At the peak of Jade Mountain, within the Heavenly King's Hall.

After hearing that the Four Heavenly Kings and the ghosts she had summoned were either exterminated or had dispersed, the Mother of the Mountain, a mountain deity, suddenly turned somber and murmured softly, "When will His Majesty return from the Netherworld with the Purgatory Fire? These people will reach the peak of Jade Mountain by tomorrow—I must reveal myself to stop them!"

No sooner had the Mother of the Mountain's words fallen than her body violently shuddered, her expression revealing extreme agony—she had received a warning from the curse of Heavenly King Mountain.

When she had accepted the role of the guardian deity of Heavenly King Mountain, she had made two vows to the mountain spirit: one was to never step off Heavenly King Mountain, and the other was to never harm humans. Otherwise, she was willing to accept any punishment from the mountain spirit.

At this moment, because she harbored the thought of harming humans, she was violently trembling from being attacked by the curse of the mountain spirit.

The Mother of the Mountain walked to the front doors of the great hall, knelt outside with tears streaming down, and cried out, "Mountain spirit, forgive me, for I never wished to harm humans out of choice! I cannot be a person who betrays kindness and gratitude!"

Over a decade ago, before King Ning had taken control of King Ning's Manor, Heavenly King Mountain had been extensively deforested by merciless humans. Bound by her vow to never harm humans, the Mother of the Mountain could only watch in agony as the thousand—even tens of thousands—of years old beings of Heavenly King Mountain were cut down.

Just as the Mother of the Mountain was falling into despair, King Ning suddenly appeared on Heavenly King Mountain with a host of ghosts, frightening away the development crew and, through various means, turned Heavenly King Mountain into a natural reserve of the East Country. After driving away the humans, King Ning and the host of ghosts went to see the Mother of the Mountain. With sincere respect as an elder, King Ning requested her to let him build a palace on the peak of Jade Mountain and promised that as long as he, King Ning, was alive, he would ensure not a single plant or tree on Heavenly King Mountain would be destroyed.

At that time, being deeply moved by King Ning, the Mother of the Mountain not only agreed to his request but also proactively offered to marry King Ning to show gratitude for saving the beings of Heavenly King Mountain.

So, King Ning built a palace within Heavenly King Mountain and, on the day his statue of the Jade Emperor was completed, he welcomed the Mother of the Mountain into the Heavenly King's Hall. In the subsequent years, the two of them always treated each other with mutual respect and harmony. Under their joint care and protection, Heavenly King Mountain gradually regained its former vitality.

Therefore, the Mother of the Mountain always felt grateful towards King Ning. To repay him, and also for the affection shared over a decade, she couldn't just watch as Chen Hao led his people up Jade Mountain to destroy the Heavenly King's Hall tomorrow, even if it meant breaking her original vows!

"Ah!" The Mother of the Mountain, kneeling on the ground, let out another agonizing, heart-wrenching scream as her heart felt as if it were being slashed by knives.

She closed her eyes and used her Spiritual Power to force the spirit of the mountain deity out of her body. Without the protection of the spirit of the mountain deity, she would soon become a Wandering Soul.

Looking at the shining golden spirit of the mountain deity before her, the Mother of the Mountain cried out and shook her head, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I can no longer guard this mountain, find someone more suitable!"

Having said this, the Mother of the Mountain waved her sleeve and sent the spirit of the mountain deity tumbling down Jade Mountain. Then she stood up, her previously dignified appearance suddenly turning ferocious and terrifying. She walked out of the Heavenly King's Hall, approached the cliff, and overlooking the mountain spirit shrouded in fog below, she laughed menacingly, "With me here, you dream of reaching Jade Mountain!"

..

Dawn was breaking.

Outside the tent, Chen Hao was still carefully adding wood to the fire, afraid of waking up Ye Yuqiao, who was sleeping soundly in his embrace.

After adding the firewood, Chen Hao closed his eyes again, savoring the scent emanating from Ye Yuqiao.

Suddenly, he felt a warmth on his back and opened his eyes in shock. Turning around, he saw Tang Jing had draped a small towel across his and Ye Yuqiao's backs.

"I'm sorry, so sorry!" Tang Jing whispered hurriedly, her face flushing red. "I didn't mean to wake you up!"

"It's okay!" Chen Hao smiled at Tang Jing, "I was already awake; you didn't wake me up. Haha, why is your face so red? Don't tell me you're embarrassed seeing me?"

Tang Jing's face suddenly turned serious, and she muttered with a lowered head, "Idiot, your girlfriend is still lying in your arms, is it appropriate to make such jokes?"

"Uh!" Chen Hao pursed his lips in resignation, thinking to himself, "Was it just a harmless joke? Is there really a need to launch a personal attack on me?"

After glancing at Chen Hao, Tang Jing turned and went back to her tent, leaving only the hasty words, "I'm going back to the tent to rest!"

Once Tang Jing was back in her tent, Ye Yuqiao in Chen Hao's arms suddenly squirmed a few times, and with her eyes closed, she said coldly, "Were you flirting with that young girl again?"

A glint flashed across Chen Hao's face as he pinched Ye Yuqiao's cheek and asked, "Your Majesty, the Queen, you've woken up?"

Ye Yuqiao paid him no heed, motionless, with her enchanting sleeping face showing no expression.

"Your Majesty, the Queen, Your Majesty, the Queen," Chen Hao gently shook the sleeping beauty in his arms.

After a while, seeing no response from Ye Yuqiao, Chen Hao took a deep breath, raised his hand to gently pinch her cheek, and whispered, "Your Majesty, although you've lived for over twenty thousand years, sometimes you seem like an even younger girl than Tang Jing, so jealous!"

Finally, Ye Yuqiao opened her eyes, furrowed her brow, and glared at Chen Hao, huffing, "Even if I am young, I'm not as immature as you!"

After that, Ye Yuqiao, leaning sideways in Chen Hao's arms, tried to get up and away from his body, but her waist was tightly hooked by Chen Hao's right hand.

"Good morning, Your Majesty," Chen Hao said with a playful smile, looking at Ye Yuqiao's displeased face. He then leaned forward and kissed her pale, cold cheek, adding, "Your Majesty, I was wrong, I won't dare to do it again next time!"

Ye Yuqiao stopped struggling, then closed her eyes and lay back on Chen Hao's chest, appearing calm and as if nothing had happened.

Seeing Ye Yuqiao like this, Chen Hao sighed in resignation and muttered, "Always bullying me."

"What are you muttering?" Ye Yuqiao asked coldly.

"I love you the most, Your Majesty," Chen Hao hurriedly explained.

A smug, satisfied smile soon appeared on Ye Yuqiao's flawless face.

...

At nine in the morning, the sun was already hanging in the branches, yet the fog lingering on the peak of the Heavenly Son's Peak was not only refusing to dissipate but seemed to be getting thicker.

After getting up, having had some dry food and water, Chen Hao and his companions set off towards the Jade Peak.

At eleven o'clock, the group reached the top of Heavenly Son's Peak.

On the summit, the bright sun shone down, driving away the chill from their bodies.

Looking at the Heaven King's Hall on the summit of the Jade Peak not far away, Chen Hao's left eye first shot out a fire dragon, which directly dispersed the hill ghosts and Wandering Souls worshipping in front of Heaven King's Hall.

"After descending Heavenly Son's Peak, we will reach the foot of Jade Peak," Xie Xiaofeng said, looking down, his eyes filled with thick fog.

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