Zu An hurriedly asked, “Lady Houtu, did you figure something out?” Even though Houtu was likely to be Yu Yanluo’s previous incarnation, they were still two separate individuals. He felt obliged to address her respectfully.

Houtu replied, “I have had a vague feeling that something is wrong with this world in recent years, but whenever my thoughts drifted in that direction, I’d always be distracted by some other matter. This might not have occurred to me at all if you hadn’t mentioned it.”

“Are you saying that someone is controlling everything from the shadows?” Zu An’s heart lurched. Houtu was already one of the strongest entities in this world. He couldn’t imagine what it would take to manipulate her without her noticing.

“I’m not sure.” Houtu lowered her head and pondered.

“Lady Houtu, have you heard about the World Gate?”

“World Gate? Where did you hear that from?” Houtu was startled.

Zu An told her that Emperor Jun had left to explore the World Gate, only to go missing afterward. Houtu was Yu Yanluo’s past incarnation, and she had sacrificed herself to better the world. It was worth trusting someone like that.

Houtu’s eyes glowed. “I see, I see!”

Zu An patiently waited for her answer.

Houtu finally continued, “I don’t know where the World Gate is, but I have a few guesses. I’ll need more time to think them through and verify their plausibility. In the meantime, why don’t you tell me the traits of the friend whose soul you wish to rescue from the Underworld?”

Zu An was overjoyed. He waved his hand and projected Yaoji’s appearance in the air before sharing some of her traits.

Houtu nodded. She closed her eyes to look for Yaoji.

A second later, a wisp of light appeared before them. The wisp enlarged into a transparent bubble, where a beautiful woman was curled within. It was none other than Yaoji! But this Yaoji was younger and feebler than how Zu An remembered her. Her soul was translucent, and it looked like she could dissipate at any moment.

With a tap of her finger, Houtu channeled her energy into the bubble. Yaoji’s soul became more corporeal. Houtu explained, “Her soul is extremely weak, and she passed away at a young age. If she weren’t the Flame Emperor’s daughter, her soul would have dissipated by now. Even so, she has sustained some losses wandering in the Underworld. She would have dissipated if you had come mere days later.”

“Thank you for your help, Lady Houtu.” Zu An was grateful.

Houtu continued, “Her body is innately deficient. Even if you save her with the immortal medicine, she’ll still have a weak body that is prone to illnesses. I don’t think she’ll turn out the same way she does in the future with just that.”

She tapped her finger once more. A clump of dirt imbued with divine light appeared in Zu An’s hand. Houtu explained, “After returning her soul to her body, you can nourish her in this divine soil. In due time, she should make a full recovery and fix her innate deficiency.”

Zu An sensed the overflowing life force inside the divine soil and carefully stowed it away. “I shall thank Lady Houtu on Yaoji’s behalf.”

“Go and save her. I need some quiet time to process what you have just told me.” Houtu waved her sleeve, and the two of them flew out of the unique space.

Qiu Honglei and Xihe rushed to Zu An’s side. Upon seeing that he was safe and sound, they exhaled in relief.

“I’ll send you out,” Houtu said. A gentle divine light enveloped the trio and escorted them out of the Underworld.

Zu An morphed back into Emperor Jun in time to not be caught by Shencha and Youlei.

“Sending off the Celestial Emperor!” Shencha and Youlei looked at the three departing figures and couldn’t help gossiping once more.

Zu An used Rainbow Morph to transport the three of them to the Firecloud Cave.

Shennong had been camping next to his daughter. When he saw the Lady of Nine Heavens, his eyes lit up with hope. He anxiously asked, “Did you find the immortal medicine?”

Having been to the Kunlun Mountain, he knew that the Lady of Nine Heavens was the Queen Mother of the West’s subordinate.

Zu An nodded. He carefully opened his palm to guide Yaoji’s soul into her body. Anyone else would have struggled with this task, but he was the Netherworld’s master and wielded Death’s authority. It wasn’t too difficult for him to accomplish this feat.

When her feeble soul entered her feeble body, Yaoji’s pale cheeks regained some redness.

Shennong was overjoyed. “Yaoji has come back to life!” 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Xihe coldly remarked, “It isn’t that simple.”

Indeed, Yaoji’s soul was in danger of tearing away from her body. If not for Zu An temporarily sealing her soul inside her body with his divine power, it would have drifted back out. Given how weak her soul was, it would dissipate before it could reach the Underworld.

Qiu Honglei anxiously took out the peach. “Quick, use the immortal medicine to save her!”

Yaoji had to consume the immortal medicine to return to life, but how could a deceased individual consume a peach?

Zu An grabbed the peach, took a bite, and used his divine power to envelop its nourishment. Then, he transferred it into Yaoji’s mouth through a kiss. Just like that, he fed Yaoji a mouthful at a time.

Shennong’s eyebrows shot up, but he didn’t kick up a fuss.

The peach transformed into life force to nourish Yaoji’s body. At the same time, her soul gradually fused into her body.

“She has resumed breathing!” Qiu Honglei was delighted.

Shennong was moved to tears. “Thank you for saving my little daughter’s life.” He knew it had to be an arduous undertaking for Zu An to find the immortal medicine and retrieve his daughter’s soul. He had no idea how he could thank him.

Zu An’s face remained grim. “Lady Houtu mentioned that Yaoji suffers from an innate deficiency, and that her body would remain weak even after returning to life. So, she lent me her divine soil to resolve this problem.” He took out the divine soil and scattered it around Yaoji. It was a small pinch of soil, but it grew into a vessel around her.

“Lady Houtu’s Five-Colored Divine Soil!” Shennong recognized the divine soil. He took out a crimson whip and gently struck Yaoji, who slowly transformed into a pristine little grass.

Zu An was horrified. “What did you do?”

Shennong explained, “This is the best way to resolve Yaoji’s innate deficiency. With the Five-Colored Divine Soil’s nourishment and my Ochre Whip’s wood essence, Yaoji can reforge herself in the form of a jade grass. When the jade grass matures, she’ll be born anew. Not only will her innate deficiency be resolved, but she’ll also receive unique traits.

“The only problem is that the Firecloud Cave is too warm. It’s not suited for the growth of jade grass. We’ll have to find a location that is humid and rich in ki to nourish he”

A thought surfaced in Zu An’s mind. “I know a suitable place—Wu Mountain’s Goddess Peak!”