At the peak of Mount Taixu, morning mist swirled around. Yun Qingyu gazed at the "Reception Platform" before him, forged entirely from white jade, his fingers tightening involuntarily. The array in the center of the platform was already glowing, with nine Taixu elders standing in the nine palace positions, making final preparations.
"Daddy..." Little Nianyao tugged at the corner of his robe. "Does Nian'er really have to go to that place?"
Yun Qingyu squatted down, looking levelly into his daughter's eyes. The golden-blue mark between the child's brows was a fraction paler than yesterday, and green veins could be faintly seen lurking beneath. He gently stroked the top of his daughter's head. "Didn't Nian'er promise to be a brave girl?"
"Mm-hmm!" Little Nianyao nodded heavily, then suddenly lowered her voice. "But... the green-eyed uncle said that even if I go there, he can find me..."
Chu Yao, standing nearby, changed color at these words and immediately pulled her daughter into her arms. "Don't listen to that bad man! The Taixu Secret Realm is the safest place in the world."
Yun Qingyu exchanged a glance with Lingxiaozi, who was walking over. The old sword immortal shook his head slightly, indicating that it would still take half a quarter of an hour for the array to be fully activated.
"Nian'er, look at this." Yun Qingyu retrieved a sword-shaped jade pendant from inside his robe. "This is an amulet I refined with Jiuxiao Sword Qi. Whenever you miss us, just touch it."
The jade pendant was crystal clear throughout, with a golden and a blue stream of light intertwined within, just like two people connected by a Fate Pact. Little Nianyao held it in her palm, fond of it, and suddenly looked up. "Then what about Mommy's?"
Chu Yao removed an ice crystal bell from her waist. "This is the 'Return-to-Origin Bell' of Palace Hanyue, and it's a pair with Daddy's pendant." She tied the bell to her daughter's wrist. "Whenever the bell rings, no matter how far away, Mommy will be able to hear it."
Little Nianyao tried shaking the bell, and the crisp sound echoed through the mountains. Chu Yao turned away, her shoulders trembling imperceptibly—that bell was originally the dowry given to her by Palace Master Hanyue, rumored to have the effect of protecting the soul and guarding the spirit.
"The time has come," Lingxiaozi said in a deep voice.
Yun Qingyu picked up his daughter and walked to the center of the Reception Platform. The nine elders formed hand seals simultaneously, and the array's light flared brilliantly, projecting an illusory doorway into the air.
"The Taixu Secret Realm is a pocket world created by our founder; one day inside is one year outside," Lingxiaozi explained. "For the child, it's just a brief parting, and you can take this opportunity to search for the divine artifacts."
Chu Yao kissed her daughter's forehead one last time. "Nian'er must listen to the uncles and aunts inside. Daddy and Mommy will come to pick you up very soon."
Little Nianyao's eyes suddenly reddened, yet she stubbornly held her tears back. "Nian'er will be good... You have to come quickly..."
The array's light grew brighter and brighter, and the child's figure gradually blurred. The instant the teleportation activated, Little Nianyao suddenly shouted something blood-curdling:
"The green-eyed uncle said... he's waiting for me in the secret realm!"
"What?!" Yun Qingyu was shocked and tried to rush into the array, but Lingxiaozi grabbed him by the arm.
"It's too late! Once the array is activated, it cannot be interrupted!"
Light burst forth, and Little Nianyao's figure completely vanished. Chu Yao's legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed to the ground. "How can this be... Can the Nether Lord's reach already extend into the Taixu Secret Realm?"
Lingxiaozi's expression flickered uncertainly. "Logically speaking, that's impossible... Unless..."
"Unless what?" Yun Qingyu asked urgently.
"Unless the Nether Lord has someone inside the Taixu Sword Sect." Li Taibai appeared behind the group out of nowhere, taking a swig from his flask, "And not a low-ranking person either."
This conjecture made everyone shudder. If the Taixu Sword Sect, as the leader of the righteous path, were to be infiltrated by the Nether...
"The most urgent matter is to confirm Nian'er's safety," Yun Qingyu said, forcing himself to remain calm. "Can we contact the guiding emissary inside the secret realm?"
Lingxiaozi shook his head. "The secret realm is completely isolated from the outside world. However..." He produced a bronze lamp. "This is a 'Soul Lamp', lit with Nian'er's essence blood. As long as the lamp's flame does not go out, it means she is safe and sound."
