Except for Wen Miaomiao, who carries the protagonist's script and the destiny of the world, there hasn't been anyone in either the human or demon realms who has successfully ascended to immortality in many years.
As Meng Shuying knows, over the years, there have been brilliant cultivators who attempted to ascend after reaching the Grandmaster stage, but without exception, they all failed during the tribulation and perished.
This harsh reality has dealt a massive blow to the cultivation world, causing countless cultivators to lose the courage to face the tribulation.
In her previous life, Meng Shuying managed to catch a glimpse of the world behind the door by refining the Divine Bone. So, she understands better than most just how difficult it is to achieve immortality.
If it weren't for her desire to see her senior sister again, Meng Shuying might never have taken that step in her lifetime.
But if she wanted to activate the teleportation array and return to her senior sister's side from the Endless Sea, she had to ascend to immortality.
There wasn't much time left to prepare, but Meng Shuying's heart was unwavering in the face of the unknown tribulation. Her Dao heart was now filled, leaving no regrets, so she feared nothing.
Her senior sister once told her that the path to immortality is long and arduous, and if one chooses to tread it, one must contend with both heaven and earth.
"Even if you don't give me a path to life, I'll carve one out for myself with my own strength," Meng Shuying pressed her hand against her chest, looked up at the sky, and her eyes burned with determination.
"My fate should only be in my own hands. I will overcome the tribulation, I will ascend to immortality, and I will meet the person I want to see."
From Fuxiao City to the East Pole Sect, even if they hastened their pace, it would take three to five days.
Wen Miaomiao was still injured, and Su Luowei didn't want to tire her out, so she suggested going ahead to stop Fu Guang, but Wen Miaomiao refused.
Her reason for refusal was also quite solid: "You're not a match for Fu Guang."
Hearing this, Su Luowei had no strong reaction, but Xie Hanzhu was instantly enraged. Her eyebrows shot up as she angrily said, "If senior sister isn't a match for that demon, then are you? You know you can't beat him, yet you still rush to throw your life away."
Xie Hanzhu had always been upset about Wen Miaomiao getting hurt, and now, with her senior sister present, she finally had the chance to vent. "I'm really going to be driven crazy by this. Senior sister, please judge for yourself—how can anyone be so foolish! We're talking about a demon lord who's lived for thousands of years, and yet she, just a minor cultivator, thinks she can face him. What kind of celestial being gave her that courage?"
"Calm down, junior sister," Su Luowei gently patted Xie Hanzhu on the shoulder and said meaningfully, "Wen Miaomiao must have her reasons for doing what she's doing."
Wen Miaomiao sighed and waited until Xie Hanzhu turned away to handle other matters before quietly asking Su Luowei, "Does Senior Sister also think I shouldn't meet Fu Guang?"
Su Luowei was silent for a moment, then said, "You've reached heights we can only dream of, so some things you must decide for yourself."
She kept her head down, her face flickering in the light of the fire, making it hard to see her expression.
"I don't know why you're so eager to meet Fu Guang, but, Wen Miaomiao, the time left for you is running out."
Wen Miaomiao sighed lightly and leaned back against the tree, looking up at the sky. After a long pause, she said softly, "Senior Sister really does know everything."
She lowered her gaze to Su Luowei's face. "But when did you figure it out?"
Su Luowei said calmly, "I had my suspicions early on, but it wasn't until I saw you at Ten Directions Abode that I was certain."
As the fire began to die down, Su Luowei leaned forward to add more wood.
"But you never really intended to hide it, did you?"
In their earlier interactions, Wen Miaomiao had often said things that seemed strange at the time but now seemed full of hidden meanings.
Wen Miaomiao shrugged. "You were going to find out sooner or later, so there was no point in hiding it."
Su Luowei turned slightly, keeping her eyes lowered, making it hard to read her emotions. Just as Wen Miaomiao thought she wouldn't say anything more, Su Luowei hesitated and asked, "So... do you know about my situation too? Am I here because of you?"
Wen Miaomiao hesitated for a moment, originally intending to explain those two questions in detail. But then she remembered "that person's" instructions before leaving.
In her previous life, before Meng Shuying self-destructed her spiritual palace, she made Wen Miaomiao promise that if their plan succeeded and time was reversed, she must never tell her master the whole story if they ever met again.
