Back then, the Burning Heaven Demoness bore injuries from the Time Path. She learned of Hei Fan's Time Dao inheritance and pinned her hopes on it.
And so the Burning Heaven Demoness began her scheme. She took control of the Su Family and sent her third sister under the alias Su Xian'er to deliberately approach Hei Cheng, smoothly infiltrating the Hei Family in the process.
Hei Cheng and Su Xian'er fell in love, both becoming Gu Immortals, and Su Xian'er's night elopement became a celebrated romance.
Su Xian'er had not forgotten her mission. As she probed for intelligence on the truth of Hei Fan's inheritance, she gradually exposed herself. The Hei Family launched an investigation that eventually traced back to Fairy Li Shan, whom they mistakenly believed to be acting on behalf of the Great Snow Mountain's conspiracy.
But Su Xian'er had truly fallen in love with Hei Cheng and refused to leave the Hei Family. Afterwards, Hei Cheng secretly killed Su Xian'er to extend his own lifespan.
When she learned of her third sister's sacrifice, both the Burning Heaven Demoness and Fairy Li Shan were devastated.
Fairy Li Shan blamed the Burning Heaven Demoness, believing it was her fault that their third sister had died. From then on, Fairy Li Shan and the Burning Heaven Demoness had a complete falling out.
The Burning Heaven Demoness was consumed by guilt and remorse, yet her severe injuries left her unable to seek revenge. As the leader of the Northern Plains' Zombie Alliance, she was bound by obligations and could only flee to the Eastern Sea.
She pierced through the World Wall, barely surviving the perilous journey.
In the Eastern Sea, following clues she had gathered in the Northern Plains, she gradually stumbled upon various opportunities. Among them was a portion of the inheritance left behind by the Empty Absolute Old Immortal, which granted the Burning Heaven Demoness the means to seize others' Immortal Orifices.
These opportunities indeed brought the Burning Heaven Demoness considerable help, alleviating the injuries she bore.
For a long time, Fairy Li Shan made no contact with the Burning Heaven Demoness.
But after Fairy Li Shan took in Hei Lou Lan, guiding and supporting her cultivation, watching her grow, Fairy Li Shan gradually let go of the bitterness in her heart.
She hoped that Hei Lou Lan could receive more and better care.
Recently, Fairy Li Shan had completely calmed down. She began using Communication Path methods to contact the Burning Heaven Demoness, and the two started exchanging correspondence.
It was through this that the Burning Heaven Demoness learned of Star Constellation Child's identity and began plotting.
Fang Yuan happened to be refining the Star Thought Immortal Gu, and the Burning Heaven Demoness seized the opportunity to forge a contract with him.
After she used the Zombie Alliance's power to return to the Northern Plains, the guilt and remorse that had accumulated in her heart for countless years finally found release through Hei Lou Lan.
She wanted to compensate Hei Lou Lan with everything she had, to make amends for the wrongs she had committed all those years ago!
She put herself in Hei Lou Lan's shoes, backing her up at every turn.
What mattered most to Hei Lou Lan?
Without question, it was the Mighty Force Immortal Gu.
First, Hei Lou Lan possessed the Mighty True Martial Body and walked the Strength Path. The Mighty Force Immortal Gu was a Strength Path Immortal Gu, perfectly suited for her.
Second, the Mighty Force Immortal Gu was a relic left to Hei Lou Lan by Su Xian'er. For Hei Lou Lan, it was far more than just a Sixth Transformation Immortal Gu — it held extraordinary sentimental significance!
And so the Burning Heaven Demoness tried every means necessary to reclaim the Mighty Force Immortal Gu for Hei Lou Lan.
But she ran into trouble.
Through her correspondence with Fairy Li Shan, the Burning Heaven Demoness came to learn of Fang Yuan.
She was alarmed by his cunning, yet at the same time she saw a reflection of herself in him.
On one hand, Fang Yuan was a master schemer. On the other, he was willing to risk his life, unafraid of death.
Put nicely, it was courage and ferocity. Put bluntly, it was sheer ruthlessness — if I can't have my way, you won't either. When it was time to act, he acted. What was death to him?
This aspect of his character seemed identical to the Burning Heaven Demoness who had burned the Primordial Nine Heavens Fragment World.
And so, when the Burning Heaven Demoness had agreed to sponsor Fang Yuan's Immortal Gu refinement, she had set terms with him:
The immortal materials provided to Fang Yuan constituted a debt he owed the Burning Heaven Demoness. Whether he succeeded or failed in refining the Immortal Gu, Fang Yuan would have to repay the debt. The longer he delayed, the more interest the Burning Heaven Demoness would charge. If Fang Yuan succeeded but failed to clear the debt within a hundred years, then the Burning Heaven Demoness would claim any one of his Immortal Gu as compensation.
"Any one Immortal Gu" — that was the key.
What the Burning Heaven Demoness was scheming for was the Mighty Force Immortal Gu in Fang Yuan's possession.
Now, seeing Fang Yuan's attitude, the Burning Heaven Demoness raised an eyebrow and decided to be blunt: "That's right. What I want is the Mighty Force Immortal Gu in your hands. Return it to Xiao Lan — it was always hers to begin with."
If she could simply seize it by force, the Burning Heaven Demoness would have done so long ago and spared herself all this trouble.
But even as a Grandmaster of the Flame Path, she could not forcibly take an Immortal Gu.
The Gu had already been refined by Fang Yuan. With but a single thought, he could make it self-destruct in an instant.
Just as Snow Beard Old Ancestor, whose Ice Path attainment was by no means weak, had been utterly unable to extract the mysterious Immortal Gu from within the Flame Radiance Thunder Marsh Immortal Zombie.
Unless a Wisdom Path Gu Immortal intervened, forcibly suppressing Fang Yuan so that he could not even muster a single thought. Or unless the Theft Path had been fully mastered.
The Theft Path was the school founded by Demon Venerable Dao Tian.
His signature Immortal Gu move, the Formless Hand, gave countless Gu Immortals endless headaches and dread.
The Burning Heaven Demoness, Fairy Li Shan, and Hei Lou Lan possessed no Wisdom Path methods. The Theft Path had always been niche — though founded by Demon Venerable Dao Tian, no practitioner besides him had ever risen to prominence.
For the three immortals led by the Burning Heaven Demoness to somehow possess Theft Path abilities capable of directly stealing the Immortal Gu from Fang Yuan's orifices — that possibility was even more remote.