Originated from mountains and seas, life never ends

In a deserted corner, a gray aura flowed from Qin Xiao's lifeless eyes, slowly seeping into his heart.

"Can you handle it by yourself?" Shen Tianjiao looked at the entrance to the domain and glanced at Huangfu Lin.

Although he was somewhat dissatisfied with Huangfu Lin's actions, Shen Tianjiao had no choice but to trust Huangfu Lin's strength.

Huangfu Lin did not look at him, seemingly not having heard him at all.

"I know you're angry, but isn't this the solution? If I hadn't intervened, how could you have defeated him in five moves?" Shen Tianjiao knew he was annoyed by her intervention and couldn't help but explain.

Huangfu Lin still didn't look at him. He reached out to touch the ice flower, but suddenly his pupils contracted and he withdrew his hand in time. Black lightning flashed past his fingertips.

If you had been even a fraction of a second later, your finger would have been pierced.

Nevertheless, Huangfu Lin's eyes lit up.

"Five moves have passed." Qin Xiao's voice rang out again. Huangfu Lin turned around and saw the young man stand up from the pile of rocks, staring coldly at him.

Will you keep your promise?

"Holy crap, he's still alive?!" Shen Tianjiao exclaimed in shock. "This... he's like an unkillable cockroach!"

Huangfu Lin looked at Qin Xiao and couldn't help but laugh.

"it is good."

As Huangfu Lin spoke, he withdrew his attributes and turned to leave, ignoring Shen Tianjiao's attempts to stop him.

"Hey, hey—! You're really leaving?" Shen Tianjiao exclaimed in surprise.

"A bet's a bet." Huangfu Lin turned to look at Qin Xiao, chuckled, and waved his hand. "Looking forward to our next duel."

As she spoke, she winked at him.

After confirming that he had no intention of making another move, Qin Xiao swallowed the remaining half of the Rain Life Pill, feeling somewhat relieved.

Thankfully I used my cultivation technique, otherwise I don't know how long I would have been lying there after fainting.

"You weren't just dizzy, you were dead." The woman in green landed on the rock behind him and kicked him. "Not a bit different."

"But you won't help me, what can I do?" Qin Xiao staggered a couple of times and said helplessly.

"You little brat, didn't you just ask me to keep an eye on things for a while?" the man in green scolded.

Just now, before the battle, Qin Xiao secretly sent a message to him through his soul sea, fearing that the aftershocks of their battle would affect the entrance to that domain, and asked him for help.

Hua Wujian didn't agree, but instead landed near the patch of ice flowers, his umbrella growing larger to completely cover them. He then sat down in the air to watch the show, and the result—

Qin Xiao turned his head away, feeling a little guilty, after hearing what he said.

Green Robe: "If you can't beat them, why don't you run away?"

Qin Xiao: "What if they escape?"

"Oh," the man in green sneered, "you're quite loyal."

"Thank you for the compliment." Qin Xiao said expressionlessly.

Qingyi: ...

The woman in green laughed angrily: "Then you can wait to get beaten up."

"..."

Qin Xiao remained silent, focusing solely on finding healing pills.

Seeing him like this, the man in green became even more agitated, and a murderous aura emanated from his side.

Qin Xiao noticed this, glanced at Shen Tianjiao who was still hesitating in place, and then looked at him again: "It's okay, you can stay here. Mo Hanyu and the others will be here soon. Everything will be fine once they come out."

"Oh, you're starting to care about me now," the woman in green said sarcastically. "You haven't been beaten enough yet."

Qin Xiao selectively ignored it.

The woman in green was annoyed by his appearance. Her brows twitched, and she promptly took a step back and disappeared.

Just as Qin Xiao was about to take two more pills, he suddenly felt a chill run through his body. He looked up and saw Shen Tianjiao flying towards him!

Qin Xiao had just recovered from his shock, and his reaction was a beat slow. He watched helplessly as the other man approached him before he remembered to retaliate. He reached out to do something, but a hand reached out from behind him and struck out along with him.

Before Qin Xiao could react, Shen Tianjiao was already flying backward like a kite with a broken string.

