「The next morning.」

Dawn had barely broken, and the sun had not yet risen. Ye Xiner groaned softly, her beautiful eyes slowly opening as her consciousness returned.

When she didn’t see Hong Yuan anywhere, she instantly awoke, her face draining of color. Frightened, she hurried her steps, rushing outside frantically.

"Gu Fan, Gu Fan..."

Her anxious voice filled the house, clearly reflecting Ye Xiner’s urgency.

At this moment, Ye Xiner’s face was filled with worry, her willow-like brows deeply furrowed. She looked as though she was about to cry—a pitifully adorable little kitty.

Bedroom, no one. Attic, no one. Courtyard, no one either! Just like that, Ye Xiner’s heart plunged into complete disarray.

A great pressure, like a heavy mountain, seemed to materialize and bear down on her, forcing her to bend over as she crouched.

She and Ye Gufan had relied on each other from a young age, childhood sweethearts.

Their feelings for each other were so pure, so intense.

But unfortunately, all manner of misfortunes came one after another, leaving them in unbearable misery!

Just when their lives finally seemed to take a turn for the better, such a dramatic upheaval occurred.

It was too hard, far too hard. She felt as if she were drowning in a relentless tide, on the verge of suffocation!

For a Martial Artist, to be without an Aperture essentially meant their path of cultivation was broken.

And she believed that the current shattered state of Ye Gufan’s Aperture was hardly different from having none at all.

After spending an entire night coming to terms with her childhood sweetheart not having an Aperture, he had then disappeared without a trace!

"WHIMPER, WHIMPER, WHIMPER..."

Ye Xiner could no longer bear the pressure and began to sob quietly.

Behind her, Hong Yuan, who had just returned from outside, wore a calm expression. But deep down, he could not help but sigh.

Alas, happiness and good things are so easily shattered. This is, after all, a world for Martial Artists, where the most fundamental rule is the amount of power one possesses. If an individual lacks sufficient strength, they can’t protect the people and things they hold dear, whether it be a person or a demon!

Thinking this, Hong Yuan’s eyes grew profound.

He took a heavy step forward, making a distinct sound.

THUD...

THUD, THUD...

Hearing the sound, Ye Xiner quickly turned to look.

When Ye Xiner saw that Hong Yuan was pale but bursting with vigor, she quickly wiped away her tears and composed herself.

"Gu Fan."

Ye Xiner smiled, ran towards Hong Yuan, and quickly offered her support.

Normally, after such an ordeal, any other woman would have scolded or hit the man.

Hong Yuan was prepared for such a reaction, and he even had an excuse ready for why his body had recovered so quickly.

But Ye Xiner’s reaction took him completely by surprise.

She didn’t blame Hong Yuan at all!

Ye Xiner’s apricot eyes filled with warmth. "Gu Fan," she asked gently, "are you feeling better?"

Moved by the tenderness of the woman beside him, Hong Yuan couldn’t help but feel a flicker of affection for Ye Xiner.

A moment later, however, Hong Yuan suppressed these budding emotions.

He smiled, his eyes crinkling. "With you taking care of me, I already feel much better. Oh, by the way, how many Energy Stones do you have? I need them urgently."

Ye Xiner looked up, trying to recall what she had.

Even dressed in a plain, washed-white dress, she was beautiful with her black hair, fair skin, and sparkling eyes.

Ye Xiner extended her slender, jade-like fingers, counting seriously. Her cheeks flushed a bright red as she spoke hesitantly to Hong Yuan, "Gu Fan, I have fifty Energy Stones left. If you need them, take them all. If it’s not enough, I’ll go borrow more from Tao and the others."

Looking at the determination mixed with self-consciousness on her face, Hong Yuan felt a complicated pang. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Fifty Energy Stones. So poor. But this is all she has.

Remembering the number of Energy Stones needed for the materials to refine the Blood Skull Worm, Hong Yuan nodded. He gently stroked Ye Xiner’s hair and said, "Xiner, I will definitely give you a good life. I promise!"

...

「The Blood Skull Worm Skill.」

It involved using the Blood Skull Worm to drain the blood of one’s kin, then refining it into a Blood Spring.

With this Blood Spring, the user could enhance their Aperture’s quality. Repairing a shattered one would then be no problem at all.

This Blood Skull Worm Skill was one of the infamous Blood Tao True Transmissions from the Old Ancestor of Blood Sea, a technique notorious for its evil.

But as an Extraterrestrial Demon, Hong Yuan was naturally not bound by the moral and ethical constraints of this world.

Human or demon, I, Hong Yuan, am always Hong Yuan—unchanged throughout the ages!

Hong Yuan felt no psychological pressure about using the Blood Skull Worm Skill to quickly break through the first stage of the dream realm.

「At that moment.」

Under the dim night sky, owls began to stir.

In a gloomy storeroom, a huge cauldron stood in the center. Wood burned fiercely beneath it, and the water above was boiling vigorously.

"Two bones from the front leg of a Rank-One Consuming Flame Bull..."

With an expressionless face, Hong Yuan used large iron tongs to place the two bull bones into the cauldron.

The next instant, the cauldron boiled violently. The bull bones were coated in a blood-colored luminescence, blood runes etched upon them, before shattering into dust in the blink of an eye.

At that moment, an incredibly foul stench filled the air.

Because the space was enclosed, the stench was even more intense—nauseatingly foul, like a pile of garbage left untouched for three years.

Ye Xiner quickly covered her nose with a wet towel, but the stench was still unbearable.