I Don't Remember This Bead Having Such a Structure—Was It Refined After I Died?

"Quite a cautious design. If not for the dragon-pattern bracelet opening this space, even I wouldn't have noticed there was a hidden world here." The bead had originally been refined from an entire star; adding an internal space on top of that was child's play. "The dragon-pattern bracelet is the key to entering the bead's internal space. Strange, it never served that purpose back then." "Furthermore, if the space inside the bead isn't opened with the dragon-pattern bracelet, it will teleport to a random location." Lu Yang rubbed his chin in thought. The dragon-pattern bracelet, the dragon pearl, and cracking open the dragon pearl's outer shell—to reach this space, all three conditions had to be met. Opening it without the bracelet in particular would cause the space to teleport to a random location where no one could find it, almost as though someone was being guarded against. "Look over there!" the Immortal Fairy pointed excitedly in one direction. Following her finger, Lu Yang saw a vast, boundless lake. Water vapor rose from its surface like steam in a fairyland, and in the middle of the lake, a small pavilion was faintly visible. "It's Xiao Ling!" Without giving him a chance to speak, the Immortal Fairy pulled Lu Yang by the hand and rushed toward it. Lu Yang felt as though he had teleported; in less than the blink of an eye, they arrived at the pavilion. Catching sight of what lay inside, Lu Yang involuntarily held his breath. Resting quietly in the center of the pavilion was an extraordinarily beautiful woman dressed in a black gown, its collar and cuffs bordered with delicate cloud-pattern brocade. She resembled a dark lotus blooming in the night, solemn yet enigmatic. Her raven hair tumbled like a waterfall, spilling softly over the edge of the couch with a faint luster, setting off her delicate, snow-white skin. A pair of dragon horns atop her head, gleaming with a gentle jade luster, revealed her race. Was this fairy Immortal Kirin's other wife—the Dragon Clan's ancient ancestor, Ao Ling? An instant later, Lu Yang noticed something was wrong, and he froze. Even with the enormous gulf between his cultivation and Ao Ling's, he could sense that her soul was shattered, virtually riddled with holes. She was already dead beyond dead. Recalling the sequence of events deduced at the immortal war ruins, could it be that after Immortal Kirin escorted Senior Ao Ling away, they were attacked once more, resulting in Senior Ao Ling's death and the destruction of her Dao? "Fairy, this..." Seeing this as well, the Immortal Fairy fell into a rare fury. Her willow brows shot up like sharp swords, and the aura she unleashed threatened to destabilize the entire space. "Who laid such a vicious hand?!" "If Xiao Ling hadn't cast the Art of Playing Dead, she would already be dead by now!" "Fairy, Senior Ao Ling is still alive?" Lu Yang looked on in utter disbelief. Could someone in this state really be saved? "Naturally. As long as one is under the Art of Playing Dead, whatever harm is suffered still falls under the category of 'playing dead'." "And since it's 'playing dead', she is of course still alive." The Immortal Fairy extended a slender, scallion-white finger. Radiant immortal qi coalesced at her fingertip, dazzling like a star fallen into the mortal realm. In an instant, an invisible ripple spread outward from her fingertip, washing over Ao Ling, whose soul was shattered and who had long been dead. The soul, fragmented into millions of pieces, gathered and reconnected, restoring Ao Ling's original form. Life and death, destruction and rebirth—the Dao of Nature revealed itself unequivocally in this moment, carrying truths far beyond what the current Lu Yang could comprehend. Ao Ling slowly opened her eyes as vitality returned. She turned her head toward the expectant Immortal Fairy, her voice trembling. Tears welled in the corners of her eyes before silently tracing down her cheeks, leaving two clear lines and dripping onto her lapel like broken strands of pearls. "You're Elder Sister Immortal... Did Husband and the others finally revive you?"