Qin Xiao stared blankly in the direction Shen Tianjiao had flown away for a moment, until an arm reached out from behind and grabbed his waist. Only then did he remember to turn around and see a familiar face.

Mo Hanyu stood behind him, one hand gently around his waist, the other slowly grasping his wrist as he pulled back, staring at him with a half-smile.

Qin Xiao's heart skipped a beat. He stared at him blankly, unsure how to react.

Her golden eyes, soft and gentle, gazed at him tenderly. Suddenly, a hint of wickedness appeared in her eyes. She leaned forward, turned her face slightly, and without hesitation, captured his lips with hers.

Qin Xiao's mind went blank, but he reacted the moment their soft lips touched. He raised his knife to resist, but his movements were frozen and he could not move.

He is not Mo Hanyu.

who is he? !

Qin Xiao's pupils contracted sharply, unsure whether to be angry or shocked.

The person in front of him didn't go deep, but only gently sucked on his lips, biting a gap to let him breathe through, and then released him.

Qin Xiao didn't know what it was. The moment he realized he could move, he drew his sword and slashed at the person in front of him, but the person easily dodged it.

"Oh dear, why are you so fierce?" "Mo Hanyu" blinked and magically produced a gold-threaded hollowed-out bone fan, playfully hooking his chin, "After all, I helped you."

As he spoke, he unfolded the fan that had just touched Qin Xiao's chin and fanned himself lightly.

"you--"

Qin Xiao wiped his lips. Although he did feel a warmth rising in his body, his mind was a complete mess, with countless questions swirling around him, and he had no idea which one to deal with first.

Seeing him like this, "Mo Hanyu" suddenly chuckled, hugged him tightly, and affectionately rubbed his face and neck.

"Oh dear~ It's been so many years, why do you still look so dazed!"

Qin Xiao was stunned, like a puppet, letting him hold her in his arms, not knowing what to do.

Seeing that Qin Xiao had no reaction, the man ruffled his hair even more vigorously. Noticing the dried bloodstains under Qin Xiao's eyes, he suddenly stuck out his tongue. His long, moist, and soft tongue licked from his jaw all the way to the corner of his eye, removing the bloodstains.

Qin Xiao: !!!

Qin Xiao was horrified. His pupils trembled violently, and the hairs on his body stood on end. Before he could react, the person licked his cheek twice more and even gently bit and pulled it outwards.

"you--!!"

Qin Xiao finally realized what was happening and struggled to escape, only to find that the man was incredibly strong. He had tried his best, but the arms that were holding him tightly remained firmly in place.

Although Qin Xiao had taken a few more pills beforehand, he had just experienced such an intense confrontation, and coupled with his previous injuries, he couldn't withstand the shoving after only a few exchanges and began to cough softly while holding onto the other person's arm.

"I told you not to move, look—"

"Mo Hanyu" raised an eyebrow, clicked his tongue twice, and smiled.

"You are—" Qin Xiao saw his smile and finally remembered, "that demon."

—That demon who recently consumed the Nine-Flavor Demon Core.

Qin Xiao saw through his identity, but still couldn't understand why he was acting this way. Did he want to eat him? He had indeed felt canine teeth rubbing against his face just now, but...

Observing the demon's expression, however, one could not discern any desire to eat.

"You're being too polite."

The demon stuck out its tongue, licked the corner of its mouth with a playful and unrestrained air, and a wicked smile appeared on its face. Its pupils had changed color, and its appearance seemed to have changed.

"What? After all these years, have we really drifted apart?"

With a flick of the demon's folding fan, the fan leaves fell, and its entire appearance changed.

Her flowing sleeves lingered with fragrance, her robes fluttered in the breeze. Black hair, purple eyes—her beauty was unparalleled.

Qin Xiao's pupils shrank sharply as he stared at him in disbelief, unable to believe his eyes.

"That's not—?!"

Yuan Xuye was shocked and looked abruptly at his master beside him. Several elders of the Beast Taming Sect also showed expressions of astonishment.

"...Ninefold Samadhi?"

Qin Xiao's voice trembled, his eyes filled with complex emotions and a hint of gleam.

Qin Xiao didn't know how to describe his feelings at this moment. His reason told him that this was impossible; Jiu Mei was already dead, and he had seen it and gotten the answer from Yun Wang Mei...

