Not long after Su Su emerged, Xiao Lin, Ye Bingshang, and Pang Yi Zhi also came out one after another.
Just like Su Su, the moment Prajna Floating Life ended, everyone regained their own consciousness, leaving them all with rather unpleasant expressions.
Pang Yi Zhi looked at Su Su, his lips moving slightly, but he couldn't utter a word.
In Sang You's memories, Sang Jiu had saved him. He went to Qianxi River and became the new King of the Clams, while his sister alone shouldered the hatred of the Clam Tribe, her soul scattered.
He later rushed to Ming Ye's cave dwelling, but was a step too late—not only was Sang Jiu gone, but even Ming Ye had disappeared.
Xiao Lin pressed his lips tightly together. At this moment, his feelings were the most complex. As Shao Ju, he had fallen for the Conch Princess in his memories.
Shao Ju's feelings were not intense, like a jar of aged wine—lingering over time, yet never fading. Besides Xiao Lin, no one else in the world understood his heart.
Ye Bingshang's face was pale. She wasn't foolish and naturally understood that Tian Huan in Prajna Floating Life had done nothing good.
Her body swayed slightly, and Xiao Lin steadied her.
Tears welled in Ye Bingshang's eyes as she whispered, "Your Highness."
Xiao Lin sighed and patted her back comfortingly. "It's alright now."
Ye Bingshang shook her head. She walked up to Su Su and bowed humbly. "Third Sister, it was my fault. In Prajna Floating Life, I couldn't control Tian Huan's actions either. Can you forgive me, Third Sister?"
At these words, everyone turned to look at Su Su.
Seeing this face superimposed with Tian Huan's was truly infuriating. Prajna Floating Life was too immersive, making it very difficult for Su Su to show her a pleasant expression.
Su Su eyed Ye Bingshang suspiciously.
Ye Bingshang appeared deeply remorseful. Her graceful and sincere apology surprised not only Su Su but even the curved jade.
The curved jade murmured, "Could it be that I guessed wrong?"
Regardless of what Tian Huan had done, Ye Bingshang was right about one thing—she truly wasn't Tian Huan, and Su Su had no reason to blame her.
With everyone watching, Su Su said calmly, "Elder Sister, you jest. Of course I won't blame you."
Ye Bingshang glanced at her. Seeing that she didn't go mad like Sang Jiu, screaming and making a scene in front of everyone, or try to strangle her, her gaze grew somewhat subtle.
Third Sister... was truly growing up.
Xiao Lin sighed softly, realizing that he wasn't Shao Ju, and Su Su wasn't Sang Jiu.
He averted his gaze and took Ye Bingshang's hand. Her hand was icy cold, so Xiao Lin channeled some internal energy into her.
Ye Bingshang looked up at him. Seeing that Xiao Lin wasn't overly concerned with Su Su, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Now she didn't dare forcibly retrieve the heart protecting scale, so she suppressed her worries and stood quietly by Xiao Lin's side.
Nian Bai Yu frowned deeply. "Why have all of you come out, but His Majesty hasn't?"
Loyal and devoted, he grew extremely anxious at this situation.
Uncle Ji deliberately provoked him, gloating as he said, "Perhaps he's already dead in Prajna Floating Life. Evil-doers are doomed to destruction."
Nian Bai Yu shot him a cold glare and reached for his blade.
Ye Chu Feng stepped forward, stopping Nian Bai Yu. "The jade mirror and the heart protecting scale are still in the air. His Majesty will be fine."
Uncle Ji had already exaggeratedly hidden behind Xiao Lin. Nian Bai Yu snorted and looked up at the jade mirror in the sky.
The curved jade asked, "Little master, what was it you threw to Ming Ye when you left? Was it everything Sang Jiu had done for him in the past?"
Su Su looked up at the radiant heart protecting scale and shook her head.She thought for a moment and said, "It's the original heart of a fool."
Success or failure would depend on that pearl.
Ming Ye's memories were the longest.
After Sang Jiu's death, no one could find him. Some said he had transcended the Tribulation Thunder and ascended. Others said he had perished in the Tribulation Thunder.
The demoness Sang Jiu was gradually forgotten by all, yet the one who remembered her in the end was the person who had once despised her the most.
Ming Ye did not break down. On the contrary, from that day on, he remained remarkably calm.
He picked up the shattered clam shell and the white pearl, carrying them with him as he sought out masters far and wide.
If Sang Jiu could cultivate young clams anew, perhaps he could also revive Sang Jiu.
