Ye Huohuo glanced at Hanyan, "Promise me, get them out of here."
Before anyone else could react, a golden light burst from Ye Huohuo's body, shooting towards the monster like an arrow.
The golden light instantly transformed into purple light. By the time everyone reacted, Ye Huohuo had already hugged the monster's waist, her entire body enveloped in purple light.
The monster hadn't expected Ye Huohuo to sacrifice her soul for a mutual destruction, nor did it anticipate the immense power she possessed after breaking the seal, having achieved divine purple light.
For a moment, it was held tightly by Ye Huohuo, unable to break free.
"You little brat, with your meager cultivation, you dare to attempt mutual destruction with me. Die!"
Its hand chopped down directly towards Ye Huohuo's crown. If this strike landed, Ye Huohuo's brains would splatter, and she would die instantly.
Just then, a wisp of white, mist-like figure grabbed the monster's hand in mid-air, bringing its strike to a halt less than a centimeter from Ye Huohuo's crown.
This sudden turn of events was unexpected by everyone present, including Hanyan.
Ye Huohuo, within the purple flames, lifted her eyes to look at the ethereal figure in the air.
Li Mohan?
Everyone was stunned. How was this possible? Hanyan was Li Mohan, and Hanyan was standing right beside them. How could Li Mohan suddenly appear in mid-air and save Ye Huohuo?
"Heh, you still can't let her go!" Hanyan, however, remained calm, his emotions a mix of unexplainable sentiments.
The phantom of Li Mohan in the air said nothing. He struck the monster's head with his palm, repaying the favor in kind.
The monster had intended to kill Ye Huohuo with a single palm strike, but it never expected to be hit in the same way.
To everyone's surprise, Li Mohan's seemingly ethereal shadow possessed such immense power that it split the monster's head in half down the middle.
This white shadow then transformed into white smoke, swirling around Ye Huohuo and extinguishing the purple flames on her body.
Ye Huohuo's body was enveloped by the white smoke, suspended in mid-air. The intense burning sensation from her soul's combustion was soothed by this white mist.
"How is this possible? How can you have two souls?" Although the monster's head was split by Li Mohan's palm, it hadn't died. Its two head halves dangled from its neck, yet it remained alive.
Watching it sent waves of nausea through everyone.
"What in the world is this thing? How is it so disgusting? It's still alive even like this?"
"It can no longer be called human. A hundred years ago, I destroyed my physical body while embracing it. My soul, following the normal procedures, descended into the underworld and reincarnated.
But because of his heinous deeds, he was destined for the eighteen layers of hell. Perhaps he didn't want to be punished, and coupled with the soul-shifting ability of his dark arts,
He must have possessed other people's bodies. However, his soul was too strong, and no ordinary human body could sustain him for long. Thus, he needed to switch bodies frequently. The bodies he possessed would eventually be corroded by his soul, turning into what we see now," Hanyan explained.
"Indeed, ordinary human bodies won't do, but your current body can. So handsome, capable of withstanding your soul for over twenty years, it's become quite durable. With a body like yours, what beautiful women can I not have?
Why bother going to heaven or becoming an immortal? This is a mortal paradise." The monster cackled ominously, its voice like a crying owl, sending chills down everyone's spines.
Ye Huohuo's attention wasn't on the monster's words, but rather on the white mist swirling around her.
"Is it you?"
The white mist slowly took on a human form, a nearly transparent figure—a soul, and an incomplete one at that.
"Yes, I thought Hanyan could protect you well, so I gave my body to him, but..." Li Mohan's voice was tinged with sorrow, "I took the opportunity when he was injured to escape from his consciousness. I am not as powerful as him, and what I can do for you is limited. I..."
For the first time, Ye Huohuo saw the usually arrogant Li Mohan exhibit a sense of inferiority. But this Li Mohan made her heart tremble.
She lunged forward, wanting to hug him, even kiss him, but she only embraced air. Her hands passed through his phantom form, grasping nothing.
"Huohuo, I'm sorry. In the past, I was too focused on finding Yingxue, and I didn't pay attention to my own feelings, and I hurt you. In fact, I..." His eyes were filled with self-reproach and deep affection, "You are the one I love the most in my heart!"
Ye Huohuo wanted to smile, but before the smile could form, tears welled up. After all this time, the words she had waited for had finally been spoken. But the current Li Mohan was only half a soul!
Her tears, clear as pearls, fell one by one. Li Mohan panicked. Ye Huohuo was an incredibly strong girl, rarely shedding tears in front of others. He wanted to wipe the tears from her face, but he couldn't. He was just half a soul, a mere phantom.
"You wicked creature, too audacious! You were like this a hundred years ago, and you still show no remorse now. I will scatter your soul and spirit today!" Hanyan let out a fierce roar, and Li Mohan's soul was instantly reabsorbed.
Ye Huohuo's eyes couldn't even see the phantom anymore. She reached out, grasping at empty air.
Meanwhile, Hanyan channeled all his spiritual energy, his form transforming into countless purple flying blades that all shot towards the monster.
Upon seeing these purple blades, fear flashed in the monster's eyes. It tried to turn and flee, but a band of light latched onto its feet, slowing it down by a hair's breadth.
