In his blurred vision, he seemed to catch a glimpse of the hairpin’s owner.
At twelve years old, she carried the little fox in her arms, risking pursuit and death to take him back to the Immortal Realm.
At fourteen, her delicate features were cold as she slashed apart the robes he had gifted her. He was heartbroken for an entire night, yet upon returning, he composed himself and sought her out again.
In those hundred-plus years, he had seen the sword cultivator with a cold expression cleansing evil, the sword cultivator angrily striking him, and the sword cultivator frowning as she set his broken bones.
At one hundred and thirty-two years old, she was abandoned by the Immortal Realm. Weak and lying in a pool of blood, he stayed by her side for an entire month without closing his eyes, holding her wrist tightly every moment, terrified that she might stop breathing if he let go for even a second.
In the end, the sword cultivator smiled and leapt into his arms.
“Su Xuan, you must always stay by my side. I’ll give you a satisfactory answer very soon.”
He still hadn’t heard her answer.
He wanted so much to marry her.
The Hellfire shield was on the verge of dissipating. The black-clothed youth’s expression darkened, his mocking smile carrying a trace of disdain.
As expected, no one could withstand Heaven’s murderous intent. Everyone by Sang Dai’s side was destined to die.
He found it all meaningless and turned to leave.
Just as he tore open a spatial rift, he heard a faint rustling sound behind him.
The black-clothed youth glanced back.
Su Xuan, who had been kneeling on the ground moments ago, was now enduring the final bolt of tribulation lightning that sought to strike him dead. Bit by bit…
He stood up.
The Qingwu Sword was in his hand, Hellfire coiling around its blade.
His face was cold, blood dripping from his jaw.
“If you want to kill me, you’d better make sure you’re worthy.”
Su Xuan swung his sword downward.
This move was one he had seen the sword cultivator perform countless times.
Her blade would be entwined with lightning, and the sword light, infused with the thunder’s power, would eradicate all evil in its path.
Now, Su Xuan imitated her sword technique, Hellfire wrapping around the Qingwu Sword.
The Qingwu Sword’s intent was unleashed to its fullest extent. With one strike, Su Xuan cleaved downward.
The sword light pierced through the Hellfire shield, meeting the tribulation lightning head-on.
—
Liu Lixue and Shen Ciyu came out.
Shen Ciyu asked, “How’s Su Xuan… holding up?”
Seven bolts of tribulation lightning. This was the final one.
Liu Lixue’s expression was grim. “…I don’t know.”
Sensing the spiritual power fluctuations from the area, the vines began surging toward them again.
Liu Lixue and Shen Ciyu had no time to think further and could only raise their swords to confront the oncoming vines.
The sword blade and folding fan had not yet clashed with the vines when a sound as thunderous as the previous tribulation lightning echoed again.
Both turned to follow the sound.
They saw that over the city of Linglong Town, the barrier that had previously enveloped the entire city was now crawling with cracks.
The fissures spread rapidly, and the barrier that had trapped the entire city’s inhabitants…
Shattered.
Winds from the outside world rushed in, and many cultivators flew in from the horizon.
One figure hovered in mid-air. Though her clothing was tattered and filthy, and her jet-black hair disheveled, simply standing there, she exuded an aura of stability that reassured everyone, like an unshakable pillar holding everything in place.
Behind her, on a silver-white sword, stood a sword cultivator in white robes.
Liu Lixue didn’t recognize Ying Heng.
But Shen Ciyu did. Even though Ying Heng had changed his appearance, he recognized him.
“Immortal Lord Ying Heng…”
Sang Dai said coldly, “Liu Lixue, go to the City Lord’s Mansion and uproot that osmanthus tree!”
Liu Lixue paused but didn’t question her.
Sang Dai used spiritual power to transmit her voice. “Master, I’ll find him first and bring him to you!”
Ying Heng responded, “Alright, Dai Dai, be careful with everything.”
Sang Dai quickly departed.
