Xuan Yi dreamed that she found herself standing in an endless wasteland. The imperial mulberry tree from the mortal realm stood abruptly opposite her, its leaves gently swaying in the wind, producing a clear rustling sound.

Footsteps approached from behind. She turned around to see the white-robed divine lord walking toward her. She had been deliberately trying not to think about him, yet he had invaded her dreams.

Then let him come and accompany her.

Xuan Yi reached out her hand toward him. This place was their three thousand landscapes, the ends of the earth.

The white-robed divine lord grasped her hand. She only felt a flash of cold light before her eyes as the azure-blue Chun Jun instantly pierced through her body. Searing pain and terror, accompanied by fresh blood, overflowed from her mouth and flowed down her neck.

Xuan Yi jolted awake with a start. Outside the window, the sky had already brightened considerably. Sweat had soaked through her silk garments. She remained in a daze for a long time, unable to regain her composure.

…In the end, she had still dreamed.

After bathing, she lay on the soft couch in the courtyard to dry her hair, placing her hand before her eyes and staring at it. Even if she had dreamed of herself turning into black ash, it wouldn’t have shocked her this much. What did this dream actually mean? Would she perish or not perish? Why was it Fucang wielding Chun Jun to kill her?

Honestly speaking, if it had been Shao Yi stabbing her with that feather blade of his, she would have found it quite reasonable.

The attending female immortals suddenly retreated in unison and bowed. In the next moment, Shao Yi’s voice rang out: “Little loach, it’s time to change clothes.”

Xuan Yi turned over and sat up, only to see him walking toward her, cradling that crimson battle general’s outfit of hers in his hands. Without a word, she took the garments and was about to head back to Yuanzhan Hall when Shao Yi suddenly steadied her shoulder, lowering his head to examine her complexion carefully: “You’ve slept for two days straight, so why do you look even more listless?”

She was about to go meet her death—couldn’t he let her be dejected for a bit?

Xuan Yi tried to push his hand away, but he remained completely unmoved, asking in a low voice: “Did a prophetic dream descend upon you?”

She frowned: “Let go.”

Shao Yi stared at her for a long while before slowly releasing his hand. She swiftly walked into Yuanzhan Hall, and before long emerged wearing the crimson battle general’s outfit. The golden circlet in her hair gleamed brilliantly, and her pale complexion appeared much more vibrant thanks to these vivid, striking colors.

“Let’s eat first.”

He made a gesture, and the female immortals immediately laid out a long table, serving up delicacies and delectable dishes. They also deliberately placed a food box before Xuan Yi containing two rows of ice lotus snow cakes.

Might as well be a well-fed ghost.

Xuan Yi thought pessimistically while eating those two rows of tea cakes until they were completely gone, and incidentally drank more than half a pot of Nine-Times Return to Origin Tea.

When they broke through the cloud realm to go outside, the Qingyang Clan’s colorful carriage was already waiting there. The two enormous vermillion phoenixes pulling the carriage affectionately nuzzled their heads against Shao Yi.

Xuan Yi stood frozen for a moment, then suddenly said: “I want to see Qing Yan and my father again.”

Shao Yi said softly: “They’re already in the carriage.”

She hurried toward the carriage. The divine servants immediately opened the carriage door respectfully, and indeed Zhongshan Dijun and Qing Yan had been placed on the ivory beds inside the carriage compartment. She first rushed toward Qing Yan, only to see that he too had his brows tightly furrowed, one hand clutching his chest in a death grip. She said grimly: “…You planted heart feathers in him too?”

Were they planning that if she couldn’t do it, Qing Yan would go? And if Qing Yan couldn’t do it, then her father would go?

Shao Yi walked over and swept her up into the carriage in one motion, saying indifferently: “You surely wouldn’t want them to witness your entry into the Sea of离恨 Regret, would you? I’m not too keen on it either. If Xiaolong Jun were to wake up, he would inevitably get in the way. The heart feathers were planted by my father. Rest assured, whether this matter succeeds or not, I will send them back to Zhongshan and retrieve the heart feathers.”

Could she trust him?!

“The Sea of离恨 Regret is different from before. It now actively devours divine beings. Battle generals who attempted to enter and investigate the situation—not a single one could come out. They all perished inside. As I’ve said, only the Zhuyin Clan can emerge unscathed. If you cannot succeed, then no one under heaven will be able to. Your father and elder brother are not suitable. I merely wish to deal with the matter of the Sea of离恨 Regret and don’t want to create complications by dealing with the Zhuyin Clan.”

Xuan Yi kept her face impassive and said nothing. The carriage was slowly pulled into motion, gradually rising higher. Inside the carriage compartment, only her father’s and Qing Yan’s heavy breathing rose and fell repeatedly.

