Zhi Xuan remained silent, but his mind was in turmoil. He knew that every offer from this woman always came with a price to be paid. Cang Hai was a plain controlled by factions known to be neutral among the Nine Plains; if Feng Yaoyue was bringing him there, it meant she intended to distance him from any sphere of influence that might aid him—especially the networks of Zhu Qinglan or Ye Xishui.

  "Disguising yourself again?" Zhi Xuan hissed, his gaze never leaving the peach-blossom eyes before him. "You truly are an expert at becoming someone else, Feng Yaoyue. However, do not expect me to be a pawn in your escape game."

  Feng Yaoyue was not offended. Instead, she gave him a glance so captivating it suggested Zhi Xuan's threat was merely a spice to her journey. "Not a pawn, Senior Zhi. Yaoyue prefers to call it... a traveling companion bound by fate. Now, let us leave the stifling dust of Huang Tu behind."

  WUUUNNGG—!

  The end of the corridor of light suddenly widened, swallowing them into a blinding explosion of white energy. Zhi Xuan felt his body pulled out of the spatial vortex with a gentle yet firm jerk. A moment later, cold, damp air carrying the scent of salt and the freshness of water swept across his face.

  The majestic sound of crashing waves replaced the hollow silence of the previous dimension. Zhi Xuan landed on a stretch of soft green grass, right on the edge of a high cliff overlooking a vast, boundless blue ocean. In the distance, beneath the silvery moonlight, large floating landmasses were visible.

  A pure sea breeze struck Zhi Xuan’s face, blowing strands of his messy hair. Before him, the Cang Hai Plains stretched out with a grandeur vastly different from the barrenness of Huang Tu. The seawater shimmered like the scales of a silver dragon under the moon’s shadow, while floating islands connected by rainbow bridges of light hovered low over the water's surface.

  "Welcome to Cang Hai, Senior Zhi," Feng Yaoyue’s voice broke the silence. Her tone sounded more relaxed now, as if the heavy burden she carried in the Bronze Palace had evaporated with the sea breeze.

  Zhi Xuan remained lying on the grass. The pink threads no longer bound him harshly; instead, they only locked the meridian points at his wrists and ankles—giving him room to sit but still paralyzing his cultivation’s ability to flee. He rose slowly, staring at the back of Feng Yaoyue, who stood at the cliff's edge, the silhouette of her silk robe fluttering wildly to the rhythm of the waves.

  "Beautiful, isn't it?" Yaoyue turned slightly, her face illuminated by the moonlight appearing mystical, as if she were a part of an ancient legend walking the earth. "Here, the spatial laws are far more stable. There are no sandstorms to ruin the skin, no aura of death to disturb the soul. There is only you, me, and the endless ocean."

  "And the secret inside that box," Zhi Xuan cut in coldly. He turned his gaze toward the sea, but his mind was working hard to map their location. "What is your next plan, Holy Maiden? You have brought me across Plains, locked my cultivation base, and distanced me from all directions. Will you imprison me on one of those floating islands?"

  Feng Yaoyue let out a small laugh and walked toward Zhi Xuan with a relaxed stride. She sat beside him, folding her long legs gracefully, letting her silk robe reveal a glimpse of her snow-white skin.

  "Imprison you? Oh, that’s far too boring," she said while picking a blade of grass and playing with it in her fingers. "I simply want to see what kind of man could make two Holy Fairies bind their karma and choose Senior as their Dao Protector."

  She paused for a moment, her previously mischievous gaze slowly turning somewhat pensive as she watched the ripples of water below the cliff reflecting the starlight. "Besides, this Heavenly Silk Fragment contains insights regarding ascension to the Upper Realm, as my own father has ascended there along with the other patriarchs of the Ancient Clans. To Yaoyue, the Emperor Monument represents certainty—the certainty of a binding fate."

