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"Me?" Xuan Ming was a little confused.
"Why?"
"Why choose to court death when there's a clear path ahead? I'm genuinely curious to see what kind of end awaits a madman like you," the Nine-tailed Sky Fox said.
If he hadn't interfered with the Dragon Clan's affairs, Xuan Ming's future would have been smooth sailing. He wouldn't have had to endure so much suffering, nor face so many dangers.
The Sea God had chosen him, and the Asura God also intended to bestow a legacy upon him. What a bright path to God.
This was too different from the humans she knew. Humans always said that nothing was impossible to give up, it was merely a matter of insufficient gain. Yet, Xuan Ming chose a path where the risks and gains were completely disproportionate.
What could he gain by helping the Dragon Clan? Trouble! Self-inflicted trouble!
"I also want to know, why?" the Nine-tailed Sky Fox asked.
"If you just ignored the Dragon Clan's mess, all these troubles would disappear. You wouldn't have to face the deliberate making things difficult of this God Test. Even if you couldn't truly let go of the Ice Dragon King's matter, you could always find a solution after becoming a God."
"Why did you insist on choosing this path?"
Xuan Ming was silent for a moment, "Fear."
"Fear? Fear of what?" the Nine-tailed Sky Fox asked.
"It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality," Xuan Ming said.
"It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality..." The Nine-tailed Sky Fox repeated the phrase softly, the light in her fox eyes flickering. She seemed to be truly beginning to understand this human's way of thinking for the first time.
Xuan Ming's spiritual will continued to transmit calmly: "I am not someone who enjoys suffering or is keen on adventure. If I had chosen that seemingly easy, broad path with a God King paving the way from the start, accustomed myself to relying on others' arrangements and gifts, accustomed myself to gaining power without fighting… I'm afraid I would become lost in it."
"I'm afraid that by then, when I know Sister Bing still has a chance to revive, but it requires me to take enormous risks and pay a heavy price, I would hesitate, weigh the pros and cons, and calculate gains and losses. I'm afraid I would think, 'They've already waited so long, a little longer won't hurt,' or 'I'll try when I'm stronger and more confident.'"
"And when is 'stronger and more confident'? Is it after becoming a First-Rank God? Or a God King? At that position, with more ties and more concerns, could I still bet everything for a slim hope, like I am now?"
There was no passionate grandeur in his thoughts, only a cold clarity: "I don't know. And I don't want to test my own humanity. So, it's better to choose the most difficult path from the very beginning. Put all the pressure, all the dangers in front of me, forcing myself to confront and resolve them. This way, I have no retreat, and I won't leave myself any excuses for future regret."
The Nine-tailed Sky Fox fell completely silent.
She had lived for countless years and seen too many humans—greedy, cowardly, hypocritical, generous… but she had never seen one like Xuan Ming.
He wasn't doing it for noble ideals, nor for great responsibility, not even to repay a kindness... The root of his choice for this thorny path was actually... "fear"?
Afraid that he would become weak in the future, afraid that he would settle into comfort, so he simply cut off all possibilities of ease from the start, pushing himself to a dead end.
What kind of… obsessive, crazy, yet utterly clear-headed logic was this!
After a long while, the Nine-tailed Sky Fox let out a soft, unidentifiable chuckle. The laughter carried astonishment, a hint of helplessness, and even a touch of… admiration?
"Madman… truly a complete madman. But I seem to… be starting to understand why the Ice Dragon King and the Fire Dragon King, those two arrogant old fellows, would abandon even their residual souls for you."
She flicked her fox tail, as if to shake off these complex emotions, and refocused on the immediate problem: "Alright, we'll talk about your self-torture theory later. For now, let's deal with this immediate trouble!"
As her voice fell, the Nine-tailed Sky Fox's phantom glow surged again. She no longer held anything back, fully absorbing and bearing the surging Rakshasa divine force, buying precious time for Bibi Dong's reconstruction.
With the Nine-tailed Sky Fox's residual soul actively guiding and sharing the burden, the originally violent, chaotic, and near-collapsing Rakshasa divine force seemed to find its anchor, becoming orderly. Although it still fiercely resisted the Asura God Power, its destructive power suddenly dropped by a level!
