So the “close friend who shared life and death” she mentioned was actually him.

Both coming from the Yuanshi Realm, if one ignored the “killing wife to prove the Dao” rumors that had spread even to the Upper Xu, people might actually believe they had a good relationship.

What was this drama about now?

Their surprised and uncertain gazes immediately shifted from left to right, from Jian Chou to Xie Buchen, somewhat bewildered.

White Crane Great Emperor had met Xie Buchen before and had heard other Kunwu cultivators discuss his abilities. He had no doubts about this person’s talent and cultivation, but was also puzzled by Jian Chou’s description and characterization of him.

Luye Laozu merely raised an eyebrow, laughed once, and said nothing.

Fu Jiansheng truly didn’t know the relationship between these two.

Yueying’s eyes quietly brightened, and a somewhat strange smile appeared at the corners of his lips.

“Yingxiu’s” expression, however, completely froze the moment Jian Chou spoke these words. Something unknown had overturned in his heart, making him feel severely cold.

He had originally thought he had finally understood.

But now, watching Jian Chou first battle Shangren Buyu, then borrow the Changye Scroll—not just for herself, but also to bring Xie Buchen along…

His clenched fingers in his sleeves slowly loosened.

He felt his chest was empty and hollow again.

Perhaps because half a heart had once existed there, and now it was gone, he always felt something was missing? How strange—in the past when he didn’t have that half heart, he had never felt this way.

Some murmuring voices had begun at the entrance to the Desolate Domain.

Everyone was wondering what kind of complex relationship existed between Jian Chou and Xie Buchen, or whether it was merely due to interests.

But none reached a conclusion.

Jian Chou and Xie Buchen weren’t far apart.

She held her own Changye Scroll in her left hand, while extending the scroll in her right hand toward him across the air. After a long moment without seeing him come to receive it, she didn’t withdraw it either.

Her gaze only watched him, the smile at her lips undiminished.

As if she wasn’t worried at all that he would refuse.

In this brief instant, far too many things flashed through Xie Buchen’s mind, such as the “shared life and death” that Jian Chou had mentioned earlier.

Between the two of them, couldn’t it be said they had shared life and death?

Only, while others joined hands, they fought to the death.

The first time was in the Qingfeng Hermitage hidden realm, where both were badly injured; the second time was in the Snowy Region Esoteric Sect, where they gained no benefits and were both trapped in a mustard seed dimension, forced to cooperate to escape; the third time was in the Great Hall of Kunwu’s Sea of Clouds, where if not for his calculations causing Hengxu to take all responsibility upon himself just to protect him, he might have already died under her sword.

One time after another, her progress was beyond his reach.

Now, was this the fourth time?

Ever since their last conversation sitting on the sea of clouds, Jian Chou’s words “it wasn’t me who killed you” had been echoing in his ears from time to time.

Afterward, he had also hesitated for a long time about whether to look at that River Chart.

But in the end, he had opened it.

He wasn’t someone who liked to avoid things.

Xie Buchen thought this River Chart should contain many secrets, perhaps hiding the reason for Jian Chou’s such definitive statement.

But he hadn’t found anything.

Forty-four years of contemplation, cultivating abilities that matched the heavens, yet he hadn’t discovered half a sentence related to this from the River Chart, nor had he ever pieced together traces of the River Chart being modified or erased by anyone. From beginning to end, the content was complete.

Xie Buchen stared at her, wanting to find some flaws in her expression, but at this moment, what he could strongly sense were several wisps of fragrance hidden in her sleeves.

That was a certain fragrance he had sensed before.

The old mansion in the Extreme Domain’s Wrongful Death City had definitely been visited by someone before him, and he suspected this person was precisely Jian Chou.

She had something on her that he absolutely had to retrieve.

And at this moment, he completely couldn’t judge Jian Chou’s intention in this action: did she want him to agree, or did she want him to refuse?

In this situation, overthinking was useless.

The only thing Xie Buchen could be certain of was that he needed to obtain that thing, so even if he entered the game, he might still be able to break out of it.

Therefore, after a moment of silence and watching, his gaze flowed like water across the surface of stars, gently fluctuating once, then he stepped forward and received the Changye Scroll from between Jian Chou’s fingers, saying indifferently: “It’s better to comply than to be respectful.”

Both had upright figures and were quite extraordinary. Standing close together, they actually made people feel they were a perfect match.

Though they didn’t speak much, they could understand each other’s meaning.

Even their cultivation was first-rate, and both came from the Yuanshi Realm…

Quite a few people watching had already begun to look suspicious.

But the Immortal Venerables didn’t think much more about it.

Since Jian Chou had appeared, some time had already passed. Who knew to which corner and direction of the Upper Xu this Desolate Domain had drifted? The surrounding stars were gradually dimming, darkness like tidal water slowly surging forth, gradually surrounding the Desolate Domain.

