While the two lovers finally reunited, Xin Lan had made his way over to the middle of the immortal realms. He stood among the peaks of the mountain range, his gaze dark as he stared at the Tian Shan in front.

Actually, he hated coming to this place. He might be the only one who would dare to do so in the first place and definitely the only one who would do so repeatedly but he still hated it. It simply reminded him of all the bad things that had happened in his life. Still, no matter how he felt about this place or rather the place atop the Tian Shan, he had to do this.

Jinde wasn't in a good condition at all and was also on the verge of losing his second child. He might not survive this. Naturally, he couldn't simply watch this happen. Jinde was his oldest and maybe even his only friend. He absolutely wouldn't watch silently as he slowly faded into nothingness. No, as long as there was anything he could do, he would go ahead and do it, no questions asked. It didn't matter how much he loathed the specific way.

He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before directing his gaze at the Heaven mountain again and rushing forward. He could only hope that Tian wasn't completely fed up with him yet. After their last encounter, when Tian had basically kicked him out, that was entirely possible. If that were the case, he'd have a problem.

Xin Lan gritted his teeth but tried not to think too much. Maybe it wasn't all that bad. Maybe Tian didn't care about what had happened at that time anymore. Maybe he would already know what this was about anyway and find it in his heart to hear him out.

It didn't seem impossible. Tian was an asshole if you asked him but he happened to be one that had been deeply in love once and had had to mourn the loss of a child. If there was one thing he'd be sympathetic to, it would be a situation like Jinde's. Thus, it might not be completely impossible to convince him.

Xin Lan reached the top of the mountain and looked at the bridge leading to the mainland of the High Heavens. Nothing could be seen of Tian so he at least didn't seem to intend to kick him directly back down the mountain. Maybe this was a good sign? Well, he could only hope so.

Xin Lan directly rushed to the capital city. Usually, Tian wasn't interested in letting him get that far. This time, it wasn't any different. When Xin Lan had come far enough to see the city gates in the distance, the figure of the supreme ruler already appeared in front of them, looking at him with an apathetic gaze.

Xin Lan didn't slow down, only stopping when he had reached Tian. Their expressions were both solemn. It didn't mean much considering that Tian usually looked like this but he still hoped for the best. "You might know what is currently happening in the dragon realm."

Tian looked at him, his expression not changing. "Are you referring to that man you've pretended to love for so long? I guess you should have seen by now that I was right about that."

Xin Lan gnashed his teeth but this definitely wasn't the moment to give Tian a piece of his mind. He simply ignored his dig at his romantic life. "That is indeed what I'm referring to. Is there a way for you to help him?"

Tian gave a thoughtful hum. "Maybe there is but I don't see why I should. When have I ever gotten involved in the matters of the lower realms?" This wasn't a time anymore when he cared much about what was going on in the so-called immortal realms. Save for when it concerned the current crown prince of the Nine Heavens who he had a vested interest in, he didn't care about anyone down there.

Xin Lan stared at him, not sure what to do. He had thought that this might be the case. Tian clearly didn't care much about any of the races. He might even hate them. So yes, why would he help somebody that didn't mean anything to him? But then, it had sounded like there might be a way and Tian simply wasn't willing to give it a go. Knowing this, how could he give up so easily?

He examined Tian's expression, trying to gather anything from it. Unfortunately, it was just as insipid as usual as if he didn't care about anything or anyone. Such a person ... there was no way to convince them of anything, was there?

Xin Lan's brows furrowed. He wasn't willing to give up. If it had been anyone else, maybe he could have washed his hands off this. But not with Jinde. Not if the solution was almost within reach. No, in such a case, he had to try harder. Even if he couldn't see it, there had to be some way.

He lowered his gaze and finally decided to simply be straightforward. "Is there a way to convince you?"

Tian finally raised his brows in response, showing the first reaction to Xin Lan's words at all. Unfortunately, he still wasn't very forthcoming with his words. "Do you want to try?"

Xin Lan gritted his teeth. Obviously, he wanted to! Otherwise, would he bother asking about it? He held back from cursing the guy out and instead just straightened up. "I do. So is there a way? If yes, then just tell me. This person is important to me. Even if you were right and I indeed didn't love him in the way I thought, I still consider him a good friend and I won't let him suffer if I can prevent it. So whatever it is that can convince you, I'll do it. No matter what."