"Grandpa, you have to stand up for me!" Song Yishi burst into the study in a huff, stomping her foot and acting coquettishly toward the Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal Song Qiyuan.
Song Qiyuan and several Seventh Transformation Gu Immortal elders had been in the middle of discussing family affairs.
But Song Yishi had barged straight in without any ceremony.
Song Qiyuan slowly turned his head, showing not the slightest hint of anger. Instead, his face was full of a kind, doting smile. "My dear granddaughter, what would you have your grandfather do to avenge you?"
Song Yishi was not at all surprised that her grandfather already knew about the matter. In fact, it would have been strange if Song Qiyuan hadn't known the full story.
The young female Gu Immortal had already decided on her answer long before coming here. Through gritted teeth, she said, "Grandpa, take action yourself. Capture him alive, then hand him over to me to deal with."
She added silently in her mind: "I'll gouge out that old thief's eyes first, then flay his skin and rip out his tendons, strip his bones and rot his flesh — make him wish he was dead, make him regret every single thing he's ever done!"
Song Qiyuan nodded without the slightest hesitation and agreed. "Good plan. However…"
He drew out the last word, his tone shifting gently as a look of difficulty crossed his face. "Your grandfather has his hands full with something right now. I'm afraid I can't get away for the time being. How about I have your uncle Song Xiaqi help you instead?"
Song Yishi's eyes lit up, momentarily forgetting her own grievances as something came to mind. She asked excitedly, "Grandpa, is it about the Ascending Heaven Plains?"
Song Qiyuan made no effort to hide it and admitted frankly, "That's right! The exact location of the Ascending Heaven Plains has practically become an open secret among the Eastern Sea Gu Immortals. Buried within the Ascending Heaven Plains lies the inheritance of Old Monster Tian Nan. This time, your grandfather will personally lead our family's Gu Immortals to compete against the Cai Family and the Ruolai Family, and do everything in our power to seize Old Monster Tian Nan's inheritance."
Old Monster Tian Nan was a grand master of the Refinement Path from the ancient era, historically renowned alongside Old Immortal Kong Jue and Ancestor Chang Mao.
According to historical records, Old Monster Tian Nan had a peculiar temperament. He perished when his attempt to refine the Primordial Nine Heavens ended in failure.
Despite being doted upon, Song Yishi understood the bigger picture and quickly said, "Grandpa, go ahead. Just crush those two families into dust! Don't worry about my little problem. But Uncle Xiaqi alone won't be enough. I also need Uncle Song Jiadan to take action once and use his divination to calculate that old thief's whereabouts."
"Ha ha, my dear granddaughter. Very well — take this command token and head to the Bipolar Strait to find your Uncle Song Jiadan." With that, Song Qiyuan tossed her a token.
Song Yishi eagerly caught it, her face bright with joy, and turned to leave without so much as a farewell.
The Bipolar Strait was shrouded year-round in a thick, dense fog.
Hovering in midair, Song Yishi stared at the wall of fog before her, feeling somewhat at a loss. She turned to the middle-aged Gu Immortal beside her and asked, "Uncle Xiaqi, how do I get in?"
Song Xiaqi had an air of sharp competence about him. He smiled faintly at her words. "Didn't the old man give you a token? Little Yishi, all you need to do is show it, and your Uncle Jiadan will sense it on his own."
Song Yishi raised the token high in her hand.
Before long, the fog before her began to slowly swirl, revealing a narrow passage that led straight into the depths of the Bipolar Strait.
Song Yishi and Song Xiaqi followed the passage, stepped into the Bipolar Strait, and found Song Jiadan.
Song Jiadan was a Wisdom Path Gu Immortal specifically cultivated by the Song Family.
He had sat in meditation year-round atop the cliffs of the Bipolar Strait. His upper body had withered to a frail state, while his lower body had already petrified, appearing to have fused into a single entity with the strait beneath him.
"Uncle Jiadan!" Song Yishi called out.
Since birth, she had only met Gu Immortal Song Jiadan a handful of times, but that did nothing to diminish her reverence and admiration for him.
Song Jiadan had willingly sacrificed his own freedom for the family. From the moment he became a Wisdom Path Gu Immortal, he had sat here in meditation, using a special Wisdom Path inheritance to merge his consciousness with heaven and earth. As a result, Song Jiadan's divination and strategic planning abilities were extraordinarily formidable. Whenever the Song Family undertook a major operation, they would request his help to divine and calculate outcomes.
Among the current Eastern Sea Gu Immortal community, he was universally acknowledged as one of the three most outstanding Wisdom Path Gu Immortals.
As the old verse went: Jiadan meditates at the Bipolar Strait, Hua'an hides in the Southern Palace, and the Dragon-Headed Turtle roams back and forth across the Sea of Calamity.
Song Jiadan had already opened his eyes, regarding Song Yishi and Song Xiaqi with an expressionless face.
He wished he could smile, but his face had long since become like a stone carving — his muscles so rigid that his features remained completely blank. Even opening his mouth to speak was an exceedingly slow and difficult effort. "Little Yishi, Cousin Xiaqi, it's been a long time."
"Uncle Jiadan, I've come to ask you to calculate the exact location of an enemy. Here — this is his image, along with the aura I collected." Song Yishi proactively offered two Gu Insects.
"Let me see the token first," Song Jiadan spoke slowly. Though he recognized Song Yishi and Song Xiaqi, he was impartial and unbending — before he would perform any calculation, Song Qiyuan's token was required.
After confirming the token was genuine, Song Jiadan slowly parted his lips, releasing a wisp of suction that drew both Gu Insects from Song Yishi's hands into his mouth.
He slowly closed his eyes and began his divination.
A long while later, he opened his eyes, a look of puzzlement surfacing within them. "I cannot calculate it."
"What?" In that instant, both the expectant Song Xiaqi and the previously confident Song Yishi were utterly astonished.
"Uncle, you're one of the three strongest Wisdom Path Gu Immortals in the entire Eastern Sea — how is it possible that you can't calculate it?" Song Yishi cried out.