Chapter 1018: Collecting the Orders

Unlike Yun Che, who was burning with a scorching aura, Mu Feixue exuded a pure, cold presence. Finally tackled and defiled by Yun Che, she offered no resistance, her eyes staring blankly upwards, numbly accepting her fated destiny.

With another ripping sound, Mu Feixue's snow-white robe instantly shredded, fully exposing her flawless jade body. In Yun Che's blood-red eyes, her skin glowed brilliantly, like ice and snow.

She lay quietly beneath Yun Che, her jade body bare, offering no struggle and showing no hint of seduction. She was like a snow maiden nurtured within a blooming Heavenly Pool ice lotus, remaining beautiful and sacred even as she was defiled by a crazed beast.

The crimson in Yun Che's eyes instantly intensified severalfold. With an uncontrolled growl, he lunged forward, his hands pressing down, heavily squeezing the flawless, milky-white flesh of Mu Feixue's chest. Mu Feixue's eyebrows furrowed in pain.

Yun Che's head then impatiently dropped, biting directly onto her lips. At that instant, their eyes almost touched.

Yun Che's eyes seemed to burn with fire, his gaze wildly turbulent. Mu Feixue did not close her eyes; her gaze was slightly unfocused but remained like still water—cold, sacred, and tinged with heart-wrenching sorrow.

It was just like Chu Yuechan in the Dragon God's Trial Grounds back then, pressed beneath him and unable to resist.

In an instant, it was as if countless bolts of lightning slammed into his eyes and soul. Yun Che let out a strange cry and violently rolled off Mu Feixue, clutching his head with both hands, writhing on the ground and howling in agony.

All the veins on his forehead bulged, like desperately struggling earthworms. Miraculously, a hint of clarity appeared in his bloodshot eyes after his complete loss of control. After a prolonged roar, his right arm suddenly trembled and lifted, fingers splayed, and he forcefully slammed it into his own chest.

*Puff!!* His five fingers, imbued with all his strength, fiercely pierced his chest, creating five deep bloody holes from which five streams of blood shot out. The intense pain instantly restored more of Yun Che's clarity, and he desperately rolled and crawled away from Mu Feixue.

Mu Feixue silently got up and watched dazedly as Yun Che, in agony, desperately dragged himself to the furthest corner from her. Where he crawled, he left a vivid crimson blood trail.

"Knock... me... out..." Curled up in the corner of the ice chamber, Yun Che suddenly spoke. But those three short words were so hoarse they sounded inhuman, like the cry of a desperate beast.

Mu Feixue remained motionless, even forgetting to cover her exposed jade body. A bloodstain was printed on her cherry-red lips—a mark left by Yun Che. Her profound energy had been completely sealed by Mu Xuanyin, making it impossible for her to knock Yun Che out, even if she wanted to.

"Hurry...! Ahh!!" Yun Che roared in frantic pain, his fleeting clarity telling him that his last shred of sanity could be completely swallowed at any moment.

I... can't... I CAN'T!!!

Yun Che's eyes suddenly widened to their maximum. A faint blue true dragon's shadow instantly appeared on his body, accompanied by a world-shaking dragon's roar that could make heaven and earth tremble.

"ROAR!!!!" With the release of his Dragon Soul, Yun Che's mind instantly regained immense clarity—enough to at least allow him to summon sufficient power...

"Ahhh!!" Yun Che unhesitatingly concentrated all his power in his right arm and fiercely slammed it into his own temple.

*Boom!!!* The force of this punch caused the entire ice chamber to tremble slightly.

Outside the ice chamber, Mu Xuanyin, who had been meditating, suddenly opened her eyes. This was... a true dragon's aura!?

Mu Xuanyin's gaze instantly turned to the ice chamber below, for the source of this true dragon's aura was surprisingly from within!

Mu Xuanyin's figure flickered, and she instantly appeared before the ice chamber. With a wave of her palm, the ice wall directly in front of her instantly melted.

The scene before her caused her gaze to freeze for a moment.

In a corner of the ice chamber, Yun Che was slumped in a twisted posture, his entire body covered in blood. The five bloody holes on his chest had stopped bleeding but were still shocking to behold. His eyes were open, but his gaze was almost completely unfocused; he was semi-conscious. Since Mu Feixue's profound energy was sealed, only he himself could have injured him.

Mu Feixue stood in another corner, her snow-white robe completely shredded. Her jade body glowed with a pure radiance that even drew admiration from Mu Xuanyin. Although there were lingering traces of torment on her body, her primordial Yin essence remained pure.

On the ground between them, a long trail of blood stretched out.

Mu Xuanyin stood there in silence for a long time before slowly stepping forward and walking to Yun Che's side.

Her snowy hand descended, gently pressing on Yun Che's chest. An icy aura silently surged in, rapidly dispelling the rampant Dragon God's blood aura still raging within him.

Mu Feixue stood there, continuously gazing at Yun Che. The light in her icy eyes was no longer calm, but chaotic, as it had never been before. Facing Mu Xuanyin, she forgot to bow for the first time.

Under Mu Xuanyin's cold energy, Yun Che's breathing finally became less scorching. His body no longer convulsed, and the look of pain on his face gradually faded.

"Che'er, why, even like this, were you unwilling to touch Feixue?" Mu Xuanyin asked in a low voice.

