I Shall Shoulder the Consequences!

Unlike other deities, the Yin-Yang God's residence was, on divine standards, nothing extravagant. Spacious but not overwhelming, elegant but not luxurious, and full of refined, scholarly air. While it had been a very long time since Hou Hui had personally visited it, his immortal memory allowed him to quickly find his way in.

There was no guard at the doorstep making it look like anyone was free to go in. Those who dared to, however, were few and far between. And before Hou Hui could announce himself, the large jade gate opened on its own, clearing the path for him to walk in. And walk in he did.

Suddenly, an ancient, powerful voice echoed within his head.

"Meet me at the pavilion by the fish pond. You have one hundredth of a second and can neither fly nor use teleportation."

The pavilion was three miles away from the entrance. To reach it in one hundredth of a second would require about fifteen hundred times the speed of sound. Something most immortals could not achieve with bodily speed alone. Hou Hui didn't delay and took a step forward. Although it looked ordinary, there were innumerable mysteries in that step. It was as if it cleft open a path in the void itself and in the span of one hundredth of a second, Hou Hui took nine such steps and landed right in front of a pavilion built in immortal jade from which an overwhelming amount of immortal qi emanated.

Sitting in front of a chess table was a handsome middle-aged man with bound white and black hairs tied in a knot and a large Taoist robe that did very little to hide his powerful musculature. Though seven feet tall with a long Guan Yu like beard, his impressive build couldn't diminish the scholarly air and refinement which swirled around his form. He was the Yin-Yang God Zui Gao.

Seeing him, Hou Hui respectfully bowed and clasped his hands in greetings.

"Hou Hui greets imperial uncle."

"Very Good. Your Void Crossing Step has reached great completion. No need to stand on ceremony. Come join me for a chess match."

Zui Gao gently said while sending a wave of divine power which immediately lifted Hou Hui. That small force alone was enough for Hou Hui to understand the abyssal gap that still existed between his uncle and himself.

"Very well. It's been centuries since we've last had a match so I can entertain you for a little bit."

Without further ceremony, Hou Hui sat in the opposite seat and motioned for his uncle to begin. For half an hour, they would silently indulge in the chess match without succumbing to any form of distraction until finally Zui Gao spoke.

"Considering that you've never taken the initiative to come visit me, I suppose you must have something important to ask? Did Feng Wu Shuang convince you to do this?"

Hou Hui was in the middle of moving a chess piece when his uncle's words stopped him in dead in his tracks.

"Tss, nothing escapes imperial uncle's eyesight. She is indeed the reason why I'm here."

He replied dejectedly.

"Haha, you're not even married that she already has you on a tight leash. In the future, be careful about not becoming the housekeeper."

Zui Gao's mild laugh and teasing reply seemed to have crushed Hou Hui's spirit. Slouching, he let out a defeated sigh and said.

"Ah, what can I do? That little phoenix is so overbearing that I really cannot challenge her. My future is truly worrying."

"Good. I was worried you would remain an unruly brat for a lifetime. Fortunately, that girl entered your life and relieved many of my worries. I hope you will take good care of her."

The last part was stressed with great seriousness.

"I definitely will."

He pledged more for himself than anyone else. Although the road ahead was fraught with dangers, he was unafraid. One day they would travel the starry sky, free and unrestrained.

"More seriously though, what brings you here?" Zui Gao asked.

"I will soon descend onto a mortal world. The empress is sure to investigate my actions and whereabout but while I'm not afraid of her spies, they could become a hindrance. To have to cloud their vision while seeking those items is not ideal."

"You're referring to the thirty-six stones of Tian Mo?"

"Indeed."

Hearing this, Zui Gao's face contorted into a deep frown.

"You have been looking for them for centuries and even sent out your four incarnations throughout many mortal and immortal worlds to seek their trails. Was it not for me who clouded the empress' vision, you would have already been discovered. Now you actually want to descend in person? Why?"

Hou Hui knew his uncle's words were correct. In fact, it was because of Zui Gao's protection that the world still believed him to be stuck beneath the Life Immortal realm. He had given him a ring that not only served as a space treasure but also allowed him to hide any trace of his immortal qi.

"I know it is reckless. But those stones are of paramount importance to me. My incarnations have already collected thirty-two and the remaining four are currently in the Ancient Sea World. As long as I can obtain them, I can rebuild the heavenly demon tablet and achieve new breakthroughs."

To this Zui Gao dismissively shook his head.

"Tian Mo was the most powerful demon in history. Although he cultivated both the holy and immortal paths to the pinnacle, the foundation of his art was still demonism. How would you who is already so deep in the immortal path suddenly cultivate demonism? That is the first issue.

Now assuming that you did manage to become enlightened in demonism, assuming that you could cultivate a brand-new incarnation and have it embark on the holy path, how would you remain in heaven? No need to mention Yue Li, Tian Tu would be the first to execute you!"