Tantai Jin wanted the flood dragon, so he followed him.
However, the ancient great powers had long vanished, and among the most formidable beings left between heaven and earth, Ming Ye was one of them. If even he could not save Sang Jiu, how could he expect others to do so?
He wandered for many years, the divine mark on his forehead long gone. Relying on tens of thousands of years of cultivation, he traversed the Three Realms with the small clam shell.
After visiting everyone he could find, they all shook their heads at him.
Then one day, Ming Ye encountered an aged immortal on the verge of death.
The immortal sat beneath a tree, waiting to pass away.
The rain fell heavily. Ming Ye approached silently and created a thatched shelter for the immortal.
The immortal opened his eyes, looked at him, then at the shattered clam shell in his arms.
"I have a way to help you mend it."
Having been in despair for so long, Ming Ye had long given up hope. His lips trembled as he asked, "What must I do?"
The immortal said, "All things in creation oppose and complement each other. First, you must understand why her clam shell shattered. Clam demons, when cultivating, first forge their shells to protect themselves. But the clam demon in your hands—her shell was dissolved and weakened by Ruoshui, which is why it ultimately fell apart. Since it was caused by Ruoshui, to restore it, you must find Xirang to counteract the effects of Ruoshui."
The immortal shook his head and said, "However, even if the clam shell is restored, she will not return. Her soul is scattered—pitiful and tragic."
Ming Ye's fingers trembled violently. Ruoshui?
How could Sang Jiu, a clam demon, have entered Ruoshui? No one understood better than he did.
He had thought he had coincidentally emerged from Ruoshui and Sang Jiu happened to pick him up. But in truth, it was Sang Jiu who had jumped into the lifeless Ruoshui, searching for him while weeping.
How much pain must she have endured when her shell dissolved?
Tantai Jin sat cross-legged in the rain, watching that waste of a man turn deathly pale.
He said impatiently, "How much longer will you stay here? Since you can no longer find her, just give up. If you are willing, the power and authority in this world are enough for you to do as you please."
Ming Ye ignored him and stood up to leave.
Fortunately, the Prajna Floating Life was on the verge of collapse, and time flowed swiftly.
Tantai Jin watched Ming Ye coldly. In the first ten years, that man found Xirang and pieced together the shattered clam shell. For the first time, Tantai Jin saw the aloof Immortal Lord smile. His expression softened as he gently stroked the small clam shell. On clear days, he even took her out to bask in the sun.
As if she had never died.
He sought mermaid silk to make clothes for her. He collected exquisite jades, as if trying to make up for a hundred years of time.
Talking to himself, he appeared both ridiculous and desolate.
Not long after, when he saw young clams born in the river, carrying empty little shells, he went to Qianxi.
The Qianxi River was thriving. Ming Ye remained silent for a long time, often visiting when Sang You was unaware. He cleaned the river, dredged its channels, and helped the young clams awaken their consciousness.
He tirelessly performed these tasks, never knowing how many years he spent doing so.Later, when all the river clams Sang Jiu had once raised gained sentience and began cultivating, he found himself with nowhere to go again. Holding the small clam shell, he wanted to take her home to see.
The water of the Mohe River was filthy and cold.
Ming Ye dove into the Mohe River and saw the Clam King's Palace in ruins. The river's undercurrents surged violently.
The Immortal Lord, who once wore pristine white robes untouched by dust, now did not mind the filth. He lifted the collapsed stone pillars and found Sang Jiu's room.
Ming Ye picked up many of her childhood toys and various beautiful corals. Seeing these, his expression softened.
Until he found the pearls left behind in the Clam King's Palace and witnessed scenes from a century ago.
He saw how the Conch Princess had saved him. After he swallowed the Divine Core, she knelt before the stele, kowtowing to the King of the Clams again and again.
He saw her joyfully leaving the Clam King's Palace for her wedding, her eyes filled with deep anxiety and anticipation.
Yet only a minor immortal official came to fetch her.
The minor official shrilly announced, "The True Lord has said, since Princess Sang Jiu insists on marrying him, the Immortal Consort must walk to Shangqing on her own."
He saw her face turn pale and humiliated, but she bowed and, without excessive sorrow, walked toward Shangqing alone.
Her figure gradually disappeared, and the pearl in his hand fell silent once more.
The rest of the story, he already knew.
He knew how she had spent a century in loneliness and humiliation.
Ming Ye's eyes reddened, and he wept in anguish.
