’But if he truly wanted my Immortal Heart, why wouldn’t I have given it to him?’

’But he said nothing. Instead, he chose to deceive and betray me, betraying the trust I had placed in him.’

The woman sighed softly. At the time, that was indeed what she had thought.

Many years ago, on that night at the Prime Minister’s Mansion, he had promised her that once their cultivation session was over, they would sneak out together. They would go to that secret place only they knew and catch the glowing fireflies in the clear night.

So, having finished her cultivation early, she had snuck out of the Prime Minister’s Mansion alone to shake off that annoying "little tail" who always followed them. She waited for him at their meeting spot.

The night was deep and silent. She sat on a ridge between the fields, resting her head in her hands, watching with utter boredom as the fireflies flickered and danced like tiny stars. ’Why is he taking so long?’ she thought. ’What’s the point of watching this all by myself if he doesn’t show up?’

The sound of footsteps came from the distance. She stood up joyfully and turned to look, only to be met by a whistling arrow shimmering with a flowing light...

When she next awoke, she was in a simple, dilapidated house of green brick and tile.

A hard-of-hearing old herb-gathering woman had saved her in the mountains.

According to the old woman, it had rained heavily that night. Fierce winds blew without end, thunder rumbled ceaselessly in the mountains, and one bolt of lightning after another lit up the pitch-black sky, as if the heavens themselves were furious.

The old woman had thought the gods were sending down punishment and was terrified, but she faintly guessed that something major might have happened in the mountains.

So, braving the downpour, she went deep into the mountains. There, beneath a tree that had been struck by lightning and was now ablaze, she saw bloodstains washed out by the rain. Strangely enough, despite the heavy downpour, the fire engulfing the tree refused to die out, illuminating the entire area.

The old woman dug under the tree for a long time before finally finding her buried deep beneath the earth. At that moment, she was covered in blood, and when the old woman picked her up, she was as light as a feather.

What was even stranger was that there were no visible injuries on her body; it was as if all her wounds had already healed...

Only she knew the truth: her heart was gone. It was incredible that she could still be alive without a heart.

As for where her heart had gone, the answer was self-evident.

From that moment on, hatred, rage, grievance, pain, and coldness... all these emotions overwhelmed her. She swore revenge. She would make Jiang Lan suffer a fate worse than death, make him pay a hundred, a thousand, even ten thousand times over.

It was this hatred that sustained her through those final, agonizingly weak years, until her Immortal Heart underwent Nirvana, and she was reborn from the ashes.

But after Jiang Lan truly fell, the anger and hatred in her heart had no outlet, and she was lost in a daze.

She gradually began to realize something was wrong. By then, however, she no longer had the courage to seek the truth of what had happened back then. Although a suspicion had taken root in her heart, she didn’t dare to face it and chose to retreat...

She fell into an obsession from which she could not escape. Her stubbornness seemed to have led her down a dead-end path with no way out.

And the final straw that crushed her spirit, causing all her persistence and stubbornness to collapse and driving her into a frenzy, was the mocking words from that "little tail" she had once looked down upon: "You really aren’t worthy of him."

By the time she came to her senses, the "little tail," Li Mengning, had already resolutely gone to seek revenge on Jiang Lan’s killer. After being defeated, she ended her own life without a moment’s hesitation.

...

’In my past life, I didn’t know Lin Fan was a man of great fortune, which gave him plenty of time to grow. It took quite an effort to kill him later on.’

’But in this life, killing him again will be as easy as flipping my hand.’

The woman reined in her thoughts, a dull ache throbbing in her chest. She made a gentle gesture with her slender, pale hand.

A light veil floated over from nearby. She placed it over her face, concealing her picturesque, celestial features, but her eyes grew even more indifferent.

As she walked away with light steps, the Bronze Palace before her seemed to tremble faintly.

Then, ripples spread out, and a pitch-black fissure in the Void appeared. She stepped into it and vanished in an instant.

Since the Time Cicada had lost its effect and she could no longer return to the past, there was no need to force a change in her former destiny.

She didn’t know what to do in this life or how she should face him, but she understood that blind escape and cowardice would only lead her to repeat the mistakes of her past life.

And right now, the most important thing for her was to kill Lin Fan. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

...

Anyang City.

City Lord’s Mansion.

This was a magnificent, sprawling estate. It was a vast complex of buildings, its pavilions and halls arranged in dense, orderly rows. Mist and rosy clouds swirled about them, creating a majestic and ever-changing spectacle.

A White Jade Imperial Chariot landed steadily. A young servant waiting in front of the mansion hurried forward to lift its curtain.

However, the woman driving the chariot waved her hand, signaling him to step back. She then spoke respectfully toward the carriage, "Master, we have returned to the City Lord’s Mansion in Anyang City."

Chu Chan, who had been meditating, was brought back to her senses by the words. ’So soon?’

She felt as if very little time had passed. The journey had been smooth, without any trouble along the way.

’Having a connection to the Prime Minister’s Mansion is great,’ she thought. ’We didn’t even have to go through an inspection to enter Anyang City.’

The guards at the city gate had personally come to let them pass, not daring to delay her for a second.

Following behind the chariot and leading a Cyan Bull, Chu Yun was also beginning to understand and appreciate his sister’s way of thinking.

Recently, news that the Purple Mist True Monarch’s Cave Mansion was about to emerge had spread far and wide. Anyang City was bustling with excitement, teeming with people everywhere. It was a sea of heads.