The lamp wick flickered with a warm golden-blue flame, temporarily pacifying the couple's hearts. Li Taibai patted Yun Qingyu on the shoulder. "Don't wear such a long face. This old man will take you to see someone; perhaps it will help with your mission to find the divine artifact."
Bidding farewell to Lingxiaozi, the three of them flew on their swords to a thatched cottage in the back mountains of Mount Taixu. Pushing open the door, they saw a white-bearded elder boiling tea—none other than Sun Simiao of the Valley of Medicine Kings!
"Senior Sun?" Chu Yao asked in surprise. "Didn't you return to the Valley of Medicine Kings?"
Sun Simiao gave a bitter smile. "I couldn't go back. The Valley of Medicine Kings... has fallen."
As it turned out, the very next day after they left the East China Sea, the Nether Lord ambushed the Valley of Medicine Kings. From the valley master down to three thousand disciples, over half were eroded by Nether Qi, and the rest fled in all directions.
"This old man was fortunate enough to escape and brought this out." Sun Simiao took a bamboo slip from his bosom. "The *Records of Divine Artifacts*, which records the whereabouts of the nine divine artifacts."
Yun Qingyu carefully unfolded the bamboo slip. On the yellowed bamboo strips, the illustrations of the nine divine artifacts were lifelike: the Sea-Calming Pearl, the Blazing Sun Cauldron, the Wind and Thunder Seal, the Mountain and River Mirror, the Time Kettle, the Astral Disk, the Book of Life and Death, the Yin-Yang Sword, and the Chaos Bell.
"We already have the Sea-Calming Pearl," Chu Yao said, pointing to the first illustration. "Which one should we look for next?"
Sun Simiao pointed to the cauldron illustration engraved with flame patterns. "The Blazing Sun Cauldron. This item is supremely yang and rigid, and it is best at subduing Nether Qi. According to the records, it should be in the 'Heaven-Burning Valley' of the Southern Wilderness."
"Heaven-Burning Valley..." Yun Qingyu frowned slightly. "Isn't that the territory of the Flame Demon clan?"
"Precisely," Li Taibai interjected. "Those fire-playing madmen are not easy to deal with. However..." He smiled mysteriously. "This old man happens to know their old chieftain."
There was no time to lose; the group decided to set off immediately. Before leaving, Lingxiaozi sent over a sword talisman: "If you encounter danger, crush this talisman, and it will summon an avatar of mine to help."
Yun Qingyu accepted it solemnly. Just as they were preparing to depart, a Taixu disciple ran over frantically. "Sect Master! This is bad! The Soul Lamp... the flame of the Soul Lamp has changed color!"
Everyone hurriedly rushed back to the main peak. Sure enough, the flame that had originally been intertwined with gold and blue was now laced with a hint of an eerie green! Even more terrifyingly, the shape of an eye faintly emerged within the flame, identical to the one that had appeared above the Return to Void!
"The Nether mark is affecting the Soul Lamp..." Lingxiaozi's expression was grave. "We must speed up."
Yun Qingyu and Chu Yao exchanged glances, both seeing resolution in the other's eyes. The two of them bowed deeply to the Soul Lamp, then turned and left.
Outside the mountain gate, Li Taibai was already waiting on his wine gourd. "Get on! This old man's gourd is much faster than a flying boat!"
The gourd grew in the wind, transforming to a length of three zhang. As soon as the three of them sat firmly, the gourd shot toward the south like an arrow released from a bow, vanishing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
During the flight, Yun Qingyu closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, his consciousness sinking into the Fate Pact space—an ability he had gained after forging the Fate Pact with Chu Yao, where their divine senses could meet.
Inside the space, Chu Yao's divine sense avatar was waiting anxiously. "Qingyu, I keep feeling that Nian'er's words weren't right... How could the Nether Lord possibly have laid out a trap in the Taixu Secret Realm in advance?"
Yun Qingyu pondered, "Unless... he knew all along that we would send Nian'er there."
"You mean... someone leaked the secret?" Chu Yao's face turned pale. "The only ones who knew about this plan were..."
"Lingxiaozi, Li Taibai, Sun Simiao, and the two of us," Yun Qingyu replied. "All trustworthy people."
