Listening to Qin Luo's story, Xia Zihan's heart was deeply stirred. She had never imagined that Qin Luo had harbored so many concerns and struggles when they first met. But now, hearing these past events brought a bittersweet feeling to her heart.
In her eyes, from the moment they first met in the dungeon, she was trapped in a desperate situation, isolated and helpless, and it was Qin Luo who gave her a chance to escape.
Even after escaping the dungeon, the road ahead remained fraught with thorns, yet Qin Luo remained steadfastly by her side. The moment the Soul-Devouring Willow King pushed her away couldn't be faked; perhaps it was then that she had already unknowingly become entangled in his ways?
To help her rescue her father, Qin Luo risked his life, running around and plotting, never wavering for a moment. Every time he faced difficulties, he stepped forward, shielding Xia Zihan from the storm with his own body, giving everything he had without reservation.
The support and encouragement Qin Luo gave her during those difficult days are deeply etched in her heart. Those days and nights spent together were filled with despair and struggle, but even more so with the hope and warmth Qin Luo brought.
In Xia Zihan's memory, it was Qin Luo who reached out his hand when she was most helpless. It was Qin Luo who, despite being covered in wounds, still smiled and said, "I have fulfilled my mission," when her father was rescued and broke through to a higher level. It was the figure who was always by her side whenever she encountered a bottleneck in her cultivation, patiently handing her cultivation pills.
It was the sight of him stubbornly standing in front of her at that moment, that resolute posture, that made her instantly understand something.
As Xia Zihan felt her spiritual foundation rapidly increasing, tears blurred her vision, and something choked her throat as she choked out:
"Fool, it's not worth it, it really isn't worth it."
She knew that Qin Luo must have seen her face when she confronted Murong Liyue, her expression filled with grievance and helplessness.
He knew his own vulnerability and resentment all too well, which was why he silently blocked the soul tribulation that was capable of destroying everything.
He risked his own safety to give her the opportunity to advance her cultivation to a higher level, just so that she would have less chance of suffering injustice in the future.
Unfortunately, before Xia Zihan could say anything, the purple-gold soul lightning in the sky did not make a deafening sound. Instead, it silently and with the power to destroy the world directly collapsed space and landed on Qin Luo!
"No!"
Upon seeing this, Xia Zihan cried out in alarm, her voice shrill and mournful, like a wounded lone goose crying out in the cold night. At the same time, the spiritual energy that Qin Luo had sealed around her quietly dissipated.
As the tribulation dissipated, Qin Luo's blood-soaked body floated in the void, his tattered clothes and mangled flesh a horrifying sight that tore at Xia Zihan's heart. Each wound was like a scar etched into her heart, the pain almost suffocating her. She wanted to rush over and embrace Qin Luo, but the tribulation was merciless, paying no heed to her needs.
After "dealing with" Qin Luo, Xia Zihan's soul tribulation finally ended. Her divine soul uncontrollably manifested from within her dantian, hovering above her.
However, compared to the nine purple-gold soul lightning bolts that Qin Luo had just endured, this power was like a drop in the ocean.
Purple lightning flickered around the purple divine soul figure, but it didn't cause her any fatal damage. On the contrary, Xia Zihan's divine soul was constantly being refined under the soul lightning, and with the continuous influx of spiritual energy from the ancestral core, the foundation of her divine soul was increasing at an alarming rate. She could clearly feel her soul constantly transforming, becoming increasingly resilient and powerful.
Before long, with such a profound spiritual foundation, the soul tribulation was successfully overcome.
After surviving the soul tribulation, Xia Zihan's aura soared, breaking through all the shackles and reaching the realm of a first-grade saint.
In an instant, a vast, mysterious, and magnificent primordial sea filled with stars appeared behind her. The stars twinkled, radiating dazzling light, as if cheering for her breakthrough.
But that wasn't all. Suddenly, the ancestral core in front of her shattered, and a massive amount of spiritual energy overflowed again. The nourishment from heaven and earth also descended upon her. In addition, with Xia Zihan's own special physique, the interaction of the three caused her aura to surge once more, advancing rapidly.
Saint Realm, Peak First-Rank Saint, Second-Rank Saint... Peak Second-Rank Saint, and finally, he broke through directly to the Third-Rank Saint before stopping!
A dense aura of holy power emanated from Xia Zihan, sweeping across all directions and causing the entire world to tremble.
However, Xia Zihan had no time to worry about her own breakthrough. As soon as her soul returned to her primordial sea, she was already standing beside Qin Luo's dying body, holding the charred and broken remains, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.
"Qin Luo, wake up! Don't scare me! Wake up!"
Xia Zihan screamed, her voice filled with unbearable grief. She held Qin Luo tightly, her grip too tight, her tears streaming down her face as they fell onto Qin Luo's charred and broken body, each drop washing away his pain.
Amidst the cries, Qin Luo weakly opened his eyes, his gaze unfocused yet straining to concentrate on Xia Zihan, who was lying on him, continuously channeling her purple spiritual energy and weeping bitterly.
His vision was blurred, yet he could still make out Xia Zihan's sorrowful face. He struggled to raise his hand, which felt as heavy as a thousand pounds; every inch of movement exhausted all his strength. He gently wiped away the tears that kept rolling down Xia Zihan's cheek, his voice weak but tinged with a hint of relief:
"A third-grade saint... now you won't be... cough cough..."
Before he could finish his broken words, Qin Luo suddenly coughed, and the blood he coughed up splattered onto him and Xia Zihan, a shocking sight.
When Xia Zihan saw Qin Luo wake up, she was initially delighted, but then her heart clenched again when she saw the blood he coughed up.
"Don't say anything yet. I promise you, I won't be willful anymore..."
Xia Zihan sobbed uncontrollably, her hands trembling as she gently covered Qin Luo's mouth, as if that could stop him from coughing up more blood. She felt Qin Luo's extremely weak breath and stammered incoherently:
"Murong Liyue, Huang Lu, Su Yaoyue, Yi Ting... I will try to understand and accept them. As long as you can survive, even if I have to share your gaze with them and find my place in your world together in the future, I will have no complaints."
Hearing this, Qin Luo reluctantly brought up the system and looked at Xia Zihan's panel. The biggest stone in his heart was finally the line of defense.
At the same time, he began to curse Sikong Xiu in his heart for being unreliable, or more precisely, for the unreliable tribulation-crossing jade talisman that Sikong Xiu gave him, claiming it could block a lightning tribulation, which he actually believed.
That's why he didn't use the Qiankun Wanxiang Transformation, but instead tried to withstand the soul tribulation head-on. Who knew that the jade talisman was completely useless, unable to withstand the purple-gold soul tribulation for even a moment.
————
Wutong did her best. This yandere character was really hard to write. I struggled with this part for a long time, so this is the best I can do. With this, Xia Zihan's yandere phase comes to an end. What follows will be a less extreme love triangle, mainly filled with jealousy...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
