Ah, nurturing, what a beautiful word, wait? Am I the one being nurtured?

Just as the Heavenly Sword Flying Ship tore through the sky and vanished, the few blood-drenched survivors hiding in the ruins below finally dared to lift their heads.

A trail of blood-colored ash drifted down from the horizon—the only remaining trace of the Kugu Devil Lord.

"Is... is it over?"

A Young Cultivator, covered in blood, crawled out from the ruins with a stagger. His robes were soaked through, and his left arm hung at an unnatural angle—a wound left behind half an hour ago when the Kugu Devil Lord had casually swept a wave of demonic energy across the area.

He stared blankly at the open ground—a place that should have been piled high with corpses.

His Senior Brother, that honest, sturdy man who always loved to ruffle his hair, had been standing right there moments ago, holding his Life-Bound Artifact aloft in an attempt to protect the Junior Sisters and brothers behind him...

But now, not even ash remained.

"It... it shouldn't have ended like this..." The cultivator's lips trembled, his voice too hoarse to sound human.

He stumbled forward two steps, then suddenly collapsed to his knees, his fingers digging deep into the soil.

At least... at least there should have been a body left behind.

At least... he should have been able to bring his Senior Brother's remains back to the Mountain Gate...

But now, everything was gone.

It was as if an invisible hand had gently wiped away every trace of their existence.

"Did that Demon die?" another heavily wounded cultivator asked, his voice trembling and raspy.

He gazed at the demonic energy gradually dissipating in the sky, still unable to believe that he had actually survived.

The high spirits during the siege of the Demon.

The shock of falling into a trap.

The terror of watching their sect members die in an instant.

And the dread of the Demon's imminent breakthrough.

Everything had happened in the blink of an eye.

And it had ended just as quickly.

Not far away, an old woman with white hair clutched the broken half of an artifact, staring blankly at the vast sky.

She did not know who had struck, nor did she know where that Imperial Chariot or the flying ship had come from, but the pressure that dominated the heavens and earth made her instinctively kneel, not daring to look up.

"It was a Great Power of Upper Realm..." she murmured to herself, her voice shaking, "It must have been a Great Power of Upper Realm!"

On a cliff further away, several young cultivators lay sprawled on the ground. One of them stared fixedly at the sky, murmuring, "That Demon... he's just gone?"

"He didn't even have a chance to resist..." another's voice trembled, "What kind of realm must that person who struck be in?"

They did not know who sat within that Imperial Chariot, nor did they know which faction that Giant Ship belonged to.

They only knew one thing—they had survived.

And all of this was not because they were intentionally being saved.

It was merely because... those mysterious beings happened to be passing through this place.

"Heaven Above Heaven..." one of them whispered, his gaze drifting involuntarily toward the heights of the vast sky, an unprecedented longing appearing in his eyes, "What kind of place is that?"

They had known since childhood that the Xuanming Realm they inhabited belonged to the Upper Thousand Provinces of the Three Thousand Dao Provinces.

Below them were the Middle Thousand Provinces and the Lower Thousand Provinces.

Compared to the Lower Realm, it was already a remarkably good place.

They also knew that above the Upper Thousand Provinces, there existed an even vaster world.

But they had never imagined—that it could be this terrifying!

A Half-Step Great Emperor! That was a peerless Demon capable of easily annihilating an entire realm, yet in front of that mysterious existence, he didn't even have the chance to struggle before being casually erased.

"I've heard that the Upper Realm people are born standing at a height we can never reach in our entire lives..." another said, his voice strained, filled with both awe and bitterness, "The Cultivation Method they practice, the spirit energy they breathe, and I've even heard they don't use Spirit Stone, but something far more powerful... far beyond this realm."

"Doesn't that mean..." someone swallowed hard, their voice trembling, "that the Supreme Being, Holy Lord, and Quasi-Emperor we view as unreachable... might just be ordinary cultivators in the Upper Realm?"

Everyone fell silent.

In truth, there was another realization everyone understood but dared not speak aloud.

If a Half-Step Great Emperor was not even considered an ant in the eyes of a Great Power of Upper Realm.

Then a Supreme Great Emperor—in the eyes of those from Heaven Above Heaven, might they also be...

The thought was so shocking that they dared not even dwell on it.

If that were truly the case, then what were they, these Lower Realm cultivators struggling so bitterly to seek the Dao?

Ants? Dust?

Or perhaps... not even as significant as dust?

"We..." the first cultivator to speak suddenly gave a bitter laugh, "We don't even have the qualifications to be looked at directly by them."

Everyone fell silent once more, gazing at the sky that had long since returned to calm, their hearts filled with both awe and an indescribable, complex emotion.