Shen Ciyu didn’t understand the exchange, but Liu Lixue had already activated his spiritual power and teleported toward the City Lord’s Mansion.
Whatever Sang Dai said, like his master, he trusted her unconditionally.
The vines detected the fluctuation of spiritual power and surged toward Liu Lixue, only to be intercepted by Shen Ciyu.
Shen Ciyu glanced upward at the white-robed sword cultivator hovering in the void. Ying Heng didn’t look at him but instead propelled the Chunying Sword to pursue in the direction Liu Lixue had gone.
Sang Dai’s figure had already disappeared into the horizon, heading straight for the place where the thunderclouds had gathered earlier.
Shen Ciyu gritted his teeth, looked back at the mortals who needed protection, and ultimately chose not to follow. He stayed to join the cultivators from outside the city in cutting down the vines.
—
When the dust finally settled, the Hellfire gradually extinguished.
The black-clothed youth stood with his hands behind his back, looking down disdainfully at the person kneeling on one knee, propping himself up with his sword.
Su Xuan was utterly silent and motionless, making it impossible to tell whether he was alive or dead.
The black-clothed youth frowned slightly and approached him, reaching out a hand to check his meridians to see if he was still alive.
“Don’t touch him.”
A streak of sword light slashed from the distance. The youth was too slow to pull back, and his left hand was severed.
Before the blood even had a chance to flow, a new hand had already grown in its place.
The black-clothed youth teleported backward instantly. Seeing the blue-robed sword cultivator who had just teleported in from the horizon, his lips curled into a smile.
As expected, she could endure it.
The black-clothed youth smiled faintly and retreated quickly, leaping into the spatial rift before Sang Dai could land.
“Sang Dai, I’ve told Su Xuan the truth about the Weisheng family’s massacre. You can ask him about it.”
The rift closed, marking the end of the three-day battle.
Sang Dai landed but didn’t spare a glance at where the black-clothed man had just stood.
She dropped to one knee, trembling as she reached out to touch the face of the person before her.
Su Xuan hung his head low. The hairpin holding his hair had snapped, allowing his silver hair to cascade down his back.
She couldn’t see his face; all she could see were the wounds covering his body and the scars from lightning strikes etched into his pale hands.
Her heart trembled.
She barely dared to check if he was still breathing.
Because of her, Heaven had set its sights on killing Su Xuan. The tribulation lightning, which should have fallen at a slower, manageable pace, had rained down on him relentlessly, just as it had on her.
“Su… Su Xuan…”
She gently cupped his face with trembling hands.
But she couldn’t feel his breath.
Tears began to fall from Sang Dai’s eyes.
“Su Xuan…”
Her voice trembled, as did her breathing, her chest rising and falling violently.
The person before her didn’t move.
Was it too late?
She let out a choked sob, her tears streaming down as she cried.
“Su Xuan… please, just look at me… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry…”
She stepped forward and embraced him, her tears soaking his bloodied robes. Just as she was about to disregard everything and transfer her spiritual energy to him, a soft laugh reached her ears.
The little fox’s body, which had been motionless moments ago, trembled slightly. His chest rose and fell in faint movements.
Sang Dai’s tears came to a halt.
Her waist was pulled into a tight embrace, and the little fox’s chin rested on her shoulder. He turned his head slightly and planted a kiss on her cheek.
“You truly are my little darling. As soon as you cry, my heart aches. I’m not dead yet.”
Sang Dai: “…Su Xuan?”
“Mm, I’m here.” Su Xuan closed his eyes and responded softly, tightening his arms around the sword cultivator’s waist. “I knew you’d cry, so I didn’t dare to die.”
After enduring the relentless tribulation lightning and personally experiencing Heaven’s murderous intent, he dared not die.
He had to fight to stay alive.
He had to live to protect his sword cultivator, ensuring she wouldn’t have to face Heaven’s wrath alone.
Sang Dai snapped out of her daze and suddenly smacked him on the back. “What are you doing? You scared me to death!”
