Yin Buqi laughed hysterically, pulling at the corners of his mouth.

His eyes were filled with madness and despair.

“So… I really am the Nether Evil Resentment Seed?”

“Yes.”

“Hahahahahaha… Nether Evil Resentment Seed… I truly am the Nether Evil Resentment Seed!”

Hu Qianqiu continued, “You… are the last… surviving atavistic bloodline… As long as you and Feishuang…”

Yin Buqi’s red eyes shot out a chilling light, carrying a bone-piercing coldness.

“I will never marry or have children with anyone other than Niannian.”

“I won’t force you…”

Hu Qianqiu’s gaze toward Yin Buqi was gentle, carrying the affection of an elder looking at a younger generation.

He said, “Feishuang is a good girl… After spending time with her, you will…”

Yin Buqi interrupted him, “I won’t. I have only one heart, and it can only hold one person.”

Hu Qianqiu was stunned for a moment.

“Sigh, you’re just like your mother… a sentimental fool…”

Yin Buqi said, “Call me selfish, call me crazy—I don’t care about the survival of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan. I came here only to ask about the method to break the Nether Evil Resentment Seed Curse.”

After a moment of silence, Hu Qianqiu let out a bitter sigh.

“Come closer…”

Yin Buqi hesitated for a moment but eventually leaned in.

Hu Qianqiu placed his hand on Yin Buqi’s forehead.

This was a unique bloodline ability of the Qingqiu Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, more intimate and secretive than spiritual consciousness communication.

“The words I’m about to say… cannot be heard by the heavens… This is knowledge accumulated by our clan over millennia of struggle…”

“There is only one method to break the Nether Evil Resentment Seed Curse… and no one has ever tried it… Four words…”

Yin Buqi held his breath.

“Tell me.”

“To live by dying.”

For a moment, Yin Buqi felt lost.

But in the next second, a sharp pain exploded in his mind, so intense that blood filled his vision.

“I will pass everything I have to you… to help you awaken your bloodline power… and I will perish completely…”

Crimson beams of light burst forth from the surrounding walls.

Yin Buqi finally realized that the entire palace was actually a hidden formation.

The formation connected them both.

He tried to escape, but it was too late.

Hu Qianqiu’s fingertips emitted a power unlike ordinary spiritual energy—purer, stronger, and seemingly ethereal.

It felt as though he was soaring through the skies, but his body felt as if it were being burned alive.

“Ahhhhhhh!”

Yin Buqi screamed in agony, his veins feeling like they were about to burst.

His red eyes were filled with blood, and spiritual energy surged wildly into his body.

“Cough, cough!”

Blood dripped from his mouth, thick with the metallic tang of iron.

“Niannian…”

Yin Buqi’s consciousness grew faint, and his heart ached terribly.

His lips trembled, and tears fell as he whimpered like a child, “Niannian… it hurts so much…”

“Can you…”

“Comfort me…”

“Niannian…”

A single tear slid down his pale, almost sickly face, carrying a lonely desolation.

—

When Jiang Niannian awoke, her head felt heavy, and her body was sore and weak.

She must have caught a cold from spending the night outside.

That crow’s mouth, Shen Yu.

In her mind, she imagined countless scenarios of punching Shen Yu in the face.

Enduring her discomfort, she managed to get out of bed.

Her body felt powerless, and the world spun with every step.

“Miss, you’re awake. Let me help you freshen up.”

A maid with a sweet smile approached and said softly.

Jiang Niannian looked at her with confusion.

She hadn’t seen this person yesterday.

“Who are you?”

“I am Xiao Qi, newly assigned to serve you.”

Jiang Niannian asked, “Last night… who brought me back?”

The maid smiled and replied, “It was me, of course.”

Her demeanor was calm and flawless, showing no signs of lying.

Jiang Niannian lowered her eyes, her disappointment growing deeper.

But she vaguely remembered being carried back by someone.

She looked at the maid suspiciously—those thin arms and legs…

Then she watched Xiao Qi casually punch through a wall.

The wall was built with white jade and inlaid with Songling stones—treasures cultivators would fight to the death for.

Yet here, they were used to build walls.

Such extravagance was beyond belief.

Jiang Niannian broke into a cold sweat.

“Uh… let’s talk this out, don’t destroy public property.”

If she were broke, she could probably pry a couple of stones off and get rich overnight.

After dressing up, Jiang Niannian couldn’t stop staring at her reflection in the mirror.

She had to admit, Xiao Qi had impeccable taste!

She never realized she could look this good.

Jiang Niannian had naturally almond-shaped eyes, clear and bright like top-quality glazed glass, a delicate nose, and cherry lips.

She wasn’t the kind of beauty who stunned at first glance but rather someone who grew more enchanting the longer you looked at her.

Now, dressed in red and lightly adorned with makeup, she was breathtakingly beautiful—like an ethereal painting.

Despite her pale complexion, there was an enchanting fragility about her.

After finishing her meal and taking her medicine, it was already past noon.

Jiang Niannian still wanted to see Yin Buqi.

Though she felt weak, she forced herself to move forward, worried she might pass her cold to him.

But thinking about yesterday made her heart ache unbearably.

No matter what, she wanted an explanation from him.

“Xiao Qi, where is Buqi… your young master? I want to see him.”

Xiao Qi hesitated.

“Miss… I’m afraid that’s not appropriate…”

“What do you mean?”

“The young master has ordered that you are not to leave this courtyard.”

Jiang Niannian’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Did he really say that?”

“Yes.”

Xiao Qi nodded.

But Jiang Niannian was stubborn.

“I want to see him.”

“Miss, please don’t make this difficult for me.”

“I want to see him.”

“No…”

Jiang Niannian’s voice trembled, her eyes turning red.

“I want to see him!”

Xiao Qi sighed.

“Miss, follow me.”

She secretly sent a flying message to Yin Buqi.

The young master clearly understood Jiang Niannian well, knowing she wouldn’t give up easily.

—

Jiang Niannian stood outside wearing a red cloak.

Qingqiu had no winter or summer, only spring and autumn.

At this moment, the wind was strong.

The jade-inlaid doors remained tightly shut, separating two worlds—one warm, one cold.

The guard at the door said coldly, “Miss Jiang, the young master has ordered not to see you. Please return.”

Jiang Niannian stood still, stubbornly refusing to move.

“I must see him, or I won’t leave.”

The guard added, “The young master is discussing important matters with the goddess and cannot be disturbed.”

That woman… was inside?

Jiang Niannian closed her eyes briefly.

In her heart, something snapped with an audible twang.

Xiao Qi persuaded her, “Miss Jiang, the wind is strong. Let’s go back inside.”

But before the words faded, Jiang Niannian’s eyes snapped open.

Dozens of massive vines burst from the ground, lunging toward the guards.