"Mother means, are those..." Feng Jinhuang furrowed her brows. In her upbringing, no youths existed who could stand as her equals. Spirit Affinity Hall was further dominated by women over men, which had made Feng Jinhuang look down on boys her own age since childhood.
There was another, more crucial reason — Feng Jinhuang's father was simply too outstanding. He had raised her standards to the point where she couldn't be bothered with any of the men around her.
Fairy Bai Qing nodded and asked teasingly, "That's right. Huang'er, among the youths you've encountered, is there any that caught your eye?"
Feng Jinhuang furrowed her brows, thought seriously for a moment, then shook her head.
Fairy Bai Qing nearly chuckled aloud. Her daughter's dazed little expression was absolutely adorable. She continued, "Then let me rephrase — which young man left the deepest impression on you?"
This time, Feng Jinhuang froze.
In her mind, an image of Fang Yuan surfaced unbidden.
Fang Yuan was the man who had inflicted a devastating defeat upon her. That scene on Danghun Mountain — Feng Jinhuang would never forget it for as long as she lived.
And moreover, Fang Yuan had saved Feng Jiuge's life!
All of this, taken together, made Feng Jinhuang's feelings toward Fang Yuan extraordinarily complicated.
If she said she hated him, it wasn't pure hatred.
If she said she was grateful, it wasn't pure gratitude either.
Fairy Bai Qing noticed Feng Jinhuang spacing out and her expression immediately darkened. Panic stirred in her heart, and she silently berated herself: "Oh no! How could I forget about Fang Yuan!"
She quickly said, "Huang'er, don't let your mind wander!"
As a mother, Fairy Bai Qing was genuinely worried. Though Feng Jinhuang had matured a great deal, when it came to matters of the heart, she was still as innocent as a blank sheet of paper.
"Fang Yuan is a demon from beyond the heavens. He used the Spring Autumn Cicada to be reborn into this world. His true age is probably greater than your father's and mine combined!" Fairy Bai Qing's tone was extremely solemn.
"Most importantly, he appears on the Demon Slaying List. He is a supremely vicious demonic figure who has slaughtered countless lives and brought calamity upon the people. He is extraordinarily dangerous."
"But he saved Father," Feng Jinhuang countered.
Fairy Bai Qing's face was covered in solemnity. She gazed into Feng Jinhuang's eyes and said with utmost seriousness, "Then you must remember — debts of gratitude, grudges, love, and hatred must not be muddled together. You have to keep them straight. His debt of saving your father's life, though it came about by mere coincidence, we will certainly repay in full. But he walks the Demonic Path, guilty of ten thousand evils. Once we have repaid that debt, the next time we encounter him, that will be the moment to eliminate him. Do you understand?"
Feng Jinhuang nodded. "I understand!"
Southern Border. Fang Yuan stood within a dream.
"Achoo! Achoo!" Fang Yuan sneezed twice in succession.
He rubbed his nose and said to the female Gu Master before him, "Again."
The female Gu Master stood behind the counter and produced three stones. "Please."
This was yet another dream.
The previous waterway dream had been too difficult, so Fang Yuan had voluntarily abandoned it. After several days, the dreams shifted and finally a dream appeared that was suited for Fang Yuan to explore.
What made Fang Yuan genuinely delighted was that successfully exploring this dream could directly advance his Fortunism realm!
Fortunism Gu Immortals were exceedingly rare.
Although Immortal Venerable Ju Yang had founded Fortunism, he had never promoted it.
Because of this, dreams containing true Fortunism intent were also scarce in number. The odds of Fang Yuan encountering such a dream were incredibly slim.
Fang Yuan looked at the three stones before him. He already understood that according to this dream's rules, he needed to correctly identify three times in a row — finding the most valuable item among the stones — in order to pass through this scene and advance to the second act.
Stone gambling.
"I've already succeeded twice. If I fail this time, everything will have been for nothing. Might as well use Dream Dissolution."
Fang Yuan activated the Immortal move Dream Dissolution.
He waited for a good while, but there was no reaction whatsoever.
"What's going on?" Just as he was puzzling over it, the female Gu Master serving him let her eyes shimmer with coquettish light and whispered, "Young master, pick the middle one. Don't worry, big sister won't trick you."
As she spoke, she even winked at Fang Yuan in an overtly flirtatious manner.
Fang Yuan finally understood — so this was the effect of Dream Dissolution. Without hesitation, he reached out and grabbed the middle stone.
All three stones were opened one after another. None contained a Gu insect, but based on the material of the stones themselves, the middle one was indeed the most valuable.
The first act slowly dissolved before his eyes, and soon he entered the second act.
Northern Plains.
Eternal Life Hall.
The Eight-Transformation Immortal Gu House — Calamity Fate Altar.
Three tiers of circular platforms, layered balustrades of white jade, pillars rising in rows, bathed in prismatic light.
The Calamity Fate Altar continued to operate. Eight Gu Immortals occupied nine corners of the altar, their efforts ceaseless day and night.
At the center of the Calamity Fate Altar, Five Elements Grandmaster wore a grave expression. Three rings of five-colored light orbited around him. The pressure from the Calamity Fate Altar was growing ever stronger, and even the Five Elements Grandmaster had to exert his full power to resist it.
Both sides were silent.
Because each already knew — the other was not someone who could be swayed by mere words.
Just then, the sound of bells — dong, dong, dong — suddenly echoed throughout all of Eternal Life Hall.