Outside the Azure Cloud Hall, spiritual energy surged like a tsunami. Disciples of the Azure Heaven Sect formed layer upon layer of blockades. Sword lights stood thick as a forest, and magical incantations rained down, all blasting toward the lone shadow in the center.
Surrounded in the very middle was none other than Cangshu Bai.
He still wore his blood-stained black clothes, his white hair disheveled. New wounds were added to his unhealed injuries, and his garments were already soaked through with blood. The intertwining of deep black and dark red was a shocking sight to behold.
Yet his back remained perfectly straight. All alone, he faced the encirclement of the entire Azure Heaven Sect without the slightest intention of retreating.
Luo Yuntao stood at a high vantage point, his dark Daoist robe fluttering without any wind, his face as cold and harsh as ice. "Cangshu Bai, you ruined my daughter's state of mind, and now you dare to come steal the supreme treasure of my Azure Heaven Sect! You think there is no one left in my sect to stop you? Today will be the day you die!"
Cangshu Bai raised his hand to block a fierce wave of sword aura, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of his lips.
Mu Ran had not expected the plot to progress so quickly. Even though she knew Cangshu Bai would not die, seeing him injured still made her feel anxious.
Cangshu Bai said, "Old man, you were the one who broke our agreement first. I will take the supreme treasure today. Whoever stands in my way will die."
Luo Yuntao was so furious that his beard and hair bristled. His oppressive aura bore down like an overwhelming tide. "Arrogant fool! I see you are courting death!"
Cangshu Bai neither dodged nor hid. The hand gripping his spear was as steady as a boulder. His gaze was locked onto Luo Yuntao's direction as he enunciated every word, "I crawled out of the Vast Heaven Secret Realm by the skin of my teeth, and I didn't come here to listen to you talk about marriage. If you won't give it to me, I will take it by force."
Killing intent completely exploded in the sky above the Azure Cloud Hall.
Cangshu Bai fought alone with his spear. His black clothes whipped in the fierce wind, and his blood-stained white hair flew wildly. Every swing of his spear sent agonizing pain through his meridians, tearing open his old wounds layer by layer. Blood snaked down the shaft of the spear, splattering into drops of scarlet on the white jade floor.
Yet he still did not retreat. The tip of his spear pointed straight at Luo Yuntao, his eyes filled with the ruthless determination of a desperate gamble.
In the end, he was simply outnumbered.
A fierce wave of pressure slammed ruthlessly into his back. A coppery sweetness welled up in Cangshu Bai's throat. Unable to hold on any longer, the hand holding the spear trembled violently, and he crashed heavily to the ground like a kite with a broken string, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The spear slipped from his grasp. He fell to one knee, his chest heaving violently as blood continuously poured from the corners of his mouth, soaking his front robes. His normally cold and desolate eyes were now clouded with a layer of haziness, but he still stubbornly braced himself, refusing to collapse.
Luo Yuntao pressed forward step by step, a lethal technique already gathering at his fingertips. "You reckless fool, today I will scatter your soul to the winds!"
At this critical moment, a frail figure suddenly rushed out from the direction of the sleeping quarters.
"Father, no!"
Luo Qingniao wore thin clothing, her figure so gaunt that she looked as if a gust of wind could blow her over. Her normally pale face was flushed with a sickly red from her frantic running.
She practically stumbled and threw herself in front of Cangshu Bai. Spreading her arms wide, she used her frail body to resolutely shield the battered and bloodied man.
The entire Azure Heaven Sect instantly fell silent, and all the disciples withdrew their attacks in unison.
The spiritual energy Luo Yuntao had gathered suddenly froze in midair. Shocked and furious, he shouted, "Qingniao, come back! Who allowed you to come out?!"
But Luo Qingniao bit her lip hard, refusing to take a single step back. Her voice was faint but exceptionally firm. "Father, if you want to kill him, you have to kill me first."
Cangshu Bai, half-kneeling on the ground, stiffened abruptly. The hand hanging by his side clenched unconsciously. In those eyes that had been dead and silent for ten thousand years, it was as if a tiny, bewildered crack had appeared for the very first time.
Mu Ran did not want to watch anymore and turned her back.
But the voices still carried over in the wind.
