Ji Cang’s lips tightened as he looked at the weeping young woman. Over the past thousands of years, Tian Yuxue had only emerged a dozen or so times. Very few people had met her, and at her core, she was still like a young girl. Though her temper was fiery, her heart was simple and not malicious.
Ji Cang couldn’t bear to see her cry. In the end, he stepped forward, enduring her intense cold, and clumsily wiped her tears away.
The moment he touched her, the cold intensified, and frost thickened on his body. If he weren’t a Soul Transformation Stage cultivator, his meridians would have frozen solid.
“No one will attack you anymore. The reason I summoned Sang Dai here this time is to resolve this matter.”
Tian Yuxue blinked. “Huh?”
After wiping away her tears, Ji Cang stepped back and looked at Sang Dai.
Sang Dai was equally bewildered.
Ji Cang said, “You are of the Weisheng family bloodline. The snow owl is the Weisheng family’s contracted spirit beast. You bear the Weisheng family’s contract seal, correct?”
Sang Dai hesitated and replied, “…That is correct.”
“All these years, I’ve been investigating,” Ji Cang began. “In cases of spiritual creatures derived from divine beast bloodlines, there was one similar during the Great Wild era, called Xu Weimeng. His divine beast was named Biyi, and he was formed from one of Biyi’s tail feathers. Xu Weimeng’s innate ability was called ‘Dreamweaving,’ but he couldn’t control it.”
Sang Dai asked, “What happened to him?”
“Biyi was the contracted spirit beast of the Yu family. After Biyi’s death, Xu Weimeng’s uncontrolled innate ability caused him to enter many people’s dreams unintentionally, harming many in the process. At the time, the Four Realms sought to hunt him down, but the Yu family head pledged on his life that Xu Weimeng could be restrained.”
Tian Yuxue cautiously asked, “And then?”
Ji Cang lowered his gaze to her. “The Yu family head spent a hundred years researching and discovered that the uncontrollable innate abilities stemmed from the Heavenly Dao granting powers that were too strong. Xu Weimeng, not being of pure divine beast bloodline, couldn’t bear or control them. To resolve this, the Yu family head used his contract with Biyi to weaken Xu Weimeng’s innate abilities by more than half.”
Tian Yuxue’s heartbeat quickened. She stammered, “And after that?”
“Everything about Xu Weimeng was derived from Biyi, who was bound by a contract with the Yu family. Thus, the Yu family’s contract could control Xu Weimeng. His innate abilities were weakened, and from then on… he never lost control again.”
Tian Yuxue fell silent for a moment.
Ji Cang frowned, thinking she didn’t believe him. He instinctively tried to explain, “This is true. I’ve been researching it for sixty years—”
“Waahhhhhh!”
Tian Yuxue burst into tears.
She sat cross-legged on the soft couch, tears falling rapidly until a small puddle formed beneath her in no time.
Ji Cang, completely at a loss, reached out to catch her tears and asked, “Why are you crying? I’m not lying to you. You can try it and see for yourself.”
Tian Yuxue sobbed, covering her face with her hands. “I thought I’d be stuck in the Snow Realm for the rest of my life! You people from the Four Realms attack me every time I step outside, and I don’t even dare to leave!”
Sang Dai, Su Xuan, Tan Huai, and Ji Cang: “…”
Sang Dai exchanged a look with Ji Cang, noticing—for the first time—something akin to a pleading expression on his face.
He was asking for her help.
But even if he didn’t ask, Sang Dai would help. After all, Tian Yuxue was the descendant of the Snow Owl.
Not to mention, he had already offered three spiritual veins.
Sang Dai gave in, sighing, “Fine.”
Tian Yuxue looked over, tears still streaming down her face. “Waaah, Dai Dai, you’re so kind! I shouldn’t have worked with that scoundrel. Next time I see him, I’ll freeze him to death for you!”
She had already switched sides and started calling her “Dai Dai.”
Sang Dai: “…”
She sighed, prying her hand free from Su Xuan’s grip.
“Don’t worry. This will be over soon.”
The little fox pursed his lips as the sword cultivator patted his head, signaling for him to wait a moment.
Su Xuan handed her two more Hellfire Orbs. “If it gets too cold, don’t force yourself. Leave her alone.”
Tian Yuxue cautiously tried to suppress her chill as much as possible, worried that freezing her savior would mean no one would help her anymore.
Tan Huai shook his head and retreated a few steps, standing in the corner.
Sang Dai sat cross-legged opposite Tian Yuxue, and Su Xuan, still uneasy, placed a circle of Hellfire Orbs around her.
Sang Dai: “It’s really fine.”
Su Xuan rubbed her head. “It’ll be too late if something happens.”
She silently accepted his arrangements.
Tian Yuxue looked at her nervously. “I’ll do my best not to freeze you.”
Sang Dai nodded. “I know.”
Su Xuan retreated to stand beside Tan Huai.
Ji Cang instructed, “Find your Weisheng contract seal, then channel its power into Tian Yuxue’s meridians and imprint a restriction within them.”
Sang Dai nodded in understanding. “Alright, I got it.”
Ji Cang glanced at Tian Yuxue, his lips moving as though to speak, but Tian Yuxue’s attention was entirely focused on Sang Dai, completely ignoring him.
In the end, he didn’t say anything and went to stand with Su Xuan and Tan Huai.
Among the three men, two were visibly tense, their eyes fixed on Sang Dai and Tian Yuxue sitting cross-legged in the center of the hall.
Sang Dai said calmly, “I’ll first locate my Weisheng contract seal. Don’t resist my spiritual power when the time comes.”
