" ...Will it weigh on his conscience as well?"

Although Old Gu was curious what actions the Heavenly Emperor might take now, it mattered less since he had done this merely for his old friend’s sake.

As for the burden of betraying his principles, his millennia-long life had taught him to bear any wound, be it of the body or that of his Dao heart.

If only he knew that his actions would have far-reaching consequences that he couldn’t imagine now.

. . .

After the rage-filled Celestial Phoenix calmed down, she retreated into her personal dimension.

From Ember’s side, Baoshi stayed back as a precaution.

On the opposite side, Zihao did the same. He guided Kai and Hakuja and berated them for this reckless attack. They hadn’t waited for permission, which would have resulted in their total annihilation.

Unlike them, Ember was very independent. The Lord of Shadows cared little about how things were handled as long as there were results.

Baoshi mainly stayed to soothe the nerves of the Celestial Phoenix.

Since she was so prideful, the Phoenix only blamed herself for not being strong enough to protect her nest. What irritated her was that Lord of Shadows had some connection to that man.

There was no doubt that the Phoenix would be less willing to listen to the Lord of Shadows after this incident.

Ember, on the other hand, had gotten a little too busy managing the aftermath of the battle.

This was the first time that part of their city had been destroyed.

When she returned from the battle between the powerhouses, although the devastation was nowhere near the level of what they had caused, it was still more of a concern for her.

Her people were beaten down, the most she had seen since the start of this war.

The barrier protecting the city was taken down for the first time as well.

The Sages under her were all tired, blood-soaked, and wholly shaken.

As she arrived, however, what worried her the most wasn’t all the destruction nor the people.

It was Rai trying to avoid her gaze.

Despite the scale of this battle and regardless of how much they were thrashed this time, Rai was someone who would still smile cheekily and call it their win.

But him acting like that unsettled her heart.

Ignoring everything, she made her way to him.

Her eyes fell on Zier’s drooping figure, and then she noticed Raven’s reddened eyes in the distance. She wasn’t crying; instead, it seemed like she was ready to tear everything apart.

Blaze was missing, nowhere to be seen around those two, at least.

Ozul’s absence didn’t give her any hints since he would always disappear to take naps somewhere. Since he had no Spiritual Essence, she couldn’t even find him with his aura.

With a grave voice, she asked, "What happened?"

Rai continued to avoid her gaze, muttering slowly, "That Virtue of Patience...

He appeared out of nowhere and used a black cube to swallow Ozul..."

As Rai explained everything to her, her eyes widened with the realization of why Old Gu had run away in the middle of their battle. At the same time, she was even more confused why he had done this.

But all of her thoughts aside, she knew finding Ozul was more important.

"Stop sulking around and manage everything here," She told Rai, her eyes sweeping over Zier and Raven.

The latter two heard her words, their hearts sinking with her apathetic tone.

To her, it seemed as if losing Ozul was just another loss in one of the battles.

Having no words for them, Ember took off and made her way directly to the Celestial Phoenix’s personal dimension.

Almost everything that had happened today was out of her expectations. Nothing went as she had expected.

And the only person who could answer her questions was with the Phoenix.

"Shouldn’t you be overseeing the aftermath?" Baoshi raised an eyebrow at Ember’s entrance into the Spatial Dimension.

She needed time alone with the Phoenix to convince her that the Lord of Shadows had no evil motives against her. An external presence wouldn’t help her stance.

"What are you scheming? I need answers!" Ember got straight to the point. At this point, she had forgotten that this person was a Heavenly Virtue.

"What happened?" Baoshi asked calmly, not pointing out the rudeness in her tone.

The Celestial Phoenix on the side lay motionlessly, listening as her eyes alternated between them.

"You tell me what happened! One of my best men has been abducted by that friend of yours!" Ember purposely stressed the word ’friend.’

She knew the only way to get the upper hand against these people was through the Celestial Phoenix.

Judging from how the Phoenix treated that black cat with Ozul, one didn’t need to guess that she would be more than interested in his disappearance.

