"Soul Mist Flame? Is that the legendary power hidden within the Nine Soul Heavenly River?"
"The power that elevated the Nine Soul Sacred Clan to its peak?"
After hearing Huangfu Shengyu's words, everyone looked at Xian Miaomiao with completely changed expressions.
It turned out that the one who had seemed the weakest was actually the one who had concealed herself the deepest.
Boom— But just then, Huangfu Shengyu unleashed a martial technique that came crashing down.
Seeing this, Xian Miaomiao released a massive torrent of Soul Mist Flame from within her body, forming an enormous protective shield that enveloped Chu Feng and the others.
The barrier formed by the Soul Mist Flame managed to block Huangfu Shengyu's martial technique, but Xian Miaomiao immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.
Yet Chu Feng noticed that Xian Miaomiao's condition was far worse than that.
Her life force was rapidly dissipating. The reason she had been able to withstand a True God's attack with only a Ninth Grade Half God's cultivation was not merely because she possessed the Soul Mist Flame.
It was because she was burning her own life to fuel the Soul Mist Flame — and only through that sacrifice had she obtained such tremendous power.
"Miaomiao, stop quickly. You'll die if this goes on," Chu Feng said.
The moment those words left his mouth, the others' expressions shifted as well. They finally understood what price Xian Miaomiao had paid for the power she was displaying.
Xian Miaomiao turned her head to look at Chu Feng behind her. With blood still lingering at the corner of her lips, she unexpectedly broke into a smile.
"Chu Feng, how long have we known each other?"
The sudden question left Chu Feng momentarily at a loss for words. This was clearly not the time for such a conversation.
"Before I knew it, so many years have already passed."
"When I first met you, I never imagined that I would come to rely on your protection and help, time and time again, in order to keep growing."
"But that's exactly how things turned out — from the Lower Realm to the Upper Realm, from the Ancestral Martial Heavenly River to the Nine Soul Heavenly River."
"Even as my identity changed, even as my cultivation grew stronger, I thought I could stop relying on your protection — that I might even be able to protect you one day…"
"But in the end, it's still you protecting me. Still you helping me."
"If it weren't for you, I probably would have died long ago."
"You know, I was never that ambitious. When I first started cultivating, it was simply because everyone else was doing it, and I naturally didn't want to fall behind."
"Back then, I was just going along with the crowd. I had no clear goal — I just didn't want to be left behind."
"But later on, I found my purpose for cultivating."
"That purpose was to one day, when you found yourself in danger, be able to stand in front of you and shield you from that danger."
"Chu Feng."
By this point, the smile on Xian Miaomiao's face hadn't faded one bit, but those eyes — narrowed into crescent moons — had grown glistening wet.
"Thank you, for everything, all along the way."
"Today, it's my turn to protect you."
With those words, Xian Miaomiao turned her gaze toward Huangfu Shengyu. The smile vanished from her face, replaced by an overwhelming torrent of killing intent.
At the same time, a massive surge of Soul Mist Flame erupted like a volcanic explosion, surging toward Huangfu Shengyu in an unrelenting torrent.
Facing such an onslaught, even Huangfu Shengyu's expression grew strained. Clasping his divine weapon, he began to resist with all his might.
The power of the Soul Mist Flame was tremendous. Even though Huangfu Shengyu could hold his ground, he was clearly struggling and in a wretched state.
But Xian Miaomiao's condition was actually far worse.
Her life force was draining away at a terrifying pace.
"Sister Miaomiao, stop! Let me go and kill him!"
Seeing this, Xiao Yu'er tried to rush forward to face Huangfu Shengyu herself.
But she was stopped by Xianhai Shaoyu.