With three supreme masters, they were invincible upon descending the mountain.

The dust and smoke from the massive plant's collapse finally dissipated.

Ye Yaocheng knelt on one knee, panting heavily, his chest burning with pain.

The once towering, monstrous plant before them was now completely withered, its branches cracked, its leaves scorched, and devoid of any life.

"It's finally over."

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stood up, supporting himself on his knees.

This battle was incredibly dangerous.

If it weren't for his master's timely reminder, he might be the one turned into bones right now.

"Sister Shiyu and Mingyue should be awake by now, right?"

Ye Yaocheng looked up at the abyss. Although he couldn't see anything, the giant plant had been destroyed, and the strange power that had enveloped the secret realm should have dissipated.

Perhaps it was only a matter of time. He closed his eyes again and began to feel the condition within his body.

The life force devoured by the Northern Darkness Divine Art during its frenzied operation has now transformed into surging true energy that is rushing through the meridians, almost bursting through the limbs and bones.

Under his refinement, the sense of power did indeed return, even becoming three times stronger than at its peak.

But Ye Yaocheng still frowned, because the problem he most wanted to solve had not improved effectively.

Deep within the dantian, that primordial crack still stubbornly exists. No matter how much true qi flows through it, it will still leak and dissipate, like a broken bucket that can never be filled.

He gave a wry smile: "As expected, it still doesn't work."

This was exactly what he expected. If he could repair his origin by devouring life force, he would have recovered long ago when his Supreme Bone was missing. Why would his three masters have to go to such great lengths to prolong his life?

The injury at its source is a fundamental problem.

The life force plundered can only fill the water tank, but cannot mend the cracks at the bottom.

The best solution is to find the Supreme Bone. Even if one cultivates with a woman who has conquered the world, it will only heal the wound.

Without the Supreme Bone, the interior is still empty.

"That's enough."

Ye Yaocheng shook his head, no longer dwelling on it; being able to survive was already a great blessing.

Just as he was about to explore his surroundings, an alarm bell suddenly went off in his subconscious.

Something is rapidly approaching from directly above!

Ye Yaocheng instinctively tensed his body, instantly channeling his true energy into his limbs, preparing to fight.

But when he looked up and saw the falling shadow clearly, he was stunned.

That was a familiar, beautiful figure.

Her slender waist and long, flowing black hair danced wildly as she fell, her clothes billowing in the wind.

He was getting closer and closer.

"Sister Shiyu?!"

Ye Yaocheng's pupils suddenly contracted.

Without thinking, he pushed off with his feet and shot into the sky like a cannonball.

The gravitational acceleration of the fall and the upward force collided in mid-air.

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, Ye Yaocheng caught the soft, delicate body firmly in his arms.

The immense impact caused his knees to bend slightly; although he was in mid-air, he still felt a tangible sense of landing rapidly.

The delicate body in his arms trembled slightly.

Wang Shiyu kept her eyes tightly closed, her long eyelashes trembling.

She thought she would be smashed to pieces, but the expected excruciating pain did not come. Instead, she fell into a firm and warm embrace.

It was a familiar scent.

She cautiously opened one eye a crack.

What came into view was Ye Yaocheng's face, stained with blood but still sharply defined, as he looked down at her with eyes full of worry.

"Sister Shiyu, are you alright?"

His voice was a little hoarse, but it was genuine.

Wang Shiyu was stunned.

The next second, tears welled up without warning. She suddenly stretched out her arms and hugged Ye Yaocheng's neck tightly, burying her face in his chest.

"Waaah... you naughty little brother... you bad little brother..."

She cried so hard she could barely breathe, her fists pounding his shoulder, but the force was so light it was like a tickle.

"You scared me to death! How could you... how could you jump down by yourself?"

Ye Yaocheng froze for a moment, then relaxed.

He supported her back with one hand and gently patted her trembling shoulder with the other.

"sorry."

The voice was soft, yet deep.

Wang Shiyu cried even harder.

"Don't do that again. No matter what happens, I'll face it with you. Don't leave me again, do you hear me?"

"Um."

