29: Supreme Realm Trial

This chapter contains romance, which some might find off-putting. You can just skim this chapter and Chapter 33; there won't be any more of it later, only non-stop hype! If you can make it through this chapter and Chapter 33, type '1' in the comments, haha.

The golden light receded like a tide, and Lin Yuan's pupils suddenly constricted!

Before him, above the boundless abyss of the Universe, a translucent white jade altar floated eerily. It was surrounded by nine stone pillars that reached toward the heavens, upon which ancient runes flowed as if they had existed since the dawn of creation, emitting a heart-palpitating aura of vast antiquity. However, what shook Lin Yuan's Soul even more was the figure at the other end of the altar—Bai Li!

Her moon-white battle robe was stained with blood, appearing even more tragically beautiful under the cold starlight. Her fingertips trembled slightly as she plucked a broken zither, producing a discordant hum. Her beautiful eyes were filled with unbelievable horror: "How... you clearly..." She had seen with her own eyes Lin Yuan being completely swallowed by that destructive curtain of light; according to the rules, he should have been eliminated by tenfold power long ago! Yet now, he stood with her on this Fifth Heaven, which symbolized both Supreme glory and cruelty!

Boom—!

The void was torn open like a curtain! A voice of will, as if traveling from the ancient primordial past and carrying the pressure of collapsing stars, resounded through this deathly silent starry sky:

"Lin Yuan, Peak Combat Power—28,308 stars!"

"Bai Li, Peak Combat Power—10,380 stars!"

The cold numbers were like a giant hammer, slamming hard against Bai Li's heart. She subconsciously fingered the broken zither strings, a small movement that betrayed the mountain-shattering shock she felt—the Prodigy of Yuqing Palace, a once-in-a-million-years talent, her cold, moon-like body was actually trembling slightly!

The ground of the altar suddenly lit up, and crimson formation runes spread like living creatures, outlining a suffocating pattern of slaughter. The ancient voice pronounced a cruel fate: "However, limited by the Laws of heaven and earth... for each generation of King of the Extreme Realm, only one may remain!"

Bai Li snapped her head up! Despair, like the deepest ice, instantly froze the starlight in her eyes. It was an expression Lin Yuan had never seen on the face of this proud Fairy. Her cherry-red lips parted slightly as if she had a thousand words to say, but in the end, they only turned into her biting her lower lip hard, drawing a spot of piercingly bright red.

"However..." The voice took a sudden turn, carrying a hint of indescribable temptation and terror, "now, you have another choice, if one of you is willing to challenge the legendary... Extreme Realm Supreme!"

Buzz—!

The ceiling of the Eighth Heaven suddenly exploded! An endless curtain of light, like a celestial river reversed, intertwined and condensed into a staircase to heaven forged from billions of stars!

Every step shone with the brilliance of a sun, leading directly to the Supreme Ninth Heaven! At the end of the stairs, a crystal floated quietly; the fluctuations it contained, even just a stray wisp, made the entire starry sky tremble!

"One must achieve 100,000 combat power... while in the Awakening Realm!" The voice became like a clap of thunder, filled with unquestionable solemnity. "From the Primordial Era until now, across the All Heavens and Myriad Realms, and the Central Continent... those who succeeded could be counted on three fingers!"

One hundred thousand!

Lin Yuan's breathing grew heavy, and his blood roared through his veins! His current combat power of 28,436 stars was already enough to contend with most Spirit Refining Realm Martial Artists! If he could reach 100,000... he would be truly invincible in the Awakening Realm! He would crush the Gathering Origin Realm and sweep through the Spirit Refining Realm!

From the corner of his eye, he saw Bai Li stagger as if struck! Her fingertips dug deep into her palms, and blood dripped along the broken strings, blooming into tragic blood-flowers on the cold altar. Lin Yuan's mind suddenly flashed back to the Third Heaven, when she had whispered: "Revered Master said... if I cannot become the King of the Extreme Realm... I will..."

Lin Yuan's gaze fell on Bai Li's face. That countenance, once as cold as the moon and capable of making the galaxy lose its luster, was now pale as paper, written with despair and forced fragility. Especially that tear hanging from her long lashes, about to fall but not yet falling, like a plummeting cold star, it silently struck his heart.

