Floating beneath the cosmic galaxy, the Nine-Leaf Clover bore nine leaves filled with mysterious patterns on its slender stem. It was mysterious and elegant.
"Hum."
A soft resonance emerged from thin air; it was this Nine-Leaf Clover, exuding the origin power of life, swaying gently.
Ripples undulated outward, emitting an ancient aura that felt as if it had weathered countless eons.
A translucent figure gradually materialized before it.
A woman floated in a curled-up posture before the Nine-Leaf Clover, her slender hands clasped around her jade-like calves.
A pair of pristine, jade-like feet peeked out from beneath her hollowed-out green skirt.
Her flawlessly sculpted, exquisitely beautiful face was tranquil yet brimming with an elegant, regal grace. Her long hair cascaded down her shoulders like a galaxy.
Red threads pierced through the void and entered this tranquil world, bringing along two uninvited guests.
Seemingly disturbing her peace, her long eyelashes fluttered slightly as she opened her flawless eyes, which seemed to contain an entire galaxy within them.
"..."
As the woman before the Nine-Leaf Clover opened her eyes, the old man and the young woman who had just entered fell into a prolonged, unanimous silence.
A trace of apprehension flashed across Ancestor Lan's kindly face.
He had spent his entire life inheriting the responsibilities of the previous Dao Ancestor, evading the world's pursuit.
To all the living beings of the world, he contained more than half of the Great Daos within him, making him the ultimate treasure.
He had seen immortals and heard tales of them; most of the immortals nowadays were relatively docile.
The previous Dao Ancestor had told him that when the immortals initiated their restoration, the duty of the Dao Ancestor would come to an end.
At first, he scoffed at this. His formidable strength made him arrogant; every time he acquired a Dao, his strength advanced a step further.
He was certain he had nothing to fear even from a Great Emperor. But later, after encountering other heaven-defying individuals, he learned to stay humble.
He was not the only special existence in the world.
He had fled for many years. Even when the immortals revealed themselves, he had still scoffed at the idea.
There were heaven-defying figures in the world; perhaps they alone could deal with the immortals.
He might not have to sacrifice himself; he could still struggle to survive. After all, a miserable life was better than a glorious death.
After all, dealing with trash like the Red Dust Immortal and the watchdog was something that could be done in passing.
With the entire Southern Frontier united, defeating the Blood Moon wasn't entirely impossible.
But now...
He found it incredibly difficult to imagine what the ancients had endured, or how they had ever managed to defeat these things!
If there were many more entities like the one before his eyes, the people of the current era would face a hopelessly bleak future!
"Miss Wen."
Ancestor Lan's entire body went stiff.
Feeling the vitality here that seemed capable of controlling all living beings, he stared gravely at the awakened immortal and said to Li Yaowen, "Your second sister is in massive trouble."
"I know."
Li Yaowen stared intently at the immortal. Approaching this entity, for the first time, she felt the physical existence of her own body again.
She met the immortal's gaze.
The immortal's thin lips parted slightly. Her gentle voice, much like the life-giving vitality she inadvertently exuded to nourish the world, echoed throughout the void.
"I have seen you. Your name is Li Yaowen. You were the little girl who studied in the village.
Yaoqing wanted to refine medicine for you; she said you were frail and sickly, and among all her siblings, she worried about you the most... even until now."
Li Yaowen looked dazed.
Ancestor Lan gently stroked his beard. No wonder the Li family girl had brought him along. Yet, even facing such an entity, he still felt it would be best to eradicate It as early as possible.
Especially in this current situation, he, an old relic constantly schemed against by everyone in the world...had clearly been ignored.
"Ignoring an old man like me is not very polite."
Ancestor Lan rubbed his fingers together inside his sleeves.
...
Lu Niang stared curiously at Li Yaowen before her.
This name, 'Lu Niang', had been given by Li Yaoqing.
Having experienced the dawn of creation, the era when immortals fed on the world, and the eventual fall of the immortals, she had slumbered in the darkness.
Immortals always had their methods of awakening.
Fortunately, after countless eons and generations of people stumbling upon the Thousand Herbs Classic by chance, a little girl had finally planted the seed of the Nine-Leaf Clover in her dantian.
She had lived inside Li Yaoqing's body ever since, watching the generations of the Li family grow, observing the pain, confusion, and struggles of humanity...
She had silently spied upon an entire human life.
Humanity's process of acquiring power was always accompanied by joy.
Lu Niang had always assumed that Li Yaoqing would attribute this extraordinary advancement to her own hard work. Yet, she had not.
Li Yaoqing often believed that with her own meager abilities, she should have been the most fragile herb in the medicinal garden; she never could have reached where she was today on her own.
And that was indeed the truth. Lu Niang knew Li Yaoqing's fragility.
Li Yaoqing worried about many people. Beneath her exterior as an older sister and elder lay a person who embodied profound compassion for all living beings.
She often did things that made even Lu Niang frown.
Like that year she ventured alone into the Demon Cave, completely forsaking her own vitality and pushing herself into a corner just to nurture three descendants, or how she desperately refined pills as if her life depended on it...
Between heaven and earth, such beings rarely enjoyed long lives.
But now, as Li Yaowen—the child she had worried about the most—appeared before her, Lu Niang finally understood why Li Yaoqing had been able to live for so long.
"What price must I pay for you to leave my second sister's body?" Li Yaowen spoke, her voice trembling.
Lu Niang froze.
In the fleeting years she had spent inside Li Yaoqing's body, this was her first time hearing this 'fragile' girl's words filled with such pleading.
Lu Niang pondered for a moment. "Have you ever considered that your second sister chose me, and not the other way around?"
Li Yaowen shuddered, the words catching in her throat like a fishbone.
No one had ever thought that such a heaven-defying cultivation method required a price.
Their entire family had believed it was a karmic opportunity bestowed by heaven, until the gift became a curse.
"You are the same."
Lu Niang looked deeply into Li Yaowen's eyes, letting out a gentle, drawn-out sigh.
"The acquisition of all power has long been secretly marked with its corresponding price.
Humanity often struggles against heaven, earth, and destiny to seize power they are not meant to have. The one you should be considering is yourself, not your second sister."
Li Yaowen remained silent for a long time.
She asked once more, her voice turning icy, "What price... must I pay?"