Nuwa, the goddess of immortality, said that cultivating immortality does not require spiritual energ

Time passed quietly in a peaceful atmosphere, and in the blink of an eye, another two months had gone by.

In a desolate and remote mountainous area somewhere in the celestial realm, ripples suddenly appeared in space, and a stable spatial gate slowly opened.

Led by the ethereal and aloof Chang'e, more than ten disciples of the Guanghan Palace, including Lu Qingshuang and Nangong Yu, walked out of the gate one by one.

Their mission was to investigate this stronghold, which originally belonged to a traitor but was later occupied by intelligent Chaos Beasts.

Although the top-level battle has come to an end, the post-battle cleanup and investigation work continues.

No one can be sure whether the large number of Great Luo Golden Immortals and Golden Immortal-level Chaos Beasts that were rescued in advance are still hiding in some strongholds.

There were ten similar outposts. The Heavenly Court did not launch a major operation, but instead dispatched several small teams to investigate.

The Moon Palace is in charge of this very place.

Chang'e, the fairy, stood at the head of the group, her divine sense sweeping across the seemingly empty space in front of her, her delicate brows furrowing slightly.

She did not sense any obvious residual chaotic energy, but this might just mean that the other party was hiding very well.

Without further hesitation, she raised her hand and pointed, a condensed, almost tangible silver moonlight shooting out from her fingertips. It was not an attack, but rather like the sharpest probe, instantly piercing through the seemingly stable, yet actually hidden structure wrapped in multiple layers of spatial barriers!

Pop!

Like popping a giant soap bubble, the true scene was revealed after the spatial barrier was forcibly torn apart—

It was a massive, ethereal palace, exuding a cold and chaotic aura, hidden deep within the folds of space.

This was their original target for this investigation.

However, what shocked everyone even more was the scene in front of the palace!

A woman with cascading black hair and blood-red eyes stood suspended in mid-air in front of the palace.

She raised her hands, and a pitch-black vortex, hundreds of feet in diameter and with its edges frantically devouring light, slowly rotated in front of her, unleashing a terrifying suction force!

The entire chaotic palace, like dough being kneaded by an invisible giant hand, groaned in agony as it was torn apart and swallowed up bit by bit by the black vortex!

The woman was surrounded by overwhelming demonic energy, her aura already reaching the level of a Great Luo Golden Immortal!

Upon seeing the woman, Lu Qingshuang's pupils contracted sharply, and she couldn't help but exclaim in shock, "Ye Hongli!?"

She will never admit her mistake!

The person before me is none other than my old classmate from back in the mortal world, Ye Hongli, who was regarded as a traitor but was actually carrying out an undercover mission, and who ultimately embarked on a strange and demonic path!

The Jade Emperor had already cleared Ye Hongli's name and clarified her undercover identity, but he also bluntly stated that her path had gone astray.

Lu Qingshuang originally thought that Ye Hongli was probably already in grave danger during the process of the intelligent Chaos Beasts taking over the traitor strongholds and eliminating useless servants. She was either killed by her own kind or killed by the Chaos Beasts.

To my utter surprise, she not only survived, but... survived so incredibly!

The divine might emanating from her, only slightly inferior to that of her master, the fairy Chang'e, clearly demonstrated her current strength.

This terrifying rate of improvement sent shockwaves through Lu Qingshuang's heart.

It should be noted that before Lu Qingshuang ascended, she had Qin Le's ten-year Golden Immortal-level lectures as a foundation; after ascending, she listened to Qin Le's Heavenly Dao-level lectures every two years. With all these opportunities, she is still only at the mid-stage of the Heavenly Immortal realm.

But Ye Hongli, her old classmate whose cultivation was once inferior to hers, has already left her far behind and entered the realm of the Great Luo Golden Immortal!

The difference is truly astonishing.

Ye Hongli naturally noticed that the spatial barrier had been forcibly torn apart, as well as that familiar exclamation.

She tilted her head slightly, her crimson eyes precisely locking onto Lu Qingshuang in the crowd.

A half-smile played on her lips as she casually waved in Lu Qingshuang's direction, as if greeting an old friend.

However, what flashed in those crimson eyes was an unmistakable and icy hostility.

"Long time no see, Lu Qingshuang." Ye Hongli's voice carried a unique, languid yet dangerous magnetism: "These past years... with him giving you private lessons, haven't you felt... particularly 'comfortable'?"

The hostility was direct and blatant. Lu Qingshuang was taken aback at first, then her lips twitched slightly, and she sighed helplessly: "You... really haven't changed at all."

