Seven Profound Sect, Central State, Spirit Domain.
Within the Spirit Valley, immortal mist swirled, and spiritual rain fell like silk; the central area, the most core and tranquil part of the Seven Profound Sect, guarded by seven divine mountains, was now thoroughly stirred by a profound and irresistible power of descent.
Space rippled silently, like a calm lake disturbed by a thrown boulder.
Immediately after, a spatial vortex appeared out of thin air and then exploded, with violent spiritual energy fluctuations rolling like thunder, making the entire Spirit Valley hum. Then, a tall and slender figure stepped out from the chaotic vortex.
He was clad in a green robe, his sleeves fluttering to reveal the trajectories of stars; his black hair danced in the wind, and his gaze, like lightning, swept across the surroundings, seemingly able to penetrate the mysteries of heaven and earth.
Boom—!!!
Almost at the same instant Li Mu’s figure appeared!
In the Spirit Valley, an Immortal Cave sealed by ten thousand-year-old profound ice suddenly erupted with a brilliant white light that pierced the nine heavens! It exuded an extremely cold Dao intent like a glacial soul.
Immediately after, a graceful yet sharp figure soared from the depths of the Immortal Cave, nine snow-white, jade-like fox tails unfurling and swaying behind her, tearing through the sky and stirring the wind and clouds!
Xue'er wore a white dress, her black hair cascaded like a waterfall, and a glacial soul silver pattern adorned her brow. Her eyes were like a cold pond reflecting the moon, holding an undeniable excitement and sorrow within their coolness.
“Li Dage… is that you? It’s your aura!”
Xue'er's voice was as clear as melting frost and snow, trembling with emotion, mixed with a hundred years of suppressed longing and bitterness.
Before her voice faded, Xue'er had already torn through the air, her figure transforming into a streak of light, heading straight for the familiar figure in the center of the Spirit Valley.
Li Mu stood in mid-air, recovering from the fluctuations of his return. He felt an extremely familiar yet hundred-year-long absent chill rush towards him, and his heart trembled.
“Xue'er…” Li Mu called out softly, his voice hoarse, filled with guilt and deep affection.
Their eyes met, and the world seemed to stand still for a moment.
A hundred years of separation, a hundred years of longing, all contained in a single glance.
“Li Dage, you’re finally back…” Xue'er said softly, her voice choked, yet she stubbornly looked at him: “I waited for you for a hundred years, a whole hundred years… I thought you… would never come back.”
Li Mu stepped forward, reaching out to gently caress her cheek, his fingertips trembling slightly.
“I’m sorry, Xue'er.” Li Mu's voice was low, explaining apologetically: “The strange will was too troublesome. It took me a hundred years to refine it without realizing it; I knew you would wait for me… it’s just that I’ve made you suffer.”
Xue'er’s tears finally fell, but not in sadness. She just whispered, “It’s good that you’re back… Even if I had to wait another hundred years, a thousand years, I’d be willing.”
With that, Xue'er leaned into Li Mu’s embrace, her nine tails gently wrapping around them, enveloping them in a field of pure white.
Li Mu held her tightly, closing his eyes, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
After a long while, Xue'er slowly raised her head, her tear stains still wet, but a determined smile had replaced them.
“Li Dage, why can’t I sense your emotions anymore? Tell me, what is your Realm now? What exactly did you experience in these hundred years?” Xue'er looked up at Li Mu, her gaze filled with both affection and worry.
Li Mu looked down at her, a complex expression flashing in his eyes. He sighed softly and said, “I have stepped into the Kind Dao Realm and have initially mastered the Source of Self.”
“Kind Dao Realm? The Source of Self? What kind of Realm is that? Beyond the Extreme Dao?” Xue'er asked in surprise, making a guess.
“Yes, beyond the Extreme Dao!” Li Mu smiled and nodded, then recounted everything in detail: the Kind Dao Realm, the Source of Self, refining the Strange Dao will, the Three Thousand Worlds Tree, the three-hundred-year pact, and so on.
“So, Li Dage, three hundred years from now, you’re going to break the Seal and go to the Demon Abyss to refine the Strange Dao will! Take me with you, I want to go too!” Xue'er said with a serious expression. “This time, I won’t stay here and wait for you anymore.”
Li Mu was startled and blurted out, “No, this trip to the Demon Abyss will definitely be extremely dangerous. The Strange Dao will is far beyond what you can contend with. You must stay in this world and Cultivate well, waiting for my return…”
“Wait for your return?”
Xue'er interrupted him, her eyes red, refusing with exceptional firmness: “Li Dage, do you know that for the past hundred years, I have waited for you every single day, waiting for your return, waiting for your appearance, waiting for you to even just send me a Divine Thought. But… you didn’t.”
Xue'er tightly grasped Li Mu’s lapels, tears streaming down her face, refusing to lower her head: “I’m not afraid of death, not afraid of danger. I’m only afraid… that if I keep waiting, after a thousand or ten thousand years, you still won’t return, and I can only guard an empty valley, listening to the wind and missing you.”
