After hearing Shi Feiyang's words, Gongye Huang could only smile bitterly and sigh helplessly.
Like Tian Canzi years before, he felt that neither side was a vicious monster like the Green-Robed Ancestor, and he wanted to mediate between them. Yet when he actually tried, he discovered that neither side would listen.
It was like two countries at war, already bound by deep hatred. While they were evenly matched and both believed they could win by holding on, a third country could not persuade them to make peace. It could only let them keep fighting; only when one side could no longer resist would the first light of peace talks appear.
Gongye Huang abandoned the idea of mediation and merely explained that he needed to borrow the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Silkworm to understand his own tribulation.
When Shi Feiyang had first obtained the Ice Silkworm, he had thought of Gongye Huang. He knew the man possessed a gift for understanding birdsong and was a remarkable talent, and he wanted to bring him into his kingdom. He said, "I'm raising the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Silkworm on Heaven Beyond Divine Mountain. The aurora fire blocks the way, so I can't return for the moment. Fortunately, you're in no hurry either. I see that you are filled with righteous spirit, Fellow Daoist. Why not help me with something now? Once it's done, I'll return to Heaven Beyond Divine Mountain with you and present the Ice Silkworm with both hands to help you escape your tribulation. What do you say?"
Gongye Huang was somewhat surprised to hear him openly state his conditions. Immortals did not usually make their exchanges so nakedly transactional. Everyone knew who had helped whom, and what gratitude or grudges they owed. Normally, Shi Feiyang should have lent him the Ice Silkworm first, then