The sleeping palace had a privacy barrier that Jing Ran had never activated.

But as the power fluctuations within the hall grew increasingly violent, impacting the barrier, the hidden guards sensed something unusual. They called out “Di Jun” twice but received no response.

A guard’s heart tightened. He broke through the barrier to force his way in and was instantly struck by the blood and sword energy, silently thinking: terrible!

Looking at the scene inside the hall, he was stunned momentarily before anxiously rushing forward to apprehend Xiang Haikui.

“Get out!”

“Di Jun…”

“Leave!”

The hidden guard retreated with sweaty palms: “Yes!”

Jing Ran gripped her hand tightly and said harshly, “So what if Tian Kuang has reached its peak? With your eighth-level cultivation, you’ll control it even less in the future. Your tribulation crossing and Dao merging will only become more difficult!”

Even if she stabbed him ten or eight more times, he wouldn’t die. However, as the intense pain hit him, his voice trembled uncontrollably, and his gaze toward her was filled with resentment.

Having said what needed to be said, Xiang Haikui remained silent, her eyes as deep and calm as an ancient well, meeting his gaze that was fixed intently on her.

Tian Kuang had impaled him. If he hadn’t grabbed her hand, Xiang Haikui’s transformed dragon claws would have dug into his abdomen.

But even so, most of his true energy remained focused on her heart meridian.

Her heart meridian had ruptured, and he had forcibly sealed it, because once she experienced excessive depletion, all the true energy in her body would concentrate on protecting the heart meridian, including the two strands of essence that were fusing to create life.

The fusion would terminate.

“I refuse to let you have your way!” Xiang Haikui used her rapidly increasing madness to forcibly break through his restraint, pulled out Tian Kuang, and turned her back to him.

She prepared to thrust another sword into her chest, which would simultaneously pierce his abdomen.

“Have you gone mad enough yet?!” Jing Ran locked her from behind, holding her tightly against his chest, one arm firmly restraining her shoulder, the other grabbing the sword tip that was about to pierce her heart. “I deceived you for your good!”

If he hadn’t been concerned about her feelings, why would he have gone to such trouble?!

“Calm down and listen to me. I truly had no choice! My elder brother is a madman, crazier than you! He believes his race is flawed and shouldn’t exist—he wants to eliminate the entire Heavenly Race!”

Jing Ran’s palm, gripping the sword tip, was already a bloody mess. Because most of his true energy was helping Xiang Haikui heal, his wounds bled unceasingly, the pain penetrating to his bones.

His voice trembled severely, with a hint of pleading humility. “Just this once, Haikui, help me. Afterward, I’ll give you whatever you want. I’ll marry you, make you my Empress, equal to me. If you want to return to Earth, I’ll help you merge with the Dao and take you back to live there. The time flow differs between the two realms—if we return now, only half a year will have passed. We can continue our studies, and whatever you want to do, I’ll accompany you…”

With her back pressed against his chest, Xiang Haikui couldn’t break free despite using all her strength. Listening to him, she could only laugh coldly in her heart: “It seems this child is truly important to Di Jun.”

Her struggle intensified his pain. Jing Ran spoke in a suppressed voice by her ear: “Yes! Extremely important! Yet even so, I didn’t use force, considering your feelings! And what has Yin Changli done? Besides hurting you, what else has he done? Yet you help him like this, willing to risk your life to fight me!”

“Help him? Even now, you still think I’m doing this to help him?” Her eyes grew increasingly red, almost dripping blood. Xiang Haikui frantically absorbed the madness, not caring whether her body could withstand it.

That was precisely what she wanted—for it not to withstand!

Using her was one thing, but to even plan for her child?

And to think that just because she didn’t love Yin Changli, she would tolerate her child being made into a weapon, refined into a pill, forged into a curse!

He truly didn’t see her as a person at all.

“If I were helping him, I wouldn’t have come to stab you! What I need to consider is what Han Qi wants to do!”

“Han Qi…” Jing Ran’s voice suddenly turned cold.

“Yes, Han Qi. Your entire plan was revealed to me by Han Qi—he’s the one who told me to stab you!”

There were no such coincidences—Luo Yunxiu opening the window because she felt stuffy, and her happening to see women surrounded by “fireflies” outside.

To calculate the timing so precisely wasn’t fate—it was someone skilled at manipulating fate.

Only two people could do this: Yin Changli and Han Qi.

If not Yin Changli, then it could only be Han Qi.

With the Heavenly Race and Mountain Sea Race on the verge of war, how could Han Qi not involve himself?

But Han Qi had merely reminded her in this way, letting her make her judgment.

As for what Han Qi wanted to do at this critical juncture, or what he wanted her to do, she didn’t care—she would do whatever she wanted!

The situation’s development had absolutely nothing to do with her!

From now on, she would never again be anyone’s pawn. “So this child—don’t even think about it!”

“A glimmer of hope? Your smile grew increasingly cold. “Di Jun, you think coming to my side means you’ve successfully crossed the tribulation?”

“Your tribulation has just begun! Starting with me!”

Madness surged through her body; she was like a balloon about to burst.

With a boom, the sword tip in Jing Ran’s hand suddenly vanished, and the woman he held transformed into a flood dragon.

The sudden eruption of demonic power sent him staggering back dozens of steps until his back slammed against the wall. His entire skeleton felt crushed, and he coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.

