# 1110
Chapter 1111: Descending to the Mortal Realm
A few days later.
Knock, knock, knock——!
An Qingyu gently knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Lin Qiye's voice came from behind the door. An Qingyu pushed the door open and saw a figure in the courtyard, shirtless, flipping nimbly between a pair of parallel bars.
Seeing An Qingyu walk in, the figure immediately jumped down from the bars. Sweat slid down his well-proportioned back as he grabbed a nearby towel to wipe the perspiration from his forehead and asked, "Qingyu? What's the matter?"
"Nothing, I just came to check on your recovery." A glint of gray flickered in An Qingyu's eyes as she smiled. "Seems like you're doing pretty well."
"Yeah, my body has basically recovered to its previous state, and my spiritual power has even improved a bit..." Lin Qiye put on his shirt and exhaled deeply.
"It's about time. We should descend to the mortal realm."
"Are you in a hurry?"
"More or less." Lin Qiye sighed. "Yesterday Michael came to urge me again. It seems they're worried that waiting too long might cause some unexpected changes."
"What about Cao Yuan?"
"How is he?"
"..." An Qingyu hesitated. "You... should go see for yourself."
Lin Qiye raised an eyebrow.
...
A few minutes later, the two stood in the center of the octagonal pavilion on the lake.
"Hee hee hee... Seven... hee hee hee... Seven Night, you're... hee hee hee... here?"
Cao Yuan sat in the center of the octagonal pavilion, laughing normally one moment and foolishly the next. Half his body had returned to normal, while the other half would still occasionally burst out with black flames. His expression was bizarre beyond measure.
Lin Qiye: ...
"What's going on here?" Lin Qiye couldn't help but ask.
"Taibai Xingjun said he's already controlled half of the Black King and escaped the danger of death, but it'll take some time to fully regain control of his body." An Qingyu shook her head helplessly. "At this rate, he can't go with us..."
"So it's the five of us? That's fine too."
"Maybe four."
Before Lin Qiye could finish speaking, a voice came from the long corridor. He turned to see Baili Pangpang and Shen Qingzhu walking over together.
It was Baili Pangpang who had spoken.
"Pangpang? What's wrong?"
"Seven Night, I probably can't go with you all." Baili Pangpang scratched his head, giving an apologetic smile. "Old Cao needs someone to look after him. I have to stay."
"Aren't there maidservants?"
"That's different. When we leave, Old Cao will have no one to talk to. We need to leave one of our own." Baili Pangpang insisted. "Besides, aren't you all just going to retrieve something? With Seraph Michael guarding the place, you should be back very quickly. By the time you return, Old Cao will have fully recovered too, and we can descend together."
Lin Qiye hesitated for a moment, glanced at the foolishly laughing Cao Yuan, then nodded. "Alright... four of us going is the same."
"Alright, I'll go organize some experimental data and we can set off right away."
An Qingyu turned and left. Soon after, Lin Qiye also walked out of the octagonal pavilion. He needed to find Michael to inform him of the departure time.
Shen Qingzhu was just about to leave when a hand landed on his shoulder.
"Brother Zai, wait a moment." Baili Pangpang spoke up.
Shen Qingzhu turned back, looking at him in confusion.
"Take this thing." Baili Pangpang took a black jade pendant from his pocket and placed it in Shen Qingzhu's palm.
"What's this?"
"Well... it's a forbidden artifact, similar to the [Hui Tian Jade], but more powerful." Baili Pangpang explained. "The [Hui Tian Jade] can only help you resist one soul attack and keep you alive, but this pendant can bring you back from the dead."
"Back from the dead?" Shen Qingzhu froze in place. "There's such a forbidden artifact?"
After recovering from his shock, he immediately pushed the jade pendant back into Baili Pangpang's hand, shaking his head. "This is too precious. You should keep it."
"Brother Zai, I won't need this in Heavenly Court." Baili Pangpang grinned and stuffed the jade back into his hand. "Consider it you owing me another favor... just like when I gave you the [Hui Tian Jade] last time. If you don't end up using it, just return it to me when you get back."
Since he'd put it that way, Shen Qingzhu didn't refuse any further. He carefully put the jade pendant away.
"...Thank you."
Half an hour later.
In front of the Heavenly Gate.
Lin Qiye, An Qingyu, Jiang Er, and Shen Qingzhu had finished packing and were ready to depart.
"Where's Michael?" An Qingyu asked in confusion. "Didn't He say He'd take us?"
"He should be arriving soon."
Lin Qiye lowered his head to check the time. Before he could speak, a figure with pure white wings on its back, tens of meters tall, appeared in the sky with a flap of its wings, teleporting through space and hovering quietly above the clouds.
The moment it appeared, a suffocating pressure descended upon An Qingyu and the other two!
However, this pressure only existed for an extremely brief moment. The next instant, the figure took a step forward, rapidly shrinking in size and transforming into an ordinary Western man with golden hair, descending to the ground. Only those golden eyes still burned like molten furnaces, emitting a chilling sense of oppression.
His gaze swept lightly over the three people besides Lin Qiye.
An Qingyu and the others instinctively looked away, avoiding eye contact with him. Even though Michael had done his best to restrain his pressure, his gaze was still more than most could bear.
Perhaps only Lin Qiye, as His proxy, could meet His gaze naturally and communicate with ease.
"Everyone's here." Lin Qiye spoke up first. "We can go."
"Mm."
Michael nodded slightly.
He spread his six massive wings, wrapping all four of them inside. Brilliant golden light surged forth like a tide, and the next moment, everyone vanished from where they stood.
...
Outside the Lingxiao Palace.
Baili Pangpang stood alone before the palace gates, gazing toward the direction of the Heavenly Gate. After watching their figures disappear, he let out a long sigh.
"Aren't you going with them?" Yuanshi Tianzun walked out from within the palace, speaking unhurriedly.
"The place they're going, I can't enter."
"...I see."
Yuanshi Tianzun fell silent for a moment, then spoke again. "I thought you took that [Yuan Dao Jade] to protect Lin Qiye, but I didn't expect you to give it to him... That is a treasure that can even restore a Law Corporeal Body nine times."
"Seven Night doesn't need this kind of protection, but Brother Zai is different." Baili Pangpang paused, his gaze hardening. "And besides, for some reason, I have this uneasy feeling in my heart..."
"Your cultivation hasn't returned yet, and even divination cannot calculate your fate. Perhaps it's just your imagination."
Yuanshi Tianzun shook his head.
Baili Pangpang looked toward the direction where everyone had departed.
"I hope so."