Without sparing a glance, Su Xuan turned and walked toward the bedchamber.
He stopped outside the chamber and drew the Qingwu Sword.
The sword’s brilliance tore through the darkness, ripping the bedchamber apart from its foundations. In an instant, the grand and imposing bedchamber collapsed, exposing a bare entrance to an underground passage.
He didn’t have the patience to search inch by inch. With a clean, decisive strike, he destroyed the entire structure.
The entrance to the passage lay in the very center of the ruined chamber. With all obstructions gone, only a dark, gaping hole remained.
It was within arm’s reach.
One step, and he could be there.
But as he approached, he suddenly hesitated.
His feet refused to move. Not even an inch.
When Liu Lixue arrived after hearing the news, he saw his sovereign standing motionless in the rain. He hadn’t even formed a protective spiritual shield; his soaked clothing clung to him, thoroughly drenched by the downpour.
He was both annoyed and heartbroken—annoyed that Su Xuan hadn’t even told him about this, and heartbroken because, after so many years, Su Xuan had finally made up his mind.
Liu Lixue landed and held an umbrella over Su Xuan’s head.
“Is Lady Liu down there?”
Su Xuan didn’t respond.
Liu Lixue’s eyes reddened slightly as he turned away to wipe the tears forming in them.
“I’ll go down and carry her out. The royal palace is burned to ashes. That Miss Sang is efficient—set the entire place ablaze in one go. The other princes and princesses have been captured. Tian Yuxue is personally overseeing their imprisonment.”
He deliberately tried to lighten the mood, but Su Xuan seemed lost in thought, completely ignoring him as he stood motionless, staring at the entrance to the passage.
With a sigh, Liu Lixue used spiritual energy to cast a water-repelling spell on Su Xuan, put away the umbrella, and prepared to head into the passage himself.
But the person beside him moved.
“There’s no need.”
Su Xuan strode toward the entrance.
“I’ll bring her out myself.”
Liu Lixue watched his retreating figure and sighed again but didn’t follow.
—
Su Xuan descended the steps slowly, each step deliberate and heavy.
The passage was deep, and the further he went, the more he could feel the presence of the restrictions.
Even her body had been placed within a restrictive formation.
There were thirty steps in total, and when he finally descended the last one, the little fox slowly raised his eyes.
In the cold, damp underground chamber, atop a stone bed, she lay there still dressed in her favorite golden robes.
Liu Ying had always loved beautiful things. She was a nine-tailed fox who took great pride in her appearance, and her beauty was unmatched.
After all these years, her body remained preserved within the restrictive formation. The royal family had used her as leverage against him but hadn’t dared to damage her body, fearing it would drive Su Xuan to desperate action.
Through the use of magic, they had kept her body from decaying. She was still as beautiful as ever.
And yet, she wasn’t quite the same as before. She looked different from the last time Su Xuan had seen her, just before he was taken away.
There were now faint lines at the corners of her eyes, and her skin no longer had the same flawless radiance. She had once taken meticulous care of herself, even insisting on bathing in the finest spring dew. She had been the most beautiful woman in the Beast Realm.
But after he was abducted, she had neglected her appearance, her thoughts consumed by saving him.
When Su Xuan was a child, he had only wished that his silly mother consort could live a carefree, beautiful life, foolish yet happy.
In the end, it was all in vain. She had never been scheming or manipulative, yet she had been dragged into the treacherous and deadly power struggles—for his sake.
Su Xuan stepped forward, lowering his gaze to the woman lying on the stone bed.
It was just an empty shell, devoid of any trace of a soul.
The bruise marks on her neck were still visible. Once a person dies, spiritual power can no longer erase such injuries.
Liu Ying had been strangled to death.
Su Xuan extended his hand, hesitating as he reached to touch her cheek from a distance.
It was icy, piercingly cold—no longer the warmth he remembered.
The little fox lifted her hand, pressing it clumsily against his own cheek, rubbing against it like a helpless cub, as if his own warmth could somehow bring her back to life.
But she remained cold, cold enough to frighten him.
Crystal-clear tears slid down Su Xuan’s nose, falling onto Liu Ying’s jade-like wrist before disappearing into the folds of her sleeve.
“Mother Consort, I’m here.”
She had told him to live and wait for her, and he had done so.
Su Xuan looked at her for a long, long time, until it felt like he had no tears left to shed.
Outside, the thunder rumbled endlessly. The night had grown deep.
He leaned down and carefully picked up the mother consort he had longed for over a century.
As Su Xuan held Liu Ying and turned to leave, an array hidden beneath the ground activated. A massive circular formation emerged, glowing with inscriptions and flowing patterns.
Su Xuan’s expression turned instantly cold.
The spot where Liu Ying lay was the core of the formation. If he took her away, it would trigger the array!
The formation condensed streams of violent astral wind that lashed out toward him. Su Xuan, his arms full with Liu Ying, couldn’t fight back properly and coldly prepared to endure the winds head-on as he rushed out.
But the ground suddenly shook violently. The blue bricks fractured, dust and debris filling the air, and the passage leading out collapsed, completely blocked by rubble.
From outside, Liu Lixue’s voice called out, “Sovereign!”
Su Xuan summoned his spiritual energy to form a protective shield, enduring the astral wind within the killing array. Blue bricks and rubble rained down onto the shield as the chamber shook, threatening to collapse.
“Qingwu!”
He shielded Liu Ying’s body with his own and summoned the Qingwu Sword, preparing to cut through the blocked passage. He had to get out before the tunnel completely caved in.
This place was far too deep underground. If they were buried here, Liu Ying’s body would inevitably be damaged.
