200: Li Xiao's admonition

Li Xuanyue had moved to the Eternal Night Divine Capital and naturally knew how powerful and mysterious this rising force was; otherwise, she would not have chosen it as her haven and place to Cultivate.

But what she knew was mostly about the grandeur of the Eternal Night Divine Capital, its abundant resources, and the order and opportunities brought by its rules.

Her understanding of the Di Clan's core power was limited to the phrase "fathomless."

She had never imagined, nor had she ever had the chance to encounter, the Di Clan's true Peak power!

A Demon Dragon of the Saint Realm... that was an existence capable of sweeping across the entire East Desolate Province!

To think it was suppressed so easily?

Li Xiao's voice was like a heavy hammer, continuing to strike at the barriers of her perception: "Xuanyue! I am telling you this and handing this contract to you because I finally understand!"

He held the dark purple jade box with both hands as if holding his only light of hope, solemnly presenting it before Li Xuanyue.

"By yourself, even if you exhaust your entire life, you might not even touch the threshold of the power where your brother is! But if you can... if you can depend on the Godfall Di Clan! By leveraging the Di Clan's fathomless foundation and power... only then will you have a glimmer of hope! Only then will there be a slight possibility for you to cross this vast sea of stars to track down your brother's traces! To... find him!"

"Depend on the Di Clan... leverage the Di Clan's power..." Li Xuanyue murmured, repeating the words. A giant stone had been cast into the deathly still, frozen lake of her heart by Li Xiao's world-shaking words, stirring up monstrous waves.

In that abyss of ultimate despair, a tiny, imperceptible crack seemed to open, letting in a sliver of light named "Possibility."

All her anger, hatred, and unwillingness seemed to find a new, more powerful outlet and anchor at this moment.

Find her brother! Bring back the close relative who had been forcibly taken away!

This thought was like a seed watered with demon blood, instantly growing wildly in her heart and overwhelming all other emotions.

This contract was the only guide pointing toward that faint hope!

She stared fixedly at the jade box Li Xiao handed over. The flowing light seal in her eyes was no longer just a symbol of cold isolation, but now carried the meaning of a key.

The key to opening that door leading to the "Beyond" and finding her brother!

Time seemed to freeze.

Inside the simple Imperial Study, dust drifted slowly within the pillars of light shining through the broken windows.

Li Xiao maintained the posture of handing over the jade box, his arms steady as a rock, his eyes filled with complex expectations and entrustment.

The frost on Li Xuanyue's face struggled violently, but in the end, that bone-deep obsession triumphed over everything.

Slowly, extremely slowly, she raised her right hand—a hand that was slender yet powerful.

The moment her fingertips truly touched the jade box—

Buzz!

The light seal on the surface of the jade box suddenly flared with brilliant light!

A vast will, far clearer and more majestic than before, suddenly descended!

Light instantly filled the entire simple Imperial Study, plating the dilapidated walls, broken beams, and scattered dust with a layer of mysterious and ancient purple radiance.

An invisible Law power that isolated the mortal world and severed past ties spread out, making both Li Xiao and Li Xuanyue feel their Divine Souls tremble, as if they had been swept over by an invisible gaze. Their very existence seemed as small as dust under this vast will.

The light lasted for only a single breath before quickly receding, transforming back into the slowly flowing light seal on the surface of the jade box.

But the vast and boundless aura remaining in the study, as well as that momentary tremor in the depths of their Souls, were clearly branded into both their hearts.

The jade box now lay quietly in Li Xuanyue's palm.

Cold and heavy.

It felt as if she were supporting a mountain, or holding a piece of ten-thousand-year-old profound ice.

That cold sensation seeped through her palm and along the Meridians of her arm all the way to her heart, making her shiver involuntarily.

But beneath this coldness and weight, there was a strange surge of heat originating from the fire of "hope" reignited in her heart, stubbornly resisting the isolating chill of the contract.

She lowered her head, gazing at this mysterious object in her palm that carried her brother's fate and anchored her faint hope of finding him.

Her knuckles turned slightly white from the force of her grip.

All the pain, confusion, and anger settled down at this moment, transforming into an unprecedented, cold, and firm determination.

Li Xiao watched the jade box finally change hands. Seeing the fire reignited beneath the dead silence in Li Xuanyue's eyes, the giant stone that had weighed on his heart for decades seemed to loosen slightly along with the transfer of the contract.

He exhaled a long, silent breath of turbid air. His tense shoulders and back relaxed slightly, but the fatigue in his eyes grew even deeper.

He knew he had only passed on a heavy responsibility and a faint hope.

The road ahead would be even more treacherous, but at least... there was a glimmer of light.

"This object can only truly fulfill its purpose in your hands." Li Xiao's voice carried a hoarseness born of liberation. He took a step back and bowed slightly, no longer acting as an emperor but more like an elder who had set down a heavy burden.

"The Eternal Night Divine Capital and the Godfall Di Clan are your only hope, but as for how to obtain their assistance... Xuanyue, that is for you to manage yourself."

Li Xuanyue did not respond immediately.

She only slowly closed her fingers, gripping the cold jade box tightly in her palm as if she wanted to merge it into her own flesh and blood.

A faint pulsation from the light seal came from her fingertips, like a heartbeat from a distant star connected to her fate.

After a long time, she finally raised her head. The ice in her eyes had solidified into indestructible cold iron. What burned within was no longer the flames of revenge, but a resolve that would not hesitate to burn herself to ashes for her goal.

She glanced at Li Xiao with a complex and unreadable look—there were remnants of hatred and cold scrutiny, but more than anything, there was an indifference that severed her from the past.

No farewell, no words.

She turned abruptly and took a step out. The wooden door of the simple Imperial Study shattered with a bang, wood chips flying everywhere.

Blinding sky light instantly poured in, illuminating her back, which was as straight as a spear, and the dark purple jade box shimmering with light in her hand.

Just like that, she stepped over the rubble of the palace ruins, facing the stunned and fearful gazes of the craftsmen outside, walking out step by step with firm coldness.

With every step she took, it was as if she were branding new footprints upon her shattered past, pointing toward that land of hope in the West—the location of the Godfall Di Clan.

The faint path to finding her brother began with this cold contract, and the only bridge was that mysterious and powerful Di Clan.

Li Xiao stood in place, watching that resolute figure disappear behind the broken walls. Only after a long time did he slump down into the only remaining chair.

The sunlight shining through the broken doorway onto the white frost at his temples was exceptionally piercing.

He closed his eyes wearily. The roar of the Demon Dragon when it broke its seal and the Howling Moon Heavenly Wolf's nonchalant yet Soul-freezing pressure seemed to still echo in his ears.

"The Di Clan..." he murmured softly, his voice so quiet only he could hear, filled with awe and an indescribable sense of relief.