Tantai Jin's eyes flickered, knowing that after Ming Ye learned the truth, his obsession had likely taken root deep in his bones. He said, "Since you cannot find her in the immortal realm, why not turn to demonic cultivation? Search the highest heavens and the deepest hells—how do you know she isn't waiting for you among the Demonic Beasts?"
Watching as Ming Ye's pitch-black pupils slowly turned red because of his words.
Tantai Jin walked over. "Yes, that's right. Those immortals humiliated her, and when you were an Immortal Lord, you always neglected her. She must despise immortality, which is why she doesn't want to return."
He watched with satisfaction as Ming Ye's lips turned black and his eyes grew cold.
Tantai Jin curved his lips. "Ye Xi Wu, wait until I get out to deal with you. This Prajna Floating Life, in the end, I have won."
As soon as he finished speaking, a small pearl fell from Ming Ye's sleeve.
The pearl was not dazzling; it was even somewhat dull.
Ming Ye instinctively caught it.
It was the pearl from Sang Jiu's neck.
The Conch Princess liked to use pearls to preserve memories. So, what was stored in this pearl?
Ming Ye's red, cold eyes stared at it blankly.
The pearl spun gently in his palm. The final gift the Conch Princess left him clearly appeared in the air—
It was from many years ago, the clear eyes of a young girl.
She gazed in awe at the sky.
Reflected in her eyes were the blue sky and white clouds, and finally, gradually becoming gentle and clear, the figure of a man in white armor.
She lay by the shore, staring unblinkingly at him, her eyes so bright, her red lips unconsciously curving into a smile.
Ming Ye reached out his hand, tears welling in his eyes once more. But just as he touched her, Sang Jiu seemed to sense it and turned back with a smile.
Ming Ye was stunned for a long moment, then smiled gently back at her. The red in his eyes faded, replaced by clarity and determination.
The pearl turned to dust.
Tantai Jin frowned, a sense of foreboding washing over him.
Just as he was about to step forward, the Prajna Floating Life began to tremble violently, truly on the verge of shattering.
Tantai Jin's pupils contracted as he coldly glared at Ming Ye.
But Ming Ye would no longer allow him to remain in the Prajna Floating Life. The next moment, he pushed Tantai Jin out.Nian Bai Yu hurried forward. "Your Majesty, are you alright?"
Tantai Jin wiped the blood from his face—this bloodstain was left when Su Su was dealing with the Taoist earlier.
His gaze was gloomy as he glanced at Su Su. Seeing him, Su Su couldn't help feeling somewhat awkward. After all, now that they had met face to face, neither could help recalling the scene behind the gauze curtain.
She hadn't meant to touch him there—it wasn't like she succeeded, and she was quite frustrated about it too. She quietly hid her hands behind her back, thinking, "Dirty, dirty, dirty..."
She subtly shifted her steps, half of her small face hidden behind Uncle Ji who stood beside her.
Tantai Jin coldly averted his eyes, frowning as he looked up at the two objects contending in the air.
This time, it was no longer an even match.
The jade mirror in the air suddenly shattered. Xiao Lin and the others were overjoyed—the immortal Flood Dragon had ultimately chosen not to descend into demonhood!
The heart protecting scale emitted waves of white light, and the lingering resentment coiling around the Flood Dragon reluctantly dissipated. The heart protecting scale flew back into Ye Bingshang's hands. Clutching it tightly, she also breathed a sigh of relief.
The curved jade exclaimed happily, "It really worked!"
Su Su was also delighted.
That pearl contained Sang Jiu's original heart—within it were scenes of her first love for Ming Ye. She loved the great hero who protected the world, the Ming Ye who fought for them, not the Fiend.
After Ming Ye could no longer find Sang Jiu, he sealed himself at the bottom of the Mohe River, watching her in his memories over and over again. Each time, he endured heart-wrenching pain, separating from Sang Jiu, yet he would continue again the next time.
This persisted until the day Ming Ye died.
The immortal Flood Dragon would never turn into a demon. In the end, Ming Ye guarded the Conch Princess's faith, using his body and Sarira to pacify the Mohe River.
Su Su watched the clean river water and Ming Ye's dissipating form, her heart filled with indescribable emotions.
Witnessing this scene, Nian Bai Yu said, "Your Majesty, it's not advisable to remain at the river bottom today. The Water-Repelling Pearl is about to lose its effect—we must return."
Return?
Tantai Jin's gaze turned icy. If he was suffering, he wouldn't let these people off easily either.
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