037: [This... is impossible! If the male lead were dead, the mission would have failed long ago!]

Ruan Qing'an did not answer, but stared intently at the Heavenly Dao before her, her hands clenching unconsciously: "What's the point of lying to me?"

"...I wouldn't dare lie to you."

The Heavenly Dao lowered its eyes and said in a low voice, "There is only one condition for my descent, and that is that Shen Changlin dies, or rather, his soul completely loses control of his body."

"I don't believe he's dead."

Upon hearing this, Tiandao paused: "Yes, even if he didn't, his consciousness had long since sunk to an unknown place."

The entire Wandao Sect was now deserted. They stood before the collapsed mountain gate, the setting sun like blood, casting a desolate hue over the broken walls and ruins, while all around was deathly silent.

The tall, slender young man held her hand with one hand, and when he lowered his eyes, he rested his chin on Ruan Qing'an's shoulder intimately and tenderly, whispering words of love in her ear, as if clinging tightly to a piece of driftwood, with a twisted joy of something lost and found.

"Stop thinking about him."

“Now I am him, I am using his body.”

"Isn't it good that we've always been together, Master..."

He no longer knew how long he had waited, so long that he was almost assimilated into the small world, so long that he almost forgot his other half, so long that... he seemed to remember nothing at all, forever standing outside the small world, watching this chaotic world, and then remaining silent.

The Way of Heaven has no consciousness or emotions, but it was an accident, which caused it to suffer.

Because this identity became the prison that confined him.

Ruan Qing'an was held tightly in his arms, enveloped by his warm breath: "You..."

“I don’t want to be assimilated by the world, and I don’t want to lose my self-awareness. But I have stood outside the world for far too long. The only thing I can remember is you. Waiting for you has become an instinct. Master, I know you came to this world for him.”

"But...why can't you look at me?"

The palm resting on her waist was warm, and Ruan Qing'an instinctively shrank back, her slender fingertips pressing against Tiandao's arm.

The atmosphere became somewhat tense. She said in a low voice, "When the Heavenly Dao descends upon the world and interferes in worldly affairs, it will cause chaos in the small world, just like the Myriad Dao Sect. With a single thought from you, a cataclysmic calamity will shatter the heavens and the earth. Stop acting recklessly. The people in the small world have done nothing wrong."

"...You always say that."

His hands tightened uncontrollably: "From beginning to end, when compared with anyone else, I am not your best choice."

"You are the Way of Heaven; you shouldn't only have eyes for me."

"...I don't want to."

He was clearly the embodiment of order, yet he was incredibly willful.

Upon hearing this, Ruan Qing'an sighed softly. Even 037 remained silent in her mind for a long time: [It's hard to imagine that this was actually a wisp of divine thought separated by the Supreme God.]

Ruan Qing'an, who was once head over heels in love: ...

She quietly changed the subject, not really wanting to respond to 037, and instead took out a bracelet from her bosom and held it up in front of him.

The light blue color, like a lily of the valley, was crystal clear, like an ice flower, with a soft and delicate touch. Its entire body shimmered with light, and it was woven together by silk threads, hanging on her slender and delicate wrist.

"I think I have a way to wake him up."

Ruan Qing'an murmured softly, her leaden eyes looking at him with a hint of guilt: "This was given to me by Shen Changlin. Perhaps he never even expected it."

“My soul and his soul are faintly connected. Using him as an anchor, I was able to bring my soul back from the Lush Secret Realm. And now—similarly, I can use myself as an anchor to pull him back from the corner where you suppressed him.”

Since the appearance of Xiangjianhuan, there have been rumors that this naturally grown product of the extremely cold land is extremely rare. It has the effect of calming the mind and preventing the invasion of inner demons. However, apart from its beauty, it is useless and is widely criticized.

Clearly, this flower is named "Joy of Reunion"...

Meeting is a joy, and reunion is salvation.

How can a person without love expect a miracle to come?

Beneath the blood-red sunset-stained mountains and beyond the ruins of a mountain gate stretching for miles, she stood like a cold, bright moon, her figure slender and tall, like a willow swaying in the breeze, weak and powerless.