He had seen her coldness when she swept through powerful enemies, and her aloofness when her zither notes pierced the air. But this appearance of being driven to a dead end, having cast off all pride, and even carrying a hint of pleading resignation... was etched more clearly in his eyes than at any other moment.

In a daze, he seemed to see himself from many years ago, helpless on a rainy night, only able to watch as everything slipped away. He had tasted that cold despair, so he did not want to see it in her eyes again.

Not only that, but along the way, he had witnessed this woman's tenacity and pride. She was no hothouse flower, but like him, a King of the Extreme Realm who had fought her way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. He respected such an opponent and could not bear to see such brilliance extinguished by cold rules. Her Dao should not stop here.

An indescribable impulse churned in his chest, overriding any weighing of pros and cons.

"I accept the challenge!"

Lin Yuan's voice was resolute, like a divine sword unsheathed, instantly tearing through the heavy despair!

Bai Li snapped her head around! The shock in her eyes was almost a tangible impact! She stared fixedly at this man who had swept through all opposition and whose Purple-Gold Divine Runes reflected the starry sky.

His profile was like it was chiseled, so firm it seemed he could carry the weight of the entire Universe. Her body even leaned forward half a step uncontrollably, her fingertips unconsciously hooking a piece of a broken zither string, which emitted a piercing shriek. Her voice carried a hint of trembling and urgency she hadn't noticed herself:

"Lin Yuan! Do you... do you know that 100,000 combat power is beyond the reach of the Awakening Realm? That is an Ancient Taboo! It is the Path of Heavenly Severance! Yuqing Palace's records state that among those who tried... eight or nine out of ten had their Divine Souls obliterated!"

Lin Yuan looked back, his eyes burning bright, his lips curling into an almost arrogant arc with a hint of being flippant. He intentionally used a tone so relaxed it was almost teasing: "If I don't try, how will I know it's impossible?"

As Lin Yuan looked at the tear hanging from Bai Li's long lashes, the joke about "if I don't try" had just left his mouth when a sharp sting of pain flashed through his heart.

He remembered when he received the message about his parents' "death," he had seen himself in the mirror, his eyes filled with just such despair. In the days of surviving alone later, he had seen too many people give up in desperate situations; those hollow eyes were like brands seared into his Soul.

Bai Li shouldn't be like this. Her zither music should resound through the Nine Heavens, and her pride should be as brilliant as the galaxy, not crushed by the bloodiness of this altar and the cruelty of fate.

"Besides... I don't like seeing a peerless beauty crying here." He deliberately spoke lightly, but his fingertips rose uncontrollably—he wanted to wipe away that tear, just as he had wanted to find the truth about his parents' deaths back then, instinctively wanting to grasp this wisp of light that was about to be extinguished.

"You'll die!" Bai Li's voice suddenly rose, her icy exterior completely shattering, no longer able to maintain even a shred of calm as panic overflowed from her eyes. "I wouldn't even dare to have the thought of trying! This is the Path of Heavenly Severance!"

She stepped forward almost uncontrollably, instantly closing the distance between her and Lin Yuan. Those beautiful eyes that once reflected the starlight were now filled with immense fear and a forced resolution. A blood-stained slender hand, carrying a tremor she hadn't noticed, suddenly grabbed a corner of Lin Yuan's blood-stained sleeve!

The moment her fingertips touched that rough, blood-stained fabric, a strange warmth and... the feeling of being firmly chosen, like a faint electric current, unexpectedly pierced through her frozen heart defenses. This feeling was too strange! So strange it made her heart race in confusion!

The moment Bai Li retracted her hand as if struck by lightning, a memory from a cold winter years ago flashed through her mind—to fight for the "Clear Heart Jade Marrow" that could enhance musical comprehension, she had been poisoned with Spirit-Sealing Powder by her usually gentle Senior Sister and collapsed in the snow.

Her Senior Sister stepped on her blue-purple frozen fingers to pick up the jade marrow, sneering condescendingly: "The weak do not deserve opportunities. Your talent was meant to pave the way for me."

