"Great Immortal!" Little Jiao Huo called out excitedly, presenting the Water Box. "This, this! This is the treasure I found for you! I believe you will definitely like it!"

"You little fellow are quite amusing," Immortal Bi You chuckled lightly, "but also quite thoughtful to actually be able to find this. It's really... remarkable."

"Ah? Great Immortal, you know what this is?" Little Jiao Huo was taken aback.

"What's inside is the Linglong Bimu Divine Fish from the depths of the Linglong Love Abyss."

"..." Little Jiao Huo's mouth fell open.

"I am a Great Immortal, after all! The omnipotent kind!" Immortal Bi You scoffed. "How could I not know what's in this box of yours?"

Little Jiao Huo thought about it, and that seemed right. This was a Great Immortal, after all!

"Then, do you like this item?" Little Jiao Huo asked eagerly.

"Of course, I like it," Immortal Bi You said leisurely. "This item is unparalleled in Huaintian, one of the rarest treasures in the Huangtian Continent. Obtaining it has nothing to do with strength; it's said to be mysteriously connected to the karma of Zhou Tian. That you could obtain it was beyond my expectations."

"There was a time when I, the Great Immortal, put considerable effort into acquiring this item."

"I desperately wanted to tear open the Linglong Love Abyss and capture this Divine Fish alive."

Upon hearing the Great Immortal say this, Little Jiao Huo became even more excited.

"However, in this world where all things both support and restrain one another, this particular item is something I could not obtain, and neither could they... Hahaha..."

"I never thought that today it would be obtained by a little Jiao Huo... Interesting, truly interesting..."

The Great Immortal suddenly burst into laughter. Little Jiao Huo couldn't understand the laughter, but it knew the Great Immortal was happy at this moment.

As her laughter subsided, the Great Immortal suddenly sighed.

"However, this item is now of no use to me."

"So, take it back. Find an opportunity for yourself, or perhaps give it to someone else."

"Ah?" Little Jiao Huo's excited expression froze. It was confused. Why was it useless? How could the treasure it had struggled so hard to find be useless? Wasn't she very pleased with it? The simple-minded Little Jiao Huo didn't understand.

"You little fellow..." The Great Immortal looked at its stunned face and, after a moment, chuckled again. "You gave me this item because you think I'm without a companion, lonely all year round, and you want this fish to help me find my future partner, right?"

Little Jiao Huo nodded vehemently.

"But you see..." Immortal Bi You paused. "I do have a companion."

"Ah?" Little Jiao Huo's mouth fell open again.

"This might be a secret to you, but it's no secret to certain others," Immortal Bi You patted Little Jiao Huo's head. "It's just that... my companion passed away many years ago."

"That's why this item is of no use to me now."

Little Jiao Huo's expression became vacant. So the Great Immortal did have a companion, but they died long ago. Ah, the poor Great Immortal... For a moment, sadness welled up in Little Jiao Huo's heart.

Although it was nearly a hundred years old, members of the Jiao Huo Clan had long lives and developed slowly, so its mentality was still that of a twelve or thirteen-year-old child.

"SOB SOB SOB..." Little Jiao Huo started to cry. "Great Immortal, you're so kind! Why did your companion have to die so young?"

The Great Immortal was silent for a moment before saying,

"It's better that they passed away."

"???" Little Jiao Huo was bewildered. The Great Immortal's words left it completely confused. It had clearly heard the reluctance in the Great Immortal's voice, so why would she say it was better that they passed away? I don't understand! Adult emotions are so complicated!

"Little one, don't overthink it. Go back now," Immortal Bi You said, waving her hand dismissively.

Little Jiao Huo clutched the Water Box, its head bowed. After a moment of thought, it asked,

"Great Immortal, when did your companion pass away?"

"I don't remember clearly. It was a long time ago," replied Immortal Bi You.

"Did you witness their passing with your own eyes?" Little Jiao Huo asked.

"Hmm?" Immortal Bi You's tone turned somewhat cold. However, looking into Little Jiao Huo's innocent eyes, she paused and then said,

"Not exactly..."

"So you didn't see them die with your own eyes!" Little Jiao Huo's eyes lit up. "Great Immortal, do you think there's a chance they're actually still alive? After all, if you didn't witness it personally, then anything is possible, right?"