  "Hmph," she snorted softly, placing her hands on her hips and tilting her face toward the sky. "Yaoyue is only afraid that the ancestor, Great Emperor Feng, will slap me into dust for this. Therefore, Senior must protect Yaoyue, okay!"

  Zhi Xuan stared at the side profile of the woman beside him with an unreadable expression. Behind her words, which sounded spoiled and full of jests, he caught a flash of deep loneliness—the burden of a Phoenix bloodline that demanded perfection. However, Zhi Xuan’s vigilance did not falter; he was a practitioner who had crawled out of the mud, and he knew that even the most beautiful Phoenix still possessed claws capable of tearing the soul.

  "You defy the Ancient Clans, yet you fear the Great Emperor," Zhi Xuan snorted, his voice raspy due to the seal on his meridians. "A girl like you... perhaps if Great Emperor Feng were still alive today, he truly would slap you."

  Feng Yaoyue was stunned for a moment, then her clear laughter broke out, slicing through the silence of the night on the edge of the Cang Hai cliff. "True, Senior. He would surely be furious to see his most talented descendant spending her time kidnapping a woodworker from a remote village," she said while wiping a tear from the corner of her eye brought on by her laughter.

  But in an instant, the sparkle in her eyes sharpened again. She turned her body to face Zhi Xuan directly, sitting so close that her heavenly floral aroma once again locked onto the man’s senses.

  "But isn't that what makes life interesting? Defying the lines already woven by old men who have long since turned to dust," Yaoyue whispered. She reached out her hand, the tips of her cold fingers tracing Zhi Xuan’s stiff jawline. "Senior Zhi, aren't you curious? Why could Zhetian, a mortal weaver, stand as an equal to my ancestors who possessed pure Phoenix blood? The secret lies in the will to not be a pawn, exactly as you said earlier."

  Zhi Xuan turned his face away, avoiding the touch that felt like a bolt of lightning on the surface of his skin. "Pawn or not, your blood is that of an Emperor. Why don't you just return to the Ancient Feng Clan, cultivate peacefully until the Sacred Passage, and then step into the Upper Realm?"

  "Because to Yaoyue, ascending to the Upper Realm through the Emperor Monument is merely moving from one golden cage to a larger one," Feng Yaoyue replied, her voice dropping, carrying a vibration of pure emotion. She withdrew her hand, hugging her knees as she stared at the horizon where the sea and sky merged in darkness.

  "That monument demands obedience to existing laws. If I ascend through that path, I will forever be an extension of the ancestors' will. I want to walk with my own feet, to weave my own path, just as Zhetian did."

  Zhi Xuan fell silent. Those words echoed within his sea of consciousness, resonating with his sword intent that always sought to cleave through limitations. There was a bitter irony here; a Holy Maiden who had everything longed for the freedom possessed by a wandering practitioner, while wandering practitioners risked their lives every day to obtain the resources the Holy Maiden had owned since birth.

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  "Is that why you stole the Heavenly Silk Fragment?" Zhi Xuan asked, his voice no longer as sharp as before. "And is that also why you need me? You cannot read that fragment alone, can you?"

  Feng Yaoyue turned, a triumphant smile once again gracing her beautiful face. She shook her head slowly. "Senior Zhi is indeed clever. Actually, Yaoyue could read it alone, but Yaoyue let Senior read it so that Senior and Yaoyue would share a karmic debt! Thus, our karmas will continue to intersect."

  Zhi Xuan closed his eyes, feeling a headache coming on as he heard Feng Yaoyue's reasoning. "Yaoyue, or Holy Fairy Feng. I do not cultivate to collect Holy Fairies. If I had known that man in the deep blue robe was you, I would have kicked you out of my wooden house long ago."

  Feng Yaoyue laughed uproariously at that admission, her slender body swaying like a peach branch in the wind. "Kick me out? Oh, Senior Zhi, you truly are a cruel man. Imagine how heartbroken the heavenly geniuses of the Feng Mie Plains would be if they knew there was a man who preferred a pile of wood over sitting beside me."

