Chapter 101 – The Little Snow Ferret No Longer Ran Away (02)
During the great war between the East and the West, the World Tree, Jianmu, self-immolated in order to cut off the path that would have allowed Western demon soldiers to invade the Divine Realm.
At that time, the little snow ferret, who had been dispersed from his side, also chose to exile himself.
After much wandering, the two finally returned.
However, Jianmu’s roots had always remained in this land.
Now, as he refined his true form, the little snow ferret still remained in a semi-divine state—because his true body was still sealed inside the secret chamber of the Netherworld Realm’s royal city.
Until the Netherworld Realm’s seal was broken, he could not fully return to his original form.
During the day, Jianmu and the little snow ferret played and enjoyed each other’s company.
At night, when the snow ferret rested inside a tree hollow, Jianmu would take the time to refine his body.
The spirit stones that the Northern Emperor Immortal Lord had sent through Xiao Bobao were completely depleted within three days.
Yet, Jianmu never asked for more.
However, the Northern Emperor always had a way of solving urgent problems—every few days, he would send another batch of spirit stones.
…
No one knew how the news of Jianmu’s plan to extract the Lotus Karma Fire had spread, but as soon as it did, many began to harbor secret ambitions.
The Lotus Karma Fire was the purest flame in existence, with immeasurable power.
If one could inherit its legacy, their cultivation would skyrocket, and their status in the Divine Realm would rise significantly.
Although the Northern Emperor’s reforms had reduced corruption in the Divine Realm, the deep-seated selfish nature of some deities was difficult to eradicate.
Long ago, the Northern Emperor had vowed not to interfere with the governance of the Divine Realm.
After the initial reforms, he had allowed the deities to elect their own leaders.
…
In the Divine Realm, power was even greater than in the mortal world.
Even those with pure hearts could eventually develop greed after being in positions of power for too long.
The current ruler of the Divine Realm, Immortal Lord Hanyue, was no exception.
He had not been in the Divine Realm for long compared to other ancient deities, and among the High Gods, he was still considered inexperienced.
Perhaps it was because he had no strong backing, making him easier to manipulate, or perhaps there were other reasons, but he had been pushed into a high position.
Fortunately, above him stood the Northern Emperor, a sovereign who never interfered in politics but whose awe-inspiring presence alone kept the gods in check.
Thus, the other deities did not dare to cause trouble outright, and even Immortal Lord Hanyue refrained from making secret moves.
But that did not mean he had given up on the idea of becoming the true ruler of the Divine Realm.
Not being able to make secret moves wasn’t a problem—after all, as the current administrator of the Divine Realm, it was perfectly reasonable for him to show concern over the World Tree’s refinement process.
If he could earn the World Tree’s trust, perhaps Jianmu would willingly grant him the inheritance of the Lotus Karma Fire.
However, even the most skilled cook cannot make a meal without ingredients—Hanyue Immortal Lord lacked both the qualifications and the resources.
He rummaged through his own treasury, but the spirit stones he had saved were far from enough to sustain Jianmu’s consumption.
And once he started this act of “delivering timely aid,” stopping midway would mean not only losing all progress but also suffering heavy losses.
To solve this dilemma, Hanyue came up with a brilliant plan.
He gathered all the deities under the noble pretext of helping the World Tree recover and stabilizing the balance of the universe.
He urged everyone to contribute whatever they could—those who had power should give power, and those who had spirit stones should donate spirit stones.
But the gods were no fools—especially the more calculating ones, who immediately saw through his real intentions.
He wanted to use their contributions to take credit in front of Jianmu?
How laughable.
However, since Hanyue was the leader they had elected, and his proposal sounded grand and righteous, they reluctantly played along.
After all, Jianmu’s recovery would ultimately strengthen the Divine Realm’s position among the Six Realms.
Thus, each god contributed a small amount of spirit stones.
But as for how Hanyue planned to deliver them through the sealed barrier of Kyushu, that was his problem to solve.
