After Shi Feiyang emerged from seclusion, he first learned what had happened outside.
First came news of his disciples. In the third year of his seclusion, Fire Wuhai had taken Shi Sheng to the Nine-Li Divine Lord's Demon Palace to keep their appointment.
Yuan Hua had long since returned to Heaven Beyond Divine Mountain with the Five Immortal Apes. As the Earthly Official, he was effectively the prime minister of the Nation of Ten Thousand Demons, attending to countless affairs every day. He could not remain away forever.
When the time came for Fire Wuhai and Shi Sheng to keep their appointment, he had intended to come back and help them fight, but Jinxu Nu stopped him.
Jinxu Nu said, "Our master and fellow disciples have been fighting for their lives outside. I can't keep standing apart from it all. The heavenly cycles on Heaven Beyond Divine Mountain are now regular, and everything is running smoothly. My leaving for a few years won't matter. Human affairs, on the other hand, are unpredictable. You mustn't leave your post lightly. This time, I'll leave the mountain—first, to meet Junior Brother Fire, whom our master took in later, and second, to cross swords with that Nine-Li Divine Lord!"
Thus Yuan Hua stayed to guard their home, while Jinxu Nu passed through the aurora fire to lend Fire Wuhai and Shi Sheng a hand.
He was the last to arrive. Xiong Manniang, Deng Bagu, Lin Han, and the Four Young Ones, including Mo Zhui, had reached the Demon Palace one after another following Fire Wuhai and Shi Sheng.
They had originally intended to accompany the pair, but the two refused, so they waited until the pair had departed before setting out themselves.
Upon reaching the Demon Palace, Deng Bagu told the Nine-Li Divine Lord