The pocket dimension fell into absolute silence as Nian Shi's words settled over them.
For a moment, Yun Qianxue's breath stilled. Her fingers, wrapped tightly around her sword, trembled slightly—not from fear, but from the sheer weight of the revelation.
Trapped in another timeline.
Beside her, Lin Xinyao's silver eyes flickered with a storm of emotions—shock, disbelief, and then... something else. Something that made Nian Shi's smirk falter.
A slow exhale escaped Lin Xinyao's lips, her shoulders relaxing ever so slightly. "He's alive."
Those two words, spoken softly, carried the weight of a thousand prayers answered.
Han Bingling, her frost-element aura flickering like a candle in the wind, let out a quiet breath. "Then there's still hope."
Mu Qiuxue, standing beside her, nodded once, her usual icy demeanor softening just a fraction.
Nian Shi's silver eyes narrowed.
This... was not the reaction he had expected.
Despair? Yes. Desperation? Certainly. But this—this quiet, unshakable certainty—was something he had not anticipated.
A low chuckle escaped his lips. "Interesting." His gaze swept over them, studying their expressions with newfound curiosity. "You hear that your beloved is trapped, beyond reach, and yet... you don't despair?"
Yun Qianxue met his gaze, her ice-blue eyes calm. "You misunderstand."
Nian Shi tilted his head. "Oh?"
Lin Xinyao's lips curved into a faint, knowing smile. "You think trapping him means he won't return."
Han Bingling's voice was cold but steady. "You think we would ever doubt him?"
Nian Shi's amusement deepened, but there was something else in his eyes now—something almost... perplexed.
"Heh." He crossed his arms, studying them as if they were a puzzle he couldn't quite solve. "It seems I've underestimated the trust between Yun Lintian and his women."
The way he said it wasn't mocking. It was almost... intrigued.
For the first time in his endless existence, Nian Shi found himself facing something he couldn't fully comprehend—a bond that defied logic, that refused to break even in the face of annihilation.
He exhaled, shaking his head with a wry smile. "Fascinating."
Then, his expression shifted. The amusement remained, but his silver eyes gleamed with something darker.
"Still," he mused, "trust alone won't save you."
He took a step forward, the air around him warping as time itself bent to his will.
"Let me ask you this—do you wish to stay alive until Yun Lintian returns?" His voice was light, almost playful. "Or would you rather die here, knowing you'll never see him again?"
The question hung in the air, heavy and deliberate.
Yun Qianxue didn't hesitate.
She stepped forward, her sword gleaming with frost, her gaze unwavering.
"We will never be your hostages."
Lin Xinyao moved beside her, lunar energy swirling around her like a mantle of stars. "If death is the price of defiance, then we pay it gladly."
Han Bingling and Mu Qiuxue stood shoulder-to-shoulder, their ice-element auras merging into a glacial storm.
Hei Yue's darkness coiled around her, her abyssal eyes burning with resolve. "You think fear will move us?"
One by one, the others stepped forward—Shen Liqiu, Yang Ningchang, Lynn, Ye Ling, Hongyue—their auras flaring in unison, their determination unbreakable.
Nian Shi watched them, his smile never fading.
But for the first time, there was a flicker of something in his gaze—something almost like... respect.
"Brave words," he murmured. "But bravery alone won't change fate."
He raised a hand, and the pocket dimension trembled. The barrier—Yun Ling's final gift—began to crack under the pressure of his temporal authority.
"Then let us see," Nian Shi said softly, "how long your resolve lasts."
Nian Shi's hand hovered in the air, his fingers curled slightly as if grasping an invisible thread. The space around him warped, time itself bending to his will. A ripple of golden energy pulsed from his palm, striking the barrier with the force of a collapsing star.
The impact sent shockwaves through the pocket dimension, making the very air tremble. The barrier—Yun Ling's final gift—shuddered violently, its white light flickering like a candle in a storm.
Nian Shi's silver eyes narrowed slightly.
He had expected the barrier to crumble instantly. After all, he was a Primordial God, an existence that stood above the laws of creation. Even the most powerful True God's defenses should have shattered beneath his touch.
Yun Qianxue and the others watched silently, their expressions unreadable. They made no move to reinforce the barrier—not because they wouldn't, but because they couldn't. This was Yun Ling's power, her very essence woven into the fabric of this sanctuary. They had no means to strengthen it further.
Nian Shi lowered his hand, studying the barrier with quiet curiosity.
"Remarkable," he murmured.
His voice was calm, measured. There was no frustration, no impatience—only the detached interest of an immortal who had witnessed countless miracles and calamities.
He raised his hand again, this time with a different approach.
A single word, spoken with the weight of temporal authority.
The golden energy around his fingers twisted, reversing its flow. Time itself unraveled where his power touched, attempting to undo the barrier's existence—to return it to the moment before Yun Ling had cast it.
The barrier trembled, its light dimming momentarily...
Nian Shi's eyebrows lifted slightly.
It resists temporal reversal?
That shouldn't be possible. Unless...
Understanding dawned in his silver eyes.
This barrier wasn't just infused with Yun Ling's power—it was anchored by something deeper. Something that transcended time.
A will so absolute that even the God of Time couldn't simply erase it.
For the first time in eons, Nian Shi felt something akin to... intrigue.
He lowered his hand once more, tilting his head as he studied the barrier.
"Yun Ling," he mused aloud. "A mere maidservant, yet her resolve rivals that of gods."
His tone wasn't mocking. It was almost... appreciative.
Yun Qianxue's grip on her sword tightened. She didn't speak, but her ice-blue eyes burned with quiet fury.
Nian Shi noticed her gaze and smiled faintly.
"Don't misunderstand," he said. "I'm not praising her to taunt you. I simply acknowledge what is."
He stepped closer to the barrier, his silver robes fluttering despite the absence of wind.
"Let's try something else."
This time, he didn't attack with brute force or temporal manipulation. Instead, he pressed a single finger against the barrier's surface.
A whisper of decay spread from his touch, a power that eroded even the most indestructible of defenses. It was the essence of time's cruelty—the inevitable rot that consumed all things.
The barrier's light flickered, its radiance dimming as the corrosion spread.
Lin Xinyao's breath caught.
Han Bingling's fingers twitched.
Yet still, the barrier held.
Nian Shi watched as the corrosion slowed, then stopped entirely.
The barrier's light pulsed once—weakly, but unbroken…