"Wait..." Chu Yao suddenly thought of something. "Lin Qingyang! That day he escorted us to the teleportation array, he heard the entire plan!"
Yun Qingyu's heart gave a jolt. Indeed, as a Taixu disciple, if Lin Qingyang had been bought off by the Nether...
In the real world, Li Taibai's voice interrupted their exchange: "Don't daydream, you two little kids. The Southern Wilderness has arrived!"
Yun Qingyu opened his eyes and saw that the land below had changed from green hills and clear waters into a crimson wasteland. Heat waves hit them face-first, and the air was thick with the smell of sulfur.
"Where is Heaven-Burning Valley?" Chu Yao looked around; her vision was filled with boundless red sand.
Li Taibai pointed to a pillar of fire shooting into the sky on the horizon. "That's it. The 'Eternal Fire' of the Flame Demon clan, said to have been burning since the creation of heaven and earth."
The wine gourd flew toward the pillar of fire. The closer they got, the higher the temperature, until in the end even breathing carried a burning pain. Chu Yao had to prop up the Hanyue Barrier to barely resist the heat waves.
The source of the pillar of fire was a ring-shaped valley. The magma lake in the center of the valley churned and rolled, and a black stone castle stood upon the island in the middle of the lake.
"Flame Demon Castle." Li Taibai put away his frivolous expression. "Later, when you meet the Flame Demon chieftain, don't talk nonsense. That old fellow's temper is more explosive than magma."
The three of them landed on the stone bridge in front of the castle. The guards were two red-skinned giants over ten feet tall, living fires dancing within their eye sockets, and their long spears glowing a bright red.
"Li Taibai seeks an audience with Chieftain Yanjin." The old sword immortal cupped his fists with rare solemnity.
The guards exchanged glances, and one of them said in a muffled voice, "The chieftain has given orders not to see outsiders these days."
"Just say... we come for the 'Blazing Sun Cauldron'."
Hearing the three words "Blazing Sun Cauldron," the guards were visibly shaken. A moment later, they cleared a path. "The chieftain is waiting for you in the Molten Heart Hall."
Passing through a long magma corridor, the three arrived at a magnificent hall. Seated on a throne in the center of the hall was a red-haired elder whose bare upper body was covered in flame patterns, his eyes as dazzling as two miniature suns.
"You old drunkard, you still have the nerve to come see me?" The elder's voice was like thunder. "We haven't settled the account from the last time you stole my 'Fire Spirit Brew'!"
Li Taibai chuckled sheepishly. "Old Yan, why bring up ancient history? We're here on serious business this time..."
"Cut the crap!" Yanjin slammed his armrest, making the entire hall tremble. "You want the Blazing Sun Cauldron? Not a chance! That is our clan's founding treasure!"
Yun Qingyu stepped forward. "Senior, we are doing this to fight the Nether Lord..."
"The Nether Lord?" Yanjin suddenly burst out laughing. "None of my damn business! Let them come, and I'll watch this old man burn them until not even slag is left!"
Chu Yao took out the Sea-Calming Pearl. "Please look, this is a divine artifact we retrieved from the Return to Void. The Nether Lord is about to awaken, and all living beings under heaven—"
"All living beings?" Yanjin interrupted with a sneer. "Three hundred years ago, when the Snow Demons of the Far North slaughtered three cities in my Southern Wilderness, why didn't anyone mention 'all living beings'?"
The negotiations hit an impasse. At that moment, a Flame Demon warrior rushed in frantically. "Chieftain! This is bad! Nether creatures have attacked the 'Crimson Flame Village' in the east!"
Yanjin stood up abruptly. "What?"
"It's flying-type Nether bats, numbering over ten thousand!" the warrior reported urgently. "They aren't afraid of ordinary fire; they've already... already slaughtered the entire village..."
The old chieftain's face instantly turned ashen. Crimson Flame Village was the nursery of the Flame Demon clan, where all underage little Flame Demons lived!
"Mobilize all warriors immediately!" Yanjin roared, flames surging around his body. "I'll make those beasts—"
"It's too late," Yun Qingyu said suddenly. "Nether bats are extremely fast; by the time reinforcements arrive, I'm afraid..."
"We have a way." Chu Yao looked at Li Taibai. "Senior, can you fly us there?"
