The girl suddenly turned around, revealing a face like a lotus flower. At first glance, she bore an uncanny resemblance to Baili Gelin, but upon closer inspection, Li Fei realized she wasn’t Gelin—just a young girl who looked strikingly similar.
It was her own blunder. Four hundred years had passed. Even if Baili Gelin had achieved an Immortal Body, she wouldn’t still look like a young girl. The girl before her was clearly only fifteen or sixteen, her gaze and demeanor still carrying a hint of childishness. Her features were sixty to seventy percent similar to Gelin’s, though compared to Gelin, she seemed a bit wilder, more untamed.
“Did you mistake me for someone else?” The girl’s tone was surprisingly polite.
Li Fei withdrew her hand and apologized, “My apologies, I did indeed mistake you for someone else. That was rude of me.”
She turned and walked away, blending into the crowd but keeping her eyes fixed on the girl from a distance. Lei Xiuyuan narrowed his eyes, observing for a moment before suddenly speaking. “She must be from a cultivation sect. There’s a strong spiritual energy fluctuation around her. Even if she isn’t Baili Gelin, she must be related to her in some way.”
“…Could she be Gelin and Lu Li’s child?” Li Fei’s limited imagination could only conjure this possibility.
Ri Yan scoffed dismissively. “Impossible! Cultivation partners aren’t like mortal couples, prioritizing offspring. For female cultivators, pregnancy and childbirth are major taboos. Any woman who values her cultivation wouldn’t do such a thing. Ten months of pregnancy means no reckless use of spiritual energy—effectively rendering her as vulnerable as a mortal. Childbirth itself is a life-or-death ordeal. Even if she successfully delivers a child with a Spirit Root, the mother’s cultivation would remain weakened for nearly a decade. What if enemies come seeking revenge then? Cultivators abhor exposing their weaknesses. If that girl has even a shred of sense, she wouldn’t do this.”
Li Fei shook her head. “It has nothing to do with sense. If it’s something Gelin wants to do, she’ll do it regardless of the consequences.”
Ri Yan snorted disdainfully. “That’s exactly why I never liked that girl! Even as a child, she was hopeless!”
Li Fei didn’t respond. Her gaze remained fixed on the girl, who seemed to have grown bored of the Spirit Stele. Yawning, she mounted a Tiger Demon and leisurely ambled toward the city. Li Fei immediately concealed herself in the shadows and followed.
The girl appeared to be wandering aimlessly—now browsing masks at a stall, now peering into various shops. Li Fei couldn’t help but wonder: It was already past chen hour. Since she had cultivation and was wearing a Myriad Immortals Assembly disciple uniform, why wasn’t she training with her sect? Instead, she was idly strolling around. Didn’t her Master discipline her?
Suddenly, a figure blurred in front of the Tiger Demon. A woman in flamboyant robes appeared before the girl like a wisp of green smoke. Li Fei focused her gaze and recognized the newcomer—a woman around forty, her beauty undiminished by age, her figure slender and strikingly familiar. It was A Jiao, the female disciple of the Myriad Immortals Assembly who had once posed as an Academy instructor.
Was A Jiao her Master? Li Fei watched as A Jiao’s expression turned frosty, seemingly reprimanding the girl, who could only nod meekly in response.
Eager to make contact, Li Fei released a faint thread of the spiritual energy she had been suppressing and followed the pair at a careful distance.
They left the city along a winding path, eventually arriving at a secluded spot. A Jiao suddenly halted and turned, her voice icy. “Who’s following us? Show yourself!”
Li Fei stepped out from the shadows, approaching with a composed bow before speaking. “Master A Jiao, it’s been many years.”A Jiao was startled when a plain-looking village girl emerged, but hearing her accurately call out her name left her even more astonished. The girl spoke gently and politely, showing no signs of hostility. Did she know her? Had they met before? Why couldn’t she remember at all?
Li Fei dispelled the illusion spell and clasped her hands in greeting. "Disciple Jiang Li Fei. We once shared a mentor-disciple bond at the Academy."
Jiang Li Fei?! A Jiao was momentarily dazed by the thunderously familiar name before suddenly realizing something. With a wave of her hand, two grotesquely terrifying monstrous creatures appeared behind her. This female Celestial, a seasoned elder of the Myriad Immortals Assembly after four centuries of trials, now couldn’t conceal a trace of panic as she demanded sharply, "What do you want?! Where did you come from?!"
Before Li Fei could respond, a flash of red darted past—A Jiao had struck first, releasing a billowing swarm of crimson, smoke-like little monsters. Li Fei didn’t move, not even blinking, as Lei Xiuyuan behind her had already acted. Waves of golden light trapped the crimson creatures, rendering them immobile.
With the illusion spell broken, A Jiao immediately recognized the man beside her as the Yaksa, Lei Xiuyuan. Panic surged, and she retreated several steps, shielding the girl behind her, her voice trembling slightly. "What—what do you two want?"
The tale of Jiang Li Fei and Lei Xiuyuan had once spread throughout the entire cultivation world. Since then, sects had become infinitely stricter in recruiting new disciples to prevent such absurd incidents from recurring. Calculating the time, four hundred years had passed since the last Sea Fall, with another century before the next one was due. How had these two foreign anomalies arrived now? Could the Sea Fall be coming early?!
Li Fei smiled faintly. "We mean no harm. Please don’t be alarmed, A Jiao, lest we spoil the harmony."
She raised her hand and opened her palm, revealing the wooden messenger bird A Jiao had secretly sent for help, now limp in her grasp.