Scenes from the trial Secret Realms followed: her wounded self being pushed toward a Yao Beast's maw by a Junior Brother, the twisted selfishness on that boy's face still burning in her memory. Her Revered Master's cold teachings echoed in her ears: "The Dao is a solitary path; the word 'emotion' is the greatest tribulation in cultivation."

But this boy before her... this Lin Yuan, who should have been her final opponent, was actually going to brave a dead end that even her Revered Master regarded as a taboo, all for the sake of saying "I don't want to see you cry."

The lingering sensation of the fabric on her fingertips and the scent of blood formed a piercing contrast with the cold snow in her memory, causing a crack to open in her frozen heart for the first time, from which a panic she herself feared surged out.

Although her Revered Master held high hopes for her, the teachings were always about "walking the Dao alone," "severing mortal ties," and "when it comes to resources and opportunities, fight for them and do not harbor womanly compassion"... Beneath the halo of Yuqing Palace's once-in-a-million-years Prodigy were the eyes of countless fellow disciples that were either calculating, jealous, or reverent, but uniquely lacking in warmth.

To become stronger, for resources, for that ethereal Great Dao... she had long since grown accustomed to the omnipresent coldness, calculation, and betrayal within the Sect. Giving one's heart? Taking risks for others? Those were things only fools would do! Bai Li's state of mind had long been tempered like ten-thousand-year-old ice! Or rather, her Soul had already fallen into darkness through repeated injuries, and she held no hope for this cruel world of cultivation!

But this boy before her... this boy she wasn't even well-acquainted with and who should have been her final opponent... he actually, for the sake of... for the sake of not wanting to see her cry, dared to brave this dead end that even her Revered Master called "Heaven-Severing"?

"Is he... is he crazy? Why..." This thought exploded like thunder in her chaotic mind, bringing with it an unprecedented shock and a... fluttering she herself could not understand. This feeling was so strange, so surging, that it instantly swept away the cold logic she tried to maintain.

However, the sensation from her fingertips and the strong scent of blood on Lin Yuan seemed to instantly burn her awake! As if scorched by a red-hot iron, her fingertips suddenly curled, and she snatched her hand back as if struck by an electric shock!

That forced "unfettered" air instantly collapsed, leaving only a visible awkwardness and a deeper despair. Her Sect's teachings made her not dare to look into Lin Yuan's eyes again, as if that gaze could burn through her frozen Dao Heart.

"Forget it... there's no need to go down that path!" Her voice grew low, carrying an almost weak exhaustion and a resigned compromise, sounding more like she was trying to convince herself. "I concede... you don't have to... you don't have to take this risk for me. It's not worth it..." The last four words were as faint as a mosquito's buzz, yet they were saturated with complex and difficult-to-describe emotions.

There was fear of her Sect's shadow, confusion over this "irrational" sacrifice, and even a faint tremor after being touched that she herself hadn't noticed.

Lin Yuan looked at her.

Those blood-stained fingertips were dug deep into her palms, and blood dripped along the broken strings, blooming into a piercing red on the cold altar.

That face, once cold and aloof, capable of making the galaxy lose its luster, was now pale as paper, written with despair and forced fragility. Especially that icy tear hanging from her long lashes, about to fall but not yet falling, like a plummeting cold star, it silently struck his heart.

He had seen her coldness when she swept through powerful enemies, and her aloofness when her zither notes pierced the air. But this appearance of being driven to a dead end, having cast off all pride, and even carrying a hint of pleading resignation... was etched more clearly in his eyes than at any other moment.

An indescribable irritation and... some strange fluttering churned in his chest. The experience of losing his parents and living alone had made his will far firmer than ordinary people, and he had always believed in the supremacy of power. But this tear, these beautiful eyes filled with despair and complex emotions, caused a crack to appear in the calm he prided himself on.

"Why cry..." he whispered in his heart, with a hint of a young man's specific awkwardness when facing a woman's tears and a slight annoyance, but more than that, it was an almost instinctive impulse.

He wanted to wipe away that eyesore of a tear, to break this damn despair! She shouldn't be like this; she should be that cold, moon-like Bai Li who looked down on her entire generation!