This band of light was secretly cast by Zuo Qingya while the monster was distracted.
The monster yanked hard, breaking the light band, and attempted to escape again. However, due to the half-second delay, it lost its optimal escape window. The purple light blades all embedded themselves into its body.
Hanyan's purple light was far more potent than Ye Huohuo's earlier purple flame. After being pinned, the monster cried out in agony, "Impossible, impossible! How can you possess the purple light blades of immortals? Impossible... Ah!"
Finally, the monster dissolved into a pool of thick blood on the ground.
Soul and spirit scattered. This time, it was truly dead.
"Kid, not bad. If you hadn't been quick-witted just now, he would have almost escaped. You're teachable!" Hanyan patted Zuo Qingya on the shoulder.
The dark clouds in the sky dispersed, revealing a sky full of stars. A beam of light descended slowly from above, like a powerful spotlight.
"Alright, my business in the mortal realm is done. I should leave now!" Hanyan said casually, without any lingering attachment.
He didn't even glance at Ye Huohuo, nor at the other members of the Li family still tied up under the eaves nearby.
"Wait!"
Just as Hanyan was about to step into the beam of light, Ye Huohuo called out from behind.
"Can I say goodbye to him?"
Li Mohan's soul had been reabsorbed too quickly; she hadn't had a chance to say anything.
Hanyan furrowed his brow, then finally nodded, "Hurry, time waits for no one!"
In the blink of an eye, Li Mohan's body opened his eyes, and his gaze had changed.
"I have no regrets! Knowing you, I will take good care of the Li family. I..." Ye Huohuo knew time was short and quickly said what was most important.
But the next second, her lips were captured in a kiss, unlike any before. It was passionate and lingering, conveying all unspoken words.
Ye Huohuo could feel Li Mohan's overwhelming love, so thick it was almost palpable, threatening to drown her.
Before she could respond adequately, she felt his body go limp, collapsing onto her.
One year later, in Li Mohan's hospital.
"Sister-in-law!"
"You don't need to come to Big Brother's place every day. All his physical indicators are normal, he just hasn't woken up. It's already fortunate that the person named Hanyan didn't take his body away. You..." Li Mohen wanted to persuade Ye Huohuo to move on and accept that Li Mohan was gone.
The person lying in the hospital bed now was merely Li Mohan's shell, devoid of a soul. His soul had already ascended to immortality, merging with Hanyan's soul.
But he opened his mouth, and the rest of his words remained unspoken. He knew Ye Huohuo knew everything, she just didn't want to step out, didn't want to give up.
"Junior Sister, I'm going back to Wuji Temple tomorrow. I heard Master has returned, won't you come back with me?" Second Senior Sister Yan Rong said, her arm around Ye Huohuo's shoulder, a hint of heartache in her eyes.
"It's okay, Sister-in-law is busy. I'll go with you!" Li Moyan chimed in with a playful grin.
"Scram! Get away from me, you jinx! Nothing good ever happens when I'm with you!" Yan Rong's face flushed slightly.
The relationship between the two had developed rapidly over the past year. They had "sparred" in bed more than once, but each time, something unlucky would happen. Either the bed collapsed when they were in the heat of the moment, or the washbasin Yan Rong was leaning on would shatter.
The most absurd incident was when they were making love in a car, and the vehicle started to slide on its own, nearly rolling into a ditch by the roadside.
Yan Rong strongly suspected that Ye Huohuo's misfortune had transferred to Li Moyan.
"Heh, whether you or he gives me a grandchild first, I don't care," Old Master Li said, walking into Li Mohan's hospital room accompanied by Li Mochen.
"Oh? Sister Yan Rong, will you call Ye Huohuo Junior Sister or Sister-in-law when the time comes?" Li Mochen teased.
Yan Rong's face turned even redder.
"Naturally, one marries into the husband's family! She should be called Sister-in-law," Li Moyan said with a smug look.
The family was harmonious, only missing...
Ye Huohuo looked sadly at the still Li Mohan in the hospital bed, tears unconsciously welling up in her eyes.
A tear fell onto the back of Li Mohan's hand, exposed outside the quilt.
As the second tear fell, Li Mohan's hand suddenly turned over, palm up, catching the tear.
"Third Brother, your son will still have to call me 'Brother'!"
A clear, cold, and familiar voice echoed in the hospital room.
Everyone turned to the Li Mohan in the hospital bed in disbelief.
"Are... are you back, or are you... all of you?" Ye Huohuo managed to ask, amidst intense turbulence.
"I didn't go with him!" Li Mohan's breath was deep and rapid.
"Ascend to immortality! Don't you want to?" Ye Huohuo, unable to bear it, tried to escape, but her waist was held even tighter.
"I am an immortal now. As long as I am with you, it is heaven!"
"I can't handle this heaven of yours!"
After waking up this time, Li Mohan's mouth was as if coated in honey, and his body was like a perpetual motion machine, tireless night after night. Ye Huohuo felt she truly couldn't take it anymore.
She struggled, trying to get off the bed, but was pressed down even more tightly, his movements accelerating. "In this lifetime, you'll never escape my grasp! My little wife!"
The kiss descended, and it was for a lifetime!