In the early days of the Celestial Realm, the ancient gods had already forbidden the practice of demonism. Demonism was the major and most widespread form of the holy path and as saints and immortals had always been in opposition, heaven wouldn't allow its existence within its ranks.

But to his uncle's concerns, Hou Hui merely smiled.

"You do not plan to remain."

Zui Gao concluded.

"The day I become enlightened in demonism and cultivate my holy incarnation is the day I leave this realm."

Hearing confirmation from his nephew's lips, Zui Gao's frown deepened.

"While I do not blame you for wanting to leave heaven, have you truly thought this through? Do you think that just because you want to leave you can? If Tian Tu doesn't want you to, you cannot leave."

Zui Gao seriously said.

"Why would he stop me? He has no interest in my existence so why would he suddenly prevent me from leaving? Unless he was aware of my cultivation, that would never happen."

While Hou Hui spoke confidently, Zui Gao wasn't as optimistic. And as he reminisced the events of three thousand years ago, his lack of optimism became certainty.

"I do not know what he has in store for you, but he will never allow you to leave his grasp. At least not before you have served the purpose he wants you to. As for what that is, only he knows."

Hou Hui was confused. The disinterest with which his father treated him was known to all. In the last thousand years he could count with one hand the amount of times he had seen him, and it was all from afar. So why would he be opposed to him leaving? Unless…

"Does it have anything to do with my mother? Is it why he sealed my bloodline?"

Hou Hui blurted out.

But since he possessed no definitive answer, Zui Gao could only negatively shake his head.

"The events of three thousand years ago are blurry. I cannot remember them all. I cannot even say with certainty that your bloodline was sealed by him."

Those were shocking words. The memories of immortals were eternal to say nothing of gods. So, for Zui Gao to not remember those times could only mean that his memories of them had been tampered with. As for who could accomplish such a thing, the answer was obvious.

Naturally, Hou Hui was horrified. After all, although he knew his father to be invincible, he didn't know his cultivation to be horrifying enough to tamper with the memories of a god such as his uncle. If even the number two powerhouse in the universe could be manipulated, who else could resist?

"My mother must have been quite the unfortunate woman to catch the attention of and fall for such a man. It is a pity that as her son I cannot even visit her grave to accomplish my filial duties."

Zui Gao didn't comment and for but a fraction of a second, appeared to be lost in deep thoughts.

"You can bring the demonic stones back to heaven, but you absolutely cannot cultivate a holy incarnation in this place. No matter what, you cannot. If you truly want to cultivate the holy path and leave this place, there is only one way."

Hearing that there still was a path toward salvation, Hou Hui kept his ears wide open to not miss even a tiny bit of his uncle's method. However, the words that followed afterward shocked him to the very core of his soul.

"You have to die!"

...................

"Your majesty, prince Hou Hui has left for the Great Elder's residence."

Although Zui Gao was the known to outsiders as the Yin-Yang God, within the imperial family, he wielded the title of Great Elder with a venerable status second only to the emperor.

Hearing the report, Yue Li frowned. It was no secret that Zui Gao was Hou Hui's backer. It was even reported that Zui Gao was the one providing him with cultivation manuals and that five hundred years ago when Hou Hui, according to her spies, failed to breakthrough to the Life Immortal realm, it was Zui Gao who saved his life; something she had always resented.

The visceral and unreasonable hatred she felt for Hou Hui was something even she had a hard time comprehending. But as long as his face entered her sight and she was reminded of his late mother, heart wrenching pain would tear her from the inside out and she could only hurl her anger at him. It would certainly have been much easier to have him killed, but all her plans in that department had been foiled by Zui Gao.

Fortunately, he was no cultivation talent and could never become immortal. Otherwise, her rancor would truly become incontrollable.

Standing up, Yue Li sent several mental orders to the immortals she had dispatched to tail Hou Hui's every move and even called in fresh blood. Although she didn't understand Hou Hui's purpose, she knew that the only times he had stepped into Zui Gao's residence were forced by Zui Gao himself. With her heavy surveillance, he never dared take any action that would draw attention toward him. For him to now so blatantly head into Zui Gao's residence made her feel uncomfortable.

"Do not challenge the Great Elder's dignity by attempting to spy on his residence. Patiently wait for Hou Hui to come out to keep tracking his next moves. Absolutely do not allow him to leave your sight. And if by any chance, he attempts to leave the capital…dispose of him."

...................

"Uncle what do you mean by that?"

Hou Hui didn't believe his uncle merely wanted to use his own death to escape his fate. There must have been a deeper meaning to his words but in that instant, he couldn't grasp it.

"You will have to figure that out on your own. As for Yue Li's spies, that is very simple to handle."

Zui Gao's lips curled into a rarely seen cold, and chilling smile which seemed totally out of place on his scholarly and refined body.

"Feel free to dispose of them! I shall shoulder the consequences!"