Chapter 578: Hold Her Tightly

"Will you feel sorry for me in the future?" Xie Yan gazed at her brows and eyes.

"Watch your performance." Yuan Yao smiled.

But just then, Yuan Yao keenly sensed several streams of Abyssal Beast aura approaching nearby; she collected her smile, lifted her eyes, and exchanged a glance with Xie Yan.

She quickly looked toward the others.

Qian Yunzhou and a few others slightly nodded in her direction.

Soon, several Abyssal Beasts lunged at them!

A melee thus erupted!

At the same moment, the other three groups also engaged the Abyssal Beasts.

Time trickled by.

Besides the Abyss Squad's daily hunting of Abyssal Beasts, it was soon discovered by the Yao and Mo clans' heaven's pride teams.

The Yao and Mo clans' heaven's pride naturally refused to fall behind; they also regarded hunting Abyssal Beasts as a means to increase their strength.

As time passed, the number of Abyssal Beasts in the Abyssal Realm sharply declined.

Moreover, the other high-level Abyssal Beasts possessed considerable intelligence; upon seeing these heaven's pride individuals, they would hide, fearing being slaughtered by them.

One day after a year, Yuan Yao held a talk with the leaders of the Yao and Mo clans.

The heaven's pride of the three clans temporarily set aside their new and old grudges, sparring together to improve their cultivation as much as possible, then jointly confronting the Abyssal Beast Lord.

The Yao and Mo clans had no objections.

However, the heaven's pride team led by Ying Wuhuan did have some objections.

But soon, they were beaten into submission.

Yuan Yao said: "From now on, when we encounter Abyssal Beasts, we won't kill them; we can treat them as sparring partners."

"Alright." Quan Li raised an eyebrow.

And after the talk, the Abyssal Realm experienced a turbulent upheaval.

All the heaven's pride individuals stayed within their respective camps.

Taking this opportunity, many heaven's pride individuals chose to enter seclusion, striving to break through their cultivation realms.

During that year spent in the Abyssal Realm, Yuan Yao's cultivation broke through from mid Spirit Transformation Realm to mid Void Refinement Realm.

The advancement speed of the other heaven's pride individuals was also not low.

Moreover, the Abyss Squad suffered no losses over that year, remaining thirty-nine strong.

By contrast, the Tian Jiaocheng team now also numbers only thirty-nine.

At this moment.

Yuan Yao was in the quiet chamber carved out of the camp, and she communicated with the 250 System via her thoughts: "I want to exchange for information."

【Host, because you have conquered fewer than a hundred people in a year, the cost of exchanging information will increase. An ordinary piece of information will deduct ten thousand days of your lifespan; a piece about the male and female leads will deduct two million days.】

Yuan Yao's face turned completely black.

Although she felt a pang of regret, she urgently needed to know the outside world's news at this moment.

"Is the Carefree Sect, from top to bottom, safe now?"

【Ding! Reply to host: Safe. The system will automatically deduct ten thousand days of the host's lifespan.】

Yuan Yao let out a sigh of relief.

【Host, over the past year, you have asked the same question twelve times. Do you need to change the question?】

Yuan Yao asked: "Is the cultivation world presently at peace?"

【Ding! Reply to host: Still safe. The system will automatically deduct ten thousand days of the host's lifespan.】

"Is there any way for us to quickly leave the Abyssal Realm without having to deal with the Abyssal Beast Lord?"

【Ding! Reply to host: No. The system…】

Yuan Yao interrupted it: "You haven't given a solution, so this doesn't count as a problem; I was just chatting with you earlier. You cannot deduct my lifespan days."

"250, what exactly are you?"

250 System: 【Host, once you fully complete the conquest mission, you will know my identity.】

Yuan Yao lowered her eyes: "What if I cannot complete the conquest mission?"

