A sharp glint crossed Pei Ling's dark eyes. It was as though something had kindled in a silent night sky, and one star after another lit up.
"Heh, Qiao Ranran..."
"Yes, Qiao Ranran!"
Pei Ling wrapped an arm around Qiao Ranran's waist and lifted her until they were face-to-face. At last, their eyes met, and life returned to his gaze. His voice was still strange, but he was as domineering and stubborn as ever. "Yes. Mine."
Qiao Ranran cupped Pei Ling's face. "Yes. Mine."
The onlookers: What had they done to deserve witnessing this?
After wandering outside for a while, Zhou Lukang had quietly slipped back in. At the sight before him, he pressed a hand to his forehead and walked over to Qi Zhuoyu, speechless. "Senior Brother, why are you here?"
It made sense that Qiao Ranran had rushed out when she saw Pei Ling return. But hadn't Qi Zhuoyu been ordered to guard the Formation Core of the Mountain-Guarding Formation? Why was he here too?
"Uncle-Master Duan is guarding the Formation Core."
Zhou Lukang could imagine the look on his master's face. The point was to preserve the Profound Heart Sect's last sparks; whether Duan Qiankun or Qi Zhuoyu stayed behind made little difference. Cen Xian's branch had already left as well, so Qi Zhuoyu had followed his own wishes and returned here.
Because Pei Ling had appeared, Duan Qiankun had not activated the Mountain-Guarding Formation as soon as the Demonic Cultivators showed themselves.
The Demonic Cultivators had been facing off against Ji Qingming and the others. When they saw Pei Ling appear, they all burst out laughing.
"Pei, you rampaged through the Demon Realm, hunted us to the last, and left the place in ruins. Now that we've moved the battlefield to the Mortal World, how does