After watching for a moment, Xiling withdrew his gaze and descended from midair back to the ground.
The moment he had steadied himself, Gu Yue was already at his side. Looking at his flickering body, she hesitated before saying, "Senior Brother, you..."
Before Gu Yue could finish, Xiling's projection raised a hand and gently rested it atop her head.
"I know you have many questions, but now isn't the time." His voice came from that blurred figure, light and airy, carrying a distinct ethereal quality.
"The crisis hasn't been resolved yet. A formidable fellow is about to emerge."
Gu Yue looked at the indistinct contours of his face. Something surged through her violet eyes for an instant before she quickly suppressed it.
She did not ask again. She merely slung the Silver Dragon Spear across her back and stood quietly at his side.
Xiling's gaze fell on Long Yuxue in the distance.
Long Yuxue still stood where she was. The necklace on her chest had already turned to ash.
Her face was covered in blood, yet her eyes shone astonishingly brightly. She looked toward Xiling's projection, her lips moving, but no words came out.
At that moment, Zhang Huanyun came over to the two of them. His gaze landed on them—or rather, on Xiling.
"You are... Xiling?"
There was a trace of uncertainty in his tone. It was no wonder; Xiling's current appearance gave one the immediate impression that he was a woman.
Had the earlier battle not revealed the Subspace Spear, Zhang Huanyun never would have believed it.
"Yes, it's me," Xiling replied blandly, with no emotion detectable in his ethereal voice.
"Then what is this...?" Zhang Huanyun asked.
"It's a long story. This was a life-saving measure I left for Sister Yuxue when I departed the Blood God