C1532 The Girl Was Not Good Enough

After Yan Qiling and the others, along with the stone statue, vanished, Yu Yuan deactivated the array and awaited Jee Ningshuang's arrival.

Jee Ningshuang, in perfect unison with her sword, streaked through the Iridescent Cloud Miasma Sea like an icy river forged from myriad shattered stars. She arrived in an instant.

Slash!

Her sword's keen light cleaved through the air, tearing open the miasma above.

Yu Yuan looked up to see the miasma, vibrant as a tapestry of colorful clouds, now shredded into fragments.

"Who was here just now?"

Jee Ningshuang, radiating a fierce sword intent, stood with her sword in hand, her delicate features alert as she scanned the surroundings.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Numerous luminous sword lights materialized near the swamp, burrowing into the earth or piercing through clouds and miasma, leaving chaos in their wake.

"They're not my enemies."

Yu Yuan smiled, understanding that Jee Ningshuang had detected the trace of the Ruins Divine King and, concerned for his safety, had hastily come to investigate.

"Your people?"

Jee Ningshuang quickly grasped his implication and ceased her fruitless efforts. With a slight furrow of her brows, she said, "There's an elusive, peculiar presence. My sword intent was thrust forth, yet it was thwarted. Was it Tianqi or Guixu?"

Given her current level of mastery, the soul force imbued with her sword intent had formed an intangible blade, yet it was repelled. Clearly, the individual was no ordinary being.

"The owner of the stone statue you saw in the Great Swamp—Guixu."

Yu Yuan's smile broadened, and he playfully winked at her, his laughter growing louder.

"Why bring up the Great Swamp?" Jee Ningshuang's porcelain cheeks flushed with a hint of annoyance. "Back then, I didn't realize it was you."

"It just crossed my mind."

With a thought, Yu Yuan summoned the Ghost Poisoning Array once more. A myriad of venomous flames, Flowing Flames, and vibrant miasma enveloped the space surrounding them.

"I remember you kept me company while I crafted this array. Later, as I focused on refining the poison pills, you often watched over me." Her presence brought back a flood of memories for Yu Yuan.

Jee Ningshuang, like a frost-bloomed flower, sheathed her sword and gazed at the elegant flames and the fleeting, colorful lights. Standing shoulder to shoulder with Yu Yuan, she reached out her hand to him.

Yu Yuan responded with a radiant smile and gripped her hand firmly.

Jee Ningshuang's frame shivered slightly as she whispered, "Back then, you repeatedly pushed me away, forbidding my return. So, I could only watch you from a distance. You were struggling, and I could see it, but I... didn't know how to help you."

Yu Yuan was acutely aware that during those times, his life was drawing to a close. The enhancements to his soul and Heavenly Soul by Yuen Qingxi had caused a surge in malevolent thoughts, clouding his judgment.

Reflecting on those moments, he realized that despite his condition, this beautiful woman had still quietly visited him several times...

With a newfound warmth in his heart, he gently embraced Jee Ningshuang.

Above them, the Flowing Flames streaked by, their deadly beauty a cascade of colors.

Side by side, they admired the dazzling canopy created by the Ghosts Poisoning Array, murmuring softly to one another.

After what seemed like an eternity, Yu Yuan snapped out of his reverie and asked, "How did you find this place?"

Basking in the rare sweetness of the moment, Jee Ningshuang, still clasping Yu Yuan's hand in her left, produced a crystal bottle holding the Cold Abyss Entrance with her free hand. "The sect master and Senior Han sent me to trade this shattered Cold Abyss Entrance for the one you've restored," she explained succinctly.

Yu Yuan nodded, accepting the crystal bottle without hesitation, ready to place it on the Dragon Slash Platform and swap it with the repaired one.

"Wait!" Jee Ningshuang's pale, jade-like hand rested on his, and she gently shook her head.

Her hand felt cool to the touch, akin to a piece of icy jade, with a hint of frosty luminescence coursing through her delicate veins.

"Are you really going to agree just like that?" she asked, locking eyes with him.

Yu Yuan, taken aback, replied, "Shouldn't I?"

"I'm here on behalf of our sect master and Senior Han. Don't you have any conditions? The Cold Abyss Entrance you've mended is a significant contribution to the entire realm. I recall you used to seize such opportunities to negotiate for something more," Jee Ningshuang stated frankly.

"They found you and asked you to exchange it with me. What leverage do I have?" Yu Yuan's smile shone brightly. "It is you, after all."

Whoosh!

The Dragon Slash Platform flew out from the Shen Que acupoint and hovered in front of his chest. He was about to place the crystal bottle he held into it.

"Don't!"

Jee Ningshuang called out once more.

Yu Yuan paused, looking perplexed. "What's the matter now?"

