And his face was eerie and bewildering, with a beauty so sinister it was almost otherworldly.

Gu Jianlin froze, utterly stunned. He hadn't anticipated that devouring the Dragon Bone would bring about such a transformation.

If his guess was correct, he had unexpectedly acquired a second Inheritance Path!

A second Inheritance Path—Ghost Slayer!

In the next moment, a deafening roar reverberated, jarring his head into a frenzy.

He glanced towards the molten lava within the Mo Jade Coffin, where the black-gold Dragon Bone had vanished.

In its place stood a woman of unparalleled beauty.

She was enchantingly stunning, her cascading black hair falling like a waterfall, a blood-red gown clinging to her enchanting and delicate figure. Her porcelain-like skin was so flawless and radiant, it seemed almost unreal.

Yet her blood-red slit pupils glimmered with a cruel edge, and the teardrop mole at the corner of her eye was bewitchingly tantalizing.

Gu Jianlin's heart quaked violently—an old monster!

"Qilin."

The voice of the Candle Dragon Venerable was icy and hollow, echoing like a ghostly wail from the desolate depths of the Universe.

"—Do you want to die?"

·

·

A thunderous boom.

Gu Jianlin regained his consciousness, still shaken.

Maintaining his prior stance, he pierced the fragment of the Qilin Wedge into the blood-colored Crystal Stone.

The stretch of time that had just passed felt as if it had lasted only a fleeting second.

Meanwhile, he heard the collapse resound inside the cavern.

This was the aftermath of him forcefully reversing the Spiritual Domain with his own will, stirring such chaos in the process.

Somehow, he could sense that the overwhelming aura of death shrouding the Ancient God's corpse had suddenly dissipated, replaced by an unprecedented surge of boundless vitality. The laws had been completely overturned.

The girl in his arms, who had hovered on the verge of death, finally relaxed her soft and fragile body in silence. Her bloodless, paper-pale skin began to regain a faint flush, and the vine-like blood vessels on her body disappeared as well.

He didn't have time to dwell on the Ancient Supremes' tangled affairs. Lowering his head urgently, he asked, "How are you feeling?"

Su Youzhu curled up in his embrace, her long, curled lashes fluttering as she gazed up at his face. In a soft voice, she said, "My main body is fine now. Your senior brother has already taken me to Northern Europe and brought in a Great God to heal me. It's the pinnacle of the Priest path—the most skilled doctor in the world."

Gu Jianlin blinked in surprise: "Senior brother? Took you from Peak City to Northern Europe?"

"Mm."

Su Youzhu uttered a gentle sound of affirmation: "It only took him five minutes."

Gu Jianlin fell silent.

Thinking back, since stepping into the realm of the Transcendent, the greatest sense of solace he had found didn't come from the Qilin Power.

It came from the mentor-and-disciple pair running the grocery store.

His teacher and senior brother had been so good to him.

As long as they were around, nothing terrible would happen.

"The aura of death has now been balanced by this life force. After the mix cancels itself out, there'll no longer be any life-threatening danger."

Su Youzhu murmured softly, "That Great Priest is very capable. Once the vitality surged into me, they severed the link between my main body and my avatar. Even if the Alchemy Matrix gets reversed again, it won't be an issue."

Gu Jianlin gazed at her face, which was gradually regaining color, and felt a weight lift off his chest.

He knew that, this time, every word she said was true.

"How did you do it?"

Su Youzhu's beautiful eyes, like mirrors of obsidian, reflected the young man's face as she asked softly.

"How I did it doesn't matter."

Gu Jianlin replied, "As long as you're alive, that's enough."

Su Youzhu smiled softly without a sound. She wasn't trying to pry into the boy's secrets, only worried about whether or not he had overextended himself.

Just as Gu Jianlin was about to speak again, he suddenly noticed the girl's body beginning to become translucent.

In the blur, he glimpsed a creeping vine.

"The connection between the avatar and the main body has been blocked, so this body is going to vanish, too,"

Su Youzhu cupped his face with both hands and said softly, "I can't stay here with you any longer."

Gu Jianlin hesitated for a brief second: "After the domain reversal, what will happen if your avatar dies?"

"There'll be some side effects, but I won't die."

