Shi Feiyang followed Bai Guanhong as his guide and flew toward the Southwest. After traveling for half a day, they arrived at the Xianxia Ridge that Bai Guanhong had mentioned.

Looking down from the sky, he saw a tremendously wide valley, one end leading to an abyss wrapped in clouds and fog, and the other end leading to the outer jumble of rocks and mountains. In the middle section, towering cliffs on either side captured the earth's qi, nurturing a valley full of blooming mountain flowers, billowing clouds, and mist, with butterflies fluttering, bees dancing, and birds chirping—a breathtakingly beautiful sight.

Bai Guanhong stepped forward first and landed at the entrance of the valley, raising his voice, "Senior! The Stone Silkworm, Bai Guanhong, who once fled here for refuge and has since been reborn after shedding his old body, has come to express his gratitude for the life-saving grace!"

His words had just faded when, beneath the cliff amid the thick flowers, a flash of silver light revealed a little girl in white clothing, who appeared to be only five or six years old. She had the form of an infant, a beautiful face, and skin as white and tender as jade. Speaking up, she praised, "Your physique is truly remarkable. It's not just unique; even those who have been protected by sects and have gone through multiple reincarnations, spending several lifetimes cultivating, would hardly achieve what you have."

Immediately afterward, she looked up at the sky, "Dao friend who has come from afar, your visit brings honor to my humble abode. Please come down so we can talk."

Shi Feiyang, accompanied by the Beauty Serpent and others, descended into the valley and introduced himself, "I was told by him that there was an extraordinary fairy here who saved his life. Also, that the blossoms here bloom in abundance, casting petals in the wind—a rare and beautiful sight in this world. Therefore, I've come uninvited, and I ask for your forgiveness."

The girl laughed, "Dao friend owns mountains and seas in the Outer Heaven Divine Mountain, a spiritual realm in the Immortal Realm. How could it compare to here? Why the false modesty?" Then she revealed her own name.

Ni Fangxian, over a thousand years ago, was the cousin of Li Jingxu, the Jile Perfected, before he had achieved his Dao. The two grew up together, childhood sweethearts, and in love for many years.

This was during the Eastern Jin era. Along the way, they experienced several twists and encountered great turmoil. By the time things calmed down and they were reborn from the disaster, Li Jingxu had married into a famous family—that was later on the Five Fortune Immortal, Sun Xun. Not long after, the couple saw through the mortal world's illusions and went into the mountains together to seek the Immortal Position, both cultivating as husband and wife.

Li Jingxu, recalling his childhood sweetheart cousin, also led her to cultivate in the mountains.

So, the three of them lived and cultivated together, but Ni Fangxian always felt that Li Jingxu was partial in his heart and that since Sun Xun was his legally married wife, someone with children in the Human World, naturally their relationship was closer than with her, being born from a concubine. She always felt like the redundant one, from doubts to jealousy, until finally she left in anger. Li Jingxu and his wife searched for her for a long time but couldn't find her.

Decades passed, and Li Jingxu acquired a Heavenly Book. Together with his wife, they cultivated to the level of Heavenly Immortals. As he was reluctant to endure the tribulations of reincarnation, and his beloved wife's inferior root and cultivation Technique were far behind his own, he left his Dharma Body in the Wuyou Cave of Lion Ridge at Chang Chun Cliff to continue accompanying his wife in her cultivation. He himself combined the Five Elements Essence to recreate a body for his Nascent Soul, taking on the form of a child and wandering the Human World.

At this time, his mana had reached an unbelievable level. He calculated that Ni Fangxian had pledged herself to another fairy as her disciple. Although the fairy's mana was strong, her teachings were not the orthodox techniques of the Mysterious Sect. Because of Ni Fangxian's beauty, after her master's death, she was often harassed by demons and suffered terribly.

When Li Jingxu learned of this, he hurried over and descended from the sky, slaying the group of demons and rescued Ni Fangxian.

