Before Mu Chenxi could respond to Su Qiuyue, the Fire Demon’s erratically shifting eyeballs suddenly stopped moving.
The crimson eyes all fixed on the direction where Mu Chenxi and Bai Yue stood, blazing fire bursting forth from within.
Soul Dao Killing Move, Crimson Flame Demon Eye!
In the next instant, four scorching beams shot out like lasers, firing straight toward Mu Chenxi’s head.
The speed was so fast that she had no way to dodge.
But at that very moment, Su Qiuyue also completed the secret art deduction.
Soul Dao Secret Art, Thousand Threads of Ten Thousand Thoughts!
As her divine soul was activated, the woven protective net trembled in an instant, countless strands inscribed with mysterious runes rising up, tightly shielding Mu Chenxi and Bai Yue within.
When the blazing light struck the protective net, there was no sound, yet an immense spiritual shockwave spread, instantly turning the surrounding air into a vacuum.
Even so, under the Fire Demon’s Soul Dao assault, the strands of the net snapped one after another.
The gap in power between the two sides was still too great. Even with Su Qiuyue’s profound secret art, she was ultimately only a remnant soul.
In this way, Mu Chenxi would have to face the divine soul attack directly.
She was not a soul cultivator to begin with and was not adept in the Soul Dao, yet she had no intention of giving up.
She desperately burned her divine soul, enduring the heart-piercing agony as she furiously activated Soulburn Return Essence.
The closer to death she came, the calmer she became.
This was the Dao of Ice that Master had taught her, and she held it firmly in her heart.
Lowering her head, she looked at Bai Yue, still unconscious in her arms, her gaze filled with tenderness.
The profound Dao rhythm of sword and ice flowed within her body.
Sword Domain of Ice Sealing!
With a low shout, waves of cold spread from her body, gradually freezing her blood and flesh, until she was encased entirely in ice.
The hard ice continued to spread, even enveloping Bai Yue in her embrace.
She had sealed both herself and Bai Yue within the ice.
Within the ice lingered the lively Sword Intent, countless sword auras spiraling along the icy surface to form a second layer of defense.
The Fire Demon’s scorching beams crashed onto the ice, scattering shards of frost, yet they were truly blocked for a fleeting moment.
Even if it was only an instant, it left Su Qiuyue astonished.
Although in the end the attack could not be completely stopped, she could clearly feel Mu Chenxi’s growth, and saw the determination in her to protect Bai Yue with everything she had.
The moment the ice shattered, the Divine Soul Barrier Mu Chenxi had set was also crushed.
Her consciousness instantly returned to her body, a heart-piercing pain shooting through her, the torment of the Rebound of the Divine Soul almost turning her vision black.
Mu Chenxi staggered, her delicate form collapsing toward Bai Yue.
Her cheek landed against Bai Yue’s chest, the force of her fall absorbed, stirring up a ripple.
“Chenxi, are you all right?”
Bai Yue hurriedly supported her, asking urgently.
Seeing Mu Chenxi’s deathly pale face, Bai Yue couldn’t help but grow anxious.
“I’m fine,” Mu Chenxi shook her head weakly, “I just suffered the Rebound of the Divine Soul from forcefully activating a self-created secret art this time.”
At her words, Bai Yue immediately urged, “Chenxi, come into my Sea of Consciousness quickly, that way you can recover faster.”
But Mu Chenxi hesitated.
She gazed at Master, and upon careful observation, caught a trace of exhaustion in Bai Yue’s deliberately restrained expression that could not be concealed.
The whites of Bai Yue’s peach-blossom eyes were already streaked with blood.
If she hadn’t been watching Master so closely, worrying about her condition, she might never have noticed.
“Master, you haven’t rested properly, have you?” Mu Chenxi couldn’t help but ask. “Since I descended into your Sea of Consciousness in the future, you’ve always been in a fainted state.”
“This is because I’ve been entering your Sea of Consciousness too frequently. If I enter now, can you really withstand it, Master?”
“It’s all right, Chenxi.” Bai Yue forced a smile, feigning ease.
“How can it be all right, Master?”
Mu Chenxi’s ice-blue eyes stared at Bai Yue.
Only then did Bai Yue realize that her pretense of composure had already been seen through by Mu Chenxi.
She let out a light sigh, her expression turning incomparably serious as she looked at Mu Chenxi.
“Chenxi, this is a moment between life and death. Even if I faint, I have to hold on.”
“We must find a way to survive, right?”
“Besides, this is the only thing I can still do.”
“So, Chenxi, I beg you—enter my Sea of Consciousness. This is your Master’s request to you.”
Looking at the unprecedented determination in Master’s eyes, and hearing her earnest plea, Mu Chenxi felt a wave of bitterness in her heart.
Seeing Bai Yue’s exhausted appearance, she desperately wished she could bear more of the burden for Master.
But her abilities were limited.
In the end, Mu Chenxi slowly nodded.
She could not refuse Master’s request.
Mu Chenxi took Bai Yue’s hand, gripping it tightly, then sank into Bai Yue’s Sea of Consciousness.
***
Upon entering Bai Yue’s Sea of Consciousness, Mu Chenxi did not, as usual, immediately see Bai Yue’s figure.
She found herself inexplicably standing in a narrow hospital corridor.
This hospital was familiar, the place where Master, dressed in a patient’s gown, resided.
The corridor was long, and at its end stretched a deep darkness, making it impossible for Mu Chenxi to see what lay ahead.
However, Mu Chenxi could sense Bai Yue’s presence—she was just ahead.
She took a step forward, striding toward the dark, endless corridor without hesitation.
Her footsteps echoed through the silence.
The corridor was so long that nearly five minutes passed before she reached its end.
There stood a door, with four faceless nurses crouched outside, the door left slightly ajar to reveal a narrow gap. The nurses peered through the crack, peeking inside.
Their bodies trembled, as though they were witnessing something unspeakably horrifying within.
Among them, Mu Chenxi recognized the Head Nurse, while the other three were ordinary Autumn Nurses.
What struck her as strange was that the four nurses’ bodies had shrunk to nearly half their original size.
Even the once-tall Head Nurse was now small and delicate.
Mu Chenxi’s heart tightened.
She could feel Master’s presence inside the room, and the strange appearance of the nurses made her even more anxious about Bai Yue’s safety.
Without thinking, she was about to push aside the nurse blocking the door and charge in, when the Head Nurse turned around, raising a finger to her lips to signal silence.
The Head Nurse lowered her voice.
“I remember you—you’re Bai Yue’s family, aren’t you? Don’t rush in. Don’t go in for now. Bai Yue’s state is highly unstable.”
“You can look from outside first, but don’t startle Bai Yue.”
With that, the Head Nurse stepped aside.
Sensing that the Head Nurse bore no ill will toward Master, Mu Chenxi forcibly suppressed her urge to enter.
She crouched by the crack in the door, peering inside.
In the dimly lit room, she immediately saw Bai Yue.
At that moment, Bai Yue was kneeling before a Glass Water Tank, inside which floated a White Mouse.
The White Mouse struggled in the water, seemingly exhausted, on the verge of sinking.
Bai Yue’s eyes were bloodshot as she stared fixedly at the White Mouse in the tank.
Her body was trembling uncontrollably.
She seemed afraid.
But what was she afraid of?
Afraid of a White Mouse about to die?
Though she was so afraid, Bai Yue slowly extended a trembling hand, reaching toward the struggling White Mouse in the water.