She knew all too well where this hostility came from.

Ye Hongli's twisted and obsessive possessiveness toward Qin Le was almost an open secret.

In Ye Hongli's mind, apart from Qin Le's mother, any man who gets close to Qin Le is her enemy.

As Lu Qingshuang was a member of Qin Le's inner circle, and they had been in frequent contact for more than ten years, it was only natural that Ye Hongli would be hostile towards her.

Standing to the side, Nangong Yu looked at Ye Hongli, then at Lu Qingshuang, her beautiful eyes suddenly lighting up with an excited gleam of something to tell, scanning back and forth between the two.

However, with her master present, she couldn't bring herself to ask questions rashly.

Standing at the forefront, the fairy Chang'e's gaze was more focused on the chaotic palace that Ye Hongli was devouring, and her delicate eyebrows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

One of their missions was to explore and, if possible, reclaim these stronghold palaces containing special chaotic materials.

Now that the palace is about to be completely devoured by Ye Hongli, it's giving her a headache.

After a moment's thought, Chang'e's clear, cold voice rang out, and she said directly to Ye Hongli, "That palace is still useful to the Heavenly Court. Name your price and give it to me."

Upon hearing this, Ye Hongli turned to Chang'e, her smile deepening, but devoid of warmth: "Not for sale."

His tone was crisp and decisive, leaving no room for negotiation.

After saying that, she ignored everyone and with a thought, the black vortex that was devouring the palace suddenly accelerated!

With a muffled boom, the entire massive chaotic palace was completely swallowed by the vortex and disappeared.

Immediately afterwards, the space around Ye Hongli distorted, and her figure faded and blurred rapidly like ink drops in water, before completely merging into the void, her aura disappearing without a trace.

Watching Ye Hongli stride away with her spoils, giving no chance to negotiate, Chang'e could only shake her head helplessly.

With her cultivation at the peak of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, she could naturally suppress Ye Hongli if she were to actually fight. However, she couldn't bring herself to forcibly seize or plunder.

Moreover, Ye Hongli is also a Great Luo Golden Immortal; if she is determined to leave, she may not be able to stop her.

"That's enough." Chang'e turned around and said to her disciples, "This place is no longer worth exploring. Let's return to the palace and report back."

With a gentle wave of her hand, a new spatial portal unfolded before everyone.

"Yes, Master," the disciples replied in unison, and followed the fairy Chang'e into the spatial portal.

Back in the desolate and cold Guanghan Palace, Chang'e went straight to report Ye Hongli's matter to the Jade Emperor. The other disciples dispersed.

Nangong Yu quickened her pace and caught up with Lu Qingshuang, who was on her way back to her residence. She affectionately took Lu Qingshuang's arm, a mischievous smile on her face: "Junior Sister Qingshuang~ Shall we walk together?"

Lu Qingshuang looked at her with some surprise: "Senior Sister Nangong, we... don't seem to live in the same direction, do we?"

"Oh dear, there are some things I wanted to 'ask for advice' from you, Junior Sister!" Nangong Yu blinked, her eyes blazing with gossip, and without another word, she pulled Lu Qingshuang towards her residence.

"Come on, let's go talk to you!"

Lu Qingshuang was a little confused by her, but still nodded: "Okay."

She couldn't understand what important matter her senior sister could have that required her to ask her privately.

The two arrived at Lu Qingshuang's elegant and simple residence, where Lu Qingshuang brewed her a cup of osmanthus tea.

"Senior sister, what's wrong?" Lu Qingshuang pushed the teacup in front of Nangong Yu and asked.

Nangong Yu picked up her teacup, but didn't drink it immediately. Her beautiful eyes were fixed on Lu Qingshuang as she lowered her voice and asked with great curiosity:

"Good junior sister, what exactly is your 'relationship' with that Ye Hongli?"

"Relationship?" Lu Qingshuang was taken aback, then said frankly, "There's nothing special about our relationship. We were classmates in the mortal realm, and even sat next to each other for a while. That's all."

She didn't understand why Nangong Yu was asking about this so mysteriously.

"Junior sister~ You're not being honest!" Nangong Yu drawled, shaking her head with a smile, as if she'd seen right through her. "If you're just ordinary classmates, then why did Ye Hongli look at you like that just now... like she was 'jealous'? I saw it clearly!"

She was quite confident in her observational skills.

Just now, when Ye Hongli glanced at Lu Qingshuang, although she was smiling, there was a hint of displeasure mixed in with her eyes, there was no doubt about it!

That was definitely not the look you should give to an ordinary acquaintance!