The slap landed squarely on one of his wounds. Su Xuan sucked in a sharp breath, feigning weakness as he cried out, “Dai Dai, that hurts so much.”
Sang Dai immediately panicked and pulled away from his embrace to inspect his injuries. “I didn’t mean to—Su Xuan, I really didn’t mean to!”
She was so worried about him.
Su Xuan felt a swell of happiness in his chest and couldn’t help but smile.
[So adorable.]
Sang Dai: “…”
[My sweet treasure.]
He brushed aside her dark hair, revealing the nine-ring hairpin on her head.
The little fox raised an eyebrow. “So, how’s our Beast Realm’s nine-ring hairpin? Bet all the other jeweled hairpins broke, didn’t they?”
Sang Dai chuckled. “Yes, it’s very impressive.”
Su Xuan took the wooden hairpin he had been carefully guarding and handed it to Sang Dai. “Dai Dai, help me tie up my hair.”
The hairpin he had been using had been shattered by the tribulation lightning.
Su Xuan bent down slightly, and Sang Dai raised her arms to gather his silky silver hair. She tied it up into a bun, securing it with the wooden hairpin.
The little fox transformed back into the handsome Beast King.
Their eyes met, and both saw the smiles reflected in each other’s gaze.
“Dai Dai, you’ve reached the peak of the Grand Ascension stage, haven’t you? We really are a perfect match. I’ll always keep up with you.”
“Mm. I wanted to live to see you, so I had to pass the tribulation.” Sang Dai asked him, “You passed your tribulation too, didn’t you?”
“That’s right. I wanted to live to stay by your side.”
Sang Dai’s eyes grew red, her voice trembling slightly. “Su Xuan, just now, during the tribulation, I nearly couldn’t hold on. My entire body hurt, and I was so tired, I wanted to sleep. Do you know what happened?”
“What?”
“I heard a voice asking me what path I had chosen.”
“And what path did you choose, Dai Dai?”
Sang Dai smiled and said, “I said, my path is by my side.”
She cupped the little fox’s face, tears falling and landing on the back of his hand.
“I don’t want to be some Heaven-grade spiritual root awakener destined to save the world. I only want to protect the ones I love—my master, you, Cui Shao, the Beast Realm. Anyone who dares to harm you, anyone who tries to kill me, I’ll use my sword to cut them down without hesitation.”
Su Xuan’s eyes curved, his smile growing brighter.
He reversed his hand to hold Sang Dai’s, his warm palm pressed against the back of her hand. The little fox leaned his cheek against her palm.
“Then, Dai Dai, can you guess what my path is?”
Sang Dai asked in return, “What is the little fox’s path?”
Su Xuan replied with a smile, “I chose my path when I was thirteen years old. My path is right before me.”
“My path is named Sang Dai. I am willing to follow her for a lifetime, to walk in her footsteps, to strive to stand by her side. If she challenges Heaven, I will follow her to the Eighty-One Heavenly Layers. If she ventures into the Yellow Springs, I will accompany her there too.”
“Together in life, together in death, and I will never regret it.”
The sunlight was soft and warm. Sang Dai’s lips curved into a smile, her eyes glowing with gentle brightness.
She suddenly asked, “Su Xuan, many years ago, you asked me if I liked the robes you gave me. I never answered and instead tore them apart. Do you still want to hear my answer?”
The little fox smiled, his eyes arching. “Then please give this demon cultivator a satisfactory answer and properly make it up to me.”
Sang Dai said, “I liked them very much because they were beautiful.”
“Only because they were beautiful?”
Sang Dai shook her head. “Not just that.”
Su Xuan asked, “Then why else?”
Sang Dai softly replied, “Because they were given by the little fox.”
Su Xuan’s gaze grew increasingly tender.
Sang Dai whispered, “Su Xuan, you’ve waited for my answer. I’ll give it to you now.”
Her slender arms wrapped around Su Xuan’s neck. She tilted her head up, leaning closer to him, and pressed her lips against his.
“Su Xuan, I am willing to marry you.”