Li Taibai nodded. "I can, but—"
"There are no 'buts'!" Yanjin grabbed Yun Qingyu by the shoulders. "As long as you can rescue the children, borrowing the Blazing Sun Cauldron... what of it!"
The situation was critical. Li Taibai drove the wine gourd with all his might, carrying Yun Qingyu and his wife as they transformed into a stream of light shooting toward the east. Along the way, Chu Yao asked in puzzlement, "Qingyu, do we really have a way to deal with so many Nether bats?"
"Yes, but it's very dangerous," Yun Qingyu said in a deep voice. "Remember that move we used in the Return to Void?"
Chu Yao's pupils constricted slightly. "You mean... the complete-form Twin-Heart Avatar?"
"Precisely. Nether bats fear light, especially light that is supremely yang and rigid." Yun Qingyu took her hand. "The 'Purifying Divine Light' produced by the union of Jiuxiao and Hanyue is their exact nemesis."
"But last time we almost..."
"For those children, it's worth a try."
Crimson Flame Village was already close at hand. Seen from afar, the entire village was shrouded in a mass of black clouds—that was tens of thousands of Nether bats circling around. On the ground, dozens of Flame Demon warriors had formed an array to desperately defend a stone tower, and through the tower windows, the terrified faces of little Flame Demons could be faintly seen.
"Are you ready?" Yun Qingyu took a deep breath.
Chu Yao nodded firmly. Their ten fingers intertwined, the power of the Fate Pact fully unlocked. This time, they held nothing back, opening up their entire minds and souls to embrace each other.
A wondrous change took place. Their bodies gradually turned translucent, eventually transforming into a golden and a blue stream of light that intertwined and fused in midair... finally forming an entirely new existence!
The light dissipated, and hanging in midair appeared a cultivator draped in a golden-blue battle robe, whose features combined Yun Qingyu's firmness with Chu Yao's gentleness, bearing both sword marks and moon seals between their brows. The weapon in their hand was even more peculiar—a sword on the left and a flute on the right, yet harmoniously unified.
"Is this... the complete Twin-Heart Avatar?" The avatar's consciousness was jointly directed by the two of them, and the sensation was extraordinarily wondrous.
Li Taibai was dumbfounded. "Good fellow... this is already approaching the realm of 'the harmony of heaven and man'!"
Without wasting words, the avatar charged straight into the flock of bats. As the sword on the left slashed, the Jiuxiao Sword Qi was like the great sun hanging in the sky; as the flute on the right played, the Hanyue clear radiance poured down like the Milky Way. The two forces blended together, transforming into countless golden-blue light blades that turned the Nether bats to ashes wherever they passed!
The little Flame Demons in the tower cheered and jumped. The remaining Nether bats gathered into an array, attempting a counterattack, but they were entirely purified by the avatar's move "Sun and Moon Shining Together"!
The battle over, the avatar slowly descended to the top of the tower. Just as they were preparing to break the fusion, they suddenly felt a wave of intense dizziness—from the direction of Mount Taixu in the distance, the Soul Lamp's connection was rapidly weakening!
"Nian'er is in danger!" the two exclaimed in unison.
The avatar forcibly maintained its form and flew back to Li Taibai's side. "Senior! We must return to Mount Taixu immediately!"
Seeing the paleness in their faces, the old sword immortal knew the situation was critical and spurred the wine gourd at full speed back without another word.
Along the way, the Twin-Heart Avatar automatically dissolved due to energy depletion. The separated couple looked pale, yet they had no time to regulate their breath, constantly urging for more speed.
"Faster! Nian'er's Soul Lamp... the connection is getting weaker and weaker!"
When Mount Taixu finally came into view, a horrifying sight froze everyone's blood—the entire main peak was entwined by nine green beams of light, and the grand protective array was in tatters. Most startling of all, the nine green moons in the sky had now converged into a gigantic eye, coldly gazing toward the entrance of the Taixu Secret Realm!
"Not good!" Li Taibai's expression changed drastically. "The Nether Lord is forcefully breaking through the secret realm barrier!"
Yun Qingyu and Chu Yao could hold back no longer; without waiting for the wine gourd to land, they flew on their swords toward the main peak. They had only one thought in their minds: Nian'er, hold on! Daddy and Mommy are coming!