Lu Xueqi and Bi Yao (29)

The Tian Ya Sword was no ordinary steel, but an ancient ice-element divine artifact. At its core lay a strand of undying Ice Soul Divine Will. Lu Xueqi's sacrifice in that desperate moment had unexpectedly stirred this strand of divine will. The divine sword protected its master, and at the final moment, forcibly sealed her last trace of vitality and core Divine Soul within its blade. With the chill of Absolute Zero, it froze her physical body and the surrounding space together, forming an exceedingly small, indestructible Ice Soul Cocoon.

This ice cocoon perfectly mimicked the aura of death. It had even taken the form of an inconspicuous ice crystal, wedged within a crack and evading the Star Spirit Guards' detection. The price was that Lu Xueqi's consciousness had sunk into the deepest Nirvana. The life force of her physical body had nearly come to a halt, leaving her only a hair's breadth from death. Her current state resembled a divine artifact with faint spirituality more than a living person.

The Tian Ya Sword floated at the center of the ice cocoon, dim and lusterless. Cracks covered its blade as though it might shatter at any moment. It had sacrificed most of its spirituality to preserve this final spark of its master.

Inside the ice cocoon lay endless darkness and cold.

Lu Xueqi's consciousness was like the last candle flame in the wind, flickering and unsteady. She could not feel her body or the passage of time. There was only eternal solitude and coldness.

"...Do you trust me?"

In her daze, a voice rang out from the depths of her consciousness. It was Su Han's voice, asking her beneath the altar, amid that certain-kill trap.

"Yes."

She remembered her answer. There had not been the slightest hesitation.

Then... separation, turning