Ye Ling exited the room and closed the door, concealing his aura with white runes.
As the maid was already cleaning on the first floor, Ye Ling, to avoid alerting her, did not use teleportation and instead crept through the corridor with the ice coffin on his back.
This time, with the ice coffin on his back, Ye Ling could not change his form freely, and his journey was fraught with peril. Several times, he was almost seen by the maid.
Fortunately, Ye Ling had memorized the palace's layout in advance, and the maid had not realized that an intruder had entered the palace. Thus, Ye Ling, with some close calls, managed to bypass the maid and reach the back garden.
In the garden, Zi You was absentmindedly playing with her dolls, while the butler stood by her side, his eyes closed, resting.
Ye Ling, carrying the ice coffin, hid in the shadows and found it inconvenient to reveal himself. He could only manipulate a butterfly in the garden and send it flying towards Zi You.
"Butterfly!" Zi You, who was playing with her dolls, became interested when a butterfly flew towards her and began to chase it.
The butler slightly opened his eyes, confirmed that Zi You was merely chasing a butterfly, and then closed them again to rest.
As long as Zi You remained in this garden, everything was under his control.
"Very good... that old fellow didn't follow Zi You!"
Seeing that the butler was still resting with his eyes closed, Ye Ling immediately manipulated the butterfly to lure Zi You to his side.
Zi You, who had been chasing the butterfly, discovered Ye Ling hiding in the shadows and exclaimed in surprise, "Ah!"
"Shhh—!"
Ye Ling signaled for Zi You to be quiet and mouthed the words: "Don't disturb the butler, quietly follow me, I'll take you to escape!"
Zi You clearly understood Ye Ling's intention, covered her mouth with her hands, and nodded repeatedly, "Mhm, mhm!"
"Good child."
Ye Ling praised Zi You with his lips and simultaneously used runes to create a fake Zi You, sending the fake Zi You to chase the butterfly at a distance from the butler.
After completing all this, Ye Ling took Zi You's hand and returned to the palace.
At this time, the maid was no longer on the first floor. Ye Ling confirmed that no one was in the hall and said to Zi You, "Zi You, hold onto me tightly. If we're discovered later, we'll have to fight for our lives to escape!"
"Mhm!"
Zi You nodded, then couldn't help but look at the ice coffin on Ye Ling's back and asked curiously, "Little brother, what are you carrying on your back?"
Ye Ling replied, "It's a big sister, brought out from the room on the fourth floor."
Zi You exclaimed in surprise, "You got the key from the butler and the maid?"
Ye Ling chuckled, "Heh heh, piece of cake!"
"Wow! Little brother is so amazing!"
"I'm amazing in many ways! Come with me!"
Ye Ling smiled and led Zi You to the vicinity of the main gate, breaking the restriction on the gate with white runes, and then opened it with the key.
As the gate was slowly pushed open, Zi You became increasingly excited.
Although she had escaped the palace in various ways before, this was her first time leaving through the main gate!
But...
Just as Ye Ling was leading Zi You out, the maid, holding a broom, emerged from a room and happened to see Ye Ling carrying the ice coffin and Zi You, whom he was holding by the hand.
"This..."
The maid was instantly stunned upon seeing the woman lying in the ice coffin, her eyes filled with disbelief.
How could the ice coffin be carried on someone's back?
The maid's mind was in chaos.
Sensing the burning gaze from behind, Ye Ling instantly realized he had been exposed, and a sense of extreme danger surged through him!
"Escape!!!"
Without time to think, Ye Ling immediately grabbed Zi You and rushed out of the palace!
The maid, having finally reacted, realized that the creator god sealed there had been stolen, and her hair immediately stood on end as she screamed, "Ahhhhh! Damn ants! How dare you come here to steal!!!"
The maid's scream echoed from the palace, and the vast palace instantly shattered. Ye Ling, hit by the sonic impact, immediately spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning extremely pale!
If not for the ice coffin on his back helping to block most of the force, the maid's roar just now would have likely shattered Ye Ling's heart!
"Little brother!"
Seeing Ye Ling injured, Zi You exclaimed in surprise, "You're hurt!"
"It's nothing! Hurry and escape!"
Ye Ling ignored his injuries, grabbed Zi You, and fled out of the palace.
With the maid's scream, all the surrounding evil soldiers were alerted, and a large number of evil soldiers with supreme cultivation, or even higher, converged towards Ye Ling!
Seeing the large number of evil soldiers blocking his path, Ye Ling no longer held back. He unleashed his Devouring Domain and, at the same time, conjured myriad white runes around him, transforming them into sharp swords and shooting them at the evil soldiers, "You all, do not block my path!!!"
Ye Ling roared, his Devouring Domain seizing the cultivation of the evil soldiers, and the rune swords pierced through the evil soldiers' chests. Ye Ling, carrying the ice coffin and holding Zi You's hand, carved a bloody path through the thousands of evil soldiers!
"Ant! Leave the ice coffin behind!"
From the ruins of the palace, the transformed monstrous maid rushed out, approaching Ye Ling at an extremely fast speed, the surrounding space shattering due to her aura!
A black light streaked across the void, striking towards Ye Ling!
Ye Ling glanced back at the maid with her long hair flying wildly. Knowing that his speed was far inferior to hers, he immediately threw Zi You forward, and before the maid's palm could strike, he placed the ice coffin in front of his chest!
*Bang!!!*
The maid's palm struck the ice coffin. Brilliant light erupted in the dark void, and endless frost spread outwards, freezing all the surrounding evil soldiers into ice!
The maid's arm instantly became covered in frost, and she was sent flying backward.
Ye Ling, however, also suffered a powerful impact, his internal organs shattering. He spat a mouthful of blood directly onto the ice coffin, and the immense shock sent him plummeting in the opposite direction like a cannonball at an incredible speed!
However, as Ye Ling was being repelled, he did not forget Zi You. Enduring the pain, he used runes to condense a silk ribbon, wrapping it around Zi You's waist, and the other end around his own hand, so that they would not be separated during the fall.
"This crazy old woman, her cultivation is terrifying!"
Ye Ling ignored his injuries, placed the ice coffin back on his back, pulled Zi You into his embrace, and then, disregarding everything, flew towards the cosmic barrier. At the same time, he transmitted a message to Ye Qingyan, "Qingyan, quickly use the rune imprint to repair the cosmic barrier!"
Hearing Ye Ling's transmission, Ye Qingyan exclaimed, "Repair the cosmic barrier? Haven't you returned yet?"
Ye Ling quickly replied, "I'll be back soon! Repair it as quickly as possible, the cosmic barrier's strength is not enough to withstand the enemies chasing me!"
"Okay, okay... be very careful!"
Upon hearing Ye Ling's words, Ye Qingyan knew that something major had happened and dared not delay any further. She began to activate the power of the rune imprint to repair the cosmic barrier.
The fragile cosmic barrier began to strengthen with the help of the rune imprint's power.
After instructing Ye Qingyan, Ye Ling looked back again, confirming that the maid was not pursuing him. Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, the butler suddenly appeared in front of him!
The butler stood with his hands behind his back, enveloped in black energy, exuding an aura even more terrifying than the maid.
His face was cold, and he stared at Ye Ling, saying, "Young friend... where are you going?"