Su Youzhu snuggled into his embrace, finding a comfortable position. In a serious tone, she said, "Though I want you to miss me forever, I still think... it's better if I can stay by your side."

Gu Jianlin's arms instinctively tightened around her body.

"That old devil Jing Shangxiu is already dead."

He paused: "And did Master target you as well? I'll hunt him down."

Su Youzhu hummed softly, cautioning him, "Be careful. Master didn't just partner with The Order of the Hidden, he's likely gained Dusk's protection as well. If you encounter danger, don't overexert yourself."

In truth, she already had a vague guess: the teacher must have left this boy with something.

Otherwise, his combat power truly defied explanation.

"Don't worry."

Gu Jianlin thought about the Dragon Bone he had just consumed: "I should be pretty strong now."

Su Youzhu pursed her crimson lips and whispered, "Then remember the promise you made before. No matter what, I've survived, so going forward, you have to smile for me every day. And nothing bad is allowed to happen."

She raised both arms, gently wrapping them around the young man's neck.

In her beautifully contrasting black-and-white eyes, only his face was reflected.

"Mm."

Gu Jianlin replied quietly, "Wait for me—I'll find you in the real world."

For just a moment, Su Youzhu tilted her head, her cool crimson lips brushing lightly against his earlobe.

Amid the cavern's collapse, a gale swept through.

And the girl shattered abruptly into glimmering fragments scattering in every direction.

In Gu Jianlin's arms, all that remained was a withered vine. He watched the glittering shards vanish into nothing.

The deafening roar was relentless.

The cavern, however, sank into a deathly quiet.

"Brother Gu."

The Butcher propped himself up against the cave's roof, his voice trembling: "Boss… Boss isn't dead, is she?"

The burly man's voice wavered unnaturally, clearly gripped by fear.

"I don't know."

Gu Jianlin silently clenched his fist, leaving deep grooves in the ground: "But when it comes to matters of life and death, she hasn't lied to me."

Even so, it was impossible not to worry.

A feeling he'd never experienced before—a desperate yearning to return to the real world.

To return to her side.

The Butcher fell silent, uneasy and apprehensive.

"Let's go. It's not over yet."

Gu Jianlin stood, stepping into the dark.

·

·

Northern Europe, Greenland.

"Urgh."

Blood painted the walls of the igloo in red.

Su Youzhu lay on a crude wooden bed, her short light-green hair falling messily, half-veiling her delicate eyes.

"That's it—no more mortal danger. But every injury your avatar sustained over eight years will now rebound to your main body with nearly tenfold the pain, and there's nothing I can do about that."

A cold and stern woman in a fur coat, speaking halting Mandarin, said icily, "You'll need to bear this yourself. Don't fight anyone or use any Extraordinary Ability in the short term. If you endure through this, it'll actually be good for your future ascension."

She raised her hands above her head: "Now, can you kindly remove the blade from my neck?"

Jing Ci smiled slightly, smoothly withdrawing the jet-black Tachi, returning to his gentlemanly demeanor.

"My apologies, Judith."

He said coolly, "After all, this is my junior's sister. Forgive me if I've offended you."

Judith, the Ninth Rank Great God, merely snorted coldly: "Huai Yin took another disciple? What a calamity."

Jing Ci remained unbothered, chuckling as he said, "You've saved this young lady, so my junior will visit one day to thank you. If you ever need anything, consider him indebted to you—just say the word."

At these words, Judith's previously grim expression brightened considerably: "That's more like it."

Jing Ci turned and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, "Get ready. Time to go home."

"Wait."

Su Youzhu, her fair face still pallid, was illuminated by the auroras shimmering outside the igloo.

It was now the polar night, and the vast black sky whirled with breathtakingly vibrant light, like turbulent seas swirling above.

The icy wind swept up frosty flakes, launching them skyward like a flurry of snow.

Her crystal-clear eyes blinked as she remembered something he had said before.

Being alone isn't lonely.

Missing someone is.

But now, she thought, longing for someone could actually feel quite sweet.

"Someday,"

Jing Ci glanced at his watch and smiled, "Have my junior bring you here again."

"Your parents are probably waiting anxiously at the school gate by now."

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