Chapter 24: Breaking the Wall

Xu Yuan's mind was a tangled web of emotions.

No matter what had happened in the past, he would likely have to go forward under the name Xu Changtian.

"Oh..."

A faint, disheartened sound echoed softly within the dark cave, as if she had been slightly disappointed that he hadn't revealed his true name.

After a silence stretching over several seconds, she spoke gently:

"Then... will you always use the name Xu Yuan from now on?"

"........"

Xu Yuan?

A strange flicker passed through his eyes.

For a moment, his mind wandered, recalling something from *Cang Yuan*—there seemed to be a tradition of courtesy names among the texts. Yet, this third prince had always died upon his debut, never once appearing with his actual name.

At this moment, learning that the original body was also named Xu Yuan, Xu Yuan felt a sudden surprise.

Was it mere coincidence?

Or was it due to something else entirely?

His thoughts drifted, then snapped back sharply. Things he couldn't grasp, Xu Yuan never wasted time on.

With that in mind, Xu Yuan spoke softly to the woman beside him:

"Mr. Ran, just a moment..."

"Ran Qingmo."

The large ice ball suddenly interrupted him, her eyes calm and steady, utterly serious:

"My name is Ran Qingmo."

"........"

The air remained still for a single breath, in the dark they met eyes without sound.

A moment of silence, and Xu Yuan nodded slightly, a faint smile playing at his lips, then spoke again:

"Ran Qingmo, after they arrive, do not speak. I will handle it myself."

This time, the great ice mass seemed satisfied, nodding once with approval:

"Hmm... alright."

With that, neither spoke again.

Xu Yuan slowly closed his eyes, slipping back into his cultivation state.

The pure springwater had now been fully stored within the Su Mi Seal, and the source qi of the cave had begun to thin. Yet, due to the still active Ling-Suppression Array, the surrounding qi remained perceptible—still astonishing in its presence to him.

The cultivation technique began to flow through his meridians, and the ambient qi gradually seeped into his body.

The meridians within his body, once narrow as a ramshackle path, now stretched into broad highways. The icy-blue source qi that had once lined the inner walls of his meridians had been completely washed away by the immense medicinal force.

The floating primordial Qi from the heavens entered the meridians, transforming with a speed almost unimpeded, flowing swiftly through the channels.

In less than a minute,

Xu Yuan found that the amount of Qi he had transmuted in that brief span already equaled the result of a week's arduous cultivation from before.

A mix of admiration and helplessness stirred within him.

What ordinary people, no matter how hard they tried, could never achieve—was now effortlessly accomplished by geniuses.

His mind was completely immersed in cultivation, only vaguely sensing the scarcity of Qi through the memory of having once struggled as an ordinary person, and thus truly comprehending the terrifying advantage granted by this innate, primordial body.

But soon, Xu Yuan noticed something strange—the ambient floating Qi around him was visibly dissipating.

Qi, much like air, naturally flows from areas of high pressure to those of low pressure, filling the voids.

Yet even so, the Qi within the cavern was vanishing at an alarming rate.

From thick and dense, to thin and sparse, until only a few faint "Qi clusters" remained within two feet of his body.

Xu Yuan closed his eyes, his brow slightly furrowed, his intent spirit carefully extending outward.

Ordinary practitioners, when first beginning their cultivation, could only sense the faint source qi within a span of less than a foot around them. Beyond that, they were entirely unaware of the flow or replenishment of source qi.

The terrifying power of a primordial soul body now revealed itself once more. Xu Yuan's sensing range had expanded dramatically—not only was it broader, but he could now clearly perceive the direction of source qi's movement.

As his intent spirit probed, Xu Yuan sensed that the dispersed source qi within the cave was all flowing toward a point one meter to his side.

"..." Xu Yuan.

He halted his cultivation technique and opened his eyes.

Ran Qingmo was seated beside him, eyes closed.

The source qi within the cave had all been snatched by her.

And he, utterly unable to compete with that great block of ice.

His eyes flickered slightly. Xu Yuan gently shook his head and, without further effort, leaned against the stone wall, closing his eyes to rest.

He began to understand why Ran Qingmo had reached the rank of Great Master so young.

She practiced without cease.

Whether it was the temple where they first met, or the cave where she awoke from hypothermia, or the brief pauses during her walk through the Wanxing Mountain range—whenever she closed her eyes and sat in stillness, she was practicing.

True genius wasn't just talent—it was relentless effort.

At that moment, Xu Yuan's thoughts froze. He recalled the image of his elder brother in his memory.

That boy... hadn't practiced much, had he?

In the memories of his childhood, he spent every moment twisting and playing with this older brother, ten years his senior.

Xu Changge might have been reluctant, yet he always joined in. Often, the days would stretch on, and they'd remain together for entire afternoons.

In all those memories, there was never a moment when Xu Changge paused to sit and meditate.

As Xu Yuan's thoughts drifted away,

Ran Qingmo, seated beside him, had already quietly opened her eyes, her voice cold and clear:

"Here."

Xu Yuan instantly snapped back to awareness, his gaze sharpening.

The next moment,

"BOOM!!!!"