A moment ago, she was enraged by Yun Che's disobedience and insolence, forcibly injecting him with Dragon God's blood and sealing him and Mu Feixue in the ice chamber. But now, facing Yun Che, who had been tormented by the Dragon God's blood for a full two quarters of an hour yet had not truly taken Mu Feixue and was now covered in wounds himself, she should have been even angrier. Yet, for some reason, she couldn't feel any anger.

Yun Che's lips parted. Though close to unconsciousness, he still retained a very vague awareness: "If it were anyone else... this disciple... would obey Master's words... But her... this disciple... cannot... I can't..."

Mu Feixue remained silent.

"Why?" Mu Xuanyin asked.

"Because... she... is like... my Little Fairy..." Yun Che's voice stopped. As he whispered the three words "Little Fairy," his expression suddenly became clouded with lasting pain.

"Little Fairy? Who is she?" Mu Xuanyin's eyes flickered slightly. This name was not among the things Mu Bingyun had told her about Yun Che.

"She... is no longer... in this world..." Yun Che's consciousness grew even more blurry, but his voice became more painful.

Because that was the deepest, most painful, most shameful, most regrettable, and most untouchable place in his soul.

Mu Feixue remained silent.

Mu Xuanyin was speechless for a moment. The Dragon God's blood aura had been completely expelled, and her hand slowly moved away from Yun Che's chest.

"This disciple... begs Master... to withdraw your command..." Yun Che's face was pale, and his eyes slowly closed. "Otherwise... if Jasmine knew... she would... hate me..."

His eyelids fully closed, Yun Che finally completely lost consciousness.

These words came from the depths of his soul, but with his consciousness drifting, he wouldn't remember what he had said when he woke up.

Mu Xuanyin stood up, then slowly turned to face Mu Feixue.

"Feixue, tell your grandfather that the previous decision is canceled." There was no anger, nor majesty in her voice. As the words left her lips, even she herself was surprised at how easily she had withdrawn her command, especially since it was an order she had personally decreed as Sect Master in front of everyone at the Sect's grand assembly.

The seals on her body silently disappeared. Mu Feixue lightly brushed her hands over her chest, and a new snow-white robe appeared on her jade body. She gave a slight bow but did not respond, turning to leave.

"Wait!" Mu Xuanyin suddenly spoke again. After a slight pause, she slowly said, "Have Huanzhi come over. I have something to tell him."

Bathed in the swirling snow, Mu Feixue walked out of the Divine Hall in solitude. She then stopped, silently gazing at the pale world before her, but her heart could no longer be as silent as the snow realm.

"What kind of person... is he, really..." she whispered softly.

"Little Fairy... someone no longer in this world... Yet for her, he was willing to endure immense torment, willing to harm himself, willing to defy the Sect Master's command... Am I really that much like her...?"

Once, her world was only pure ice and snow, without a trace of blemish or dust. But that man, who, under the Sect Master's command, would rather suffer unbearable pain than touch her, had at a certain moment deeply imprinted his image onto her heart and soul... perhaps, never to be erased.

Mu Huanzhi rushed to the Divine Hall in a frantic hurry. Just before reaching the main entrance, he saw Mu Xuanyin standing there with her hands behind her back, her gaze clear and cold, as if waiting for him.

Mu Huanzhi quickly stepped forward and bowed from afar. "Huanzhi greets the Sect Master. This one is deeply humbled to have kept the Sect Master waiting."

"Rise," Mu Xuanyin's voice cut through the wind and snow, seeming to carry a hint of weariness.

"Huanzhi, I called you here because there is something I need you to do."

Mu Huanzhi rose and nodded. "Please command, Sect Master."

"Feixue's matter..." Mu Xuanyin's eyes were icy, tinged with a hint of complexity. "Her affair with Yun Che is to be put aside for now. However, without my permission, you absolutely must not secretly betroth Feixue to anyone!"

The last sentence was clearly severe. Mu Huanzhi's heart skipped a beat, and without time to ponder, he quickly nodded, "Yes."

"What I want you to do is to find four items."

Mu Huanzhi's heart stirred, and he pricked up his ears. Items the Sect Master personally instructed him to find were certainly extraordinary.

"These four items are: a Qilin horn, a Wood Spirit Pearl that retains at least seventy percent of its spiritual energy, a Nine-Star Buddha God Jade, and... a complete Emperor Immortal Grass!"

Mu Huanzhi was initially listening intently. When he heard "Wood Spirit Pearl," he looked up in surprise. The subsequent "Nine-Star Buddha God Jade" and "Emperor Immortal Grass" made him swallow hard.

Leaving aside the Qilin horn for a moment, the Wood Spirit Pearl is the life source bead of the Wood Spirit Race; once removed, a Wood Spirit dies and its soul dissipates. As the Wood Spirit Race has been heavily hunted and become increasingly rare, the price of Wood Spirit Pearls has naturally soared. Moreover, hunting Wood Spirits is widely recognized as a violation of righteous human principles, so Wood Spirit Pearls have always been sold privately, with no one daring to do so openly. Thus, obtaining a single Wood Spirit Pearl now is incredibly difficult—let alone one that retains at least seventy percent of its spiritual energy.

Alternatively, one could hunt Wood Spirits themselves... but righteous profound practitioners would not do such a thing that defies the Heavenly Way—at least not openly.

If a Wood Spirit Pearl was at least potentially obtainable, then the Nine-Star Buddha God Jade and Emperor Immortal Grass were practically items that only appeared in ancient records, with rumors of their existence heard perhaps once in several millennia. Even in the Upper Star Realm, obtaining them would be incredibly difficult.