This impulse was so strong it even overrode the status of "opponent" and his usual indifference toward the boundaries between men and women. It was as if if he didn't do this, that frost of despair would completely freeze this peerless beauty who was unsettling his mind.

Thus, as if possessed, Lin Yuan's finger rose, and with a gentleness he himself hadn't noticed that brooked no resistance, he lightly brushed away that icy tear from her cheek.

Bai Li's body suddenly stiffened, as if hit by a faint electric current. She subconsciously wanted to turn her head away, but the warmth of that fingertip and its unquestionable gentleness made her stop instantly. Unbelievable shyness and panic struck her usually frozen heart for the first time, and even her earlobes were stained with a faint, intoxicating crimson.

"I want to try!" Those four words were plain and simple, yet like the first clap of thunder at the dawn of Chaos, they slammed hard into the depths of Bai Li's Dao Heart, stirring up unprecedented, heaven-toppling waves!

"Extreme Realm Supreme Trial... begin!" The ancient voice announced the start of the ultimate challenge!

Rumble—!!!

The entire starry sky seemed about to be torn apart! A silver pagoda of indescribable grandeur, carrying the terrifying world-creating power, broke through the void and descended forcefully!

The pagoda was over a thousand feet tall, its entire body inscribed with countless runes so profound they were Soul-rending! Three ancient Seal script characters, seemingly condensed from the Chaos Origin—"Law Pagoda"—emitted a Supreme pressure that made all Laws submit and stars fall.

Every stroke seemed to contain billions of galaxies within it, cycling through life and death; just looking directly at it was enough to shatter the Dao foundations of most Gathering Origin Realm experts!

"Fifteen days! Comprehend a wisp of Law!" The voice was like the resonance of billions of Dao principles, every syllable vibrating with the Origin of the Universe. "Comprehend any single Law to 1% progress to ascend! Failure... means the end of the trial and the obliteration of your Divine Soul!"

Bai Li knew better than anyone how absolutely terrifying this requirement was—ordinary Martial Artists needed to reach the Myriad Laws Realm before they were qualified to catch a first glimpse of the threshold of Laws! And Lin Yuan... was only in the Awakening Realm!

"Give up..." Her voice was as faint as a sleep-talker's murmur, and for the first time, ripples of despair appeared in her usually cold eyes. "My Revered Master... back then, comprehended a wisp of the Law of Music at the ninth layer of the Gathering Origin Realm... and was immediately designated as the Palace Revered Master candidate by the Holy Land... five hundred years later, she became the 'Heavenly Music Saint'..." That was a myth she looked up to, and what Lin Yuan had to do was even earlier and a hundred times harder than that myth!

Before she could finish, a warm palm with slight calluses actually landed, with an unquestionable dominance, directly atop her cascading silken hair. With a bit of youthful mischief, he even ruffled it firmly!

This unprecedented, almost sacrilegious act of intimacy caused this aloof Music Fairy to be struck by lightning, instantly freezing her in place! A strange numbness exploded from the top of her head, instantly sweeping through her entire body.

She could clearly feel the warmth and power remaining on that palm, as well as... a faint scent of blood. Her jade-like earlobes, along with her delicate neck, were stained with a breathtaking, intoxicating crimson at a visible speed.

"Wait for me." Still just three simple words, yet they were like they carried immense thunder, cutting off all her unfinished persuasion and despair, leaving only a resolute determination and promise that slammed heavily onto the lake of her heart.

The moment Lin Yuan stepped into the Law Pagoda, the heavy doors closed with a cold, booming roar!

Bai Li stood frozen on the spot, her fingertips unconsciously, and with a heart-flutter she hadn't noticed herself, lightly twining a few strands of hair he had mussed.

Her other hand, by some strange impulse, moved to touch her cheek—there, it felt as if it were still branded with the burning warmth and sensation from when his fingertips had brushed away her tear.

This feeling was so clear, so clear it made her heart tremble slightly. She gazed at the coldly shut pagoda doors; her eyes were no longer filled with pure despair, but with complex and difficult-to-describe worry, confusion, and a... faint spark ignited by his almost arrogant confidence, which she herself hadn't yet noticed.

