Ch. 125 - This Object Is Fated With Me

Leaving the romantic spectacle behind, Xu Zimo led Lan Ke’er deep into the Water Region.

By now, cultivators were few and far between. Along their path, they barely encountered a soul.

At the very heart of the Water Region, a mighty river had transformed into countless water dragons, rampaging through the area.

Each collision between dragons felt like the sky and earth were collapsing, and from within, faint dragon roars could be heard.

The vast sea surged with towering waves, rolling violently before crashing deep into the ocean and erupting like explosions.

This was a folded space, though it didn’t look large, the sea itself was immeasurable in depth.

Xu Zimo pulled out Shadow Tyrant, sat cross-legged, and carefully guided the blade toward the center of the torrents.

Each impact from the water dragons caused the blade to tremble.

Yet with every collision, the blade shone brighter, growing ever more refined and pure.

"Water flows from the heavens, rushing to the sea and never returning."

As Xu Zimo watched Shadow Tyrant undergo its baptism in the torrents, his heart gradually eased.

Lan Ke’er sat beside him, bored out of her mind. “Keep telling me the story. What happened after you fainted and ended up in Purple Fragrance Village?”

After stabilizing Shadow Tyrant, Xu Zimo split off part of his consciousness and began to speak:

“You found me by the river and saved me. At first glance, your heart raced, probably because of how unbelievably handsome I was. Then you carried me home. I was unconscious at the time. As for whether you did anything to me while I was out, well… that’s anyone’s guess.”

“Shameless. You think I’d fall for you?” Lan Ke’er snorted.

“Do you want to hear the story or not?” Xu Zimo asked calmly. “You tell it or I do?”

“I do,” Lan Ke’er nodded obediently. “You tell it.”

“My days in Purple Fragrance Village were the happiest time of my life,” Xu Zimo said earnestly as he continued.

The two of them sat by the roaring ocean. The torrents surged with waves and water dragons circled, slamming against Shadow Tyrant.

The young man quietly told his tale. The girl watched him, smiling at the funny parts, sometimes playfully punching him with her tiny fists.

Xu Zimo had so much he wanted to say to Lan Ke’er. The stories he told were memories from their time together in Purple Fragrance Village.

Of course, he embellished a few details, mainly to make himself seem more handsome, wise, and heroic.

He spoke for seven days and seven nights. By the time Shadow Tyrant had fully absorbed the Water Element, he finally stopped.

For the storyteller, it was a reliving of experience.

For the listener, it was living those moments alongside him.

Xu Zimo retrieved Shadow Tyrant. With one swing, it roared not only with thunder but also with the power of a heavenly river crashing down from the nine heavens.

He stepped through the air, his purple robe billowing. His face, usually mischievous when telling stories, now looked resolute and fierce.

When he slashed, thunder dragons wrapped around water dragons, roaring in unison, sending towering waves blasting into the sky.

Lan Ke’er simply stood there watching him, her gaze deep and unreadable.

...

Now that the Water Element tempering was complete, Xu Zimo prepared to lead Lan Ke’er westward, toward the Fire Region.

Between the Water and Fire Regions was a small vacuum zone, and beyond that stood another massive gate: a gate of fire.

As they entered the Fire Region, they were greeted by a vast, boundless sea of flames.

The temperature near the entrance was mild, but the deeper one went, the hotter it became.

In this blazing domain, numerous fire spirits had taken the form of animals, running wildly.

Firebirds soared overhead. Fiery lions rolled through the sea of flames like mischievous cubs.

These spirits had no consciousness, no will to attack.

Even if you killed them, it was like snuffing out a flame, meaningless.

The two didn’t walk far before Xu Zimo suddenly stopped.

From the flame wall beside them, spiritforce began to ripple. A lotus of blazing fire appeared out of nowhere.

About the size of a palm, it radiated a rich fragrance despite being formed from flames.

Just as Xu Zimo reached out to pick it, someone beat him to it.

A flash of blue light passed by, and the fiery lotus disappeared.

Xu Zimo frowned. A blue-robed Daoist had appeared beside him.

The Daoist, holding a horsetail whisk, smiled and said, “Boundless Heavenly Lord’s blessings upon you, benefactor, this lotus is fated with me.”

Xu Zimo smiled and shook his head.

“Daoist, you’re mistaken. This lotus is clearly fated with me.”

“You misunderstand, benefactor,” the Daoist said with a cheerful grin, revealing the pressure of an Imperial Meridian Realm expert.

“Tell me, who is holding the lotus now?”

Xu Zimo chuckled, then took out a jade pendant gifted to him by Xu Qingshan.

He said with a smile,

“Then I’ll leave the decision to you, Daoist.”

As Xu Zimo looked about ready to crush the pendant, the Daoist’s face froze. He laughed awkwardly and said,

“Divine treasures belong to the virtuous. I am unworthy. Clearly, this lotus is fated with you, benefactor.”

“Too kind,” Xu Zimo said, taking the lotus from the Daoist’s hand with a smile.

The Daoist gave him a long, meaningful look and said, “Until fate brings us together again, benefactor.”

As the Daoist walked away, Xu Zimo frowned slightly. An Imperial Meridian Realm expert fighting over a tier-4 spiritual herb? That didn’t make sense.

“Old fox and little fox,” Lan Ke’er muttered with a wrinkle of her nose.

“You don’t get it,” Xu Zimo said, peeling open the lotus bud and revealing eight lotus seeds inside.

Each seed sparkled like a star, and they all had different colors, eight in total.

Xu Zimo also pulled a pure white thread from the lotus stem.

Using spiritforce, he bored tiny holes in each seed and strung them together on the thread.

A seven-colored bracelet was now complete.

Xu Zimo gently took Lan Ke’er’s right hand and slipped the bracelet onto her wrist.

“Pretty, isn’t it?”

“Childish,” Lan Ke’er replied with a slight smirk.

“This bracelet’s way more valuable than that guy’s Forget-Me-Not,” Xu Zimo said.

“So what? Tier-4 herb over tier-2, big deal,” Lan Ke’er replied. “To me, there’s no difference.”

“No, it’s not about grade,” Xu Zimo shook his head. “It’s because this bracelet carries… all of my love for you.”

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