Cheeks almost touching, Tianye leaned her tall, slender frame slightly forward, while Tianyan’s figure remained standing ramrod straight.
As an orchid-scented breath brushed past her translucent earlobe, Tianyan cast a sideways glance at Tianye's blood-streaked, alluring visage and those deep golden pupils identical to her own.
As "Tianyans" from different eras, there was much between them that required no words at all.
A cold wind swept over the bloodied clothes of both women, a murderous intent quietly unfurling as their eyes met.
Qi dynamics continuously converged around Tianyan, kicking up a fierce wind that whipped their blood-soaked robes into loud billows amidst the surging gusts.
Tianye saw what Tianyan was thinking, but she also saw the wariness lurking in the depths of her counterpart's heart.
Without question, the "Tianyan" before her was far stronger than she was at this point in time.
Yet as individuals who knew each other inside and out, Tianye also knew her counterpart was not confident she could incapacitate her in a short time—and even less confident she could stop her from taking her own life to trade it for Xu Yuan's if she fell in defeat.
From the moment she staked her life in this utterly asymmetrical game,
the future of this illusory world could only steer toward the destination she had ordained!
Tianye’s golden eyes remained fixed intently on the young woman before her.
*Tianyan from twenty thousand years in the future,*
*in a predicament like this, what will you choose?*
In the silence,
the qi dynamic gathering around Tianyan had already swelled as vast as a mountain range.
An unknown spell surfaced in the space around the three of them, arcane runes etched into thin air enveloping them all.
The surge of qi dynamics, turbulent as an ocean tide, drew Xu Yuan’s gaze involuntarily toward the godlike maiden.
Her black hair whipped in a cascading waterfall that dazzled the eyes. Unexpectedly, Xu Yuan felt little panic in his heart; instead, he was rather curious.
Though he knew human nature rarely withstood being tested, he still wanted to see how this washboard-flat Saintess would choose.
He was curious whether she would abandon him and flee on her own.
After all, if captured under his identity as Jinghe, he wouldn't necessarily die, but Tianyan's identity as Yuchu had zero chance of survival. The sheer terror between life and death was enough to make many people...
"Tianye, you win."
The crisp, icy voice of the young woman shattered the silence and cut off his train of thought.
Xu Yuan narrowed his slender eyes slightly, just in time to meet her gaze as she turned her eyes back toward him.
Her gaze was still pristine and clear, yet tinged with a touch of helplessness.
And of course,
that familiar disdain.
Seeing that look in her eyes right now, Xu Yuan suddenly smiled, grinning with genuine delight.
He parted his lips and mouthed to her:
*[What, couldn't bear to part with me?]*
"......" Tianyan was at a loss for words.
Looking at that utterly shameless grin, Tianyan suddenly felt an impulse to smash the spell coalescing in her hands right into his face.
*What time does he think it is, still running his mouth like this!*
Having received her answer, Tianye was not particularly joyful; instead, she seemed somewhat disappointed:
"As Tianyan, giving up your life to save the source of the world's catastrophe—how truly moving."
"......" Tianyan pressed her thin lips together and did not answer.
Her familiarity with the Heaven-Deducing Art gave her a clear realization of just how formidable this woman with the caliber of "Tianyan" truly was.
She could not capture Tianye alive while simultaneously keeping a certain bastard safe.
At least, not within half a quarter of an hour.
Exhaling a breath, Tianye stepped back half a pace and said in a slightly bored murmur,
"There's still enough time for a cup of tea. Take your time catching up. I won't disturb you two..."
Before her voice had completely faded, Tianye seemed to think of something and abruptly turned a gaze tinged with excitement toward Xu Yuan on the side.
She wanted to see his reaction.
Tianyan was willing to choose death for his sake, while he was unable to make a move against her because of the Lock of Shared Life.
At this moment, his expression ought to be spectacular...
*Hmm?*
*Why...*
*Why does he still wear that smiling face?*
"......"
And as if noticing her gaze, the man over there slowly turned his head to look back at her.
Xu Yuan’s gaze toward Tianye was completely calm and untroubled.
With matters having reached this point, it was essentially a checkmate.
No, to be precise, from the very moment Tianye came knocking on their door, they had already entered a dead end.
Tianyan and he could not kill her in a short time, yet she could summon a Saint in moments.
As their gazes met,
Xu Yuan watched Tianye shift from bored detachment back into that frivolous, enchanting seductress.
His smiling voice rang out:
"Does my reaction seem to make you happy?"
Tianye uncrossed her arms, staring at him with burning eyes, and laughed:
"If this isn't just a bluff, your attitude really makes me look forward to whatever trump card you have."
"...I wouldn't call it a trump card."
Xu Yuan shook his head, paused for a beat, and spoke gently, "It's just gambling with our lives. Do you dare to gamble with me?"
Even after speaking of gambling with their lives, Xu Yuan's expression didn't change in the slightest.
Because he was already used to it.
This generation's Pavilion Master of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion was just like his own old man—he had no habit of feeding pawns one by one. The people dispatched to hunt them down were all ruthless figures from twenty thousand years ago.
Facing such an immense faction and so many calculating, merciless individuals, falling into a dead end was the normal state of affairs; smooth sailing all the way would have been bizarre.
Exhausting every scheme only to fall short by a single move was hardly the first time it had happened during their flight. The main reason he and Tianyan had managed to evade capture until now was largely good luck.
Every time they gambled with their lives, they won.
And now, it seemed it was time to gamble with their lives once more.
He didn't know if they could win this time...
After all, how could anyone expect to keep winning when gambling with their life?
With these chaotic thoughts drifting through his mind, Xu Yuan gradually reined in the smile on his face.
What Tianye was doing right now reminded him of certain movie plots from his past life:
To highlight a villain's madness and cruelty, the villain would toss a blade down to two small fries and say only one could live, then watch with refined elegance as the two tore each other apart.
He hated this feeling.
Of course, he didn't hate the trope itself—he hated being the small fry in it.
No matter how you looked at it, the villain should be him.
In the silence,
Tianye tilted her head and agreed with a smile:
"How do you want to bet?"
"You'll know in a moment."
Xu Yuan shook his head, put away the Charm God tree seed, and pointed at himself with a brilliant smile. "Though Tianye, you know what? The thing I hate most is someone threatening me while acting like they couldn't care less about living or dying."
"And so?"
"So if you want to play, I, Xu Changtian, will gladly play along."
The moment the words fell—
*Bang!*
Without any warning, a muffled boom abruptly shattered the air.
"......"
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
Her beautiful eyes darting wide, Tianye watched Xu Yuan plummeting, his life force dwindling to a dying ember, a flash of astonishment surfacing in her eyes.
And then—
"*Gah—!*"
A massive mouthful of blood erupted from her mouth. The backlash brought by the Lock of Shared Life made her virtually unable to steady herself in midair.
And at that moment,
his voice transmission, delayed by several breaths, drifted quietly into her ear:
*[I bet Tianyan can subdue you before you kill yourself.]*
"......" Tianye froze.
Her beautiful eyes widened for an instant, yet those alluring, bloodstained crimson lips curved into an excited arch instead.
The self-destruction technique she had already prepared began circulating in an instant, but before Tianye could make another move, she felt a finger press against the center of her brow.
Snapping her gaze upward,
she saw Tianyan's deep golden pupils, void of all emotion, already right in front of her, gazing down at her.
*She seemed... to have lost.*
*Hum—*
Shrouded by thousands upon thousands of arcane runes, Tianyan lightly rested her slender index finger against the center of Tianye's brow, her red lips softly uttering two words:
"Spirit Seal."
Chapter 405