"Wait... for you? In this kind of place?" She subconsciously repeated these two words in her heart, her cool voice echoing in her Sea of Consciousness, carrying a thick sense of absurdity and helplessness. "Madman... truly an unreasonable madman..." This low rebuke was less of anger and more of a panicked cover-up for the inappropriate throb in her heart.

However, beneath this cold despair and rational rebuke, a much weaker yet stubborn thought, like a seed breaking through the soil, persistently emerged from the most secret corner of her Dao Heart, carrying a tremor she hadn't even realized:

"What if... what if he... really... does it?"

This thought was like a spark thrown into the depths of ten-thousand-year profound ice; though weak, it carried a heat that could not be ignored. Upon the peerless Prodigy of Yuqing Palace's Dao Heart—which had been tempered by her Sect to be harder than ice and coldly detached—an indelible mark belonging solely to "Lin Yuan" was quietly carved, thanks to this young man's overbearing yet gentle "kneading" and his resonant words, "Wait for me."

This mark might have been subtle at first, but it was enough to cause that ten-thousand-year ice to crack, opening a rift toward the unknown.

"Buzz!"

Lin Yuan felt as if he had fallen into a primordial furnace before Chaos had even begun! No longer threads, but billions of surging, roaring, and colorful torrents of Laws! They danced like angry Dragons, weaving into a brilliant aurora of destruction and creation, each containing the power to open or end a great world! Lin Yuan concentrated, his Mental Energy reaching out like tentacles toward the nearest crimson torrent—the violent Law of Fire!

"Pfft—!"

It was as if billions of red-hot irons were simultaneously stabbing into his Sea of Consciousness! Lin Yuan let out a muffled groan, his knee slamming heavily onto the cold floor of the pagoda, and a mouthful of scalding blood sprayed out! The intense pain almost tore his Divine Soul apart! However, at the edge of losing consciousness, he forced his mind to focus on the data panel, his pupils suddenly shrinking to pinpoints:

[Current Law Affinity]

Law of Thunder: 5% (Thunder Origin talent boost)

Law of Fate: 3% (Mysterious and unknown)

Law of Life: 1% (Life and Death Creation ability)

Law of Death: 1% (Life and Death Creation ability)

Others: 0.1% (Primordial Dao Body 0.1% Awakening degree! Affinity with all things!)

"Primordial Dao Body... Affinity with all things... It really is so!" He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, an unyielding fire burning in his eyes. As time passed, he put all his effort into comprehending the most compatible Law of Thunder, but the result of his deduction made his heart heavy—even with his best efforts, he could only complete 1% in ten days!

An Opportunity! The sensation from the fate dice clearly emerged! He took it out without hesitation. The ancient dice spun rapidly in his palm, pulling at the invisible power of fate, finally settling steadily—

[3 points!]

[Mental Energy +300 stars! (1200 stars → 1500 stars)]

A cool and majestic surge of energy instantly flooded into his Sea of Consciousness, like a parched riverbed being moistened by sweet rain; his spirits were lifted!

Just as he was preparing to strike the torrent of the Law of Thunder again, a thought flashed like lightning—the dao observing sword! The information he had glimpsed briefly before!

He immediately took out that seemingly ordinary longsword and poured his Mental Energy into it. The blade trembled slightly, and a stream of information flooded into his mind:

[dao observing sword]

[Ability 1: Sacrifice!]

Permanently consume 100 stars of Mental Energy to randomly obtain 1% comprehension of a Law!

[Warning: With every sacrifice, the pain of Soul-tearing doubles! It is endless!]

[Current Mental Energy: 1500 stars, available sacrifices: 5!] (Consuming 500 stars of Mental Energy in exchange for 5 types of Laws)

"Come!" There was no hesitation in Lin Yuan's eyes, only a near-maniacal decisiveness! He instantly locked in the first sacrifice!

"Argh—!!!"

It felt as if ten million red-hot steel needles had suddenly pierced through from the deepest part of his Soul! The pain surpassed the limits of the physical body, pointing directly at the Origin of his Divine Soul! His tough, purple-gold physique instantly cracked with bloodstains like a spiderweb!

