The painful cry reached Ye Ming's ears, and the scene before his eyes shattered like a mirror, dissolving into fragments of light and vanishing abruptly.
His consciousness was pulled back to the real world.
But upon seeing what lay before him, he was struck as if by lightning, his face etched with terror.
"Auntie!"
For at that moment, Nogawa Kyoko had fainted into his arms. Her face was ashen, devoid of any color, and blood continuously trickled from the corner of her mouth.
Just moments ago, after Ye Ming's consciousness had detached from reality, the Samsara Power he had left within Nogawa Kyoko's body was left uncontrolled.
The unchecked Samsara Power had wreaked havoc inside Nogawa Kyoko, affecting all her organs to varying degrees, except for her heart.
Consequently, Nogawa Kyoko was now suffering a backlash from the Samsara Power.
Ye Ming had no time to think; he dared not delay. A backlash from Samsara Power was an extremely troublesome matter.
Fortunately, it hadn't been too long, or Ye Ming wouldn't have known how to face Nogawa Sakyu.
Finally, after half an hour, Ye Ming, at the cost of considerable mental strain, managed to clear the effects of the Samsara Power's backlash.
Moreover, Nogawa Kyoko had inadvertently benefited from this ordeal, gaining some unexpected advantages.
She would discover this herself upon waking.
"That was close! I almost caused a major disaster!"
Ye Ming let out a long sigh of relief. He had truly been terrified.
However, as his tension eased, the scene he had witnessed when he detached from reality involuntarily resurfaced in his mind.
The mysterious throne stood out particularly.
"What exactly was that place?"
Ye Ming's expression grew solemn, and he murmured, "And that throne, why have I never found any clue about it in the Immortal Arts Record?"
Everything about it was too bizarre.
"Hmm?"
At this moment, Ye Ming's eyes widened abruptly. He hadn't noticed it earlier, but now he suddenly realized his cultivation had unknowingly taken a step forward.
He had reached the middle stage of the Heavenly Human Realm.
"This..."
This surprising discovery left Ye Ming feeling dizzy, completely bewildered by what had happened.
Although it was a good thing, it was simply too miraculous.
Even though Ye Ming knew that after reaching the Heavenly Human Realm, further advancement wasn't achieved through mere meditation and arduous training.
It relied more on opportunities and epiphanies.
However, when this moment arrived, Ye Ming still felt it was far too sudden.
So sudden that he was completely unprepared.
As Ye Ming stood stunned, Nogawa Kyoko, who had been unconscious, began to stir.
"Hmm?"
Upon regaining consciousness, Nogawa Kyoko immediately felt a warmth spread through her body, a state of great comfort. She could also sense a potent masculine energy.
"This..."
Nogawa Kyoko's beautiful eyes suddenly widened, completely unaware of what was happening.
Because at this moment, she was lying in Ye Ming's arms.
And our young master Ye, in his haste to save her, hadn't paid attention to such details. Just like him, who was currently stunned by his cultivation advancement, he hadn't realized this either.
Therefore, Nogawa Kyoko's current predicament was something only she was experiencing – that hint of... ambiguity in the air.
However, this sensation lasted only a moment.
Because what she discovered next completely obliterated that hint of ambiguity.
"Good heavens! What... what is happening! Am I... am I dreaming?"
As Nogawa Kyoko instinctively covered her mouth with her hand, still reeling from that momentary ambiguity, she was astonished to find that her palm, which had been dry and wrinkled, had somehow become soft and fair, like solidified cream, as if it could exude moisture.
It was utterly indistinguishable from that of a woman in her early twenties.
This delightful discovery caused Nogawa Kyoko's entire delicate body to tremble.
Everything felt so dreamlike.
But even more dreamlike was yet to come.
Her once frost-white hair now cascaded down like a black waterfall, smooth and emitting a refreshing fragrance.
Her clouded pupils had transformed into two dazzling stars, shimmering with clarity, radiant and captivating.
Furthermore, the wrinkles on her aged face, like mottled stones, and her drooping eyelashes had vanished. In their place was a stunning beauty, like a hibiscus emerging from water, an astonishing initial appearance, and a countenance that could topple cities with a smile.
These scenes were as if Nogawa Kyoko had been reborn, returning to her most beautiful years.
"Am I... am I dreaming?"
Nogawa Kyoko gently stroked her cheek. To confirm whether she was in a dream, she even pinched her tender skin lightly.
As a faint sensation of pain spread, she realized that this was not a dream.
It was a beautiful reality.
The beauty of this reality had made her forget that she was still in a man's embrace.
Unconsciously, Nogawa Kyoko's beautiful eyes began to mist over, and the moisture gradually spread, blurring her vision.
Finally, it turned into frost that traced down her eye sockets, crossing the side of her high nose. A few drops trickled into her mouth.
Yet, the sensation upon her taste buds was sweet.
A sweetness she had never experienced before.
She recalled that she too had once been a woman of unparalleled beauty in the eyes of many. Her cultivation had made her the most dazzling star among the younger generation.
However, after that star fell, the nightmare began.
Forced to wander in a foreign land.
Distrust from her lover.
Ridicule upon returning to her clan.
Eventually, she lived in seclusion.
Becoming an old woman alone.
Though less than fifty at the time, she had aged to the state of a seventy or eighty-year-old, appearing disheveled. Before she could even come to terms with aging, she faced death.
Her unwillingness, her pain.
Her anger, her sorrow.
No one could she confide in, and no one could understand.
But as Nogawa Kyoko beheld herself radiating glory once more, the tears in her eyes flowed uncontrollably.
Did her current state signify that her past unwillingness, pain, anger, and sorrow could finally be erased?
And could she, too, live again?
No woman could accept a life that withered before it truly bloomed.
Now, everything had a chance to start anew.
Gradually, as Nogawa Kyoko wiped away the tears from her eyes, she bid farewell to her past self. From this day forward, her life should shine again.
As her thoughts slowly calmed, Nogawa Kyoko accepted everything.
However, the warm chest she was leaning against made her body go limp once more.
She turned her head and looked at the young man, who seemed to be lost in thought, her hazy eyes filled with a complex, undefinable emotion.
Her return to her most beautiful years was all thanks to this man.
The gratitude in her heart was inexpressible.
But!
Nogawa Kyoko suddenly shook her head and closed her eyes. Her once soft body melted into the warm embrace once more.
"Just... indulge myself this once!"