A beam of light pierced through the sky from beyond, and the figure of Nuwa slowly appeared.

"Sigh..." Nuwa looked down at Nezha, whom she had imprisoned, and the nine-tailed fox, who was bound like a dumpling, and couldn't help but sigh softly.

"Fellow Daoist, could you do me a favor?" Nuwa asked softly.

The white cloud in the sky slowly drifted towards Nuwa, revealing the figures inside.

"Greetings, Goddess Nuwa." The two women and Shen Gongbao bowed and greeted her.

Li Daoyi smiled and glanced at Nuwa, then looked down at the nine-tailed fox demon below.

"Is she really your disciple?" Li Daoyi asked.

"I once bestowed upon her a cultivation technique, which counts. I am already aware of this matter. The Nine-Tailed Fox was not involved, and her crime does not warrant death," Nuwa said.

After saying that, he looked at Li Daoyi again.

"Moreover, she is the last nine-tailed fox spirit in the world. It would be a pity to kill her like this. I hope you will show mercy."

Immediately afterwards, Nuwa waved her hand, and a flash of light appeared, revealing a dark, shiny whip in the air.

"This treasure is the Demon-Binding Rope, forged from the tendons of the ancient dragon clan's powerful Nine-Clawed Black Dragon. How about we use it to exchange for the life of this nine-tailed dragon?" Nuwa said.

Li Daoyi gently pointed at Nezha below, and Nezha's restraints were immediately lifted. The little guy ignored the Nine-Tailed Fox and quickly rode his Wind Fire Wheels to fly up.

"Nezha greets the Goddess Nuwa," Nezha said respectfully.

Nuwa nodded and looked Nezha up and down.

“Nezha, the Empress wants to save the Nine-Tailed Fox, what do you say?” Li Daoyi asked.

"It's entirely up to you; Nezha wouldn't dare say a word," Nezha quickly replied.

“Alright, I can see that this demon hasn’t taken any lives. Since you’ve personally pleaded for her, how can I refuse? Nezha, release her,” Li Daoyi said.

"yes."

Nezha then turned around, waved his hand, and the Hun Tian Ling slowly detached from the Nine-Tailed Fox and flew back to him.

Freed from its restraints, the Nine-Tails immediately flew up, knelt in the air, and lowered its head deeply.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for saving my life. Thank you, Senior, for sparing my life."

"Go and wait for me on the side." Nuwa nodded.

"Yes." Nine-Tailed Fox obediently replied, secretly glancing at Li Daoyi and the others before flying to a nearby place.

"You all go wait for me over there," Li Daoyi said to the others.

After saying that, he casually waved his hand, and the Demon-Binding Rope flew towards Nezha, who quickly reached out and caught it.

The group realized that the two must have something to talk about, so they quickly flew to the side.

Li Daoyi flew towards Nuwa, then gently waved his hand, creating a barrier that enveloped him and Nuwa.

Nuwa's gaze was complex, even containing a hint of admiration.

"I never expected that you would actually revive both Taiyi and Dijun," Nuwa said.

As a saint of the demon race, Nuwa had a strong connection with the demon race and naturally knew about the rebirth of the two demon emperors.

"So many years have passed, and they have almost redeemed their sins. Besides, our human race will need to form an alliance with the demon race in the future. I was just doing this on a whim," Li Daoyi said nonchalantly.

“Fellow Daoist, I have a question I’ve wanted to ask you for a long time,” Nuwa said.

"Oh, what is it?" Li Daoyi asked, somewhat curious.

"I originally thought you were an ancient demon god, but you often identify yourself as a human. Can you tell me what your origins are?" Nuwa asked with a complicated expression.

Having met Li Daoyi so many times, Nuwa initially thought he was just sympathetic to the plight of the human race. However, after observing him, she realized that Li Daoyi seemed more like a human, as could be seen from the two women beside him. Nevertheless, she still couldn't see through Li Daoyi.

"Hahaha, I am a human, and I have never claimed to be some ancient demon god." Li Daoyi chuckled.

Nuwa was even more confused now. If Li Daoyi was a human, why was he so powerful? She had personally created the human race. Even if Li Daoyi was one of the first humans in ancient times, he shouldn't have such cultivation. Xuandu, the only disciple of Taishang, was one of the best among the first humans, and he was only a quasi-saint now.

"You don't need to guess my origins. Just know that I will always stand on the side of humanity," Li Daoyi said with a smile.

Nuwa nodded, no longer troubled by it.

“I originally did not intend to participate in this great calamity, but the demon race is, after all, inextricably linked to me. Since you have allied with the demon race, I cannot stand idly by. Fellow Daoist Li, I hope you will act with caution. The others are not so easy to deal with,” Nuwa said.

"I know what I'm doing. Don't worry, I won't force you to do anything. I can take care of the demon race, and as for those few and the one above, I can handle them too. Just observe how things unfold." Li Daoyi smiled confidently.

Nuwa gave Li Daoyi a deep look, then nodded.

"Goodbye."

After Nuwa finished speaking, she turned around and flew towards the Nine-Tailed Fox, sat directly on her, and then turned into a white light and disappeared.

"She was such a simple and kind person," Li Daoyi sighed, watching Nuwa's disappearing figure.

"Alright, let's go back." After saying that, Li Daoyi turned and flew towards Chaoge.

The others quickly followed, and Nezha threw down the demon-binding rope in his hand, instantly wrapping up the corpse of the nine-headed pheasant demon. Before leaving, he didn't forget to take the demon's body with him.

