"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore."
Ji Tongzhou released her, clutching his wound in pain. Zhen Yunzi had nearly turned him into a pincushion. Wounds inflicted by a Divine Weapon could only be superficially healed by the Healing net. The moment he moved, his injuries split open again, leaving his face pale from the agony.
He collapsed onto his back and sighed, "Hey, support over there, can you heal or not?"
At this rate, he’d either bleed to death or die from the pain first. The pampered prince couldn’t endure suffering and glared at her fiercely.
Li Fei sat cross-legged, closing her eyes to focus, straining to channel the Spiritual energy within her. After a long while, wisps of energy finally obeyed her command. The gentle white glow of the Jade Snow Technique appeared in her palms, softly drifting into his wounds.
His gaze remained fixed on her face, but she pretended not to notice, concentrating solely on healing.
The Horn of the Rhinoceros was brimming with Spiritual energy, and soon, the remnants of cold poison and injuries in Ji Tongzhou’s body were completely healed. She had no idea what was happening in the cave—Lei Xiuyuan and the others were still there, and Qin Yangling was bound to cause trouble. Anxiety gnawed at her, and despite her own severe internal injuries, she stood up to leave.
Ji Tongzhou suddenly grabbed her, studying her for a moment before wiping her face with his sleeve. "You're covered in blood."
His sleeve wasn’t much cleaner, only smearing the blood further. Li Fei couldn’t care less about such details, dodging impatiently. "Enough, enough! Let’s hurry back!"
Abruptly, Lei Xiuyuan’s cool voice sounded behind them. "Zhen Yunzi is dead?"
Li Fei turned in delighted surprise to see him standing far off by the cliff, observing Zhen Yunzi’s mutilated, decapitated corpse. After a pause, he lifted his gaze to them, lingering briefly on her arm—Ji Tongzhou was still holding her, his sleeve pressed to her face, the two standing uncomfortably close.
Lei Xiuyuan averted his eyes, stepping forward to crouch beside Zhen Yunzi’s body. The cut on his neck was swift and precise, a single lethal strike. There were also stab wounds on his chest, as though he’d been killed without any resistance. Nearby lay a snow-white Mystic Sword, faint traces of Spiritual energy swirling around it. Did she kill him?
Li Fei rushed over urgently. "Are you alright? What about Qin Yangling? Where’s Ge Lin and the others?"
She grabbed his wrist, about to channel Spiritual energy to check.
Lei Xiuyuan caught her hand, then gently released it, murmuring, "They’re fine. Just worry about yourself."
Li Fei was taken aback, but before she could speak, Baili Gelin’s voice called out from afar. After waking up, the three of them had found the cave floor strewn with blood and ice, with Li Fei, Lei Xiuyuan, and Ji Tongzhou missing—Qin Yangling nowhere in sight. Strangely, their injuries and the cold poison had already been healed. They’d hurried out to search, guided by the dragonfly demon, winding through the terrain for hours before arriving here.
At the sight of Zhen Yunzi’s headless corpse, Baili Gelin’s voice cracked in shock. "He’s dead?! Who killed him?"
Who could possibly have the power to slay a Celestial—and behead him at that?
Li Fei gave a bitter laugh. "I did. Finally, this cursed fate is over."At these words, even Baili Changyue was startled. All three of them stared at Li Fei with wide eyes. Li Fei could still feel the intense pain in her body, and her spiritual energy was fluctuating erratically. She could sense the blockage in her abdomen—Zhen Yunzi had inflicted severe internal injuries on her. Fortunately, Ri Yan didn’t seem to have been disturbed. He was in a critical phase of breaking the seal and must not be affected by this.
Clutching her abdomen, she endured the pain and said, “This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s leave first. We’ll discuss it in detail later.”
Her gaze swept around and suddenly landed on the massive boulder at the cliff’s edge. She recalled Zhen Yunzi mentioning that Qing Cheng Xian Ren and Ri Yan had left inscriptions here. She knew Ri Yan and Qing Cheng Xian Ren must have had a deep connection, but she never imagined they had traveled overseas together. Subconsciously, she walked toward the boulder. Just as she caught a glimpse of the markings, she felt herself being lifted—Lei Xiuyuan had scooped her up and taken flight.
