Held by Long Chen's jade hand, Ziyan's delicate body trembled. It was the first time in her life she had been physically intimate with a man. She felt nervous and somewhat at a loss.
Long Chen held Ziyan's hand, looked into her somewhat flustered eyes, and said softly, "Ziyan, there's so much I want to say to you, but I've never had the chance. And you've deliberately kept a distance from me, so I don't know how to face you."
Back then, we were enemies, and you stopped me several times. To be honest, my heart ... It hurts so much. "
I'm sorry... Ziyan
looked at the sadness in Long Chen's eyes and lowered her head. Back then, their differing ideals led to great disagreements, especially at the Dragon Slaying Tournament back then, when she and Long Chen were hostile. That time, Long Chen said something very heartless.
It left her deeply saddened and heartbroken, but she knew that the pain was not just her.
Long Chen looked into Ziyan's eyes, gripping her tighter and softly said, "My feelings for you are very strange. I can't explain myself."
When you and I are at odds, my heart aches continuously. After you told me you would no longer be my enemy, the stone in my heart was completely lifted.
At that moment, I felt my whole world light up—no longer gloomy, but gradually colorful.
It was then that I realized I had actually liked you for a long time, but I was very afraid—afraid you were my enemy, and even more afraid that one day I would kill you with my own hands.
Ziyan, will you be with me? I will use my life to protect you. As long as you are by my side, I fear no hardship in the world. This
is a heartfelt confession, without flowery words, but every sentence expresses Long Chen's heartfelt feelings.
His feelings for Ziyan began silently, and even Long Chen himself didn't know when it began.
Now, with no more conflicts and no longer opposing each other, Long Chen spoke his heart, feeling completely relaxed.
"Long Chen... I..."
Faced with Long Chen's heartfelt words, a mist welled up in Ziyan's eyes. She slowly pressed her face against Long Chen's chest and choked out:
"Thank you. With your words, I'm already very satisfied. But ..."
"But what?" You ... Don't you like me? "Long Chen was startled.
Ziyan shook her head and said sorrowfully, "I'm sorry. I can only let down your deep affection, because I once swore in front of the ancestral statue that I would be loyal to the Miaolexian Palace for the rest of my life and never marry." As
she spoke, Ziyan's tears streamed down like pearls with a broken string. Her heart was filled with endless grievances, but she couldn't voice them.
"Thank you, Long Chen."
After speaking, Fairy Ziyan slipped from Long Chen's grasp, turned and left, instantly disappearing from his sight. Long Chen's face was a bit pale. He wanted to chase after him, but just as he moved, he stopped and stood there, stunned for a moment.
Ziyan sprinted all the way, not knowing how far she had run. Ahead was a huge waterfall. Ziyan plunged into the cave inside the waterfall, clutching a stone stalagmite and crying out loud.
Tears rolled down as if to vent all her grievances. Behind Ziyan, at some point, a beautiful woman dressed in a yellow palace robe had appeared.
She looked about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, her hair styled in a high bun, exuding an air of nobility, like a queen who made anyone who looked at her feel the urge to kneel and worship.
The beautiful woman looked at Ziyan and couldn't help but sigh, her voice unusually gentle: "Silly child, you don't even dare to cry out loud, and you have to cover it up with the sound of the waterfall. You've wronged yourself too much." "
Senior Qixian, I ...," Ziyan looked at the beautiful woman, like a wronged child, threw herself into her family's arms, and sobbed nonstop.
The beautiful woman gently stroked Ziyan's long hair and sighed, "Silly child, I advised you not to agree to those guys, but you just wouldn't listen." "
But Ziyan has no choice. As long as I no longer oppose Long Chen, I will agree to any condition." Ziyan choked up as she spoke.
"Love each other for a long time, but not always together. Is it really worth it to be locked away by this vow for a lifetime?" The beautiful woman shook her head.
"Everything I have is given to me by Miaole Immortal Palace. One must know how to repay kindness. This is the only way to avoid being hostile to Long Chen or betraying Miaole Immortal Palace. I have no other choice." Ziyan closed her eyes, her face full of pain, and said,
"I originally thought I was just foolishly liking Long Chen, but today... He confessed to me, and I was so happy, but also so painful. "
You are naturally kind and won't betray others, but what if someone betrays you?" The beautiful woman shook her head with a wry smile, hinting at something.
"Long Chen?" I can't give him anything, and nothing he does doesn't count as betraying me. Ziyan shook her head.
"Long Chen is just like you—he would never betray anyone. I'm telling you... Alright, forget it, let's not talk about it.
Long Chen is your destined demon star—they are true for that, but there is one thing they misunderstood. A cold smile appeared on the beautiful woman's face.
"Senior, what do you mean by this? Ziyan didn't understand. Ziyan said, looking completely confused.
"I don't understand because it's not the right time yet. Child, don't cry. Your future isn't as dark as you imagine; there will be uncertainties ahead." The beautiful woman smiled and comforted her.
"Really?" A hint of joy appeared on Ziyan's face.
