On the Dragon-Slaying Platform, I was executed and became Yang Jian's brother-in-law.

Deep within chaos lies a paradise of illusion.

The peach blossoms still smile in the spring breeze; this place seems to be the gentlest place in the world. However, for Su Bai, behind this gentleness lies a suffocating desire for control.

Inside the bamboo house, Su Bai sat cross-legged on the couch, seemingly resting with his eyes closed, trying to regulate the energy that had been scattered by Tathagata's palm strike. In reality, his consciousness had already sunk deep into the sea of ​​consciousness, frantically circulating the wisp of time law that had just been condensed.

"Something's not right, something's really not right."

Su Bai secretly made his own plans.

These past few days, Yang Chan had been incredibly attentive to him, even to the point of being completely obedient. However, whenever he mentioned the word "outside," Yang Chan's reaction would become extremely extreme. Her gaze wasn't one of concern that he might witness some apocalyptic tragedy, but rather one of desperately trying to cover up some lie.

"If the primordial world truly crumbled, if the Queen Mother of the West and Jinling truly perished, why is Yang Chan so afraid of me going out?"

"There's only one possibility—they're still alive! The primordial world hasn't perished!"

Although Su Bai lost most of his cultivation, his old heart, which had survived since the beginning of the Dragon-Han Tribulation, hadn't stopped beating. Upon calm reflection, the logical flaws in this situation were numerous and glaringly obvious.

The so-called "doomsday" is nothing more than a cage that Yang Chan wove to imprison him here forever!

"Chan'er, oh Chan'er, why are you doing this to yourself..."

Su Bai sighed inwardly, but his hands did not stop moving in the slightest.

He took a deep breath and mobilized the last bit of his original essence, which belonged to Zhu Jiuyin and was the foundation of the Great Dao of Time.

"River of Time, heed my command!"

Su Bai muttered to himself.

He dared not make too much noise, for fear of disturbing the will of this small world (that is, Yang Chan). He simply transformed that wisp of the law of time into an extremely weak ripple with an extremely special frequency, like throwing a pebble into the deep sea.

This ripple has no offensive power, nor does it contain any spiritual energy fluctuations; its only characteristic is resonance.

As long as this ripple penetrates the chaos and enters the primordial world, anyone who has had a deep karmic entanglement with him, such as the Queen Mother of the West, the Golden Spirit Mother, or even Pingxin, as long as they are still alive, will definitely be able to sense this unique rhythm that belongs to him!

That's what he's doing—gambling!

I'm betting that the women are still alive, and that their feelings for me are strong enough to transcend the barriers of time and space!

"Buzz—"

A ripple, imperceptible to the naked eye, silently slipped into the void along Su Bai's finger. It evaded the rules and surveillance of the Peach Blossom Paradise and spread outwards into the vast chaos.

After doing all this, Su Bai's face was deathly pale, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat. This not only exhausted the little strength he had managed to muster, but also involved taking a huge risk.

"Hopefully this gets out..."

Su Bai let out a long sigh of relief, and just as he was about to wipe his sweat, he suddenly froze.

A chill ran from his tailbone straight up to the top of his head.

Because he felt a small, cool hand gently resting on his shoulder.

"Husband, what are you doing?"

The voice was right beside him, as gentle as a spring breeze, yet it made Su Bai feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

Su Bai turned his head stiffly.

Yang Chan was already standing behind him, holding a plate of freshly washed peaches, her face adorned with that signature sweet yet sickly smile.

But those eyes weren't smiling.

Those eyes were as deep as a pool, staring intently at Su Bai's retracted finger, as if they saw through everything.

"Chan...Chan'er?" Su Bai chuckled, trying to cover up his embarrassment, "I was just thinking, could I use some magic to get rid of the dampness in this room? My body can't stand dampness..."

"To dispel dampness?"

Yang Chan tilted her head, her smile growing brighter yet more chilling. "Husband, you're lying."

"Was that fluctuation just now... a manifestation of the laws of time?"