Rocks flew in all directions, the sturdy stone wall of the cave instantly shattered, opening a deep fissure stretching over ten meters. Sunlight poured through the breach, instantly banishing the darkness that had long enveloped the inner chamber.

Within that radiant light, faint silhouettes of figures could be discerned.

Apparently, fearing Ran Qingmo's power, they had not dared rush into this cramped sanctuary.

A moment of silence passed,

A cold, raspy female voice echoed from outside the cave.

"Mr. Ran, please come out."

The voice resonated throughout the entire dwelling.

A silence passed—

Ran Qingmo silently picked up her sword, stood, and began walking toward the entrance.

Xu Yuan reached out and grasped her wrist.

She turned to look at him, and Xu Yuan gently shook his head.

At this very moment, with the strength of his younger brother, he could deliver a killing blow to this massive block of ice.

Ran Qingmo remained silent for two seconds, yet still obeyed and stayed where she was.

Xu Yuan slowly rose, brushed the crimson robe on his body, and spoke:

"Ran didn't hurt me. Don't attack her—let her go."

"........"

At the sound of Xu Yuan's voice, none of the figures outside spoke.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan simply stepped toward the entrance.

The mountain cave, violently torn open, stretched for over ten meters, littered with scattered rocks, each step of his boots making a sharp, crisp "crack" upon the ground.

Standing at the cave's mouth, Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes, channeling the source energy into his pupils to adjust to the sunlight beyond.

He gently traced his fingers along his neck, and then saw the four figures hovering above, suspended in the air.

A man with a beard, a woman in a tight-fitting combat outfit with her hair tied high, a bald man, and finally, the masked woman clad in a tight black dress, revealing two pale, slender arms.

Xu Yuan's gaze locked onto the last masked woman.

He remembered her.

The woman was the shadow who stood by, offering the weapon to Xu Changge just as he was about to strike him.

The shadow's cold gaze swept over Xu Yuan, and in a low voice, said:

"Zhou Chen, take the third prince away."

"......"

Zhou Chen glanced at the third prince standing at the cave's entrance, shook his head with a helpless expression.

That blood-red robe was indeed striking, but what words could this indulgent third prince ever have that anyone would listen to?

Killing Ran Qingmo was an order from the eldest prince.

Thinking this,

Zhou Chen darted toward Xu Yuan, moving so swiftly that Xu couldn't even catch a glimpse.

But halfway through his flight, Zhou Chen's form suddenly halted abruptly, his brows furrowed, suspended midair.

In the span of his gaze,

the hand of this useless third son, previously gently caressing his neck, now pulsed with eerie, blood-red qi, coiling around his own pale throat.

In the instant Zhou Chen had flashed away, strands of blood had already begun to seep from his neck.

Xu Yuan gently traced the line of his throat, his eyes sweeping once more over the four figures, repeating each word with deliberate precision:

"I said,

'Let Mr. Ran leave.'"

Feeling the warm trickle of blood pulsing along his neck, Xu Yuan found himself wishing—had he been absolutely rational—that he would have seized this moment to eliminate that great ice mass.

In that way, his identity would have been fully cemented, with no flaws remaining.

Yet Xu Yuan could not.

Perhaps in the future he and she would clash over certain matters, turn against one another—definitely not now.

The Virgin or the dogged lover—

One might not always repay kindness, but at the very least, one should never turn kindness into vengeance.

She had helped him along the way, silently supported him within the cave—hadn’t it been for her, merely the failure to cure the Exorcism Syndrome would have cost him his life right now.

Ran Qingmo stood with his sword within the cave, gazing at the blood-red silhouette standing at the cave’s entrance. His lips curled slightly...

"........"

Mist drifted endlessly, beneath his feet lay the abyss of the Hanging Cliff. The entrance of the cave fell into sudden silence.

When the shadow caught sight of that crimson source of energy, a coldness flickered in his eyes—surprise, fleeting—but quickly vanished:

"Third Prince, we came to save you. What is your meaning?"

Xu Yuan shifted his gaze slightly toward him, speaking softly:

"To save me, and to let go of Mr. Ran—there is no conflict at all."

A brief exchange, and the entrance fell once more into silence.

To the four standing aloft outside the cavern, it was unexpected that the Third Prince had acquired the Source Qi—but for beings of their cultivation, such a development was nothing extraordinary.

Fainting the Third Prince and removing him was simple—just a flicker of movement.

The real issue, however, was that no one knew what cultivation method the Third Prince had mastered, nor whether the crimson Source Qi coiling around his neck would erupt violently once he was unconscious.

Indeed, their superior strength allowed them to suppress the qi surge with their own power before it could fully manifest.

But—

What if it didn’t go as expected? What if the Third Prince suffered an unforeseen accident? Who would bear the responsibility?

If the Third Prince died at their hands, it would be as though his entire family was buried with him.

No one dared take that responsibility.

The tension in the air remained unresolved, suspended for who knew how long—

then, suddenly, a sigh drifted softly from the peak of the Overlooking Cliff.

Delicate, yet unmistakable, it fell into the ears of every present soul.

As the sigh settled,

a voice, smooth as jade, echoed:

“Shadow, if Ran wishes to leave, let her go—just bring Long Tian here.”