I walked to the outside of the cave, tapped my earlobe twice, and felt a warmth in my ears, after which the strange sensation disappeared.

“Did you see that?” I asked Xie Zhuo, who was on the other side. I knew that right now, the scenes my eyes were witnessing must be appearing in his mind.

He responded with a simple “Mm” from over there.

Then I coldly laughed and curled the corner of my lips: “Well then, watch carefully.”

When it comes to bullying people, am I any worse than you?

I took one large step and walked directly into the cave. Xie Xuanqing sat leaning against the cave wall as usual, except this time he was holding a flute made of snow bamboo. Seeing me approach, he looked up: “Jiu Xia, about the snow bamboo you left here before, I still…”

I pursed my lips, steeled my heart, and snatched the half-finished flute from Xie Xuanqing’s hand, throwing it away forcefully.

The snow bamboo crashed against the cave wall, just like when Xie Zhuo had knocked over Xiaxia’s porridge.

Xie Xuanqing froze in place.

I took a deep breath, without hesitation or delay, stepped forward, dropped to one knee before him, raised both hands, grabbed the sides of his collar, and pulled hard. Xie Xuanqing’s chest was completely exposed before my eyes.

Everything—his collarbones, chest muscles, and every detail… including the old and new scars on his chest—was thoroughly revealed to me.

Of course, also the translucent blue stone hanging from his neck on a black cord…

Xie Xuanqing’s expression changed from confusion to shock to astonishment, and finally, even someone as reserved as him couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath. Almost instinctively, he leaned backward, with the back of his head pressed tightly against the stone wall.

And I, with my hands still on his collar, directly reached around and easily grasped his stone, then pulled hard. The black cord snapped, and I successfully seized his important necklace.

He was startled, then quickly reacted, reaching out to take it back: “Jiu Xia!”

I immediately stood up and stepped back two paces.

Xie Xuanqing instinctively wanted to grab me, but his body hadn’t fully recovered, and his legs wouldn’t obey him.

He sat on the ground, his clothes half-fallen, one hand clutching his garment, the other extended toward me: “That cannot be touched.”

He looked at me, his gaze helpless and somewhat pitifully pleading, “Don’t be reckless…”

The Xie Xuanqing before me should have made me feel somewhat sympathetic, but because of his current state of dress, I felt…

A different kind of heartache.

I stepped back two more paces, moving further away from him.

Xie Xuanqing frowned slightly, looking visibly nervous.

“Xie Xuanqing,” I gripped his stone, deliberately provocative, “if you have what it takes, come and take it back.”

I turned and ran, hearing him call my name from behind with an urgency I had never heard before.

It even made me turn back to glance at him. I saw Xie Xuanqing struggling to support himself against the stone wall as he stood up. He leaned against the wall, trying to chase after me.

He was a demon who had always been enduring in nature, but now his face couldn’t help but reveal pain. It seemed that forcing his body to walk in this condition must have been extremely painful.

I almost stopped in my tracks, but very appropriately, Xie Zhuo’s voice transmitted into my mind, without any unnecessary words, just one:

“Go…”

True to his nature, Xie Zhuo was ruthless even to himself. Since he could be so merciless, what was I to be reluctant about?

I turned and ran, charging toward the bright cave entrance. What I didn’t expect was that just as I rushed out of the cave and saw daylight, a black robe flashed by. Before I could react, an arm caught me by the waist.

When my feet touched the ground again, the cave entrance behind me had disappeared. Though we were still in the snow bamboo forest, we had reached its entrance.

Turning to look, this black-robed person could only be Xie Zhuo.

“What are you doing here?” I looked at Xie Zhuo, somewhat angry. “Don’t you know your presence will make him feel worse!?”

“How is that any of your concern?”

He snapped at me…

I was speechless.

I took a deep breath to steady my emotions, then tapped my earlobe three times to turn off the yin-yang fish.

I spoke in a cold tone and attitude: “I’ve already got the item in hand. When Xie Xuanqing chases out of the cave, I’ll humiliate him further, then throw away this necklace. Aren’t you afraid our predestined marriage bond won’t be broken?”

Xie Zhuo completely ignored my words and simply extended his hand: “Give me the necklace.”

I raised an eyebrow at him: “Your necklace is already on you, isn’t it?” I pointed at his neck.

He still didn’t withdraw his hand, insisting on taking the necklace.

