Ye Fan was overjoyed. Indeed, the two powers had worked, and he laughed even more wildly as he quickly activated them.

"No!" Ice Soul shrieked in terror.

At that moment, not only did his own power return, but Ice Soul’s power also began to flow continuously into his body. His body, like a demon’s, greedily absorbed and devoured her strength.

Ice Soul had grown terribly weak, and she pleaded with Ye Fan for mercy. But Ye Fan claimed to be helpless. Besides, he had no desire to save her. Even if he did, what could he do? Those two powers were inside his body, but they were completely capricious and beyond his control. So, at this moment, Ye Fan truly was helpless.

Ice Soul wailed, "My power! Give me back my power!"

Then, she collapsed. Her hair turned snow-white, her life force withering away as Ye Fan’s body devoured all of her power, including her very life.

Yet, as if attempting a final act of resistance, Ice Soul shrieked and charged at Ye Fan. A sharp spike of ice formed in her hand, and she aimed to run him through.

"Not good!" Ye Fan desperately struggled against his bonds, but he couldn’t break free.

A cold sweat broke out across Ye Fan’s brow as Ice Soul closed in. At that moment, he plunged into despair. But when he opened his eyes again, he saw that Ice Soul had begun to dissolve.

The tip of the ice spike was less than five centimeters from him. At such a dangerously close distance, his frantically beating heart slowly began to calm. If it had been one second later, his life would have been forfeit.

The ice spike dissolved, and as it did, the shackles binding him also began to melt away.

"With my power, I shall shatter a thousand foes!" Ye Fan roared, and the blocks of ice around him shattered.

His body was incredibly weak. Not only had he been pierced by the ice, but he had just exhausted himself by using the Divine Talisman and the Ancestor Realm Bloodline to defy fate. He was at the absolute limit of his strength.

The moment he broke free, he collapsed. Forcing himself back to his feet, he rushed toward Huang Ji, who was covered in a layer of frost, and brushed away the ice crystals on her body.

At that moment, Huang Ji, who had been deep in a slumber with her eyes tightly closed, opened them.

The two of them seemed to be frozen in that instant.

Huang Ji looked at the severely injured Ye Fan.

Ye Fan didn’t know what to say. After all, until the mysteries surrounding them were unraveled, they were still enemies. For enemies, speaking words of concern seemed inappropriate. So, he simply asked, "Are you awake?"

Huang Ji said nothing. She rose to her feet and stood a short distance away from him. Ye Fan thought she was about to attack again.

Instead, Huang Ji removed her mask, revealing her unparalleled beauty. Having just glimpsed Ice Soul’s completely exposed form, Ye Fan almost lost his composure. Fortunately, the freezing air of this place was enough to extinguish any rising heat within him. Then, Huang Ji spoke.

"Am I beautiful?"

"Beautiful!" Ye Fan answered instinctively. With such a peerless beauty standing before him, it would have been an offense to say otherwise. After all, he wasn’t blind. In fact, even a blind man would find Huang Ji beautiful.

Then, Ye Fan asked, "Why did you kill Fu Hu to save me?"

This was something he couldn’t comprehend at all.

Huang Ji replied, "Because... because you removed my veil!"

What the hell! Ye Fan was speechless. That’s a perfectly normal thing to do, isn’t it? It’s not like I stripped her; I just removed her veil. Is there some other secret behind this?

Ye Fan asked, "And then?"

"You are the first man to remove my veil," she said. "Long ago, my mother told me that the man who unveiled me would be my destined one."

She then stated, "So, you are my destined one."

Her words were few, but Ye Fan understood her meaning perfectly.

"I see! What a coincidence!" he replied, not knowing what else to say.

At that moment, Huang Ji said, "Leave the Righteous Divine Lineage and come back with me! You will only perish quickly if you stay with them!"

Ye Fan said, "I’m sorry, but I can’t leave with you. Though I am not one of the Righteous Gods, my connection to them is inseparable. I will not join the Evil God. It was just a veil. I hope you won’t take this so seriously!"

He had anticipated this outcome, so there was no way he would agree with her. If this were Earth, the entire notion would be laughable. In an era where even countless trysts might lead nowhere, the idea that simply removing a veil necessitated marriage seemed far too conservative.

But Huang Ji did not think so. Her gaze turned icy in an instant.

"Are you sure?" she asked coldly.

"I’m sure!" Ye Fan answered immediately.

Huang Ji said coldly, "If you will not come with me, then I have no choice but to kill you. You have already removed my veil! If you cannot be with me, then you can only die."

Damn it! I hadn’t expected people from the Divine Domain to be this conservative.

He retorted, "I won’t go with you, and you won’t kill me either!"

"Hmph!"

Huang Ji immediately unleashed the Great Wilderness Illusion Sea. As the illusion washed over the area, Ye Fan’s movements slowed, and he found himself lost within it.

He stood in the center of the Great Wilderness Illusion Sea, feeling unnervingly calm, but he knew he had to face Huang Ji’s assault.

No, that’s not right. Even the most perfect illusionary array must have a flaw. Where is hers?

Ye Fan searched continuously for the flaw, but it seemed nonexistent. He tried several times to break free, but each attempt ended in failure.

Just then, Huang Ji attacked with violent force once more.

Ye Fan instinctively tried to defend, but his speed was severely limited here, making it impossible for him to block. Huang Ji’s sword slashed into his body. He lashed out in retaliation, but she had already vanished back into the Illusion Sea.

The blood... it hasn’t changed color. Could it be?

Ye Fan felt he had made a significant discovery. Everything here was gray, devoid of any other color. Although his wounds throbbed with pain, the blood flowing from them was red. In this monochrome world, its vibrancy was startling.

Is this the flaw? Ye Fan was stunned by the realization.

At that moment, Huang Ji charged down to attack again.

"Bring it on!"

Ye Fan reacted quickly. Though he suffered another heavy blow, he now understood everything. With this realization, he immediately roared, "Break!"

Huang Ji quickly retreated.

"Pure Yang Divine Fist!"

Without hesitation, Ye Fan unleashed his Pure Yang Divine Power. The fist of light shot forward, hurtling rapidly toward Huang Ji. She tried to block it with the Great Wilderness Illusion Sea, but the Pure Yang Divine Fist shattered her technique.

Just as Huang Ji prepared to strike again, it was too late. Ye Fan’s Yuanhong Sword was already pressed against her neck.

With a single move, her beautiful life would be extinguished.