“None of us can enter the barrier,” the Night God remarked with a mocking smirk.
“Since Hanyue Immortal Lord made this grand proposal, he must have already come up with a flawless plan, right? Then, we’ll leave it to you.”
He was clearly ridiculing Hanyue, but his words remained polite on the surface.
For the Night God, daytime was meant for sleep, yet Hanyue had summoned everyone under the pretense of an urgent matter—only to present this trivial nonsense?
The World Tree would recover with or without spirit stones—it was only a matter of time.
Did Hanyue really need to act so desperately?
Hanyue Immortal Lord’s face flushed red—he indeed had no way of delivering the spirit stones inside.
He was just about to seek suggestions from the crowd, hoping to find someone willing to deliver them in his name.
But before he could propose it, Night God had already exposed his predicament.
“My divine rank is still young, and I fear I may not handle the delivery well…”
Hanyue reluctantly admitted, though he hated lowering his head before the gods.
Yet, he had no choice—his position as the Divine Realm’s administrator lacked solid backing.
However, once he acquired the inheritance of the Lotus Karma Fire from the World Tree, he would put that arrogant Night God in his place.
Night God scoffed.
He had opposed the election of Hanyue as administrator from the start.
But the other gods had selfishly chosen a deity with no background, thinking he would be easy to control.
“Whoever put him in charge should be responsible for him,” Night God thought coldly.
“Oh? So even Hanyue Immortal Lord hasn’t figured it out?” Night God sneered.
“Well then, let’s just leave the spirit stones in your care for now. No need for me to take mine back.”
“I trust that, as a fair and just immortal, you wouldn’t covet such a small amount, would you?”
Night God was infamous for his sharp tongue—especially when mocking those he disliked.
He often left his targets speechless, unable to form a single rebuttal.
“Of course,” Hanyue replied with an awkward but polite smile, gritting his teeth in frustration.
D*mn it!
Night God had completely blocked off his backup plan.
Hanyue had been planning to hold onto the spirit stones under the excuse that no one could send them in yet.
In the meantime, he would “borrow” a portion for his own cultivation—no one would notice if some went missing.
But now, thanks to Night God’s public remark, he couldn’t do that without ruining his reputation.
“That d*mn Night God—was he born just to ruin my plans?!”
Hanyue Immortal Lord usually handled matters fairly.
With Northwood Forest still open, and North Emperor Immortal Lord and his consort frequently visiting, Hanyue dared not engage in any blatant misconduct.
Everyone knew that Night God had a sharp tongue, but none took his remark to mean that Hanyue would actually embezzle the spirit stones.
Other scheming deities were also unconcerned about Hanyue pocketing the resources.
They knew he lacked the confidence to risk such self-destruction.
If he ever made that mistake, they would seize the opportunity to topple him—proving to North Emperor that new gods were unreliable and that the Divine Realm’s management should remain in the hands of the old upper gods.
What they didn’t know was that the center of their discussion had watched everything unfold.
Since returning, Little snow ferret had been thrilled, but with no playmates, he soon grew bored.
His beloved husband was still forging his divine body, and since the protective barrier couldn’t be removed, he couldn’t go anywhere to play.
So, he begged his husband to find him some entertainment.
Jianmu thought about the future, knowing that once the Underworld Realm’s seal was lifted, Little ferret—as its young lord—would have to interact with the other realms.
“Why not let him start observing now?”
It would be better for him to get familiar with the different factions rather than stumble blindly and be looked down upon later.
What he didn’t expect was to witness such an amusing drama unfold.
The Divine Realm was truly a place full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
Although there were fewer deceitful gods than before, the corruption had not been eradicated.
“Heh…”
Jianmu let out a soft chuckle, his thoughts unknown.
Little Snow ferret, on the other hand, despised deception.
He preferred straightforwardness, which was why he admired Night God’s bold way of roasting people.
“Absolutely brilliant!”
