Even though it was only a small part of the blood grudge, the dreamless celestial emperor's eyes were forcefully turned red in an instant, followed quickly by her skin and long hair. Bloody aura oozed out of her body nonstop. If it weren’t for her power level, she would have already been turned into meat paste.

"Let's go," Tianming said to Xian Xian, causing it to rapidly return to his lifebound space. Then he turned back and hugged the girl that was shrouded in a bloody mist. Using all the power he had, he retreated from the dreamless celestial emperor. Even now, his left eye still hurt quite a lot. This was the closest he had felt to death in all his life. If it weren’t for Feiling, he would have lost his eye.

Now that he had managed to keep the Azurespirit, it wasn't for naught. If it weren’t for its resistance, he would've lost his eye in an instant. It was only now that he understood why the dreamless celestial emperor wasn't that worried about him destroying his own left eye. The Azurespirit had a will of its own, and Tianming wasn't the kind of person that would kill it.

The dreamless celestial emperor couldn’t give chase, staying rooted on the ground and shaking. She let out a heart-rending cry, expelling the red mist from her body and dying the area around her red.

"Don't leave!" she cried, the capillaries around her eyes pulsing. Even with her powerful regenerative capabilities, she wasn't immune to the blood grudge. As long as it didn't leave her body, the effects would be permanent. While Tianming and Feiling weren't able to kill the dreamless celestial emperor right now, they might have just made her suffer a life of pain. The blood grudge would only leave with Feiling's explicit intention. It seemed like a new killer move; the more death there was around her, the more powerful the blood grudge she could gather. It was a mind-blowing ability.

People began noticing the changes surrounding the dreamless celestial emperor.

"Who is that?"

"It's the dreamless celestial emperor?"

"What's going on? Is she being cooked alive?"

The dreamless celestial emperor was curling up like a cooked shrimp, not to mention her current reddish complexion. The blood grudge was far too terrifying. People began parting around it, watching the 'performance' of the dreamless celestial emperor. Few felt any sympathy for her, especially after witnessing what she had tried to do to Tianming. It was nothing short of cowardly to take advantage of the chaos of battle after Tianming had weakened himself trying to help out their side in the war.

"Stay!" She reached out in the direction Tianming had left in, but he was long gone. Not only had she lost her chance, the blood grudge simply wouldn't scatter, constantly eroding away at her body and mind. It was an eternal nightmare. Her hate began simmering to a boiling point. "Li Tianming! Even if the sun emperor doesn't get rid of you, I’ll make you pay the price as long as you're still in Orderia!"

The people around her whispered among themselves before scattering. Tianming, on the other hand, had completely put her out of his mind, having been reunited with his beloved.

"Ling'er! Ling'er!" It was as if he had turned ten years younger. His joy was clear to see on his face. He was so happy that he had even forgotten about the pain in his left eye. The girl in his arms had been completely freed of the blood grudge. He could smell her familiar, refreshing fragrance once more. It was like clear water in spring, transparent as a crystal.

However, he soon found himself stunned. For some reason, she seemed smaller than before, not just in size! Even her curves were gone!

"What in the world?" When he finally gave her a good look after escaping the danger, he almost coughed out blood. She looked just as beautiful as before, like a celestial fairy with the most pristine skin and a mischievous, yet charming smile. However, she stood only one point four meters tall! Everything about her made her look like a ten-year-old girl! Sure, she was pretty, but the age disparity felt… off, somehow. He could barely breathe, almost fainting at the thought that the pleasure balls in his spatial ring would go to waste.

"Big Brother, when the flower first formed, I took the form of a baby. It took me a year to grow to this point before I could leave the flower. What, is there a problem?" Feiling said with a sly, teasing smile.

"No... not really... um... Let's see, benefits of your size.... Ah, I can hug you all day without feeling tired!" he firmly said.

"You wouldn't dare mess around while I'm still small like this, right?"

"No way, I'll wait for you to grow up first. Yeah, let's do that." As pretty as she was, she was much cuter than before. Seeing how he reacted, she couldn't help but stifle a laugh. Tianming felt like he would definitely have fallen in love with her had he met her current self when he was thirteen. Let's keep it platonic, then! he thought, deciding to put the pleasure balls in cold storage.

Right then, he felt a sudden chill. Looking at her with the gaze of a wolf, he said, "It only took you one year to grow so much?"

"That's right. It's not like I got reincarnated for real, so it's much faster."

"Not bad.... Sixteen-year-olds are considered full-fledged adults, so it's just another six months, then...."

"Don't make me beat you to death!" Despite saying that, she tightly hugged him. They hadn't seen one another for far too long. Even if she could hide her feelings, she couldn't hide her tears. She snuggled against him, burrowing her head in his chest.

"Ling'er...." He hugged her back, feeling her familiar warmth. He had missed her just as much.

However, the onlookers around them had other ideas, most of them watching in shock.

"Heavens! That girl's only ten, isn't she?"

"Tsk tsk tsk... This is a little...."

Tianming didn't know how to react. "Ling'er, you should call me 'daddy' for now."