Waking in a daze, Xuanyuan Lige had already forgotten how he’d fallen asleep.

His memory stopped at the previous night, when he’d still been meditating with his eyes closed, tending to his internal injuries—only to drift off without realizing it, sleeping straight through until morning.

He wanted to move, but his whole body was without strength; he could only lift his eyes to look ahead. Meng Wanyue sat by the mouth of the cave, her back to him, doing something he couldn’t tell.

This was the best opportunity—one fatal strike to kill that woman. But at this moment, Xuanyuan Lige knew very well he couldn’t manage it.

Nor was this the first time this had happened. Every time an opportunity arose to kill Meng Wanyue, his body always grew unbearably weak, as though every ounce of his internal strength had been drained away.

Over and over this happened, and he knew that Meng Wanyue must be tampering with his Five Elements seal somehow, though he couldn’t figure out how he kept recovering afterward!

Each time he was drained to the extreme, over the following days his strength would slowly return, but just when he’d recovered to roughly seventy or eighty percent, he knew he would soon fall asleep again.

Before, Xuanyuan Lige might still have held onto a shred of hope, but now, even though he still couldn’t figure it out, he understood that Meng Wanyue had not brought him to Nanzhao to join forces against Jun Beiyue at all—she was simply using his body!

The dagger, hidden in his sleeve, carried a chilling intent to kill, yet nothing showed on his pale face.

At this moment, Meng Wanyue came walking over.

“Awake?” Meng Wanyue held a teacup in her hand—clearly a piece of imperial tableware!

“Where did you get that?” Xuanyuan Lige asked, brows furrowed.

“I went into the palace specially to find it for you. This tea is Dragon Whisker Tea, specially supplied to the Nanzhao royal family—the flavor is excellent.”

Meng Wanyue said this as she drew closer, holding the cup out to Xuanyuan Lige.

Such a joke was not the least bit funny!

“Where is this place?” Xuanyuan Lige asked coldly. Before he’d fallen asleep, they had still been at the foot of the mountain—at the foot of the mountain of the Jade Water Nectar Heavenly Lake!

“On the mountain—along the only path up to the heavenly lake,” Meng Wanyue said, not bothering to hide it, taking a small sip of tea, looking utterly at ease.

The mountain where the Jade Water Nectar Heavenly Lake sat was called Yuqiong Mountain. Numerous traveling palaces dotted its slopes, where the Prince of Nanzhao, along with the Beast Clan, the Medicine Clan, and many other invited guests who had arrived early, were all staying.

Not until the next day would they go up the mountain to begin the grand ceremony.

And Meng Wanyue’s current location was exactly at one of these traveling palaces—on the only path leading up to the Jade Water Nectar Heavenly Lake!

Xuanyuan Lige gripped the dagger tighter in his sleeve, sneering coldly. “You certainly know how to choose a spot.”

Meng Wanyue looked quite pleased with herself, leaning in, toying with the Dream Clan’s token, smiling. “Do you believe that tomorrow, in front of everyone, I can take Han Ziqing away without any effort at all?”

The Dream Clan, too, was among the invited guests; she had come representing the clan chief with the status of an Elder. Tomorrow, before everyone’s eyes, Han Ziqing would either follow her willingly, or she wouldn’t mind exposing certain matters publicly.

Of course, Meng Wanyue was quite certain that neither Han Ziqing nor Jun Beiyue would ever choose the latter!

In Nanzhao, they were like birds with clipped wings—wanting to fly, but unable to.

And all she needed was to draw Han Ziqing away in order to control Jun Beiyue!

No matter how many secrets of the lost island they’d found, no matter how much effort they’d poured into it, in the end everything would belong to her!

She would destroy every secret of the lost island in their hands—all she needed was Han Ziqing, this yin-type human Gu, and that would be enough!