Ye Yaocheng responded and hugged her even tighter.

The warmth in my arms was real and soft, tinged with the saltiness of tears, and carried her unique, faint fragrance.

At this moment, all the fatigue, pain, and regret seem to have become insignificant.

Everything he did was worthwhile.

"Sister Shiyu, I promise there won't be a next time." He said softly, each word carrying immense weight.

Wang Shiyu sobbed, but gradually calmed down. She still clung to him and refused to let go.

Ye Yaocheng looked up at the darkness above.

Mingyue should be safe now, right?

The giant plant is dead, the crisis in the secret realm is over, and the people above should have all woken up.

That's fine.

He was about to say something when, in that very second, something unexpected happened.

"Snap!"

A clear cracking sound came from the void.

Not a sound.

It was as if ten thousand, even a billion, sounds exploded at the same time, as if the entire world was being crushed by an invisible giant hand!

Ye Yaocheng looked up abruptly, and the sight before him made his scalp tingle.

The abyss is crumbling.

It wasn't a landslide, nor an earthquake, but rather like a mirror being struck by a heavy hammer; cracks spread at a visible speed, covering every inch of space within sight.

The black rock walls, the dim light overhead, and even the dust in the air were all covered with spiderweb-like cracks.

Just like this was originally an illusory world in a mirror, it is now shattered.

"What's going on?!"

Wang Shiyu cried out in surprise and grabbed Ye Yaocheng's arm tightly.

next second.

"Splash!"

With that deafening roar, the entire world shattered, just as had been predicted.

It's not a hallucination.

Ye Yaocheng could clearly feel the void beneath his feet disappearing, and a sense of weightlessness washed over him.

But it only lasted for less than half a second.

The light and shadow before my eyes twisted and spun wildly, the colors mixing into a chaotic torrent.

It felt as if we were passing through a long and twisted tunnel.

When my feet touched solid objects again, the surrounding scenery had completely changed.

The abyss disappeared, replaced by an endless expanse of ruins.

It is a true ruin.

The ruins stretched endlessly, charred beams and pillars leaned against the ground, broken tiles piled up like mountains, and broken and rusted weapons were everywhere.

The sky was a somber, dark red. There was no sun, only a thick layer of clouds, like congealed blood, hanging low, as if they might press down at any moment.

The air was filled with the smell of decay and burning.

Here, there was utter silence.

Apart from the howling wind passing through the holes in the ruins, there was no other sound.

"Where...where is this?"

Wang Shiyu landed in Ye Yaocheng's arms, her steps unsteady. She looked around, her face pale.

In a short period of time, the continuous environmental changes, from a peaceful valley to a strange abyss, and then to this apocalyptic ruin, have left her somewhat unable to keep up with the changes.

Ye Yaocheng shielded her behind him, his sharp gaze sweeping over their surroundings.

"Perhaps..." he spoke slowly, his voice unusually clear in the deathly silence, "this is what this place was originally like."

"What do you mean?"

"That secret realm before was just too perfect." Ye Yaocheng stared at a half-collapsed tower in the distance.

"It's so perfect it's unreal. Now this place finally looks like what a so-called secret realm, sealed for thousands of years, should look like."

Wang Shiyu listened with a mixture of understanding and confusion, but she trusted Ye Yaocheng's judgment.

"What should we do now?" Wang Shiyu asked nervously.

"BOOM!!!"

At that moment, the ground suddenly exploded a hundred meters ahead.

It wasn't a small-scale collapse, but rather the entire earth was as if it had been torn apart from below by an invisible giant hand, with soil and rocks shooting into the sky and dust billowing like a dragon!

Ye Yaocheng grabbed Wang Shiyu and quickly retreated dozens of meters.

He stared intently at the epicenter of the explosion.

The smoke and dust gradually dissipated.

The sight that was revealed caused Ye Yaocheng's pupils to suddenly contract.

That was a foot.

To be precise, it's part of a foot; the exposed ankle alone is taller than a three-story building!

His skin was a dark, iron-like color, covered with a dense array of strange patterns that seemed to writhe slowly like living things, shimmering with a faint purple glow.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.