I slowly took the necklace out from my sleeve, all the while contemplating in my mind. Xie Zhuo had me retrieve the necklace to achieve his goal.

But as soon as I took it out, his first action was to intercept me, immediately wanting to have the necklace in his possession… It seemed this necklace was indeed extremely important to him.

Although I didn’t know why, since both he and I were now playing for real, this item could perhaps be useful to me…

I took out the necklace, made a feint in the air, and didn’t let Xie Zhuo take it.

Xie Zhuo’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at me with scrutiny.

I knew the difference in strength between Xie Zhuo and me was as vast as heaven and earth. Logically, I should be afraid of his threatening gaze, but these days, hadn’t he repeatedly emphasized one thing?

He wouldn’t hit me.

If that was the case…

I dangled the necklace before him, then hid it back in my sleeve. Then I also extended my hand to him: “I’m not playing this game anymore. This old man wants to go back. I can give you the necklace, but you must give me the Pangu Fu. Otherwise…”

Xie Zhuo stared at me silently and dangerously.

I had made up my mind, and even started tilting my head to provoke him: “Let’s just wait it out. Either you hit me…”

I recklessly continued, “Or you kill me. Otherwise, there’s no way you’ll get this necklace.”

We faced off at the edge of the snow bamboo forest, in a deadlock. His hand clenched into a fist at his side. He was very angry, but he didn’t hit me, nor did he take out the Pangu Fu. He tried to struggle:

“Even with the Pangu Fu, you can’t go back.”

“That’s not for you to worry about. I’ll find Xi Wang Mu and explain the circumstances. I might not be able to wield the Pangu Fu to split open space and time, but Xi Wang Mu certainly can. You may give me a hard time and not let me go back, but Xi Wang Mu surely won’t.”

I presented a feasible solution and invoked a powerful backer, making Xie Zhuo’s face darken even more, but he was still struggling.

“That necklace is not something you should have taken.”

“I’ve already taken it; it’s too late for those words.” I was determined to counter every move and block every approach, letting a fake, emotionless smile appear on my face as I said to him, “Xie Zhuo, today you made this old man’s life miserable, so no one gets to have a good day!

Come on! Let’s wait it out! After all, there are only a few days left until I have to undergo the heavenly tribulation! At worst, we’ll wait until Xiaxia and Xie Xuanqing meet again, resolve the ‘misunderstanding,’ reconcile, and ‘once again’ get married! By then, we’ll ‘perish together’! Neither of us will achieve our goals!”

Xie Zhuo’s face turned ashen, while my mood was unexpectedly refreshed, the best it had been since coming here.

Indeed, whether in a world hundreds of years later or hundreds of years earlier, everyone fears those who are willing to go to extremes.

I, Fu Jiuxia, feel exhilarated!

“Thump!”

Suddenly, my heart was seized by a sharp pain.

I clutched my chest, and this familiar sensation made me instinctively scan the surroundings.

No way, no way, the me from five hundred years ago isn’t coming to ruin my plans now, is she?

“Xie Xuanqing!” Sure enough, from afar came “my” call. My heart raced even more, and I instinctively wanted to look toward where the voice was coming from. But before I could turn my head, my shoulder was suddenly pushed by Xie Zhuo. A gust of wind rose from beneath my feet, and my figure flew through the thick snow bamboo forest toward the distance. Just as I was about to leave, I heard Xiaxia questioning Xie Zhuo.

“Who was that girl just now…”

It’s me! It’s you! Luckily, I didn’t see you, we didn’t make eye contact! You almost killed yourself! Do you know that, silly girl!

“Xie Xuanqing! You are hiding something…”

These were the last words I heard Xiaxia say before Xie Zhuo sent me flying.

Great, she misunderstood. Everything’s completely ruined.

Knowing myself as I do, after Xie Zhuo’s dramatic change in temperament when he knocked over the porridge Xiaxia had cooked, and after Xiaxia’s anger, frustration, and even tearful sadness subsided and she calmed down, she would wonder why “Xie Xuanqing” suddenly became so abnormal.

I think this is also the reason Xiaxia ran to the snow bamboo forest to find Xie Xuanqing.

But when Xiaxia saw another girl with “Xie Xuanqing,” it seemed… the reason for Xie Xuanqing’s “change of heart” became very clear.

After that, without Xie Zhuo having to do anything more, he was already a dead man in Xiaxia’s eyes.

