CHAPTER 234: 234- A GODDESS DESCEND.

"Fang Yuan, let’s talk this out! Please."

The word ’please’ sounded jagged in Xiao Bai’s throat, as if torn out against her pride.

Yet the battlefield below remained in stunned silence, not because of her plea, but because Fang Yuan had immobilized everyone present.

Golden Core cultivators and below twitched against the pressure, little more than startled prey. But those at the Nascent Soul realm stood frozen in true disbelief.

Ian, the crown prince’s guard, stared upward with an unsettling calm.

He could not fathom it.

How has this man climbed so high? A single ripple of his will, and I cannot even lift a finger...

In the shadow of such power, he felt like an insect.

His gaze shifted to Xiao Bai, who floated in the sky opposite Fang Yuan, holding her ground against him.

Monsters... both of them are monsters.

Among those suppressed, Fang Tian was also pinned in place.

His eyes bulged, his voice nearly breaking into tears. Brother! I was just trying to kill that Nascent Soul realm! What are you doing to me!?

Imagine it... fighting for your clan’s honor with everything you got, only to be shackled without warning by the one you trusted most.

Up above, Fang Yuan nearly spat blood. His voice rang straight into Fang Tian’s mind, sharp and indignant.

You lunatic, you fool— He coughed mid-thought, correcting himself with mock dignity. Ahem, I mean, my dear brother. I am currently negotiating terms with the Sect Leader of the Divine Ice Sect.

From what I’ve learned, she and I are very similar. We both fiercely protect our kin, we’re both devastatingly attractive. Though I’m the kinder one.

She, regrettably, is not. Most importantly, we are both greedy, but we never break our promises.

Then his composure cracked, his mental voice rising into a furious roar. And do you know what happens if you kill that elder and provoke this madwoman? Disaster! That’s what! I may have a higher cultivation base than her, but even I can’t hold her down if she loses her temper. So stay. Right. There. Like. That!

Fang Tian was left gaping, mind blank, too stunned to even form a response.

Meanwhile, Fang Yuan’s voice cut into Xiao Bai’s mind, smooth and calculated.

What a serendipitous timing you have. Tell you what, give me the method you used to forge a body like yours, and I’ll hand you a Hollow Spirit Pill.

Xiao Bai’s reply lashed back through the telepathic link, her mental tone sharp with indignation.

One? Her teeth ground audibly. You think that’s worth only one? At least ten!

Fang Yuan clicked his tongue so hard in his own mind it was like spitting.

Ten? Are you insane? Why don’t you just ask me for a hundred while you’re at it?

Xiao Bai didn’t even hesitate. Fine. I’ll accept a hundred.

For a moment Fang Yuan nearly choked on his own qi. Then, with grand disdain, he shot back:

Hah! What shamelessness. Fine, let’s do five then.

The sudden shift cracked Xiao Bai’s composure.

She had been ready to faint when he said "Fine." But his follow-up nearly sent her tumbling out of the sky.

Desperate to steady herself, she forced out a laugh.

Hah... now I get it. That’s clearly your last one, you don’t have any mo—

Xiao Bai’s words cut off mid-thought when her eyes widened.

Fang Yuan had casually flicked another Hollow Spirit Pill into his mouth and swallowed it whole.

No! she screamed into his head.

Her composure cracked. Fine! Five. I’m fine with five!

Fang Yuan gave her a look of mock seriousness. Oh? But I just swallowed a second pill. That brings us down to four.

Her qi flared in fury.

You—! You never planned to negotiate! I’ll fight you to my last breath!

She was already surging forward when Fang Yuan waved his hands frantically.

Heh! I was joking, just joking, hah! Can’t you take a joke? We’re business partners now. Laugh a little! Fine, five. And here, I’ll throw in another to make it six, as an apology... and as my request that you act like you were defeated today.

Her answer came sharp and immediate.

Sure.

Fang Yuan’s smile spread. In the next instant, he blurred forward, his fist arcing toward her chest.

Just before the strike could connect, Xiao Bai shot backward, her body a streak of white light as she was sent flying several kilometers away.

Gasps erupted from the people below who could not see the entire farce, their faces painted with disbelief.

On the crown prince’s side, Qin Hai felt his blood run cold. His voice failed him as he stared at the scene.

His greatest trump card hadn’t lasted a breath against Fang Yuan?

Against the head of some "tiny" clan they had once dismissed as beneath notice?

Just then, the three Nascent Soul experts of the Divine Ice Sect felt the crushing weight around them suddenly ease.

Only them, everyone else on the battlefield still lay pinned beneath Fang Yuan’s realm.

They didn’t know why, and they didn’t dare to pause to find out.

Their sect leader had just been blasted across the skies.

That was all that mattered. They had to reach her had to see if there was anything left they could do.

From below, Qin Hai’s voice roared, sharp with fury and outrage.

"Where do you think you’re going!? Get back here this instant! I command you, fight at my side! Reveal your tricks, crush that Fang scum! Do you dare ignore me!?"

But the three didn’t so much as turn their heads.

His words struck empty air, drowned beneath the urgency of their retreat.

Their loyalty belonged to their sect leader alone.

"Well, well," Fang Yuan drawled, rubbing his palms together as he strolled forward.

"Looks like even your strongest chess piece couldn’t last a breath. Now then... what shall we do with you?"

Qin Hai’s composure cracked. His face drained of color as he stumbled back, voice breaking into shrill panic.

"Stay away! Stay away from me!"

Before Fang Yuan could close the gap, a voice, clear and commanding, split the battlefield.

"Stop!"

Every head turned and they saw a goddess descend.

Her beauty was not of this mortal realm. Beneath the ceremonial helm, her face was a perfect oval, possessing features carved from dreams by the most skilled of celestial hands.

Her skin was the star of her allure, as pale and smooth as fresh milk, with the translucent, glowing quality of finely polished jade, flawless and seemingly untouched by the sun.

Though clad in battle attire, the armor could not conceal the breathtaking silhouette beneath.

It hinted at a form both powerful and profoundly feminine.

A slender, swan-like neck, the gentle swell of a full bosom, a waist so narrow and supple it was likened to a delicate willow branch, all flowing into the graceful curve of her hips.

An aura of refined nobility and unyielding resolve emanated from her, a chilling frost that complemented her jade-like warmth.

For a single, suspended moment, the chaos of war faltered, and the world held its breath in reverence for a beauty that could eclipse the sun and shame the moon.

Everyone who saw her felt the pull of her beauty.

Everyone but Fang Yuan.

Because standing in front of him, her figure angled ever so casually, was Lin Zhaoyue, arms spread just enough to block his line of sight, her presence a wall as unshakable as any fortress.