Qi Yuan fell silent as he stared at the storage pouch. He picked up a dish with a complicated gaze. "It hasn't gone bad, has it? It's been so many years, after all... This girl even saved some fish for me."

Lifting a piece with his chopsticks, he chewed it slowly, relishing in the taste.

At that moment, a childish voice sounded beside his ear.

"Hehe, actually, my name isn't No-Food. I never had a name. The first time I saw you, I already knew that we would meet three times. Why? Because I didn't just hear your voice. I heard your thoughts as well."

The voice was tender and youthful, like the words she had wanted to say the first time they met. It took Qi Yuan back to his last meeting with her.

He finally understood. No wonder she had seemed so strange. She had heard his thoughts. She knew they would meet again, and that she would die at the hands of a Yang Spirit.

Qi Yuan continued eating the fish as the girl's chatter went on.

"When I first saw you, I was very wary. I thought you would eat me. I wronged you. But hehe, I actually wanted to eat you. I was just too timid."

She recounted her past like writing in a diary, complaining about her lonely life. Meanwhile, he kept savoring the fish carefully. Gradually, the voice in his ear lost its childishness and matured.

"The second time I saw you, I was a little delighted. At last, I could eat delicious fish. I was really, really hungry. Compared to eating fish, nothing else mattered. Your scent had become even more enticing. I really wanted to eat you."

Qi Yuan could not help but recall their second meeting. She was curled up on the ground in a red dress, her face pale. When she looked at him, there had been a trace of greed in her eyes. Yet after the meal, she turned ice cold, pushing him away as if a thousand miles separated them.

His gaze remained calm. "So that was why her attitude suddenly changed back then... She wanted to eat me?"

From her words, he now understood that she possessed both the Innate Origin Physique and the Devouring Origin Physique. These were two terrifying constitutions that clashed against each other. No wonder every time he saw her, she had seemed strange, as if suppressing something. It was her desire to devour his heart.

"We met by chance and you gave me fish to eat. I helped you guard the Heavenly Pillar. We're even. You harbored ill intent, so gobbling you up isn’t unreasonable, right?"

Although she sounded cheerful, Qi Yuan knew her heart was in disarray. The Devouring Origin Physique’s urge to consume was overwhelming and intense.

Then, he recalled how she had collapsed after eating ordinary fish. She was already a Mythic by then. The same woman who had never bowed her head or cried out in pain, even when facing a Yang Spirit, trembled on the ground in unbearable agony.

"Fortunately, later I realized I had been eating your blood all along."

Her voice carried a kind of carefree ease. She seemed to have reconciled with herself, overcoming the urge to eat him

In turn, his gaze grew complex. So, she really could’ve eaten me back then?

Even though they were separated by time and space, he sometimes felt a bit threatened around her. He also recalled how she had eaten with relish during their first meeting. Those fish hadn’t been purified at all. He hadn’t understood back then, so he assumed the woman he saw each time was different. Now he knew. She had eaten the tainted fish, enduring extreme pain just to suppress her urge.

His emotions churned. Who would have thought that three simple meetings hid so much beneath the surface?

"I wandered through the Mortal Heart World for ten thousand years. This world is far more interesting than my old home. The scents are much nicer too..."

She sounded so peaceful, so happy.

Qi Yuan remained silent. Her childhood had indeed been tragic. She had been like a caged canary, or even a livestock. However, when she came to the Mortal Heart World, the people she met were similar to Qi Yuan. Short-sighted, they were unaware of her abominable physiques. To them, she was simply another of their kind. It was only natural that she was happier here than in her old home. Those ten thousand years were the happiest of her life.

When he reached the last piece of fish, another voice sounded in his ear.

"We met by chance. Why don’t we make a deal? I'll help you guard the Heavenly Pillar. In exchange, help me protect the Mortal Heart World."

Qi Yuan swallowed the final bite. He remembered how he had exchanged a single fish for her promise to guard the Heavenly Pillar. Now, she had returned all the fish to him. Once she learned that the fish contained his blood, she had kept them for him instead.

Having eaten them, his blood was restored, and his aura deepened.

Qi Yuan sighed. "No-Food Goddess, you’re missing out."

Even without the deal, the game forced him to protect the world anyway.

Many thoughts drifted in his mind. Just then, his gaze shifted sharply. For some reason, he could sense his True Sun Fire surging violently. Before this, the Star Golden Core had always been quiet, steadily devouring other stars according to his will.

He looked inward. "What's going on?"

Ning Tao sat within it, as if time itself were frozen. Due to the Great Forgetfulness Sutra, the Divine Domain seed she awakened was related to time. Yet after eating the fish, the Star Golden Core transformed, as if it had gained a new devouring ability.

Qi Yuan's heart jolted. "Devouring Origin Physique!"

He looked at the now-empty storage pouch, his thoughts racing. Had she added her own blood to avoid owing him? Within him, a faint trace of devouring essence lingered. It was neither a divine position nor a Divine Domain, but something she had stripped from herself and placed within the fish as a gift to him.

He smiled helplessly. "With such a great favor, are you trying to force me to guard this world for a lifetime?"