"Don't put the crystal bottle on the Dragon Slash Platform. Remove the Cold Abyss Entrance from inside the Dragon Slash Platform and let's do the exchange out here," Jee Ningshuang suggested, her lips pursed in thought. "This crystal bottle was retrieved by the leader of my sect from the Profound Dao Flag. Anything that involves Senior Han... I just don't feel it's entirely safe."

Yu Yuan was momentarily taken aback.

He then nodded, his Yin God essence slipping into the Dragon Slash Platform, and he extracted the mended Cold Abyss Entrance that resembled a well shaft.

Meanwhile, Jee Ningshuang unscrewed the bottle cap, her sword intent coiling around the bottle's damaged Cold Abyss Entrance as she gently lifted it out.

The two Cold Abyss Entrances were exchanged outside the Dragon Slash Platform.

As Yu Yuan tossed the severely damaged Cold Abyss Entrance towards the Dragon Slash Platform, fine spiritual threads, imperceptible to him, silently vanished.

Yu Yuan's expression chilled. "Your concerns were justified."

It wasn't just the crystal bottle; the damaged Cold Abyss Entrance also concealed an "informant" of Han Miaoyuan.

Thankfully, the Dragon Slash Platform had already undergone a transformation. The concealed dark energy from a supreme being within was snuffed out quietly before it could infiltrate the Dragon Slash Platform.

"Senior Han has become too accustomed to his ways, almost acting on instinct," Jee Ningshuang remarked coolly.

Elsewhere.

"A young woman can't be expected to stay put!"

The Profound Dao Flag rustled as Han Miaoyuan's faint silhouette within lamented, "Lin, you see this? This girl is ungrateful! Didn't we exhaust every resource, pull out all the stops for her divine seat?"

"And this is how she repays us?"

"All I wanted was to take a look inside the Dragon Slash Platform, to see the current state of affairs, and she goes and warns Yu Yuan?!" Han Miaoyuan seethed with anger.

Lin Daoke rolled his eyes, ignoring the other person, and addressed Gu Xingkui directly, "Take some time to write down the true essence of your swordsmanship. You're on your deathbed, and it would be a real shame if your sword legacy were to end with you."

Gu Xingkui responded feebly, "I understand."

...

The Iridescent Cloud Miasma Sea.

"Uncle Master Gu is not going to make it."

As Jee Ningshuang gently held the crystal bottle containing water from the Cold Abyss Entrance, she thought of the Earth Sword and sighed, "He should not have drawn his sword back in the Firefly Starfield. His urgency was because he knew that Taishi had ascended to godhood, and he foresaw his own demise."

"He brought it upon himself!" Yu Yuan snorted coldly, then abruptly shifted the conversation, "What was his rush? And why did he draw his sword against the Cold Abyss Snow Bear?"

"I've heard that the Cold Abyss Snow Bear possesses something that can prolong life," Jee Ningshuang explained.

"Prolong life?" Yu Yuan exclaimed in surprise.

"The Cold Abyss Snow Bear has surpassed the lifespan limit of an alien beast; it has lived for so long. Senior Han mentioned that it once accompanied a Divine King from the Divine Soul Sect to explore a forbidden starry region and discovered some extraordinary substance..." Jee Ningshuang mused aloud.

"So, it has survived for tens of thousands of years. There's that one, and then there's the one from our Demon Palace—both are nothing short of miraculous."

The eternal beings include the Primordial Spirits of humanity, the Great Demon Gods outside the Blood Devil Clan, and the Starry Behemoths.

The Cold Domain Bear is an alien beast that hasn't reached the Tenth Level but has lived for many years.

And the Demon Phoenix of the Demon Palace seems to have been around since the inception of the cosmos.

Yu Yuan harbored numerous suspicions about the Demon Phoenix, even wondering if she might be one of the Starry Behemoths. Yet, the Cold Domain Bear was merely an alien beast from another realm.

Did a Divine King from the Divine Soul Sect really explore a forbidden starry expanse with it tens of thousands of years ago?

From start to finish, the Cold Domain Bear appeared to recognize him, consistently exerting its utmost effort to assist him.

The conclusion was obvious.

"Uncle Master Gu, you're aware that his Divine Throne is bound to shatter. Once he loses that Divine Throne, he'll descend to a lower realm. A fall to a lower realm, naturally, means the end of his eternal life. He's already quite aged; his continued existence is solely due to his possession of a Divine Throne. Without it, he would succumb to old age in a brief span of time."

Ji Ningshuang spoke of this with a sense of inevitability.

After all, she was the one destined to take over Gu Xingkui's divine seat.

"Uncle Master Gu intends to strike at the Cold Domain Bear with his sword, aiming to slay it and strip it of the essence that grants it longevity."

"Regrettably, it didn't go as planned."

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