Li Mu's heart trembled violently, and he was speechless for a moment.
Xue'er continued, “You said that destiny is a shackles to be broken by one’s own hands. But why do you want to trap me in this cage of waiting? I am no longer the little fox who needed your protection. My nine tails have transformed into snow blades; my heart fire has been refined into a glacial soul. I am willing to accompany you, even if the road ahead is a death abyss, I am willing to fight alongside you!”
Xue'er’s voice was not loud, but every word was resonant, like cracking ice and snow, revealing the fervent determination hidden within.
Li Mu gazed at her for a long time, then finally smiled softly and pulled her into his embrace.
“Good!” Li Mu nodded solemnly: “This time, I promise you.”
Xue'er was stunned, then her eyes welled up again, but she smiled.
“However, the journey to the Demon Abyss is extremely perilous!” Li Mu continued, his tone turning serious: “You must promise me to follow my arrangements and not act recklessly. Understand?”
Xue'er nodded gently, leaning against Li Mu’s chest and whispering, “As long as you live, I live. If you fall, I will accompany you!”
Li Mu’s heart trembled, but he no longer tried to dissuade her, only holding her tighter.
In the following days, the Spirit Valley seemed to become a secluded paradise, where Li Mu and Xue'er enjoyed rare tranquility and warmth in this immortal Realm.
In the days that followed, time seemed to stretch out and slow down in the Spirit Valley.
They didn't deliberately pursue anything, simply following their hearts.
Sometimes, they walked side by side on mountain paths covered with exotic spiritual plants. Xue'er would point to a 'Cold Star Grass' emitting a frosty blue glow, softly recounting how it stubbornly grew through the profound ice during the first harsh winter after Li Mu left, just like the longing in her heart.
Li Mu would stop and listen, his fingertips brushing the grass blades, sensing the faint natural Dao intent contained within. He seemingly casually twirled the grass blade, but in reality, an imperceptible 'Source of Self' quietly probed, analyzing the Dao intent of its life Origin and its integration with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, silently deducing in his mind how to incorporate similar life resilience into his own protective Dao techniques.
Sometimes, they would sit by the 'Stardust Pond' deep within the Spirit Valley. The pond water was crystal clear, reflecting the illusory images of the seven divine mountains and the flowing starlight across the sky. Li Mu casually set up a Star Power Formation with stellar trajectories, deducing the combination of the Dao of Source of Self and the Dao of Formation.
Li Mu would casually pluck a few Spirit Leaves and leisurely brew a pot of clear tea infused with Star Power.
The tea's aroma wafted, mixing with Xue'er's cool icy aura, refreshing the heart and mind.
Xue'er sipped the tea, feeling the warmth and tranquility that spread through her Divine Soul as the tea entered her Dantian.
Her gaze fell upon Li Mu's seemingly casual tea-making hands; his slender fingers occasionally left extremely brief, profound traces on the rim of the cup, causing the starlight in the pond to subtly ripple, as if he were performing some imperceptible deduction.
Xue'er understood but did not expose him, merely stretching out her nine tails to draw in the surrounding Spiritual Qi, forming a natural, tranquil Domain that shielded them from external prying, allowing him to focus more.
More often, it was silent companionship; in the cozy Spirit Valley, Xue'er joyfully prepared Spirit Meals, while Li Mu sat cross-legged, seemingly in meditation.
However, within Li Mu's profound Sea of Consciousness, the 'Chaotic Dao Seed' in his body slowly rotated.
Using the 'Source of Self' as a guide, he cautiously analyzed the contaminating characteristics of the Bizarre Dao's will, simulating the process of resistance and refinement.
Each simulation required a vast expenditure of mental energy, but his expression remained calm, only an occasional fleeting trace of extreme solemnity crossing his brows.
"Li Dage," on a night when the moonlight was like water, Xue'er leaned against Li Mu, gazing at the starlight flowing outside the Immortal Cave, and softly asked, "What kind of profoundness is that 'Source of Self'? Can it... truly protect you in the Demon Abyss?"
Li Mu opened his eyes, and within them, star rivers seemed to be born and extinguished.
He put his arm around Xue'er's shoulder and gently said, "'Source of Self' means 'originating from oneself, not seeking external help'. It is the Origin Power I cultivated within my own Dao Seed after refining the Bizarre Dao's will.
This power can analyze the Origin of all things and resist the erosion of all techniques; it is the foundation of the 'Kind Dao Realm'."
Li Mu's fingertips moved slightly, and a wisp of pure, almost ethereal Qi appeared; it had no attributes but seemed to contain the possibility of encompassing and analyzing everything.
"With it, and with you, even if the Demon Abyss is treacherous, I am not without a chance of victory."
Xue'er gazed at that wisp of 'Source of Self', feeling the profoundness and vastness contained within it, and her worries were replaced by a powerful confidence.
...
The two spent their days together, needing no words; a hundred years of longing, the joy of reunion, and the resolute determination for the future all settled and fermented in this tranquil Spirit Valley time, transforming into the most solid reliance in each other's hearts.
