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""Xuan Ji!" Xue Yang and the others looked over. They'd all investigated too, and they already knew the estate was empty. Nevermind Bai Yulong; there weren't even any guards or servants.

"Hu Bazi." A divine sense transmission boomed in Hu Bazi's sea of consciousness.

He was currently biding his time at the Profound Pavilion, but his heart suddenly trembled. Before he could respond, Xuan Ji's second transmission came crashing towards him. "The Bai Family branch is empty! Ye Zichen isn't in Heavenly God City. Why didn't you tell me?"

"How is that possible?" exclaimed Hu Bazi.

"I'm currently at the Bai Family branch, but there's not so much as a servant girl inside. You said Ye Zichen left with a grand army, but also that you didn't see any sign of him leaving? What on earth are you doing?"

"That's absolutely impossible!" exclaimed Hu Bazi once more. "There are members of the Profound Pavilion at the reins of each of the city gates. If Ye Zichen led his army out, our people would definitely see him and alert me, but no one guarding the gates saw him leave.

Just to make sure, Hu Bazi contacted his brothers in arms at the gates.

Although he didn't know it, Xuan Ji did the same thing.

"We've been tricked!" Xuan Ji gnashed her teeth.

She'd asked and gotten a clear answer; none of her forces guarding the city gates had seen Ye Zichen or his army. The soldiers patrolling the city told her that they'd seen Ye Zichen heading toward this Bai Family branch.

No one had seen Ye Zichen depart the city, and the patrolling troops even said they'd seen Ye Zichen heading this way….

There was only one possibility.

The Divine Arbiter had sent them away.

The Divine Arbiter had condensed a dao heart. Sending Ye Zichen and the others out of the city without anyone noticing would have been easy for her.

"Boss, there's news from Ol' Jiu. They…. Already reached Spirit City."

She'd already guessed that Ye Zichen would lead his army to Spirit City, but how could he have possibly reached his destination so quickly?

No matter how panicked they felt, their first priority was rushing to Spirit City. That was the Bai Family's ancestral home. If Ye Zichen attacked them with his tiny little army, it'd be no different from an egg flinging itself against a rock.

"Let's go. They went to Spirit City." All of them rushed out, but when they returned to the God Emperor's Estate, they saw God Emperor Zhou Wu and the Divine Arbiter standing right where they'd left them.

"It seems you've already figured it out, laughed Zhou Wu.

"So, you were behind this after all." Xuan Ji audibly gnashed her teeth. She thought her plan had left no gaps, but this time, she really hadn't predicted Zhou Wu's ploy. He'd really led them down the wrong path and thrown her for a loop.

If Ye Zichen had gone to the nearby branch of the Bai Family, everything would be under her control, and she could resolve this issue at her leisure.

But now….

The others reacted, and glanced at the Divine Arbiter standing beside Zhou Wu.

Given her accomplishments in the Dao of Space, sending Ye Zichen out of the city without Xuan Ji's subordinates discovering it was as easy as could be.

Crack.

Xuan Ji clenched her fists so tight her knuckles cracked, and her eyes were bloodshot. The others were visibly furious, while Su Qingyan seemed ready to lash out any second.

"Surely you don't want to duke things out with me here? Wouldn't that delay you for too long?" asked Zhou Wu. He didn't seem the slightest bit concerned.

"Let's go." Xuan Ji glared viciously at Zhou Wu, then instantly left the estate.

The others quickly weighed the pros and cons of fighting, hesitated briefly, then followed her.

During this time, Su Qingyan and Bi'an contacted their subordinates. Their prior destination was Heavenly God City, but now, they'd have to change locations. Even if they gave orders, it wouldn't be easy for their subordinates to adjust so quickly.

Xuan Ji directly led the forces of the Profound Pavilion out of the city. If they were just going to a Bai Family branch, she and the other top experts were more than enough to put pressure on them. They'd only called in the foxes and the troops of the Four Directions Palace to put pressure on Zhou Wu so he wouldn't attack recklessly.

But now it turned out Ye Zichen was going to the Bai Family headquarters. In that case, his forces were nowhere near enough.

Right now, what they needed was to call up every last soldier they could muster….

Zhou Wu maintained his smile as he watched them leave. The blizzard gradually dissipated, and the Divine Arbiter unsealed the space they occupied.

"Su Qingyan's Breath of Ice is increasingly pure." Zhou Wu glanced at the layer of white coating the city and waved his hand, firing several spheres of flames as hot as the sun itself into the city.

The ice and snow melted, then evaporated into the air.

Before long, Heavenly God City had returned to normal.

Throughout the city, the cultivators of the Profound Pavilion wore bleak expressions. As they retreated, their nerves were utterly taught for fear that those terrifying fire balls would target them too.

However, God Emperor Zhou Wu paid them no heed whatsoever. He merely glanced at them, then let them depart the city unharmed.

Once they'd all left, he laughed. "They made such a big fuss, but now…. It's quiet again."

He'd planned all this right from the start, which was why he didn't react even when the Profound Pavilion seized control of the city.

"Where are the nine-tailed foxes? And the Four Directions Palace's troops?"

"It's truly a pity," snorted Zhou Wu. "They wanted to put pressure on me, but now, they're all in a panic. Still, they're going all out just to protect Ye Zichen. It's clear how important he is to them. And here I was, perfectly willing to tell them he wasn't in the city, but they refused my offer and cost themselves hours of precious time."

Zhou Wu stopped muttering to himself, shook his head, and asked "Where is that youth now?"

"I used the power of space to send them over, so they've most likely already arrived at Spirit City," said the Divine Arbiter.

"No wonder they were in such a rush." The God Emperor nodded. "Send your clansmen away too. There's no need to worry about Heavenly God City. At least, not anytime in the near future."

"But what about the Bai Family…? Should we go over too and…?"

"No need."

"But didn't you tell them to seize that youth alive? He brought quite a force with him, including three Imperial Lord experts and someone who looks like an Imperial Sovereign. He brought twenty rulers, and countless diviners and sky supremes. Even if he wages war against the Bai Family, he'll be able to hold on for a while. If Xuan Ji and the others arrive, then the Bai Family will find it difficult…."

"There's no need to say anymore." Zhou Wu expressionlessly interrupted the Divine Arbiter. "If they can't even resolve a minor matter like this, they're of no use to me." With that, he waved his sleeves and returned to his estate.