If the heart does not die, the Way cannot be born.

For the rest of the journey, the atmosphere took a sudden turn.

The once aloof and cold Ye Xuan was nowhere to be seen.

Wifey, are you tired? Shall I massage your shoulders for you?

Wifey, are you thirsty? Shall I go pick some fruit for you?

Qianqiu, do you think this flower matches you? I don't think it's as beautiful as you are.

Ye Xuan followed behind Bai Qianqiu, constantly showering her with attention.

One moment he was helping her carry things, the next he was wiping her sweat, and then he was telling her jokes.

His attitude was like night and day compared to before.

The previous Ye Xuan always looked lifeless, uninterested in everything. But the current Ye Xuan was like a completely different person, full of vitality and enthusiasm.

Although Bai Qianqiu maintained a cold facade on the surface and seemingly ignored him, whenever Ye Xuan leaned in, she couldn't suppress the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

In truth, her heart was filled with sweetness and joy. She liked having Ye Xuan revolve around her like this, and she loved his care and pampering.

Even when they encountered danger, she would subconsciously step in front of Ye Xuan to protect him.

One day, they were traveling through a dense forest.

Suddenly, a powerful demonic aura surged from the depths of the forest.

This demonic aura was extremely dense, churning in the air as if it were tangible. It was dark red, spreading out like a blood mist. Wherever it passed, plants withered one after another, and the moss on the ground instantly turned black, emitting a sizzling, corrosive sound.

The surrounding temperature plummeted, and a thick stench of blood permeated the air.

Careful!

Bai Qianqiu's expression changed. She immediately drew her Shuanghua Sword and blocked in front of Ye Xuan.

Her movements were fast, almost a reflexive instinct.

Leaning forward slightly, she assumed a battle stance. The Wenqing Sword hummed in her hand, the chilling aura on its blade growing denser, causing the surrounding temperature to drop another few degrees.

Her gaze turned sharp. Her usual gentleness and shyness completely vanished, replaced by the unique coldness and decisiveness of a sword cultivator.

Her aura began to climb as she unreservedly unleashed her Late Nascent Soul stage cultivation.

Accompanied by a heaven-shaking dragon roar, the entire dense forest trembled.

The sound was utterly terrifying, like a bellow from the depths of hell. The soundwaves spread out tangibly; wherever they passed, trees exploded and crushed stones flew through the air.

Some cultivators with lower cultivation bases directly coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground, unable to rise after hearing this dragon roar.

Further away, some cultivators who were treasure hunting had a drastic change in expression upon hearing this roar.

This is... the roar of an Earth Demon Dragon! an old cultivator exclaimed. His face was deathly pale, and his body trembled slightly.

What? An Earth Demon Dragon? That's a Soul Formation stage demonic beast! another cultivator said in terror. Let's go, quickly! If it sets its sights on us, we're dead!

Wait, in that direction... it seems like someone is over there! a third cultivator said, pointing toward where the sound originated.

We can't worry about that now! If they can survive facing an Earth Demon Dragon, it's their own good fortune! We need to leave immediately!

These cultivators discussed animatedly, but ultimately chose to distance themselves from this dangerous place. They executed their movement techniques, turning into streaks of light as they fled into the distance.

From deep within the dense forest, a colossal behemoth slowly walked out.

It was a massive dragon-shaped demonic beast, over a hundred meters long and thirty meters tall. Its body was covered in pitch-black scales, each the size of a millstone and gleaming with a metallic luster. The edges of the scales were as sharp as blades, reflecting an icy glint under the sunlight.

This was the Earth Demon Dragon, an overlord-level demonic beast of the secret realm's core region, a terrifying existence at the Soul Formation stage.

Soul Formation stage...

Bai Qianqiu's voice trembled slightly. She tightly gripped the sword in her hand, her palms already seeping with cold sweat.

She knew that with her current strength, she was absolutely no match for the Earth Demon Dragon.

There was a world of difference between the Soul Formation stage and the Nascent Soul stage. Furthermore, at the same realm, demonic beasts were obviously stronger than human cultivators. Even if she burned her essence blood and fought with all her might, she could at most last a few exchanges against the Earth Demon Dragon.

But she did not retreat.

She was the Holy Maiden of the Sword God Palace, the personal disciple of the Sword Sovereign. Her Sword Dao did not allow her to cower in the face of danger.

