Shortly after Gu Han left with the three newly-subdued Three Great Demon Kings.
Dozens of miles from the edge of the Illusory Flower Sea, inside a hidden cave concealed by both vines and an illusion array...
A young girl dressed in a plain white dress, her face pale, was leaning against the cold stone wall, panting slightly.
She was about twenty years old, with features as beautiful as a painting and an aura as cold as snow.
However, deep within her eyes at this moment lingered an inescapable fatigue and gloom.
Most peculiar were her eyes; deep within her pupils, there seemed to be faint double images, shimmering with a dim radiance.
This was precisely the legendary Innate Double Pupils, said to be able to see through all things and foresee fortune and misfortune.
Her name was Gu Luoli.
Once upon a time, she was the Saintess of the Qingyun Holy Land, a top-tier power in the Southern Region, and a favored daughter of heaven who drew everyone's attention.
She had broken through to the Golden Core Stage at the age of twenty-three. Her talent was so immense that she was hailed as the Holy Land's number one genius in a thousand years.
However, an outdoor trial three years ago became the turning point of her fate.
To protect her fellow disciples, she stayed behind alone to cover their retreat, but was besieged by several powerful enemies.
Although she was fortunate enough to survive, her dao foundation was severely damaged.
Her cultivation plummeted to the Early Foundation Establishment Stage, and she was left with a dao injury that penetrated deep into her bones and was difficult to cure.
After returning to the Holy Land, the coldness of the world was revealed in full.
Her position as Saintess was stripped away, her resources were cut, and the past compliments and flattery turned into cold stares and mockery.
Even her former Master, the Holy Lord of the Qingyun Holy Land, grew increasingly indifferent toward her, treating her as a discarded piece.
In her dejection, Gu Luoli eventually chose to leave the Holy Land and venture out on her own.
Just half a year ago, she accidentally entered an ancient Immortal Cave.
Deep within the cave, on a decaying jade desk, lay an inconspicuous, simple ring.
The moment her fingertips touched the ring, a weak but incredibly pure ripple of Soul Power emanated from it.
Sleeping within the ring was a remnant soul calling herself 'Yun Miaoyi'.
What shocked Gu Luoli even more was that in her past life, she had actually been a Mahayana Stage Eighth-Grade Alchemist!
A deal born of desperation was thus struck.
Yun Miaoyi promised that if Gu Luoli could find Spirit Medicine to nourish her Divine Soul and help stabilize her soul form...
...once she recovered some of her abilities, she would be able to find a glimmer of hope for Gu Luoli's dao injury.
This was a massive gamble, and the last straw Gu Luoli could grasp.
Therefore, she did not hesitate to take the risk and venture deep into the terrifying Wan Jue Mountain Range.
Just now, Gu Han's subduing of that demon king—especially the method of smoothing out the entire illusion array of the Illusory Flower Sea in one step—
...had all been witnessed by Luoli, who was observing from the shadows.
The shock in her heart was beyond words.
What Realm was that?
Mahayana? Undergoing Tribulation? Or... even higher?
While Luoli's mind was reeling, unable to calm down for a long time due to what she had just seen...
A black ring on her finger suddenly warmed slightly, flashing with a faint, eerie light.
Immediately after, a somewhat illusory figure of a woman floated out of the ring and hovered in front of Luoli.
The woman looked to be around thirty, with a beautiful face and the elegance and wisdom brought by the passage of time.
However, her figure was transparent, clearly not a physical body but a remnant soul; she was Yun Miaoyi.
"Luoli."
Yun Miaoyi spoke, her voice gentle yet grave.
"You saw it just now, didn't you?"
Gu Luoli snapped out of her shock and looked at the remnant soul before her, her respect tinged with reliance.
"Senior Yun, I saw it... That Senior just now was too powerful."
Yun Miaoyi nodded slightly, a trace of lingering fear in her eyes.
"She is more than just powerful!"
"That kind of person—even the few Undergoing Tribulation Cultivators I once knew are far inferior to her!"
"And as for the two following her,"
Yun Miaoyi continued, her tone certain.
"If my perception is correct, the true form of that man in black should be an Ink Flood Dragon, and his cultivation is at the Late Mahayana Stage!"
"And the other one is the Fushan Ape King, also at the Late Mahayana Stage!"
Yun Miaoyi looked at Gu Luoli with a complex expression.