Xuanyuan Lige listened, then turned to look straight at Meng Wanyue, a sinister smile slowly curling at the corner of his lips. “So, you kidnapped me for two reasons: first, to lure away Meng Duo’er, and second, for—”

Xuanyuan Lige did not finish immediately, pausing. Meng Wanyue met his gaze, a flicker of wariness in her eyes.

At that very moment, from some source of strength even he couldn’t explain, Xuanyuan Lige suddenly reached out and grabbed Meng Wanyue by the collar, while his other hand thrust the dagger viciously toward her abdomen!

He roared with fury, “Second, to use my body! You never had any intention of cooperating at all!”

The moment he spoke, the dagger plunged forward!

Yet it seemed to be blocked by something—even though they were so close, even though the strike was so fierce, and even though Meng Wanyue’s hands hadn’t moved to block it, something still stopped it!

Xuanyuan Lige gritted his teeth—heaven knew how much strength it had taken him just to grab hold of Meng Wanyue!

At this moment, sweat covered his forehead, the veins on his neck bulging, his bloodshot eyes filled with astonishment.

He slowly looked down—there wasn’t even a trace of blood.

The dagger was simply blocked out of nowhere, no matter how hard he pushed, it wouldn’t go in.

A barrier!

It was a barrier!

Had this woman truly perfected the instant sealing technique? Could it be that she had used his body’s Five Elements seal to cultivate this instant sealing art?

Xuanyuan Lige drew a sharp breath, as if he’d suddenly realized something, his jaw clenching even tighter, refusing to let go! Meng Wanyue had used a barrier to block his dagger, but his hand could still grip her collar—which was enough to prove that the barrier Meng Wanyue had formed only covered her abdomen!

Xuanyuan Lige held on with all his might. He knew that her collar was exactly where Meng Wanyue’s weak point lay.

Yet Meng Wanyue let him hold on, seeing at a glance exactly what Xuanyuan Lige was thinking. Utterly unbothered, the corner of her mouth curved into a smile. “You really are clever!”

Xuanyuan Lige didn’t give up. He knew the odds weren’t great, but he simply refused to give up!

He couldn’t give up!

What he was thinking was that this woman had perfected the instant sealing technique, and she would surely take Ziqing away—even Jun Beiyue couldn’t stand against her!

He wouldn’t allow it!

He wouldn’t allow it! Wouldn’t allow it! Wouldn’t allow it!!!

Jun Beiyue, there absolutely could not be a third time. I couldn’t forgive you for the second time—let alone a third!

Jun Beiyue, I absolutely will not allow you to lose Ziqing again!

Blood slowly seeped from between his clenched teeth, his hand still gripping Meng Wanyue’s collar with all his strength, the veins on the back of his hand standing out as if they might burst at any moment, while the fingernails of his other hand dug straight into Meng Wanyue’s flesh.

His eyes were closed, so no one could see what was in them, could see his heart—yet everyone could see his obsession, his devotion.

Meng Wanyue, who had originally felt entirely unconcerned, began to feel afraid—she never could have imagined that this weak, sickly boy would still have this much strength left in him, enough to drag her in so close!

Meng Wanyue pushed hard, trying to break free, but no matter how she struggled, she couldn’t pry his hand loose in the slightest.

An inexplicable fear kept surging up in her heart—she suddenly felt as though she would be held by him forever.

How could this be? This boy was so weak, eight-tenths of his strength had already been drained from him—even if it recovered, it couldn’t possibly come back this fast!

Amid her fear and struggle, Meng Wanyue exploded in fury. “Let go! I’m warning you, if you don’t let go, I’ll kill you!”

But the warning did nothing.

She had no idea whether Xuanyuan Lige had even heard her warning. At this moment, Xuanyuan Lige, eyes narrowed, looked as pale as a corpse.

Meng Wanyue’s fear only grew, and she struggled like a madwoman. “Let go! Let go of me! Will you let go or not! Xuanyuan Lige, I’ll give you one last chance—if you still won’t let go, don’t blame me for what happens next!”

As she spoke, Meng Wanyue raised her palm and swung it down viciously!