In the days that followed, no more demons ate people in Chaoge City. The imperial court also issued a proclamation declaring that the demons had been killed, and the people finally felt at ease.

Not long after the demon incident, a proclamation of condemnation was issued from Xiqi, instantly shocking the entire world.

The Marquis of Xibo and the Marquis of Nanbo jointly issued a proclamation against Shang, citing Shang Shou's disrespect for the Holy Mother Nuwa and the gods, as well as his extravagant expansion of Chaoge City, which wasted resources and manpower. They formally declared that all the vassal states in the southwest should leave Shang, and announced the formal dispatch of troops.

As soon as the proclamation was issued, nearly half of the Shang Dynasty's fortune vanished instantly, and the people of Chaoge City were now filled with panic.

Inside the palace, officials stood solemnly in the hall, while Yin Shou sat on the throne. Everyone was bewildered by this sudden news.

“Your Majesty, Ji Chang dares to rebel, and this humble general is willing to personally lead troops to quell the rebellion.” King Wucheng Huang Feihu stepped forward from the ranks of military officers.

"Your Majesty, what we need to do now is not to send troops, but to appease the people. In addition, the most important thing is to appease the Marquis of the East and the Marquis of the North, and to prevent them from being misled by Ji Chang." Prime Minister Shang Rong also stepped forward and said.

Then the officials began to express their opinions, some advocating for sending troops, others for peace talks, and naturally, some were filled with anxiety.

Meanwhile, Yin Shou, Wen Zhong, Kong Xuan, and the others in the hall remained calm and composed, seemingly unconcerned, letting the officials make their noise.

After a long while, Wen Zhong slowly walked out, and the officials finally fell silent.

"What does the Grand Tutor have to say?" Yin Shou asked.

Wen Zhong cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Yin Shou, and then spoke.

"The rebellions in the southwest have clearly been planned for a long time. The most urgent task is to appease the people. In addition, we should immediately summon the Marquis of the East and the Marquis of the North to Chaoge. As long as they come, they will greatly suppress the momentum in the southwest. As for sending troops, I think it is appropriate. The crime of rebellion is unforgivable. However, the person who will lead the troops..." Wen Zhong said, looking at the generals.

"I am willing to lead the troops to quell the rebellion," Kong Xuan stepped forward and said.

"This humble general is also."

Then Li Jing and the others stepped forward one after another.

"Yes, Grand Tutor is absolutely right. General Kong, you will be appointed as the Grand Marshal of the Expedition, with Huang Feihu and Li Jing as your deputies. The appointment of the other generals will be discussed and decided by the three of you," Yin Shou said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," the three bowed.

Immediately afterwards, Yin Shou rose from the throne and stepped down.

"I am not surprised by Ji Chang's rebellion, and I was prepared for it. None of you need to worry. Just continue as usual. Also, the Marquis of Dongbo and the Marquis of Beibo do not need to come to Chaoge. Issue an imperial edict to them to immediately send troops to the southwest. We should trust them. If we directly summon them to Chaoge, wouldn't that mean I don't trust them? I still have that much trust in them," Yin Shou said.

"Your Majesty is wise!" the officials exclaimed in unison.

As soon as the imperial court issued its announcement, Chaoge was instantly in an uproar. Some were filled with righteous indignation, while others were filled with anxiety. Overall, things remained relatively calm, and no major disturbances occurred. However, everyone knew that this was not a minor skirmish like the Beihai Rebellion, but a real war.

Li Daoyi of Zhutianlou also knew about the situation in the southwest.

"It seems that Yuanshi gave them confidence. No matter how things change, what's meant to happen will happen," Li Daoyi said, looking at the bustling street outside.

"Is there anything we should do?" Zhen Yuanzi asked.

"You should not show yourselves for now. It's just the beginning, and those people certainly won't make a move yet. If they don't move, we won't move either," Li Daoyi said.

Then Li Daoyi turned to look at Shen Gongbao.

"What did your senior brother say?"

Shen Gongbao hurriedly stepped forward.

“My senior brother has almost recovered, but he is still conflicted. Now that the war has begun, I don’t know what choice he should make,” Shen Gongbao said, bowing his head.

“Well, the Investiture of the Gods is still on his person. Although Yuanshi won’t interfere with him for now, he will eventually have to reveal himself. Tell him that I’ll give him a year. He must make a choice after a year, or I will personally take the Investiture of the Gods from him,” Li Daoyi said.

"Yes." Shen Gongbao immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Then Li Daoyi took out a scroll from his sleeve. The scroll emitted bursts of precious light and was the Sky Ranking that Mengmeng had given him.

“This is that list…” Zhen Yuanzi and Hongyun couldn’t help but look at Li Daoyi.

"Not bad." Li Daoyi nodded.

He then unfolded the Sky Ranking in front of the others.

"Immortal Emperor, Half-step Ruler".

"Emperor Yan, Xiao Yan. Sovereign Realm."

"Martial Ancestor, Lin Dong. Sovereign Realm."

"Master Shepherd, Mu Chen. Sovereign Realm."

Everyone looked curiously at the unfolded Sky Ranking, on which several unfamiliar names appeared.

"Dominator Realm? What is that?" Zhen Yuanzi couldn't help but ask.

“These individuals are powerful figures from another world, equivalent to saints in their realm. As for here, their worldviews are different, so they probably haven’t reached the Primordial Chaos level, but they are at least at the late Quasi-Saint level,” Li Daoyi said.

The group exchanged bewildered glances. They couldn't understand the first part of what was said, but they did understand the last part, "late stage of Quasi-Saint."