost in public. He shouted loudly, "If you leave today, you will sever all ties with the world. Are you sure you want to do this, Chongming? Chongming!"
But no matter how he shouted, Chongming didn't look back.
Yaohua was both puzzled and nervous. "Master, why did you suddenly come to save me today?"
Chongming didn't answer but took her back to Cangling Hall.
There was a familiar figure waiting for them.
"Zhaowu? Why are you here?" she asked in surprise.
Wasn't Master supposed to dislike Zhaowu?
Zhaowu walked straight towards her. Looking at her wounds, his face was full of distress. "Madam, you've suffered."
As soon as he spoke, Yaohua immediately recognized him. She asked in disbelief, "You are... Chongming?"
Zhaowu nodded with a smile.
It turned out that Chongming didn't possess his original body but had possessed Zhaowu's body instead.
When he was reborn, Yaohua had already been surrounded by the celestial soldiers and generals. He could only rely on his knowledge of Cangling Hall to gain the trust of the former Chongming.
Seeing the former and the current Chongming standing together was a bit disorienting.
But soon, Yaohua came to her senses and planned with them how to capture Muhua.
Due to the time - space regulation, they couldn't say much. They could only express themselves obscurely. Fortunately, the three of them were in tune, so there was no obstacle in their communication.
Muhua's plan to kill Yaohua had failed, but he was still unrepentant. However, he didn't have enough power yet, so he could only incite the Divine Lord to cause trouble.
"Now is the best time to kill him," the current Chongming said in a deep voice.
The three of them set up an assassination formation on Zhongnan Mountain, preparing to lure Muhua into their trap.
In the Celestial Realm, Muhua slunk behind the celestial soldiers, feeling extremely humiliated.
He was reborn earlier. He had intended to devour the divine cores of the former Divine Lord and others first, but he didn't have the same good opportunity as in his previous life. Instead, he was resisted by them together and was forced to escape from the Divine Tombs. He had to possess a random body.
He never expected that the Divine Lord, who he had easily trampled under his feet in the past, would be so arrogant. After knowing his ancient god identity, the Divine Lord even made him do the humiliating job of guarding the gate.
Sooner or later, he would kill this ignorant Divine Lord.
But for now, his top priority was to kill the reborn Yaohua.
Thinking of this, his eyes darkened. He swallowed his anger and went to the Divine Lord's Hall. He advised again, "Divine Lord, now Chongming dares to openly defy you. What will happen in the future? He must be captured and executed immediately."
The Divine Lord couldn't very well say that he couldn't defeat Chongming, so he couldn't punish him. Hearing this, his face darkened. "Chongming is a god after all. How can he be easily executed? Don't mention such things again."
"Are we just going to let him go unpunished?" Muhua was extremely disappointed. After repeated confirmations to no avail, he was kicked out of the Divine Lord's Hall.
Anger and humiliation welled up in his heart. At this time, Tuyang walked over slowly. "The Divine Lord is kind - hearted and can't bear to kill Chongming. I have a way to completely kill him. I wonder if you would like to do it?"
Muhua asked suspiciously, "Since there is a way, why doesn't the Divine Lord go himself?"
Tuyang smiled faintly and said in an otherworldly way, "The Divine Lord is kind and magnanimous. How could he do such a thing as killing a meritorious official? So someone has to do it for him. Do you understand what I mean?"
Muhua suddenly realized. "So that's why he didn't agree to my proposal. He was concerned about his reputation."
He couldn't help but snicker in his heart and agreed to this once - in - a - lifetime opportunity.