Ouyang Ye floated there within the blood mist, arms outstretched, head tilted back, eyes closed.
The blood mist was condensing and evolving.
The seven soul fragments were merging in.
The seal was also undergoing transformation.
That voice, filled with helplessness, hesitation, and entanglement, drifted over from somewhere unknown.
"Now... I no longer wish to know...
I don't want to...
Truly, I don't...
I no longer wish to know what karma lies between you and me...
I'm afraid, truly afraid..."
Across from her, Gu Qingfeng simply watched and listened to Ouyang Ye's voice, his mind in utter disarray.
What in the world was going on?
So Yun Nishang didn't know what karma she shared with him either?
Had she done all this just to investigate?
After investigating for so long, had she perhaps been tormented severely?
Or more like... tormented to the point of fear?
Judging by her tone, that seemed to be the case.
Gu Qingfeng pressed on, "How did you come to know you had karma with me?"
"How did I know?
Heh..." Ouyang Ye's complex voice came again. "How did you know? That's how I knew..."
Gu Qingfeng asked again, "And what are the Bing Xuan Heart and the Yanyang Heart?"
"The Bing Xuan Heart... the Yanyang Heart...
Heh...
They are the karma between us...
Heh...
But now...
Now I have already separated from the Bing Xuan Heart. The Bing Xuan Heart has also found a new master. It has nothing more to do with me...
Nothing at all...
I hope...
I hope it has nothing to do with me..."
Ouyang Ye's seven soul fragments had completely merged into her body. As the blood mist dissipated, the seal was also completed. Ouyang Ye's body fell to the ground, unconscious.
Gu Qingfeng stepped forward to examine her. It was just as he had suspected.
After Yun Nishang's soul fused with Ouyang Ye, it was completely sealed away. It wasn't just the soul that was sealed; her bloodline was sealed as well. In other words, when Ouyang Ye woke up, she would still only be Ouyang Ye.
What the hell did all this mean?
Gu Qingfeng pondered Yun Nishang's words from earlier, but the more he thought, the more confused and muddled he became.
Yun Nishang said she didn't know what karma she shared with him.
Yet she also said the Bing Xuan Heart and Yanyang Heart were the karma between them.
What in blazes was going on?
Had she done all this just to separate from the Bing Xuan Heart and then seal herself away?
Why?
Why on earth?
She seemed truly terrified.
What was she afraid of?
He didn't know.
Gu Qingfeng couldn't figure it out either.
...
At this very moment.
In the Bing Xuan region.
At the foot of the iceberg formed by the Bing Xuan Sect, a dense, countless crowd still gathered. They stood there, wide-eyed and bewildered, faces blank with confusion.
No one knew what had happened.
They only knew that earlier, when Leng Yanqiu used the Bing Xuan Heart to fuse with the seven Taiyin Seeds, the Bing Xuan Heart had erupted with dazzling radiance, and then...
And then there was nothing...
When the radiance of the Bing Xuan Heart faded, Leng Yanqiu had vanished along with it.
Where was she?
No one knew.
Had Leng Yanqiu fused with the Bing Xuan Heart?
Had she unlocked the mysteries of the Bing Xuan Heart?
No one knew.
Just as the crowd was buzzing with suspicion, a sharp *crack* echoed. The iceberg formed by the Bing Xuan Sect suddenly exploded.
*BOOM!*
The iceberg shattered completely, revealing the Bing Xuan Sect within.
At the same time, a streak of cold light shot into the sky. The cold light vanished in an instant, and a figure abruptly appeared in the void.
A woman.
A woman of striking beauty, with an expression of lofty pride.
It was Leng Yanqiu.
At this moment.
She stood suspended in mid-air, her body shimmering with powerful cold light. As the cold light flickered, it resembled icy flames burning, seemingly containing vast and profound mysteries. With a casual wave of her hand, the sky suddenly began to snow heavily, with flakes as large as goose feathers.
What kind of ability was this?
Wait!
Could it be...
Had Leng Yanqiu completely fused with the Bing Xuan Heart?
Yes.
It must be so.
Otherwise, she couldn't possibly possess such powerful Bing Xuan aura, nor could she summon a heavy snowfall with a mere gesture.
This was the power of the Bing Xuan Heart!
Only the power of the Bing Xuan Heart could be this formidable, this profound.
"Yanqiu!"
Ancestor Zhuxia gazed at Leng Yanqiu in the sky, her expression one of great excitement as she asked, "You...
Have you perfectly fused with the Bing Xuan Heart?"
"Reporting to Ancestor," Leng Yanqiu replied, her beautiful face unable to conceal her elation. Standing in the air, she gave a slight bow. "This disciple has lived up to expectations and has finally achieved perfect fusion with the Bing Xuan Heart."
"Good!
Excellent!
Fusion is good...
Fusion is good!"
Ancestor Zhuxia appeared extremely agitated, murmuring 'fusion is good' over and over...
However.
Within the crowd.
Wei Qing, Liu Piaopiao, and Wan Wei stood frozen in place. They knew, and could see, that Leng Yanqiu had indeed perfectly fused with the Bing Xuan Heart, and had even integrated it into her foundation.
Yes.
They knew that.
But what they didn't know was... what about Her Majesty's seven soul fragments?
They had neither fused with Leng Yanqiu nor with the Bing Xuan Heart. Instead, they had mysteriously vanished...
Vanished without a trace.
Where had they gone?
None of the three had any idea.
...
Yunxia Sect.
Yanyang Peak, underground stone chamber.
Ouyang Ye still lay quietly on the ground, as if asleep.
Gu Qingfeng, meanwhile, had entered the Silent Bone Jade.
A misty world, a misty space.
On a misty mountain stood a misty temple.
Within the misty temple resided an old monk Gu Qingfeng had never seen before.
This matter concerning Yun Nishang was permeated with an indescribable, inexplicable strangeness, especially her final words, which had left Gu Qingfeng racking his brains to no avail. Left with no other option, he could only enter here to seek the old monk's counsel.
Having cultivated for five hundred years.
He had never been as exasperated as he was today.
He knew that seeking karma wouldn't be smooth sailing, but he never imagined it could be this bizarre.
After recounting the entire event in detail and voicing his many doubts, the old monk did not respond immediately. Only after a long moment did a sigh come from the old monk.
"I say, old monk, why is it that every time I ask you about karma, you either evade the question or sigh? Is this matter really that troublesome for you?"
"It is not that this old monk intentionally evades. It is simply that Benefactor Gu's karma is far too complex...
Even terrifying."
"Terrifying?
What do you mean?
What's so terrifying about karma?"
"If it were not terrifying, why would Yun Nishang spend three thousand years, not hesitating to incur a body of sin, just to graft the karma between you?
And then go so far as to choose to seal her own soul to escape it."
"Graft karma?"
This was the first time Gu Qingfeng had heard the term 'graft karma,' and he grew even more puzzled. "Are you saying Yun Nishang did all these things just to graft the karma between her and me?"
"She must have fallen into the Sea of Bitterness...
She likely tried to mend the karma, but failed. She likely tried to sever the karma, but could not. So she could only graft your karma..."
"How does one graft karma?"