Two days later.
Heaven-Crying Mountain.
A streak of earthen-yellow light cleaved through the sky.
One moment, it was still on the horizon; the next, it appeared atop the mountain.
As the yellow light parted, a middle-aged man who looked to be in his mid-forties slowly descended. He wore yellow robes and had an imposing face.
"Greetings, Patriarch Xia!" A woman in a purple dress bowed upon seeing Xia Xuanyan appear. Her waist was slender, her long hair reached her waist, and her skin was smooth as cream.
"Every time I see your figure and face, Cult Leader, they seem utterly at odds."
The woman smiled faintly. The contrast between her sixteen-year-old figure and her aged, wrinkle-covered face grew even more jarring, yet her voice was as ethereal as a young girl's. "Your powers reach the heavens, Patriarch Xia, keeping you forever young. This old woman possesses no such heaven-reaching abilities. I can barely preserve the youth of my body."
"Enough of that!" Xia Xuanyan shook his head, then turned serious. "Did your attempt to kill Marquis Dongling with a curse fail?"
At his words, the Heaven-Crying Cult Leader hesitated briefly before nodding.
"If it failed, why didn't you inform me sooner?" Xia Xuanyan frowned, his tone displeased.
The Heaven-Crying Cult Leader looked apologetic. "I had intended to remedy the situation."
Xia Xuanyan gave her a cool look, disbelief in his eyes, then said, "Do you know he has now reached the realm of a Primordial Spirit Immortal?"
"What?" The Heaven-Crying Cult Leader froze, then shook her head repeatedly. "Impossible! At his age? We had never even heard of him embarking on the Immortal Dao before. How could he have reached this stage? Primordial Spirit Immortal-that is a realm only people like you and me have attained!"
"Your information is truly