Trust

When Jiang Lianyi asked, "Who are you?" Lu Yang's heart clenched tight. From the look of things, the mastermind behind the scenes had thoroughly erased the Immortal Fairy's existence. It wasn't merely replacing titles in books—it was altering memories, scouring every trace of the Immortal Fairy from everyone's minds. Even someone as powerful as Jiang Lianyi had not been spared. Jiang Lianyi was a peerless half-immortal qualified to vie for a seat among the celestials. If even she could not escape it, one could only imagine how other cultivators and mortals had fared. No wonder no one had spoken her name to revive her after she died. "Immortal Fairy Huang Doudou?" Jiang Lianyi stopped her tears. The name felt utterly foreign, without a single glimmer of familiarity, and her eyes were filled with bewilderment. The Immortal Fairy's smile gradually faded. Though she had anticipated this, knowing that Jiang Lianyi truly didn't remember her still left her crestfallen and heartbroken. "Yes! I'm Immortal Fairy Huang Doudou. Along with Immortal Kirin, Immortal Jiuchong, Immortal Ying Tian, and Immortal Suiyue, I'm known as one of the Five Ancient Celestials! I was the last of the five to become an immortal!" "The last to become an immortal was my husband, the fourth to ascend. There were only four immortals in ancient times. Where did a fifth come from?" "Then what about your and Xiao Ling's culinary arts? I taught both of you to cook!" Xiao Ling was the Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor, Ao Ling. "The two of us were self-taught. No master ever instructed us." "And the Art of Playing Dead! The Art of Playing Dead you just used—I'm the one who taught it to you and Xiao Ling!" "Xiao Ling and I obtained the Art of Playing Dead while exploring a mystic realm. It was an ancient ruin, so distant in time that it could not be dated. After we left, the mystic realm collapsed and turned to rubble." "When the two of you married Immortal Kirin, I even gave you an immortal fruit inscribed with 'To the fairest of the demon race'!" "I have no recollection of any such thing when I married my husband. At our wedding, the three immortals Jiuchong, Ying Tian, and Suiyue came to offer congratulations and gifted us immortal fruit, but there was nothing inscribed with 'To the fairest of the demon race.'" "We ate together all the time! And your cave dwelling, your bedroom—I've visited them all!" The Immortal Fairy listed one memory after another, describing them with vivid detail, only to be met by Jiang Lianyi's silence. Jiang Lianyi was silent for a very long time. "I'm sorry. I have no impression of anything you've said." Jiang Lianyi was no longer drowsy from waking up. She had quickly combed through her entire memory, even clearly recalling everything right before she fell asleep. At the time, her husband's behavior had been strange. He had stubbornly insisted that she cast the Art of Playing Dead and enter a state of death without even giving a reason. Out of trust, she had cast it. And when she awoke, she had found this unfamiliar woman and a Golden Core cultivator. She was certain her memories were clear and complete, without any gaps. Everything was logical from beginning to end, with not a single detail related to this Immortal Fairy. The Immortal Fairy's eyes turned glassy, tears welling up and spinning stubbornly in her eyes, refusing to fall. Seeing her like that made Jiang Lianyi's heart ache terribly, though she could not explain why. "Fairy..." Lu Yang wanted to console her, but when he tried to pat her shoulder, his hand passed right through. The Immortal Fairy was in a soul state. Just as Jiang Lianyi was about to offer words of comfort, she felt something against her chest. She reached down instinctively and pulled a stone from inside her clothes. "A shadow-recording stone?" Jiang Lianyi grew even more puzzled. She was certain she hadn't possessed this stone before her slumber. Had her husband slipped it in? She channeled spiritual energy into the shadow-recording stone. Intricate, magnificent patterns appeared across its surface. A phantom of a man with coral horns on his head emerged. He was dashing and graceful, clad in black robes embroidered with the likenesses of myriad beasts. "Immortal Kirin?" "Husband?" The phantom was indeed Immortal Kirin. Lu Yang recognized him as well. Counting this time, it was his second encounter with Immortal Kirin—the first had been a historical reflection, and now a phantom. "Lianyi, you may have many questions in your heart. You will meet someone; please do not panic. This person is worthy of your trust—even more so than I am, and more so than Ying Tian and the others! "You will find this person completely unfamiliar, remembering nothing of her origins. But please think: if this person has nothing to do with you, how could she undo your Art of Playing Dead?" Jiang Lianyi froze. It was true. That ancient ruin had collapsed. Only she and Xiao Ling knew the Art of Playing Dead. Her husband, Ying Tian, Jiuchong, and Suiyue had never learned it, nor did they have any need to. How could this woman calling herself the Immortal Fairy know the Art of Playing Dead? "Someone has altered your memories. For now, I do not know this person's identity. You don't need to know the details of this matter, nor should you get involved. This is a battle at the level of immortals. The only thing you need to know is that the person who awakened you can be trusted!" Immortal Kirin's phantom then turned toward the Immortal Fairy, breaking into a smile and clapping in congratulation. "Immortal, you have finally revived! Though I do not know how far your era is from mine. "I am deeply sorry that we were never able to revive you. The enemy's methods exceeded our expectations. Not only the half-immortals, but even we were affected. We could only remember you as 'Immortal'; your true name could never be spoken aloud. "We tried calling out names sequentially, but every time we called a name, we would forget what names we had called before, falling into an endless loop. "Our slight consolation was that, based on our conversation through the time channel, we confirmed you would revive in the future. "Lianyi's feelings for you run even deeper than her feelings for me. I did not want her to be constrained by her lifespan and pass away without ever seeing you again, which is why I arranged this meeting. "Even if she has forgotten you, seeing you revived will surely still bring her joy. "To ensure that you would find Lianyi, I established this mystic realm and hid her on the fourth level. "To cultivators of later generations, this mystic realm would probably be called an ancient mystic realm, or simply an ancient realm—whatever they call it doesn't matter. In short, it holds great value and fame for future cultivators. You've always loved joining in on the excitement; you would definitely come here. "Setting up this mystic realm was also a convenient way to leave some opportunities for our demon race. "Through our conversation across the time channel, we learned you were in a soul state and had a little Golden Core cultivator beside you. You would likely be staying inside this little cultivator's spiritual space. "This mystic realm would attract you, and it would attract him as well. "The first trial is a basic test of combat prowess. With you around, clearing it would be no problem for a little Golden Core cultivator. "The second trial is more complex. Your intuition is sharp, enabling you to make the right choice, so that trial wouldn't be difficult for you either. "The third level is where you are distinguished from the demon race's little prodigies. Only you could answer the questions on that floor. "By the way, I am currently fighting using all sorts of methods against the one who killed you. I can't be sure where I'll be when you revive, so I won't leave you my location, to save you the trouble of running around blindly. If you are revived, the world is only so big—we will cross paths eventually. "Until then, farewell."