Zhang Mingyuan was surprised to hear Su Jinxue's invitation to “go for a walk.”
But on the surface, he still maintained his proud stance.
“Fine. It just so happens that this seat ate too much and needs to digest, so I'll reluctantly agree.”
...
The two of them strolled through the crystal-clear sky above the Myriad Snow Palace. Occasionally, a breeze would brush past, carrying the distinct scent of the snowy mountains.
As they passed a sword peak used by new disciples for cultivation, Zhang Mingyuan's sharp eyes caught sight of a familiar figure.
“Ahem... You must be Junior Sister Bai Yao, the new disciple Master's Wife took in?”
He saw his precious disciple, Chu Jinghong, preening beside Bai Yao, trying his best to strike a pose he thought was handsome and dashing.
With one hand behind his back and the other gently stroking his chin, he looked up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle.
“Junior Sister, do you know? The sword Dao of this world is like the stars in the sky—vast and boundless.”
“And I am the brightest star among them, willing to light up the path ahead for you, Junior Sister.”
Bai Yao looked at him expressionlessly, her eyes devoid of any emotion, containing only a cold indifference as if she were looking at an idiot.
Completely oblivious, Chu Jinghong continued to immerse himself in his own world.
“Although Junior Sister's swordplay has form, it lacks fluidity.”
“Why don't I give you a few pointers? My Eighteen Jinghong Swords were personally taught by Master, and their power is boundless...”
Bai Yao finally reacted.
She silently drew the Chixia Sword bestowed upon her by Su Jinxue.
“Hum—”
With a clear, resonant hum, a crimson glow soared into the sky, and a sharp sword intent instantly locked onto Chu Jinghong.
The meaning was crystal clear: say one more word, and I'll hack you to pieces.
Chu Jinghong's smile froze on his face.
High up in the air, the corners of Zhang Mingyuan's mouth began to twitch violently.
Embarrassing! Absolutely embarrassing!
How could this rebellious disciple's flirting methods be so cliché and low-class?
He was even being pointed at with a sword by a young girl. He had completely disgraced his master's reputation as the Sacred Lord of Qingyun Heaven!
“Rebellious disciple!”
Zhang Mingyuan gritted his teeth, instantly preparing to draw the magic treasure “Seven Wolves” from his waist.
He was ready to rush down and give this wretched disciple a good beating.
Just as he was about to turn into a streak of light and charge down to the sword peak, a cool hand grabbed his wrist.
“The karma of the younger generation should be settled by themselves,”
Su Jinxue's voice drifted over calmly.
“As his master, stop sticking your nose into their business.”
Zhang Mingyuan was shocked.
Was this still Su Jinxue?
She actually didn't fly into a rage?
And she was even advising him to stay out of it?
Did the sun rise from the west today?
He stupidly put away the “Seven Wolves” and couldn't help but tease her with his usual loose tongue:
“Su Jinxue, have you had a change of heart? Since when did you become so magnanimous and understanding of the younger generation?”
“Wait, the sword in that girl Bai Yao's hand...”
Zhang Mingyuan shifted the topic.
“Oh my, that's ‘Chixia,’ one of the ten famous swords in the world!”
He raised an eyebrow at Su Jinxue.
“Don't you love collecting famous swords the most? To think you'd actually be willing to give this precious baby to your disciple. It looks like... you gave it to her after you lectured her earlier?”
“After all, back then, the sword in that girl's hand was just an ordinary profound iron sword.”
Zhang Mingyuan's smile widened as he stared straight at Su Jinxue.
Stared at like this, the back of Su Jinxue's ears flushed red. She immediately let go of Zhang Mingyuan and snorted coldly:
“This seat is not like you, being so stingy with your own disciple!”
Zhang Mingyuan was instantly displeased and shot back:
“Bullshit! I even gave him the Qingyun Sword. How am I stingy?”
Su Jinxue raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Then why was Chu Jinghong just drooling over the delicacies in the hall earlier?”
“Indeed, you are a truly generous master.”
“Hey! You're just looking for trouble!”
“What if I am?”
Just like that, they fell back into their daily bickering routine, trading verbal jabs back and forth.
Yet the atmosphere was not as tense as before. Instead, there was an indescribable sense of familiarity and ease.
Talking as they walked, they had unconsciously flown out of the Myriad Snow Palace's sect-protecting array.
After an unknown amount of time.
The sky had darkened completely, and the ink-blue canopy was adorned with diamond-like stars.
Su Jinxue suddenly stopped. Without even looking at the void in front of her, she casually swiped forward.
“Tear—”
Space was easily torn open like fabric, and a pitch-black rift appeared before them.
On the other side of the rift lay brilliant starlight.
She stepped inside first. Zhang Mingyuan dithered for a moment before following her in.
The scenery shifted before their eyes, and they found themselves standing atop a sheer cliff.
The surroundings were tranquil.
Countless strange spiritual plants growing on the cliffside emitted a faint, eerie blue glow, casting a dreamlike, illusory light over the entire cliff.
Overhead was a magnificent, brilliant river of stars that seemed almost within reach.
Zhang Mingyuan looked around, his expression shifting in shock.
“This is... Falling Star Cliff?”
How could he not recognize it?
Many years ago, in order to fight over a stalk of Star Tears growing on the cliff, they had fought a massive battle here, nearly demolishing the entire cliff.
Su Jinxue ignored his surprise, walked straight to the edge of the cliff, and sat down casually with her bare feet dangling.
She patted the spot beside her, gesturing for him to come over.
Zhang Mingyuan muttered to himself, but he still walked over and sat down beside her.