“Why must it be me?” When the carriage swept past the blazing white tower palaces, she finally couldn’t help but ask.

In terms of cultivation level, she was merely thirty-three thousand years old. No matter how talented she was, she still fell far short of Zhongshan Dijun, and there was a gap between her and Qing Yan as well. Yet he only fixated on her relentlessly. Although this was actually quite good, this was the one thing she couldn’t understand.

Shao Yi was acting uncharacteristically today, his face devoid of his usual smile. With arms crossed, sitting on the soft cushion and leaning against the carriage compartment, he merely said: “No need to underestimate yourself. You’re much stronger than you think. Moreover, you’re the only one with my three heart feathers in your body.”

Did having three heart feathers mean that corpse would recognize her and just lie down obediently to let her freeze it?

Shao Yi suddenly exhaled, gripped both her shoulders with his hands, and said seriously: “Listen carefully. No matter what you encounter inside, just fight with all your might. It doesn’t matter even if you’re on the verge of perishing. With my three heart feathers, you have three lives.”

Xuan Yi finally understood a hint of the flavor: “You planted so many heart feathers in me just for this?”

She had always believed that he refused to sever the heart feather bonds for today’s scheme, to threaten and manipulate the Zhuyin Clan’s family of three by turning them this way and that. It turned out there was this purpose as well. Indeed, when he saved her back then at twenty thousand years old, he only had two heart feathers, and gave them both to her. To keep her alive, he couldn’t retrieve the heart feathers to plant them in Qing Yan or her father. The Qingyang Clan’s emperor who planted heart feathers in her father was also physically weak and probably couldn’t withstand the journey to the Sea of離恨 Regret. Choosing and choosing, in the end only she remained—the one who would gain a human body in two hundred years. At least she could still comfort herself with the excuse of having talent.

Shao Yi didn’t speak. The surroundings suddenly turned fiery red. Xuan Yi looked out the window in astonishment, only then realizing that those two vermillion phoenixes were actually flying swiftly into the volcano, plunging headfirst into the blazing white lava. In the blink of an eye, both the lava and volcano vanished, and the carriage compartment plunged into complete darkness.

She had only frozen for an instant when she felt those hands gripping her shoulders slide down her back, forcefully pulling her into an embrace. Immediately after, a pair of lips hot as flames descended, entangling with hers in an almost fierce manner—completely different from Shao Yi’s usual frivolous and gentle style. Her spine felt as if it would be snapped by him.

Raging flames collided and ground against frigid ice. Only now did he truly resemble a ball of fire, violent and straightforward in this pitch-black, inexplicable darkness where one couldn’t see their own hand.

Gradually, faint threads of weak light began to emerge outside the carriage window. Shao Yi suddenly released Xuan Yi, his body pressed against by several ice blades, yet he paid them no mind. His voice was hoarse and fierce: “If you do perish, that would be good too. That way I could remember you in my heart for a lifetime.”

She was of the Zhuyin Clan, the one existence that anyone in the world could be but she alone could not be, the divine maiden he had personally sent down the path of annihilation.

But it turned out these restraints were utterly useless.

However, affection was too ethereal and intangible a thing—love today, hate tomorrow, and perhaps the day after, nothing at all would remain. Since feelings would always disappear, since she had already received prophetic dreams, since it was he who personally handed her the executioner’s blade, then let her perish at this best possible moment.

Light began to brighten. The carriage had entered another ancient passageway. Xuan Yi retreated two steps backward and withdrew her ice blades. She said nothing, only leaned against the carriage compartment, quietly watching the ribbon-like fragments of divine realm earth outside.

Shao Yi also said nothing more, still with arms crossed, long lashes lowered, gazing elegantly and calmly at the carved patterns on the carriage window, as if everything in the darkness just moments ago had been nothing but an illusion.

Finally, the carriage descended in the lower realm at a location in the forest where turbid energy was exceptionally thick.

“Look after them well.” Shao Yi instructed the divine officials to watch over the two Zhuyin Clan members in the carriage, while also coldly admonishing Xuan Yi: “Come with me. There’s a secret passage I opened when I was in the Wuchen Division that leads to the Sea of離恨 Regret.”

Xuan Yi turned her head to look into the carriage one last time. Those two usually arrogant and invincible father and elder brother of hers were now both soft as cotton. Who knew how they would lose their minds after waking up.

No matter what, just don’t cry. Tell Qi Nan not to cry either—when he cried, his face would swell up, looking terribly ugly.

Withdrawing her gaze, Xuan Yi followed behind Shao Yi toward the secret passage without looking back.