More importantly, Ye Xuan was right behind her. She had to protect him, even at the cost of her own life.

Qianqiu, step back.

Just as Bai Qianqiu was preparing to burn her essence blood for a fight to the death, a hand gently pressed onto her shoulder.

This hand was very warm, carrying a reassuring strength. Bai Qianqiu turned her head and saw Ye Xuan standing behind her. There was no fear on his face; instead, he wore a calm smile.

Ye Xuan, you... Bai Qianqiu wanted to say something, but she was interrupted by Ye Xuan.

Trust me.

Ye Xuan said softly. His voice was light, yet it carried an unquestionable firmness.

He gently nudged Bai Qianqiu aside and walked in front of her.

Bai Qianqiu was stunned. Looking at Ye Xuan's back, a complex wave of emotions surged in her heart. There was worry, being moved, and an indescribable sweetness.

She wanted to stop Ye Xuan, but her body refused to obey. She could only stand in place, tightly gripping the sword in her hand, ready to lend a hand at any moment.

Ye Xuan stepped forward. The playful smile on his face was gone, replaced by a chilling calmness.

His eyes had changed.

Those eyes that were always filled with mockery and cynicism had now become profound and indifferent.

His body began to glow.

Golden light emanated from within his body like a golden sun. The light grew brighter and more dazzling, ultimately enveloping his entire being.

Flawless Dao Body, fully unleashed!

A terrifying oppressive aura radiated from him. That aura was as heavy as a mountain range, pressing down so hard that the surrounding air trembled.

The Earth Demon Dragon sensed this oppressive aura, and a trace of wariness flashed in its eyes. But soon, this wariness was replaced by anger.

It was the overlord of this region; how could it tolerate a human cultivator acting so brazenly before it?

The Earth Demon Dragon let out another furious roar, opened its bloody maw, and spewed a blast of black dragon breath at Ye Xuan.

Dragon breath was one of the Earth Demon Dragon's most powerful attack methods.

This blast of dragon breath contained a terrifying demonic aura and corrosive power capable of decaying everything. Even supreme-grade magical treasures would be reduced to dust under the corrosion of the dragon breath.

Beast, you're blocking the way.

Ye Xuan said indifferently. His voice was light, yet it carried an unquestionable majesty.

Before his voice had even faded.

Ye Xuan's figure flashed. Activating the Kunpeng's Carefree Roaming, space shortened beneath his feet.

His figure was like a streak of golden lightning, leaving a long afterimage in the air. Within the afterimage, the faint phantom of a massive Kunpeng could be seen spreading its wings to soar.

The Kunpeng phantom was hundreds of meters long, its spread wings blotting out the sky and covering the sun.

Although the phantom was merely an illusion, it exuded a terrifying oppressive aura. That was the aura of an ancient divine beast, instilling fear in all demonic beasts.

Sensing this oppressive aura, a flash of terror crossed the Earth Demon Dragon's eyes. But it was already too late to react.

Ye Xuan's speed was simply too fast, so fast that the Earth Demon Dragon could not respond at all.

In an instant, Ye Xuan appeared directly above the Earth Demon Dragon's head.

In his hand, he gripped the Sun-Slaying Divine Sword. Even though the blade had been suppressed to the Earth Rank, it still erupted with an aura capable of destroying the heavens and exterminating the earth.

"Slash!"

With a light shout, Ye Xuan brought the Sun-Slaying Divine Sword down.

Great Luo Boundless Sword Qi!

This was a supreme sword technique Ye Xuan had cultivated in his past life, possessing utterly terrifying power.

This strike contained the ultimate truths of the Great Dao and the laws of heaven and earth. It was a strike that could sever anything and annihilate everything.

An unadorned and simple sword light, yet brimming with the ultimate truths of the Dao, flashed past.

The sword light manifested as a pure gold, descending from the sky like a bolt of golden lightning. Wherever the light passed, space was torn asunder, leaving behind a pitch-black rift.

The speed of the sword light was extreme, so fast that it defied any reaction.

The Earth Demon Dragon did not even have the chance to let out a miserable shriek before its massive head crashed to the ground.

Boom!

The head hit the earth, producing an earth-shattering boom.