  "Senior, don't be so stiff," Feng Yaoyue said, her laughter subsiding into a soft sigh. "Senior has Holy Fairies who would not refuse if you asked for resources; why do you always wander?"

  Zhi Xuan stared at the dark expanse of the ocean below, letting the question hang in the air along with the sharp sea breeze. He recalled the days when he was merely a shepherd, and how he had reached this point by constantly traveling the world.

  "Because comfort is poison to the sword," Zhi Xuan finally answered, his voice sounding like the friction of cold metal. "Accepting resources from another’s hand means giving them control over your neck. I have my own Heaven and am not shaded by the Heaven of others."

  He turned toward Feng Yaoyue, his sapphire eyes glinting sharply under the moonlight. "I do not walk to arrive at a destination; rather, I walk because I must walk, even if every step is taken upon the bones of all living beings."

  Feng Yaoyue was stunned, the mischievous sparkle in her eyes momentarily fading, replaced by an admiration she could not hide. Zhi Xuan’s words were not mere boasts of a proud practitioner; it was a Dao Heart forged by blood and an immense silence.

  "Stepping upon the bones of all living beings..." Yaoyue murmured softly, repeating the words as if tasting the bitterness within them. "Cruel, yet honest. No wonder your sword knows no hesitation."

  Yaoyue rose to her feet, brushing the dust from her silk robe with a very delicate movement. She stretched her hand into the air, and instantly, a small boat made of white sandalwood appeared from her storage bag. The boat hovered in the air, emitting a fragrance capable of calming even the most restless soul.

  "If that is the case, let us see how far your feet can walk upon Cang Hai, Senior," Yaoyue said as she hopped lightly onto the boat.

  She waved her hand, and the pink threads binding Zhi Xuan suddenly lifted him, making him float and land on the boat before her. The boat shot through the air, heading toward the furthest cluster of floating islands, where city lights began to appear like a sprinkling of jewels on blue velvet cloth.

  The white sandalwood boat glided peacefully, slicing through the thin sea mist without leaving a ripple in the air. Below them, the surface of the Cang Hai Ocean shimmered, reflecting the light from the floating islands they passed. Zhi Xuan sat cross-legged at the back of the boat, trying to stabilize his breathing even though his meridian points still felt as if they were being pricked by thousands of ice needles.

  "Cang Hai... a place said to know no dark nights," Zhi Xuan whispered, his eyes scanning the docks made of solidified water crystals, where giant merchant ships towed by spiritual whales were moored.

  Feng Yaoyue stood at the bow, her pink robe fluttering like the wings of a resting phoenix. She turned slightly, giving a mysterious smile that made her eyes appear sharper under the moonlight. "The city before us is the East Sea City. In Cang Hai, only one Ancient Clan holds power: the Ancient Bai Clan."

  "It is said they are always at odds with the Ancient Han Clan from Yao Gu!" Feng Yaoyue added in a whisper that sounded like a secret. "Although the two Ancient Clans have never gone to war directly, they are always tense whenever they meet."

  Zhi Xuan narrowed his eyes. The Ancient Bai Clan, masters of the ocean who supposedly possessed the ability to command water as if it were part of their own bodies. If they were at odds with the Ancient Han Clan—who ruled the eternal snow mountains of Yao Gu—then the Cang Hai Plains was not merely a paradise for wanderers, but a boiling cauldron ready to explode at any moment.

  "The Bai Clan and the Han Clan," Zhi Xuan murmured, his voice almost swallowed by the sigh of the sea breeze. "A dispute between two powers only leaves behind ripples that destroy those caught in the middle."

  "And you, Holy Maiden of the Feng Clan," Zhi Xuan continued while staring at Yaoyue's slender back, "come to the Bai Clan's territory bringing your own clan’s fugitive and a bound foreign practitioner. Are you trying to light a fire upon the water?"

