The starting point is auspicious; the fiancée will not call off the engagement.

Ye Ninghan cast a spell, and the array patterns around the martial arts arena gradually dimmed, the transparent barrier turning into tiny specks of light that dissipated into the air.

She withdrew her hand, reverting to her usual aloof demeanor, as if the intense sparring session had never occurred.

"I just want to return your things to you."

Ye Ninghan's voice returned to its usual coldness, but Fang Zhou could vaguely detect a hint of grievance in it.

Why is this girl so stubborn?

Fang Zhou sighed. He felt he had sighed more today than in his entire life, though not as much as in his previous life, where he had to work.

Fang Zhou looked at Ye Ninghan intently.

"Through our sparring just now, you should have felt it too. Even without the Hengyang Sacred Body, I am still the most dazzling sun in this world."

Ye Ninghan did not back down and took two steps forward to get closer to Fang Zhou.

"That's why you need to reclaim the Hengyang Sacred Body even more."

The two were locked in a fierce confrontation, neither willing to back down, their faces almost touching.

Fang Zhou could feel the sweet scent of her breath brushing against his face. Her eyes, always cold as ice, were so close to his, and he noticed that her eyelashes were long and trembling slightly.

After a while, Fang Zhou realized that the two of them seemed to be standing too close, so he quickly stepped back.

Although Ye Ninghan's pretty face was flushed, she did not retreat an inch. When she saw Fang Zhou step back, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly and her chin lifted up slightly.

Fang Zhou couldn't take it anymore. A child? This is...

Fang Zhou raised his hands like a Frenchman and said helplessly, "Fine, fine, I give up. We'll talk about this another day. Maybe you won't be so insistent on returning the Hengyang Sacred Body to me in the future."

"Impossible, I will not give up." Ye Ninghan gave a slightly coquettish hum.

Fang Zhou looked at her slightly charming appearance and his heart suddenly stirred.

So cute... wait, what am I thinking?

Looking at Ye Ninghan, Fang Zhou felt much closer to her, as if he had returned to the time when they spent together as children.

Although the two hadn't seen each other for over a decade, now that they were together, Fang Zhou couldn't stubbornly insist that he wasn't familiar with Ye Ninghan anymore.

"Alright, alright, I'm not talking to you anymore." Fang Zhou waved to Ye Ninghan, turned around and walked out of the martial arts arena. "Let's go eat first."

The sun was already fully high in the sky, and sunlight filtered through the branches of the old trees beside the training ground, scattering golden spots that fell on his shoulders and the top of his head. He walked slowly, his robes fluttering slightly in the wind, his profile clearly defined in the light and shadow.

Seeing Fang Zhou basking in the sunlight, Ye Ninghan's heart skipped a beat.

She hurried after him, walking half a step behind. The sunlight stretched his shadow long, falling right at her feet. She lowered her head and quietly stepped along the edge of that shadow.

Fang Zhou turned his head and glanced at her: "What do you want to eat for lunch?"

"……casual."

There is no such store as "Suibian".

-----------------

Thousands of miles away, the sun illuminates the rolling green mountains, whose steep and towering peaks still radiate vitality with tenacious life.

Deep within an unassuming mountain peak, a dark cave entrance is embedded between the rock walls, and sunlight that reaches the edge of the entrance is silently swallowed up.

Deep inside the cave entrance is a brightly lit stone chamber, with several fist-sized luminous pearls embedded in the walls, illuminating the entire chamber.

Inside the stone chamber, a gray-robed monk was bowing and reporting to a figure dressed in white robes.

"Bishop, to this day, hundreds of thousands of demonic beasts have died around Cheng'an City. There are no more demonic beasts within a thousand miles of Cheng'an."

On a high platform at the end of the stone chamber, a figure dressed in a white robe sat on a stone chair.

The man's face was hidden in the shadow of his hood, one hand casually resting on the armrest, his fingers long and slender with distinct knuckles, and a dark silver ring on his index finger with a twisted symbol engraved on it.

"Hundreds of thousands." The white-robed cultivator's voice was soft, yet it resonated deeply in the enclosed stone chamber. "What about those beast-gathering formations?"

"Most of them have already been discovered by the disciples of the Myriad Saints Sect," the gray-robed cultivator said, bowing his head. "The Myriad Saints Sect doesn't care at all; their reaction has been indifferent."

The white-robed cultivator chuckled softly. "They won't care what schemes the ants under their feet might have. As long as we act carefully and don't cross the line, we'll be fine."

The gray-robed monk hesitated for a moment, then raised his head to look at the white-robed monk on the platform, and said hesitantly, "Bishop, there is something I don't understand."

"explain."

"We spent months setting up the beast-gathering formation and expended a great deal of resources in this operation, only to have hundreds of thousands of low-level demonic beasts kill each other in the end. Was the outcome... somewhat counterproductive?"

The white-robed cultivator tapped lightly with his fingers resting on the armrest, and a very soft tap echoed in the stone chamber.

The gray-robed cultivator immediately lowered his head, not daring to utter another word.

"It's not worth it." The white-robed cultivator toyed with the word, as if weighing its weight. "What do you think we lost? Some crudely made beast-gathering cauldrons? Some third-rate demonic beasts? These things piled up together aren't even worth a second glance from me."

He slowly rose to his feet, his white robe slipping off the stone chair and casting a long shadow on the ground. "Demon beasts have never been our target; their death is what the gods need."

The gray-robed monk raised his head, a look of confusion in his eyes.

The white-robed cultivator walked to the wall on one side of the stone chamber and waved his hand. The spiritual light array embedded in the wall lit up, and a huge map appeared out of thin air. It was a map of mountains and rivers formed from spiritual energy, covered with dense markings, with the location of Cheng'an City circled in dark red.

The white-robed monk turned around.

In the shadow of the hood, a slow, fervent smile curved his lips.

He suddenly opened his arms wide, the sleeves of his large white robe slipping down to reveal two pale arms. In the sealed stone chamber, his voice suddenly rose, carrying a tremor that had been suppressed for a long time and was finally being released.

"Do you know the immense power of the gods we worship?"

His voice echoed repeatedly against the stone wall, reverberating in layers.

Even if he dies, even if his soul is shattered, even if he is dismembered into millions of pieces and his remains are scattered between heaven and earth, as long as there is still killing in this world, he will surely return from endless killing.

He slowly lowered his hands, clasping his fingers together in front of his chest, as if holding an unseen sacred object.

The stone chamber fell silent again, with only the aura map on the wall still flickering silently. The dark red circles were like dozens of open eyes, quietly watching the name of the city in the center of the map.

The grey-robed monk also lowered his head and prayed softly.

"God, your believers are willing to give everything to ask you to return to earth and cleanse this world of its impurities."

The white-robed monk looked at the gray-robed monk with a complicated expression. God, please save your believers.