Dense dark clouds perpetually hang over this place, and on the ground grow female body trees.
These trees are strange in appearance: sinuous trunks and tangled branches resemble naked women posing seductively.
The female body trees stretch into a continuous forest.
Deep in the forest stands the largest of them, a hundred zhang tall, its roots entrenched in the soil, covering ten thousand li.
This queen of female body trees is not seductive; instead, it emanates strands of holy aura.
The trunk stands straight, full of vigor and striving spirit. Two massive branches form arms that fold in front of the chest. The palms, made of branching twigs, are plump and wide, supporting an emerald treehouse.
The treehouse is covered with bright red cinnabar fruits, and russet vines intertwine as if forming a red heart.
Inside the treehouse sit two Gu Immortals, both in black robes.
The one on the left is a middle-aged man with ordinary features, once called the "Stone Man of the Hei Clan," terse in speech, plain but refined within. This is Hei Bai.
The one on the right has eyes like lacquer, a face like jade, elegant and handsome, suave and free. He is Hei Cheng, Grand Elder of the Hei Clan, biological father of Hei Lou Lan, famous handsome man of the Northern Plains, the male lead of Su Xian's Night Escape.
"So, you just came back from the Ni Yu Blessed Land. Did you see Dongfang Changfan? How is he?" Hei Cheng took a sip of tea and asked leisurely.
Hei Bai nodded. "Senior Dongfang didn't find the longevity Gu. His lifespan is short—he probably has only two or three years left. But he is broad-minded and magnanimous. He has long seen through the difficulties of life and death, and now he is focused on grooming his successor, Dongfang Yuliang."
"Broad-minded? Magnanimous?" Hei Cheng snorted contemptuously and shook his head. "My brother, you misjudge him. Dongfang Changfan is a true villain. He schemed against the Northern Plains and is so insidious that all Gu Immortals hate him to the bone. If not, he would have bought a longevity Gu long ago. How could he have ended up like this? Over the years, I've gradually found clues that your sister-in-law Su Xian'er's death was also a conspiracy orchestrated by him!"
Hei Cheng revealed a secret, and Hei Bai was stunned.
"What? Can that be true?" Hei Bai exclaimed.
Hei Cheng's legal wife was named Su Xian'er. Over two hundred years ago, Su Xian'er was merely a daughter of a concubine branch of the Su Clan. She served as a maid at a banquet, pouring wine for the young master Hei Cheng, and fell in love at first sight.
At that banquet, Hei Cheng had been implanted with a poison Gu by the Su Clan leader, causing his strength to plummet and making him a target.
Su Xian'er stumbled upon this information and resolutely, in the dead of night, rushed out of the clan camp to save Hei Cheng, whom she had only met once.
At that time, her cultivation was only first turn, and at night, the Northern Plains were infested with roaming beasts—deadly danger lurked everywhere, far beyond her ability to withstand.
But by a stroke of luck, she found Hei Cheng unconscious on the ground.
Hei Cheng thus survived. Puzzled, he asked Su Xian'er, "I was assassinated by the leader of your Su Clan, and you are a member of the Su Clan—why would you come to save me, an enemy of the Su Clan?"
Su Xian'er replied: "You have the air of a hero, and I fell in love at first sight. The Su Clan leader is short-sighted, instigated by petty people who caused him to harm you without considering the consequences of offending the Hei Clan. If he continues on this stubborn path, the Su Clan is destined to become a sacrificial pawn caught between two super clans. People often say that you repay kindness tenfold. Today I saved you, and I only hope you will take me in. Your revenge on the Su Clan is only natural. But I beg you to be merciful and spare one bloodline of the Su Clan."
Under the moonlight, the beauty was fair as jade, her hands tender as buds.
Hei Cheng was deeply moved. He gripped Su Xian'er's hand tightly and swore: "Your deep love is like the sea. I, Hei Cheng, am not an ungrateful beast—how could I fail to repay it? From today, you are my only wife! No other beauties, no matter how stunning, will matter to me. In this life, I will never betray you!"
By saving Hei Cheng, Su Xian'er had effectively betrayed her tribe. Grateful, Hei Cheng took her as his wife, and they were united.
In the years that followed, they supported each other and lived in harmony. A hundred years later, both became Gu Immortals, a celebrated legend on the Northern Plains. The story of Su Xian's night escape spread far, inspiring countless women of the Northern Plains to bravely pursue love.
Hei Bai's tone grew heavy. "Surely it wasn't that more than twenty years ago, eldest sister-in-law perished in a Land Calamity in her blessed land?"
Hei Cheng laughed coldly. "It was indeed a Land Calamity, but Land Calamities can be manipulated. My brother, don't forget—our ancestor, Juyang Immortal Venerable, had such means. The Dongfang Clan, as a golden bloodline, has entered the Imperial Court many times. Perhaps they obtained a related inheritance from the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building. Alas, I have only found a scrap of evidence so far, not enough to prove that Dongfang Changfan is the culprit."
Hei Bai was stupefied and silent. After a long while, he sighed, "Truly you cannot judge a book by its cover."
Hei Cheng patted his shoulder and said gently, "My brother, you only became a Gu Immortal less than ten years ago. The circle of Gu Immortals may be small, but it has no fewer schemes and intrigues than the mortal world."