"Has it finally been won?" After what felt like an eternity, Zhao Lianyun struggled to crawl up from the pool of blood.
Her injuries were severe, and darkness flickered across her vision in waves.
However, fortune was on her side. Zhao Pu had died, and so the Blood Extinguishing Immortal Path killer move afflicting both Zhao Lianyun and Yu Yiyizi had been lifted.
Had they failed to break free, Zhao Lianyun and Yu Yiyizi would undoubtedly have perished alongside Zhao Pu.
Hah… hah…
On the other side, Yu Yiyizi was gasping for breath, also leaning against a wall as he got to his feet.
When he caught sight of Zhao Lianyun, the young Gu Immortal froze, his expression changing drastically. "Lian— Lady Lianyun, your face— no, your whole body…"
Yu Yiyizi's eyes went wide, his words stammering and incoherent, unable to articulate what he was seeing.
Zhao Lianyun felt a flicker of confusion, thinking, "What's wrong with me?"
She hurriedly looked down at herself. The first thing she saw was her own pair of hands.
Withered, skeletal hands, frail as kindling.
Zhao Lianyun's heart lurched. Then she realized that at some point, without even noticing, she had been transformed into an old woman!
Her back had hunched over, her entire body was covered in wrinkles, her aging eyes were dim and unfocused, and her head was full of white hair.
"How can this be?" Zhao Lianyun's face was filled with shock.
She grabbed a fistful of her hair and easily pulled out a clump of white strands. The once strong and vigorous roots had completely withered away, leaving behind hair that was pathetically thin and sparse.
Yu Yiyizi said in a heavy voice, "It's most likely the effect of the Love Immortal Gu. The Love Immortal Gu consumed your lifespan in order to unleash its tremendous power and kill Zhao Pu directly."
"Is that so?" Zhao Lianyun stood stunned, her expression thoroughly bewildered.
Anyone who went from the prime of youth to a decrepit old age in the blink of an eye would have their mind rocked to its foundations.
"That's exactly how it is." Yu Yiyizi nodded, then quickly tried to comfort her. "But you don't need to worry. As long as you activate a Lifespan Gu, you can restore your youthful body. Ordinary Gu Immortals might not be able to obtain Lifespan Gu, but you're different. You're the current fairy of Spirit Affinity Hall — the sect will definitely provide you with Lifespan Gu as support."
Zhao Lianyun said nothing.
The emotions churning inside her were terribly complex. Shock, loss, disbelief, a sense of utter disorientation.
She was an otherworldly demon, but even before her transmigration, she had never experienced such a decrepit state.
After a stretch of silence, Zhao Lianyun finally regained her composure.
"I'm going to keep pressing forward!"
"So what if I'm old and haggard? Fortune is still waiting for me out there."
Zhao Lianyun gazed through the window toward the distant First Snow Peak in the distance, and her eyes once more grew resolute.
"You can't continue!" Yu Yiyizi exclaimed in alarm, rushing to Zhao Lianyun's side and grabbing her arm.
"The Love Immortal Gu may be powerful, but it's unstable. Next time, it might consume even more of your lifespan. If that happens, you'll die for certain!" Yu Yiyizi pleaded.
"And what if I die?" The elderly Zhao Lianyun looked at the young Gu Immortal Yu Yiyizi and offered a faint smile.
Her smile was not at all beautiful, but Yu Yiyizi was momentarily dazed.
Then, Zhao Lianyun gently withdrew her arm.
She clearly hadn't used much force at all, yet Yu Yiyizi felt as though an invisible power had struck deep into his heart, compelling him to release his grip of his own accord.
Then he stood there in silence, watching Zhao Lianyun's hunched back as she took slow, heavy, aging steps toward the exit of the hall.
The scene was utterly unremarkable, yet Yu Yiyizi felt a powerful, visceral shock.
He even instinctively held his breath. In that moment, Zhao Lianyun's aged silhouette was seared deep into his heart.
"What kind of spirit is this!"
"Willing to sacrifice everything for the one she loves, fearing neither death nor destruction."
"Zhao Lianyun — without you, I would surely have died at Zhao Pu's hands."
"Fine then. Let me follow you. At worst, I'll just owe you my life!"
Yu Yiyizi was not particularly old himself. His blood ran hot, and once he had made up his mind, he hurried to catch up with Zhao Lianyun, following close behind her.
The immortal essence in her empty orifice was nearly depleted, and Zhao Lianyun worried that carelessly calling upon the Love Immortal Gu would directly drain what little lifespan she had left. So she chose to descend the snow peak on foot.
Under the influence of the Fate Reversing Refinement Formation, Zhao Lianyun and Yu Yiyizi were separated, and she arrived alone at the summit of another snow peak.
Atop the summit stood a grand hall, shrouded in an atmosphere of quiet seclusion.
"An intense battle took place here!" Zhao Lianyun slowly entered the hall and quickly discovered that it was in a state of severe disrepair, with traces of fierce combat everywhere.
"Is that you, Lady Lianyun?" A voice suddenly reached Zhao Lianyun's ears.
Zhao Lianyun was slightly taken aback before she recognized the voice — it was the Water Path Gu Immortal Mu Linglan.
"This is the eighth peak of the Great Snow Mountain blessed land. I fought the peak master Xiao Feifei, and now both of us are badly wounded."
"Right now, we've both gone into hiding, doing our best to recuperate."
"Be careful not to fall into her traps. She possesses an immortal path killer move that causes people to continuously lose their memories."
The words had barely faded when a strange light shot out and struck Zhao Lianyun squarely on the forehead.
"No good!" Mu Linglan shouted urgently. "Each time you forget, the relevant memories will resurface in your mind. Use an immortal Gu to defend yourself — don't activate any immortal path killer moves, that would be even more dangerous. If you forget the memory of an immortal path killer move, you'll suffer the backlash of that killer move. Hold on until I've recovered enough to fight!"
Zhao Lianyun hurriedly agreed.
She shrank into a corner, activated her immortal Gu to shield herself, and then waited for the killer move to take effect.
"Damn it!" Zhao Lianyun's heart was filled with unease. She knew her own situation — she had only recently become a Gu Immortal, and most of her combat experience came from her time during special training. If those memories disappeared, the loss to her would be enormous.
Memories began surfacing in her mind…
Northern Plains.
The Ma Family had been defeated and taken in by the Hei Family.