Shen Jiyu scanned the entire environment with his spiritual energy, and his brows lifted with each array that he analyzed. It was just a cultivation deviation; wasn't this entire setup too much? The number of spiritual treasures imbued in each array might just be enough to raise a Golden Immortal from the dead.
The old man stepped forward and bowed to Shen Jiyu, "This humble one is Mo Fangyun. His Highness invited me to find a cure for the Marquis's illness."
Shen Jiyu suddenly recalled. Mo Fangyun, wasn't he the Patriarch of the Moon Augur Sect focused on divination and healing? He was quite renowned. When he had newly ascended to the Heavenly Realms, he had caused quite a ruckus and left a legacy that placed him among the top ranks of ascended Immortals. However, the latest news about him was that he said he would not step out in public if he did not reach the Golden Immortal Realm.
To think that the Crown Prince would pull strings just to get him to treat Feng Mian. A cold sneer appeared on his lips and his electric blue orbs met brown ones, "You are such a good brother. I am so touched."
Wei Mu Chen's eyes flashed with complicated emotions, but he still held his head high, "Marquis Feng is the guardian of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Without him at his post, there would be no order. Each day, countless souls die all over the four realms of the heavens, and trillions of souls die across all nine hundred and ninety-nine lower realms every day. Can you imagine the amount of chaos his absence would cause? His subordinates can hold down the fort, but soon, his absence would be noticed."
"And you don't want the bad rap it would bring to your regency. Here I was being touched by your brotherly affection." Shen Jiu rolled his eyes. As expected of Wei Mu Chen.
Mo Fangyun was wary of the charged atmosphere between the Imperial Crown Prince and the Realm Master of Penglai, but he was a healer foremost., "As Your Highness and Your Grace continue to argue, the situation of the Marquis continues to grow more dire with time."
"More dire?" Shen Jiyu, he did not care about Feng Mian but Wei Muchen had a point. Without Feng Mian guarding the Six Paths of Reincarnation, there would be chaos in all the realms.
Yes, that was the reason he was concerned, Shen Jiyu said to himself.
"Your Grace must have noticed the arrays surrounding the Marquis. They are mostly arrays meant to prevent his body from decaying by imprisoning the spiritual energy within his immortal body."
With his words, Shen Jiyu lifted his hands, and thousands of red characters appeared on Feng Mian before they vanished. This result was astonishing. Earlier, he had been so preoccupied with his emotions and anger that he had not noticed the body on the bed was empty–there was no soul within.
"His soul? What happened to it?"
"My opinion is that he cultivated a very powerful soul technique. The moment he had a cultivation deviation, it shattered. Fortunately, we have been able to locate all the realms the pieces of his soul fell into.``
Shen Jiy Yu gritted his teeth. A soul cultivation technique. And he thought that Feng Mian was smart. To immortals, the soul was their reverse scale. They could rebuild their body if it was destroyed and reincarnate to start again, but if the soul was destroyed, that was it. It was the end.
He clenched his fist tighter, trying not to lose himself in his thoughts, and focused on the here and now.
"But there is a problem. We have tried to lure the pieces of his soul out, but he is obsessed."
"Obsessed?"
"Mental obsessions. The pieces of his soul would not budge; they are trapped within their realms. We sent some heavenly officials down to resolve his obsessions, but they were refused entry. The Marquis's power is like a wall over the realms he is in, and he will not let intruders in."
"That seems like a tough problem for you, Your Highness. Even though it displeases me to say this, I wish you the best of luck." Shen Jiyu said, his tone as insincere as possible.
"We made a breakthrough." Wei Mu Chen said quietly, "I crafted a puppet with one of the gifts you gave me and sent it into one of the realms and it passed through the barrier."
Shen Jiyu froze and looked at him. His heart was pounding; it was as if a familiar yet foreign emotion suddenly lodged itself in the middle of his chest.
What was this? Why would his spiritual signature be allowed and not others? Why did Feng Mian like making him feel this way? Why did he like causing a ruckus? Could he not have died quietly without making things like this?
He was not sure he had ever hated someone this much.
"Why am I here?" he asked coldly, his voice extremely flat, losing all the inflections of before.
Wei Mu Chen looked at Shen Jiyu. He did not want to do this to his friend, but he had no other option. If his sister or her Bureau caught wind of Feng Mian's situation, things would get worse for Feng Mian.
Any hopes of their friendship being restored would be destroyed after he did this, but there was no other person with whom he would feel reassured of Feng Mian's safety other than Shen Jiyu.
He sighed and took out a token. It was a jade tally with just two characters, 天堂.
The moment Shen Jiyu saw the Heavenly Tally, he got down on one knee.
"Shen Jiyu of the Shen Clan has answered the Summons of the Heavenly Emperor."
"In the name of Wei Jixu, the Heavenly Emperor, Shen Jiyu, you shall descend to the lower realm and resolve the obsessions of Marquis Feng Mian, repairing his soul and restoring order to Hell."
Shen Jiyu's eyes reddened with intense fury but in accordance with the ancient promise that his ancestors had made, he replied in a hoarse voice, "This Shen hears and obeys."