Late at night.

After experiencing a tumultuous and historically significant day with the queen's coronation, the hustle and bustle of the Fallen City settled, returning to tranquility.

Having enjoyed the supreme treatment of a massage by Ye Yuqiao herself, Chen Hao took Ye Yuqiao and left the Fallen City to come to a nearby mountain forest.

The two descended onto the peak of a mountain, and immediately Chen Hao began to channel the Nether King's Power from the Nether King Orchid Heart Flow out of his body, surging towards the sky.

He did this to let King Nanlin, who was at this moment somewhere in the Dust Realm, sense his presence.

A quarter of an hour later, the air in the mountain forest was already filled with the Nether King's Power emanating from Chen Hao.

"That's enough!" Ye Yuqiao said, "King Nanlin should be able to sense it by now. Don't forget, you still need to keep some Spiritual Power to face him."

Chen Hao nodded and stopped pressing the Nether King's Power outward.

"Yuqiao, if only you still had some Nether King's Power inside you," he said. "That way, once I freeze King Nanlin's blood with my spell, you could deliver the fatal blow!"

Ye Yuqiao's expression turned odd as she hesitated before saying, "Actually, I still have some Nether King's Power inside me. I accidentally absorbed a bit during last night's practice."

"Is that enough to deal with King Nanlin?"

"It should be enough, I guess." Ye Yuqiao's tone was not very certain.

"That's great!" Chen Hao's face lit up with joy, "Then let's do as I just said; I'll freeze his blood first, and then you'll burn him to death with the Nether King's Fire."

Ye Yuqiao nodded slightly.

Chen Hao took a step forward, raised his eyebrows, and chuckled mischievously, "Why don't you absorb some more Nether King's Power now if we still have time?"

"You're naughty, not serious at all!" Ye Yuqiao gently slapped Chen Hao's forehead with her left palm.

Chen Hao took Ye Yuqiao's hand, leading her to a large tree, and sat down against the trunk while pulling Ye Yuqiao onto his lap.

"The clouds and the moon in the Dust Realm look so strange," Ye Yuqiao said, looking up at the starry sky, "like they are veiled in a layer of mist."

"The Yuqiao in the Dust Realm also seems strange," Chen Hao suddenly sighed, "feels different."

Ye Yuqiao's heart stirred slightly, but she pretended to be calm as she asked, "What's different about her?"

"To be exact, the Yuqiao on the Huiyin Mountains is the one that feels off. But once we arrived in the Dust Realm, the sensation of the old Yuqiao came back."

"Is that so?" Ye Yuqiao said with her eyes shut, feeling a hidden joy within her. She believed it wouldn't be long before Chen Hao discovered the truth.

"Which Yuqiao do you prefer?"

"Of course, the old Yuqiao," Chen Hao said with a smile, "the one who's lying in my arms and seems a few years younger again. Regardless, I like every version of Yuqiao, and I can accept them all, as long as you still like me."

"So you would start to like that Yuqiao too?" Ye Yuqiao instantly felt upset. With her eyes still closed, she raised both hands to grasp Chen Hao's right hand and dragged it to her soft lips, biting it fiercely.

"Yuqiao, are you angry?" Chen Hao asked with concern; he thought she was upset because of his last comment, "Don't you like me anymore, yet you want me to like you?"

"Silly!" Ye Yuqiao let go of his hand, her gentle hands ceaselessly caressing the hand she had bitten, saying, "How could I not like you?"

"Then why are you angry?"

"I'm not angry."

"Then why did you bite me?"

"You're my Chen Hao, I bit you because I felt like it."

"Is that really all there is to it?" Chen Hao questioned.

Ye Yuqiao's eyes curved downward into the shape of a rainbow, and she whispered softly, "I won't tell you. I'm sleepy now. You're not allowed to talk anymore, just be silent and let your mind wander."

"Feels so sneaky!"

Not long after, watching Ye Yuqiao gradually fall asleep in his arms, Chen Hao held her hand, which had gotten chilly from the night air, and then slowly closed his eyes as well.

Latter, until the first streak of morning sunlight touched his face, King Nanlin did not appear.

After opening his eyes, Chen Hao gently shook Ye Yuqiao awake.

"Did King Nanlin come?" Ye Yuqiao asked groggily.

"No, but it's already dawn."

Ye Yuqiao trembled slightly in Chen Hao's arms, acting grumpy upon waking up, and complained in a coquettish voice, "Annoying, the day's dawned, so what? Why did you wake me up?"

Chen Hao chuckled softly, running his fingers through Ye Yuqiao's long hair as he whispered, "You're really becoming more and more like a child."

By the time Ye Yuqiao woke up completely, the sun had already climbed above them.

"I'm hungry," Ye Yuqiao said as she opened her eyes, "When I think about it, it's been a long time since I've had a meal you cooked yourself."

"There will be plenty of opportunities in the future," Chen Hao said, then left a kiss on both Ye Yuqiao's forehead and cheek.

A contented smile quickly spread across Ye Yuqiao's face. Through the corner of her eye, she saw clouds of dust gathering in the sky and drifting in the direction of Shankou Town.

"What's with all this dust?" she asked curiously.

"These particles of dust rise from the Dust Awakening Town every day, eventually settle in Shankou Town in the evening, then return underground to Dust Awakening Town at night, completing the cycle. That's how the Dust Realm operates," Chen Hao explained.

Ye Yuqiao blinked her eyes, her interest fading instantly at Chen Hao's explanation.

"Yuqiao, want to play a game?"

"What game?"

"Are you ready?"

"Huh?"

Before Ye Yuqiao could prepare herself, a fierce burst of Sword Qi suddenly erupted from within Chen Hao, sweeping through the tree he was leaning against.

After the tree's trunk and branches were sliced through by the Sword Qi, they instantly turned to dust, falling on Chen Hao and Ye Yuqiao.

Without the support of the trunk, Chen Hao and Ye Yuqiao fell back into the pile of dust.

"Cough cough!" Ye Yuqiao coughed repeatedly, "You are so naughty, I hate it! The dust has gotten into my clothes."

After getting up, the two were still busy brushing the dust off their bodies when the particles on the ground started to rise, gather, and finally reformed into the original tree.

"This is how the Dust Realm's mechanism operates," Chen Hao said. "If one day the dust from Dust Awakening Town doesn't rise and flow towards Shankou Town, or the dust from Shankou Town doesn't return to Dust Awakening Town, then this tree won't come back to life. Do you understand now?"

"Really, just to make me understand this ridiculous principle, you've gotten me all covered in dust, and much of it has gotten into my clothes and can't be shaken off."

Having said that, Ye Yuqiao tore a black-purple rift in the air and entered the Nether Acupoint.

"I'm going to clean off the dust inside. I won't be wearing any clothes, so don't you let anyone else come in."

"Why on earth would I let someone else in?" Chen Hao scratched his head and said, "Though I'd quite like to go in."

Just at that moment, suddenly, Chen Hao's eyes gleamed sharply!

An ancient and powerful Yin Qi Spiritual Power was closing in!

It was King Nanlin!

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