It was so unfair.

Chong Yan felt an inexplicable sense of sorrow and regret.

He didn’t know that his eyes were supposed to be filled with emotion. After all, they had been taken away when he was carved open, leaving only the last one, cracked and askew.

From then on, he was told not to have emotions and not to hold any love for his parents.

He was a monster who couldn’t love.

However, Chong Yan touched his chest.

“Let’s go, Chong Yan,” Yao Yao’s small hand reached out to him.

“Let’s go and plant flowers.”

But…

He could feel his heart now.

“That monster, didn’t you sense its presence in the secret realm?”

_______

Wuji Sect, Sword Saint’s private chamber.

A red flame leaped on the copper lamp stand, projecting flickering shadows on the wall, resembling a human form.

Li Cangyan threw the map of the Naitian Secret Realm into the flame, and in an instant, it vanished without a trace.

The same treatment was given to the previous secret letters.

The light from the flame reflected in Li Cangyan’s eyes.

He couldn’t discern the person’s voice, but it always helped him at critical moments.

Li Cangyan had indeed sensed the cold and mysterious aura of that creature in the secret realm, along with the overwhelming pressure that couldn’t be resisted. When Yao Yao drew her sword to attack him, it was clear that the creature had made a move.

But it didn’t seem have plan to kill him, it seemed more like it was playing with him.

This sense of humiliation, like being placed on a chopping board, this absolute disparity in power, gradually darkened Li Cangyan’s gaze.

He hadn’t truly fought against an ancient demon yet, but he could already sense its unfathomable power, like the deep sea.

A series of mistakes had tainted his reputation as a Sword Saint. Not only had he missed the opportunity to take the Divine Weapon Dragon Spine Sword, but now the Divine Meteoric Pupil had also fallen into Yao Yao’s hands, and his cultivation had been suppressed by Ji Rong.

His position was no longer secure.

The person in the flame said, “But you should have already realized, its weakness.”

Li Cangyan’s gaze froze.

“That demon didn’t take the divine eye itself, which means it hasn’t yet regained half of its divine power. And now, its divine eye is in the hands of your fiancée. Do you understand?”

The true weakness of the monster that could be killed had been exposed.

The flame leaped on the wall, resembling ancient characters.

“While its divine body hasn’t fully recovered, use this incantation to strike its human body, enough to severely damage the power of the ancient demon and establish your reputation.”

The reputation of slaying demons.

Li Cangyan’s heart gradually grew fervent, but he furrowed his brows. “But I can’t get close to it.”

“She can get close to it.”

“Isn’t there something you can control around her?” The person’s voice in the flame concluded.

Li Cangyan’s heart trembled, and his soul was nailed.

The flames noticed and flickered before quickly extinguishing.

Li Cangyan suddenly asked, “Why did you help me?”

“You just need to know that everything is determined by fate, which spans tens of thousands of years.”

Fate is predetermined and cannot be changed.

No one can traverse the world and break into this predetermined fate.

As the flames died down, the room gradually regained its tranquility.

Li Cangyan slowly clenched his fist and, in that inexplicable emotion, even tasted a hint of amusement.

That demon actually wanted to accompany Yao Yao.

It knew what emotions were.

Even demon can have emotions.

_______

Chong Yan watched as Yao Yao squatted in front of the small flower pot and silently handed her a stool to make her more comfortable.

Then he turned his head and continued tending to his roses in silence.

Roses cultivated on ice require the constant nurturing of their roots and leaves by his ice flame all year round, which is not easy.

The ice flame can devour everything and burn wastelands to nurture roses. It is difficult to control the temperature. The first few roses she gave him were almost burnt by him accidentally, and it took a lot of effort to revive them.

But Chong Yan were persistent and gave efforts to revive the roses.

Yao Yao sat on the small stool, watching the shallow golden spiritual power surging in her palm, which could be directly used to nurture the roses.

This indicated that she could not only nurture roses but also heal and dispel evil without extracting the Blood Spirit Pearls. This was the greatest evolution brought to her by obtaing the divine artifact.

Yao Yao bowed to the Divine Meteor Eye in her sea of consciousness like a little hamster, then thought about using the Blood Spirit Pearls stored in the treasure chest to exchange for items in the store.

For example, she could exchange them for beautiful clothes for herself and Chong Yan to wear when they formally introduced themselves, to make it more grand.

The rose bud had sprouted a stem.

A small, pink, and tender shoot slowly extended in her spiritual flow.

Yao Yao felt secretly delighted and turned to ask Chong Yan, “Do you know what kind of flower this is?”

Chong Yan nodded.

Yao Yao was surprised.

Then he shook his head.

He didn’t know it was a rose.

Yao Yao breathed a sigh of relief.

Knowing in advance would spoil the surprise.

Yao Yao quietly counted the Blood Spirit Pearls left behind after her blood fever. There were four of them: two for her and two for Chong Yan. With one each, they could exchange them for the most expensive clothes.

Yao Yao chose a goose-yellow silk chiffon skirt for herself and a set of moon-white brocade shirts with gold edges for Chong Yan.

It was like preparing for a formal encounter. Yao Yao wanted to tell Chong Yan that before he met her, she had already visited him for a long time.

So before leaving the Forsaken Abyss, Yao Yao had two important things to do:

Return the Divine Meteor Eye to the ancient god-demon since the soul nail was still intact, she could find its location.

Give the grown roses to Chong Yan and then leave the Abyss with the little demon.

Yao Yao laughed like an elementary school student about to go on a spring outing, unable to contain her excitement.

“Chong Yan, I have a secret to tell you.”

Chong Yan looked at her, his eyes shining brightly, and the curve of his lips was beautiful.

“Okay.”

Chong Yan touched his chest.

Even though it was frozen, it seemed to be beating along with her.

As if welcoming a precious treasure.