With this thought in mind, the first thing Si Qing did after entering the Heavenly Palace was to get straight to the point:
"I won't lay a hand on my sister, so give up,"
"So direct," the Heavenly Emperor was not surprised at all, a smile playing on his lips, "Divine Venerable Si Qing, as I said, do you have a choice?"
The Heavenly Emperor's pressure made Si Qing's expression change slightly, but he endured it with all his might.
"War God Si Qing, heed my command," the Heavenly Emperor toyed with a jade token, "Within three days, you are to cooperate with the Phoenix Clan's Phoenix Lord and the North Sea Dragon King to escort the Ice Demon Qi Yu back to the Bitter Cold Hell."
Si Qing's killing intent surged, "Say that again!"
He slammed the table and stood up abruptly.
Spiritual energy coursed wildly within him, his divine power turning dark, and the immortal patterns on his battle robe gradually shifting to a deep, vibrant purple.
The immortal seal on his forehead began to blacken as if contaminated, transforming into a peculiar pattern.
The Heavenly Emperor, completely taken aback by Si Qing's demonization, was shocked,
"Divine Venerable Si Qing, are you insane?!"
He abandoned his position as a celestial being, all for Qi Yu, to descend into demonhood!
"I am clearer than I have ever been," Si Qing looked at the Heavenly Emperor with utter disgust, "You have repeatedly used my sister to threaten me, and now you want me to kill her with my own hands. You are going too far. If this War God position is to be repeatedly used for your coercion, then it is better to abandon it."
"Si Qing, do you know that once a god falls, there is no turning back? Do you have no regrets?" the Heavenly Emperor said, but in reality, he dared not make a move, and was even afraid Si Qing would attack.
Si Qing sneered, "My sister has been treated this way by you, what joy is there for me to stay in the Divine Realm? I only regret not falling into demonhood sooner!"
With that, he turned and kicked open the doors of the Heavenly Emperor's palace.
Outside, heavenly soldiers and generals surrounded Si Qing.
Without looking back, Si Qing unleashed a counterattack.
The heavenly soldiers and generals were sent flying before they could even touch him.
Enraged to the point of trembling, the Heavenly Emperor grabbed a random heavenly soldier and ordered loudly,
"Divine Venerable Si Qing has fallen into demonhood and has rebelled from the Nine Heavens! All forces, apprehend him!"
Qi Yu alone was already troublesome enough.
Now, with the addition of the rebellious Divine Venerable Si Qing.
With these two, could his position as Heavenly Emperor last until the venerable being in the Thirteenth Heaven achieved their divine功大成?
The heavenly soldiers and generals immediately knelt and accepted the order, swarming towards Si Qing in wave after wave.
Si Qing seemed to have gone mad with battle, killing every wave that came, pair after pair.
He was covered in blood, his spear in hand, leaving no survivors in his wake, his malevolent aura soaring.
The heavenly soldiers and generals who charged in later did not dare to advance further, only retreating.
In less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn.
From the Three Realms, high and low, be it the Immortal Realm, the Demon Realm, or other races, everyone knew that Divine Venerable Si Qing had rebelled, fallen from godhood, and entered the demonic path.
Phoenix Clan, Wutong Mountain.
Yu Zhen wore a worried expression,
"This child Si Qing is truly headstrong. I was wondering what he was going to do, never expecting he would fall into demonhood."
"Let him fall into demonhood," the former Patriarch of the Qilin Clan, the High God Huai An, arrived upon hearing the news and sat opposite them, leisurely eating a phoenix fruit, saying as he ate, "The current Nine Heavens is no longer the Nine Heavens of old. If Si Qing didn't rebel, that dog of a Heavenly Emperor would have made him kill Qi Yu. How could Si Qing have done that?"
Yu Zhen and Li Yu fell silent.
If it were them, they would probably have made the same choice as Si Qing.
