Chapter 111 – The Little Snow Ferret No Longer Ran Away (12)
The elders were filled with lingering fear. Fortunately, the young master had returned with the Celestial Tree today. Otherwise, if even they had fallen, who knew what would have become of the Netherworld Realm?
Before unsealing the Netherworld Realm, they had to identify the traitor. After discussing their strategy, they summoned the attendants who had seen the little snow ferret and erased their memories. To deceive any hidden enemies, the elders pretended to succumb to demonic corruption and staged their collapse at Jianmu’s hands, throwing the Elder Courtyard into immediate chaos.
Taking over temporary management of the Elder Courtyard, Jianmu’s first command was to seal off all information—no one was allowed to spread news of the elders’ injuries and unconscious state. Furthermore, no one was permitted to leave the Elder Courtyard unless absolutely necessary.
The attendants acknowledged the order, but shortly after Jianmu turned away, a low-ranking attendant requested leave under the pretext of visiting his family and quietly left the Elder Courtyard.
In such a critical situation, most people would obediently follow orders if they had no ulterior motives. However, this person had specifically applied for leave right after the restriction was imposed.
Transformed back into his little snow ferret form, Bai Mo instructed Xiao Bobao, “Follow him.”
The attendant weaved through the streets, taking multiple detours, clearly trying to avoid being tailed. An ordinary pursuer would have easily lost him, but Bai Mo was no ordinary tracker. His agility and sharp sense of smell ensured that even if he briefly lost sight of the attendant, he wouldn’t stray from the right path. Moreover, with the small broadcast spirit accompanying him, deducing the attendant’s destination was a simple task.
“The civilian district in the western part of the city,” Xiao Bobao reported after calculating the route. There was some doubt in its voice. According to their investigation, this attendant’s home was indeed in the western civilian district. Could it be that he truly was just homesick and wanted to check in on his family?
Bai Mo and Xiao Bobao watched as the attendant entered the civilian district and walked straight toward his house without any obstructions.
“Maybe we were wrong after all,” Xiao Bobao muttered. Not wanting to waste time on an insignificant figure, it was about to suggest turning back when Bai Mo shook his head firmly.
“We’re already here. We should at least gain something from this. Who knows if he’s actually the traitor? We can’t give up halfway. If he just wanted to go home, why take such a roundabout route?”
Bai Mo pointed out a crucial flaw—if the attendant was truly just visiting home, taking the main roads would have been faster and more convenient. Such abnormal behavior meant there had to be something suspicious going on. Bai Mo’s instincts told him that this attendant was far from innocent.
Xiao Bobao considered his reasoning and agreed. To ensure their cover, it cast an invisibility charm on both itself and Bai Mo before they silently approached the house.
The attendant’s home was a standalone building. Given his position working at the Elder Courtyard, his monthly wages weren’t low, so affording a house wasn’t entirely unexpected. However, he was only a low-ranking errand runner, earning significantly less than those in the inner circle. According to his records, he shouldn’t have been able to afford a house like this—especially since he had purchased it just three months ago. Coincidentally, that was also around the time the demonic seeds had been planted inside the elders.
The little snow ferret perched atop the wall, activating his X-ray vision to observe the attendant’s actions. At first, everything seemed normal—he ate with his family, chatted, and did some cleaning. Everything was as ordinary as could be.
But as night fell and his family members retired early, the attendant returned to his own room. With a reminder from the small broadcast spirit, Bai Mo immediately perked up—this was the main event. Now that the attendant had some privacy, he was bound to make a move.
Sure enough, as soon as the attendant entered his room, he twisted the vase on the small table. It turned out to be a hidden mechanism. The solid wooden cabinet beside it shifted to the left, revealing an underground passage.
Well, well, a secret tunnel inside his house?
As soon as the attendant descended, before the wardrobe could slide back into place, the little snow ferret swiftly darted inside and plunged straight down.