Just as the Qingwu Sword was unsheathed, a sudden flash of light burst from the blocked tunnel entrance.
It was as if a sword light had sliced through from the outside, shattering the boulders. Rain swept into the tunnel from outside.
The astral winds continued to fiercely slice at Su Xuan’s protective shield. At that moment, the ground beneath him gave way, revealing a deep pit below—the core of the killing array, emitting a powerful suction force that threatened to drag him in.
A woman’s voice rang out: “Changmang!”
The binding ribbon shot into the tunnel, wrapping around Su Xuan’s waist just as he was about to fall into the pit.
Sang Dai stood at the tunnel entrance, gripping one end of the ribbon in one hand while holding the other end steady with the other. Her brows were cold and resolute. In her haste, she hadn’t formed a protective shield, and the rain mercilessly pelted her, soaking her entirely.
The array, made from some unknown material of exceptionally high grade, exerted an overwhelming gravitational pull. Su Xuan, while trying to condense spiritual energy to resist the astral winds, could not let go of Liu Ying in his arms.
The array was designed to bind Liu Ying’s body. As long as someone held her, they would be dragged into the array’s core. It was a deliberate trap to prevent anyone from taking her away.
If it were just Su Xuan, he would have charged straight into the array’s core and destroyed it. But now, with Liu Ying in his arms, all he could think about was protecting her. He dared not release her. The injuries he had suffered earlier at the hands of Bi Fang hadn’t fully healed, and in his struggle, several barely-mended bones fractured again. Restrained as he was, the gravitational pull was about to drag him down.
Sang Dai’s sharp voice cut through the chaos: “Liu Lixue!”
The peacock finally snapped out of his daze and rushed forward.
Sang Dai handed him the binding ribbon, Changmang. “Hold on tight!”
Liu Lixue summoned every ounce of his strength to grip the ribbon with all his might—after all, the other end was tied to his sovereign.
The sword cultivator, however, jumped straight into the array.
“Dai Dai!”
“Miss Sang!”
Sang Dai enveloped herself in a spiritual shield, summoning the Zhiyu Sword as she leaped into the very center of the killing array.
“Dai Dai!!”
Su Xuan felt his soul nearly leave his body. Without a second thought, he prepared to jump down after her, clutching Liu Ying tightly.
A surge of immense pressure exploded into the air, the violent storm making it impossible to keep one’s eyes open. The gravitational pull that had held Su Xuan vanished instantly.
In the midst of the storm, Su Xuan caught sight of a figure teleporting from the bottomless depths of the pit. Her disheveled black hair whipped around her face, one hand gripping his arm, the other holding onto Changmang.
“Go!”
Sang Dai used brute force to destroy the killing array. With the gravitational pull gone, Liu Lixue easily pulled them up.
The passage collapsed entirely behind them, leaving only a pile of rubble.
Su Xuan cradled Liu Ying in his arms but instinctively turned to check on Sang Dai.
“Dai Dai, are you alright? Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m not hurt. It’s someone else’s blood,” she replied, panting heavily, exhaustion clear in her voice. Her body was drenched, though it was unclear whether it was from sweat or rain.
Liu Lixue quickly cast a water-repelling spell over the group.
The rain was kept out by the protective barrier.
Sang Dai and Su Xuan locked eyes.
After a long pause, the little fox asked, “Why did you come? It hasn’t been three hours yet.”
Sang Dai raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t trust a certain fox. I was worried he’d cry himself into a puddle.”
Su Xuan suddenly laughed, but his eyes began to turn red.
Liu Lixue sighed and silently turned to walk outside, leaving them alone.
Sang Dai’s gaze fell on the figure in Su Xuan’s arms.
When she had seen Su Xuan’s father, she had guessed as much—Su Xuan bore a strong resemblance to his mother consort.
Sang Dai smiled softly and said in a gentle voice, “Your mother is very beautiful.”
Su Xuan lowered his reddened eyes to look at Liu Ying in his arms.
He nodded. “Mm, she loved being beautiful more than anything.”
“Tian Yuxue is watching over her soul. Nothing will happen to it.”
“Alright.”
The little fox’s tears fell, landing on Liu Ying’s face.
Sang Dai felt a pang of bitterness in her heart. To lighten the mood, she deliberately teased him, speaking to Liu Ying’s body, “Lady Liu, look, Su Xuan is all grown up and still crying like a child.”
Su Xuan couldn’t help but laugh at her remark.
The little sword cultivator smiled brightly at him, her face still stained with blood.
“Dai Dai, thank you for everything.”
Sang Dai shook her head. “Su Xuan, there’s no need for such words between us.”
Su Xuan had saved her countless times in moments of peril, and Sang Dai was more than willing to follow him even into the depths of danger.
The little fox lowered his gaze to his mother consort.
He murmured, “It’s such a shame. Mother Consort isn’t here to see you.”
Sang Dai replied softly, “She’ll see. I believe that.”
The little fox smiled and began to introduce her to his mother consort.
“Mother Consort, this beautiful woman who is just as stunning as you is named Sang Dai. She’s the greatest sword cultivator in the Four Realms, and a Heaven-grade spiritual root awakener.”
Sang Dai burst out laughing, her eyes curving into crescents as she teased, “You’re so childish.”
The little fox turned to look at her, his gaze as soft as spring water.
“I just wanted to tell her about the kind of person I’ve fallen for. When I was young, Mother Consort always hoped I’d find someone I truly liked. Now I’ve found her.”
Sang Dai’s smile froze.
“Mother Consort, I like her. I like Sang Dai.”
“I like her very, very much.”