“Leaving the body here will cause trouble,” he said coolly. “Let’s burn it.”
Li Fei’s attention was entirely captured by the carvings on the boulder. She hadn’t even gotten a clear look… but that brief glance at the markings had seemed oddly familiar…
In an instant, towering black flames engulfed the entire cliff, devouring both Zhen Yunzi’s corpse and the boulder. Li Fei instinctively tried to move closer, but Lei Xiuyuan held her tightly and murmured, “Don’t move recklessly.”
“The words on the boulder—” she murmured, dazed.
Lei Xiuyuan flicked his hand, gathering and crushing several wisps of spiritual energy. “It’s already burned. Let’s go.”
Li Fei leaned against him in a daze, her heartbeat erratic, her thoughts flickering between clarity and confusion. Something felt off, but she couldn’t pinpoint what. His grip on her shoulder was so tight it almost hurt. When she shifted slightly, he loosened his hold, pressing his palm against her cheek and guiding her to rest against his chest.
Their six-year pact had been fraught with hardship and misfortune. The sudden encounter with Qin Yangling and Zhen Yunzi had nearly spelled their doom, yet in the end, Li Fei had killed Zhen Yunzi, and Qin Yangling had somehow died—his body nowhere to be found. The long-standing threat had been eliminated in the blink of an eye, yet the circumstances were so baffling that none of them could fully process it.
Ye Ye and Baili Changyue had suffered the most. Thankfully, Changyue had emerged unscathed. The moment their group of six landed in the outer town of the East Sea Myriad Immortals Assembly, Ye Ye pulled her into a tight embrace and refused to let go.
No one wanted to disturb them at such a time. With a smile, Baili Gelin led the others into a small courtyard. “The Ocean Sect isn’t like your Mountain Sect. Aside from cultivation, we disciples usually live in the city. This is where I stay—make yourselves at home.”
After the life-and-death battle they had just endured, everyone was mentally drained. Moreover, Ye Ye and Changyue had faced a harrowing separation—they surely had much to discuss. The matter of Zhen Yunzi would have to wait for another time.
Li Fei’s internal injuries were far worse than expected. She couldn’t even release spiritual energy as freely as before. Healing with the Jade Snow Technique took a full day, and if not for the Horn of the Rhinoceros now brimming with spiritual energy, the process would have dragged on even longer. The moment she finally recovered, she collapsed onto the table without a sound and fell asleep.She had no idea how long she slept when she suddenly felt someone lightly brushing her cheek with their fingers. Li Fei was startled awake, her eyes fluttering open in confusion, only to realize she had somehow been carried to bed and tucked under the covers.
At her slight movement, Lei Xiuyuan called her name softly, "Li Fei."
"Hmm?" she murmured drowsily in response.
He didn’t say anything more, his hand trailing down from her cheek to hook around her waist.
"Keep your promise to me," he said, his gaze fixed on her. "Make me believe you."
Li Fei stared at him in bewilderment—what was he referring to?
"You…" she began faintly, but he suddenly covered her mouth, silencing her.
Dazed, she drifted off again, only to wake abruptly much later. Lei Xiuyuan was pressed against her back, seemingly deep in sleep. She slowly turned over, studying his peaceful face. Lei Xiuyuan rarely let her see him completely vulnerable like this—utterly defenseless, almost childlike.
She gently took a lock of his long hair, twirling it between her fingers as she pondered his earlier words.
Lost in thought, she suddenly heard Baili Gelin’s voice outside the window. Though deliberately hushed, her anger was unmistakable: "My sister almost died! Take this damn necklace off me!"
Soon, a familiar man’s voice murmured something inaudible. Gelin let out a cold laugh. "I won’t trust you again—you brought this on yourself. Fine, consider this me begging you. Take this chain off, will you?"
The man said something else, followed by a long silence. After a while, Gelin spoke softly, "Can what we have even be called mutual affection? You never really trusted me either, did you? You’re just unwilling to let go. From the start, you only cared about yourself, and I only cared about myself. This ridiculous relationship should end."
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