But gazing at that beautiful and alluring face, my heart pounded wildly for a long time without calming down.

His intuition told him that this was the Nine Realms.

The beauty had black hair and wore purple, her hair cascading down to her waist like brocade. Her narrow eyes were alluring and captivating, with a beauty mark at the corner of her eye, making her bewitching and alluring, stirring the heart and making one feel as if one would fall into that seductive purple abyss if one were not careful.

"This is impossible..." Qin Xiao murmured, "How could this be—?"

"I absorbed my soul into my demon core, and this is just an empty shell." Jiu Mei nodded his chin, explaining in one sentence.

"...Possession?"

"I wouldn't call it that, would I? Everything here is soulless, just a bunch of walking corpses." Jiu Mei shook his fan and winked at Qin Xiao. "So what if I were to possess someone? I can still control my own body."

Upon seeing this, Qin Xiao fell silent.

"Tell me, how did you get so badly injured? Did those humans do this?" Jiu Mei opened her fan to cover the lower half of her face, revealing only her beautiful eyes, which narrowed slightly, curving into a dangerous arc.

Do you want me to kill them for you?

When Jiu Mei spoke, his tone carried the ferocity and danger unique to the demon race, yet his eyes still sparkled, his smile was gentle, and even his tone was tinged with amusement, as if he were discussing the weather.

"..." Qin Xiao looked at his bloodstained palm and slowly shook his head. "There will be a chance to meet again."

He preferred to solve the problem himself rather than have others interfere.

Seeing this, Jiu Mei said nothing more.

"Sigh, poor thing..." Jiu Mei didn't expect that when she saw Qin Xiao again, he would still look so pitiful. She couldn't help but hug Qin Xiao and rub his hair. "Look at this injury, tsk tsk tsk."

Qin Xiao: ...

Qin Xiao wanted to resist, but after struggling for a while he realized it was useless and gave up on himself.

"...Was Qin Xiao...being sexually assaulted just now?"

Lan Huaiqiu finally recovered from the shock of Qin Xiao being forcibly kissed. Tears still clung to the corners of her eyes as she looked at the two people struggling in the projection and murmured a question.

Yin Xihui: ...

Qiu Puyue glanced at her but didn't say anything.

"Jiu Mei, can you get out of here?"

"Hmm." Jiu Mei brushed the hair off the back of his neck, and after not seeing the wound, she pulled down his collar, searching for the scars on his body. Hearing Qin Xiao's question, she said casually, "I'll go into your soul sea and take him out later."

Mang Ling had previously told Qin Xiao that allowing a powerful being to enter one's soul sea was tantamount to handing over one's lifeline. The safety of one's consciousness and soul depended entirely on the other party's will; if the other party intended to, destroying one's primordial spirit was also a matter of a single thought, and one might even end up with the complete annihilation of both body and soul.

Qin Xiao simply said "oh," without suspecting anything, and nodded.

Jiu Mei was surprised by his decisiveness. She raised an eyebrow at him, smiled under his questioning gaze, and patted his head: "Your vigilance is still so weak."

Qin Xiao was puzzled, then saw him lift his arm and rub it to find the wound.

"Oh? What's this?" Jiu Mei noticed the ring Qin Xiao was wearing, and took it off in confusion. She immediately saw the vow engraved on the inner circle and asked in surprise, "You're married? What kind of girl is she?"

"No, no..." Qin Xiao stiffened when he heard the question, his eyes darting away.

"...Hmm?" Seeing his reaction, Jiu Mei knew there must be more to the story, and became even more curious. She leaned closer and pressed him for an answer. "How could that be? It's written very clearly here—'Unwavering Devotion'!"

"What? You've already made a vow before you're even married?" Jiu Mei teased.

Qin Xiao's ears turned slightly red, and he stammered, "This, this is—"

"—Hmm?" Jiu Mei thought he was just shy, and seeing his expression, she became even more interested. She leaned closer and teased, "Tell me, what kind of girl is she? Or is she not a girl? Or perhaps not human?"

Faced with Jiu Mei's intense and burning gaze, Qin Xiao felt a lump in his throat and stammered for a long time without being able to utter a word.

