“To hell with destiny.” She was unaware of her tears as she grabbed his wrist, desperately trying to push the heart back into his chest cavity. Yun Ya was a powerful demon; even without his heart, he wouldn’t necessarily die immediately. “Put it back!”

Her mind was in chaos, her usual calm intelligence long abandoned, thinking only that if she could put his heart back now, perhaps there was still time.

“If I put it back, I’ll… be devoured by the Heavenly Demon.” The situation in his sea of consciousness was at a critical point. If he hadn’t removed his heart, the Heavenly Demon would have already completely invaded his mind and taken over his body; even if he put it back now, he couldn’t escape that fate.

Yet Yun Ya found strength from somewhere, gripping her hand firmly: “Heavens bear witness, I offer my heart as proof, to dissolve the life and death bond with Changle…”

Either way meant death, and he had long accepted this, but he couldn’t drag her down with him.

Before he could utter the word “contract,” Feng Miaojun covered his mouth.

“I won’t dissolve it, I won’t!” Her voice was harsh, though tears streamed down her face. The only way to remove the Ao Turtle mark was for one party to willingly give their life in exchange.

A life for a life, and the contract would dissolve itself.

For over ten years she had carried this contract, and even after returning from the Dream Water City with knowledge of the Divine Script, she still couldn’t break the mark. The reason was simple: how could she, possessed by the Heavenly Demon’s obsession, willingly give her life to Yun Ya?

But he could do it.

So that was why he had bargained with both the Yan King and the Heavenly Demon—to bring her back whole. He knew that carving out his heart to summon the Boundary God was his mission, yet he still thought of dissolving the life-sharing contract so she could live on.

During their time apart, how much had he secretly planned?

Feng Miaojun couldn’t let him finish the final prayer. The Ao Turtle mark allowed them to share spiritual power and life force. Now that Yun Ya had lost his heart, the contract would forcibly draw life energy from her to sustain him. If understood in reverse, this contract meant that as long as she lived, he wouldn’t die.

However, once the contract was dissolved, without her life force supplying him, Yun Ya would instantly wither away.

Even though he was a powerful demon, he couldn’t survive without a heart.

Realizing this, the panic and grief that surged up within her exceeded even the pain of having her heart carved out.

Despite her usual resourcefulness, her mind was now completely blank, with only one unbreakable thought: this fool absolutely could not die!

Without his heart, he couldn’t live; yet even if the heart were put back, the Heavenly Demon would devour his consciousness and the true Yun Ya would still be gone.

Both paths led to death. What could be done?

Yun Ya stared at her without blinking, unwilling to miss even a moment of looking at her. With his mouth covered, he couldn’t complete the final words of the prayer, so the life-and-death contract naturally remained unbroken.

How strange—though his entire heart was gone, he didn’t feel an emptiness in his chest.

This girl, had she made up her mind to accompany him to the end?

As thousands of thoughts raced through Feng Miaojun’s mind, the Yan King grew increasingly furious nearby. The altar had been restored, the stone heart had been removed—he was just one step away from reopening the Heavenly Realm!

All he needed was to take the stone heart and place it on the altar to succeed. Yet the New Xia Queen had gone mad.

At this crucial moment when every second counted, Female Wa clung to him like a leech. The Yan King, having worked with her for many years, knew this monster had skin of bronze and bones of iron—mortal techniques were nearly useless against her. She couldn’t defeat him, but by sacrificing herself to tangle with him, she prevented him from breaking free.

The Yan King could wait no longer. Leaving himself wide open, he turned and lunged toward Yun Ya. Female Wa’s claws stabbed into his ribs, all five sharp nails piercing flesh and even damaging internal organs.

The Yan King roared in pain but finally reached the embracing couple, reaching out to snatch the heart.

Feng Miaojun’s mind was somewhat dazed, but she regarded what was in Yun Ya’s hand as more important than life itself. Seeing the Yan King make his move, she instinctively drew out the Star Sky Cone and stabbed him.

Though lacking strength, her angle was extremely tricky, with the cone’s tip emitting a red glow.

During the time she had been possessed by the Heavenly Demon’s obsession, the Star Sky Cone had finally developed its final attribute:

Soul Poison.

Once it struck its designated target, the Star Sky Cone could release Soul Poison. This directly affected the opponent’s soul—manifesting externally as drowsiness at first, then mental confusion, and finally eternal sleep.

Although it could only be used once every thirty-six hours, and its effect weakened against those with stronger souls, it was still a killing technique that even the Heavenly Demon herself was satisfied with.

The Yan King naturally didn’t know this, but instinctively sensed that the red glow was extremely vicious, as if touching it would lead to irreversible doom. Despite his urgency, he restrained himself and dodged away.

Female Wa followed him like a shadow.

The Yan Kingdom cultivators desperately tried to entangle her, but they could only buy the Yan King a few more moments.

Worst of all, he could see that heart beating slower and slower!

Once it stopped beating, then…

Having forced back the Yan King, Feng Miaojun felt her left hand grow cold as Yun Ya moved her hand away from his lips and struggled to speak a few words: “Give it to him, summon the Boundary God.”

Long ago, he had known his fate, known that such a day would eventually come.

He was prepared.

But now was not the time for sentimentality. Since An’an refused to dissolve their life-and-death contract, he had to find every possible way to ensure her survival as well.

Yun Ya’s face was ashen, yet his gaze remained calm as water, showing not a hint of fear. Meeting his eyes, Feng Miaojun was unconsciously influenced. With her beloved in mortal danger, her heart had been tormented from two sides. Yet at the peak of her anxiety, a moment of clarity flashed through her mind.

That’s right, the Boundary God!

The Boundary God was also a deity, possessing power not of this world. If it could be successfully summoned, might it save Yun Ya’s life?

This thought was like a ray of light piercing through the abyss—though faint, it was enough to penetrate the gloom.

Rationality fully returned, and Feng Miaojun’s hand paused. The Yan King seized the opportunity, taking out the fully repaired altar from his storage ring and holding it out. Yun Ya’s hand loosened, and the heart, along with the stone heart, fell into it.

The two moved efficiently, completing the action in one smooth motion.

The two treasures needed to summon the Boundary God were finally brought together! Even with the Yan King’s composure, he stepped back several paces, his heart pounding.

The fighting around them had stopped at some point, and all eyes were focused on this scene.

To witness the reopening of the Heavenly Realm after a thousand years was a tremendous honor. Which of the cultivators present would willingly miss it?

Feng Miaojun ignored everyone else and slowly sat down beside Yun Ya.

She had almost no strength left to stand, yet she still glared at him: “Don’t you dare dissolve the contract, you hear me?!”

“…Alright.” Yun Ya lowered his eyes to look at their fingers intertwined tightly together and softly agreed, while secretly making up his mind to dissolve the contract before the final moment came so that she could live on.