  Feng Yaoyue turned, her small laugh chiming again, but this time there was a faint note of provocation. "Light a fire? Oh, Senior Zhi, you underestimate Yaoyue. The Bai Clan may be the rulers here, but this ocean is far too vast for them to monitor every inch. Besides, East Sea City is where inter-plain trade occurs. Amidst the crowd of thousands of practitioners, a drop of pink ink will not be seen in the blue ocean."

  The sandalwood boat began to slow down as it approached the city gate, which consisted of a giant water arch frozen into eternal ice. Carved upon the arch was the symbol of a water dragon encircling a pearl—the symbol of the Bai Clan’s majesty.

  "We will land in the lower district," Yaoyue said, moving her fingers to disguise her pungent Phoenix aura. Instantly, the pink glow surrounding her faded, replaced by a pale blue aura common among water-element practitioners in Cang Hai. "Remember, here you are my personal bodyguard. Your name is... Ah, just call yourself Fengyan."

  Zhi Xuan snorted, feeling the insult in every word the woman spoke. "A bodyguard whose hands are tied? You truly want to invite suspicion."

  "Who said your hands are tied?" Yaoyue snapped her fingers.

  CLICK.

  The piercing cold sensation at Zhi Xuan’s wrists and ankles suddenly vanished. The essence that had been blocked in his meridians flowed again like a collapsing dam. However, just as Zhi Xuan prepared to explode his True Domain and bolt away, he felt a subtle but unshakeable pressure at his Divine Wheel point.

  "I have moved the seal to your energy center, Senior," Yaoyue whispered with a sweet yet cruel smile. "You can use your power to fight, but if you attempt to move more than a hundred zhang away from me, the thread will pull your soul until it tears. So... stay by my side."

  Zhi Xuan clenched his fists, feeling his power returned yet trapped in an invisible cage. He stood up, his black-and-white robe caught in the sea breeze, giving the impression of a warrior who had survived thousands of bloody battles. Although his cultivation base was restrained by Yaoyue's control, the sword intent radiating from his eyes was still enough to make ordinary practitioners at the lower docks shiver.

  The sandalwood boat landed smoothly on a crystal dock filled with the bustle of people. Merchants offering spiritual shark fins, practitioners searching for water crystal stones, and mercenaries in dragon-scale armor moved about beneath floating lanterns.

  Zhi Xuan stepped down, following Yaoyue. His feet landed on the cold crystal floor, but his eyes kept moving, scanning every corner of East Sea City. He realized one thing: the energy in this place was saturated with the water element—an environment highly advantageous for the Bai Clan practitioners, yet a challenge for his destructive sword intent.

  "Come, Senior Fengyan," Yaoyue called cheerfully, intentionally raising her voice to be heard by those nearby. She unhesitatingly grabbed Zhi Xuan’s sleeve, dragging him into the crowd of the lower market, which smelled of sea spices.

  "Don't touch me," Zhi Xuan hissed lowly, his eyes flashing coldly.

  "My, my, my bodyguard is truly grumpy," Yaoyue teased. She pressed her body even closer, letting onlookers assume Zhi Xuan was a loyal guard protecting a lady from a wealthy family. "Act natural. We must find a place before the night grows late. We need to discuss that fragment in a safer location."

  Zhi Xuan could only follow, his mind planning thousands of escape routes while constantly feeling Yaoyue’s heartbeat so close beside him—a heartbeat that was calm, steady, and full of secrets yet to be fully revealed.

  His footsteps felt heavy on the crystal floor of the dock, not due to physical weight, but because of the invisible chains sewing his soul to Feng Yaoyue’s will. Every time his arm brushed against the Holy Maiden’s pink silk, he felt the rustle of the Phoenix law, which seemed to mock his helplessness.

  The lower market of East Sea City was a labyrinth made of hardened coral and fossilized ancient ship wood. The light here did not come from fire but from sea algae glowing blue inside glass tubes hanging at every corner of the stalls. The sharp, fishy smell of the sea mixed with the scent of incense.