Gu Shi Yi was the legitimate daughter of the main branch of the Gu Family and, by all accounts, should have enjoyed a status of great privilege in the family. However, due to that notorious scandal that had spread throughout Chenzhou, her life in the Gu Family was far from easy. It was precisely this weakness that the Old Taoist Priest exploited, convincing Gu Shi Yi with just a few words to leave and become his disciple, in whom he nurtured the Tongxuan Bright Mirror.
In the twenty-five years that followed, Gu Shi Yi was aware of what had happened, yet she did not understand,
"Master, why did you have me nurture this Treasure Mirror for twenty-five years, and speak of another whole month? Could it be that after a month, we no longer need to nurture it?"
The Old Taoist Priest sighed,
"...My nephew Zhang Zhenyue is truly out of the ordinary. He somehow connected with the secular Imperial Family and became the Imperial Advisor, receiving offerings from the emperor. Over these years, regardless of whether it's the secular world or the various Immortal Sects, they have all been searching for me..."
News of his escape with a treasure spread, and not only the Tongxuan Sect was searching for him, but other sects were as well. It was because of this that he was forced to sneak around with his disciple, hiding and never daring to show his true face!
The Old Taoist Priest continued,
"This Treasure Mirror is an Immortal Sects treasured item. When it comes into the world, it must arouse the fate of heaven, and those with profound cultivation can easily divine its whereabouts. I brought it out thirty years ago and alarmed many people. After finding you, I divined that if a Pure Yin Body could nourish the treasure according to heaven's will for a full twenty-five years, you would be able to assimilate it. Afterwards, even if you held it in front of Zhang Zhenyue, drawing eyebrows and applying makeup, he would not be able to recognize it..."
At this point, the Old Taoist Priest appeared stricken with grief as if his heart had died,
"It's just a pity... that last night, you used it to absorb the Power of Taiyin and bridged yin and yang, disturbing the fate of heaven, thus rendering the efforts of the preceding twenty-five years utterly in vain..."
The Old Taoist Priest glanced at his disciple, and with a long sigh towards the heavens, said,
"Such is the will of heaven! There are times when destiny aligns, but when it does not, one must not force it. Indeed... my elder brother was right; I'm a man not blessed by fortune, and treasures cannot be forcibly obtained!"
Gu Shi Yi never imagined that just by a reluctance to see her close friend's prime years wasted in reincarnation and quietly using the Tongxuan Bright Mirror once, she would ruin the many years of planning by her master. She immediately felt a deep sense of guilt, and her eyes quickly reddened,
"Master, what should we do... How about... we nurture it for another twenty-five years... maybe thirty years, or forty. It doesn't matter... we can just find another place to hide, and I will never marry for the rest of my life!"
"Ah!"
The Old Taoist Priest heaved a sigh, looking at the clay figure she held tenderly in her palm, which was gazing at him just as eagerly as the disciple,
What a foolish child!
An Immortal Sects treasure capable of concealing the workings of fate even once is already a stroke of fate; a second chance is not to be hoped for!
"Forget it! The Old Taoist Priest won't live to see that day, and although you have not known man, you have poured all your Pure Yin Essence into the Treasure Mirror, forcefully driving it to pull your friend's soul from Another World. Now that you have lost your Pure Yin Physique, you can no longer nurture the mirror!"
Gu Shi Yi was startled,
"Then... let's find another person with a similar Pure Yin Body!"
The Old Taoist Priest shook his head again, not wanting to tell his disciple that although she was a Pure Yin Body back then, she was, after all, a mere mortal. How could she seal an Immortal Sects treasure? It was only because he had spent twenty years of cultivation and used his Primordial Spirit to set a prohibition, that the Treasure Mirror could be sealed for twenty-five years. Now that he was old and his cultivation waning, how could he seal the mirror once more?
The Old Taoist Priest changed the subject,
"Now that things have come to this, it's pointless to speak further... As a master, I can divine the fates within this world, but not those of Another World. Where your friend came from, and why you brought her to this world, tell me about it, will you?"
"That..."
Gu Shi Yi made eye contact with the clay figure in her palm, hesitated for a moment, and as the clay figure nodded at her, turned to speak, the Old Taoist Priest let out a sigh,
"You have only recently attached yourself to this clay figure, relying on the little Pure Yin Force left in Shiyi to sustain you. It's better if you speak less. Disciple, you speak!"
Gu Shi Yi chuckled, scratching her head, gave the Old Taoist Priest a look, and replied,
"Master, this is going to be a long story..."