250 System: 【Host, if you insist on knowing my identity, there is another way: you can learn it in the instant before your death.】

"250, do you want me to die for you to see?" Yuan Yao's mouth twitched a few times.

【Dear host, this system does not mean that.】

"I know, you do." Yuan Yao drew her sword, pointed it at her neck, slowly closed her eyes, and prepared to slit her throat.

【Ahhhhhhhhh!!! Stop!】 The 250 System suddenly screamed, discovering that the sharp blade had already cut her skin, it shouted urgently: 【Stop stop stop! I'll tell you a few pieces of information! Don't die don't die don't die!】

Yuan Yao's motion paused.

"You speak first, what is the information?"

【The female lead Lu Xiangxiang and the male lead Xu Yanzhi have, over the past year, scavenged most of the heavenly treasures and earthly riches of the cultivation world; the female lead Lu Xiangxiang has further absorbed the spiritual energy of several spirit veins, advancing her cultivation to late Void Refinement Realm.】

【Within this year, Thousand Jade Mountain has repeatedly tried to kill the male and female leads, yet never succeeded; the male and female leads are now deeply protected by the protagonist's halo, making them unkillable.】

【To seize their protagonist's halo, one must complete the conquest mission.】

【Now, host, you cannot complete the conquest mission; that is, you cannot take away their protagonist's halo, which is why everything they do goes smoothly.】

【The male and female leads, using the stolen Great Nothing Scroll, have controlled the Yao and Mo clans within the scroll, and have already persuaded them to return to the Yao and Mo realms to seize power, becoming the rulers of the Yao and Mo realms. Once they hold power, that will be when the Yao and Mo realms join forces to besiege the cultivation world.】

【The Great Prince Quan Wu, who returned to the demon clan over seven hundred years ago, has contacted his trusted subordinates from that time, and is now preparing to assassinate the current Demon Emperor, seize power, and ascend the throne.】

"Quan Wu..." Yuan Yao's complexion slightly changed; she had once crossed hands with him in the Flowing Light Secret Realm.

Quan Wu is an extremely dangerous demon.

Yuan Yao never imagined the male and female leads would go this crazy, actually wanting the demon and monster realms to besiege the cultivation world, repeating the tragedy of over seven hundred years ago.

Yuan Yao gritted her teeth and said, "With their character, how could they become the male and female leads?!"

【Everything must wait until the host completes the conquest mission before this system will inform you.】250 System, seeing she seemed not to want to die, silently let out a breath.

Yuan Yao took a deep breath, "Idiot, why did you choose me?"

【It's not a matter of choice between us.】

"What kind of relationship is that?"

【You'll know later.】

Yuan Yao closed her eyes, tightly gripping the sword hilt in silence; she could not let the male and female leads stir up great chaos in the three realms!

She had to… quickly leave the Boundary Abyss!

Conquest mission?

That meant she had to raise her mental power as much as possible.

An unprecedented sense of urgency weighed heavily on her mind and body.

At that moment, she suddenly sensed something; before she could see who had come, her Phantom Spirit Sword was knocked from her hand.

With a clang.

Yuan Yao looked in shock at the person who had come.

"Yuan Yao, what are you trying to do?!" Xie Yan's face paled somewhat, he spoke anxiously, his gaze falling on her bleeding white neck, his brows furrowed tightly, his voice slightly trembling, "Do you want to die?"

Yuan Yao froze.

"No……"

She didn't want to die; she was just trying to scare that idiot.

Before she could finish speaking, Xie Yan's warm hand already covered her neck, gathering spiritual power to heal her wound.

Xie Yan stared at her fixedly.

"Speak."

Yuan Yao opened her mouth guiltily: "I just accidentally cut myself; you… you should believe me, right."

Seeing her like this, Xie Yan knew she wasn't truly seeking death; his tense mind and body finally relaxed a bit, he reached out and tightly embraced Yuan Yao, as if wanting to rub her into his flesh and bone.

"From now on… don't be careless again."