Longing? Fear? Resentment?

Perhaps it is both.

But regardless, what they saw today has completely overturned their understanding.

Whether they choose to pull themselves together and turn what they saw, heard, and felt today into stepping stones on their path of cultivation.

Or whether they are crushed by it, their Dao heart shattered.

That depends entirely on them.

On the deck of the Flying Ship, the Cloud Sea surged beneath their feet.

"My grandfather told you I would come to the Xuanming Realm, so he asked you to protect the Dao?" Qin Wangchuan rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

But that made no sense...

The Qin Clan had many experts; why would they ask an outsider to protect the Dao?

There was a conspiracy!

Just as he was pondering this, his shoulder suddenly felt heavy.

A snow-white cloak embroidered with a Hidden Pattern of a blue phoenix was gently draped over his shoulders.

He looked up and met the face of Li Qingluan—

Her long, slender eyelashes trembled slightly, and her porcelain-white earlobes were stained with a crimson hue at a Visible Speed.

"The Flying Ship is too fast, the wind is strong," Li Qingluan explained stiffly, though her fingertips reached up as if nothing were amiss to help him adjust his collar.

At the other end of the deck, several elders of the Li Clan exchanged smiles, a look of Tacit Understanding flashing in their eyes.

(It's settled!)

(It seems this marriage arranged by the Old Ancestor is even more suitable than imagined.)

That's right, a marriage.

Regarding the marriage alliance for Qin Wangchuan, the most popular candidate was currently Li Qingluan of the Li Clan.

Their statuses matched, and her talent far exceeded others.

It was just that Li Qingluan was not only cold by nature, but she also possessed the same temperament as all Sword Cultivators in the world.

Stubborn! Proud!

As long as she was dissatisfied, even if the Heavenly Emperor himself were to arrive.

It could be summed up in four words.

Better to die than submit!

But looking at it now...

The eldest elder in grey robes stroked his beard with a mysterious smile, not even noticing that his tea was overflowing.

In all these years, when had they ever seen this iceberg take the initiative to care for someone else?

"It seems the Miss has also reached that age..."

A sudden joke made the younger Sword-Holding Elder nearby cough violently, frantically signaling his companion while hiding behind his sleeves—

Over there, the Sword Attendants were shaking with suppressed laughter.

Shut your mouths, don't laugh!

If you laugh now, you'll die!

After all, no one expected this.

The Miss, who usually found even half a sentence too much trouble, was acting like a clumsy young bride!

She was even covering her future husband with a cloak; how precious~

Li Qingluan clearly sensed the commotion behind her.

She tightened her jaw, and a burst of Sword Qi suddenly swept across the deck, cutting off everyone's conversation.

Only her reddened ear tips completely betrayed her State of Mind.

Absurd... Li Qingluan scolded herself in the bottom of her heart, though she didn't know if she was referring to the clansmen watching the spectacle or her own impulsive actions just now.

Clearly, before leaving, she had sworn to the Old Ancestor, "If that Qin Wangchuan is all reputation and no substance, don't blame me for severing this engagement on the spot"...

But at this moment—she turned her head slightly, her gaze looking towards the youth beside her with a hint of possessiveness.

(Good-looking, monstrous talent, and his personality seems decent too.)

(It's just that he's too young, he hasn't shed his childishness yet...)

"I'll have to wait at least seven or eight years." Li Qingluan calculated in her heart, and as her gaze swept over the youth's still-slender shoulders, a rare sense of patience emerged, "By then..."

As soon as this thought arose, the spiritual energy in her Spiritual Platform suddenly surged.

Only then did she realize with a start that she was actually seriously considering such an absurd thing as "raising a Dao Companion."

"Wait... is it absurd?" Li Qingluan suddenly realized, and then asked herself.

"In the Cultivation World, most people form a Dao Companion bond for the sake of cultivation or family status; genuine affection is rare."

"But what if one were to raise them from a young age..."

Once this thought took root, it refused to be cast aside, which was truly terrifying.

What was even more terrifying was that when she imagined the Youth standing side-by-side with her after he had grown up, her usually Ice-cold Dao heart actually... stirred with a trace of anticipation?

Qin Wangchuan was unaware of the dangerous thoughts swirling in the mind of the person beside him.

He only felt the atmosphere was subtle—

Although Li Qingluan's expression remained cold and aloof, her lingering gaze was constantly glued to him, as difficult to break free from as Spider Silk.

Her actions were also filled with thoughtfulness at every turn.

First it was the coat, then the food, and finally, she even personally peeled a Spirit Fruit and handed it to him.

Something was wrong!

Nine parts out of ten, something was definitely wrong!