Yet he had no time to attend to himself. Guessing Xiang Haikui’s intentions, he used his divine will to transform his blood into a net, ensnaring the flood dragon!

In human form, Xiang Haikui was only at the eighth level—he could crush her with one finger. But after transforming into a flood dragon, the ninth-level power of Tian Kuang was mountain-moving, pressing against the golden-glowing blood net as she lunged toward him!

…

On the shore of the Netherworld Sea, facing Other Shore City, stood a purple-robed man.

With flowing long hair, handsome and composed in demeanor, it was Han Qi.

He held an orange in his hand, broke off a segment, removed the pith, and bit off half. Finding it tooth-achingly sour, he smiled faintly and said, “Miss Luo, you needn’t blame yourself. You merely told her the truth—she should thank you.”

“That’s right, sister. Telling her the truth without setting a trap is helping her,” Star Slave comfortingly patted Luo Yunxiu’s shoulder beside her.

Star Slave was a name given by Han Qi. Her original surname was Luo—she was Luo Yunxiu’s elder sister.

Even so, Luo Yunxiu still felt somewhat melancholy, carefully looking at the back of the great astrologer before her: “But the Immortal Lord chose to tell her now because he wants her to…”

“That girl is a wild horse no one can tame. I have no idea what she’ll do,” Han Qi said, eating his orange.

He had two purposes in doing this.

After that night at Small Jianmu, Xiang Haikui had asked him many questions about mixed blood between humans and the Mountain Sea Race, and he had answered many.

Di Jun had already awakened by then and could hear.

Some of his remarks might have inspired Di Jun.

Han Qi had considered using this method, too, but he abandoned the idea.

Too despicable.

Using a woman as a weapon was already extremely despicable.

“Even I, despicable and contemptible as I am, cannot bear to watch this,” Han Qi shook his head, utterly disdainful of Di Jun’s actions.

Yin Changli should have thought of this point too, but he had been avoiding it, naturally unwilling to consider it deeply.

People’s abilities decline in all aspects once they have a weakness.

It always puzzled Han Qi—it was merely a romantic connection, was it worth it?

But since the object was Miss Xiang, he found it quite normal.

“But…” Star Slave knew that finding it unbearable was just a minor reason. “Lord Changli is our enemy. Doesn’t this help him?”

“The situation is different now,” Han Qi said, hands behind his back.

His original idea was to prevent the Mountain Sea Race’s resurgence while obtaining that divine artifact, keeping it in his own hands so he could continue to “reason” with Di Jun.

Eliminating the Heavenly Race was unwise because, without them, suppressing the various races, the human world would face endless troubles.

The human race had not yet grown strong enough to climb to the top of the food chain like the Heavenly Race—they still needed time.

In the world where Di Jun reincarnated, humans have already climbed to the top, which will pressure Di Jun. If we let him kill Yin Changli now and destroy the divine artifact, the next to suffer will be us humans.”

Han Qi rubbed his temples, appearing quite troubled.

“So we just watch them fight?” Star Slave felt that her master had brought her to watch a show, and there must be some great drama.

“I’m waiting for someone,” Han Qi said, taking out an hourglass and glancing at it. “They should appear soon.”

…

Inner City of Other Shore City.

Yin Changli, transformed into the appearance of another race, walked along the long street hung with spider lily lanterns.

This city that never slept had no distinction between day and night; it was bustling at all hours.

He walked through the crowd, listless.

Cultivation? Impossible.

Even knowing that Di Jun’s cultivation changed daily, he couldn’t calm his mind.

When he had read those records, he truly thought it was nothing extraordinary—just a sufficiently insightful, exceptionally talented girl.

He had thought that, being so insightful, she wouldn’t cause him much trouble.

But after recovering his memories, he discovered that personal experience was entirely different from reading records.

In an instant, those brief ten years of memories, impulses he hadn’t felt for a long time, completely occupied him.

He had been constantly trying to suppress this impulse, but the more he suppressed it, the more fiercely it resisted.

A voice urged him to seek her forgiveness by any means, no matter how embarrassing—to sew his mouth shut, to serve her tea and water like a servant.

Another voice sneered that he was the leader of the Mountain Sea Race and old enough to be her ancestor—he should have some dignity.

Back and forth, his two selves continually pulled at each other. Each shifting thought was an ordeal.

His steps grew increasingly slow until he stopped.

He began to wonder why he had asked for her opinion.

What was wrong with simply telling her he couldn’t wait, that he didn’t want her to stay with Di Jun even a quarter of an hour longer, that he would take her away immediately?

Just as he was thinking this, a sharp pain struck his chest. He clutched his heart, not knowing the cause.

Suddenly, he heard a tremendous noise, followed by a dragon’s roar.

Almost everyone on the long street stopped in their tracks. People in buildings on both sides peered out, looking in the direction of the sound.

They saw a flood dragon struggling as it flew into the air, caught in a large net.

The net was made of red threads that gleamed with golden light.

Then Di Jun flew up, grasping the net in mid-air, visibly attempting to subdue the flood dragon.

The crowd was shocked to capture a flood dragon, yet Di Jun was covered in blood, his energy scattered.

There was a hole in the flood dragon’s abdomen, yet no blood flowed from it.

The human and dragon reflected in Yin Changli’s pupils. His heartbeat skipped several beats, his mind momentarily blank. When he came to his senses, he felt deep fear.

Then he transformed into an arc of black light, flying toward them.