Baoshi didn’t miss her intentions; she immediately tried to clarify, "He is not a frien-"

"You also refused to send reinforcements when the battle had begun!" Ember cut her off, not giving her a chance to explain herself.

If Kai and Hakuja were here, they would applaud her guts in being able to confront one of the Heavenly Virtues so fearlessly.

However, there was a thin line between being fearless and being reckless.

An oppressive pressure appeared on her shoulders at once. Baoshi was warning her not to continue with that tone.

Despite the aura pushing her to, Ember didn’t fall to the ground. She gritted her teeth and maintained eye contact.

And her bet paid off as with a wash of her wings, the Phoenix made Baoshi’s pressure dissipate.

"If he is not your friend, then why persuade me in his favor?" The Celestial Phoenix narrowed her eyes at Baoshi, making the latter uncomfortable under her gaze.

Ember raised her eyebrows, her suspicions had come true.

The Phoenix turned towards her. She asked curiously, "What did that man do?"

Unlike Ember and the other Empyreans, the Phoenix had sensed the aura of the Heavenly Emperor flash for a few seconds before disappearing. As such, she was more than interested in what Old Gu was doing in her nest.

Ember knew it was her chance to use the Phoenix’s authority to question Baoshi and the Lord of Shadows. She spoke with a grave voice,

"He used a strange artifact to abduct Ozul. Even that cat who always followed him around is nowhere to be found now..." Her voice trailed off into silence.

Baoshi found it strange that Ember would even mention a cat in this discussion. Unfortunately for her, it was precisely the part that would wind the flames in the Phoenix’s heart.

As such, she was reasonably confused when the Celestial Phoenix’s gaze turned stern, fixated on her as if anything she said from now on could decide her fate.

"What was he here to do?!" For the first time, the Phoenix screamed.

Even Ember was surprised to learn that she cared about the cat and Ozul this much.

Glancing at Ember, Baoshi knew she couldn’t get any help from her either. She couldn’t understand why the Celestial Phoenix, one of the four most mysterious beasts in existence, cared so much about a boy and a cat. However, she wasn’t alone in her thoughts.

In the end, she resigned to her fate. Sighing, she finally spoke, "I was also kept in the dark..."

Even she wanted to know why Old Gu had gone through such lengths only to abduct a single child. And for that, he had even made some deal with the Lord of Shadows.

’What is so special about that boy?’

. . .

Meanwhile, in the Realm hidden in shadows, the Old Gu had come to visit again.

"Why go against a child?" the Lord of Shadows wondered out loud in his presence.

However, Old Gu remained silent. It was a matter he couldn’t disclose to him of all people.

"I let it go when you refused to explain your actions," Yasashii Hito spoke slowly, letting his words sink in. "However, the involvement of that ’man’ is something I can hardly tolerate."

Shooting him a look, Yasashii Hito awaited his explanation.

He was promptly informed when the aura of the Heavenly Emperor was sensed on the battlefield, stemming from his location.

If that man was making moves under his nose, he couldn’t let it be.

Sighing, Old Gu took a deep breath before explaining, "The Heavenly Emperor wasn’t involved directly."

The silence in the room indicated that a simple statement like that wouldn’t satisfy the Lord of Shadows.

So, Old Gu continued, "I merely used an artifact personally created by the Heavenly Emperor. Linked with his essence, whoever it traps will remain inside unless He is killed."

Old Gu made sure that even if Yasashii Hito wanted to use that boy somehow, it would be easier to kill the Heavenly Emperor instead.

"The Abyssos Prison..." muttered Yasashii Hito.

Old Gu nodded. If the Wise Seer knew about this artifact, then it wasn’t surprising for the Lord of Shadows to be aware of it, either.

Suddenly, Yasashii Hito began to laugh.

His chuckles echoed throughout the quiet room, bringing an eerie sense of doom.

Though Old Gu remained unfazed, he still waited for his reaction.

"You imprisoned a boy for eternity?

And here I thought you were a man of principles..." Yasashii Hito leaned back, his eyes gleaming at the old man standing before him.

He had hit where it hurt the most.

Old Gu flinched uncomfortably.

For his long-lost friend, the Wise Seer, he had indeed gone against his principles this time.