Lin Yuan's painful roar penetrated the heavy walls of the Law Pagoda, stabbing into Bai Li's heart like the sharpest icicle! Her face instantly turned as pale as paper, and her body swayed violently, as if the pain was acting directly upon her!

Having just experienced the first stirrings of love, she didn't know why Lin Yuan's roar gripped her heart so tightly, making her almost suffocate. "What is that sound?! What... what is he going through?! A pain more terrifying than death?!" Fear and worry flooded over her like a cold tide.

"Lin Yuan! Stop! Stop quickly! I don't want you to try anymore! I don't want to become a King of the Extreme Realm!" she screamed at the tightly closed pagoda door, her cool voice carrying an unprecedented sob and desperate plea; though she knew it was useless, she couldn't control herself.

However, amidst this inhuman torture, light exploded on the data panel:

[Law of Wood: 1%!] (Endless growth, Origin nourishment, combat power +10,000 stars!)

A majestic and vast power, full of infinite vitality, instantly merged into his limbs and bones!

Before the intense pain faded, Lin Yuan gritted his teeth, his eyes nearly splitting! Again!

"Roar—!!!"

The second sacrifice! The pain was like being crazily gnawed by billions of bone-eroding poisonous ants! His Soul felt as if it had been thrown into a millstone and repeatedly ground! His body shook violently, and blood seeped from his seven orifices! But he held on desperately!

[Law of Fire: 1%!] (Burning the heavens and boiling the seas, violent destruction, combat power +10,000 stars!)

Scorching and violent energy exploded within his body, forming a strange clash with the vitality of Wood!

"Pfft!" A third mouthful of blood sprayed out! The third sacrifice! The pain had turned into a literal Chaos storm, raging in his Sea of Consciousness! His bones were letting out groans of being overburdened!

[Law of Water: 1%!] (The highest good is like water, the ultimate softness yet ultimate strength, combat power +10,000!)

A gentle and long-lasting yet incomparably resilient power circulated through his body, slightly smoothing the violent fire energy.

"Crack!" It was as if his Soul had been torn apart by force! The fourth time! Lin Yuan's body almost curled into a ball, the purple-gold light flickering uncertainly, and the cracks on his body's surface were deep enough to see bone!

[Law of Earth: 1%!] (Great virtue carries all things, immovable as a mountain, combat power +10,000 stars!)

A heavy, stable power that carries all things was injected, causing his teetering body to miraculously stabilize.

The last time! The fifth sacrifice! Lin Yuan's consciousness was almost swallowed by endless darkness! It wasn't pain, but a sense of total annihilation! It felt as if his entire existence was about to be erased! Ten thousand ants eating his heart? That would be heaven! This was a true tribulation of Divine Soul extinction!

"Ugh... Ahhhhh—!!!" A roar that didn't sound human was squeezed out from the depths of his throat!

[Law of Metal: 1%!] (Indestructible, peerless sharpness, combat power +10,000 stars!)

An incomparably sharp aura that could cut through anything soared into the sky!

"Buzz—!!!"

Five dazzling Law rings—Green Wood, Red Fire, Black Water, Yellow Earth, and White Metal—suddenly erupted behind Lin Yuan! They were no longer acting independently but were instantly interwoven, resonating, and rotating! A massive Five Elements wheel, encompassing all things and evolving life and death, rose magnificently behind him!

Rumble!

The Chaos Spiritual Qi that had been silent within the pagoda for billions of years was like an ocean that had found an outlet, pouring into Lin Yuan's body crazily and almost greedily! His aura surged upward like a rocket!

Outside the pagoda, Bai Li, who was constantly monitoring the aura inside, felt the terrifying yet harmonious majestic power emitted by the magnificent Five Elements wheel that encompassed all things!

An indescribable complex aura of vitality, destruction, heaviness, sharpness, and endurance instantly filled this starry sky. Immense joy and hope exploded in her eyes like the morning sun! He did it! He was truly creating a miracle!

