Fu Wanyan flicked her green water sleeves, a shimmering ripple, and the "Embroidered Moon Ring" slowly rotated around her, protecting her. Under the cover of other immortal sect disciples, she was also fortunate enough to land steadily on the ground.
The pure-colored veil on her face was inevitably stained with spots of red, and she no longer possessed the noble demeanor of a pure and ethereal presence.
She slightly hunched her spine, her spiritual power drained, causing a sharp pain in her heart. She gasped softly and looked up.
The vast sky now resembled a hole torn through it, that patch of chaotic darkness absorbing all light and shadow. The sky was dim and overcast, with wisps of ghostly energy clawing and brandishing themselves within the dense, dark clouds. At first glance, it gave the impression of the end of the world.
Fu Wanyan felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, a chill from the top of her heart to the tips of her toes.
She pressed her palms together, her mind lost, much like her faith had suddenly collapsed in that same chaos. She let out a low roar, "Why don't you appear?! My clan was born destined, coming for you... You should be the savior, but Liu Jiang Fusheng, where have you gone?"
Everything had changed!
It wasn't supposed to be like this!
Why was all of this different from what she had "seen"?
Fu Wanyan had once had a precognitive dream.
And that dream had profoundly affected her.
In the dream, she was not as calm and indifferent as she was now. She was a clan maiden filled with immense curiosity and innocence about the outside world.
Due to the monotonous rules of her clan and the dullness of her daily life, a yearning arose within her—she wanted to go out and see the world.
Later, she succeeded.
She secretly ran away from the hidden clan, unbeknownst to her parents and elders. However, being inexperienced, she encountered a crisis.
And it was this crisis that led her to meet a young man.
A man whom she did not know at the time, but who would become the entirety of her future meaning.
This was merely their first interaction.
He saved her, then left, and she remembered him.
The second time, he was in danger, and she was severely injured while trying to save him. They were forced to merge souls to heal.
Ambiguous, passionate, begonia flowers, a hopelessly tangled heart… From then on, it was as if they were destined. Even when separated, they would always find each other again.
Thus, they became entangled for life.
Everything in the dream was so beautiful that it left Fu Wanyan feeling lost and wistful upon waking.
Was "she" her future?
Fu Wanyan believed so.
But dreams were ultimately just dreams. Even if it might be a precognitive dream, Fu Wanyan had not reached the cultivation level of the clan elders, so everything in the dream was not as clear or real to her.
For example, the destined young man—who was he, what did he look like, and where was he before their fated encounter?
All she knew were fragments of their future encounters; of anything else, she was ignorant.
One day, she suddenly felt an unease in her heart, as if something important was about to be destroyed. She didn't know the source of this feeling.
So, she sought guidance from the clan elders.
After much calculation, the elders gravely and shocked told her that her destiny had been altered, and this was the source of her unease.
Fu Wanyan could not believe it.
Therefore, she decided not to follow her original plan and left the clan in advance. However, this time, she was not leaving secretly; she had prepared everything.
She wanted to find him.
But perhaps because she had not followed the arrangements of fate and left the clan early, she waited at the place where she had encountered the crisis, but it was not the young man who appeared, but the Venerable Southern Yuan.
Later, she finally saw the young man on the "Rookie Ranking," displaying a vast sword technique identical to the one in her dream. Her heart surged with excitement and surprise.
She had finally found him!
However, before she could meet him, she discovered... that he already had a wife.
At that moment, Fu Wanyan felt incredibly ridiculous, tragic, and pathetic.
He had no regard for her in his eyes... yet, because of a precognitive dream, because of a casual glance he had happened to cast her way, she had etched that calm, unfettered gaze into her heart.
Fu Wanyan had always firmly believed that Liu Jiang Fusheng would eventually fall for her, just as in the precognitive dream, as if it were an unalterable destiny.
The reason Fu Wanyan was so fixated on Liu Jiang Fusheng was also because she was drawn to the man in the dream who saved the world and was admired by all.
He was like a shining deity, always stepping forward in times of crisis. He was the son of the Heavenly Dao, her firm choice, Fu Wanyan.
She would also, like a goddess, assist him with all her might.
They would be a perfect couple, eventually becoming a divine pair who ascended, leaving the most legendary and profound mark on the world.
But why had everything changed?
Where had things gone wrong?
Fu Wanyan trembled, her red eyes moist as she looked around.
The severely injured City Lords of Rongcheng and Huacheng were brought down but could barely stand. Abbess Huiming and others rushed to their aid, weaving a barrier to form a protective shield, temporarily fending off the attacks of ghost cultivators and the invasion of vengeful spirits.
Danyan coughed, covering her mouth, while Yan Tianjiao and the others were either injured or rescuing others. The disciples of the immortal sects suffered heavy casualties...
And at this moment, a row of long swords flew from the rear through the dim sky. The sword bodies stretched out side by side, forming a line of "white egrets." Through the gaps in the dark, gloomy sky and clouds, they dispersed the surrounding darkness, revealing a brilliance as bright as day.
The dazzling light, like sunlight, instantly dispelled the chilling aura that enveloped them.
They looked up in astonishment. They saw that the vast sky, previously occupied by darkness, was now being forcefully torn open by an invisible "hand," creating a faint white light.
In that chaotic expanse, the "white light" grew thicker and more solid, as if the darkness itself feared its might... And the clouds parted to reveal the sun?!
"This is..."
The City Lords of Rongcheng and Huacheng struggled to stand, looking tremblingly at that ray of light.
Abbess Huiming and other nuns from Cibei City were holding up the barrier. One of them pointed at the "white light" and exclaimed, "Look! Is it... is it a person?!"
The "pale white light" that was chipping away at the dark energy of the formation's core gradually revealed three figures.
The three figures were positioned to the east, north, and south. The flying ladder formed by the light swords rotated in circles, creating a spiral staircase. The two figures below, clad in similar white cloaks, revealed their true appearances.
One had a broad, sturdy build, like a mountain wall. His features were deep and three-dimensional, but due to some perceived error in their arrangement, the same features displayed a fierce godliness. Without even needing to frown, a single glance could likely scare children to tears even without darkness.
And many disciples from prestigious sects below recognized his identity.
Was this not Xiao Chenmu, the eldest disciple who, seven years ago, was severely expelled from the sect by the Void Sect Master for his involvement with the demon race?