Li Ruowang strode directly into the room. Without a word, he leaned against the doorframe, the little golden dragon beginning to coil and slither across his wrist. Ye Yu had already conveyed everything to her via telepathic sound transmission, so she naturally knew what to do. As long as Yao Wuyai remained disciplined, Li Ruowang would do nothing. But if there were the slightest sign of treachery, death would surely follow. In short, Li Ruowang’s presence was nothing more than a symbol of deterrence.
Once everything was in place, Ye Yu stepped forward, grasped Zheng Nuanshou’s right hand, and slowly closed his eyes. His Imperial-realm divine soul detached from his body, taking on a solid form almost indistinguishable from a living person. Casting a quick glance at Yao Wuyai, Ye Yu’s soul dove into Zheng Nuanshou’s Heart Sea.
Inside, there was only a small island surrounded by murky waters, the entire scene oppressive and icy. Ye Yu frowned. He was surprised to find no sign of Zheng Nuanshou’s presence. Under normal circumstances, a divine soul would remain on the Heart Sea island—but where was she? Ye Yu scoured the area with his divine sense, but found nothing.
After pondering for a moment, he turned toward the murky waters and lightly tapped his toe, diving straight in. Down below, countless bubbles floated—some containing ruins of the Exorcist Immortal Sect, but more held scenes of himself: their first meeting, their encounter in the Demon Realm, the time he helped slay the evil immortal. Ye Yu was astonished. Were there really so many memories of himself?
He raised his right hand and gently tapped one bubble. The scene unfurled like a projection screen, playing out in real time—quite a marvel. But Ye Yu did not linger; he pressed on, scanning with his divine sense for Zheng Nuanshou’s soul.
Soon he reached deeper waters where all the bubbles had turned gray, their contents blurred and unbreakable. Undeterred, he continued until he found the densest cluster of bubbles—and there, at the very center, he saw Zheng Nuanshou. She sat cross-legged with her eyes tightly shut, encased in a black barrier that enveloped her completely. This must be the seal Yao Wuyai had mentioned.
How to break it? Ye Yu advanced and pressed his fist against the barrier, exerting force to shatter it while carefully controlling the power to avoid harming Zheng Nuanshou. But he had clearly underestimated its strength; no matter how hard he pushed, it would not budge.
Very well—he would have to use a trick. With a thought, Ye Yu unleashed the Taishang She Ling Jue, and a purple talisman instantly appeared in his hand. He pressed it against the barrier. The surrounding waters roared violently, surging toward the black seal.
Ka!
A crisp crack rang out. The barrier began to fracture under the immense pressure. Seizing the moment, Ye Yu thrust forward with a punch. The seal could no longer withstand the force and shattered completely.
A powerful shockwave burst forth, and before Ye Yu could retract his fist, he was hurled backwards for over a thousand meters. The waters around him churned as if to engulf this tiny world.
“Break the seal and leave at once—do not linger!” Li Ruowang’s voice echoed from a distant corner.
Without hesitation, Ye Yu drew his soul back out of Zheng Nuanshou’s body and returned to his own form. He snapped his eyes open and immediately checked on her. Zheng Nuanshou’s face was flushed deep red, and she remained unconscious.
“What’s happened?” Ye Yu asked.
“I-I don’t know,” Yao Wuyai stammered, lowering her head anxiously. “This method came from an ancient text. In theory she should have woken by now!”
She bent down to examine Zheng Nuanshou and retrieved an Immortal pill from her storage ring, preparing to feed it to her.
“Wait! What’s this pill for?” Ye Yu grabbed her hand.
Yao Wuyai trembled. “It’s to soothe the divine soul. After that shock, only steadying her soul will keep her alive.” She sounded sincere enough. But if they were to calm her soul, they might as well use a higher-grade pill.
Seizing a pretext, Ye Yu slipped the pill from her hand, left the room, and opened the Great Dao—“Dream of Three Thousand Worlds,” selecting “Infinite Synthesis.” He fused the entire bottle of pills into one, then, worried it might be insufficient, drew another bottle of high-grade Soul-stabilizing pills from his ring and fused that in as well. Moments later, the two pills had combined into a single pill of tremendous potency.
Suddenly, the clear sky darkened as thunder rumbled above Wuwei Pagoda, clouds gathering as a storm threatened.
Damn! Had the pill’s grade drawn the Heavens’ attention? It seemed so—the potency was perhaps too great.
He hurried back inside and placed the pill in Zheng Nuanshou’s mouth. Yao Wuyai, as a medical immortal, watched in wide-eyed shock. Despite her mastery of alchemy, she had never seen such a high-grade Immortal pill—the aura alone dazzled the eyes.
As soon as Zheng Nuanshou swallowed, a surging energy enveloped her body. In moments, her flushed complexion normalized, and a tidal wave of immortal power surged through her: late Earth-immortal stage, earth-immortal completion, early Celestial-immortal stage... her cultivation leapt visibly higher until it stabilized ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) at the peak of Half-step Imperial Realm. She was safe.
Yao Wuyai exhaled deeply. “She should be fine now. In a day or two she’ll wake—then if there’s any trouble...”
Before she could finish, Zheng Nuanshou abruptly sat up, gasping for air in panic, her aura still trembling at the Half-step Imperial peak.
Yao Wuyai was astonished at how quickly she awoke—“Sister, you make me feel unprofessional!”
Ye Yu watched this scene with a strange familiarity. Of course—every time his dream broke and he died to awaken, it was always like this: reborn from drowning.
Li Ruowang rushed forward. “Junior-sister, how do you feel?”
“Senior-sister, why are you here? Have you also reincarnated because of that terrifying presence?” Zheng Nuanshou’s eyes remained full of terror.
Li Ruowang looked puzzled. “What terrifying presence?”
Zheng Nuanshou pressed her hands to her cheeks, pausing before whispering, “I remember that immortals of this era called that terror the ‘Heavenly Calamity.’”