"Of course it's true. Let's go. When you return, you need to go into seclusion. With the Ancient Essence Blood, you'll have gathered all the Blood of Slaughter you've lacked, and you can fully awaken the phenomenon.
If you don't awaken the phenomenon soon, you'll be left behind by that little girl named Ye Zhiqiu. The beautiful woman smiled gently.
"Senior, I find it strange. Why do you want me to get closer to Ye Zhiqiu? Moreover, I actually feel an inexplicable sense of closeness from her." Ziyan suddenly asked.
"Heavenly secrets must not be revealed. You'll understand in time. Alright, don't ask anymore. You can't see your future, but I can see it. It's not great, but it's not bad either." The woman smiled faintly, said no more, and disappeared together with Ziyan.
...
Long Chen returned looking somewhat dejected. Meng Qi and the others saw this and couldn't help but crowd around.
"Long Chen, what's wrong?" Tang Wan'er saw Long Chen looking like a frostbitten eggplant and couldn't help but ask.
"Failed at picking up girls." Long Chen sighed, looking dejected.
"How could this be?"
Mengqi and the others looked utterly incredulous. They were all women and understood women's emotions best.
Although Ziyan appeared calm and natural, whenever her eyes swept over Long Chen, the tenderness in them could not be deceived.
Mengqi deliberately sent Long Chen to see Ziyan off, hoping to give them a chance to spend time alone and connect their feelings. Unexpectedly, Ziyan actually rejected Long Chen.
"Is Ziyan having some unavoidable difficulties?" Her feelings for you are so obvious that even a blind person can see them. Tang Wan'er said.
Long Chen nodded and said, "It should be. Ziyan said that, based on their calculations from the Miaolexian Palace, I am his demon star. That's just nonsense."
It must be their sect, forcing Ziyan to swear some cruel oath. To stop being my enemy, Ziyan compromised with them. That damn Miaolexian Palace—are they forcing me to flatten it? "
Hmph, Miaole Immortal Palace is known as the guardian force of the Tianwu Continent, with deep roots. Even the divine clan respects them. Who would've thought they would be so despicable." Tang Wan'er cursed bitterly, saying that Miaole Immortal Palace's actions were truly disgraceful.
Long Chen and Ziyan don't interact much; often, when they interact, they are in a state of conflict because they view issues from different perspectives.
What truly changed Ziyan's attitude was because the Seven-String Zhenhaiqin sealed her power, altered her appearance, and restored everything she experienced in the Yin-Yang Realm.
Ziyan saw an ugliness she had never seen before. For the first time, she saw the world through Long Chen's eyes. The most ironic part was that when she was in danger, only Long Chen stepped in to help her.
From then on, Ziyan learned to see things from more perspectives, became more composed, and her feelings for Long Chen deepened deeper and deeper.
Thinking of how she had once been an enemy of Long Chen, constantly trying to persuade him and causing him so much trouble, she was filled with guilt. So from then on, she wanted to do everything she could to make it up to him. Whatever Long Chen asked, she never refused.
However, she had never mentioned these things to anyone. Long Chen had no idea that the ugly girl she had saved back then was actually Ziyan.
But Ziyan cried bitterly. Long Chen knew she had feelings for him, but was forced to accept his feelings, so Long Chen was filled with anger toward Miaolexian Palace.
"How about we attack Miaole Immortal Palace to demand people? With our current strength, we have no fear of Miaole Immortal Palace." Xiaoyun clenched his fists and shouted. This belligerent guy was already eager to give it a try.
Meng Qi shook her head: "Ziyan comes from the Miaolexian Palace. She is loyal and loyal by nature, and would never betray our sect. If we try to take her by force, we'll only be putting Ziyan in a wrongful position."
Ziyan must have her own unavoidable reasons, so this matter can't be forced. We will take our time and figure it out. I believe there will definitely be a chance." Long
Chen nodded and said, "Let's just put this matter aside for now. Mengqi is right. This can't be rushed; there will definitely be a way, but the timing hasn't come yet."
We're still working hard to improve our strength. Right now, our essence blood is being refined. Previously, because your essence blood was consumed so much, you couldn't fully activate the phenomenon. Now, you have no more concerns about that."
Everyone, go all out to level up. The enemy is secretly building up strength, and we need to do our best to improve and fight for more chances to survive in future battles. "
The phenomenon for Meng Qi and the others is only in its initial awakening. Although the spiritual blood has also been activated and can communicate with the phenomenon, to fully awaken the phenomenon and learn its name, a large amount of essence blood is required."
If all the essence blood was given to them then, the other warriors wouldn't be able to retrieve it. Therefore, Meng Qi and the others didn't continue to consume it, but instead had some of the dragonblood warriors refine the essence blood first, summarize their experience, and prepare for the awakening of other dragonblood warriors in the future.
Now that they had the essence blood, Guo Ran and Xia Chen were refining it, and everyone entered a state of seclusion.
Long Chen found a desolate area within the territory of the Xuan Beast clan and took out the demon furnace; he was about to improve as well.