Inside the bedroom, the warmth of their intimacy had not yet faded.
Only heavy breathing could be heard in the dim light.
Lin Wanyin was covered in sweat, her dark hair clung loosely to her flushed neck.
The relentless, tempestuous demands nearly drained her of all her strength, leaving her slumped in the quilt like a lump of mud.
"Oh, right... Yunfei."
She forced herself to stay clear-headed, and clung to Chu Yunfei's strong arm, her voice broken and delicate.
"Although I don't know exactly what happened during those two months of disappearance, there might be someone in the sect who knows some of the inside story."
Chu Yunfei paused, a sharp glint flashing in his dark eyes.
"Who?"
Lin Wanyin took a deep breath, parted her lips slightly, and uttered a name that Chu Yunfei had never expected.
" Azure Mystic Sect, the guardian of the pavilion... Zhao Baimei!"
Chu Yunfei's pupils suddenly contracted.
Azure Mystic Sect, Library.
As the night deepened and the dew grew heavy, all was silent.
The entire pavilion was shrouded in a thin mist, and even birds were reluctant to perch there on ordinary days.
In front of the first-floor porch, a gaunt figure lay reclining on a slightly worn rocking chair.
Zhao Baimei's eyelids twitched slightly, and his eyes suddenly snapped open.
Those were such vast and profound eyes, as if they held the rise and fall of stars and the vicissitudes of time.
He gazed at the horizon where the Great Qian Imperial City was located, remained silent for a long time, and then burst into laughter.
"That little girl, in the end, she still betrayed this old man."
Zhao Baimei slowly sat up, her withered hand flipping in the air.
Buzz.
The void trembled violently, and an ancient scroll, gleaming with a bronze luster, floated in mid-air above his palm.
He formed Dao Profound extremely profound hand seal with his right hand, golden light emanating from his fingertips, and struck the center of the ancient scroll with a powerful blow.
boom!
The once ordinary bronze scroll suddenly burst forth with a dazzling divine radiance.
Ancient runes poured down like a celestial river, creating a sky full of stars within the entire library.
The raging Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi surged wildly, but the moment it touched the doors and windows of the pavilion, it was firmly restrained by an invisible force, without leaking out the slightest sound.
Zhao Baimei's expression was solemn as he flicked his fingers, creating a series of complex and ancient divination hand seals.
"Let this old man see just how far your fate has progressed, little fellow..."
However.
Before the star map could take shape, a terrifying backlash that tore apart the soul suddenly exploded from within the ancient scroll.
Click.
It was as if a pair of colossal hands, covering the sky, were forcefully and domineeringly crushing the deduced star trajectory.
puff!
Zhao Baimei trembled violently, and before he could react, a mouthful of bright red blood spurted onto the ancient bronze scroll.
The ancient scroll's light dissipated, and it fell to my knees.
The old man's face turned ashen, and he hurriedly pointed to a major acupoint on his chest, severing his connection with the secrets of fate and destiny.
"Cough cough..."
Zhao Baimei wiped the blood from the corner of her lips and gave a bitter smile.
"What a domineering backlash... At only the Divine Sea Realm Middle Stage, the variables within him are already capable of disrupting my divination methods."
He rubbed his throbbing temples and looked up.
Those deep, insightful eyes, which seemed to see through the world, pierced through the pavilion roof and into the vast sky, their brows furrowing deeper and deeper.
" The Divine Sea is in turmoil, the celestial stars are stained with blood..."
Zhao Baimei muttered to himself, his fingertips twitching incessantly. "Where exactly did this little fellow get himself into such a terrible mess? He's facing certain death... This deadly situation is extremely difficult even for me."
Zhao Baimei sat there blankly for a long time.
A night breeze swept by, ruffling his gray hair and beard.
Finally, his gaze slowly turned to a secluded mountain peak within the inner sect of the Azure Mystic Sect.
Emerald Cloud Peak.
"It seems... it's time to talk to her."
The whispers faded into the wind, and the figure on the recliner gradually faded away like ripples on water.
The next moment.
Inside an exquisite boudoir on the back mountain of Emerald Cloud Peak, a faint ripple spread through the space, and Zhao Baimei's figure suddenly appeared.
The gauze curtains hung low, and calming incense burned in the incense burner.
On the bed.
A stunningly beautiful young woman is fast asleep.
Her dark hair was scattered on the pillow, and her chest rose and fell slightly. She was Yan Guining, a true disciple of the inner sect of the Azure Mystic Sect.
Zhao Baimei stood in front of the bed, quietly observing the woman before him, his eyes dark and deep.
With a wave of his hand, three golden lights, emanating an obscure Daoist aura, shot out and silently entered Yan Guining's brow.
Buzz.
Yan Guining, who had been keeping her eyes tightly closed, suddenly opened them.
Those eyes were utterly cold and unfathomable, devoid of any trace of the proud and impulsive girlishness she usually possessed.
There was only absolute indifference, viewing all living beings as mere ants.
She didn't even blink at the old man who had suddenly appeared in the room; a chilling, mocking smile curled at the corner of her lips.
"Old man, you've sealed my divine sense for so many years, and today... you've finally decided to release me?"
Although the voice was Yan Guining's, the authoritative tone and demeanor of the speaker sent shivers down one's spine.
Faced with this overwhelming chill, Zhao Baimei simply cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and smiled slightly.
"You flatter me, senior."
Zhao Baimei said calmly, "Back then, I was forced to do this because I was afraid that your divine sense would awaken too early and disrupt my plans. I beg your forgiveness."
"Forgive me?"
Yan Guining snorted coldly, slowly lifted the thin quilt and stepped off the bed. Her steps were graceful and elegant, and although there was no spiritual energy fluctuation around her, the void beneath her feet trembled faintly.
