"hold head high!"

An extremely dense aura of malevolence soared into the sky, accompanied by the charred fumes from being struck by lightning.

Xiang Wan was the first to be struck by lightning, her body a bloody mess, her skin cracked and bleeding. Then she was hit by the malevolent energy and the murky blackness, which caused her to lose her composure and fall straight down.

At this moment, the baby inside her had opened its eyes a crack, and a glint of golden light flashed in its eyes.

Unable to catch her breath and with nothing to support her body, Xiang Wan simply lay head down, conjuring a waist-thick ice spike in her hands, and using the momentum of her fall, raised the ice spike above her head.

"Whatever's behind those words, it can't be anything good. It's always better to strike first." Xiang Wan forced down the blood that rose in her throat, watching helplessly as she got closer and closer to the bottom of the pit.

The cloud map before Zi Yi's eyes changed; a dark and dilapidated scene began to spread outward from the center, quickly occupying half of the entire cloud map.

He suddenly stood up, took out a mountain-shaped magical artifact that was neither gold nor jade, and infused it with immortal power. Instantly, the object transformed into a dark, imposing mountain and flew towards the center of the cloud map.

"You beast, you actually think you can escape this way!" Before the words were finished, the purple-clad figure had already disappeared from the Water Cloud Palace.

Before Xiang Wan could fall to the bottom, a powerful pressure came from mid-air. She turned her head and immediately cried out that something was wrong.

A towering mountain appeared out of nowhere, completely blocking the sky above the pit, and was rapidly falling downwards, seemingly poised to suppress her and everything at the bottom of the pit.

Xiang Wan came to her senses, her face extremely cold, her heart calm and undisturbed, without a trace of fear. She only sighed, fearing she would never see the red ball again.

The creature at the bottom of the pit struggled desperately to rise, yet seemed bound by something. Looking up resentfully at the blackness above, one eye opened—a vertical eye twice the size of a human's, a patchwork of black and purple. It scanned its surroundings before finally fixing its gaze on Xiang Wan. The pupil contracted to its limit, emanating an evil power. The vertical pupil flickered, and thin black threads appeared from the center outwards, splitting the eye in two like a zipper in an instant. Then, a powerful suction force emanated from within.

Xiang Wan was shocked. She had thought it was just an eye, but she hadn't expected it to be a mouth!

There are such unbelievable monsters in the world!

Just as they were about to be sucked in, a deathly aura spread from within, melting the ice spikes inch by inch, and then spreading to their hands.

"No, this absolutely cannot be my final destination! There are still too many things I haven't figured out, and there are still people I cherish. I cannot surrender without a fight!" Xiang Wan quickly activated the cold energy circulating within her body, protecting various parts of her body while extending it to the left and right, hoping to condense an ice shard as soon as possible to support the two sides of the giant-eyed monster and prevent it from continuing to fall.

The giant-eyed monster seemed to sense Xiang Wan's thoughts, and the suction intensified again, with layers of death energy wrapping around her and binding her completely. In an instant, it had enveloped Xiang Wan like a cocoon, rapidly pulling her deeper into its embrace.

Xiang Wan circulated her spiritual energy, attempting to cleave through the death energy, but to no avail. It seemed to make the death energy even more frenzied, beginning to erode her body.

"It's time to rely on you!" Without saying a word, Xiang Wan began to urge the baby to release the unknown substance from its body.

Since the cold air and spiritual energy were ineffective, the golden threads and that unknown substance were her last resort to save her life!

The baby spun around in place, opened its mouth and swallowed all the beads surrounding it. A solemn and powerful aura emanated from its body. Then, a soft white light gradually condensed and spread outward from the baby.

"hold head high!"

The giant-eyed monster let out another unwilling roar, and a dazzlingly cold light struck the surrounding deathly aura. Almost instantly, Xiang Wan breathed in the long-lost air.

"You beast, go back to where you belong!"

The person beside him had a cold expression. He made a hand seal with one hand, and a complex and difficult-to-understand incantation flew out of his mouth, quickly condensing into a magic seal in the air and flying rapidly downwards.

At the same time, the black mountain suddenly collapsed with a loud bang, completely sealing off the bottom of the pit, causing the surrounding earth to tremble.

Looking up, the calamity cloud had vanished without a trace, and the sky was a clear blue, as if nothing had ever happened.

"hold head high!"

The big-eyed monster let out a desperate and unwilling roar, which stirred the mountain that was pressing down at the bottom of the pit for a moment before it fell silent again.

The infant inside her released a tentative burst of spiritual energy carrying a hint of golden light. Xiang Wan then saw the person beside her turn their head, looking at her with a complex and profound gaze.

I never imagined he would save me!

I never imagined I would be saved by him under such circumstances!

Although he knew that her situation just now might be related to him, he would not have given the creatures down there an opportunity to take advantage of her if he hadn't been undergoing his tribulation here.

Regardless, she owed him a debt of gratitude for saving her life!

She was indebted to him for his guidance.

Logically and emotionally, he has already become her de facto mentor, so why deceive herself any longer?

Xiang Wan lowered her brows and said sincerely, "Thank you very much, Master, for saving my life!"

Zi Yi frowned, neither agreeing nor refusing.

At this time, many disciples, mountain lords, and lake lords had already rushed over here.

With a single gesture, the purple-clad figure's feet returned to their original state. The aerial path that had previously trapped Xiang Wan was now clearly visible below.

No matter how you look at it, it's not an infinite loop. The white fog has disappeared, and you can see the end at a glance.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!