In the ancient ruins, Yang Kai stood a short distance from Xue Yue, silently gazing at her with conflicted emotions.
He and this woman should have been mortal enemies, locked in a fight to the death, yet the Soul Chain had bound their lives together. Now Xue Yue hung by a thread, and whether Yang Kai was willing or not, he had to find a way to keep her alive.
Only if Xue Yue survived could he continue to live.
Yang Kai didn't rush into action. Around Xue Yue, droplets of liquid hung suspended in the air, each one as exquisitely translucent as a gemstone. Every droplet radiated a terrifying power that made Yang Kai's heart tremble. Even his divine sense couldn't approach—those threads of spiritual perception would freeze on contact.
Profound Yin Sunflower Water!
Yang Kai immediately realized that these droplets were the Profound Yin Sunflower Water Halika had spoken of. He simply hadn't expected that this substance would be so bizarre.
Yang Kai quietly counted. Roughly fifty droplets of Profound Yin Sunflower Water hovered in the air, spaced slightly apart yet forming an airtight barrier around Xue Yue.
Reaching Xue Yue through this encirclement of Profound Yin Sunflower Water would be extraordinarily difficult.
Yang Kai swept his hand, sending a gust of force toward the droplets, intending to push them aside. To his surprise, the wind struck and they didn't budge at all.
They seemed heavier than a thousand catties!
Yang Kai's expression grew solemn. He increased his strength and managed to shift the Profound Yin Sunflower Water just enough to expose Xue Yue safely.
Standing before her, Yang Kai looked down and felt utterly at a loss.
He had no idea how to get this woman out. He vividly remembered the scene when the Heng Luo Commerce warrior had tried to rescue his companion—the cold had spread outward, and even a Saint King Realm expert couldn't withstand it, instantly frozen into an ice sculpture before shattering on the ground.
Yang Kai didn't dare carelessly touch Xue Yue's body.
He circulated his power, and a ball of pitch-black demonic flame materialized above his hand. Slowly, he brought it closer to Xue Yue, wondering if his demonic flame could block the transmission of that freezing cold.
From the strange and enigmatic demonic flame came intensely contradictory energy fluctuations. As it drew nearer, the burning flame seemed to meet its nemesis—the fire shrank, its power instantly weakened considerably.
Yang Kai's face grew grave, and he had no choice but to increase the output of his holy yuan. The weakened demonic flame surged once more. He pressed the flame against one of Xue Yue's snow-white, delicate arms.
In an instant, a violent clash of energies erupted. The freezing qi on Xue Yue's body rushed rapidly toward his hand, and the burning demonic flame was frozen solid in a mere heartbeat.
The cold traveled through the flame and surged directly toward Yang Kai, causing his expression to change drastically. He frantically drove his holy yuan.
The frozen demonic flame emitted a whistling roar and blazed sky-high once again, waging a desperate battle against the cold that could freeze all things.
Yang Kai's body trembled—he had rarely experienced such hardship. This was the first time he'd pushed himself to the absolute limit to fight against a power of ice and cold.
Time passed. The chill of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water was sometimes suppressed by the demonic flame, and other times it crept along Yang Kai's arm. The two forces were deadlocked, neither gaining the upper hand.
Although Yang Kai's cultivation was low, this demonic flame was a mysterious power born from the fusion of two completely different energies. It was unfathomable and enigmatic—as long as Yang Kai's realm was sufficient, it could incinerate all things in the world.
It had tremendous potential for growth!
But for now, the demonic flame seemed no match for the Profound Yin Sunflower Water. After only a brief struggle, Yang Kai was defeated like a collapsing mountain. The icy intent surged relentlessly toward his body, turning both his physical form and his thoughts stiff and sluggish.
Yang Kai quickly focused his mind and called out within the Demonic God Scripture: "Help me!"
He had no choice but to seek the Divine Tree's aid!
The Divine Tree was a yang-attribute divine tree—the nemesis of extreme cold.
"Done!" the Divine Tree responded immediately.
The next moment, a massive and inconceivable burst of yang energy exploded from within the Demonic God Scripture, merging with Yang Kai's demonic flame to drive the cold from his body.
The chill of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water was quickly suppressed.
Yang Kai's demonic flame enveloped Xue Yue's delicate body entirely, and at the same time, the yang energy radiating from the Divine Tree formed another layer around her.
With both forces working together, the frost on Xue Yue's body melted rapidly. Her deathly pale complexion gradually regained its rosy hue, her icy body slowly growing warm. A faint heartbeat could be heard from her full chest.
Yang Kai's expression brightened, and he cooperated with the Divine Tree without holding anything back.
Half an hour later, the frost on Xue Yue's body had completely vanished. Only now did the seven-colored radiance emanating from within her gradually dim—it seemed she herself had reached the point of utter exhaustion.
Yang Kai sent his divine sense to probe her condition and found it somewhat peculiar.
Although the threat of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water had been removed, she still lingered between life and death, unconscious and unresponsive.
Yang Kai unhesitatingly invaded her sea of consciousness, only to find it completely frozen—a world of glaciers where the sea was solid ice. Xue Yue's spiritual form was nowhere to be seen, with only her faint presence remaining. No matter how Yang Kai called out, he received no response.
Yang Kai's brow furrowed tightly. He couldn't identify the problem, so he could only temporarily withdraw from her sea of consciousness.
"I need to rest for a while. I can't help you for the time being," the Divine Tree said, then fell silent. This time, the expenditure seemed to have been so enormous that it had to enter a state of slumber.
Not only had the Divine Tree expended a vast amount of energy, but Yang Kai had also consumed a significant portion of his holy yuan. If his body hadn't been special—possessing an inexhaustible supply of holy yuan—he would never have been able to dispel the Profound Yin Sunflower Water from Xue Yue's body.
He crouched down, lifted her into his arms at the waist, tore open a rift in space, and plunged straight through.