"The price of fighting evil?" Qin Yun stood in midair.
"Is this the price?"
"Xiaoxiao…"
Qin Yun could not stop his mind from conjuring various scenes.
He could still remember the first time they met. Demons had attacked the Grand Dominance County's Courtesan Belle selection! Qin Yun had tried to rescue Chen Shuang and the rest but he was too slow. At the most critical moment, someone shot out palm lightning that split into three and struck the demons! Qin Yun turned his head in excitement… then he saw a woman in a light-blue dress standing by the riverbank. Her dress fluttered in the wind and she had the otherworldly disposition of a cultivator. That was the first time Qin Yun met Yi Xiao. He only had one thought: "How beautiful."
He recalled the time when both of them launched an assault against Water God together. Qin Yun carried the severely injured Yi Xiao and engaged in Sword Kinesis Flight… That was their first intimate contact. And it was also the moment they began forming inchoate feelings for each other.
During the mid-autumn festival, the moon was extremely beautiful and the tides were gentle. Qin Yun could not help but kiss Yi Xiao who looked like a fairy in the moonlight.
On the night he created Bright Moon Over River, the two of them made their vows.
"I only wish to hold your hand, and grow old with you, never abandoning you in life and in death."
"Never abandoning you in life and in death."
That was a lifetime vow.
They were once trapped in the underground complex of the Immortal Abode together. They got married there and led a happy life, like an immortal couple that stayed aloof from the complexities of the mortal world.
After more than ten years of marriage, the two of them had learned to rely on each other.
The scenes kept flooding in: his wife making herself up, staying by his side as he wrote calligraphy, taking strolls with him beside the mirror lake, enjoying good food with him, traveling on a cloud to watch the East Sea's sunrise or the icy mountains in the North Sea…
"No."
"No, I refuse to believe it."
The western winds blew amid the setting sun. Qin Yun's heart turned cold.
"Xiaoxiao has to be alive. Is she really dead just because He Qian claimed it to be so? Does the dissipation of a transmission mark definitely mean death?" Qin Yun shook his head as he muttered to himself. For instance, the Bai family's Bai Junyue had always refused to believe that her beau was dead. Even after a hundred years, she was adamant about it. She constantly sought to find him.
The dissipation of the transmission mark only implied that she was an existence that the Heavenly Dao could not detect. Typically, that meant death.
However, there were other possibilities for why the Heavenly Dao failed to detect her.
For example, she could have been sent to another world, such as an Other Realm solar system! This world's Heavenly Dao naturally could not sense her in a place like that.
There were also other unknown possibilities.
There were all sorts of Dharma spells, mystic arts, and array formations out there. It was possible to find a method to fool the Heavenly Dao. Of course, sending her to another world was very difficult. So was fooling the Heavenly Dao. That was why it was believed throughout the world that the dissipation of a transmission mark represented death.
"Right." After Qin Yun convinced himself that his wife was alive, he immediately thought of many other aspects that seemed suspicious. "If Xiaoxiao is dead, why isn't there a corpse?"
"Also, if that fiendish demon, He Qian, truly wanted Xiaoxiao dead, why did he go through the trouble of infiltrating the West Sea Dragon Palace's forbidden ground and capturing Xiaoxiao alive by teleporting through Void Transference? Why didn't he just kill her outright? Teleporting with Xiaoxiao, an existence that has reached the first Firmament True Dragon realm, has a humongous cost." Qin Yun immediately thought of these points. His eyes lit up. "To pay such a huge price only to abduct Xiaoxiao and then kill her? That's completely illogical."
"Yes."
"It's not logical." Qin Yun was even more convinced as he thought it through.
Qin Yun took out the Inspect Heavenly Token and immediately connected with Hong Lingtong.
Buzz.
Grand Dominance's Hong Manor.
Hong Lingtong watched as Qin Yun's phantom appeared in front of him. Qin Yun's eyes had a terrifyingly crazy look in them.
"Brother Hong," said Qin Yun urgently. "Xiaoxiao must be alive."
"What?" Hong Lingtong was taken aback.
"Look, if that fiendish demon He Qian truly wanted to kill Xiaoxiao, he could have killed her immediately when he teleported into the West Sea Dragon Palace's forbidden ground. Why did he capture her alive and escape using Void Transference only to kill her later? Isn't that superfluous? Xiaoxiao is at the first Firmament True Dragon realm. Using Void Transference with her… has a huge price," said Qin Yun quickly. "And this entire time, there hasn't been a corpse. I believe that Xiaoxiao must be alive."
"I see." Hong Lingtong could not help but nod.
"Brother Hong, please help me by doing your divine inference. Please see if Xiaoxiao is still alive," pleaded Qin Yun.
"Alright, I'll give it a try. Previously, I was trying to track her location as well as He Qian's. If I just try to infer whether or not she's alive, that's a lot easier." Hong Lingtong nodded.
"Yes." Qin Yun nodded immediately. "Thanks."
"It's nothing," said Hong Lingtong with a faint smile.
After they severed their communication, Hong Lingtong sighed inwardly. "Her transmission mark has clearly dissipated but Brother Qin Yun is still adamant that his wife is alive. Sigh, I'll give it another try." And so he tried to infer once again.
In the Grotto-heaven at the Boor Ancestral Sect, the Six World Isolation Skyarray enveloped an area that spanned half a kilometer.
Inside the array, Yi Xiao had regained consciousness and saw the purple-robed man in front of her.
"Where am I?" Yi Xiao immediately stood up, and at the same time she felt a biting pain throughout her body. She was no longer in the vicinity of the Dragon Pool. Without its power, the pain of Yi Xiao's bloodline awakening gradually intensified.
