423: Thankfully we got back in time.

It was the eighth day. The lightning in the clouds had not dissipated, and Duan Zhengchun had not appeared.

Huang Rong leaned against the window, gazing at the gloomy sky outside. Lightning flashed, but no rain fell—a strange, terrible weather, much like Huang Rong's mood at that moment.

Evil Old Man Huang looked at his daughter, lost in thought by the window, and let out a silent sigh in his heart.

"The one surnamed Duan, you truly are just like the rumors say, a profligate prince."

"You damned scoundrel! Why did you have to provoke anyone? Why did you have to provoke my daughter?"

"Today, this grudge is settled. Although I, Evil Old Man Huang, cannot defeat you, even if I have to stake my life, I will seek justice for my daughter." Evil Old Man Huang gnashed his teeth in fury, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white, revealing the depth of his anger.

Those who knew Evil Old Man Huang understood that in this world, there was nothing he cared about more than his daughter—she was his bottom line.

She was also the apple of his eye. It was fine to bully him, but no one could bully his precious daughter.

Duan Zhengchun's sudden disappearance made Evil Old Man Huang believe that Duan Zhengchun had run away to avoid responsibility.

Duan Zhengchun was unaware of all this. He had been in Foundation Establishment the entire time. Only after successfully completing the final thousand-meter stage did he awaken from his meditative state, opening his eyes to look at his surroundings.

Finding nothing of note inside the cave, he decided to leave.

He extended his perception outward, and instantly, the surrounding environment was clearly imprinted in his mind.

He discovered that his perception had grown several times stronger than before.

His current perception could instantly cover a radius of three thousand li.

Moreover, wherever his mind focused, he could reach with Instantaneous Movement.

However, in the next moment, Duan Zhengchun's expression changed, and his figure vanished instantly.

It was because, within his perception, he saw Huang Rong alone at the edge of a cliff, tear stains on her face, her expression filled with despair.

Though he didn't know what had happened, Huang Rong's appearance clearly indicated she intended to jump off the cliff and end her life.

What on earth had happened to make Huang Rong contemplate suicide?

Huang Rong gazed despairingly at the boundless sea. Dying here wouldn't be a bad end; she could accompany her father and mother, reuniting the family.

"Prince, meeting you, I have no regrets."

"You left without a word, but I know you must have encountered some urgent matter."

"But with your abilities, what problem could you possibly be unable to solve?"

"You could travel from the Great Song to the Eastern Sea in just an hour, yet now a whole month has passed without a single word from you."

"I don't want to disgrace my father. I can only blame myself for being unfilial. I just hope that in the next life, we don't meet again, and that I can listen to my father and find the good son-in-law he envisions."

"Prince, farewell..."

Huang Rong's tone was calm, yet it carried a resolute determination.

She spread her arms, closed her eyes, and leaped off the cliff.

"It's over. Everything is over."

At this moment, Huang Rong sealed all her Internal Energy, jumping off the cliff with the body of an ordinary person.

From such a high cliff, survival was nearly impossible.

Perhaps Huang Rong was the first Great Grandmaster in history to die by jumping into the sea.

In free fall, Huang Rong felt an unprecedented sense of peace.

However, after a while, the expected sensation of plunging into the sea did not come. Instead, she felt a touch of warmth.

"What happened? Why would you think of ending your life?"

A familiar voice rang in her ears. Huang Rong trembled all over, her tightly shut eyes quivering slightly. She dared not open them, afraid that upon doing so, everything would turn out to be a hallucination before death.

Seeing Huang Rong remain silent, Duan Zhengchun felt helpless. He didn't know what had happened, but the priority now was to get Huang Rong back up.

In a flicker of movement, he was already atop the cliff. Looking at Huang Rong, who still had her eyes closed, Duan Zhengchun had no choice but to give her a French-style artificial respiration.

Suddenly feeling the softness on her lips, along with that familiar scent and sensation, Huang Rong instantly widened her eyes, gazing at the familiar face before her.

Tears instantly welled up in her eyes, flowing uncontrollably.

She wrapped her arms around Duan Zhengchun's neck and responded passionately.

By the time the kiss ended, an incense stick's worth of time had passed. Huang Rong was breathing rapidly, her face flushed.

Her eyes, glistening with tears, looked at Duan Zhengchun.

"You've finally returned. I thought I would never see you again... sob..."

Huang Rong threw herself into Duan Zhengchun's arms and wept bitterly.

Duan Zhengchun understood that something must have happened during his absence to drive Huang Rong to such despair.

"Alright, don't cry. I'm back now, aren't I? What exactly happened? Why did you think of taking your own life?" Duan Zhengchun looked at Huang Rong, whose tear-streaked face resembled pear blossoms washed by rain, with concern.

"What do you mean by that? You were the one who left. Don't you know what happened?" Huang Rong looked at Duan Zhengchun in confusion.

Duan Zhengchun was taken aback, momentarily failing to grasp the meaning behind Huang Rong's words.

"No, I only left for a short while, didn't I? You and your father were both in an Epiphany, and there was no one else on the island."

"With nothing to do, I went for a walk and discovered something at the bottom of the sea, so I went down to investigate. It hasn't been that long. What on earth happened?" Duan Zhengchun frowned, looking at Huang Rong with puzzlement.

"What? How long? You've been gone for over ten days. Today is the fourteenth day, and there hasn't been a single word from you."

"I thought you were never coming back. My father believed you had taken advantage and abandoned me. He was furious and left Peach Blossom Island four days ago, heading to the Great Ming to demand an explanation from you."

"I couldn't wait for your return and couldn't face my father, so I could only seek release in death." As she said this, Huang Rong's tears began to flow uncontrollably again.

Hearing Huang Rong's words, Duan Zhengchun was stunned.

Only then did a saying come to mind: 'A day in the mountains is a thousand years in the world.'

Cultivation was indeed tedious and difficult. Without perseverance, there was no way to pursue it, as sometimes a single session of secluded cultivation could last years, decades, or even centuries.

Although Duan Zhengchun didn't need such long periods of seclusion yet, he hadn't expected this single session of Foundation Establishment to take nearly half a month.

Even more unexpected was that his sudden disappearance had nearly led to a great tragedy.

If he had emerged just a little later—even five minutes—he would have regretted it for the rest of his life.

"I'm sorry. It was my oversight. I didn't expect this secluded cultivation session to take so long."

"Thankfully, I returned in time. Otherwise, I would have regretted it for a lifetime." Duan Zhengchun looked at Huang Rong with an apologetic expression.

Hearing Duan Zhengchun's explanation, Huang Rong also understood what had happened.

It wasn't that Duan Zhengchun didn't want her; he had simply entered secluded cultivation unexpectedly, which delayed him for so long.

"So, does that mean the dark clouds, lightning, and thunder over Peach Blossom Island all these days without any rain were also caused by you?" Huang Rong asked in surprise, looking at Duan Zhengchun.

"Yes, if nothing else, it was likely due to my Breakthrough." Duan Zhengchun nodded.