High God Huai An looked at Sui You, "Little Phoenix Lord, what are your plans? Don't follow suit just because you see Si Qing rebel. Your situations are entirely different. He is alone, he is not a clan leader, and his parents are below. You must consider the entire Phoenix Clan."
"...Of course, I understand the reasoning, but if I consider the entire Phoenix Clan, then I can only agree to the Heavenly Emperor's command," Sui You sighed, "I don't want to be enemies with Qi Yu."
"I don't think this matter is as serious as you think," High God Huai An wiped his hands, "As you said, the Heavenly Emperor ordered you to act with the North Sea Dragon King against Qi Yu. Before, when you were outnumbered and lost to Qi Yu, it would have been too obvious. But the situation is different now."
Sui You and Yue Zhiyin looked up at High God Huai An.
High God Huai An pointed to a spot thousands of miles away, just past the Phoenix Clan's territory boundary, where Si Qing was returning on the clouds, "A fallen War God, this is a terrifying combat force. With him and Qi Yu, if you two stand with the Heavenly Emperor, whether you truly fight or pretend to fight, you are destined to lose."
"Therefore, Sui You, Yue Zhiyin, I think you two can directly pretend to submit to the Heavenly Emperor and have a perfunctory fight with Qi Yu and Si Qing."
Seeing this, Qi Yu immediately ran to the window to search for Si Qing's figure. Although she could see him, due to the distance, she could not greet him, so she could only stand on tiptoe and look out.
Yu Zhen, Li Yu, as well as Feng Mingqi, Feng Sixian, Feng Yunzui, and others also walked over.
Sui You and Yue Zhiyin went to look, then returned to sit before High God Huai An.
High God Huai An looked at the two of them and smiled mysteriously,
"After the fight, you two can deliberately lose to Qi Yu and Si Qing and become prisoners. You can falsely claim to the outside world that Qi Yu and Si Qing threatened you with the lives of your entire clans, forcing you to submit. You and Yue Zhiyin, under duress, surrendered and led your entire clan to submit."
"This way, you can openly stand by Qi Yu's side, and it will be a very smooth transition, and no one will be able to say anything."
"However, I'm not sure how you two feel about pretending to be defeated and captured? Will you feel too humiliated or something?"
"Heh," Li Yu glanced at Yue Zhiyin, "I'm not sure about Sui You, but Yue Zhiyin will definitely be fine."
Li Yu clearly remembered that when Qi Yu first returned from the Bitter Cold Hell, Yue Zhiyin had been constantly vying with Ming Lou for the chance to pretend to be a captive.
Yue Zhiyin knew which incident Li Yu was referring to, but his face showed no embarrassment, and he was instead very enthusiastic, "I think High God Huai An's method is really excellent. In fact, I myself thought of the same thing, it's simply a coincidence."
"I have no objections either," Sui You made up his mind.
Just then, there was a sudden commotion outside.
Qi Yu was the first to run to open the door.
Si Qing retracted his divine powers and returned from outside, looking exhausted.
He put away his artifact, changed out of his battle robe, his entire body exuding a fearsome aura, covered in blood.
Everyone gathered around, confirming that he was unharmed and that all the blood on him belonged to others, before finally breathing a sigh of relief.
Si Qing raised his hand, wanting to hug his sister and parents.
Qi Yu wanted to hug him, but the oppressive aura emanating from him stung her eyes, and she stopped in her tracks.
Si Qing looked like a child, his eyes teary, "Brother, you dislike me..."
"I don't dislike you, I don't dislike you," Qi Yu quickly hugged him and patted his head, "I really didn't expect you to do this."
"I want to help Brother," Si Qing hugged Qi Yu tightly and whispered in his sister's ear, "I am no longer the War God, I am a traitor who has fallen into demonhood. This way, I can openly help Brother."
Hearing this, Qi Yu's eyes turned red.
Her brother, despite his important position and profound cultivation, was willing to go this far for her.
In the end, it was her who had harmed him.