The sweeping sands settled.

Xie Xuanyi waved his sleeve, gathering all remaining Sword Intent between heaven and earth back into his Forehead Cave Heaven.

He did not stop the Primordial Saint, instead allowing him to leave.

Of course, Xie Xuanyi knew... there would eventually be a battle between him and the Saint Prince, but that was a matter for the future. After meeting Hong Da and Hong Er at the Primordial Immortal Hall, Xie Xuanyi had a faint intuition in his Heart Lake that there might still be room for "reconciliation" in his relationship with Great Ape Mountain.

Even if the odds of success were very slim.

But Xie Xuanyi wanted to give it a try.

"Benevolent One."

As the sands dispersed, a woman’s worried voice rang from afar.

Ao Ying rode on a Flying Sword, slowly approaching.

She fell to sit on the Sword Qi gifted by Xie Xuanyi, supporting her knees with her hands, her red sleeves fluttering gracefully, looking utterly pitiful, with tears glistening in her eyes.

"This battle was terrifying."

Ao Ying leaned towards Xie Xuanyi, asking with soft and sugary words of concern, "Are you hurt, Benevolent One? Let Ao Ying have a look..."

"..."

Xie Xuanyi wasn’t swayed by this, directly waving his sleeve to retract the Sword Qi.

The Primordial Saint was already gone.

Ao Ying no longer needed his sword domain’s protection.

The red-clothed demoness, unguarded, lost her color in shock and fell with a gasp.

However, Xie Xuanyi had no intention of reaching out to save her...

With a heavy thud.

Ao Ying fell onto the sandy ground, her clothes, and her beautiful face entirely covered in dust, as she lifted her head, her eyes carrying a hint of resentment.

Ao Ying, after all, was a Great Demon at the Yin God Realm; withdrawing a wisp of Sword Qi should not cause such embarrassment. The reason she fell without using Qi Control was to test whether Xie Xuanyi had any compassion for her.

Originally, she assumed that he did.

After all, during the Yang God battle, Xie Xuanyi had pulled a wisp of Sword Qi to protect her.

But now it seemed...

She might have judged wrongly.

This guy was completely "uninterested in female charms," and sweet talk was utterly ineffective.

"Miss Ao, don’t play these tricks."

Xie Xuanyi slowly descended with Sword Control, hands clasped behind his back, and said calmly, "This isn’t the first time we’ve dealt with each other; we both know who we are."

Ao Ying indeed possessed considerable beauty.

In the Demon Country, she was considered strikingly beautiful.

But...

In Xie Xuanyi’s eyes, Ao Ying was not much different from ordinary women.

Of course, in terms of looks, Ao Ying was far from being number one.

Even Jiang Miaoyin, the greatest beauty in Qing State, a peerless beauty emerging once in a millennium in Great Chu, could only "fade into obscurity" in Xie Xuanyi’s presence.

"Alright..."

Ao Ying gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and steadied her Heart Lake.

In just two or three short breaths.

The red-robed demoness recovered, smoothing her disheveled hair, no longer playing the victim, but instead puffing her chest with calm composure and lightly laughing, "It’s said that all men in the world love pitiful women... Master Xie is indeed unique."

"You have nothing to do with the word ’pitiful’."

Xie Xuanyi shook his head, coldly saying, "You have cultivated to the Yin God Realm, yet any man connected with you has not ended well."

Even Prince Jiu suffered greatly.

Aside from losing the Secret Treasure called Feng Mou.

Back then, Prince Jiu personally chased Ao Ying to the Great Yue Kingdom, and not only failed to recover the Secret Treasure, he lost an arm, dropping an entire Realm.

"..."

The words seemed to strike a nerve.

Ao Ying was silent for a moment, stubbornly saying, "They deserved it!"

Having said that.

She glared provocatively at Xie Xuanyi.

At this moment, any thoughts of currying favor or flattering were set aside.

Ao Ying coldly said, "Also, since you know I’m not a good person, Master Xie, do not stay close to me, lest you get entangled in some dirty Cause and Effect. Letting me leave now is still possible... Ao Ying thanks Master Xie for not killing me!"

"..."

Xie Xuanyi remained expressionless, only slightly furrowing his brow.

This Ao Ying...

Was different from what he imagined.

Calling her smart, she truly was smart.

To endure three years alone in the Ruins, tolerate loneliness, silently cultivate, and survive, these are things only a smart person would do.

Calling her stupid, she was indeed stupid.

Clearly knowing that following him was the best choice, the only choice; the two previously reached a consensus in the Ancient Dragon Court, yet she still chose to irritate him at such a critical moment.

The Demon Country is a cold and ruthless place.

Not every powerful person has a good temper. If encountered by those who are decisive, such confrontation would have long been met with fierce punishment.

Was it his previous unintentional remark that struck Ao Ying’s hidden pain?

An untrained, unmentored demoness.

To cultivate to this point, she must have gone through countless trials, suffering, and hardships.

Xie Xuanyi didn’t want to know exactly what Ao Ying had endured.

But he subtly captured the fluctuations in her emotions.

If guessed correctly.

Her past likely hides an extremely heavy, unspeakable, unwilling-to-mention painful story.

"Do you truly wish to leave?"

A brief moment, countless thoughts crossed his mind.

Xie Xuanyi calmly said, "I previously mentioned I wanted to establish the Ancient Dragon Court and need a Dragon Descendant Demon Cultivator. As long as it is a Dragon Descendant Demon Cultivator, they can take the position... so, you are not the only choice."

The Demon Country is vast.

Dragon Descendant Demon Cultivators are extremely rare.

But not just Ao Ying.

Ao Ying’s cultivation to the Yin God Realm was largely due to abundant Creation.

If Xie Xuanyi took the Red Dragon Fortune and gave it to another person, it wouldn’t take long to create another noble Bloodline Dragon Descendant Demon Cultivator.

"..."

Ao Ying gritted her teeth, falling silent.

What she said before was, of course, in a fit of anger.

Having finally met someone powerful to cling to, it was only natural to hold on tightly. It’s just she hoped Xie Xuanyi would "value" her, for if joining a Great Cultivator would result in being dispatched recklessly, it wouldn’t be long before she became cannon fodder.

"You still have the right to choose now."

Xie Xuanyi calmly said, "If you want to leave, you can do so now. I take the Red Dragon Fortune, and Feng Mou remains yours."

The wind howled.

Silence all around.

"If there is no response, I would assume you choose to stay."

Xie Xuanyi paused briefly, slowly continued, "After leaving the Ruins, you need not worry about Chiling City’s hunt... If I am still alive, you need not worry about those Great Demons outside. Of course, in the future, there will be times when I need you to risk your life, but in those situations, I would have already put all my effort into it."

As he said these words.

Xie Xuanyi spoke slowly, word by word.

He continuously watched Ao Ying.

In the swirling sands, the red-clothed woman bit her lip, clutching her sleeves, lowering her head, like a child who made a mistake, unable to bring herself to apologize.

"... Understood."

Ao Ying’s voice was very soft, almost inaudible.

But Xie Xuanyi heard it.

"Hmm."

Xie Xuanyi didn’t say much more, only responded lightly, then turned and walked towards the edge of the desert’s ruins, his steps slow.

Ao Ying took a deep breath and quickly followed.