Chapter 169

Chapter 169: The Whereabouts of Nie Zheng

Nie Zheng treated Ning Rui as his own brother. Even if Heavenly Emperor Yongqing wanted to reward them for their assistance, Nie Zheng wouldn’t have chosen this exact moment for business travel without meeting them, especially since he couldn’t personally visit the lower realm. Combined with You You’s abruptly ended communication last time—where he’d seemed tense—suspicions grew that something had gone wrong.

The real problem was that even Yuan Qi and Feng Rong couldn’t locate him within the Immortal Palace.

"We have two days," You You said, tapping the table anxiously. "We must find Nie Zheng’s exact location by then. That Emperor clearly wants our divine artifact. Fighting isn’t the issue—it’s him using Nie Zheng as leverage."

"He likely has other motives, so he won’t act yet," Yuan Qi analyzed. "Since he invited us to ‘tour the Immortal Realm,’ let’s use that pretext to search."

"My soul-tracking spell can sense original spirits," Feng Rong said, frowning at the Soul Token, "but immortal bodies aren’t tied to bloodlines like mortals’. With concealment spells, tracing him through this jade plaque’s essence will be hard."

You You turned to Ning Rui. "Do you have anything closely connected to him? Something to boost Feng Rong’s spell?"

Ning Rui hesitated, then nodded. "The material for my future magical tool—it came from his own tool. He said it’s celestial stone from the Immortal Realm, good for my cultivation." He formed a hand seal, summoning a jade-green stone shimmering with celestial and spiritual energy.

You You stared. Sharing core magical tools? These two really were inseparable.

"Will this work, Master?" Ning Rui asked.

"Let’s try." Feng Rong placed his palm above the stone, casting a spell. Energy rippled outward. His eyes snapped open. "Huh?!"

"Well?" You You leaned forward as Ning Rui tensed.

"It works… but he’s not in this layer." Feng Rong looked upward. "He’s in the upper heavenly layers."

"Upper layers?" You You blinked.

"The Immortal Realm has nine heavenly layers," Yuan Qi explained. "We’re in the first, governed by Heavenly Emperor Yongqing. Higher layers host stronger immortals—some beyond the seventh layer even approach godhood. The Ninth Heavenly Emperor rules the highest."

"I can’t pinpoint which layer," Feng Rong said, "just that he’s above us."

"How do we search then?" You You groaned. "Go layer by layer?"

"Impossible." Yuan Qi shook his head. "Higher layers exert crushing celestial pressure. You You and Ning Rui, being mortal, would disintegrate instantly."

Ning Rui’s hands clenched.

"Also, this makes no sense," Yuan Qi added. "Nie Zheng’s cultivation only reaches upper immortal—he’d never risk entering upper layers voluntarily."

"They hid him there knowing we’d track him," Feng Rong realized. "That’s why we failed earlier."

"What now?" You You pressed.

"Stay here two days," Yuan Qi said. "Feng Rong and I will investigate the upper layers."

Feng Rong glanced at Ning Rui. "If he breathes, I’ll retrieve him."

You You nodded reluctantly.

—————-

While devising excuses for their absence, Heavenly Emperor Yongqing delivered Nie Zheng himself the next morning.

"Nie Zheng!" Ning Rui gaped at his unharmed friend.

"Greetings, Sect Master You, honored ones." Nie Zheng bowed before smiling at Ning Rui. "Long time, Ning Rui."

"You’re… fine?" You You scrutinized him.

"Why wouldn’t I be?" Nie Zheng chuckled. "The Emperor assigned urgent tasks—that’s why I’m late. You’re not upset, are you?"

You You narrowed her eyes. "Feng Rong!"

Feng Rong pressed fingers to Nie Zheng’s forehead, casting detection spells. "…It’s him. No puppetry or mind control. His original spirit’s intact."

"Of course I’m me!" Nie Zheng looked bemused.

"Then why give Feng Rong’s red lotus to others?" You You demanded. "Why cut our call short?"

"A misunderstanding!" Nie Zheng produced the red lotus from his palm. "The Emperor wanted to reward you while I handled southern affairs, so I entrusted it to Celestial Lord Chao Hong. He returned it promptly."

Everyone fell silent.