However, at the Peak of this surge in power—

"Pfft—!" Lin Yuan suddenly spat out a large mouthful of black blood mixed with fragments of internal organs! The terrifying backlash from the fifth sacrifice, enough to make anyone break down, crashed down like billions of Archaic Divine Mountains! His vision went black, and his body fell backward like a broken doll! The newly formed Five Elements wheel shook violently, its light flickering.

"Lin Yuan—!!!"

Bai Li seemed to see the scene of Lin Yuan challenging a dead end for her, only to spit blood and collapse, with the Five Elements wheel about to dissipate. Her immense joy instantly turned into heart-wrenching despair!

Bai Li's heart felt as if it were being crushed by an invisible giant hand! The state of mind she had tempered in Yuqing Palace to be incomparably cold was now shattered completely! What reserve! What cold detachment! What rules! She threw them all to the back of her mind!

"Lin Yuan!" she cried out, no longer caring about her Fairy-like demeanor. Her blood-stained hands pressed hard against the freezing pagoda wall, as if doing so could bring her closer to him.

"Hold on! You must hold on!" she screamed at the cold wall, her voice carrying a sob and an unprecedented decisiveness. "If you die, even if I become this King of the Extreme Realm, what meaning would it have?!"

These words blurted out, leaving even her stunned. That deeply buried emotion she didn't dare admit was exposed completely at this moment.

Just a moment before his consciousness completely sank into endless darkness, in Lin Yuan's blurred perception, he seemed to catch that blood-weeping cry that pierced the Soul, as well as the faint yet resolute vibration coming from the pagoda wall.

An indescribable trace of warmth, like the last spark, flickered weakly in the depths of his Divine Soul that was about to be extinguished.

The tremors of the Law Pagoda had not yet subsided, and Bai Li's palms had already left bloodstains on the cold wall.

The spiritual power under her moon-white battle robe drained away like an ebbing tide; the suicidal impact from just now had almost drained ninety percent of her cultivation. Yet the pagoda wall remained motionless, with only the blood from her palms snaking along the rune grooves like desperate little red snakes.

"Lin Yuan..." Her voice was as hoarse as if it had been rubbed by sandpaper, her fingertips unconsciously digging into the cracks of the pagoda wall, not even noticing when her nails broke. Her mind repeatedly replayed the overbearing way Lin Yuan had rubbed her hair and the gentleness with which he had wiped the tears from her face.

"Walking the Great Dao alone? Severing worldly ties?" Bai Li self-mockingly smiled, her laughter tinged with blood. "So... it was all a lie."

She slowly sat down cross-legged, holding the broken zither in her arms, her fingertips lightly plucking the broken strings. Out-of-tune notes sounded in the dead silence of the void, weak yet stubborn—it was her using her remaining spiritual power to play the "Heart Clearing Incantation" of Yuqing Palace over and over again.

She didn't know what use this had, for she had no other way; perhaps she just wanted that figure enduring purgatory-like suffering inside the pagoda to hear a familiar sound.

As the music flowed, the Seal within her body that her Revered Master had strictly forbidden her from touching actually loosened unconsciously. An extremely faint green light, carrying the aura of life, seeped out from between her brows and quietly entered the runes of the Law Pagoda.

Inside the Law Pagoda, Lin Yuan's consciousness was falling toward endless darkness.

The backlash of the fifth sacrifice was like a maggot on a bone, gnawing at his Divine Soul. The Five Elements wheel shook violently: the vitality of Green Wood, the violence of Red Fire, the resilience of Black Water, the heaviness of Yellow Earth, and the sharpness of White Metal... the five powers clashed wildly within him, almost tearing his Meridians apart.

"Am I going to die..."

Just as this thought arose, a faint sound of a zither suddenly reached his ears.

The music was very light and carried a bit of a tremor, like a child just learning to pluck strings, yet it strangely penetrated the Soul-tearing pain and fell into the deepest part of his consciousness.

It was the Heart Clearing Incantation.

It was Bai Li's music.

"She's still there..."

An inexplicable power surged from his heart, like a dying man grasping at the last straw. Lin Yuan Suddenly gritted his teeth and activated the last bit of potential from his Primordial Dao Body.