She didn't want her master to know what she had done. She hoped that in her master's eyes, she would always be the low-level, gentle, and harmless Meng Shuying, not the great demon who had wreaked havoc with Fu Guang.
Wen Miaomiao looked down at her fingers. In her previous life, her hands had also been stained with the blood of many demons.
Everyone has their own secrets, and since she had promised Meng Shuying to keep hers, she should honor that promise.
Her stories and past should only be told to her master by her.
Wen Miaomiao gave a soft hum in response, answering Su Luowei's first question. To prevent her from asking further, Wen Miaomiao quickly changed the subject: "I'm going to see Fu Guang to verify something."
To verify whether she had truly been abandoned by the Dao of Heaven.
The wound on her back still throbbed painfully. Fu Guang's strike had cut deep, and it would take a long time to heal.
Even now, Wen Miaomiao felt a pang of fear when she recalled narrowly escaping Fu Guang's clutches ten days ago.
It wasn't the power of Fu Guang's strike that frightened her but rather the fact that, in the face of an attack that could have taken her life, the Dao of Heaven had given no response.
A bitter expression crossed Wen Miaomiao's face.
If this was the price she had to pay to save humanity... then she was willing to bear it all.
Despite trying to reassure herself, Wen Miaomiao couldn't help the note of sadness that crept into her voice when she spoke again.
"...Senior Sister, I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you all."
She turned her head away, unable to face her senior sister's disappointed gaze. After a long silence, she finally spoke again, her voice heavy with sorrow. "I've... lost my immortal bone. I won't be able to ascend in this life."
Wen Miaomiao can't ascend!
Su Luowei shot to her feet, her face full of shock.
"How could this be?" She was so stunned that she even forgot to lower her voice.
If Wen Miaomiao couldn't ascend, then who would stand against the demon clan? Who would save the world?
It was as if a massive hammer had struck Su Luowei's heart, causing it to race, and her mind began to fill with noise.
In that moment, she failed to hear Wen Miaomiao's low, murmured words.
"Senior Sister... the future of humanity rests with you."
Xie Hanzhu, who had been tending to the wounded, hurried over at the commotion. She looked from her senior sister, whose face was pale, to her junior sister, who had turned away to wipe away tears. Their silence made her anxious enough to stamp her foot. "Can someone please tell me what's going on?"
Su Luowei tightly closed her eyes, taking several deep breaths to calm her racing heart before slowly opening them again.
Fu Guang was already on his way to the East Pole Island, and Su Luowei's parents were still there. No matter what happened, whether Wen Miaomiao could ascend or not, she couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
She instructed the Qingxu disciples who had followed them to tend to the wounded in the city, and without further delay, the three of them set out for the East Pole Island.
Su Luowei's anxiety drove her to move quickly. Knowing that her senior sister's parents were also on East Pole Island, Xie Hanzhu didn't dare to delay, not only putting all her energy into the journey but also taking care of Wen Miaomiao to prevent her condition from worsening.
It took them only three days to reach the East Pole Island. Contrary to their expectations of chaos and bloodshed, the island was surprisingly calm, as if untouched by the outside world.
Upon learning that a Grandmaster cultivator had arrived, the East Pole Sect's master and elders hurried out to greet them. Though they maintained a calm exterior, their hearts were full of unease.
After all, the title of a Grandmaster cultivator was terrifying.
Decades ago, Meng Shuying had wreaked havoc in Danyang Alliance, and she was only a minor cultivator at the time! Currently, the number of Grandmaster cultivators in the entire cultivation world could be counted on one hand, and each one was an ancient, eccentric being who had lived for countless years.
These ancient beings were usually reclusive, focused on their cultivation, and rarely left their abodes. When they did, it was always for something significant.
Not knowing the intentions of the newcomers, whether they were friend or foe, the sect master was anxious. If things went wrong, the East Pole Sect's millennia-long legacy could be lost in an instant!
If it weren't for the public setting, the sect master would have grabbed the Grand Elder, Su Haozang, and wept bitterly, cursing his fate.
When figures approached from the sky, and he saw the three wearing the Qingxu Sect's robes, the sect master silently breathed a sigh of relief.
