Evan Yang looked at the stubborn Ivy Xiao, unsure how to speak. After all, that man from the fortress had also reminded him to take her away. He didn't know exactly what had happened, but he knew that going back now would definitely be dangerous.
So after Evan reminded her once, he didn't say anything else. Instead, he let Ivy drag him along, flying nonstop for another three days. Eventually, Ivy couldn't help but stop. She had no idea how far they'd gone. Putting away her sword, she asked, "Do you think something really happened to my dad?"
"I don't know," Evan shook his head.
"Why do you never know anything!" Ivy grew anxious. It had already been several days, and her father still hadn't come to find her—something that had never happened before.
"If you're worried, just go back and check." Seeing Ivy's anxiety, Evan sighed helplessly. He calculated in his mind: at least five days had passed since they left. Whatever was going to happen had probably already happened.
Noticing Evan was almost laughing at her, Ivy gritted her teeth and said, "I don't believe he won't come looking for me."
So she decided to wait right there. Evan wanted to say something several times, but didn't know how to start, so he just kept her company. About a day later, Ivy couldn't sit still anymore. "Let's go back," she said.
"Alright," Evan replied.
"It's already been five days. My dad still hasn't come to find me—something must have happened." Ivy tried to comfort herself, but also spoke to Evan. Seeing she was afraid he'd laugh at her, Evan said, "Yeah, let's hurry back. Maybe something big happened in the fortress and that's why your dad lost his temper."
"Yeah, I think so too. Let's go," Ivy said. She anxiously controlled her sword, speeding up to the fastest she could manage. Evan, sitting on it, couldn't help but admire such a flying artifact—it really made long-distance travel convenient.
The journey that originally took three days was finished in just one, but by the time they returned to the Xiao Clan Fortress, six days had already passed since they left. When they saw the once lush mountain range, it was now bare, and some peaks had even collapsed.
Not only that, corpses and dried blood lay scattered all over the mountains. Ivy was stunned, standing there in a daze.
"Something big really did happen," Evan muttered to himself.
Ivy suddenly broke down and cried, "Dad!" She rushed into the fortress, with Evan following closely behind, afraid something might happen to her.
"My dad can't be dead—he's an expert." Ivy shouted as she searched among the corpses.
She saw all kinds of corpses, but they belonged to only two groups: one was from her own fortress, and the other, which Ivy recognized, made her shout, "Bastards! It's them! They actually attacked our fortress!"
"Who?" Evan asked curiously.
"I'll explain later. Help me find my dad first—he's strong, he won't die." Ivy cried out.
Right now, Ivy was just like a child coming home to find everything turned upside down—her grief was overwhelming.
Evan had no choice but to release his divine sense and search, but he couldn't find any trace of Chief Xiao. Ivy practically turned the whole mountain upside down, but there was no sign of her father's body. Instead, a broken sword caught her attention.
The broken sword was stabbed into a large rock beside Ivy's house. Seeing it, Ivy couldn't hold back her tears any longer.
Evan didn't know how to comfort her, so he could only helplessly release his divine sense to keep searching, sweeping the mountains again and again with thousands of threads of spiritual power.
Finally, Ivy said, "Why was I so stubborn!"
"It's not your fault. Your dad must have seen this coming, so he drove you away—he didn't want you dragged into all this," Evan said.
"What? You mean my dad drove me out and got mad because he already knew those people were going to attack?" Ivy snapped out of her grief and asked.
"Yeah, that's my guess. Otherwise, he wouldn't have acted so strangely," Evan replied. In truth, he was already certain—after all, he'd heard the message before leaving, and saw how the pursuers were dealt with.
"So I misunderstood my dad? No way, I'm going to find their fortress!" Ivy said angrily.
"No. Your dad went to such lengths to keep you out of this—if you go now, it'll just be suicide. All their efforts would be wasted," Evan immediately objected. If it were before, back in the Human Realm when he was at his peak, he would have stepped in. But now, as a mere Earth Immortal, he was no match for them.
"No, I'm going," Ivy insisted.
Evan had no choice but to seal her, then quickly took her away. He couldn't guarantee those people hadn't left someone behind to watch the place.
With Ivy sealed, Evan tossed her into the tower, then quickly slipped away. After several hours, he stopped in a deserted area and released Ivy.
When Ivy realized she was somewhere unfamiliar, she glared at Evan. "What right do you have to capture me?"
"I'm doing this for your own good—and for your father's sake," Evan said.
"I don't want your kindness. Let me go—I'm going to find my dad," Ivy said angrily.
"What strength do you have? Do you think you're stronger than the brothers in the fortress? Even they died all over the mountains—what could you possibly do? Just let yourself get captured?" Evan pointed out.