"Are you trying to call for help from outside? Are you looking for the Queen Mother of the West? Or the Holy Mother of the Golden Spirit?"

With each question Yang Chan asked, her smile faded a little, and the surrounding air grew colder.

Finally, the smile on her face vanished completely, replaced by an eerie calm.

"My husband, I've said so much, why won't you believe me?"

Yang Chan put down the spirit peach in her hand and approached Su Bai step by step until she cornered him against the wall with nowhere left to retreat.

"I told you the outside was ruined, but you didn't believe me."

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you they were dead."

"Do you think that as long as you can contact them, you can leave me? You can just leave me alone in this cold, desolate place?"

"No... Chan'er, let me explain..." Su Bai wanted to explain, but found that he had nothing to say.

"I won't listen!"

Yang Chan suddenly screamed, interrupting Su Bai. The madness in her eyes completely erupted; the fear of betrayal and abandonment had driven her to madness.

"Since you don't believe me, since you're always thinking of running away..."

Yang Chan stretched out her hand, and a dark blue light condensed at her fingertips. It was the binding power of the Lotus Lantern, and also the fundamental law of this small world.

"Then I'll have no choice but to make sure you can't go anywhere."

"Husband, don't blame me, you forced me to do this."

"Buzz—"

As Yang Chan pointed her finger down, Su Bai felt his whole body tighten, and the little bit of magic power he had just recovered was instantly sealed off.

Immediately afterwards, countless chains formed from peach petals emerged from the void, firmly binding Su Bai's limbs.

"Starting today, you don't need to leave this room."

As Yang Chan looked at Su Bai, who was imprisoned on the bed, the madness in her eyes gradually subsided, turning into a strange sense of satisfaction.

"I'll seal this place off and turn it into a small, dark room."

"No light, no sound, no time... only me."

"Only I can come to see you, only I can talk to you."

"So...you'll never be able to send messages out again, right?"

Yang Chan gently stroked Su Bai's cheek, as if she were caressing a rare treasure.

"Sweetie, go to sleep. I'll come and keep you company after I've cleaned up all those annoying 'traces' outside."

With a flick of Yang Chan's sleeve, the entire bamboo house was plunged into absolute darkness.

Trapped in the darkness, Su Bai listened to Yang Chan's receding footsteps, his heart filled with bitterness.

It’s over.

This time they really messed up.

……

In the primordial wilderness, at Mount Hua in the west.

The once spiritually vibrant Holy Mother Palace is now nothing but a charred ruin. The power of that "self-destruction" was so great that it almost leveled half of the mountain.

Today, however, a group of uninvited guests have arrived here.

Auspicious clouds rolled across the sky, shimmering with countless wisps of auspicious energy, but the female immortals standing atop the clouds were all dressed in white mourning clothes, their faces filled with sorrow.

Leading the group was the Queen Mother of the West, followed by the Holy Mother of Golden Spirit, the Three Immortal Maidens of Sanxiao, and the Holy Mother of Wudang.

This is a belated memorial.

"Yang Chan... that girl really has a fiery temper."

The Queen Mother of the West descended from the clouds and stood before the charred ruins. Looking at the rubble, a complex emotion flashed in her eyes.

She had always thought she was the one who loved Su Bai the most, and that she would fight her way up Mount Ling for him. But compared to Yang Chan's resolute decision to even give up her true spirit, she suddenly felt that she had lost.

"Yes." The Golden Spirit Mother sighed, placing a bunch of white chrysanthemums on the ground. "Although I used to dislike her, thinking she was just a little girl who only knew how to rely on the Lotus Lantern, this time... I'm impressed."

"She is worthy of the position of first wife."

The Three Immortal Maidens' eyes were also red-rimmed. Qiongxiao sobbed softly, "If my brother knew in the afterlife, he would surely be moved to see Sister Yang Chan following him in death, wouldn't he?"

Everyone remained silent.

Su Bai died, and Yang Chan committed suicide for love. This seemed to be the universally acknowledged ending in the Three Realms, a tragic and beautiful swan song.

