At this moment, Roxanne Lin felt the Iceflame Crystal in her hand growing warm. She began circulating her Stellar Power, slowly absorbing the energy within.
As soon as the Iceflame Crystal’s energy entered her body, it rushed straight toward her dantian, then poured directly into her Earth Star Pellet, gradually filling the space inside.
At first, Roxanne didn’t feel anything unusual; it was much like absorbing Starstone energy, with nothing out of the ordinary.
But as more and more Iceflame Crystal energy flooded in, she noticed her Stellar Power was rapidly merging and slowly transforming into this strange new energy.
Although Roxanne realized something was changing, she didn’t know how to handle it. She could only slow her absorption, but the energy inside the Iceflame Crystal seemed to have found a breakthrough and kept pouring into her body without pause.
This was exactly the same as when Evan Chu absorbed the Iceflame Crystal—there was simply no way to stop it. Although she was alarmed, she remembered Evan’s warning: no matter what happens, don’t stop.
The energy gas inside her Earth Star Pellet kept increasing, as if it might burst at any moment, making Roxanne unbearably uncomfortable. Still, she could only grit her teeth and endure.
Time passed slowly. Evan watched Roxanne’s constantly changing expressions, knowing she was suffering greatly, but he couldn’t help her bear any of it.
The energy inside the Iceflame Crystal was immense; only by absorbing all of it could the Vermilion Bird Mark be erased and her bloodline awakened. When that happened, Roxanne could break straight through to the ninth layer of the Earth Martial Realm—and if her Vermilion Bird Bloodline was pure enough, advancing to the Heaven Martial Realm would be perfectly normal.
Evan remembered Luna, the sword spirit, saying just how terrifying it was to absorb all of this. He worried that Roxanne might not be able to withstand it and lose everything, his heart full of concern for her.
Now, Roxanne felt that the energy gas in her Earth Star Pellet had reached total saturation. The incoming energy began slowly flowing into all her meridians.
At first, she didn’t notice anything, but as more and more energy filled her meridians, pain started to build—soon it was so intense it felt like her meridians might snap. She couldn’t help but cry out.
Seeing her state, Evan Chu immediately called out, "Roxy, hang in there! No matter what, you have to hold on!"
Roxanne nodded, the pain soaking her clothes with sweat and twisting her facial muscles. Combined with the Vermilion Bird Mark on her face, she looked as fierce as a demon from hell.
"Evan, I can’t take it anymore!" Roxanne screamed in agony, her endurance pushed to the absolute limit.
Evan was frantic, rushing to Roxanne’s side and saying, "You have to hold on, no matter what! If you give up, your body will explode and you’ll die! You can't just abandon your man!"
Maybe Evan’s words worked—Roxanne managed to endure again. The Vermilion Bird Mark on her face began to glow red, and an ancient, powerful aura spread through the room.
Gradually, the Iceflame Crystal in Roxanne’s hand disappeared, all its energy absorbed into her body. If she were at the ninth layer of the Earth Martial Realm, the pain would be minimal. Unfortunately, she was only at the third layer.
If Evan hadn’t changed her constitution through their union, Roxanne might have died from her mark exploding.
Even so, she fell into unconsciousness, and there was a real chance she might never wake up again.
"Roxy, wake up! Please wake up!" Evan cried out anxiously when he saw Roxanne had fainted from the unbearable pain inside her body.
"Evan, let me handle it. Her body is far too weak—making it this far is already a miracle," Luna, the sword spirit, said. A beam of white light shot from Evan’s brow into Roxanne’s forehead.
The Vermilion Bird Mark on Roxanne’s face was still glowing red. After Luna’s white light entered her, Roxanne slowly woke up, forcing a bitter smile at Evan’s worried gaze.
"Evan, have her slowly guide the Iceflame Crystal’s energy toward her facial mark. This is the most critical moment for breaking the seal. Step back—you must not disturb her now," Luna instructed.
Evan immediately retreated several steps and said to Roxanne, "Roxy, move the energy in your body toward your facial mark. This is the key moment to remove the mark and awaken your bloodline. You have to hold on!"
Roxanne didn’t reply, but slowly followed Evan’s instructions, guiding the energy toward her facial mark. Because her meridians were damaged, it was agonizingly slow and painful, but she gritted her teeth and endured.
The mark on her face grew brighter and brighter, until it seemed like the whole room was dyed red. Evan watched as the Vermilion Bird Mark on Roxanne’s face gradually shrank.
Minute by minute, time passed. Roxanne felt her pain easing—perhaps because the energy was being slowly released. After an unknown length of time, the mark on her face vanished.
The red light in the room faded as well, but a tiny red bird phantom appeared. Evan sensed that if this little bird wanted to attack him, it could kill him instantly.
The aura it radiated was terrifying—just as overwhelming as the Ice-Fire Twin Dragons Evan had once faced.
Roxanne was completely unaware of the phantom’s appearance; she was still slowly moving the last traces of energy within her body.
At that moment, inside a magnificent golden-red hall, a middle-aged man with flaming red hair and clothes suddenly addressed dozens of people below him:
"Our Vermilion Bird Clan’s Saintess has finally awakened. I can feel her seal breaking. Left and Right Protectors, go bring the Saintess back to the Vermilion Bird Temple at once!"
"Yes, Hall Master! We’ll leave immediately!" replied two middle-aged men. They strode out of the hall, their bodies glowing red. Two enormous fire-covered birds, far larger than Goldwing the Golden Vulture, soared into the sky.
Just then, Evan saw the red bird phantom dive into Roxanne’s brow, and a burst of red light erupted from her body.
In an instant, her whole being seemed to change. The red light was so dazzling that no one could open their eyes. Evan vaguely saw a massive red divine bird spreading its wings before him.
A deafening birdsong burst from Roxanne’s mouth, just like the dragon roar Evan had once released—completely involuntary.
After a moment, everything returned to normal. Roxanne’s eyes were still closed, the mark on her face was gone, but her hair was wild and messy.
Soon Roxanne opened her eyes, looked at Evan, and immediately broke down in tears. "Thank you, Evan, thank you!"
Evan hugged her tightly and said, "You’re safe now, Roxy! Your mark is gone! We’ll never be separated again."
But Roxanne gently pushed Evan away, choking up as she said, "Evan, maybe this chance won’t last. I’ll have to leave soon—my bloodline’s awakened, and someone will come to take me away."
"Who? Who’s coming to take you?" Evan asked urgently. The news hit him like a thunderbolt, leaving him almost speechless.
Just then, a voice sounded behind him: "We are..."
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