Then, he turned her around and pulled her into his embrace.

He held her very tightly as if trying to embed her into his own body.

This embrace—broad, warm, familiar as always. Feng Miaojun’s lips curved upward, endless joy rising from her heart: “You’re awake.”

That moment of sunlight shining upon them had indeed awakened her beloved.

Even now, endless fear lingered in her heart. If she had arrived a little later, if her dash into the courtyard had been even slightly slower, she would have lost him forever.

Yun Ya stroked her beautiful hair, indescribable emotions surging within his heart. Though normally silver-tongued, thousands of words now caught in his throat, finally distilled into a single sigh: “You’ve endured so much.”

Rushing into his sea of consciousness was a risk; mingling with the black shadows was a risk; awakening him from the dark phantoms’ bewitchment required putting life and death aside to fight for a glimmer of hope.

Yet she came without hesitation.

Feng Miaojun remained silent, pulling him down to bite his lips.

His response was passionate as fire, and in an instant, he took control.

Under the sunlight, they embraced and kissed, hearts filled with immense joy. Demons and monsters still snarled outside the courtyard, but no one paid them any mind.

Only when both were somewhat breathless did Feng Miaojun rest her chin on his chest, reaching up to pinch his divinely handsome face: “Repay me until I’m satisfied!”

Was she the kind of person who bestowed favors without expecting returns? Was she?

“Very well,” Yun Ya agreed without hesitation. “But first, let’s deal with these things.” He smoothly took the fine bow from her hands.

Feng Miaojun stepped back.

When he drew the bow again, another long arrow, vibrant as blood, was nocked on the string.

By now, the black clouds in the sky had shrunk, and the massive fleeing black smoke made the sky murky as if experiencing a dust storm. Feng Miaojun could see their escape direction was toward the abyss from which they had come.

Yet under the sunlight, one black cloud mass stubbornly remained, covering the entire abyss in shadow—they were buying time for their companions to escape.

That was Yun Ya’s target.

He was a professional-level archer. His bow-drawing posture was incomparably more elegant than Feng Miaojun’s—enough to attract countless admirers in the outside world. She stared at him without blinking, studying the cold light and killing intent blazing in his eyes.

He had never revealed such hatred before her.

Amidst this chaos of demons and howling ghosts, the blood-red arrow left the string and pierced the dark cloud.

“Whoosh”—the entire cloud mass suddenly caught fire, transforming instantly from dark gray to bright red.

Standing on the ground, Feng Miaojun seemed to hear the dying shrieks of the black shadows being scorched in midair.

She had to admit that Yun Ya’s arrow was many times more powerful than hers, directly using the black shadows as fuel to generate a massive explosion.

In this moment, the world’s coldness was completely driven away by the firelight. The air became scalding hot, and Feng Miaojun felt as if she were inside a giant steamer.

The cloud mass in the sky instantly dispersed. Sunlight illuminated mountains and valleys, leaving no dark corners.

The fleeing shadows, caught in sunlight, immediately sizzled with white smoke. They wailed in agony, flying faster, but unfortunately burned to nothing before they could plunge into the abyss, leaving no trace behind.

However, some shadows did escape into the abyss, sinking into the bottomless pit.

Even the intense direct sunlight could not penetrate the darkness there.

With their escape, the world grew quiet, perfectly silent.

Under the bright heavens, not a trace of gloom remained. Brilliant sunshine illuminated the red flowers, green trees, and rustic courtyard, bringing vitality to the world.

Feng Miaojun pushed open the courtyard gate and slowly walked to the cliff edge, peering down. Yun Ya pulled her back with one motion: “Be careful of these creatures making a desperate counterattack. They haven’t gone far.”

In the darkness below, shadows stirred restlessly. Feng Miaojun could even sense gazes examining her, filled with venom and curiosity.

She seemed to hear a voice whispering in her ear, filled with hatred and confusion: “Why help him!”

“What do we do now?” She was tired and leaned back against him. “We can’t just leave this broken hole unattended.” In her view, this hole was like a bug in Yun Ya’s sea of consciousness. If not repaired promptly, those shadows would eventually return. “A small hole unpatched leads to greater suffering.”

“Don’t worry.” Yun Ya pointed to the opposite side of the cliff. “They won’t step out of here again.”

Feng Miaojun looked closely and discovered that the hard ice covering the abyss’s precipice had begun to “sweat.” Its surface broke out in droplets of water, though she couldn’t tell if this was triggered by the earlier explosion or by absorbing heat from the sunlight.

More and more water droplets formed, becoming tiny streams.

Simultaneously, the ice waterfall at the top of the cliff began melting at a visible speed. First becoming increasingly transparent, then emitting crackling sounds—

The ice surface was covered with cracks, and after about ten breaths, it shattered into pieces before Feng Miaojun’s eyes!

As the massive ice chunks tumbled into the abyss, the mountain stream’s waterfall also began flowing straight down, carrying an enormous volume of water that thundered into the darkness below, creating a tremendous echo.

From frozen to vibrant took only a few dozen breaths—the massive crater witnessed the melting of ice and snow.

Feng Miaojun and Yun Ya stood hand in hand on the cliff, admiring the flowing waterfall opposite them.

The waterfall was seven li wide, its turbulent waters pushing against each other as they surged down the cliff like ten thousand galloping horses, splashing countless fragments of jade pearls.

At this moment, in perfect sunlight, a rainbow bridge formed in the misty spray, its seven colors blending.

“Truly magnificent,” Feng Miaojun murmured. This world of cold tones, originally containing only ice blocks and rocks, suddenly seemed infinitely alive because of the grand waterfall.

She pressed her forehead, trying to ease the pain there: “Do those monsters fear water?”

Was Yun Ya planning to use the waterfall’s fierce flow to seal the gap in his sea of consciousness?

“You underestimate them.” Yun Ya said softly. “Water alone cannot subdue them. Listen carefully—do you hear water sounds below?”

Below, naturally, is referred to as the abyss.

Feng Miaojun inclined her ear to listen carefully, then said seriously: “I hear it.” The waterfall’s water was so abundant that it couldn’t completely drain from the hole immediately, so the water level accumulating at the bottom of the abyss rose higher and higher, and naturally, the sound of water grew louder.

Yun Ya nodded: “It’s time.”

As soon as he spoke, the sky darkened and the sunlight disappeared.

He was the master of this sea of consciousness. When not invaded by evil spirits, he controlled everything here—wind came at his command, rain fell at his bidding.

Feng Miaojun looked up to see night falling—where was the sun now? Along with the darkness came bone-chilling cold.