The people outside had no idea what was happening inside the consciousness space. They could only see Wende and the Lord Ravager who had seized Tingyun's body locked in a stalemate, and they had no idea what to do.
The mara-struck soldiers dispatched to delay them had already been dealt with, but Wende and the Lord Ravager remained motionless.
No one dared to disturb them in the slightest, afraid that their every move would affect the battle.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly! A sinister wind howled, and a yellow-green flame shot out from Tingyun's body. Then, under everyone's astonished gazes, it flew towards the nearby Ambrosial Arbor.
And the two who had been locked in a stalemate underwent a massive change…
---o---
"Miss Tingyun, your body has been severely corroded by Phantylia. In a moment, I will use Yin energy to nourish your body. Your consciousness has already absorbed a great deal of Yang energy, so you don't need to worry about what happens next."
Inside Tingyun's consciousness space, Wende patiently explained to the Tingyun beside him.
"Yes, I thank you for your rescue, Benefactor… but, this must be a considerable burden on you, correct?"
Tingyun placed a hand on her chest, her jade-green eyes filled with worry as she looked at Wende, who was acting as if nothing was wrong.
Originally, her consciousness had been slumbering in some corner, suppressed by Phantylia's powerful will. If not for Wende's power awakening her, all that would be left outside would probably be an empty shell…
"Miss Tingyun… there's one more thing…"
Wende's expression instantly turned awkward. Just now, while injuring Phantylia, he had accidentally received a portion of her memories from after she had seized Tingyun's body…
"That Phantylia… seems to have done a lot of bad things using your body… It might… have many strange side effects. But rest assured, with my Yin-Yang power remaining in your body, there shouldn't be any major problems."
Wende explained to Tingyun with a serious expression.
"Yes, I trust you, Benefactor."
Tingyun nodded at Wende, her eyes full of trust. How could she possibly doubt her savior, who had risked his own life to save her when she was on the verge of dissipating?
"Alright… In that case, Miss Tingyun, let's meet again on the outside."
"Okay, Benefactor… See you soon!"
---o---
Breaking free from the consciousness space, Wende slowly opened his eyes…
"Ugh… as expected, the consequences of overusing Yin-Yang energy are just as I imagined…"
Feeling the pain wracking his entire body and the grogginess in his head, Wende gave a helpless smile…
"Mmm…"
Beside him, Tingyun's fingers twitched, and then, before his eyes, she slowly stirred and awoke… It seemed that Phantylia had left behind a considerable amount of Yang energy in her body, otherwise, Miss Tingyun wouldn't have woken up so quickly…
"Bene… factor?"
Tingyun took a moment to adjust to her body, then slowly opened her eyes. Seeing Wende before her, her jade-green eyes suddenly widened in disbelief.
"Wende! You… how could you…"
"Everyone, on alert! Maintain your guard!"
"How… how did this happen!"
"Benefactor! What happened to you!"
"Phantylia! What did you do!"
"Divine Physician!! To think that!"
"…"
Looking at Wende and Tingyun, whose confrontation had ended, and seeing the shocking change in Wende… the once-quiet platform erupted into chaos once more…
"So… noisy…"
Wende's remaining consciousness slowly thought. Then, a warm embrace, carrying a familiar, refreshing fragrance, enveloped him…
"A little… sleepy…"
Wende murmured, not noticing at all that his voice seemed to have become childish… Then, he fell unconscious.
---o---
"[Destruction]? Is this also part of your plan?"
Outside the universe, a void-like voice posed its question.
"He is not ready yet…"
"Yes, he is not ready. He has not yet touched upon that which he should touch. He has not yet touched the [Dao]."
"Heh heh… I hope you won't regret this when the time comes… Our very existence depends on [Him]…"
---o---
Reality
"Huh?! HUH?!? What do you mean the character Wende cannot be added to the party!?"
Sister Guoguo tore at her beautiful hair until it was a rat's nest, her eyes practically popping out of their sockets as she stared at the prompt on her computer screen… She wanted to use Yìfù to beat the shit out of that bitch Phantylia! How could you! How could you ban my Yìfù!
[miHuYo: Can this game even be played if Wende isn't banned?]
[A new version, a new god; every single version, ban Wende.]
[This isn't the first time Wende's been banned, is it?]
[Weird, why do other missions give you trial characters, but Wende gets banned! I'm fuming, I'm shivering, I'm freezing!]
Fortunately, the subsequent enemies weren't particularly strong. Aside from being numerous and having a lot of health, Sister Guoguo handled them with ease.
After clearing out all the enemies, a cutscene began to play.
A yellow-green flame suddenly burst out of Tingyun's body. Immediately after, Tingyun slowly regained consciousness, while their Yìfù…
Drip…
[Hiss…]
[Ah, this…]
[Sister Guoguo, you've got a nosebleed…]
[Me too…]
[Ah… I… this… everyone…]
[Alright, we all know the deal, here you go (hands over a roll of tissues).]
[Wait! What are you all doing! Open up! FBI!!]
"WTF… This is so intense!"
Looking at the fragrant, soft, and obviously light and lithe young Wende on the screen, his pink and tender shoulder peeking out from his oversized clothes…
Aaaah! The beast within! It has awoken! A strange switch! It's been flipped!
[Yìfù!!! Why! Why have you turned into this!]
[Ehehehe, little Wende, hee hee hee, come let big sister dote on you!]
[Yìfù, I will protect you with my life! Yìfù, your hands are so small… you smell so good…]
[Stop! What are you all doing! He's just a child!!]
The livestream chat gradually spiraled out of control.
At the same time, in the real world, those players who had originally wanted to tear Phantylia to shreds suddenly gave her a collective thumbs-up…
As expected of a Lord Ravager! Her methods are truly ruthless! For the sake of unlocking a new Yìfù for us, we'll let you live a little longer!
"This… this! Wende actually exhausted his power to the point of turning into this form, all for our sake! It's so touching!"
Sister Guoguo wiped away her "moved" drool and made a solemn vow that she would definitely protect her Yìfù!