Tianyue Palace was where Zhu Jiuyin resided. This woman had originally been Yang Kai's Path Guardian. When he brought her out of the Taixu Realm, the two of them had reached an agreement. However, during their previous trip to the Shadowless Grotto-heaven, Zhu Jiuyin had secretly escorted them the entire way, and with that, her role as Path Guardian was dissolved.
In other words, Zhu Jiuyin was now a free woman, no longer bound by the Primordial Oath from years past, and Yang Kai's life and death were no longer her concern.
If not for the fact that she needed to guide and look after Shan Qingluo, her bloodline descendant, it was questionable whether Zhu Jiuyin would even still remain at the Void Land.
This woman was not easy to talk to. Back when she was still his Path Guardian, Yang Kai had to plead earnestly just to get her to lend a hand — and even then, it wasn't guaranteed to work. Now that he needed her help, it would likely be even harder.
When Yang Kai had first heard about the trouble in the Sanhuan Realm, he had guessed that Zuo Quanhui must have been behind it. Before rushing to the Sanhuan Realm to provide support, he had specifically asked Bian Yuqing to notify Zhu Jiuyin, hoping to borrow her strength.
Yet the woman had never shown herself from beginning to end, clearly indicating she had no intention of getting involved.
Coming to ask her now probably wouldn't be of any use either.
But since he was already here, he had to at least try.
Having made up his mind, Yang Kai cupped his fists and called out: "Greetings, Senior! Yang Kai requests an audience!"
To his surprise, as soon as his voice faded, the doors of Tianyue Palace slowly swung open. Yang Kai raised an eyebrow, wondering when Zhu Jiuyin had become so agreeable, when suddenly a web of silk shot out from inside, descending right over his head.
Yang Kai was startled and tried to retreat, but his earlier battle with Zuo Quanhui had left him utterly exhausted, and in this short time he hadn't had a chance to recover much. Caught off guard, he was immediately ensnared by the web and dragged helplessly into Tianyue Palace.
Bang! The doors slammed shut!
Soon, the sounds of pounding fists echoed from within.
Moments later, the doors opened again, and Yang Kai was tossed out like a tattered burlap sack, rolling several times across the ground before struggling to his feet, covered in dust and grime. His face was bruised and swollen, and there was a large dark mark around one eye — a parting gift from Zhu Jiuyin's fist.
Yang Kai was practically seething with rage. He warily put some distance between himself and the doors of Tianyue Palace, then snarled through gritted teeth: "Madwoman! If you have something to say, say it! Why resort to violence?"
The injuries weren't serious, but the humiliation was terrible. He was, after all, the master of the Void Land, and that whole scene had been witnessed by quite a few disciples passing nearby. His reputation had taken a serious hit.
"I felt like it. If you've got the guts, hit me back!" Zhu Jiuyin's voice echoed in Yang Kai's mind.
Yang Kai said indignantly: "Senior, you are a Sacred Spirit — this junior knows he is no match. But I have always treated Senior with the utmost respect, and my regular offerings have never been lacking. If there is something I've done wrong, Senior could simply tell me plainly. What justification is there for resorting to violence?"
"You want to reason with me? Fine! Then I'll reason with you!" Zhu Jiuyin snorted coldly. "Tell me — have you been enjoying your role as the Yinyang Heaven's son-in-law?"
Yang Kai's entire aura deflated instantly, and the corner of his eye twitched: "Senior... already knows about that?"
He cursed inwardly — which big-mouthed blabbermouth had spread the word? Zhu Jiuyin sequestered herself in Tianyue Palace, never stepping foot outside. Who had told her? But thinking about it more carefully, Zhu Jiuyin was a Sacred Spirit after all. If she wanted to gather information, there was probably no one in the Void Land who could keep anything from her.
"What's got you feeling guilty?" Zhu Jiuyin taunted.
Yang Kai clenched his fists and coughed dryly: "Senior jests. This matter was truly a series of misunderstandings — it was never this junior's intention!"
"As if I care whether it was your intention! The fact remains!"
Yang Kai blinked: "But what does any of this have to do with Senior?"
Zhu Jiuyin snorted: "Ah Luo's heart is entirely devoted to you, and now she's deep in seclusion cultivating, while you're out there philandering! It's inconvenient for her to take action, so as her master, I'm stepping in to teach you a lesson. What's wrong with that?"
Yang Kai was speechless, thinking that if Ah Luo knew about all this, she would certainly find every possible way to wring him dry — she would never just casually throw punches at him.
He said, with words utterly at odds with his true feelings: "Senior's cultivation is profound — everything Senior says is right. However, there is a matter I need Senior's help with."
Before he could even say what it was, Zhu Jiuyin cut in: "Don't even think about it. You caused this mess yourself, so you can clean it up yourself. Otherwise, if Ah Luo finds out that you went running around creating romantic entanglements and I — her master — cleaned up after you, she'd blame me!"
"Senior, that's not quite fair. Zuo Quanhui is a Seventh-Order Open Heaven realm powerhouse. In the entire Void Land, no one but you can match him. This time we were fortunate enough to drive him back, but what if he comes again?"
"I'll teach you a method!" Zhu Jiuyin said calmly.
Yang Kai's eyebrows rose, and he said respectfully: "Please, Senior, do instruct me!"