No one spoke in the entire hall, whether they were still frightened by the divine artifact or felt guilty. Even the immortal who had spoken earlier was now leaning against a pillar, his legs weak, completely unable to recover.
In the end, it was Emperor Yongqing who reacted first, quickly adjusting his expression and forcing a smile, saying, "So the Heavenly Maiden already knew the method of controlling the divine artifact. Then there is naturally no one in the world more suitable to safeguard the divine artifact than Heavenly Maiden You. We were just worrying unnecessarily before, please forgive us, Heavenly Maiden!"
Compared to his previous deliberate ignoring, Yongqing now seriously examined the mortal before him, even clasping his hands in a friendly gesture towards her. He even gave Ning Hui, who had the lowest cultivation level behind her, a careful look.
Youyou didn't respond, but simply handed him the fan in her hand, saying, "Your fan!" and shoved it directly into his hand.
Before he could catch it, the fan suddenly trembled, as if it wanted to break free from Yongqing and fly back into Youyou's hand.
"Listen to me!" You You glanced at the fan and said in a deep voice, "People of the True Yan Sect keep their word. What belongs to someone is theirs. Since the fan has been given away, it will not be taken back."
Although she said this to the fan, the immortals present felt their faces burning with embarrassment!
The trembling fan stopped struggling, but the fan surface, which had already been unfolded, snapped back in anger, and the faint divine power around it also suddenly extinguished, making it like a dead fan!
Yongqing's gaze darkened for a moment before he raised his head, resuming his upright and aloof imperial demeanor. He smiled broadly at the four people before him and said, "I invited the Heavenly Maiden and the Divine Lord here to thank you for your help to my Immortal Lords. The matter of the divine artifact was merely mentioned incidentally. The two Divine Lords are very knowledgeable, but the Heavenly Maiden and this fellow Daoist must have never seen the splendor of the Immortal Realm. Unfortunately, I just sent Nie Qing out on some business. You've all had a long journey. Why don't you rest in this Immortal Palace for a few days, and wait for Nie Qing's return so we can all get together?"
"Nie Zheng isn't here?!" Ning Hui, who had been following behind, couldn't help but ask.
“Yes!” Yongqing replied, “Some minor problems have suddenly arisen in the southern part of the Immortal Realm. I sent Nie Qing to handle them, and he will return in two days at most.”
Ning Hui frowned, feeling somewhat disappointed that she hadn't been able to see Nie Zheng despite having gone to the Upper Realm specifically for this trip.
You You wasn't surprised. She exchanged a glance with Yuan Qi and Feng Rong before nodding and saying, "In that case, we'll wait in the Immortal Palace for two days. After two days, whether he returns or not, we'll have to go back. My True Transformation Sect has a lot of things to do!"
"Of course!" Yongqing's smile deepened, and he appeared even more upright and dignified. He turned to a celestial being beside him and said, "Take the Divine Lord and the Celestial Maiden to the 'Qianyang Immortal Palace' to rest. They helped the Immortal Realm retrieve the divine artifact, so be sure to treat them well."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The immortal bowed, then looked at the group and said, "Please, fellow Daoists!"
Without hesitation, Youyou followed the immortal out of the hall, which had been cut in half, and left with Fengrong and the others.
Only after the figures of the group disappeared did Yongqing's gaze darken, and the smile on his face vanish.
"Your Majesty, they are so ungrateful, why are you letting them go?!"
Yongqing turned and glanced at the other person, his eyes as cold as ice, causing the other person to immediately take a step back. Only then did he withdraw his gaze and look again in the direction the other person had left, saying, "That Heavenly Maiden surnamed You has a method to control divine artifacts. Until I know it, she cannot be touched!"
"So... we're just going to let them go back like this in two days?" the immortal continued, unwilling to give up.
Yongqing frowned, and after a moment said, "Go and summon Nie Zheng!"
"The Emperor wants to release him!" the immortal exclaimed in surprise.
Yongqing tightened his grip on the fan, looked at the person who had asked the question again, and said meaningfully, "You should know what to do, right?"
The immortal's expression changed, and he quickly clasped his hands in greeting, saying, "Yes, Your Majesty!"
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Youyou and the others followed the immortal who had led the way to a magnificent palace. The immortal exchanged a few polite words and then took his leave. Once they could no longer sense the immortal's presence, Youyou quickly gave Yuanqi and Fengrong a wink.
Yuan Qi knowingly made a few hand seals, instantly setting up multiple defensive formations around them. On the other side, Feng Rong also summoned a flame that burrowed into the wall, helping to completely isolate the room they were in.
Only after confirming that no one could see inside did You You pull the others to sit down on chairs in the hall and ask seriously, "How is it? Did you find anything?"
Yuan Qi shook his head. "The entire Immortal Palace is devoid of any aura, so it shouldn't be here."
“I’ve also investigated!” Feng Rong replied in a deep voice, “I found nothing, not even the aura of a primordial spirit.”
"Sect...Sect Master?" Ning Hui, sitting next to the group, looked completely bewildered. "What...what are you talking about? Are you looking for something?" It seemed like he was the only one who didn't know.
You You glanced at him and said, "Oh, I forgot to explain." As she spoke, she took out a jade tablet from her storage bag. It was the soul tablet that every disciple in the sect had, but this one was different. Not only did it faintly exude an immortal aura, but the name written on it was Nie Zheng.
"This...isn't this the soul tablet that Nie Zhengfei wanted to erect with Master Qiu as a witness?" Nie Zhengfei was naturally outgoing. During his years in the sect, he helped with a few classes and gradually became familiar with Qiu Zhang.
At that time, his disciples were not entirely convinced of his identity and inevitably had some doubts about it. In a fit of pique, he dragged Qiu Zhang to be his witness and insisted on having a spirit tablet erected at the sect to clear his name.
He was originally an immortal, and this soul tablet, unlike those of the disciples, doesn't reflect his true condition, so setting it up doesn't really have much use. It's just unclear why the sect leader brought it to the upper realm.
"Ning Hui, do you remember how long it's been since Nie Zheng last contacted you?" You You asked earnestly.
“Nine months and seven days!” Ning Hui blurted out.
"When he was traveling around looking for people before, did he not contact you for this long period of time?" she continued to ask.
“Of course not!” Ning Hui shook her head firmly. “He used to send me a message every day to let me know he was safe!” Even if he encountered danger or something, he never stopped.
"Look...you've noticed something's wrong too, haven't you?" You You said. Before, he could always report that he was safe when in danger, but now that he'd returned to his own immortal realm, there was no word from him. It was impossible not to suspect something was amiss.
Ning Hui's expression changed, and she said with some anxiety, "Does the sect leader think... he's in danger?!"
“I only suspected it before, so I brought this soul tablet with me, hoping Feng Rong could sense his location.” You You frowned. “But after seeing that red lotus, I should be able to confirm—something happened to him!”
Given Nie Zheng's incredibly loyal and sentimental nature, to the point of being somewhat dim-witted, he would never give away a gift to someone else without asking.
So there's only one possibility... he has no choice but to give it!
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