“Plop—”
A small but distinct sound echoed, and the light above was instantly cut off as the wardrobe returned to its original position.
Now engulfed in complete darkness, Bai Mo, despite his excellent night vision, was effectively blind.
“Xiao Bobao, help me out.”
“On it~”
With Xiao Bobao around, there was no shortage of tools, from ancient to modern.
In no time, a nuclear-powered headlamp appeared and was securely fastened to Bai Mo’s forehead, illuminating the tunnel with perfect clarity.
Following the passage, he ran forward for approximately five hundred meters before encountering three branching paths. Bai Mo sniffed the air and frowned—each path carried the attendant’s scent. This meant the attendant had traversed all three routes at some point, and the intensity of his scent was identical on each, making it impossible to determine which one he had just taken.
…
Meanwhile, in the outside world—
Since Immortal Lord Hanyue had returned from the Nine Provinces, his temper had become increasingly erratic, shifting unpredictably like the weather. He refused to speak of anything related to the Nine Provinces, and anyone who dared to bring up the topic faced severe consequences—minor offenses resulted in injuries, while severe ones led to death.
They say that when an honest man finally loses his temper, it is truly terrifying. Perhaps it was because Immortal Lord Hanyue had always greeted people with a warm smile and had never put on airs, making it hard for others to see him as a threat. Initially, people dismissed his outbursts, believing that the two higher gods he had punished had provoked him first and thus deserved it.
However, once they had witnessed his true strength, everyone became wary and consciously avoided him.
Yet, some things in life are unavoidable. Even if they refrained from provoking Immortal Lord Hanyue, he would come looking for them himself.
At first, under the pretense of disciplining the heavenly soldiers and generals, Hanyue Immortal Lord kept finding faults, causing the celestial troops to live in constant fear. Everyone prayed that he would take his so-called “rectification” efforts elsewhere—better their comrades suffer than themselves.
However, Hanyue Immortal Lord seemed to have set his sights firmly on the celestial army. Every day, someone was punished and sent to reflect in isolation. As time went on, the number of soldiers on routine patrols dwindled. Many began to feel that he had gone too far, but since it didn’t concern them directly, even the higher gods who were familiar with him remained silent.
That was until one day when a bloodied celestial soldier staggered into the hall, interrupting an ongoing meeting.
His sudden appearance was like a bolt of lightning splitting the sky. The tortured soldier used his final breath to scream:
“Hanyue Immortal Lord… framed… celestial bone…”
“Insolence! How dare you spout nonsense in the presence of the gods!”
Furious, Hanyue Immortal Lord slammed his chair into pieces. Instantly, all the chairs in the hall shattered along with it, sending several caught-off-guard higher gods tumbling to the ground in disgrace.
The celestial soldier had already reached his limit just by escaping and shouting those words. The immense pressure from someone leagues above him in power crushed his remaining spiritual energy, snuffing out his last breath. Even in death, unwilling and resentful, his bloodshot eyes remained locked onto Hanyue Immortal Lord.
“Hanyue Immortal Lord, what did this celestial soldier mean by his words? Don’t you think you owe us an explanation?”
Everyone knew that Hanyue Immortal Lord had been rigorously disciplining the celestial army. The soldier had emerged from behind the hall—an area under Hanyue’s jurisdiction.
The Night God stepped forward, intending to gently close the soldier’s eyes. However, no matter how hard he tried, the soldier’s eyes would not shut. The sheer hatred burning in his gaze was chilling—what kind of grudge, what kind of deep resentment, could make someone refuse to close their eyes even in death?
With a nearly imperceptible sigh, the Night God prepared to carry away the fallen soldier’s body. But the moment he touched him, his expression changed drastically.
The celestial soldier’s celestial bone was gone.
Unbelieving, the Night God probed further. Beneath the soft flesh, there was no trace of the sacred bone that should have been there to support him.
Still unwilling to accept what he was seeing, he continued his examination. The more he checked, the darker his expression became.