He couldn't even imagine the expression on Jiu Mei's face when he found out.

"So mysterious? If you hadn't told me, I would have seen it myself." Jiu Mei said, her eyes suddenly glowing.

"Wait—!" Qin Xiao quickly averted his gaze, not daring to look at him. "How could you do this? It's very rude and immoral to casually look into someone's memories."

"What you're saying..." Jiu Mei chuckled, "I'm not human, so what morals do I have?"

Qin Xiao: ...

Qin Xiao couldn't find a point to refute.

"Well... nothing much—but why did you merge your soul into the demon core? Can you sense your surroundings?" Qin Xiao racked his brains to change the subject.

"No way." Jiu Mei closed his fan and said, "I definitely won't have any memories after I die. The reason I put my soul in there was because that guy had been associating with demon beasts for many years. My demon core is a priceless treasure in the eyes of demon beasts. They would choose to devour it if there was any chance. I could take this opportunity to possess it."

As Jiu Mei spoke, he seemed to think of something, his eyes darkened slightly, his fan covered the lower half of his face, and his bangs slightly obscured his eyes, making it impossible to see his expression.

"Oh..." Seeing him like this, Qin Xiao thought of what Yun Wangmei and the others had told him. He wanted to ask him something, but he was afraid of touching on Jiu Mei's wounds, so he kept his mouth shut.

"Oh dear, what's wrong with you?" Jiu Mei noticed his dejected mood and chuckled, "Pity me?"

"No...no." Qin Xiao lowered his eyes and looked away.

Jiu Mei hummed a few more times, glanced around, and with his cultivation level, he could naturally sense the projection stones hidden in all directions. His pupils rolled around: "It really doesn't feel good to be spied on."

Qin Xiao didn't react for a moment: "What?"

Jiumei unfolded his fan again, and suddenly a gust of wind appeared.

As Jiu Mei suddenly exerted force with his arm, purple demonic energy, carrying wind blades, surged forth with Jiu Mei Qin Xiao at its center, and an invisible gale suddenly rose up, precisely and violently crushing all the projection stones!

The audience watched helplessly as the projection stones shattered one by one, and the projected images went dark one after another, the darkness engulfing the images without any discernible pattern until everything was gone.

"this--?!"

Xia Wu was startled.

"What's going on? Doesn't this mean we can't see the scene inside the fragments at all?"

"How can we compete like this?"

"Still thinking about the competition? In the current situation, we don't even know if the players are alive or dead!"

"..."

"very strange."

Yun Wangchuan sat at the table. His elder brothers and sisters had already gone wild when they saw Jiu Mei's appearance, and now they were in complete chaos. He, however, stared straight at the dark projection for a long time before asking a question.

"Why do I get the feeling... that guy knows that monster?"

Yun Wangchuan recalled their past interactions and sensed something strange.

"As expected, there is an end to it." Jiu Mei slowly withdrew his hand and chuckled.

"You can reach the boundary?" Although it was a question, Qin Xiao spoke with certainty.

"Of course, after all, it absorbed so much of my cultivation over the years." Jiu Mei fanned himself, not forgetting his original intention. "So, what kind of human was it?"

Qin Xiao: ...

Relying on his superior cultivation and Qin Xiao's poor condition, Jiu Mei forcibly pulled Qin Xiao into his arms, lifted his chin, and smiled ambiguously.

"talk?"

Qin Xiao tried to struggle, but it was utterly futile. He sighed helplessly, closed his eyes, and was about to say something—

"What are you doing?"

A familiar voice suddenly entered his ears. Qin Xiao turned around abruptly and saw Mo Hanyu standing behind him, staring at the two of them with an inscrutable expression.

"I--"

Qin Xiao wanted to say something.

"Holy crap!" Jiu Mei exclaimed in surprise.

Mo Hanyu ignored him and stared straight at Qin Xiao. When he saw the bloodstains on Qin Xiao's body, his eyes widened suddenly, and he strode forward and grabbed Qin Xiao's arm.

“…Who did it?”

Mo Hanyu's tone was icy, his eyes flashing with gold, and the surrounding temperature plummeted, filling the air with a chill.

Qin Xiao couldn't help but shiver.