This was exactly the skill he lacked.
If given the chance, he would love to take lessons from Night God.
To facilitate the spirit stone deliveries, Jianmu did not sever the binding between Bai Mo and Xiao Bobao.
Although he had never met North Emperor in person, they had once fought side by side alongside his father god.
Because of this shared history, Jianmu did not keep his usual distance from Jiang Liangwu, the successor of the former North Emperor.
So when Jiang Liangwu sent spirit stones, Jianmu accepted them without hesitation, not bothering with formalities.
“Brother Jianmu, when we can finally go out, can we visit Night God?”
Little Snow ferret nestled into Jianmu’s arm, rubbing against him affectionately.
He really wanted to learn Night God’s art of sarcastic insults—the way he could provoke someone to the point of spitting blood without even lifting a hand.
“That would be so satisfying!”
“This is the power of words~”
At just the right moment, Xiao Bobao chimed in.
Under the guidance of her master god, she had leveled up—no, rather, she had advanced in cultivation.
Back in the lower realms, in order to help her host accept her more easily, she had referred to herself as a system.
But in reality, she was also a demon cultivator—a little panda demon cultivator, to be precise.
“Good afternoon, Xiao Bobao! It’s been a while, I almost missed you~”
Little snow ferret formed a big heart shape with his hands toward Xiao Bobao.
She was both flustered and happy.
Flustered—because the adorable original form of little snow ferret had just said he liked her!
She knew her reputation in the system’s social channels was terrible—practically a ghost repellent.
The only ones who tried to befriend her were the arrogant, greasy, and self-important “average systems”, who looked down on other systems while trying to steal her hosts.
But she was also happy, because Bai Mo hadn’t forgotten her.
She still held an important place in Little snow ferret’s heart.
Was Xiao Bobao important to Bai Mo?
Absolutely.
Without her, who knew when he would have reunited with Jianmu?
For that, Bai Mo was deeply grateful—grateful that she had chosen to bind with him for missions and had never abandoned him, even in the most difficult times.
In fact, he had already figured it out—during his very first mission, even though Xiao Bobao had very little energy left, she could have detached from him.
If she had, she would have entered a dormant state, drifting randomly until some fated individual found her and re-bound her as their system.
That option wasn’t ideal, but it was far better than perishing alongside him back then.
And yet—she hadn’t chosen that path.
“Good afternoon, Mo Mo!” Xiao Bobaoreplied cheerfully.
But the moment her gaze landed on Jianmu, her expression immediately turned serious.
She straightened up and greeted him with deep respect.
“Good afternoon, Divine Tree.”
This was the Tongtian Divine Tree—even the Northern Emperor had to show him respect!
And yet, she had actually badmouthed the Divine Tree while chatting with Mo Mo during their past missions.
If the Divine Tree found out, she might as well dig her own grave.
“Mo Mo, please, whatever you do—don’t betray me!”
…
Xiao Bobao prayed fervently in her heart—but alas, it was already too late.
Bai Mo, bored out of his mind while trapped in Kyushu, had chatted about everything with Jianmu.
That included:
His life before meeting Xiao Bobao.
How he encountered her.
How they dealt with all the villains together.
In fact, when Jianmu was reincarnated as a mortal protagonist in a past small world, he had often doubted Bai Mo’s words.
He believed that Bai Mo was hiding his own suffering to keep others from worrying.
Because of this, Bai Mo had mocked Jianmu, flashing his sharp claws and haughtily challenging him once again—
“Do I look like the kind of ferret that gets bullied so easily?”
…
Jianmu chuckled softly.
“No, of course not.”
“My little ferret is clever and quick-witted, brilliant beyond measure—few in this world can match him.”
No matter how many lies people tell, flattery is always undeniable truth.
After spending time wandering the mortal world, Jianmu’s once stoic and reserved nature had changed considerably.
By now, he had mastered the art of keeping his Little Snow Ferret happy—and he did it with ease.