On this side, Gu Yun and Feng Chun were locked in the heat of battle.
Suddenly, a massive heatwave and impact force slammed into them. Everyone present was blasted off their feet by the invisible pressure, crashing heavily onto the ground and finding themselves pinned down, unable to rise. At the moment he was sent flying, Gu Yun turned his head and saw layers of fiery-red heatwaves rising from around Yan Qinyu.
Gu Yun thought, “Damn it, an attack that doesn’t distinguish between friend and foe!”
Fortunately, Yan Qinyu seemed to remember that Gu Yun and Yan Lan were still there. With a wave of his hand, he set up a barrier to protect the two of them. Gu Yun crawled up from the ground. Aside from himself, Yan Lan, and Yan Qinyu, not a single person present was left unscathed.
Gu Yun went over to help up a bewildered Yan Lan, saying, “I will explain it to you later.”
Yan Lan’s expression was incredibly complicated, feeling as though his entire worldview was on the verge of shattering.
Feng Chun had been blasted by the previous impact right into that filthy, green-turned water. After gulping down several mouthfuls of the water, he had just crawled up when he was pinned right back down into the water by the invisible, majestic pressure. Gu Yun nearly burst out laughing, finding it immensely satisfying.
Everyone stared in utter terror toward Yan Qinyu’s position.
Yan Qinyu continuously channeled his power of vitality into Yuan Ruoshen’s body, causing Yuan Ruoshen’s primordial spirit to emit speckles of a radiant glow.
“Yuan Ruoshen, I am back.”
“Yuan Ruoshen, if you still do not wake up, I am going back to the Linxu Realm by myself and leaving you here alone!”
As if hearing Yan Qinyu’s words, Yuan Ruoshen’s primordial spirit struggled slightly.
The power of vitality repaired Yuan Ruoshen’s primordial spirit, and his aura grew stronger and stronger. A scorching temperature swept through the entire underground area, causing the surrounding temperature to climb higher and higher. Even though Gu Yun and Yan Lan were protected by Yan Qinyu’s barrier, they were still drenched in sweat from the baking heat.
A sharp cry resounded.
The physical body of Yuan Ruoshen within Yan Qinyu’s embrace dissolved into speckles of white light and vanished. Quick-witted and fast-handed, Yan Qinyu immediately sealed off this space.
The true form of a Three-Legged Golden Crow was no different from the sun itself. Although he wanted to completely wipe out the people of this Ranye branch, if Yuan Ruoshen’s true form emerged while he was unconscious without intentionally restraining the Golden Crow’s power, this world would not be able to withstand the exposure. He had to ensure that before the Great Tribulation of Heaven and Earth even began, the world wouldn’t be completely roasted away by Yuan Ruoshen first.
With the space sealed off, the boundless True Fire of the Sun was compressed and entirely forced back into Yuan Ruoshen’s body.
Amidst the absolute silence, the Three-Legged Golden Crow, covered in burning gold-red flames, slowly opened its eyes, which were as dazzling as the sun. As it opened its eyes, the surrounding air seemed to be ignited, bursting into roaring flames. However, it suddenly retracted its own aura. Immediately following that, the brilliant flames around its body seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, abruptly bursting apart and transforming into countless starlike sparks that bloomed and vanished in the air like fireworks.
This sudden turn of events left everyone dumbfounded. Their expressions turned completely blank, as if they had been shaken out of their ability to think by this incomparably magnificent scene.
While everyone was still immersed in this breathtaking sight, the Golden Crow underwent a transformation in an instant. Its body gradually shrank, and the flames retracted along with it, finally turning into a handsome young man dressed in a gold-red, wide-sleeved imperial robe, looking entirely unlike a mortal.
His appearance was like the brightest star in the night sky, instantly drawing everyone’s gaze. His features were exquisitely perfect, yet they revealed a noble and detached disposition, as if he were a being from another world entirely. Although there was a hint of gentleness in his smile, the biting, blade-like killing intent within it was as piercing as a winter wind, causing people to shudder uncontrollably.
This was Yuan Ruoshen.
Staring at the familiar person before him, Yan Qinyu found himself temporarily at a loss for words. Yuan Ruoshen had awakened, but Suijing still remained in a deep slumber.
“A-Yu, I am back.”
These words pierced through time and space, enduring thousands of years of vicissitudes, before finally reaching Yan Qinyu’s ears at this very moment. This tribulation, the parting of life and death across three lifetimes, and the thousand-year wait in the cycle of reincarnation, finally dissolved into memory at this instant.