The Queen Mother of the West closed her eyes, seemingly reminiscing, or perhaps bidding farewell.

However, just as she was about to turn away and completely seal away this memory, an extremely faint yet unusually abrupt fluctuation caught her attention.

"etc."

The Queen Mother of the West suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze sharp as lightning, staring intently at the center of the ruins, the very spot where the main hall of the Holy Mother's Palace once stood.

"What's wrong?" The Golden Spirit Mother noticed the Queen Mother of the West's unusual behavior, placed her hand on the flying golden sword, and asked in a deep voice, "Have you discovered something amiss?"

"Look over there."

The Queen Mother of the West pointed to the center of the ruins, her brows furrowed. "Since Yang Chan self-destructed the Lotus Lantern, all the restrictions and formations here should have vanished along with the destruction of this innate spiritual treasure."

"Moreover, the Lotus Lantern was bestowed by the Goddess Nuwa. With Yang Chan's death, if this treasure has a spirit, it will either be completely destroyed or the fragments will automatically fly back to Nuwa's Palace."

"But……"

The Queen Mother of the West took two steps forward, stretched out her hand, and gently touched the void.

"Buzz—"

A pale blue ripple spread through the air.

Although faint and subtle, it was indeed the fluctuation of the formation!

"The protective barriers on this mountain... are still there?!"

Golden Spirit Mother's pupils also shrank sharply. As a master of formations, she sensed something was wrong with just a slight touch.

"Not only is this restriction still in place, but... it seems to be still functioning?!"

Golden Spirit Mother squatted down, grabbed a handful of scorched earth, and rubbed it between her fingertips. "There is still spiritual energy flowing in this ley line, although it is very well covered up. This is definitely not what a dead land should look like."

"If Yang Chan really dies, if she really self-destructs, who will maintain the operation of this restriction?"

"If the Lotus Lantern really shattered, where did the power of this mountain-protecting formation come from?"

An astonishing thought simultaneously surfaced in the minds of both the Queen Mother of the West and the Holy Mother of the Golden Spirit.

The two exchanged a glance and saw the shock and disbelief in each other's eyes.

"unless……"

The Queen Mother of the West took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly, "Unless the Lotus Lantern wasn't broken at all! Or rather... the breakage was just an illusion!"

"If the Lotus Lantern were still here, then Yang Chan..."

The Holy Mother of Golden Spirit suddenly stood up, her gaze sharp as a sword, scanning the surrounding void.

"She's not dead?!"

This speculation stunned all the female immortals present.

Yang Chan didn't die?

Why did she stage such a dramatic fake death? Why did she deceive everyone? Even at the cost of destroying her own temple?

"No... if she's not dead, then Su Bai..."

The Queen Mother of the West's heart pounded wildly as an even bolder, more insane conjecture made her blood boil.

"Could it be...?"

She turned sharply to look at the Golden Spirit Mother, her voice hoarse with excitement: "Golden Spirit, do you remember who was closest to Su Bai when he perished on Mount Ling?"

The Golden Spirit Mother's eyes lit up, and she blurted out, "It's Yang Chan!"

"What if... I mean, what if," the Queen Mother of the West stared intently at the seemingly lifeless ruins, "What if Su Bai hadn't died either? What if all of this was just a grand drama orchestrated by that seemingly harmless little girl?"

"What does she want to do?"

"She wants...to have him all to herself!"

In an instant, all sorrow was cast aside. In its place came unprecedented anger, and...hope!

"What a shrewd Yang Chan! What a shrewd Third Holy Mother!"

The Golden Spirit Mother, enraged, laughed coldly, her body erupting with a burst of Geng Metal energy. "You've fooled the whole world, treating us like monkeys?!"

"Investigate! Turn this entire Mount Hua upside down!" The Queen Mother of the West's phoenix eyes flashed with murderous intent, all traces of her previous dejection gone. "I refuse to believe she can hide so perfectly!"

"As long as this restriction remains, as long as the Lotus Lantern remains, she must be hiding somewhere nearby!"

"Yang Chan, you come out here!!!"