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Gu Xiaoxi lifted her head, her gaze heavy as she watched her own master, "What if I can’t get through this tribulation?"

Zi Yun, standing to the side, trembled upon hearing this, her heart tightening into a knot, for this was indeed the question everyone cared about.

If this tribulation were not surmounted, it would probably take another one hundred thousand years for a new divine being to emerge in the world.

And as for Your Highness Lan Xi...

Immortal Taibai took a deep breath; under his peerless visage, a hint of the vicissitudes of life flickered across his beautiful eyes.

He reached out tenderly and stroked the three thousand strands of blue silk upon Gu Xiaoxi’s head.

He had watched her grow up, from a baby fresh from the womb to a graceful young woman standing tall like a budding plant.

As years flew by, she would forever be a child in his eyes.

"Xixi, our lives are in our own hands. What your master can do is advise you to let go of your obsessions. immortals possess unrivaled honor, but they also face helplessness. Great love doesn’t necessarily require being together; letting go is also an expression of love," he said.

Gu Xiaoxi lowered her head and said nothing.

Immortal Taibai sighed again, knowing better than anyone that if you truly liked someone, how could you possibly let them go? Moreover, it dealt with Lan Xi, who possessed supreme capabilities from birth and held deeper obsessions than ordinary people.

Even if she wanted to let go, it wasn’t certain she could.

"Let’s go, see your mother for the last time," said Immortal Taibai.

*

A place of extreme cold.

Myriad feet of ice and snow sealed the surroundings.

The bone-chilling cold here was unbearable for those without high levels of cultivation to enter.

In the center of the ice and snow, there lay a deep cave.

Following the cave tunnel downwards, one could see, in the middle of a pool of azure water, a stone platform carved out of ice.

Upon the platform lay a woman with snow-white hair.

As Gu Xiaoxi looked over, in just an instant, her heart felt as though it had been pierced by a thousand arrows, bloodied and dripping.

Many memories flooded her mind like a tidal wave.

"Mother, I practiced my techniques very diligently today," a tender young girl chirped, throwing herself before the stunning beauty.

"Is that so! What would you like to do then?" asked the beauty, pinching her daughter’s rosy cheeks, her smile as refreshing as early spring flowers.

"Hehe! I want to go play with elder brother," she giggled.

"Naughty girl! Go, but be careful of the demon wolves outside the mountain. Have Zi Yun accompany you!"

The once gentle voice of the woman echoed in her ears, causing Gu Xiaoxi to feel a splitting headache.

If possible, she wished she was still the ordinary Gu Xiaoxi.

At the same time, she felt shocked by the love between Lan Xi and Quan Shaoqing.

They met at the foot of Mount Taibai; back then, he was a handsome and dashing young man, his future as the Emperor Unknown to all.

She was still young, the daughter of a god, and the favored child destined to inherit the divine throne.

Lan Xi, at the age of two thousand, had never seen such a beautiful youth before. Dressed in a blue robe, his hair fluttering in the wind, he stood tall with a longsword that reached the sky. His slender figure possessed a mountain-like aura.

In front of him was a ferocious Jinqing Beast.

Lan Xi watched from the bushes as he struggled against the Jinjing Beast, and in the end, with his own strength, he slew the beast that guarded the Dew Grass.

Just as he picked the Dew Grass, he was unexpectedly bitten by a Green Snake.

That Green Snake was the most poisonous snake beneath Mount Taibai; a bite would kill even a great immortal in no more than two hours, let alone him who was not an immortal.

After the young man was bitten by the Green Snake, his body instantly went limp, collapsing to the ground.

Lan Xi then stepped out and approached the youth, examining the wound on his finger.

"You’ve been bitten by a poisonous snake, and without immortal power in your body, my estimate is three minutes at most."

The young man, now unable to move or speak, showed a flicker of terror in his eyes upon hearing her words. He hadn’t expected that besides the Geibeast, even a Green Snake would lie in wait amongst the grass for the Dew Grass.

Before his terrified gaze, the girl stepped forward, seized the Green Snake by its neck, and pried open its mouth with her fingers to squeeze out two drops of white fluid.

She applied the white fluid to his wound and then released the Green Snake.

Soon enough, the young man regained his senses.

Looking at her, he felt fear as well.

After all, the girl who could catch a Green Snake bare-handed and squeeze out its life essence to neutralize his poison was certainly no ordinary person.

"Thank you for saving me!" The youth bowed, his voice weak.

With her hands behind her back, Lan Xi was already used to seeing people kneel before her. "You’re pleasant to look at. If you really want to thank me, stay by my side and practice techniques together," she proposed.

"That?" The youth looked troubled.

"What’s the matter? Can’t it be done?" Lan Xi’s round eyes widened, her expression darkening.

"It’s not that. I came for the Dew Grass. My family’s waiting for me to bring it back to save a life! But now..." The youth looked at the Dew Grass on the ground, already withering away.

That was an Immortal Herb, which lost its medicinal properties once it withered.

Lan Xi immediately understood his concern, stepped forward, and picked up the grass from the ground. At her touch, the previously withered grass came back to life, enveloped in a thick Immortal qi.

The youth’s eyes widened in disbelief, becoming more curious about Lan Xi’s identity.

"Here, Dew Grass must not be tainted by impurities; it withered because of your touch," Lan Xi said, waving her hand to produce a Jade Vase. She placed the Dew Grass inside and handed it over to him, "In three days, meet me here again. I’ll be waiting!"

As the youth watched her, he realized that despite being only as tall as his shoulder and looking like a child, she already possessed a power that made her unattainable.