Ni Fangxian was touched, but being proud and haughty, with old habits dying hard, she was still embarrassed to return with Li Jingxu.

Li Jingxu didn't press the issue and simply opened another cave dwelling at the old residence of Huayun Cliff on Xianxia Ridge and brought her there for shelter. He stayed for ten years and taught her the orthodox Immortal Laws of the Mysterious Sect. Before he left, he told her, "If you cultivate according to the techniques I've taught you, you only need one cycle of sixty years to refine your Nascent Soul. After that, reaching the Heavenly Immortal Position is within reach."

After Li Jingxu left, Ni Fangxian devoted herself to secluded cultivation, occasionally venturing out but avoiding contact with anyone except for a few special fellow daoists, leading a life of purity.

She was already nearing perfection in her efforts, and in a few more years, she would have also been able to prove her position as a Heavenly Immortal. However, she had a recent reflection during meditation and calculated her ultimate fate with Li Jingxu. Because Li Jingxu and Sun Xun were not cultivated from childhood, there would still be some turmoil during their final tribulations.

Li Jingxu, with profound Dao and strong spells, was invincible in this world, and would find the final tribulation merely annoying. But Sun Xun would have significant trouble. And because of her own temperament, although Ni Fangxian cultivated the orthodox Mysterious Sect techniques, she was actually still biased toward side paths, and her future tribulations would not be weaker than Sun Xun's.

Originally, according to what Li Jingxu said, Ni Fangxian planned to cultivate in the valley, undisturbed by internal and external influences, until she was ready for Ascension, and then she would seek out Li Jingxu to make the decisions.

Yet, she had her own pride. After calculating the cause and effect, she knew that for the three of them to successfully survive the tribulation and Ascend, the chances were less than seventy percent. Unless they obtained a Treasure, which could increase the chances to a hundred percent, that Treasure was currently in the hands of the Dragon Emperor of the Outer Heaven Divine Mountain.

Further detailed calculations determined that a line of fate with the Dragon Emperor, who had parted from the East Sea, could converge here.

If she didn't intervene, if Bai Guanhong were captured by Xin Chenzi and the others and used for breeding with the Silkworm Mother with his Lifebound Embryo turned into the Hundred Poison Immortal Slaying Sword by the Green Robe Ancestor, she would not meet Shi Feiyang, and the line of fate would not converge.

She thus opened a path in the valley's array prohibition and allowed Bai Guanhong to enter, saving his life. She then directed him to head north to meet Shi Feiyang, thereby repairing their fateful connection and drawing them together.

In doing so, she would be able to establish a connection with the Dragon Emperor and later borrow that magical treasure from him, so she wouldn't have to rely solely on the rewards from Li Jingxu. After all, his primary concern was for his own legitimate wife, and anything given to her was merely incidental...

In fact, having cultivated her mana to such heights, she already knew of Li Jingxu's feelings towards her, but there was always a hint of comparison in her heart. She knew she could never surpass Sun Xun; even if Li Jingxu harbored no favoritism in his heart, the latter was, after all, the legitimate wife, and she, at the end of the day, was just a concubine. This thought had always pained her in the past, and though it was less painful now, there was still a trace of bitterness.

Even if she didn't care about status, the distinction between wife and concubine was always there!

She wanted to obtain the treasure that the three of them would use to transcend the tribulation, but by opening the mountain valley and reaching outwards, not only would many new accidents arise, but the threads of fate that had been suppressed by her wisdom and mana would also resurface. For example, those demonical beings who had once coveted her beauty and surrounded her, whom Li Jingxu had not entirely eradicated, would soon come knocking.

Now her true body was hidden within the cave, and she only manifested her Nascent Soul to meet with others, which was the same size as Li Jingxu's Nascent Soul body.

She invited Shi Feiyang into the cave and offered him Floral Nectar Immortal Brew along with various Immortal Fruits as refreshments for her guest. She first complimented Shi Feiyang's skill in giving Bai Guanhong such a body, admitting that it made her quite envious.