A gigantic crater was smashed into the ground, over ten meters in diameter and several meters deep. Along the edges of the crater, spiderweb-like fissures spread outward in all directions.

Blood poured out like a geyser.

From the Earth Demon Dragon's severed neck, blood gushed forth like a fountain.

Its colossal body swayed a few times before collapsing with a heavy thud.

Ye Xuan stood amidst the rain of blood, his white robes pristine as snow, completely untouched by a single drop.

His body continued to radiate a golden glow, making him look like a god of war.

The surrounding rain of blood seemed to possess a will of its own; as it approached Ye Xuan, it automatically parted, failing to stain his clothes with even a speck of crimson.

This was one of the traits of the Flawless Dao Body: remaining untainted by the dust of the world.

Standing behind him, Bai Qianqiu's mouth was slightly agape. She was utterly dumbfounded.

Her eyes were wide open, filled with shock and disbelief.

"How was that?"

Ye Xuan slowly turned his head, a gentle smile curving the corners of his lips. Sunlight spilled through the rifts above the secret realm, plating his face in a pale golden halo and making his ink-black eyes appear especially deep and bright.

"To protect my lovely wife, I even brought out my absolute trump card."

"You..."

Bai Qianqiu's voice trembled slightly. She took a deep breath, trying hard to calm herself down.

Indescribable emotions churned within her heart—shock, adoration, sweetness, and a vague, inexplicable flutter.

She had never imagined that this man, who was always smiling playfully and seemed somewhat unreliable on ordinary days, could actually be this powerful.

She stepped forward and gently raised her slender fingers, wiping away nonexistent beads of sweat from his forehead.

When her fingertips brushed against his warm skin, she felt a tingling sensation like an electric current spread from her fingers through her entire body. Her movements were gentle and careful, as if she were caressing the most precious treasure in the world, terrified that the slightest misstep might break it.

"It was barely passable." Bai Qianqiu tried to make her voice sound calm and indifferent, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly. "I'll consider it a pass."

Yet, she could not hide the adoration and love in her eyes no matter how she tried. Her beautiful eyes seemed to hold a sea of stars, shimmering and sparkling with a moving light. Her eyelashes fluttered lightly, casting shallow shadows over her eyelids.

Ye Xuan laughed. He laughed radiantly, the gentle crinkle at the corners of his eyes enough to melt an iceberg.

He pulled Bai Qianqiu into his embrace and pressed a tender kiss to her smooth forehead. "As long as my wife is satisfied."

Bai Qianqiu's face instantly flushed completely red, the color spreading from her neck all the way to the tips of her ears like a ripe apple.

But she did not push Ye Xuan away. Instead, she naturally leaned against his broad and sturdy chest. She could clearly feel the warmth radiating from his body and hear the powerful beating of his heart.

Closing her eyes, a blissful smile graced her lips. Her entire body relaxed, akin to a lazy kitten.

In this moment, she felt like the happiest woman in the world.

But soon, Bai Qianqiu's brows furrowed slightly as a question welled up in her heart.

She lifted her head from Ye Xuan's embrace, her eyes, as clear as water, looking directly into his with a mix of inquiry and confusion.

"Since you're so strong, why were you ganged up on and beaten to such a state?"

Ye Xuan paused. The smile on his face slowly faded, and his gaze became deep and distant, as if recalling some long-ago memory.

After a long time, he finally spoke slowly. His voice was as calm as a pool of stagnant water, without the slightest ripple.

"No matter how powerful the divine ability, no matter how supreme the magical artifact... to a dead heart, what meaning do they hold?"

His words were very soft, yet they struck the lake of Bai Qianqiu's heart like a massive boulder, stirring up endless ripples.

Bai Qianqiu's pupils shrank slightly. She had never heard Ye Xuan speak in such a tone before. It was a weariness and numbness that seeped into the marrow, a despair that was utterly indifferent to life and death.

Ye Xuan turned his head, looking off into the distance. His eyes were terrifyingly calm, as if he were looking at a world that had absolutely nothing to do with him.

"I only came to this secret realm this time to take a stroll. It wasn't to compete, nor was it for resources."

His voice was faint, so faint it sounded like he was stating an irrelevant fact. "When those people besieged me, I couldn't even be bothered to fight back. After all... living or dying makes no difference to me."