I hurriedly opened my eyes, pressing a hand against my wildly thumping chest as I scanned my surroundings—only to be utterly shocked.

  In front of me, behind me, above and below—everything was shrouded in dense, deep-purple mist, carrying a faint scent of blood. The sky, the ke, the trees, the mountains—everything had vanished. All that remained was an eerie sea of violet, sending chills down my spine.

  “What… is this pce?! How did we end up here?” I clutched his sleeve tightly, my voice trembling with fear.

  He patted my head and smiled. “Don’t be scared. We're still in the sky, and the ke is still below us. Nothing has actually changed. It's just that we can't see it right now.”

  “Really?” I gnced at the faintly shifting purple mist around us, feeling slightly reassured—until I suddenly panicked again and jumped up. “What about that ugly creature? Is it hiding here too?!”

  “No, no, it’s gone,” he said, pulling me into his arms to calm me. “It managed to escape just now.”

  “What?!” My eyes widened in shock. “But… but you shot it with an arrow! There's no way it could've escaped! How could this—”

  "That's right. It originally had no chance of escaping, but..." He shrugged, looking rather helpless. "I never expected that it would willingly destroy hundreds of years of cultivation just to gain temporary freedom."

  "Hundreds of years of cultivation?" I was utterly confused.

  "The pearl it spat out just now was its inner core. It sacrificed centuries of cultivation to create this boundless purple mist, all just to trap us here and secure its escape." He chuckled to himself, a hint of self-mockery in his tone. "A wicked dragon is still a dragon, after all. No ordinary creature… Even in the face of death, it refuses to admit defeat. Heh."

  "You mean... this purple mist is a prison it created for us?" I was beginning to grasp his words, but with that realization came a new concern. "Then doesn't that mean we're trapped here?"

  "We won't be stuck for long." He remained calm as he sat down cross-legged. "This trick is powerful, but it won't st. In less than three hours, the mist will disperse. We just have to wait patiently."

  "Oh, I see. That's a relief." Hearing his expnation, I finally felt at ease.

  "Come, sit down. After all this chaos, you must be exhausted." He closed his eyes, speaking without even lifting his head.

  "Oh."

  I responded with a soft "oh" and sat down close beside him, mimicking his posture as I crossed my legs and closed my eyes to rest.

  Now that he mentioned it, I truly did feel utterly exhausted. After everything that had just happened—one heart-stopping moment after another—even someone made of iron would have fallen apart by now.

  Time passed, second by second. As the tension in my body gradually eased, an unstoppable drowsiness crept over me.

  So sleepy.

  It was so quiet all around.

  I could no longer sit upright. My body swayed unsteadily before finally giving in—I simply let myself colpse, lying comfortably on the "ground" and drifting off to sleep.

  Sleeping in the sky… this was a first for me.

  "Sha Luo, wake up!"

  A familiar voice echoed by my ear, calling me again and again.

  I stirred slightly but felt too zy to open my eyes.

  "Get up! We need to go!"

  Two strong hands grabbed me and pulled me up.

  Reluctantly, I forced my eyes open—

  What?!

  The sight before me instantly wiped away any trace of drowsiness.

  The purple mist had indeed vanished, and even the pitch-bck sky had returned to its bright, daytime crity. Between the pristine white clouds, a warm and radiant beam of sunlight shone down.

  Before me, the severed ke rippled gently, its surface shimmering like jade. The trees along the shore stood tall and proud; not a single one had fallen. Their branches and leaves swayed with the breeze, casting reflections on the water that danced in harmony with the waves.

  Looking down, I realized that I was now sitting on the soft mud by the keshore—no wonder it had felt so comfortable.

  Had everything truly returned to normal?

  Had all the danger passed?

  I could hardly believe my own eyes.

  Turning my head, I found him watching me with a bright, amused smile. "Sleeping in the sky isn't exactly safe, so I brought you down. I'm surprised you slept so soundly."

  Feeling a little embarrassed, I stuck out my tongue pyfully. "I just suddenly felt so exhausted, so I..."

  "Alright, alright, you little sleepyhead." He chuckled and pulled me to my feet. "Come on, we should get moving."

  "Where are we going?" I patted the dust off my clothes, puzzled.

  "To find that wicked dragon, of course. With its nature, I'm afraid it'll cause more trouble." He looked ahead with a worried expression. "It's already badly injured—it won't have gotten far."

  "We still have to go after that ugly thing?" I muttered in reluctance.

  "Of course! We can't let it turn another pce into a second Daizhou City. Let's go." His sharp ears caught my grumbling, and as he spoke, he grabbed my hand and pulled me forward.

  What he said made perfect sense.

  Though I truly didn't want to see that creature again, I also couldn't stand the thought of more innocent lives being lost because of its recklessness. He had always told me—whether god or mortal, beast or insect—all life is precious and should never be taken lightly.

  Being around him had changed me. I had never given much thought to the value of "life" before, but little by little, I had been influenced by his beliefs.

  "Alright, I understand." I pressed my lips together and followed closely behind him.

  Then I asked, "But is everything here really fine now? The weather seems back to normal."

  "Yes. The culprit has fled and is unlikely to return. The disaster in Daizhou City… is finally over."

  "That's great. At least our efforts weren't in vain."

  "Hehe..."

  The sunlight grew brighter, bathing the entire world in a sense of safety and warmth.

  Beyond Daizhou City, we traveled swiftly along the mountain road, riding the wind as always, heading straight for Dongting Lake—over a hundred miles away.

  He said that creature must have fled in that direction. The dragon blood dripping from its wounds had clearly marked its path.

  I had no idea how he managed to trace the so-called "dragon blood" amid the vast forest and rugged mountains. I only knew one thing—if I followed him, we would always reach our destination.

  Dongting Lake—what a beautiful name.

  I wondered… What kind of story awaited us there?