But Ivy wouldn't listen; all she wanted was to leave and find her father.
Seeing this, Evan continued, "I'll let you go soon. If you really want to go, go ahead. But remember, all your dad's efforts will be wasted. Whether he's still in the fortress or not, if he's been captured, the only way to save him is to get stronger. If he's dead, you need to get stronger to avenge him. Or maybe he's still alive, but sooner or later you'll have to deal with the people who destroyed your home. So right now, your priority is to grow stronger and avoid being found by them. Otherwise, you'll be wiped out before you even have a chance."
"You—" Ivy was stunned. Evan's words hit home.
Seeing her reaction, Evan continued, "If your dad isn't captured but you are, they'll use you to threaten him. Wouldn't that just make things worse for him?"
Evan's words made Ivy break out in a cold sweat. If that really happened, she'd just be handing herself over as a hostage. Her anger faded, replaced by sadness. "Do you think my dad is still alive?" she asked softly.
"I can't be sure either, but I do know they were prepared. Before we left, that person beside your dad took action to stop those who were following us," Evan said.
"What? You knew all along? Why didn't you tell me?" Ivy was shocked and angry when she realized Evan had known in advance.
"What difference would it make if I told you? Could you solve the crisis? Or would you just make things worse by going back?" Evan replied.
"Make things worse? I'm not a burden!" Ivy said angrily.
"So what about now? Do you still want to go back?" Evan asked.
Ivy fell silent. She became unusually quiet, tears streaming down her face. It was as if some pain had trapped her, unable to escape. Earlier, anger had clouded her mind, but now, as it faded, only sadness remained. Seeing this, Evan shook his head helplessly and said, "Alright, that's enough. If you want to go back, just go. We don't really have any ties, so I have no reason to stop you."
With that, he released Ivy. But she stood there, unmoving. Evan looked at her and asked, "Why aren't you leaving? Do you want me to force you out?"
"I'm not going back. I'm going to the Fire God Palace," Ivy suddenly said.
"Fire God Palace? What's that place?" Evan asked, confused.
"It's the sect famous for fire-element cultivation techniques—the biggest is Fire God Palace, which oversees a hundred planets, big and small," Ivy explained.
"Do you know where it is?" Evan asked curiously.
"No, but my dad said I was suited to train there. If I cultivate at Fire God Palace, one day I'll become an Immortal Lord and crush them all," Ivy said, holding back her sadness.
"Uh..." Evan was stunned.
"Why are you spacing out? Come on, let's go to Fire God Palace," Ivy said.
"You don't even know where it is—how are we supposed to go?" Evan said helplessly.
"Where are we, anyway?" Ivy suddenly asked.
"I don't know either. I just took you away, but I have no idea where we ended up," Evan replied.
"Idiot. Get on, I'll take you to the nearest city and ask around," Ivy said.
So Evan once again stepped onto her flying sword, soaring over green hills and clear waters. They occasionally encountered powerful cultivators, but always avoided trouble, sticking to the main roads.
After about three days, they arrived at a large city. The place was bustling, and Ivy, who had only visited cities a few times, didn't really know the rules, so she let Evan lead the way.
Evan was at a loss, unsure where to go, so he headed to an inn and asked a waiter about the Fire God Palace.
"Waiter, how do we get to Fire God Palace?" Evan asked.
"Fire God Palace? The legendary paradise for fire cultivators?" the waiter asked, surprised.
Hearing that he knew about it, Evan was delighted. "You know about it!"
"I only know what Fire God Palace is, but I don't know where it is," the waiter said, suddenly deflating.
Evan and Ivy could only sigh helplessly and leave the inn.
"Don't lose hope. Let's try a few more places," Evan said.
"Okay," Ivy nodded. So the two went from place to place, asking at many inns and hotels. Whenever they mentioned Fire God Palace, people looked at them with envy and admiration, but no one knew its location.
This went on for three days. Still, every inn they asked had the same answer—no one knew. Just as they were about to leave another inn, an elderly man in red robes walked over and smiled, "You've been asking around for three days. Why are you looking for Fire God Palace?"
"He knows we've been asking for three days?" Evan was secretly surprised. Ivy was stunned for a moment, then said, "I want to go there to cultivate."
"You really are straightforward," Evan thought, realizing she was easily fooled. He smiled and explained, "Someone said she's suited to train at Fire God Palace, so we wanted to go. But no one knows where it is."
"Fire God Palace? I actually know where it is. But I can't just agree to take you—if you meet my requirements, I'll bring you there," the red-robed man said to Ivy.
Ivy was stunned, then excited. "What do you want me to do?" she asked.
Seeing Ivy was just a straightforward young girl, the red-robed man smiled. "Good, you're direct—not shy at all. Since that's the case, I'll tell you my conditions."