Immortal Bi You was stunned.

"Why don't you try this Divine Fish?" Little Jiao Huo urged, offering the Water Box like a precious treasure. "If the Divine Fish can transform into their likeness, wouldn't that mean your partner is still alive? Legend says the Divine Fish transforms into the likeness of one's future partner. Surely it wouldn't transform into someone who's dead, would it?"

It seemed Immortal Bi You couldn't think of a rebuttal. Or perhaps, having abandoned all hope long ago, she had never contemplated such a possibility.

The innocence of a child's heart was so pure, untroubled by complex considerations. It didn't understand that for someone who had been gone nearly a thousand years, whether their death was personally witnessed or not no longer held any significance.

For a moment, Immortal Bi You remained silent.

Seeing this, Little Jiao Huo opened the Water Box.

WHOOSH!

The glowing, closed-eyed Divine Fish flew out of the Water Box.

The fish was quite spiritual. It swam in mid-air, its tail flicking, and as if drawn by some aura, it quickly circled Immortal Bi You.

"Look, look! The Divine Fish flew right to you!" Little Jiao Huo exclaimed in surprise.

Silently, Immortal Bi You seemed to follow the Divine Fish's movements with her mist-enshrouded eyes.

After a moment, the Divine Fish's eyes suddenly lit up.

A profound aura burst forth!

The next instant, the two fish heads merged into one, and the Divine Fish began to emit a Linglong-like divine light.

Its body transformed into a millstone, its eyes into two chess pieces—one Yin, one Yang—that revolved around the millstone in the void, like two Yin Yang Fish swimming through the mysteries of the world.

Immortal Bi You frowned slightly. She hesitated for a few seconds before gently tapping it.

The Yin Yang Fish spun rapidly. The light emanating from its transformed eyes merged, shooting a beam into the void.

The light formed a jade mirror that flowed with the aura of myriad karmic threads.

Two gazes shot out from within the mist, fixing on the jade mirror.

The jade mirror began to change, first coalescing into the vague silhouette of a statue, then shattering.

Seeing this, Immortal Bi You felt a sense of relief and was about to look away.

Just then, the shattered mirror fragments reassembled, forming the slightly blurry figure of a person.

Immortal Bi You was utterly astonished. Gazing at the young figure, she vaguely felt a sense of recognition and became somewhat bewildered. "Who is this?" Wait... could that fellow actually not be dead?

Suddenly, a tumultuous aura burst forth from her, transforming into a column of light that pierced through the house and shot into the sky!

"Impossible! This cannot be!" Immortal Bi You's voice was low. "Could it be reincarnation? Even if not, for this image to appear, it must signify a profound karmic connection with me. I must find this person..."

But this universe is so vast, with countless living beings. With only a face to go on, how am I to find them? There isn't much time... Immortal Bi You fell into deep thought.

Just then, Little Jiao Huo mumbled from the side,

"Huh? Why would it be him?"

"?" Immortal Bi You, startled, immediately looked at Little Jiao Huo. "Little one, have you seen the person the Divine Fish just revealed?"

Little Jiao Huo tilted its head, feeling once again as if its brain wasn't quite up to the task. It probably never expected that the figure revealed by the Divine Fish to Immortal Bi You... would be... that human who's incredibly good at fishing!

Little Jiao Huo said uncertainly, "I... I think I've seen him..."

ACHOO!

Wang Mu stood at the village gate, sneezing unexpectedly. He rubbed his nose, feeling a bit odd.

"Little Mu, could you be catching a cold?" Aunt Hong asked with concern. "The trip to Gu Yun Mountain is a thousand miles long; you must be careful."

"With his constitution, how could he catch a cold?" the village chief said, a blade of wild grass dangling from his mouth. "Did you do something that weighs on your conscience in the past, lad? Is someone cursing you behind your back?"

"Nonsense, the lot of you!" Grandpa Yu scolded with a laugh. "Mu Guy is leaving. Can't you say something nice for once, old village chief?"

Yes, Wang Mu was about to leave Anle Village, where he had lived for three years.

His three years of nurturing in the Newbie Village were over.

He was headed to Gu Yun Mountain to participate in the Sword Sect's disciple recruitment assessment, join the Immortal Sect, and begin his true journey of cultivation.

May his journey be blessed with smooth sailing.

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