"It seems you haven't just been playing around these past few days."
At this moment, a calm, low male voice slowly sounded.
Si Jianye pushed the door open, his eyes, tinged with a hint of coldness, instantly landing on Si Xin Xin.
Without hesitation, Si Xin Xin hummed, "Naturally. I've learned quite a bit these days!"
She had inherited the talents of Feng Ninghe and Si Jianye, excelling in anything she learned.
Such monstrous talent made A Xi sigh in admiration.
Feng Ninghe withdrew her gaze and looked up at the sky. "It's about time. We should depart."
Canyon Woods.
Cultivators and soldiers gathered here.
The corpses of the Ren Kui lay scattered everywhere, filling the woods with a foul stench. As a gentle breeze swept through, the stench wafted into everyone's nostrils.
Their faces were filled with smiles, as if they couldn't smell the stench. They cheered, "These damned Ren Kui are finally extinct. We've won this battle!"
"The Lin Kingdom is safe and sound, and the people can live and work in peace. It was worth our days of bloody combat!"
Cheers erupted all around, and soldiers and cultivators embraced, weeping tears of joy.
Several carriages also stopped at the Canyon Woods at this moment.
Seeing the cultivators immersed in their joy, a smile bloomed on Feng Ninghe's face.
She lifted the carriage curtain and stepped out.
"Look! The Empress is here!"
A sharp-eyed cultivator spotted her at once and quickly shouted, "Greetings, Empress!"
The soldiers hastily bowed.
The scene was grand and magnificent.
For the soldiers, the Empress, who had defied personal danger and used her heart's blood to form a blood phoenix to prevent the Ren Kui from descending upon the Lin Kingdom, deserved their utmost respect.
Countless gazes fell upon Feng Ninghe.
Feng Linyuan's eyes were filled with smiles, and his face was etched with relief.
Who would have thought that in such a short time, Feng Ninghe had transformed from an innocent, inexperienced young girl into the empress who ruled the Lin Kingdom.
From within the crowd, Di Wenbin looked at Feng Ninghe with eyes full of admiration, his gaze burning like a fierce fire. His voice was resolute, "If only, one day, I too could lead the Immortal Sect to glory like her!"
Closest to him was Mei Ziling.
Mei Ziling's eyes also held admiration. She reached out and linked her arm with Di Wenbin's. "I knew back then that she was not as simple as we imagined, and I never expected her to possess such capabilities."
Ultimately, she had underestimated Feng Ninghe.
Seeing thousands of people bowing, Feng Ninghe, without hesitation, told them to rise.
As her gaze fell upon the pools of bright red blood on the ground in the distance, Feng Ninghe's pupils involuntarily narrowed.
The bodies of the fallen soldiers had been removed, leaving only the foul-smelling Ren Kui corpses.
The blood had soaked deeply into the ground, a testament to the ferocity of the battle.
She sighed softly, her clear female voice echoing throughout the woods, reaching everyone's ears distinctly. "Everyone has worked hard. Without the unity of thousands, we would not have been able to defeat the Ren Kui. You are all the pride of the Lin Kingdom!"
The soldiers remained silent, tears of emotion silently welling up in their eyes.
Feng Ninghe raised her hand, and a ball of phoenix fire appeared in her palm.
"These Ren Kui do not belong to the Xuanzhou Continent; they are outsiders. I shall now use my phoenix fire to incinerate all of them!"
With her words, she cast the phoenix fire towards the Ren Kui corpses. The intense flames instantly engulfed them.
Phoenix fire was the purest fire in existence, capable of burning all things and completely destroying the Ren Kui.
In just a moment, the Canyon Woods was ablaze.
The phoenix fire only burned the Ren Kui, not harming a single blade of grass or a single flower.
"The Empress is wise!"
"Burn all these damned Ren Kui to ashes! I never want to see them again!"
The soldiers roared, their expressions filled with excitement.
The past few days had felt like a nightmare, lingering in everyone's hearts.
They had been shrouded in the fear of being controlled by the Ren Kui. With the Ren Kui being destroyed, their nightmares seemed to be burning away in this great fire.
Si Jianye looked up at the sky, his body involuntarily taking a step forward.
The blood within him burned and churned, as if something was calling him to come.
"A Ye."
"Come find me quickly, A Ye, I'm waiting for you here..."
A familiar male voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
Si Jianye's expression became somewhat dazed as he stumbled forward blankly.
"Si Jianye?"
Sensing something was amiss with his expression, Feng Ninghe instinctively called out to him.
Her female voice reached his ears, instantly pulling Si Jianye back to his senses.
He stopped his steps reflexively and turned to look at the woman beside him.
Feng Ninghe's eyes held a hint of urgency, and her voice was slightly lowered. "What's wrong?"
Si Jianye rarely showed such an expression.
The last time she had seen it was in the Xuanjing Secret Realm.
The man's face darkened slightly, his cold gaze lifted, and he looked directly ahead. "Someone in the Dragon Domain is summoning me."
He even knew that the person summoning him was the man he had seen in the secret realm.
"Someone is summoning you?"
The simple words entered her ears, and Feng Ninghe's expression also changed. "Do you know who is summoning you?"
She trusted Si Jianye's feelings.
It was not a baseless premonition that this man knew the secret of his origins was in the Dragon Domain; he must have discovered something.
Facing her question, Si Jianye shook his head frankly, denying it. "I don't know, but I know that person is in the Dragon Domain."
Feng Ninghe instinctively looked up at the sky.
The vast blue sky stretched endlessly, appearing unremarkable.
She could not discern any abnormality.
Within the Dragon Domain.
In an ice pool.
A man was submerged in the pool.
The man's eyes were closed, his lips moved, and he whispered, "A Ye, come quickly, come save your dear brother..."
*
Canyon Woods.
As the Ren Kui were burned, a pungent odor filled the air.
Cultivators and soldiers gradually departed, leaving only the soldiers responsible for guarding the area.
Feng Ninghe specifically turned to look at the Grand Tutor. "Grand Tutor, I have some urgent matters to attend to, so I will not return with you."
The Grand Tutor nodded gently, understanding. "Very well. I shall take my leave then."
"Junior Sister."
Gu Erwei's eyes curved into a smile, and he quickly approached. "Now that the crisis is resolved, shouldn't you take us sightseeing?"
Feng Ninghe readily agreed. "Naturally. I know of a theater in the Lin Kingdom called the 'Xi Lou'. Not only is the opera excellent, but the cuisine is also first-class. Since we've gathered after a long time, why don't we go there?"
She deliberately turned her gaze towards Si Jianye.
His slightly deep eyes revealed her thoughts.
Si Jianye would be heading to the Dragon Domain before long, and their time together was limited.
Once separated, who knew when they would meet again, especially since Si Xin Xin would be sent to the First Sect, making it difficult to see Si Jianye.
"Okay!"
Si Xin Xin was the first to agree, her small face filled with delight. "I haven't been to the theater in a long time. Father, let's go together."