The stray Law energy inside the pagoda suddenly became docile, like a stream under guidance, slowly flowing into his body. The vitality of the Law of Wood spread along his Meridians, repairing the broken blood vessels; the heaviness of the Law of Earth enveloped his shaking Divine Soul, preventing it from dissipating.

Outside the pagoda, the tune of Bai Li's Heart Clearing Incantation suddenly changed. It was no longer the rigid, Soul-calming rhythm of Yuqing Palace, but was mixed with a hint of urgency and concern that she hadn't even noticed herself.

Her fingertips trembled on the broken strings as she looked at the tightly closed pagoda door. For the first time, a clear thought formed: "He said 'wait for me,' so I cannot let him be left with only pain in the darkness. This music is to tell him that I am still here."

The faint green light between her brows that had been Sealed by her Revered Master grew brighter with the music, drilling deep into the pagoda wall's runes as if with a mind of its own—that was the purest Origin of life within her, the only support she could pass to him at this moment.

Inside the pagoda, a speck of warm green light struck between Lin Yuan's brows, instantly smoothing the Soul-tearing pain. He "saw" memory fragments wrapped within the green light: the way Bai Li stubbornly looked up in the snow, the starlight in her eyes when she played a complete song, and her blood-stained fingertips currently pressing against the pagoda wall.

"She's still waiting..." This thought was like a thunderclap splitting the darkness. Lin Yuan gritted his teeth hard, and the Five Elements wheel began to rotate again in his consciousness—he couldn't let that green light go out. Bai Li's unspoken thought: "Hold on! You must hold on for me! I won't allow you to die! Do you hear me—!!!"

Bai Li's roar hit the pagoda wall, and the echoing sound made her eardrums ache. Her body, drained of spiritual power, was teetering, but she stared fixedly at the pagoda door, her unspoken words burning in her throat:

"I cannot lose you..."

"Even if I disobey my Revered Master, even if I give up the Opportunity to become a King of the Extreme Realm, even if I am hunted by Yuqing Palace from now on... I want you to come out alive."

"Lin Yuan, I beg you... don't let me just see the light, only to fall back into darkness."

These words finally turned into blood-weeping sobs, merging with the green light deep inside the pagoda as her last bit of spiritual power was injected into the wall.

Lin Yuan's consciousness finally woke up under the "stimulation" of that green light. He could "see" that although the Five Elements wheel was still shaking, it was no longer out of control. Under the harmonization of the Primordial Dao Body, the five Law powers began to slowly merge and rotate.

"Five Elements wheel..." Lin Yuan suddenly thought of something. The generation and overcoming of the Five Elements inherently contained the Origin of thunder power!

"What if... I could comprehend the Law of Thunder from the Five Elements Laws..."

This thought made his whole body tremble. If he succeeded, he would comprehend a new type of Law once again!

But this was undoubtedly walking a tightrope. The five Laws had only just merged; at this moment, if he forcibly tried to comprehend the Law of Thunder, the slightest mistake would mean total Divine Soul destruction.

Lin Yuan took a deep breath, a look of decisiveness flashing in his eyes.

"Bai Li, you were right, this is a path that defies heaven." He whispered to himself, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "But I insist on walking it."

He closed his eyes again, his consciousness sinking into the Law torrent. This time, he was no longer passively enduring but was actively guiding the Five Elements wheel, bit by bit approaching that violent Law of Thunder... Outside the pagoda, Bai Li's music suddenly paused.

She clearly felt that although the aura inside the Law Pagoda was still violent, it had gained a strange rhythm. It was the sound of the Five Elements rotating interwoven with the roaring of thunder, like a battle song of rebirth being nurtured.

She looked up at the tightly closed pagoda door, a faint smile appearing for the first time on her face where tear stains had not yet dried.

"Lin Yuan... Good, you're okay!" she said softly, but a light brighter than the stars burned in her eyes. "I'll wait for you here!"

This time, there was no despair in her voice, only certainty.

As if sensing her feelings, the green light that had seeped into the pagoda suddenly grew a bit brighter, like a seed quietly taking root between Lin Yuan's brows.