Chapter 104

The energy incarnation of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass leaned forward slightly, its ice-blue eyes filled with complicated emotions.

It opened its mouth, hesitated for a moment, then finally asked, "Youyou... is she really still here?"

Xue Lingyun glanced at it. He did not answer directly. Instead, he closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into the Sea of Consciousness.

Within that vast space of awareness, Youyou's soul origin lay curled up.

It was a tiny, luminous white orchid, its petals slightly closed as if it were asleep.

Ice Empress's consciousness remained quietly nearby without disturbing her.

"Youyou," Xue Lingyun called.

The orchid's petals trembled faintly.

"Mmm..." Youyou's voice was soft, carrying the weakness of someone who had just awakened, yet it was still steady enough. "I... am here."

"The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass asked whether you were still here."

Youyou fell silent for a moment. Then her voice drifted out from Xue Lingyun's Sea of Consciousness and into the valley floor. "I'm still here. I'm just... a little tired."

The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass's branches and leaves trembled sharply. It had heard her.

Though Youyou's voice was faint, though it had not come through the air, its senses had caught it.

That familiar aura was still there. It had not dispersed, nor had it collapsed.

Something flickered in its ice-blue eyes.

Its branches and leaves slowly unfurled, like a taut bowstring finally relaxing.

"That's good." The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass spoke in a low but steady voice.

The Infernal Delicate Apricot stood beside it without speaking the entire time.

Her branches and leaves had not relaxed like those of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass. They remained taut, but her expression had eased somewhat.

She glanced at Xue Lingyun. Her lips moved, yet in the end, she said nothing.

It