Entertainment: A song that brought his deceased wife back to life.

The laughter lasted for a long time.

Luo Qianyu broke free from Xu Qing's embrace and took a step back, re-examining the man in front of her.

I haven't seen you for three years, and you've lost weight.

His cheekbones were more defined than before, his chin was so sharp it could stab someone, the knuckles on his wrists were protruding, and the area between his thumb and forefinger holding the sword hilt was covered with a layer of calluses—the ones left three years ago, with no new ones added. He had stopped practicing his martial arts after sealing his sword, ate little and slept poorly, and had completely ruined himself into the appearance of a stray dog ​​on the street.

Luo Qianyu's temper flared up again.

"You've gotten so thin!"

Xu Qing didn't answer, his gaze fixed on her face without shifting an inch, as if confirming again and again—she was real.

"Why haven't you messaged me?"

"There is no signal at the bottom of the Abyss of Ten Thousand Souls," Luo Qianyu said confidently.

Three years.

"A thousand feet below the abyss is a spiritually impenetrable zone. Spiritual senses can't get out, and communication talismans can't get in. How am I supposed to communicate with you using my head?"

"You can let me know before you go into seclusion."

"I was blasted into the abyss during the war between the Heavenly Demons. Do you think I jumped in willingly?"

Xu Qing's lips tightened into a thin line.

Luo Qianyu gave him no chance to catch his breath and continued to attack—

"I only discovered an ancient demonic vein at the bottom of the abyss after I fell in. The concentration of spiritual energy there is thirty times that of the outside world. I figured I might as well make use of it. I was seriously injured and needed to heal, so I took the opportunity to... go into seclusion."

"By the way."

"Yes, by the way."

Xu Qing took a deep breath and lowered his voice: "You 'casually' cultivated demonic arts for three years at the bottom of the Abyss of Ten Thousand Souls. What level did you reach?"

Luo Qianyu raised her chin.

With her demonic energy contained, she flicked her fingers, and a jet-black demonic rune spun half a circle on her fingertip, its eerie light slowly licking along her knuckles.

"Demon Lord".

The breaths of all the cultivators in the room stopped instantly.

A Golden Core cultivator falls into the Abyss of Ten Thousand Souls, and three years later climbs out and becomes a Demon Lord?

The whispers of the onlookers instantly erupted into chaos—

"The Koi Fairy has turned into a Demon Lord..."

"From Golden Core to Demon Lord in three years? If those senior uncles in the sect who have been cultivating for eight hundred years and are still stuck in the Nascent Soul stage knew this, they would probably vomit blood on the spot."

"They're lucky; they even managed to find an ancient demonic vein after falling into the Abyss of Ten Thousand Souls."

"Is this what you call good fortune? This is called the life of a lucky koi fish. His name perfectly matches his personality. Absolutely amazing."

Xu Qing stared at the magic runes on Luo Qianyu's fingertips, remaining silent for a few seconds before speaking.

"So you secluded yourself for three years just to practice this worthless technique?"

Luo Qianyu's eyebrows shot up: "You call the Demon Lord's power 'breaking the effect'?"

"Your survival is more important than your attainment of the Heavenly Emperor level."

Xu Qing's voice was flat, but the wind by the abyss seemed to have gotten colder.

I don't care what level you're at.

Luo Qianyu opened her mouth slightly, but didn't make a sound.

She saw a thin layer of tears in Xu Qing's eyes, very faint, but she recognized him—this person never cried, and when he broke three ribs when he killed the Heavenly Demon last time, he didn't even frown, but now his eyes were red.

The fire in Luo Qianyu's heart was extinguished by more than half in an instant.

She stepped forward, reached out and pinched Xu Qing's cheek, pulling it outwards.

"Don't cry, isn't it embarrassing to do this in public?"

"I didn't cry."

Your eyes are red.

"It was blown by the wind."

Luo Qianyu released her grip, leaving two white marks on Xu Qing's cheeks, as if she had been scratched by a cat.

The scene was quiet for two seconds, then a clueless young cultivator next to them let out a loud sniffling sound, crying even more intensely than the person involved.

"Waaaaah... The Shattered Star Sword Immortal is so pitiful... He's been living a life of widowhood for three years..."

Xu Qing glanced over, and the cultivator shut his mouth, took three steps back, and disappeared into the crowd.

Luo Qianyu tugged at Xu Qing's sleeve: "Let's go home."

"Wait a moment."

Xu Qing glanced down at the bowl of noodles resting on the edge of the abyss—the noodles had completely clumped together, sticking to the bottom of the bowl like a round cake.

"This bowl of noodles is for you."

"...Weren't you just planning to jump into the abyss to join me? Making noodles first and then committing suicide for love, your priorities are quite interesting."

Are you hungry?

Luo Qianyu's stomach gave a precise rumble.

After three years of seclusion, relying on absorbing spiritual energy and abstaining from grains to prolong her life, she had almost forgotten what food tasted like.

Xu Qing bent down, picked up the bowl of noodles that had lumped together like a pancake, and handed it to her: "Eat up, it's cold, but there's no salt in it."

Luo Qianyu took the bowl and looked down at it—the noodles were stuck together in a clump, the soup had almost dried up, and the appearance was roughly equivalent to a culinary disaster in the cultivation world.

She picked up her chopsticks, took a bite, and chewed it twice.

"It tastes awful."

"People who haven't eaten for three years have no right to be picky."

"Your cooking skills haven't improved in three years."

"I don't care about anything else, as long as you come back alive."

"Can't you speak a normal sentence?"

"Could you say something nicer?"

The two stared at each other for three seconds.

Luo Qianyu snorted and turned her head away, stuffing the bowl into her mouth with big mouthfuls. Although the noodles were clumpy, she ate them very quickly, chewing non-stop with her cheeks bulging. She even licked the last drop of soup from the bottom of the bowl clean.

After she finished eating, she shoved the empty bowl into Xu Qing's arms.

Make another bowl.

Three thousand cultivators watched as the Shattered Star Sword Immortal and his resurrected Daoist partner ate noodles and bickered by the Abyss of Ten Thousand Souls, their expressions shifting from shock to an indescribable sense of relief.

Someone in the crowd spoke up quietly—

"So all of the Shattered Star Sword Immortal's asceticism, sealing of his sword, guarding of the abyss, and self-sacrifice for love over the past three years... was just wishful thinking?"

"His wife is down there cultivating to become a Demon Lord by consuming ancient demonic veins, while he's up there crying and burning paper money worth 500,000 spirit stones."

"This is... the most tragic joke of the year in the cultivation world, bar none."

The wind was strong by the abyss, scattering the last wisp of paper ash.

Xu Qing held Luo Qianyu's hand tightly as they walked down the mountain.

Luo Qianyu looked down at their clasped fingers: "Loosen your grip, you're hurting me."

Xu Qing did not relax.

"Xu Qing."

"Um."

"Are you really planning to jump?"

He remained silent for several steps.

"Um."

Luo Qianyu stopped in her tracks, and she gripped his hand tightly, even more firmly than he had.

"You're not allowed to do that again."

"You have to live."

Xu Qing didn't turn around to look at her, but the hand holding her loosened its grip a little bit, just a little bit.

The rift in the Abyss of Ten Thousand Souls behind them was slowly closing, and the black mist sealed the surface of the abyss once again.

The empty bowl still sat on the rocky platform by the abyss, next to a half-empty jar of peach blossom wine. The wind blew through the jar's mouth, making a very faint hum, like someone sighing.