"Big Guy, I know the story of you and your wife. Back then, she sacrificed herself to save you. It is only right that you keep her in your heart."
"But whatever she could do, I, Luo Qingniao, can do too."
"As long as I am alive, I will absolutely never let anyone hurt you!"
Cangshu Bai remained silent for a long time before saying, "Why bother?"
"I don't find it to be a bother at all. Ever since the day you saved me in the Void Secret Realm, I have liked you. For you, I can give up being the eldest miss of the Azure Heaven Sect. I can leave the sect and sever ties with the Luo family. As long as I can be with you, I am willing to do anything!"
Luo Yuntao said in a deep voice, "Qingniao, you want to sever our father-daughter relationship for this man?"
Luo Qingniao said firmly, "Father, you forced my hand first. He is the man I love. If you want to kill him, you are demanding my life. No one will touch him today. If you want to kill him, then kill me along with him!"
Luo Yuntao felt a sharp pain in his chest. The sect master, who had stood as immovable as a mountain for a thousand years, actually stumbled half a step at this moment.
In an unnoticed corner, Wumu's aura suddenly shifted slightly. He glanced at the situation unfolding before him and turned to leave without a moment's hesitation.
At the same time, Cangshu Bai opened his eyes, his gaze flickering. Looking at Luo Qingniao, who was so close at hand, he couldn't hold back from grasping her hand.
Luo Qingniao turned her head, a blush appearing on her pale little face.
This was the first time Cangshu Bai had not rejected her and had even taken the initiative to hold her hand.
"Big Guy, what's wrong?"
Affection surged in Cangshu Bai's eyes, though he quickly suppressed the emotions that were inappropriate to reveal, and declared with resounding firmness:
"Luo Qingniao, you have shown me deep love and profound righteousness. I, Cangshu Bai, am not made of wood or stone. From this day forward, you are my wife."
Luo Qingniao froze completely. Her previously dim eyes suddenly lit up with a sky full of starlight, as if a dark night that had been silent for three years had finally welcomed its first ray of dawn.
"B-but... what about the wife you want to resurrect?"
As if suddenly recalling this fact, Cangshu Bai remained quiet for a long time before saying, "When she wakes up, I will surely give you a proper status."
Luo Qingniao wept tears of joy. She had waited so long, and finally, the day her efforts bore fruit had arrived!
The onlookers still wore strange expressions.
The dignified eldest miss of the Azure Heaven Sect—what kind of man could she not find?
To actually stoop so low as to share a husband with another woman was truly degrading and the utmost grievance.
Luo Yuntao's face was also incredibly unsightly. However, since Luo Qingniao was willing to die for Cangshu Bai, there was nothing else he could do.
Mu Ran drifted in the wind, her back to them, clutching the corner of her clothes tightly.
She could accept Cangshu Bai not loving her, but she could not accept him splitting his love in half, as if giving her half was some sort of lucky charity.
Suddenly, the sound of an explosion came from the distance.
Before Mu Ran could discern what was happening, a powerful force instantly pulled her back into the minor world.
Space twisted, the air vibrated, and monstrous waves surged across the water's surface. Her vision blurred along with it; everything became hazy, and she couldn't see anything clearly.
Naturally, she also did not see the jade-green Soul Pivot Lotus Pedestal that suddenly emerged from the void. It slowly bloomed with layers of soft light, gently enveloping the sleeping figure inside the jade coffin within the heart of the lotus.
The lustrous green light flowed, and the reversal of life and death happened in a mere instant.
"Oh no, the Treasure Pavilion!"
When Luo Yuntao led his people and flashed over to look, the dust and smoke gradually dispersed. The figure that appeared within it took everyone by complete surprise.
Wumu still had his usual black clothes and black hair, but the aura surrounding him had completely changed.
He no longer looked like the fiercely loyal, slightly stoic guard of the past. Taking its place was a bone-deep coldness and desolation. A heavy, unshakable gloom gathered in his eyes. Though he stood in the very center of the crowd, it felt as if he were standing alone atop an eternal, frozen peak, completely detached from everything around him.
Everyone was struck by an eerie sense of familiarity.
This look, this aura, this faint trace of restrained ruthlessness, it was unmistakably Cangshu Bai.