Tian Yuxue obediently nodded. “Mm, okay!”
Sang Dai closed her eyes, her brows furrowing as she searched for the contract seal within her spiritual sea.
The Guixu spiritual power left by the Snow Owl coursed through her meridians, seemingly aware of her intentions. The golden energy moved forward in her dark spiritual sea, guiding her to a specific place.
Finally, the spiritual energy spiraled to a stop.
In the void of blackness, a golden seal gradually emerged.
From its base to its peak, from illusion to reality, a vividly lifelike osmanthus tree materialized before her.
Sang Dai frowned. So the Weisheng family’s contract seal was an osmanthus tree?
The Guixu spiritual energy surged into the dim contract seal, which instantly radiated brilliant golden light.
At the same time, a powerful glow emanated from Sang Dai’s body, enveloping her in a gentle aura.
Recognizing the moment had arrived, Tian Yuxue closed her eyes and opened her meridians, allowing Sang Dai’s spiritual energy to flow into her.
Tan Huai leaned against a pillar, observing, while Ji Cang clenched his fists.
No one noticed Su Xuan’s trembling breaths.
When the osmanthus seal surrounding Sang Dai became visible, Su Xuan’s pupils shrank, and his hands began to tremble.
The frost and snow in the hall gradually melted, and the cold chill noticeably diminished. However, Tian Yuxue’s complexion turned increasingly pale. Having a restriction placed on her meridians would limit her innate abilities but also damage her body.
She gritted her teeth and endured. A moment’s pain was nothing compared to the prospect of freedom after thousands of years.
Nearly an hour passed.
Finally, Tian Yuxue coughed up a mouthful of clotted blood and collapsed backward.
Ji Cang rushed forward to catch Tian Yuxue in his arms.
Her small face was pale, her forehead covered in sweat. Ji Cang checked her pulse.
Her meridians now bore several restrictions, greatly weakening her intense cold. The frost and snow in the Demon Hall were gradually melting, and as Ji Cang leaned closer, he no longer felt the bone-chilling cold from before.
He let out a sigh of relief and looked at Sang Dai. “Thank you.”
Sang Dai wiped the sweat from her forehead and, with Su Xuan’s support, stood up.
“It’s nothing. Just remember to send the spiritual veins to the Beast Realm.”
She held Su Xuan’s hand and turned to leave. After a few steps, she paused and looked back.
“Oh, and earlier in the Snow Realm, I gave you a Hellfire Orb. You agreed to give me one spiritual vein in exchange. So in total, that’s four veins—don’t forget.”
Tan Huai stifled a laugh. “Pfft.”
Ji Cang: “…”
He gritted his teeth. “I remember.”
Only Su Xuan remained silent.
Satisfied, Sang Dai tugged Su Xuan along and left.
It wasn’t until they were outside the Demon Hall, in a secluded area, that she burst into laughter, her clear voice like the chime of silver bells.
“Su Xuan, four spiritual veins!”
The sword cultivator was overjoyed, turning to share her excitement with the little fox.
But she was met with a pair of complex, unreadable eyes.
The smile on Sang Dai’s lips gradually faded as she realized that Su Xuan hadn’t spoken much the entire way back.
Something was off.
Cautiously, she asked, “What’s wrong? Are you upset?”
Su Xuan suddenly raised a hand, his broad palm brushing against her cheek.
He leaned closer, his eyes shimmering as though they were on the verge of tears.
The little fox looked as though he was about to cry.
“Dai Dai…”
Sang Dai responded in confusion, “I’m here.”
Su Xuan said, “The osmanthus contract seal on you—is it really from the Weisheng family?”
Sang Dai nodded. “…Yes.”
Tilting her head slightly, she added, “But it’s quite the coincidence, isn’t it? I’ve always loved osmanthus. I even planted many osmanthus trees in the back mountain of the Sword Sect. Do you think that might be why?”
She didn’t receive a reply. Instead, she found herself wrapped tightly in the little fox’s embrace.
He held her so firmly, his arms pressing against her waist as though he wanted to merge her into himself.
“Su Xuan?” Sang Dai asked in surprise, “What’s wrong with you?”
Su Xuan buried his chin in the crook of her neck, and teardrops fell onto her skin.
Sang Dai felt as if those tears were scalding her heart, causing an ache deep inside.
“Su Xuan… what’s going on?”
“Dai Dai…”
“I’m here, I’m here.”
She embraced him, gently patting his back.
Su Xuan’s voice trembled. “Back then, when I was in seclusion, it was this osmanthus contract seal that woke me up. I remember now.”
It had suddenly appeared, shattering his deep meditation and rousing him from his slumber.
In the void, a vast and empty voice spoke:
“Awaken, Heaven-grade spiritual root bearer.”
Before he could process what was happening, he heard Liu Lixue’s panicked voice outside the formation, informing him that the Beast Realm and the celestial realm were joining forces to attack the celestial realm.
He broke through his seclusion.
And arrived just in time to save Sang Dai from death.
He had thought it was merely a dream—that he had woken up by chance. After all, no one could break the seclusion barrier of a Grand Ascension Stage demon cultivator to transmit a message.
Until just now, when he saw the osmanthus contract seal on Sang Dai.
It wasn’t a dream.
It was real.
“Dai Dai, it was the Weisheng family’s contract seal that woke me up. I came to save you.”
In Ling Yin’s vision of destiny, Sang Dai was fated to die in that great battle.
But the old destiny had been altered, and what changed it—
Was the Weisheng family’s contract seal.