The two sat side-by-side under the starry sky, momentarily silent.
“Back then, just to snatch the Star Tears, you actually used an ‘Immortal-Binding Rope’ to tie me up. That was really insidious.”
After a long while, Zhang Mingyuan broke the silence.
“Likewise,” Su Jinxue said coldly. “Didn't you trap this seat in an array for three days and three nights, causing me to miss the tide of the North Sea?”
“That was because you sealed my cave dwelling with ice first!”
“You were the one who stole my Enlightenment Tea first.”
They casually bickered about the embarrassing moments of sabotaging each other over the past five thousand years.
From the Golden Core Stage to the Mahayana Stage, every single incident remained vivid in their minds.
As they chatted, the defenses between them completely melted away, and the atmosphere became peaceful and harmonious like never before.
Zhang Mingyuan looked up at the vast sky above. The usual playfulness in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a deep, lonely gaze.
In this extremely tranquil atmosphere, he uncharacteristically spoke up, his voice somewhat airy.
“Su Jinxue, let me tell you a story.”
He brought up the secret he had buried deep in his heart for over five thousand years.
“In a place very, very far away, there is a world called ‘Blue Star.’ There is no spiritual energy there, and mortals cannot cultivate. What flies in the sky are not cultivators, but steel beasts called ‘airplanes’...”
Su Jinxue turned her head, a strange light flashing in her shimmering crimson eyes.
She didn't interrupt him, silently playing the role of a listener.
Zhang Mingyuan gave a bitter laugh:
“With my current Mahayana Stage cultivation, tearing through dimensional barriers to locate and return to Blue Star wouldn't be difficult.”
“But the lifespan of a mortal is only a hundred years. Five thousand years have passed in the Xuanling Realm, and on Blue Star... five thousand years have likely passed as well.”
“My parents, my relatives, my friends... have long turned into a handful of dust.”
Self-deprecatingly, he raised a hand to cover his eyes.
“Don't you find it laughable? I am revered as a Sacred Lord in the Xuanling Realm, possessing earth-shattering cultivation, yet I cannot even reverse the aging, sickness, and death of mortals.”
“I could go back, but what I would face is only a completely unfamiliar world and endless loneliness.”
“I suppose... I can never truly go back...”
Su Jinxue watched him quietly.
Watching this man who was usually proud, stubborn, and overbearing, now looking like a lost child, radiating a deep, unresolvable sorrow and vulnerability.
Her heart suddenly wrenched.
She didn't say any hollow words of comfort, but silently shifted her body closer to him.
Feeling the softness and warmth coming from his left side, Zhang Mingyuan's body suddenly stiffened, and he sat up straight.
In his ear, Su Jinxue's voice drifted, faint as a mosquito's buzz yet incredibly clear.
“You still have Qingyun Heaven, that foolish disciple Chu Jinghong, Lingxuzi, and the others...”
She paused, her voice softening even further.
“And... many others.”
Zhang Mingyuan's heart shook violently. He snapped his head around to look at Su Jinxue, who was inches away.
Her face was breathtakingly beautiful under the starlight, and her crimson eyes reflected his image.
As their eyes met, a quiet warmth and intimacy began to brew in the silence.
Zhang Mingyuan's Adam's apple bobbed. Subconsciously, he wanted to reach out and pull her into his arms.
Right at that moment, a sudden change occurred!
Between them, a brilliant golden light erupted without warning!
The Heavenly Dao marriage certificate manifested once again.
Following closely behind, an exquisite, ancient, and shimmering golden lock slowly emerged from the marriage certificate, falling into Su Jinxue's hand.
The Concentric Lock!
Su Jinxue was stunned, a faint blush appearing on her pale cheeks.
She held the lock, and after a long time, as if summoning immense courage, she turned her head away and asked with a hint of tsundere haughtiness:
“Hey... idiot, do you want to... write our names on it?”
Looking at her reddened ears, Zhang Mingyuan also snorted proudly. “Write it then. Who's afraid of whom?”
Using their divine senses as pens, they branded their true names onto the Concentric Lock—Zhang Mingyuan and Su Jinxue.
They smiled at each other and together threw the sole key into the endless river of stars above.
With the key gone, the lock could never be undone. For generations to come, they would never be parted.
The Concentric Lock glowed with brilliant light before being reclaimed by a domineering Heavenly Dao will, vanishing from sight.
However, in the next instant, a fluctuation of laws older and more primal than the Heavenly Dao quietly manifested.
The starry sky ahead began to twist, and light and shadow converged, slowly condensing into two figures—
It was a middle-aged man and woman busy in a kitchen. The woman was preparing vegetables while the man read a newspaper, muttering something under his breath.
They were the faces of Zhang Mingyuan's parents from Blue Star, sealed deep in his memories.
Yesterday had returned.
Instantly, Zhang Mingyuan's eyes grew moist.
Before his tears could fall, a warm hand tightly grasped his.
It was Su Jinxue.
She stood up side-by-side with him, and together, they bowed deeply toward the illusions in the starry sky.
They performed the bow of the younger generation.
At this moment, the last trace of obsession in Zhang Mingyuan's heart was completely resolved.
The illusions in the starry sky slowly dissipated, yet the warm atmosphere had not faded.
“Crack—”
A piercing cracking sound suddenly echoed from the void!
It was the Heavenly Dao marriage certificate!
The second trial, “Illusionary Heart Abyss,” which had been forcibly suspended by Su Jinxue, actually bypassed the law suppression of the Red Dust Immortal and activated forcefully!
An irresistible pulling force swept the two away from the edge of the cliff.
They vanished into a darkness filled with killing intent.
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