Looking at Yuan Ruoshen right in front of him, tears welled up in Yan Qinyu’s eyes. In the next moment, like a bird darting into a forest, he threw himself straight into Yuan Ruoshen’s embrace. This was the first time in millions of years that he had lost his composure so completely and shown such intense emotion.
Yuan Ruoshen caught Yan Qinyu securely, deeply afraid that the moment he let go, the other would vanish. His arms were like iron clamps, tightly locking Yan Qinyu in his embrace, as if wanting to rub him directly into his own body.
Yuan Ruoshen’s voice was incredibly soft, light as a falling feather, yet carrying an undeniable tremble, “Reincarnating through three lifetimes, waiting for a thousand years.”
“I succeeded. I was truly terrified, terrified that I would fail, terrified that you would leave me forever.”
His words were filled with dread and unease, stemming from a profound fear of losing Yan Qinyu. Reincarnation across three lifetimes meant that every single lifetime had been filled with agony, parting, and loss. For Yan Qinyu, he had only experienced the tribulations of two lifetimes, spending the third lying in a coffin waiting to awaken. But for Yuan Ruoshen, he had gone through a prolonged wait across three lifetimes, waiting from a mortal’s perspective and equally waiting from a god’s perspective. In the past, a thousand years was nothing more than the blink of an eye to him, but while waiting, it had felt unimaginably long.
Yan Qinyu shook his head gently, weeping tears of joy, “No more, never again.”
Yuan Ruoshen chuckled softly, “I didn’t expect that in the end, I would still have to wait for you to come and save me.”
Only after a long while did Yan Qinyu compose his feelings, and he exchanged a smile with Yuan Ruoshen.
Yuan Ruoshen looked at Yan Qinyu with a smile, “There is still official business. Let’s deal with them first.”
Yan Qinyu agreed, “My thoughts exactly.”
Yuan Ruoshen’s gaze swept over the surrounding people who had collapsed all over the ground under his previous pressure. Many had suffered internal injuries to their vital organs, vomiting blood and falling unconscious. If Yan Qinyu had not sealed off the space in time, everyone would have been directly blown apart by that pressure, rather than merely being severely injured.
With a casual wave of his hand, Yuan Ruoshen woke these people up, and the manager on the ground flew straight over to them. Yuan Ruoshen’s lips curved slightly as he looked at the manager before him with a half-smile, his eyes incredibly cold.
In the next instant, the manager looked as though he had been struck by an invisible force. He abruptly spat out a mouthful of blood, and then his body lunged forward violently, losing his balance. His feet flailed wildly in the air, and with a muffled thud, the manager crashed heavily onto the hard ground. His forehead slammed hard against the floor, instantly causing blood to flow from the wound. He grimaced in severe pain, his entire face distorted in agony.
Sweat, mingled with blood, poured down his forehead and cheeks like a burst dam. His lips trembled slightly from the pain, yet he could not utter a single sound, clearly frightened out of his wits.
Yuan Ruoshen walked over with slow steps, stepped on his head, and looked down at him with a half-smile, “You enjoy torturing people very much?”
The manager seemed to finally regain his senses, quickly begging for mercy, “I was wrong, I was wrong, My Lord, spare me!”
Yan Qinyu’s gaze was like a bottomless pool of ice, deep and freezing cold. While he was awakening Yuan Ruoshen’s primordial spirit, he had also seen Yuan Ruoshen’s recent experiences within his memories. He knew exactly what the manager had done. Though Yan Qinyu appeared entirely calm on the surface, his heart was consumed with rage.
Thinking about what Yuan Ruoshen had endured over these past days made Yan Qinyu’s heart throb with pain. How did he dare! How did they dare!
Yan Qinyu walked to Yuan Ruoshen’s side, his icy gaze fixed on the manager beneath his foot, “Yuan Ruoshen, leave him to me.”
Yuan Ruoshen looked at Yan Qinyu in surprise. He knew Yan Qinyu wanted to avenge him, but he did not wish for Yan Qinyu to do this kind of thing. His own vengeance should naturally be exacted by himself. Therefore, Yuan Ruoshen shook his head.
Then, Yan Qinyu simply stared at him intently.
Yuan Ruoshen was left speechless.
Ultimately, Yuan Ruoshen conceded. The Sovereign of Beiyue appeared gentle and calm, but in reality, he was the most stubborn. Between Yan Qinyu and Yuan Ruoshen, it might seem like Yuan Ruoshen was the more obsessive one, but that was actually not the case. Through these several lifetimes of reincarnation, Yuan Ruoshen had already come to know this.
Yuan Ruoshen said, “Alright, alright, just leave him with a breath of life before giving him back to me.”