Xiaxia’s task, unexpectedly completed…

All that’s left is for me to tie up loose ends with Xie Xuanqing… Since that’s the case, I’ll stick to my original plan to find Xie Xuanqing, throw the stone, and harm him.

I made up my mind and wanted to jump down from the wind Xie Zhuo had sent me on, but unexpectedly, my magical powers couldn’t counteract Xie Zhuo’s.

The wind carried me wildly, taking me straight through the snow bamboo forest, from one entrance directly to the exit on the other side.

I thought to myself, Xie Zhuo’s push was probably a bit hasty, sending me too far. But… it was also for safety’s sake?

Despite all the quarreling and commotion, at the critical moment, Xie Zhuo was protecting my little life.

I mentally awarded him back a few impression points.

Finally, not long after leaving the snow bamboo forest, the wind stopped, and I finally landed. But this place was already very close to Kunlun’s border. From here, if one continued westward and crossed over a mountain, they would be outside of Kunlun in the outer world.

The outside world beyond Kunlun was full of evil spirits. Although the current Kunlun had the protection of the current Pangu Fu supporting its barrier, evil spirits still frequently invaded the borders. Therefore, Kunlun often arranged guard soldiers to patrol. Which of those patrolling soldiers didn’t recognize me?

To avoid being seen and leaving any clues, I didn’t want to linger here.

I was about to step forward, but just as my knee bent, I felt a great force pulling at my leg, preventing me from lifting my foot.

I looked down and was instantly shocked to see that at some point, a black formation had appeared beneath my feet!

The formation shimmered with black and red light, both bizarre and sinister. The more powerful the evil spirit, the deeper the color of their magic formations.

Judging by the color and momentum of this formation, I knew this was no ordinary evil spirit’s formation!

This was still within Kunlun’s borders, but when exactly…

Without giving me time to hesitate, I raised my hand to form a seal, summoned my spiritual weapon, the immortal sword, infused it with immortal power, and the sword glowed with white light. I called out in a low voice and directly thrust the blade into the black formation, attempting to disrupt it.

But unexpectedly, the moment my blade went in, a wind suddenly rose from the formation, lifting my sword blade.

I channeled immortal power into it and probed, only to discover that this wind was very similar to the one that had just brought me here!

Could it be that what carried me here wasn’t Xie Zhuo’s power after all?

As I was guessing, a strange and hollow voice suddenly emerged from the wind: “Immortal.” He addressed me thus, having discerned my immortal power through our confrontation…

Shortly after, within the wind, a gray figure appeared faintly. I struggled to see his face clearly, but when I did, I was stunned.

This was… a Kunlun immortal?

He wore the clothes of Kunlun’s guard army, which I was all too familiar with, and his expression was just like that of an ordinary immortal soldier. Yet he eerily opened his mouth and said: “My master requests your presence.”

I was certain that this “master” of his couldn’t possibly be the main deity of my Kunlun, Xi Wang Mu…

“I refuse,” I uttered these two words, swung my sword for a strike, and the gray-clothed soldier dodged to the side. However, the formation beneath my feet blazed with light.

The black formation shot up to the sky, enveloping me entirely. Perhaps… it wasn’t that the formation flew upward, but that I was being dragged into it!

Black darkness spread from all directions, like the waves of a great sea thousands of miles beyond Kunlun, threatening to engulf me.

I suppressed my fear, calmed my mind, held my breath, recited magical incantations, and let immortal power surge through my body. I was about to exert all my strength to escape the predicament, but just before I gathered my power, I heard a light, contemptuous laugh.

It almost imperceptibly brushed past my ear, yet it aroused the greatest inexplicable fear from the depths of my heart.

It instantly made my hair stand on end, sending chills down my spine!

This was a fear I had never experienced, even when ascending through the heavenly tribulation.

I seemed to see in this silent, deep darkness… a pair of bloodred eyes…

He was behind me, pressed against my back, watching me. That sinister, damp breath, carrying disdain and contempt, entered through my ear into my brain, stimulating my spinal cord, making me… shiver with fear.

“What kind of…” I used my greatest control to suppress my terror, slightly turning my head, “Evil spirit, are you?”

My soft question was answered by a snake-like tongue, ice-cold as it licked my face.

He said, “My name is Zhu Lian.”

My lips trembled several times, and finally, controlling my facial muscles, I uttered two words—

“Who are you?”

And then this Zhu Lian… said nothing more.