The entire Desolate Domain actually began to tremble, and even fierce winds arose!

“The time has come. Take your Changye Scrolls—let us enter the Desolate Domain first!”

Though White Crane Great Emperor felt the approaching darkness was somewhat unexpected, he reasoned that this place was the Desolate Domain, and aside from their respective companions, it was impossible for any other dangers to appear, so he only guessed that the Desolate Domain itself had undergone changes.

He took the lead, striking the ground with one palm!

“Boom!”

Snow-white spectral light rushed out from his palm, instantly breaking through the thick ground surface, lifting the weathered rock layers on the surface to reveal the interwoven textures of ten marks beneath, and those countless web-like, crisscrossing passages!

The Desolate Domain was Pangu’s corpse, and this entrance was Pangu’s palm. When the hard rock layer on the surface was lifted, these passages with dark gold condensed on their walls were the blood vessels that had once flowed with Pangu the Great Venerable’s scalding blood!

With White Crane Great Emperor leading, everyone followed after.

Figure after figure swiftly cast themselves downward.

This group of cultivators with the highest cultivation in the Upper Xu immortal realm disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Only “Yingxiu” fell to the very last.

He watched all the figures disappear into the passages formed by the dried blood vessels within Pangu’s body, still feeling somewhat dazed even at this moment.

The darkness overhead quietly surged.

At some unknown time, it seemed to have pressed closer, lower.

He raised his head to look toward them, and in a pair of eyes that were clearly Yingxiu’s serpent pupils, they had also become completely black.

Jian Chou and Xie Buchen were at the very end.

Since the Changye Scroll was given by her to Xie Buchen, and she had also invited Xie Buchen to travel together, Xie Buchen naturally stood beside her at this moment.

But just as they were about to enter, Xie Buchen suddenly noticed she had stopped.

Jian Chou looked toward “Yingxiu” who was still behind them and hadn’t entered yet. Whether or not she had recognized his identity, dark light flowed through her pupils, and she inexplicably laughed once.

“Yingxiu” was looking at the sky.

Jian Chou then also followed his action and raised her head to look at the sky. In the red mark of the line between her brows, a wisp of black qi vaguely passed through, and the darkness in the sky seemed to sense something too, surging lightly like clouds.

She seemed completely unaware of all this, only sighing with some strangeness and casualness: “This sky is darkening quite quickly.”

Xie Buchen frowned slightly and also looked toward “Yingxiu.”

“Yingxiu” looked back at him.

The serpent clan in Feixie Heaven was also considered prominent. He had an unrestrained appearance, and at this moment actually smiled at Xie Buchen, revealing two small sharp fangs. Though he seemed to have no malicious intent, when it fell in one’s eyes, it only felt sinisterly cold.

Jian Chou, however, didn’t take this scene to heart, only saying to Xie Buchen: “Just a defeated subordinate from some years ago. He cultivated external incarnation techniques to escape with his life. No need to pay attention.”

After speaking, she also leaped forward, throwing herself into the Desolate Domain.

Though Xie Buchen felt it wasn’t that simple, he didn’t contradict her, only withdrew his gaze and followed after Jian Chou to enter.

In the blink of an eye, the entrance to the Desolate Domain was completely empty.

Only above it, the gradually lowering darkness completely extinguished the surrounding stars, completely enveloping this enormous Desolate Domain, no longer allowing even a trace of light to penetrate!

Yuanshi Realm, Extreme Domain.

Since the battle at Bafang City years ago, the location of the Reincarnation Pool had been moved from Bafang City to beneath the eighteen layers of hell.

At this moment, Zhang Tang stood beside this pool.

The surroundings were empty, dark and cold, but the giant axe suspended above the Reincarnation Pool before him suddenly blazed with brilliant light.

On the other side of the eighteen layers of hell was boundless chaos, always surging, never stopping, but Zhang Tang also couldn’t distinguish at all whether it was growing or disappearing, or growing and disappearing at the same time.

Since Jian Chou left, he had often stood here.

Unfortunately, calculating that he had also stood here for quite some years, always staring at the turbulent flow on the other side of the chaos, he hadn’t seen anything at all.

Though he had the intention to explore, he had unfortunately been left with tasks by Jian Chou.

No choice.

Who told her to be the King of Equality while he was only the King of Bian City?

A higher official rank crushes people to death.

Zhang Tang kept both hands tucked in his sleeves. On his mean and indifferent face, the brilliant light reflected by the Ghost Axe rarely brought out some spirit, but unfortunately his brows and eyes still looked like a houseful of people had died.

Looking at the Ghost Axe, his heart was actually quite unhappy.

Not knowing what this realm’s turbulent flow meant, and moreover hesitating about the matter she had previously instructed, he could only think for now: “Though the time has come, if reincarnation is destroyed, the Extreme Domain will also be gone. Where should this official go to find a new official position…”