"Old man, you have some nerve."
She walked half a step in front of Zhao Baimei, her eyes as cold as an abyss.
"You, a mere mortal cultivator from the lower realm, dare to scheme against me like this?"
"Aren't you afraid... that when my true form awakens in the Upper Realm, I'll descend with an avatar along the causal chain and utterly annihilate you and this entire region?!"
A chilling, murderous intent pierced to the bone.
Zhao Baimei, however, did not lose her smile and gently shook her head.
"This junior knows that your true form is of immense power, capable of annihilating this junior with a mere flick of your finger."
"But the time I sealed your divine sense, it wasn't entirely without its drawbacks for your Dao Fruit Body, was it?"
Yan Guining's eyes flickered slightly, and she fell silent.
She had to admit that although the old man was despicable, his sealing of her divine sense, which was residing in this Dao Fruit Body, over the years had indeed prevented her from being detected by many powerful enemies.
But that doesn't mean she'll tolerate being manipulated by an ant.
Even so, I am not someone that you, a mere ant from the lower realm, can manipulate!
Yan Guining's expression was indifferent, and his tone was cold.
The smile on Zhao Baimei's face gradually faded, and she sighed.
"You are mistaken, senior."
"If the senior were to personally appear, even if I had ten thousand lives, I would still prostrate myself in reverence."
"But unfortunately, you are currently only in a Dao Fruit Body. Not only are you unable to connect with your true self, but your strength is also worlds apart from mine."
Zhao Baimei stroked his long beard and said meaningfully, "If something were to happen to your Dao Fruit Body, which embodies all your hopes, in the lower realm... I'm afraid your original body in the Upper Realm would never be able to transcend, right?"
Yan Guining eyebrows furrowed tightly, and a chilling killing intent surged in her eyes like a tsunami.
"You, a mere ant in the Saint Realm, dare to threaten me?!"
How dare a junior threaten a senior?
Zhao Baimei bowed slightly, his expression calm and composed. "This junior was merely kindly reminding senior that this place... is the lower realm."
A deathly silence fell over the room.
After a long silence, Yan Guining's imposing aura slowly subsided, and he said coldly, "The secrets of this Dao Fruit Body of mine are known only to my true self. How exactly did you, old man, see through it?"
Zhao Baimei smiled but did not answer directly.
Yan Guining sized him up for a moment, then suddenly sneered.
"It was my oversight."
"Your mastery of divination... is inherited from the will of Heaven in this world."
Zhao Baimei neither confirmed nor denied her speculation.
He bowed slightly and got straight to the point. "Senior, I have come here to make a win-win deal with you."
Yan Guining raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Trade?"
"Good."
Zhao Baimei's expression turned solemn, and he slowly said, "This junior dares to ask to borrow the essence of your Dao Fruit Body, senior... to help a little fellow avert a life-threatening calamity."
boom!
The moment the words left her lips, the aura around Yan Guining suddenly became violent, and a chilling killing intent flashed in her beautiful eyes.
"Old man, do you want to... die?!"
The Dao Fruit Origin is the core foundation for her physical body's reconstruction, and it is also the key to her future return to the Upper Realm and her fusion with her original body for a breakthrough.
How dare a mere ant, a saint from the lower realm, covet the origin of her Dao Fruit?
"Senior, please don't be angry. Let me finish speaking before you make a decision."
Zhao Baimei remained calm and composed, saying, "If I'm not mistaken, Senior paid a heavy price to separate a wisp of Dao Fruit Body and descend to the mortal realm to cultivate again, all for... to gather various origins and laws, so that when the Dao Fruit is perfected, it can be fed back to the original body, thereby breaking through the shackles of a certain Immortal Realm in one fell swoop."
Yan Guining's pupils contracted slightly.
This old geezer from the lower realm can actually see through even such a secret involving the realm of immortals at a glance?!
Zhao Baimei continued, "Although this method is astonishing throughout the ages, you should know that such a heaven-defying act of forced fusion... the chance of success is probably less than 50%?"
A deathly silence fell over the boudoir.
Yan Guining bit her lip slightly and fell silent again.
50%?
Those were all the best-case scenarios she had anticipated.
When it really came down to it, facing such a dangerous situation, she couldn't even guarantee a 30% chance of success.
"And this deal of mine..."
A confident smile appeared on Zhao Baimei's lips, "Not only will I be able to forge a tremendous karmic connection with you, senior, but I'm also confident I can push your chances of breaking through to a higher level... to over 70%!"
"What?!"
Yan Guining was deeply shocked and almost lost his composure.
More than 70%?!
Looking across the vast Upper Realm, let alone a 70% chance, even a heaven-defying treasure that could increase the chances by half a percent would be enough to stir up a bloodbath that would affect several Dao domains.
This old fellow is nothing more than a mortal saint from a lower realm; what gives him the right to spout such arrogant words?!
However, when she thought about how easily the other party had revealed her secret methods, the doubt in Yan Guining's eyes was gradually replaced by seriousness.
She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the surging emotions within her. "Whom do you intend to use my Dao Fruit essence to shield from calamity?"
"And what, then, does the true self need to give up?"
A deep smile flashed in Zhao Baimei's eyes.
He knew that this proud and arrogant being from the Upper Realm was tempted.
"When the time is right, I will inform you."
Zhao Baimei stroked his beard and smiled, his expression unfathomable.
"Before that, the senior must accompany the junior on a journey."
Yan Guining's eyes narrowed slightly. "Where to?"
Zhao Baimei looked up at the sky and uttered four words.
" Vast Waves Sacred Academy "