Xuan Ming brought the Yearning Heartbroken Red before Bibi Dong, but she needed to pluck it herself.
Previously, on Sea God Island, he had suddenly acted shamelessly, and it was also because of this.
He had initially thought of having Hu Liena help pluck it. Her feelings for him were undeniable, but Gu Yuena told him that the Yearning Heartbroken Red was special; only the person who plucked it, and the person loved by the one who plucked it, could consume it.
If Hu Liena plucked it, only she and he could consume it.
To give this to Bibi Dong, either he or Bibi Dong had to pluck it.
He worried that Bibi Dong still couldn't let go, so he thought of taking it himself, but the result was undeniable: this one-sided, love-struck flower completely ignored him, the shameless scumbag.
Bibi Dong weakly opened her eyes, looking at the Yearning Heartbroken Red before her. She had heard Yue Guan mention information about this item countless times before.
However, upon seeing it, she recoiled.
There was still a hurdle in her heart that she couldn't overcome. She couldn't completely and openly face this love without a trace of shadow. She couldn't do it.
She could be impulsive, but plucking the Yearning Heartbroken Red required complete resolve.
Just as Bibi Dong struggled internally, looking at the delicate Yearning Heartbroken Red but unable to reach for it due to the lingering shadow in her heart, Gu Yuena's clear and calm voice directly entered her mind:
"The Yearning Heartbroken Red, combined with the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng, and my power of creation, can help you achieve rebirth."
"That… unclean psychological barrier in your body, I can help you erase it."
This sentence was like a thunderclap, exploding in Bibi Dong's chaotic heart!
Erase… that psychological barrier that prevented her from facing Xuan Ming openly, from fully accepting herself? That nightmare originating from the secret chamber, which had haunted her for half her life and made her feel dirty?
Her purple eyes suddenly constricted, and she looked in Gu Yuena's direction with disbelief.
She didn't understand why Gu Yuena would help her to this extent? They were clearly… rivals in love.
As if sensing her confusion, Gu Yuena's thoughts came again, still with that transcendent calm, carrying an undeniable certainty: "My love for Xuan Ming does not require competition."
It was the same words she had once said to Qian Renxue. But hearing them now, in Bibi Dong's ears, they carried an entirely different weight.
That was not a feigned magnanimous concession, but a declaration stemming from absolute confidence and a unique understanding.
Gu Yuena's love was independent, complete. She didn't need to exclude others to prove or solidify her position.
Her help to Bibi Dong was perhaps simply because… it was the best choice for Xuan Ming, and also an acknowledgment of Bibi Dong's own potential.
This transcendent attitude was like a key, gently knocking on the tightly shut door in Bibi Dong's heart.
If even a "love rival" could so calmly clear obstacles for her, then what reason did she herself have to continue dwelling in the shadows of the past, allowing that gloom to hinder her from grasping this sole chance for survival and… a possible future?
The barrier in her heart quietly loosened.
She cast her gaze back to the Yearning Heartbroken Red, her mind flashing with Xuan Ming's resolute and greedy kiss beneath Sea God Mountain, everything he had done for her, and his words, "I am greedy, I can't bear to let go"… Yes, he had so "shamelessly" held onto her, so why should she cling to a past that should have long been buried? What did that so-called "impurity" matter in the face of life and death, and true love?
An unprecedented sense of resolve surged from the depths of Bibi Dong's heart! It was a pure belief of letting go of all burdens, cutting off all retreats, and simply grasping what was before her!
She slowly, yet incredibly firmly, raised her trembling hand, reaching for the Immortal Herb that symbolized ultimate passion and sincerity.
The moment her fingertips touched the petals, her mind became empty, leaving only Xuan Ming's figure and that complex yet incredibly real… love, mixed with pain, unwillingness, dependence, and final confirmation.
No hesitation, no wavering.
She gently plucked it.
The delicate Yearning Heartbroken Red, its petals trembling slightly, then detached from its stem, falling perfectly intact into her palm.