But when Ruan Qing'an stood in front of him, her eyes were unwavering and her arms were outstretched. The "Meeting Joy" bracelet was wrapped around her wrist, and the lily-of-the-valley-shaped spiritual herb at the end, which should have lost its vitality, was now growing under the impetus of spiritual power.

The tip of the herb pierced her palm, and blood began to flow down Ruan Qing'an's fair wrist.

"Joy of Meeting...a divine herb nourished by love."

"you……"

The atmosphere was silent. Tiandao finally let out a bitter laugh, which then became more and more flamboyant and distorted. He raised his hand to cover half of his face, and the emotions in his eyes were like a viscous, predatory beast.

He could clearly feel that his body, which he had been able to control perfectly, was now starting to feel slightly out of control.

The next moment, the bracelet in Ruan Qing'an's hand suddenly flew towards the Heavenly Dao and then entered his body, as if it had instantly triggered something, and the pale golden power of the Heavenly Dao enveloped him.

"ah--"

He couldn't help but growl, as if something was struggling inside him, trying to take control of his body.

Ruan Qingan paused, then instinctively lunged backward.

The next moment, a powerful aura suddenly swept outwards, spreading rapidly from Shen Changlin's body, violently attacking everything around it, and at the eye of the storm—

You think you can escape my control?

"What a joke! You gained the benefits of an innate Dao body, and this is the price you have to pay, Shen Changlin!"

"..."

The boy's tall body had become increasingly weak and broken due to the struggle between the two consciousnesses. If it weren't for the pale golden power of the Heavenly Dao maintaining it, it would probably have completely vanished by now.

The Heavenly Dao's blockade is all-pervasive, or rather—as long as one possesses a naturally born Dao body, everything Shen Changlin obtains comes from him.

How can a knife in someone's hand resist the person wielding it?

"Shen Changlin, get back here—"

"...I don't want this innate Dao body."

Amidst the chaotic storm, a clear, youthful voice spoke in a low, sinister, and ruthless tone: "If I can't get rid of you, fine—then you can forget about living inside me!"

Just like when they were being hunted down in Sanyue City—

Young people have their own pride; they refuse to compromise or bend their pride, so they would rather be broken than bend!

Under the seal of the power of Heaven, the sword intent slashed down and surged forth!

Shen Changlin's body was a naturally formed Dao physique, but at this moment, under the attack of this wisp of sword intent, after breaking through the wondrous Dao rhythm of the unity of all paths, in that instant—

The damaged innate body could no longer withstand the power of Heaven, and once it was no longer in harmony with Heaven, the great power from Heaven and Earth dissipated.

Finally, the pale golden power disappeared, but the energy storm it formed did not weaken in the slightest. Then, in the blood-stained sky, a huge eye opened and stared at the world.

"Yes, you've destroyed your innate Dao body, but can you live?"

"..."

At the eye of the storm, the boy did not answer.

When one forcibly tears apart one's own innate Dao body, it is essentially no different from suicide. Shen Changlin forcibly destroyed his own foundation, just like breaking a hole, causing all his power to leak out.

Those born with a Dao body but without spiritual roots will gradually die once their Dao body is destroyed, leaving them with nothing to sustain them.

This was the second time Shen Changlin had experienced the passing of life...

But at that moment, as if he had found an anchor, his gradually dissipating body suddenly solidified, and a "miracle" from an extremely cold place appeared in his dantian, which should not have spiritual roots.

Nourished by the inexplicable power surging into her body, the joy of meeting blossomed more and more noblely, making people dare not feel any sense of desecration.

The outstretched branches and leaves are even more lustrous and glossy.

Just then, thunder roared in the sky, and tribulation clouds pressed down on the earth, with flashes of light appearing and disappearing within them. Accompanied by the thunder, an angry voice descended from the sky.

When Heaven is enraged, the heavens collapse and the earth splits.

"Ruan Qing'an, are you out of your mind?!"