Unknown to the girl, Lin Luo had accompanied her through those twelve years, traversing the brief yet winding path of her life from birth to the present moment. They tasted every bitterness together, shouldered every sorrow and separation, and reflected upon every trial and tribulation as one.

Twelve years of life, slow and agonizingly hard, but those times had passed.

When Lin Luo withdrew from the state of "Enlightenment," his body could finally move again. He was acutely aware that twelve years had transpired within the "Enlightenment," yet in reality, mere seconds had elapsed.

Turning back, he looked at the girl before him; the will to fight had vanished from his heart, because… he had lived twelve years alongside her, never separated for a moment.

The girl also refrained from attacking, instead gazing at Lin Luo with a complex expression—a look containing fear, unease, and something far deeper that Lin Luo could not fathom.

"Let us stop here. There is no need for us to fight any longer. I have accompanied you for twelve years; you must have accompanied me for over twenty," Lin Luo said to the girl, his tone gentle.

Though he could not explain the sudden anomaly that had occurred, the girl had been as frozen as he was. If he could perceive everything about her, then theoretically, she could do the same to him.

The girl remained silent, still staring blankly, as if she had gone simpleminded.

The truth was indeed so: the Evil Sovereign—or Cui Xin, as she should be called now—had witnessed every moment of Lin Luo’s existence, from life to death, and back from death to life; not a single secret remained hidden.

Seeing her reaction, Lin Luo knew his guess was correct. Although this was an unexpected exchange where neither party gained or lost anything by swapping experiences, he couldn't help but feel a wave of embarrassment. After all, his life contained many private and unsavory moments, and to have a twelve-year-old girl witness all of that—how could he bear it?

Of course, that thought flashed and vanished. Having lived with the girl for twelve years, he understood her inner thoughts perfectly. His own shameful moments would at most cause him a blush; they were harmless. But the girl's sorrowful past was her secret alone; she didn't want anyone to know, didn't want it mentioned, and was unwilling even to recall it herself.

That deepest, most painful scar—she would never allow anyone to touch it, no matter what!

But now, he knew everything about her. How was she to carry on?

"Are you alright?" Noticing the girl still hadn't snapped out of it, Lin Luo instinctively reached out a hand.

"Don't!" The girl recoiled like a startled rabbit, her face suddenly panicked, taking a swift step back and slapping out at Lin Luo’s hand.

Smack! Lin Luo's hand was pushed away.

"Ah!" Due to the resistance of her consciousness, her body reacted instinctively. Yet, watching the hand retreat, a clear flicker of reluctance crossed the girl's eyes.

During those arduous years, she had prayed countless times for someone to help her, to pull her out of the pit of fire, to offer her affection. Not for a single moment had she stopped hoping for a hero to descend from the heavens.

But every expectation was met with repeated disappointment, finally descending into despair. A hero, such a dazzling existence, was something she could never hope for, nor would such a figure ever notice someone as insignificant as her.

Thus, she suffered every insult and tasted the bitter hardships of the world.

This despair gradually transformed into misplaced anger, fostering an extreme disdain for heroes. But having seen all of Lin Luo's experiences, she knew that if this person—someone who would give his life without hesitation or complaint for the one he loved—had been by her side then… if she had met him sooner, perhaps she wouldn't have become what she was now.

No, that wasn't right! This wasn't how it should be; she had chosen the Path of Evil, she shouldn't yearn for warmth!

But this person had seen everything about her. Before him, she had no secrets…

Kill him! Kill him! Only by killing him could she return to her true self!

No, impossible! She couldn't do it. They had walked together for so many years, shared laughter and tears, gazed upon hope and faced despair together—she couldn't kill him, couldn't!

No, she must kill him! Having stepped onto the Path of Evil, there was no turning back!

But!

The two choices, to kill or not to kill, clashed violently in the girl's heart, like the pans of a scale tilting back and forth. Every time one side tipped, the other would launch a fierce counter-resistance, yet be unable to suppress it.

Swaying left and right, never ceasing.

This was the contradiction within the girl's soul.

"Ahhhh!" This conflicting emotion struck her soul directly, making calmness impossible. With a sudden, sharp cry, she brought her palm down upon Lin Luo.

Slap!

With a crisp sound, Lin Luo caught her wrist.

"This is?" The girl's face shifted slightly. When had her ethereal form reverted to flesh and blood? But what shocked her even more was the person opposite her.

Lin Luo looked at her calmly, his eyes betraying no joy or sorrow, yet possessing a profound understanding. "There is no need to fight anymore. Even if you attack me, I will not fight back. Since neither side can be abandoned, and a decision cannot be reached, why not find a balance between the two?"