Seeing their overwhelming power, A Jiao knew she stood no chance. Her initial panic gradually faded, replaced by a grim resolve. "You leaked spiritual energy and followed me in secret to meet privately? I recall no ties between us. If you have something to say, don’t beat around the bush—speak plainly!"
Truly a woman of the Eastern Sea, always so forthright and fiery. Li Fei didn’t mince words either. "I want to ask—how is Ge Lin now?"
Though her question was directed at A Jiao, her eyes were fixed on the girl behind her. Despite her fear, the girl’s expression held more curiosity than terror—a bold one indeed.
A Jiao’s expression shifted subtly, her hostility waning. She glanced back at the girl, hesitating.
A white light coalesced at Li Fei’s fingertip, shooting like lightning toward the girl, who immediately collapsed to the ground, motionless.
"It’s nothing," Li Fei waved her hand. "Just letting her sleep for a while. You seemed reluctant to let her hear."
A Jiao was silent for a moment before suddenly bending to lift the girl. "If you wish to see Ge Lin, it’s a fortunate coincidence. Follow me—I’ll take you to them."
Them? Did she mean Ge Lin and Lu Li? As A Jiao strode ahead swiftly, Li Fei hurried after her. "Is this girl… Ge Lin’s child?"A Jiao said calmly, "Her surname is Lu, given name Xiwei. She is the only child of Baili Gelin and Lu Li, and just turned sixteen this June."
So it really was Gelin's child! A sudden sense of foreboding rose in Li Fei's heart. If this was Gelin and Lu Li's daughter, why had she shown no reaction when Gelin's name was mentioned? And why was A Jiao unwilling to let her hear about Gelin?
As A Jiao quickened her pace, she continued, "I wouldn't have taken you for such a sentimental person—still remembering old friends after four hundred years. Gelin would surely be happy to know. In all these years, apart from me, no one else has come to see her."
The ominous feeling in Li Fei's heart grew stronger. She couldn't help but whisper, "What happened to Gelin?"
A Jiao pressed her lips together and remained silent.
After walking briskly for half a day, the scenery gradually became desolate and open. In the distance stood a small courtyard on an empty patch of land, surrounded by lush trees, quaint and elegant in its own way.
A Jiao pushed open the courtyard gate with familiar ease and walked in. Though the house was clean, it was empty, save for a small purple bronze censer on the table, its incense ashes white as snow.
A Jiao lit three sticks of incense, handing two to Li Fei and Lei Xiuyuan, then spoke: "You won't be able to see them in person. Cultivators leave no corpses or graves behind. Since you're here, light some incense for them. They'll sense it in the underworld and surely be comforted."
Li Fei felt her hands trembling as she slowly took the incense stick. Though countless questions swirled in her mind, she couldn't voice a single one. She turned to stare at the purple bronze censer, lips quivering, tears streaming down her face.
"There's no need to grieve," A Jiao consoled her instead. "After her death, she was reunited with family, had her beloved by her side, and left behind flesh and blood in this world. It could be called a perfect end."
Li Fei shut her eyes tightly, taking a long time before she could barely speak: "How... did she pass? She had her sister and brother-in-law—didn't they come to see her?"
She couldn't believe Baili Changyue and Ye Ye would be so heartless. Back then at the Eastern Sea, they had promised to stay together from then on.
A Jiao inserted her incense stick into the censer and said softly, "Ah, right. You went overseas, so you wouldn't know. Her sister and brother-in-law died long ago—killed by that prince who was once your friend. Over these four hundred years, Gelin exhausted herself in relentless cultivation, all for revenge. But her skills fell short, and burdened by excessive grief, she couldn't overcome the trial of love. Sixteen years ago, she passed away shortly after giving birth to Xiwei."
Li Fei shuddered violently, nearly dropping the incense in her hand. She stared at A Jiao in horror—what had she just said? Changyue and Ye Ye had died at Ji Tongzhou's hands?!
A Jiao took the incense from her and placed it in the censer, then continued: "Gelin was someone who carried too much in her heart. It took her much longer than others to achieve her Immortal Body. Over two hundred years ago, she finally succeeded, but my father didn't have much faith in her. While it's good for someone to strive for strength, her hatred ran too deep. Even if she achieved something temporarily, it wouldn't last, and future tribulations would be hard to overcome. My father's judgment has always been accurate, and this time was no exception."
But for Gelin, what she sought was never longevity. Even a fleeting moment of strength—enough to exact revenge—would have sufficed.When it came to the deep-seated blood feud involving family, even Shen Xiansheng found it difficult to intervene. His two prized disciples—one likely unable to overcome her tribulation, the other too deeply entangled in emotions and following closely behind—left him with no choice. Had their revenge succeeded, it might have been different, but that prince was clearly a prodigy of rare talent, unseen in a thousand years. Back in the Eastern Sea, everyone had witnessed his Profound Splendor Fire. Moreover, he had achieved an Immortal Body in just twenty years—how could they compare? What hope did they have?
Even so, he could only watch helplessly as they charged forward without hesitation.
On the day of their departure, Baili Gelin’s eyes shone unusually bright. She turned and kowtowed three times respectfully to Shen Xiansheng, murmuring, "Thank you for your teachings, Master. Your kindness runs deep, but I fear I may never repay it."
By then, she had already attained an Immortal Body, yet in the end, she still addressed him as her master, leaving Shen Xiansheng melancholy for years.
A Jiao sighed softly. "I was the one who saw her and Lu Li off when they left the sect, and I was also the one who witnessed their return. To be honest, I truly thought I’d never see them again."
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