"Luoli, do you know what this means?"
Gu Luoli shook her head blankly upon hearing this.
"This means that the Palace Master of the Yaochi Immortal Palace has strength at least at the Late Undergoing Tribulation Stage... or even the Ascension Realm."
Yun Miaoyi spoke each word clearly, and every word struck Luoli's heart heavily.
Ascension Realm!
Those were legendary figures standing at the Peak of this continent!
Luoli gasped, feeling as if it were difficult to breathe.
"Furthermore,"
Yun Miaoyi looked sharply in the direction Gu Han had departed.
"She must have discovered us just now."
"What?!"
Luoli was startled and instinctively gripped the sword in her hand.
"No need to be nervous," Yun Miaoyi comforted her.
"If she had any ill intent toward us, we would have been annihilated in body and soul by now."
"The reason she ignored us is perhaps because we are too weak to pique her interest."
"Or... she felt it was unnecessary."
Gu Luoli breathed a secret sigh of relief upon hearing this.
Yun Miaoyi pondered for a moment and then looked at Gu Luoli, a flash of determination in her eyes.
"Luoli, this is an opportunity for you!"
"An opportunity that might change your fate!"
Luoli was stunned. "Senior Yun, you mean..."
"Go to the Yaochi Immortal Palace!" Yun Miaoyi said decisively.
"Go find that Palace Master Gu Han and find a way to become her disciple!"
"Me?"
A bitter smile appeared on the corners of Luoli's lips.
"Senior Yun, my Foundation is currently damaged and my cultivation has fallen; I am just a useless person."
"And a person of that Senior's stature, how could she ever take an interest in me..."
"No! You are not a useless person!"
Yun Miaoyi interrupted her, her tone firm.
"You possess the Innate Double Pupils; this is a supreme divine singularity!"
"It's just that the people of the Qingyun Holy Land didn't know your worth. They had you Cultivate a Cultivation Technique that didn't match, burying your talent!"
"Although your Foundation is damaged now, your Double Pupil Origin is not lost!"
Yun Miaoyi stared intently into Luoli's eyes.
"If someone can help you repair your Foundation and stimulate the power of your Double Pupils, your future will be limitless!"
"And that Palace Master Gu Han has heaven-defying cultivation."
"She might... have a way to heal you, and even unlock the true potential of your Double Pupils!"
A small spark of hope was ignited in Luoli's heart by these words, but it was immediately extinguished by reality.
"But where is the Yaochi Immortal Palace? And how can I find it?"
"Even if I find it, why would such a being accept me?"
Yun Miaoyi sighed softly and looked into the distance, her voice steady.
"We will look for it slowly; we will eventually find it. As for why she would accept you..."
Yun Miaoyi looked at Luoli and spoke solemnly.
"When facing such a being, sincerity is the only way. Tell her your experiences honestly."
"As for the result... leave it to the heavens. Regardless, at least we will have tried!"
Luoli remained silent for a long time.
Outside the cave, the moonlight was cold.
She slowly raised her hand, looking at the dim spiritual energy in her palm, and then thought of the Senior's peerless figure from earlier.
The cold stares at the Qingyun Holy Land, her Master's indifference, and the mockery of her fellow disciples... scene after scene flashed by.
If this continued, she might truly exhaust her life in obscurity, dying with regret and resentment.
No!
A stubbornness and pride buried deep in her bones was completely ignited!
She, Gu Luoli, possessed the Innate Double Pupils!
She should not sink into oblivion like this!
Even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, she had to try!
Luoli suddenly looked up, and within those Double Pupils, the dim golden light shone once more. Though weak, it was incredibly firm.
"Senior Yun, I'll listen to you!"
Her voice was no longer weak, carrying the determination of someone who had burned their bridges.
"I'm going to find the Yaochi Immortal Palace!"
A gratified smile appeared on Yun Miaoyi's face. She nodded and transformed back into a stream of light, vanishing into the ring.
"Good child... I will do everything in my power to help you."
"Let's go. Leave this place first and find a nearby city to search for clues regarding the Yaochi Immortal Palace."
Luoli took a deep breath, tidied her plain white dress, and wiped away the dust and fatigue from her face.
She cast one last glance in the direction Gu Han had disappeared, then turned resolutely and walked toward the outer edge of the mountain range.
Under the moonlight, the girl's thin but straight back gradually merged into the vast mountain forest.