Time passed day by day, and Li Mu and Xue'er spent it peacefully in the Spirit Valley.
Occasionally, Li Mu would also take Xue'er out of the Spirit Valley to explore unknown areas on the edge of the Star Sea, searching for Dao-bearing spiritual objects to refine into ultimate treasures that could resist the Bizarre Dao's will.
The Star Sea was vast, with scattered light like dust.
Li Mu stood with his hands behind his back at the front of the Star Boat, his green robes fluttering, forming a world of their own, while Xue'er leaned beside him, watching the Star Boat draw winding starlight trails in the Void Realm.
"Li Dage, that's the Chaotic Star Ruins ahead," Xue'er gently tapped the Star Array Li Mu had refined, then the Void Realm bloomed with dark blue light patterns, releasing a complex three-dimensional star map as she reminded him.
Li Mu's eyes flickered, and the Chaotic Dao Seed in his Dantian gently vibrated; he suddenly pointed his fingers like a sword, drawing a profound arc in the air.
A long hum came from the depths of the Star Sea, as if some ancient existence had been awakened, and the starlight in the sky surged towards them like a tide.
Xue'er's nine tails suddenly tensed, the Ice Soul Silver Mark flickering on her brow, her eyes filled with tension; Li Mu quickly reached out to comfort her: "It's nothing, it's a Star Core resonance."
Before he finished speaking, spiderweb-like Void Realm patterns cracked open in front of the Star Boat, and the remains of a Cham blue star slowly emerged from the crack.
This star had long since died, its surface covered with cracks, but at its core, a fist-sized Star Core pulsed, like a frozen, fiery heart.
As the Star Marrow pulsed, there was even a faint rhythm like a heartbeat, as if this star, though dead, had not decayed and was continuing its life in another way.
The Cham blue light was mixed with wisps of icy aura, echoing the Ice Soul Dao intent within Xue'er's body.
"Such rich Star Origin..." Xue'er exclaimed softly, a hint of excitement appearing in her eyes, "Li Dage, this is the remnant of a ninth-grade Star Crystal Core! If we can extract its core Star Marrow, it should be refined into your Dao-bearing ultimate treasure."
Li Mu nodded, his eyes as deep as an abyss: "Indeed, the remaining aura of this star is extremely unstable, likely caused by the aftermath of an ancient Dao battle; we must proceed with caution."
Ripples spread across the Star Boat's deck; Li Mu pointed his fingers like a sword and plunged them into the Void Realm, the Chaotic Dao Seed roared into operation, and the Source of Self transformed into thousands of silver threads, coiling layer upon layer around the star's remnant.
The Star Core trembled violently, and the Cham blue light suddenly surged, as if struggling to resist.
The spiderweb-like cracks in the Void Realm rapidly spread, and the surrounding star fragments floated up, like a startled swarm of bees, emitting sharp, piercing hums.
"They're here!" Li Mu low-roared, his left hand suddenly retracted, and the silver threads burst like lightning, firmly imprisoning the star's remnant in mid-air.
Xue'er's nine tails unfurled, cold Qi surged, and the Ice Soul Silver Mark bloomed with brilliant light; she formed a hand Seal, and a translucent ice ring emerged from her palm, slowly rotating and releasing extreme cold, intertwining with Li Mu's Chaotic Dao intent to form a sealing Formation that enveloped the pulsating Star Core layer by layer.
"The Star Marrow is unstable; it cannot be forcefully taken," Li Mu reminded in a deep voice, "Xue'er, help me trigger the Star Core resonance and suppress its turbulent flow with the Dao of Ice Seal."
Xue'er nodded, the Ice Soul imprint on her brow suddenly lit up, her nine tails danced in unison, and cold mist permeated.
Her figure was like an Ice and Snow Fairy, dancing gracefully in the Star Sea; each step she took stirred up layers of icy ripples, gently calming the Star Core's violent fluctuations.
Li Mu's eyes narrowed slightly, the Chaotic Dao Seed roared into operation, he pointed his fingers like a sword, and outlined profound runes in the air.
The runes fell onto the Star Core's surface, subtly synchronizing with its heartbeat frequency, gradually calming its frenzy.
"It's done!" Li Mu exhaled lightly, tightening the silver threads in his hand, and the Star Core finally stopped struggling, slowly revealing a pale blue membrane of light, like a cocoon, enveloping its core.
Xue'er lightly leaped to Li Mu's side, her eyes filled with joy: "Li Dage, the Star Core is stable; we can begin collecting the Star Marrow now."
Li Mu, however, shook his head with a solemn expression: "No rush.
Although this Star Core has been sealed, there are still ancient lingering thoughts that have not dispersed.
If we rashly extract the marrow, it may trigger a backlash."
With that, Li Mu waved his sleeve, and an ancient bronze cauldron appeared in his palm; the cauldron's body was engraved with obscure and difficult-to-understand Dao patterns, precisely the Dao-bearing item refined by Wanbao Pavilion at the cost of massive resources—the Ten Thousand Treasures Cauldron.