So they were from Qingxu Sect.
Qingxu Sect and the East Pole Sect had a brotherly bond, so even if a disciple had offended them, they wouldn't make too much of it for the sake of their relationship.
Before Su Luowei had even landed, she spotted Su Haozang standing beside the East Pole Sect's master.
Compared to the tall and proud figure in her memories, he had changed a lot. Though he was still a middle-aged Nascent Soul cultivator, his temples were streaked with white, and he seemed devoid of his former vigor.
The death of his beloved daughter over two hundred years ago had cast a long shadow, one he and Zhan Xueying had yet to escape.
This realization filled Su Luowei with both sadness and guilt.
Before heading to Fuxiao City to investigate the demonic energy, Zhan Xuehan had wanted to send word to Su Luowei's parents, informing them that Su Luowei was alive, but Su Luowei had stopped her.
At the time, Su Luowei thought she would finish investigating the demonic energy and then return to the East Pole Sect with Meng Shuying to tell them the news herself.
But then she and Meng Shuying accidentally fell into the demon realm and were trapped there for several years. When she finally escaped, she immediately learned that Fu Guang was leading the demon army to attack the human realm.
She had been revived for so long, yet she hadn't even gone to the East Pole Sect to see her parents.
Her heart heavy with guilt, Su Luowei was lost in thought about how to reunite with Su Haozang later, so she paid little attention to the others around her.
But to the East Pole Sect's master, this young-looking Grandmaster cultivator seemed old and wise, exuding an aura of profound mystery.
Yes, without a doubt, she must be one of those ancient beings from Qingxu Sect, an old monster who had lived for thousands of years!
When Su Luowei and the others landed, Su Haozang lifted his gaze briefly before quickly lowering it again.
Staring directly at a Grandmaster cultivator was a great disrespect, so to show respect, he only let his eyes brush over the lead cultivator, without paying attention to her appearance.
He was more familiar with the two who accompanied the Grandmaster.
They were his daughter's close friends, and after her death, Xie Hanzhu and Wen Miaomiao had visited him several times. He recognized them immediately.
But despite knowing them, Su Haozang wasn't particularly pleased to see them. Seeing them only reminded him of his daughter.
If his daughter were still alive... she would at least be a Nascent Soul cultivator by now. She was intelligent and his only child, so even if she didn't focus on cultivation, she could have lived a carefree life under his protection.
If he had known the dangers she would face at Qingxu Sect, he would never have let her go.
But there was no medicine for regret, and heaven wouldn't grant him a second chance.
Thinking of his daughter made Su Haozang's heart ache.
Noticing his friend's distracted state, the sect master worried that his resentment toward Qingxu Sect might inadvertently offend the senior. So he discreetly suggested, "If you have other matters to attend to, you can go ahead. I will personally entertain our Qingxu Sect friends."
Su Haozang cupped his fists and agreed, then left without looking back.
They had walked quite a distance when Mu Xiu coughed twice, then quietly spoke to his master, "I don't know if you noticed... but that senior from Qingxu Sect looked familiar."
His voice trembled with emotion.
If he wasn't mistaken... that senior looked exactly like his junior sister, Luo Wei.
But if she was indeed his junior sister, then why didn't his master react?
He had questions, but he didn't dare voice them in front of everyone. Now that they were far enough away, he finally asked.
Su Haozang frowned. Mu Xiu was his eldest disciple, usually the most composed and sensible. But during their meeting with the Grandmaster, Mu Xiu had repeatedly glanced at her, and now, even after they had walked so far, he still seemed preoccupied.
"I didn't notice," Su Haozang said sternly. "Mu Xiu, staring at a Grandmaster cultivator is a grave disrespect. That senior was gracious enough not to hold it against you, but don't make the same mistake again."
"But Master—" Mu Xiu hastily explained, "That senior looks exactly like Junior Sister! Don't you think she might be..."
Before he could finish, Su Haozang suddenly stopped in his tracks, frozen in place. Whatever thoughts crossed his mind, they darkened his expression, filling his eyes with anger. Without a word, he turned and strode back toward the main hall.
"Master—" Mu Xiu quickly followed, while also signaling a junior disciple to go ahead and inform his master's wife of the situation.