"Everything has a cause and an effect!" The man seemed oblivious to her breakdown, remaining completely emotionless as he said, "She knew she could not attain the Great Dao in this life, so she defied the heavens and bestowed all her merits upon you. As a result, you attained the Dao and ascended to become a god, while she suffered this calamity because of it."

"Merit?!" Qiu Yue was shocked, staring blankly at her hands. Suddenly, she seemed to understand something, her expression a mixture of crying and laughing. "So... I was able to become a god because of her merit. So that's how it is... It's because of the Lord... But I..." But I used this to cause her soul to be scattered.

He seemed to be overwhelmed by immense grief, and streams of bloody tears flowed from his eyes. "Why? Why did you only tell me this now! If only I had known sooner, if only I had known sooner..."

The man glanced at him indifferently, seemingly completely baffled as to why the other man was behaving this way. He even replied with a hint of doubt, "My underworld only accepts the souls of the dead, not the souls of the living! Do you know that...? What does it have to do with me? Besides, does it make any difference whether I knew earlier or later?"

"..." Qiu Yue froze, as if she had thought of something, and the despair on her face deepened.

No! Even if he had known this all along, he probably still wouldn't have been able to accept his lord's departure, right? In any case... he would have embarked on this path of no return. After all, his lord's resurrection was the only motivation for him to live all these years, and the reason he desperately cultivated himself into a god.

"I'm telling you this because, besides her, there was another soul that departed today." The man looked directly at Qiu Yue, still speaking in that flat tone, "Are you preparing to become a dead soul?"

"..." Qiu Yue was stunned.

The man then added, "If I'm not ready yet, I can wait!"

After saying that, he actually stepped aside and stood patiently waiting.

Youyou: "..."

Feng Rong: "..."

Yuan Qi: "..."

No way, is this person out of their mind? Who says to someone's face, "I'm waiting for you to kill yourself"?!

You You was speechless, but Qiu Yue seemed to have figured something out. He suddenly burst into laughter, but his voice was full of desolation, making it hard to tell if he was laughing or crying. "Yes! You're right..." He turned to look in the direction of the Underworld Envoy, as if he had finally found his place. His eyes shone as he said, "My lord's soul was scattered because of me, so why should I still be alive?! I should have gone to be with her... I should have gone to be with her long ago!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he struck his own forehead with a palm strike, as if he had used all his strength, so fierce that there was no room for retreat.

Youyou and the others were shocked, not expecting him to actually seek death. When they came to their senses, the other party had already died. That palm strike not only ended his life but also shattered his soul, showing how determined he was to die.

Just like Qin Yan before, Qiu Yue's entire body dispersed into specks of shimmering light, all flying towards the direction of the Netherworld Envoy. A short while later, another semi-transparent soul orb appeared in the man's hand.

You You was momentarily filled with mixed emotions. Qiu Yue had done so many bad things that he truly deserved to die a thousand times over. However, his obsession with Qin Yan also evoked a sense of pity.

The underworld messenger collected the two scattered souls and then turned to look in the direction of You You and the others. He was dressed in black and surrounded by an ominous aura, which inexplicably made people wary.

Not only You You, but also Yuan Qi and Feng Rong frowned. This person's identity was unknown, and he even claimed to be a messenger of the underworld. Yet, with just a few words, he had made Qiu Yue want to die. They didn't know whether he was friend or foe.

The other person slowly walked a few steps closer to them, stopping three meters away. His face, which had remained completely expressionless until now, suddenly broke into a smile towards You You. Combined with his deathly pale face, it was strangely unsettling. He seemed completely oblivious, and with a wide grin, he abruptly bowed: "Your Excellency, long time no see!"

What the heck?

"You...you know me?!" You You was stunned.

A hint of doubt flashed in the man's eyes, but then he suddenly seemed to remember something and continued with a creepy smile, "Oh... Your Majesty doesn't remember me anymore! Well then! I have to go back and report, so I'll take my leave now. Your Majesty, please come visit sometime."

After he finished speaking, he stiffly bent over again.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Where to go? The underworld? Don't scare me!

Just as they were about to ask for more details, ripples spread out from beneath their feet again, and the other person disappeared from the spot, leaving the three of them completely bewildered.

The sky, which had just suddenly darkened, brightened again, and daytime returned.

——————

Because of the fight just now, Wushan Mountain, which was originally covered with phoenix trees, can no longer find a single intact tree. Even the white sacred tree in front of us has been split in two, the faint white light emanating from it has disappeared, and the last bit of life left on the tree has been lost.

Feng Rong stared at the sacred tree before her for a long while, her expression extremely complicated, seemingly lost in thought. After all, it was the sacred tree of the Phoenix Clan, and to destroy it like this, she couldn't possibly be in a good mood.

He stood there for a while before turning to the left, where Feng Yu was lying motionless, covered in blood.

Feng Rong checked his pulse, and her eyes darkened even more.

“Father Yuan…” You You followed and gestured for Yuan Qi to take a look.

Yuan Qi also took Feng Yu's pulse, his expression darkened, and he shook his head. "It's too late." Feng Yu was already lifeless.

Feng Rong waved his hand and put the corpse away. "I'll take him back... and hand him over to Feng Qi." After all, they were master and servant, and he should be allowed to return to his family.

After doing all this, his expression grew even more somber, and he became unusually silent, a far cry from his usual hot-tempered and arrogant self. First came Feng Yu's betrayal, then the destruction of the Sacred Tree; too many things had happened in one day.

Youyou didn't know what to say. Seeing that Fengrong was listless, she felt inexplicably uncomfortable. After hesitating for a while, she tugged at him and said, "Well... things have already turned out this way, and it's not your fault, so don't think too much about it."

Feng Rong didn't reply, but looked at the destroyed sacred tree with a complicated expression, and then took her hand and slowly tightened his grip.

"How about we make a contract now?" Youyou subconsciously tried to distract him from his low spirits. "Do you want to eat an orange?"

Feng Rong paused for a moment, then finally turned to look at her. After a while, she seemed to burst out laughing, and the complex and unreadable expression on her face gradually turned into the resentful expression she was familiar with. "What do you mean? Is a contract just for fooling people?"

"Uh...maybe so?" Considering he was in a bad mood, I decided to go along with him this time.

"Hmph!" Feng Rong snorted, but did not refuse. She just glanced at the sacred tree again and said in a deep voice, "Before that, you will accompany me to a place."

Following his gaze, You You looked at the sacred tree before her and instantly understood, "You mean... the Sacred Tree Space?!"