Translator: Fate Translation Checker: Silavin Mu Yan was dressed in a gown of white gauze paired with a soft outer robe filled with intricate embroidery. Her fair hand was clasped around a wooden comb which she slowly pulled through her hair. Her expression remained as sophisticated and aloof as ever as she ignored what Zhuo Wu said. Zhuo Wu had been standing nearby all along. Mu Yan’s reaction did not surprise her. Mu Yan had been behaving this way ever since Zhuo Wu forcefully took the former in as her disciple back at the Frost Fire Hell. She rarely paid others any attention. One might even assume she was mute. Still, Zhuo Wu thought it was better this way. Since Mu Yan did not speak, it saved Zhuo Wu a lot of trouble. Prior to this, Zhuo Wu did not disclose any information about Mu Yan. The Zhuo Clan did hear about her intention to hold an initiation ceremony for her new disciple, and it was a talking point among many of them. However, no one knew what her disciple looked like. Naturally, Zhuo Wu was not going to tell them she was taking in the one who killed a highly regarded descendant of hers as her disciple. She had to spin a tale by claiming she met Mu Yan by chance during her travels and appreciated the latter’s talents. Thus, she brought Mu Yan back with her, and the latter had been focused on her cultivation all this time without appearing in public. As for the murderer who killed her descendant, she claimed to have killed that person back in the Frost Fire Hell. “From today onward, the past you no longer exist. Your name is now Zhuo Yan. It is the name I have bestowed upon you after you become my disciple.” Having finished speaking, Zhuo Wu flicked her sleeves and disappeared from the palace. She did not worry about Mu Yan doing something foolish. Back in the Frost Fire Hell, Mu Yan could have chosen to die instead of live in humiliation. As one of the most powerful beings in this world, Zhuo Wu could figure out what Mu Yan was thinking. However, she did not care. Mu Yan’s fate was set the moment she was cursed to never be able to go against Zhuo Wu’s orders. She was not even an Immortal King. Naturally, to Zhuo Wu, she was inconsequential. Once Zhuo Wu left the palace, Mu Yan set down her comb and stared dazedly out the palace. She only chose to accept her enemy, Zhuo Wu, as her Master because she had no other choice. She wanted to use this time to find a way to escape. However, she realised that no matter how hard she tried, she could not think of a way to do so. It seemed hopeless. This time, she could not find a way to overcome the difficult situation, which she could always do so in the past. She had truly backed herself into a corner. Instead of living in humiliation, it would have been better if she died. [But, I can’t die yet. I haven’t avenged my Father. I haven’t made them pay for the humiliation my Mother had to endure. Also, before she died… she wanted me to take good care of my Little Brother…] Mu Yan stared at the beautiful face in the mirror. Her gaze was distant. It had been so long since she last saw this face of hers. Previously, she kept her appearance disguised at all times. Her actual appearance made it easy for her to draw a lot of unwanted attention. Therefore, she was unused to seeing her actual appearance again. After getting captured by Zhuo Wu, she spent all her days thinking of ways to escape, but in the end, she realised that Zhuo Wu knew everything she did or thought. She was like a bird Zhuo Wu had locked in a cage. Mu Yan sighed. She could not help but recall something else. [The one from the Zhuo Clan who captured me back then was worried that someone powerful was backing me up and plotting against Zhuo Wu. If that’s true, does it mean that the Clan has been keeping an eye on me? Or, is it my Little Brother…] [But, if that’s true, nothing has happened even though so much time has passed. Perhaps they were just overthinking things? How can there be someone that powerful backing me?] Once again, Mu Yan shook her head. She came this far relying on no one else but herself. She had never received any help from others. Even though she had the blood of the Divine Eternal Clan, she was not one of them entirely as her Father was a Human. This incident was related to a secret of the Divine Eternal Clan that happened many years ago. It involved her Father’s murder and her Mother’s descent into depression. This was largely why Mu Yan loathed Zhuo Wu’s descendants and faction within the Zhuo Clan. However, there was no use for her to think of these things now. [Is there really no way at all?] She saw nothing but bleakness before her. There was not a single flicker of hope. Strangely, Mu Yan abruptly recalled a figure in white. However, she quickly shook her head to chase that image from her mind. She tapped herself on the face a couple of times to snap herself out of it. [Why would I be thinking of him at a time like this…] [Argh… Why was he so trusting all the time? He looked like someone gullible and easily fooled. I wonder if he listened to what I told him? If he got tricked and suffered as a result, he better not fault me for not warning him…] Mu Yan had a helpless smile on her face. She could not even protect herself now. She was not in a position to worry about somebody else. Still, now that she thought about it, she did feel reluctant to part with him back then. Though they only knew each other for less than half a month, the time they spent together gave her much joy. It was as if she found something other than cultivation that added colour to her life. … The news of Zhuo Wu conducting an initiation ceremony for her disciple soon spread out from the Zhuo Clan. All the Great Universes were thunderstruck. The many Forces of the Immortal Spirit Civilisation heard the news and received an invitation. It was from a Heavenly Elder of the Zhuo Clan, after all. That was an extremely high position. Even if not every single being in the Immortal Spirit Civilisation knew of her, an overwhelming majority did. Her name was known across all the Great Universes and commanded great respect. In many of the ancient cities, there were even statues of beings of her standing. They were placed in temples and worshipped by billions every day. The fact that such a being was taking in a disciple was certainly an extraordinary affair. All at once, this became the talk of every ancient city in every universe. A while back, the most highly-regarded descendent of Zhuo Wu had been killed by someone within the Zhuo Clan’s