"From now on, you will be living here obediently," said He Qian with a smile.
"You are that mortal fiendish demon. I saw you once outside Grand Dominance City. Why did you abduct me?" Yi Xiao stared at him. At the same time, she tried to use her Dharmic powers to control her transmission treasure but realized that her Dharmic powers had been sealed.
"Abduct you? Obviously, it's because of that husband of yours! He spoiled my grand plans," said He Qian.
Yi Xiao felt the excruciating pain in her body increase as snow-white scales appeared on her skin. She could not bear the pain as she transformed into a white-scaled dragon. She was a lot bigger than she was when she had first experienced the awakening. She found the pain unbearable. Although her Dharmic powers had been sealed, her bloodline awakening… had little to do with Dharmic powers. It was a transformation that changed her at her most vital core. Even her blood, tendons, bones, and flesh were transforming. She was naturally absorbing the surrounding Heaven and Earth spiritual energies.
There were clouds condensing around her.
Large amounts of spirit energy swirled around her as she absorbed every bit of it.
"If an ordinary mortal cultivator had their Dharmic powers sealed, they might starve to death. However, you have reached the True Dragon realm and there are many divine powers available to a True Dragon. You can imbibe the clouds and absorb spiritual energies easily. You won't starve to death," said He Qian with a smile. "Just wait here. Perhaps there will come a day when you can meet your husband again."
With that said, He Qian turned and left. He passed through the Six World Isolation Skyarray but did not meet with any obstruction. It was because the array was under his control.
Although the array had been set up by both him and Sect Master Boor Ancestral, he had ultimate control over the array!
Clearly… the Empyrean Lord trusted He Qian the most.
"W-Where is this place?"
Yi Xiao coiled on the ground as a dragon as she looked at the six-colored lights that resembled an aurora.
The six-colored lights enveloped a tiny, separated world that spanned half a kilometer. She was the only one in that world.
"Brother Yun…"
At that moment, Yi Xiao worried for the child in her womb and also missed her husband.
Grand Dominance's Hong Manor.
"Ninth Hong, in regards to Qin Yun's request for your inference, tell him that his wife is alive no matter the outcome," instructed Human Emperor.
"I should say that she is alive even if I fail to discover anything?" Hong Lingtong was in a dilemma.
"Ninth Hong, you were one of the nine immortals that reincarnated into my Great Chang world. Of course, only you and Eighth Zhu have awakened your memories," said Human Emperor. "I believe that you are also aware that my Great Chang world is on the verge of a titanic catastrophe."
"Yes." Hong Lingtong nodded. "The Great Chang world is indeed in such a state. It's because of the great catastrophe that one has a good chance of accruing great merit. That was why all of us reincarnated here. Why do you mention this, Your Majesty?"
"Qin Yun's talent is naturally not considered so dazzling in the Three Realms. I've heard that among the countless worlds in the Three Realms, there are people who ponder over the Dao overnight and ascend into the heavens as a Skyimmortal the next day," said Human Emperor.
"Yes, there are many people that are more powerful than Brother Qin Yun. However, most of them were born impressive. They were Skyimmortals or Skydragons at birth! Or perhaps, they ate a Nine Transformation Golden Pill that was refined by the Supreme Dao Ancestor, becoming a Skyimmortal immediately. There are those with excellent opportunities and those were taken in as disciples of mighty figures," said Hong Lingtong. "For Brother Qin Yun to achieve what he has in a mortal world is already rather impressive."
"Yes, Qin Yun's talent is very impressive in our world. Under normal growth circumstances, it is highly possible for him to reach the strength of a Skyimmortal within two or three centuries," elaborated Human Emperor. "If Brother Zhang and I do our best to groom him, Qin Yun might gain the strength of a Skyimmortal even earlier."
"Now, his wife has been abducted by the fiendish demon in the West Sea Dragon Palace's forbidden ground… By using a Void Transference treasure, it shows that they are sparing no expense! That is no small price to pay for a single kidnapping."
"Thinking back to the pending catastrophe, I believe that there is a secret motive behind Yi Xiao's situation."
Human Emperor said, "It is likely that they are targeting Qin Yun! However, the catastrophe has yet to happen. That's why they can only stall for time and use such scummy methods."
"Why did they do so?" Hong Lingtong frowned.
"Under normal growth conditions, Qin Yun would soar to the sky. This is apparent to us all," said Human Emperor. "And for cultivators, their state of mind is very important. Once they suffer a setback, their state of mind might suffer drastically! It would even possible to doubt the Dao they originally forged. The Dao they cultivated in would also change drastically! Now that Qin Yun appears to be enjoying a meteoric rise, it's possible for him to fall terribly if he suffers a setback and has his state of mind altered."
Hong Lingtong nodded slightly.
A drastic change in state of mind would indeed cause changes to one's cultivation path.
"We do not dare risk such a thing," said Human Emperor. "Regardless if his wife is really alive or dead, we must make Qin Yun believe that his wife is still alive. Only by believing that his wife is alive will Qin Yun's state of mind remain intact."
"I understand." Hong Lingtong nodded.
"Perhaps the goal of making Qin Yun's state of mind change is the simplest plan. They captured Yi Xiao alive and lack the strength to do anything else for now. Once the time comes… they could put Yi Xiao to better use in a plot against Qin Yun," said Human Emperor. "After all, compared to Brother Zhang and me, Qin Yun is relatively easy to deal with!"
Hong Lingtong nodded slightly.