Not only had the soldier’s celestial bone been removed, but his spiritual root had also been extracted, and his three souls and seven spirits were missing one soul and one spirit.
Hanyue Immortal Lord spoke coldly: “This man refused to be reformed. I discovered traces of demonic energy within him. When I confronted him, he attempted to attack me and escape. I had no choice but to imprison him for investigation. Who would have thought that he would escape today and turn the blame on me instead…?”
Hanyue Immortal Lord made no attempt to conceal the fact that someone in the Divine Realm had been bought off. Instead, he put on a show of deep sorrow and remorse, sighing heavily, “It is my failure that I have yet to uncover the mastermind behind this and have instead disturbed all of you.”
The gathered gods nodded in response, offering words of reassurance: “How can this be Hanyue Immortal Lord’s fault? Hanyue, you mustn’t blame yourself.”
The Night God noticed that all those agreeing with Hanyue Immortal Lord were his supporters. Watching as they readily forgave him and smiled in his direction, Night God suppressed the unsettling feeling in his heart. For the first time, he refrained from making any sarcastic remarks toward Hanyue.
“Rest assured, everyone. I will do my utmost to find the one responsible and ensure they do not wreak havoc in the Divine Realm.” Hanyue Immortal Lord declared firmly.
Seeing Hanyue’s theatrical performance, the Night God sneered and scoffed at his pretense. “In my opinion, this is no trivial matter. It must be reported to the Northern Emperor Immortal Lord at once. I, for one, lack the ability to assist Hanyue Immortal Lord in capturing the mastermind, so I will make the trip to the Northern Forest myself. I won’t be staying to entertain any longer.”
With that, the Night God picked up the celestial soldier’s corpse and flew toward the Northern Forest.
Hanyue Immortal Lord watched his departing figure with a serene smile, his gaze lingering for a long time before he finally looked away.
“The Night God is truly insolent,” one of Hanyue’s lackeys grumbled. “Since it was Hanyue Immortal Lord who discovered this matter, naturally, he should be the one to handle it. What’s the point of running off to report to the Northern Emperor? It’s just a small issue—we are more than capable of resolving it ourselves. If we trouble the Northern Emperor over every little thing, people might start thinking he’s the one in charge of the Divine Realm instead…”
This speaker was one of Hanyue Immortal Lord’s sycophants. Seeing how Hanyue’s divine power had surged and how his forceful methods had overpowered many higher gods, numerous deities had quickly switched allegiance to his side.
Hanyue Immortal Lord maintained his benevolent smile and waved his hand dismissively. “It’s fine. The Northern Emperor Immortal Lord has seniority, so informing him is only proper. In fact, he should have been the rightful ruler of the Divine Realm from the start. It was only due to everyone’s favor that I was chosen instead. I truly feel unworthy of such an honor.”
“Not at all, not at all! I believe Hanyue Immortal Lord is doing an excellent job—always so thoughtful in everything…”
After receiving several rounds of flattery, Hanyue Immortal Lord no longer feigned humility. Instead, he accepted the praise with a pleased smile before dismissing the gathering.
Once everyone had left, his expression darkened, and the warmth on his face vanished entirely.
“The Northern Emperor is a major threat. He is the greatest obstacle to your rule over the Divine Realm.”
A hoarse, ethereal male voice suddenly echoed through the grand, empty hall. It was as if the words came from a great distance—yet, at the same time, they seemed to whisper right beside him. However, if anyone else had been present and listened carefully, they would have realized something terrifying:
That voice was coming from within Hanyue Immortal Lord’s own body.
“I know,” Hanyue responded, his expression sinister and chilling. “The Demon Realm’s cover has already been blown. That d*mn cat-fox is being guarded tightly by Bai Tang in the Northern Forest, and I can’t get in. What about the Netherworld Realm? Have you made all the necessary preparations?”
“Those three old fools in the Netherworld Realm have already succumbed to demonic influence. In just a few days, the entire Netherworld will descend into complete chaos.”