"The Illusion Mist Divine Beast’s Talent is exceptional. The key is that she is like a piece of raw, uncut jade—crystal clear and flawless. A dedicated Elder will be assigned to nurture her.

Even if we fail this time, it doesn’t matter. It will give them an opportunity for Hibernation.

And when they re-emerge, they are certain to dazzle the world with their talent and secure a place for themselves.

Of course, if you can survive, you will likely surpass many of the native Saint Sons and Saintesses, the Divine Sons and Divine Ladies. Your Realm will almost certainly leap ahead."

As the Celestial Secret God Master spoke, a faint smile touched his lips.

Perhaps this was the one small thing worth being happy about amid a series of terrible events.

"So, you’re saying that Ruoxue, Tianyu, and Tianmo getting injured might not be a bad thing? Their injuries will actually be blessed and healed by the Celestial Dao?"

Ye Tianling instantly grasped the deeper implications.

"Yes, that’s correct."

Seeing Ye Tianling ask this, the Celestial Secret God Master immediately understood. Ye Tianling had seen through to the essence of this change and fully grasped what was about to happen to this World. He couldn’t help but feel more at ease.

As the two spoke, Ye Tianling’s entire body began to tremble inexplicably.

SIZZLE—

In that instant, his heart suddenly grew exceptionally cold.

His very blood seemed to turn to ice.

"It’s here!"

The Celestial Secret God Master’s voice deepened, his expression turning grave.

"Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow, Cosmos of Primordial Chaos!"

"Profound Yellow Ancient Qi, Donghuang Bell, rise!"

...

The Celestial Secret God Master summoned the Donghuang Bell. With a resounding CLANG, the bell rang out.

The great Dao Sound rippled out in all directions.

But Ye Tianling’s body was instantly engulfed in terrifying Seven-Colored Flames.

It was a form of Celestial Dao Punishment.

At the same time, the entire Sword Ancestor Star began to shake.

BOOM—

The ground fractured, revealing immense, endless abysses.

Terrifying mountains erupted from the earth, piercing the heavens.

The sky itself stretched upward, becoming unfathomably deep and high, its peak unseen.

The land was stretched out, layer after layer.

Horrifying ancient life forms surged from beneath the ground.

The Ten Thousand Spirit Races all awoke from their long slumber.

Qingyang Town, once an ordinary small town, suddenly expanded by more than ten thousand times, transforming into an ancient, colossal city.

Towering, ancient trees stood majestically.

Forbidden Moon Cliff shot upward, connecting with the Blood-Colored Crescent Moon.

Upon the cliff, a sky-piercing ancient tree sprouted, its trunk ten thousand meters thick.

The Blood Moon swelled, manifesting a blood-red Celestial Curtain.

Within the Celestial Curtain, a massive, blood-colored figure was projected. It was three thousand meters tall, like a giant unparalleled in all of history.

He wielded a Blood Axe and began to chop at the giant ancient tree on Forbidden Moon Cliff.

THWACK—

THWACK—

With each swing of the axe, the ancient tree’s golden branches and leaves flew and scattered everywhere.

Every piece of withered branch that flew off was a golden Ancestral Tree Branch, identical to the Enlightenment Tree Withered Branches Ye Tianling had obtained before.

The Cold Pool below Forbidden Moon Cliff transformed into a peerless Spiritual Spring, which seemed to be nurturing a peerless Divine Spirit within.

Suddenly, this entire scene began to converge, then was abruptly absorbed by the Blood Moon.

The Blood Moon finally condensed into the silhouette of a Blood-Colored Crescent Moon and plummeted toward the Celestial Secret Divine Land.

...

SIZZLE SIZZLE SIZZLE—

Within the Seven-Colored Flames, Ye Tianling had no time to react before he was struck by a destructive calamity.

CLANG CLANG CLANG—

The Donghuang Bell rang violently, its deafening sound shaking the very heavens.

But even so, the intimidating aura of the Seven-Colored Flames on Ye Tianling’s body did not diminish in the slightest.

Peerless divine lights rained down from Heaven and Earth.

The entire World seemed to be caught between a destructive apocalypse and a peerless rebirth.

The world had fallen into chaos.

Ye Tianling continuously gathered his Bloodline Power and summoned his Samadhi True Fire, but he couldn’t resist at all.

Samadhi True Fire was a Celestial Fire, but the moment it appeared, it was instantly incinerated by the Seven-Colored Flames.

His Emotions were draining away, bit by bit, with horrifying clarity. It was like slitting an artery and being forced to listen to your own blood dripping away.

The feeling was terrifying.

"Tianling, this is an opportunity... Remember, in the future, you must find my Dao Body in the endless Void and marry me as your Dao partner—remember your promise, okay? I’ll be waiting for you."

Little Dragon Girl’s voice suddenly rang out.

A sharp pain seized Ye Tianling’s heart. He immediately realized what was happening and shouted in desperate anger, "No—don’t! I can get through this, don’t do it!"

Little Dragon Girl’s incredibly lovely figure manifested. "There, there... don’t cry. I’m just a Residual Soul living in the Mechanical Heart, and I also come from the Ancient Era. My Dao Body has been buried in that era all this time, which is why I can never grow up.

But now, if I die from the Celestial Dao Punishment, I won’t have to sleep for another three thousand years. I’ll be able to revive very soon. It’s just that... when that time comes, I really won’t remember you. You have to find me. Don’t abandon me."

Little Dragon Girl’s voice was very gentle.

It wasn’t that she had no Emotions.

She had stored them all away, waiting for this very moment to use them.

"I... How could I ever abandon you? How could I bear to? Little Dragon Girl, I’ll make you my Dao partner right now!"

Ye Tianling screamed frantically in his heart.

But Seven-Colored Flames began to burn on Little Dragon Girl’s body.

At the same time, a rift tore open in the Void, revealing a terrifyingly powerful Teleportation Array.

"No—!"

Ye Tianling roared.

"Tianling, if... when that time comes, I’m very willful and shrewish... you have to be patient with me... and forgive me... The real me isn’t cute at all, and my temper is terrible... But I believe that deep down, my care for you will still exist. It’s just... you’ll have to be the one to awaken that dormant heart. Are you willing?"

The Flames gradually spread over Little Dragon Girl’s body.

Ye Tianling didn’t know what kind of technique this was, but his own impending destruction was gradually receding.

What was even more shocking was that his lost Emotions were returning, bit by bit.

Time seemed to freeze in that moment.

"I... I am willing..."

Ye Tianling was powerless to stop it.

He suddenly understood. When he had made his trade in the Forgotten Dust World, Little Dragon Girl had also completed a trade of her own.

He had traded for Battle Power and resolved his future troubles.

And Little Dragon Girl had traded for his safe passage through this Tribulation.

"Then... that’s good... Tianling, you must live Unrestrained and Indulgent, free and with heroic spirit. Don’t be sad. I’m just using my life in this era to trade for your tribulation. In a way, it’s a release for me, too. My Dao Body still exists, buried in an ancient Secret Realm treasure ground..."

Little Dragon Girl said softly.

But Ye Tianling shed tears of blood.

He thought back to before he had wreaked havoc on the Dragon Race. Little Dragon Girl had said that if he did it, the consequences would be unimaginable.

At the time, he never could have imagined this would be the outcome.

But the Little Dragon Girl of back then had clearly foreseen such an ending—otherwise, she would never have taken him to the Forgotten Dust World.