Lin Luo had lived with the girl for twelve years; he knew precisely what she was thinking.

"..." The girl fell silent. She followed the extreme Path of Evil; could balance even exist there?

"Balance does exist, because the path you walk is not solely the Path of Evil," Lin Luo stated again. This time, his tone was not accusatory, but rather like gentle guidance. "True evil is believing something is evil from the bottom of your heart, yet doing it anyway, knowing it is wrong. But you are different. Killing or destroying the world—these cannot be simply labeled as pure evil! Evil is complex; it is not simple. What you follow is a purer Path of Slaughter."

"The Path… of Art…?" The girl was stunned.

"Is it not so?" Lin Luo countered, then affirmed, "You know the wickedness of the world, you know the injustice of the Heavenly Dao; the benevolent receive no salvation, while the wicked flourish. Thus, you use slaughter to curb evil—that is your essence. You have not abandoned kindness; you are merely presenting it in another form."

"No! I…" The girl tried to argue, but the words died in her throat. She couldn't find a rebuttal because she was fundamentally incapable of lying before this person. He could deceive himself, even deceive the entire world, but… she simply could not lie to him!

She had known it from the very beginning: her Path of Slaughter.

"Entering the Dao through slaughter allows one to be ruthless, cold, and bloodthirsty, but that does not mean warmth is absent from the heart. On the contrary, those who step onto the Path of Slaughter will treat their enemies with the frigidity of deep winter, but towards friends, towards those they cherish, they will be more devoted than ordinary people. Aren't you… aren't you like that?" Lin Luo reached out and touched the girl's chest, where a powerful heartbeat thundered.

The girl stood motionless, equally speechless.

Silence followed—a silence as profound as the void.

After an indeterminate time, the girl suddenly turned away, as if speaking only to herself. "I'm going back." She uttered only those four words.

Lin Luo nodded. "Continue your Path of Slaughter, but please, do not forget the warmth in your heart."

The girl’s frame trembled, but she said nothing more, vanishing instantly.

Watching the girl disappear before his eyes, Lin Luo sighed softly. However, just as he prepared to leave, his expression abruptly changed.

What was this! My Spiritual Seed?

Lin Luo was shocked to discover that a piece of his Spiritual Seed was missing. Though minuscule, it was definitely gone, and the missing portion had been replenished by another spiritual imprint—one familiar yet unfamiliar… It was the spiritual imprint of the Evil Sovereign, Cui Xin!

Could it have been just now?

Lin Luo abruptly recalled the moment their spiritual bodies had intersected. It was highly likely that in that instant, a small fragment of spiritual essence had been left behind within the other's body.

But why did such a thing happen? Furthermore, neither he nor Cui Xin were exhausted; they were fighting at such a fierce peak, so why did all their power suddenly vanish?

It was only now that Lin Luo had the opportunity to ponder the core issue, but no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't grasp any satisfying answer—it felt like the answer was right before his eyes, yet utterly intangible.

Finally, with a sense of resignation, he gave up the speculation and flew toward the original stellar domain.

In truth, the event that had just transpired was not an accident, but an instinctual form of protection. This instinct did not stem from themselves but from the Heavenly Realm Intent.

If they had continued to fight in their current life forms until their strength was depleted, causing their Divine Souls to solidify, they would have remained fixed in that state forever, unable to reach the Heavenly Rank unless a powerhouse from the Ninth Heaven of the Heavenly Rank reshaped their Divine Souls.

The Heavenly Realm Intent would not permit such a scenario.

Therefore, to protect their ability to naturally ascend to the Heavenly Rank, that event had occurred.

Of course, such self-protection was a one-time event. Had the two continued fighting afterward, no further interference would have occurred, and likewise, reaching the Heavenly Rank would become significantly harder for them.

Lin Luo did not understand these protective mechanisms because he was currently only Quasi-Heavenly Rank. If he could truly grasp the significance of the physical body, it would mean he had already attained the First Realm of the Heavenly Rank!

The physical body leaping across worlds—that was the most crucial thing!

The self-protection of the Heavenly Realm Intent occurs only once in a lifetime. Having used it now, the intent would never protect them again, but every loss carried a gain.

In that instant, Lin Luo and Cui Xin had achieved a blending of Divine Souls, even leaving a sliver of a Spiritual Seed within the other’s body. This was akin to splitting in two: the sliver of the Spiritual Seed left within the other would absorb all of that person's accumulated experience and knowledge, without any loss to the original holder.

In other words, Lin Luo and Cui Xin simultaneously entered a world and gained a complete realization; each of them would now possess two sets of insights.

The path to the Heavenly Rank had just been accelerated by a factor of two!