Unnamed mountain, unnamed pavilion. Actually, this place should have a name.
The girl remembered that approximately 4,000 years later, she and her husband would revisit this place. Stirred by the scenery, they would erect a monument named “Qi Yuan.”
“Xiao Jiu, all encounters in this world are reunions after a long separation. For our fate to find rest in this pavilion is truly the blessing of a lifetime.”
At the time, she had teased him, saying that he was the leader of a clan and they had been together for thousands of years, so why was he being so sentimental?
Now, remembering her husband simply smiling as he personally carved the words onto the stone and then, like a child, drew a heart between their two surnames, the girl felt as if her heart were being carved by a thousand blades.
Ling Yao didn’t know what Yun Heng was thinking then, but she knew better than anyone how much he loved her and how much he cherished that “fate.”
On the long immortal path, finding one person to stay with for a lifetime was truly precious.
Perhaps that was why the two had become a famous model couple in the cultivation world.
Later, this place was even visited by various Daoist couples who would swear “eternal” vows before the Heavenly Dao.
Ling Yao, her clothes tattered, slowly placed her hand on the willow tree that had witnessed the beginning of their fate. She stroked its ancient patterns, her heart filled with a flurry of emotions.
Time reversal had been successful, though the price was unimaginably high — not to mention the 10,000 years of immortal power that would be coveted by countless people even if she fell, the permanent damage to her godhead was something most would never dare to endure.
Because it meant that no matter how hard Ling Yao worked in this life, she would not be able to achieve a normal ascension.
But there would be a way.
Her man was smart, smarter than this world.
She believed Yun Heng would surely find a way for them to ascend to godhood together.
But that was all for later.
Now, Ling Yao only wanted to find Yun Heng as soon as possible, to hug him, and to apologize to him…
Suddenly, her body felt a wave of hunger.
It took Ling Yao a long time to remember that her current body was only at the qi refining stage. Moreover, she was only 16 years old this year, an age where she needed to eat a lot.
But in her current state, dressed in rags, she didn’t have any money for food, let alone a place to get a drink of water.
Ling Yao reached out and touched the horns on her head.
At this point in time, she had not yet fully transformed.
Being a member of the demon race active within human territory, in Yun Heng’s words, she was an “illegal immigrant.”
In addition, Ling Yao’s current strength was insufficient, and she had no way to properly conceal her demonic aura and appearance. Therefore, “being hunted” had become a natural part of her life.
But it didn’t matter. Everything could be resolved once she saw Yun Heng.
Ling Yao always felt that Yun Heng was magical.
Almost every time she was on the verge of despair, he would provide just the right help — for instance, this time, it was a rare Six-Vane transformation pill and a breath-concealing cloak that could block the detection of cultivators below the Golden Core stage.
In her previous life, Ling Yao had once remarked on this. Yun Heng had replied with a smile: “Actually, you’re Nobita, and I’m the reincarnation of Doraemon. The only reason I came to this world was to pull everything you happen to need out of my pocket.”
Ling Yao didn’t understand those terms, but she kept that childish confession close to her heart.
In short —
Yun Heng was simply amazing!
Whenever she thought about how such an incredible person had been her husband, Ling Yao couldn’t help but let out a soft hum.
As she hummed, she began to feel the cold and hunger again.
‘This body is still too weak.’
Ling Yao looked down at her scar-covered self and sighed helplessly.
Perhaps because it was her first time using time reversal, Ling Yao hadn’t controlled the speed of the river of time well, resulting in her returning to the past two days early.
In other words, there was still a full day until the time when Yun Heng would accidentally pass by the Qi Yuan Pavilion and find her.
Ling Yao had thought about looking for Yun Heng early, but she was worried that doing so would disturb his original itinerary or even make him feel disgusted.
After all, Yun Heng was only 19 years old this year and had the mindset of any young man who didn’t like having his plans disrupted.
‘…He’s actually quite cute.’
Ling Yao talked to herself, the corners of her mouth curling up.
Later, Yun Heng’s changes were both great and small.
The small part was that he was still as easygoing as when he was young. The great part… was that he became more calculating and his vision became more long-term.
Strategizing within a tent to win a battle a thousand miles away.
That was how people later evaluated Yun Heng.
However, it was thanks to this change that Ling Yao was able to lead the dragon clan to regain control of the demon race during an era of rebellious officials and traitors.
‘Has my mindset become much younger because I’ve become younger? I didn’t used to reminisce this much.’
Ling Yao walked to the edge of the cliff and looked at the endless thick fog, shaking her head. ‘I won’t think about it for now. I must seize every moment to cultivate.’
Yun Heng’s talent was very high. If he hadn’t waited for her in her previous life, he probably would have ascended by the time he was 1,000.
Ling Yao couldn’t understand why Yun Heng liked to wait before, but now that she thought about it… it was probably “love.”
Yun Heng loved her deeply.
It had to be that.
The girl leaned down and used her fingernails as a pen to draw on the ground. She quickly drew a **[Modified spirit gathering array]**.
This spirit gathering array was also invented by Yun Heng, and its effectiveness was more than ten times stronger than an ordinary spirit gathering array.
Feeling the spiritual energy full of impurities in her limbs and bones, Ling Yao didn’t mind. She treated it as the darkness that must be passed through before dawn.
Because she had a very good mindset and was originally an Immortal King, she quickly entered the “flow state” that Yun Heng spoke of after only a little cultivation.
Just like that, one day, two days, three days…
As an Immortal King, it was difficult for Ling Yao to quickly adapt to the time flow of the lower realm.
Consequently, by the time she finally noticed something was wrong and withdrew from her cultivation state, seven days had already passed.
Her cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, going directly from Level 3 of the qi refining stage to the peak qi refining stage.
Seven days?
Ling Yao’s throat moved unconsciously.
Her heart began to beat violently.
The girl stood up and scanned her surroundings slowly, sluggishly, hesitantly, nervously, anxiously, and fearfully.
However —
There was nothing.
The half-withered old willow tree still swayed in the wind.
The Unnamed Pavilion was as dilapidated as ever.
The cliff was still as desolate, as empty, and as… forgotten as before.
“It’s impossible…”
Ling Yao staggered a few steps, wondering if her vision was too narrow and if she had missed something.
But in the next second, she felt a sweetness in her throat and spat out a mist of crimson blood with a *wah* sound.
Theoretically, this should have been the impurities from cleansing her marrow, and she should have felt refreshed after spitting it out.
But looking at the bloodstain on the ground, Ling Yao felt the world spinning. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed directly onto the ground.
Why… didn’t Yun Heng come?
She even ignored why the group of cultivators who were supposed to be hunting her hadn’t come either. Compared to him, those ants weren’t even worth mentioning.
Why did this happen?
This was clearly supposed to be the place where they first met, the place where their fate rested, the place where they were destined to fall in love at first sight…
One person waited bitterly, while the other was nowhere to be found.
“Fate is like colored glass — beautiful yet fragile. Being able to have a time to rest is already a blessing; one cannot force eternity.”
“‘Qi’ means ‘to rest,’ but it sounds just like the word for ‘deception.’ The self-deception of youth ultimately cannot withstand the ending that could be seen from the beginning.”
“Young Master Yun, what are you muttering about again?”
“(Laughs) It’s nothing. I just remembered some insignificant past events. Keke, let’s go.”