A few days prior to her meeting with Yuan, Xu Jiaqi had to retrieve the soul cultivation technique from Lady Xiang.
"I have done what you asked. I want the soul cultivation technique now." Xu Jiaqi said while standing before Lady Xiang.
Lady Xiang lowered her cup of tea and smiled, "I knew you were powerful, but who thought you'd be capable of annihilating the entire Sky Whales Faction overnight. The entire Supreme Heaven is trembling because of your actions, you know. How long has it been since you last stirred the world this much? 100,000 years ago?"
"The soul cultivation technique. I will not repeat myself." Xu Jiaqi even extended her hands out.
Lady Xiang sighed, "Why are you being so impatient? Do you really think I am going to swindle you?"
After placing her tea down, Lady Xiang continued, "I don't know how you think this works, but I cannot just hand you the technique. This soul cultivation technique is a little special, so I will have to transfer it to the individual myself."
Xu Jiaqi narrowed her eyes, "If you're doing this just so you can identify the junior…"
Lady Xiang shrugged, "I won't lie. I am intrigued by this junior whom you're so desperate to help, but I do not have any ulterior motives, nor am I the type to go after someone else's man. I cannot give him the technique unless I do so personally. This is a rule that cannot be broken even if you threaten to kill me."
After a moment of silence, Xu Jiaqi nodded, "Fine. Meet me at the Myriad of Techniques in three days."
And without saying another word, Xu Jiaqi disappeared from Lady Xiang's sight.
"She's as difficult as ever." Lady Xiang shook her head with a bittersweet smile on her face.
Normal people would be irritated by Xu Jiaqi's bossy attitude, but Lady Xiang has known her for millions of years and knew Xu Jiaqi's true personality, so it didn't offend her even the slightest.
Three days later, Lady Xiang entered the Myriad of Techniques, where Xu Jiaqi and Senior Bai were waiting.
"How have you been, Bai Linyu? Are you still being tossed around by Lady Xu?" Lady Xiang asked him in a teasing voice.
"And you seem the same as always, Lady Xiang." Senior Bai smiled at her.
"Don't you mean I look prettier than before?"
"The two of you can chat all you want later, but we have someone waiting for us right now." Xu Jiaqi said.
"Take me to this junior." Lady Xiang smiled.
A few hours before Lady Xiang's arrival, Yuan entered the Myriad of Techniques and met up with Senior Bai.
"You're here early. Lady Xu won't be here for a few more hours." Senior Bai said to him.
"That's fine. If you're free, let's have a chat. I have some questions for you." Yuan said.
"What kind of questions?"
After a moment of silence, Yuan asked, "What do you know about someone named Evil God?"
Senior Bai's eyes widened with shock after hearing this name.
"W-Where did you hear this name?"
"I'm not exactly sure where or when I heard it, but it resurfaced in my mind recently and I can't stop thinking about it since." Yuan lied with a straight face.
"I'm saying this for your own good, but do not look into the Evil God— In fact, don't even utter this name in public. You could be mistaken as the Evil God's Worshiper, which is punishable with immediate death."
"Now I'm even more curious. There's nobody but us here, so it should be fine, right?" Yuan smiled.
Senior Bai sighed, "If I quench your thirst, can you promise me that you will stop looking into it?"
Yuan quickly nodded.
After taking a deep breath, Senior Bai spoke, "The Evil God was one of the strongest and most dangerous individuals to have ever existed in the Nine Heavens. Nobody knows his true identity, but he showed up out of the blue one day and declared war on the Celestial Emperor— the first Celestial Emperor in history."
"This occurred somewhere in the middle of an ongoing war called the Heavenly War of Immortals and Gods when the cultivators fighting the Celestial Emperor were losing. The Evil God's appearance changed the direction of the war."
"Heavenly War of Immortals and Gods… I heard of this war before. What was the cause of it?" Yuan asked.
"The rogue cultivators didn't like how the Celestial Emperor limited the resources in the Nine Heavens, restricting its access to only those that served under him, so they revolted. This rebellion rocked the entire Nine Heavens, even splitting it into 9 separate worlds in the process."
"And the Evil God joined this war in the middle of it, killing the Celestial Emperor?" Yuan asked for confirmation.
"That's right."
"And nobody knows why?"
"Perhaps a few close to him knew the real reason, but the majority of us do not."
"Speaking of people close to him, I remember the name Dong Ye being mentioned alongside the Evil God. Do you know anything about him?"
Senior Bai pondered for a moment before speaking, "If I remember correctly, Dong Ye was the commander of the Evil God's Shadow Army, one of the most fearsome groups of assassins within the Nine Heavens."
Yuan would continue to ask questions about the Evil God, and Senior Bai would answer them to the best of his knowledge.
A few hours later, Senior Bai said, "Alright, it's about time. I'm going to get Lady Xu now."
"Okay. Thank you for your time."
"Remember your promise."
Yuan nodded with a smile, "I know. I won't look into the Evil God anymore."
Senior Bai left the Myriad of Techniques the next moment.
A few minutes later, Yuan could sense Senior Bai's presence reappearing nearby, alongside two other presences, one of which that he did not recognize.
'Who is that?' Yuan wondered to himself as he gazed at the unfamiliar beauty that was following Senior Bai and Xu Jiaqi.