Shi Feiyang humbly demurred for a bit, and then Ni Fangxian asked him how he had accomplished it. Taking this as a starting point, the two began to discuss and exchange insights on spells and cultivation.

In her heart, Ni Fangxian was actually somewhat proud. She initiated contact with Shi Feiyang solely to borrow that treasure and didn't think that he could have significant Dao Level or strong mana. However, upon seeing Bai Guanhong transformed from an ugly silkworm into a beautiful young man with the root of an immortal and a body of jade, she was greatly shocked. Her expression of envy was genuine.

Her incarnation of the Nascent Soul was modeled after Li Jingxu's, but her own Dao power was far from comparable to his. The effort she spent gathering the Five Elements Essence Qi and the level of her clone were naturally limited, so she engaged in an exchange with Shi Feiyang regarding their expertise in body reconstruction.

After their conversation, Ni Fangxian's view of Shi Feiyang greatly changed.

Shi Feiyang was an anomaly who had achieved Dao; true human cultivators inevitably looked down on him slightly. Although they knew he had founded a nation overseas commanding countless demons, to genuine human True Immortals, he seemed like a child playing house. They did not appreciate his capabilities, viewing him as brash and ignorant of the world's ways.

Yet after their exchange, Ni Fangxian found not only that Shi Feiyang's knowledge related to spells was strong but that his comprehension of the Great Dao was shockingly profound. His astonishing insights provoked deep reflection.

Ni Fangxian, a cultivator of a thousand years with vast knowledge and experience, had initially been a disciple of a lesser school but later received teachings from the Mysterious Sect by Li Jingxu himself, and she had also enlightened Shi Feiyang in some aspects.

The exchange between them left both feeling as if they had met too late in life.

As they were speaking, suddenly the sky outside turned dark with thick clouds, and a wild wind blew fiercely, obscuring the entire valley as if a giant pot cover had been placed over it.

A large mass of emerald light appeared among the dark clouds, from which a hoarse and strange voice emerged, "Listen up, you dog men and women inside! I am the Green Robe Ancestor of the Demon Cult from the southern Bai Man Mountain. Present the Millennium Meat Ganoderma at once. Spare your lives, or else, I will turn you and the entire valley into ash!"

Upon hearing this voice, Ni Fangxian sighed softly, "My time of tribulation has come."

Shi Feiyang immediately spoke up, "This Green Robe monster must be pursuing me. I had earlier killed his disciple, and now he seeks revenge, even tracing it here. I will lead him away to settle this matter elsewhere and ensure he does not damage a single blade of grass in the valley."

As he stood to leave, Ni Fangxian gestured for him to be at ease and not rush, "Since I've established my residence here and made connections, it's inevitable that trouble comes knocking. It's not only him; soon, other demonic beings will also arrive. There's no need for you to disavow our connection; our fated calamities are both here, and we will face them together. If we attempt to separate them clearly, it will only lead to endless troubles."

Shi Feiyang knew she wanted to borrow his Heavenly Heart Ring and had also inferred the entangled cause and effect at play. He too wanted to form a good relationship with Jile Perfected True Master Li Jingxu and his family, so he no longer made excuses.

Ni Fangxian told him, "That whelp in the green robe relies on his Second Primordial Spirit which is hosted in the Mysterious Yin Pearl and the Hundred Poison Golden Silkworm Gu. I have ways to deal with the Mysterious Yin Pearl, but I lack a magical treasure to counter the Hundred Poison Golden Silkworm Gu, and once released, it would indeed be troublesome."

The best treasure to counter the Hundred Poison Golden Silkworm Gu would be the Qiankun Needle in Li Jingxu's possession; Shi Feiyang had no treasure specifically tailored to counter it.

After some thought, he nodded, "Leave the Hundred Poison Golden Silkworm Gu to me. This demon is ferocious and merciless. If there were no enmity, it might be left alone, but once a grudge is formed, it is relentless until death. When engaging in battle, there is no need for mercy. It's best to kill him in one fell swoop to prevent future troubles."

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