territory. That incident had led to a great upheaval. Zhuo Wu had been so furious that she reached through a great distance to crush the killer, but the killer managed to escape. After that, the Zhuo Clan issued the All-Directional Universe Prohibition Order, sealing off their territory to prevent the killer from escaping. In her fury, Zhuo Wu personally offered a great bounty for the one who managed to capture the killer. The news of this incident spread far and wide. Countless gasped over the audacity of the killer. Such an act was akin to having a death wish. True enough, following the murder, the Zhuo Clan sent out many of their people to capture the killer. Many people from the various universes also set off to capture the killer for the sake of the bounty. Later on, experts of the Zhuo Clan personally caught the killer and brought them back to the Zhuo Clan. Thus, the matter was settled, and few brought it up again. Now that Zhuo Wu was suddenly taking in a new disciple and holding an initiation ceremony, many began to wonder if those two incidents were correlated. Was she announcing her disciple to the world because her highly regarded descent was dead? Was Zhuo Wu sending a message to the others? Many suspected that the one who killed Zhuo Wu’s descendant was from one of the Zhuo Clan’s rival Forces, such as the Hun Clan, the Wu Clan, or maybe some other mysterious Force. Was the initiation ceremony her way of sending a message to her enemy? All at once, in the Great Universes of the Immortal Spirit Civilisation, the Forces who received an invitation began to form their own guesses. They figured there was something more to Zhuo Wu’s decision to hold an initiation ceremony. … Inside a palace within the Ten Thousand Clan Arena in Breeze Ancient City. The Venerable Hong Gui had also received the news. As she had a fairly close relationship with the Zhuo Clan and was also residing in Breeze Ancient City, she was one of the first to receive the invitation. But she was taken aback by the fact that Wang He had mentioned this earlier. “How did Wang He find out about this? Did he meet Elder Zhuo Wu beforehand?” “No. That’s unlikely. Does he have some kind of power to predict the future? Is he able to deduce the actions and decisions of a Heavenly Elder?” Hong Gui was confused. However, since she promised Wang He she would take him with her, she was going to keep her word. Even though things ended on a somewhat sour note previously, that was only a minor hiccup when they considered the long-term benefits each brought to the other. Meanwhile, when Wang He heard about the event, he was not at all surprised. He smiled knowingly. “The initiation ceremony will be the first time the future Sovereign Empress appears in public… What did I do to deserve the honour of witnessing this in person?” “Still, this is only the start of our story. I will bring light and hope into her bleak life.” Wang He smiled confidently. Soon, after giving his instructions to the rest of the Scavenger Sect, he got up and paid a visit to Hong Gui. He wanted to discuss the ceremony with her. He knew she would have received an invitation by now. … There was an elegant pavilion surrounded by other pavilions that were nestled along a scenic mountain range. Dressed in white, Gu Changge sat in the pavilion. Smoke rose from the incense beside him. A fresh scent flickered in the air. He was carefully studying an ancient scroll. Steam that contained Celestial Energy rose from the cup of tea beside him. Clearly, both the water and the leaves used to make it were extraordinary. The bath seemed to have changed the grey-haired young woman into an entirely new being. After changing into a clean set of grey clothes, the Spirit Empress brought her over to Gu Changge. “Oh. You’re all cleaned up.” Upon hearing the sound of footsteps, Gu Changge set down the scroll and looked up. The grey-haired young woman lowered her head as she stood beside the Spirit Empress with an emotionless expression. She did not even reach the latter’s shoulders. It did seem like she was only around 16 years old. However, in contrast to what she looked like back at the Ten Thousand Clan Arena, she now had soft hair and supple, fair skin that looked like snow. All of her scars were gone. She looked like a beautiful woman now. “Raise your head. You don’t need to use your hair to hide your face.” “You have such a pretty face. Why do you choose to hide it from others?” The grey-haired young woman was startled. She subconsciously looked up at Gu Changge. He simply sat there with a gentle smile on his face as he slowly drank his tea. It was as if nothing in the world could fluster him. She had to admit that he looked like an otherworldly being who could not be described with words. He was unlike any other man she had met before. He differed not only in bearing and appearance but even in his very existence. Though he was right before her and was seemingly physically present, he gave the feeling of being from a different world. It felt like he did not belong anywhere or to anyone. “Hmm. You look better this way. Pretty young ladies should cherish their appearance. Now that you’re under me, don’t ever need to make the hasty decision to harm yourself again.” Gu Changge seemed to ignore the way the grey-haired young woman was secretly eyeing him. He simply set his cup down and continued speaking. However, when the young woman heard him, she froze. A strange feeling welled up inside of her. It felt like the warmth of the sun and the gentle breeze. For some reason, she could feel her icy defence walls melting away. Her nose prickled. After the Spirit Empress had left, the young woman could not resist the temptation of the medicine inside the white porcelain bottle. Despite her strong willpower, in the end, she opened the bottle and swallowed the medicine. From that moment on, her body almost seemed to undergo a total transformation. The water in the bathing pool changed eight times. During the first time, it was darkened with blood, skin, and scabs. Even the water smelled bad… The same thing happened the second time. During the third time, the smell made the young woman blush. She could not believe these things had been expelled from her body. As a True Immortal, she no longer had a Mortal Body and should not be tainted by the impurities of Mortality. Yet, there were still a lot of impurities within her. Towards the end, the water did not change much. She also realised that her cultivation seemed to have increased a fair bit.