When Liu Ruyan opened her eyes again, the sight before her made her breath hitch instantly.
It was as if she had stepped from the mortal realm into a fairyland in a single stride.
The first thing that caught her eye was a lake, clear as a mirror and shrouded in vast, misty waves.
The lake water shimmered under the sunlight, and exquisite pavilions on the island at the center of the lake were faintly visible.
As far as her eyes could see, there was a majestic and continuous complex of palaces.
With white jade as the foundation and glazed tiles for the roofs, a gentle spiritual glow flowed between the carved beams and painted rafters.
The Spiritual Qi permeating the air was incredibly dense; with every breath, she felt a cool current of air washing through her internal organs.
It even gave her Peak Qi Refining Stage cultivation a faint urge to achieve a Breakthrough.
In the distance stood a nine-story tall tower, with phantom images of Dragons and Phoenixes faintly circling above its peak.
Nearby, on a wide plaza, the floor tiles were actually paved with solid pieces of Warm Spirit Jade, polished so brightly they could reflect a person.
How was this a Sect?
This was clearly an Immortal's blessed land, a supreme grotto-heaven!
Having lived three lives, she could be considered to have seen some so-called "Great Sects."
But compared to everything before her eyes... those simply became dilapidated mud huts!
In her mind, she recalled a flash of her first life, when she had seen a branch of a certain Holy Land in the Southern Region from afar; at the time, she thought it was already an Immortal sight.
But at this moment, she was incomparably certain that even the headquarters of those Holy Lands probably fell far short of this place.
"This... what on earth is..."
Liu Ruyan murmured to herself, so shocked she had almost lost the ability to speak.
With unsteady steps, she followed the white figure in front of her, her gaze greedily scanning every detail, fearing this was just a dream.
Walking across the Nine-Bend White Jade Bridge that spanned the Yaochi, passing through the Spirit Medicine garden wreathed in spiritual mist, and going by the Merit Dispensation Pavilion where the humming of the Great Dao faintly echoed... with every step, her heart tightened a bit more.
Finally, they stopped before the most magnificent nine-story Main Hall.
The hall doors were over ten zhang tall, made of a material that was neither metal nor wood, as warm and smooth as ancient jade, with naturally formed profound patterns flowing upon them.
Above the lintel, four golden characters written in a flamboyant style seemed to contain some kind of universal truth, making her mind tremble with just a single glance—
Yaochi Immortal Palace.
Liu Ruyan's footsteps suddenly froze in place.
Her pupils constricted violently, and her breathing abruptly stopped.
The blood in her entire body seemed to freeze for an instant, then surged back frantically, rushing to her head!
"Yao... chi... Immortal... Palace?"
These four words were like thunder from the Nine Heavens, exploding in her mind!
She opened her mouth, but could not make a sound.
She just stared fixedly at those four words, her eyes wide open, even forgetting to blink.
"This place is the Yaochi Immortal Palace?"
The one she had searched for so bitterly, yet which had always remained ethereal and elusive... the Yaochi Immortal Palace?!
It was standing right before her eyes so realistically?
It wasn't a dream, not a legend... but a complete, vast, and majestic Immortal Sect?
By a strange stroke of luck, she had almost met with disaster, only to be saved by this Fairy, and then... just like that, she was brought back to the Yaochi Immortal Palace?
A massive sense of unreality and absurdity intertwined, making her dizzy and almost unable to stand.
"This place is the Yaochi Immortal Palace."
Gu Han's cold and ethereal voice rang out at the right time, pulling her back slightly from her extreme shock.
She turned around to face Liu Ruyan.
Her skirt fluttered lightly in the breeze, and her silver hair flowed like a galaxy.
Those calm eyes looked at Liu Ruyan, as if they could perceive all the turmoil within her heart.
"I am the Master of this place."
"Master?"
The last string in Liu Ruyan's mind called "reason" snapped completely.
The one who saved her was this peerless silver-haired Fairy.
The place she was brought to was the Yaochi Immortal Palace.
And this Fairy was the Master here?
Lin Fan's Mahayana Stage Master from his first life was said to be only an Outer Sect Elder of the Yaochi Immortal Palace!
Then what level of cultivation must this Palace Master before her have?
Undergoing Tribulation? Or the legendary Immortal Ascension?
All the clues, all the shock, all the obsession, the searching, the despair, the unwillingness... at this moment, like a powder keg being lit, they exploded violently!
"Wu..."
A sob squeezed out from deep within Liu Ruyan's throat.
Immediately following, tears gushed out like a flood through a broken dam.
It wasn't a soft sob, but a bitter cry bordering on a breakdown.
She crouched on the ground, her shoulders shaking violently, as large tears rolled down.
Grievance... confusion... relief... excitement... all sorts of complex emotions hammered at her heart!
Gu Han looked at the person suddenly crying before her, feeling a bit bewildered.
Wasn't this reaction... a bit too much?
Even if she was shocked by the Sect's majesty, even if she was grateful for her life being saved, it shouldn't warrant crying like this, right?
"Why... are you crying?"
Gu Han frowned slightly, her voice carrying a hint of confusion,
"Is it because your injuries haven't healed?"
Hearing her voice, Liu Ruyan cried even harder.
She shook her head while crying, her words intermittent and almost incoherent from sobbing:
"No... no... Master..."
She raised her tear-blurred face, trying hard to see Gu Han's appearance, but tears blurred everything,
"This Disciple..."
"I thought... I thought... I wouldn't find it... sob sob..."
"To be able to meet you... to be able to come here... this Disciple... this Disciple can die without regrets..."
Listening to her incoherent lament, the confusion in Gu Han's heart gradually cleared.
Combining this with the System's previous prompt about her being a "suspected Rebirth user," Gu Han had some guesses in her heart.
It seemed that her Yaochi Immortal Palace was quite famous in the future (or some parallel timeline?).
And she seemed to have been looking for her Sect all along?
Just as Gu Han was thinking about how to respond, a crisp and soft voice suddenly came from the side:
"Master Mother~"
The two of them turned their heads simultaneously.
By the side of the Main Hall, a small figure was holding a glowing Purple Lotus Pedestal, curiously poking her head out.
It was A'Yao.
She blinked her big eyes, looking at Gu Han, then at Liu Ruyan who was kneeling on the ground crying her heart out, her small face full of confusion:
"Why is this big sister crying?"
Liu Ruyan's crying stopped abruptly.
She looked at the carved-in-jade little girl holding the lotus pedestal.
Hearing her call "Master Mother," she forgot to cry for a moment, her face left only with utter daze.
This... is the Palace Master's daughter?
For an Immortal figure like the Palace Master, who could possibly be worthy of her?