Gu Yuanqing nodded slightly.
Li Miaoxuan took a plain Green Hairpin from her sleeve and handed it to Gu Yuanqing. It was the Immortal Artifact, the Dragon Slaying Guillotine.
"Put it in my hair for me," she said softly.
Gu Yuanqing took the Green Hairpin and gently slipped it into her hair, his gaze resting on her face.
The first morning light illuminated her exquisite features, making her look like an Immortal Maiden.
"I'm going," Li Miaoxuan said.
Gu Yuanqing said nothing. His fingertips brushed gently over her face, from the tip of her brow to the corner of her lips, as though committing her features to memory once more. Finally, he nodded.
With a thought, Li Miaoxuan vanished from the courtyard.
When she reappeared, she stood atop the main peak of North Spring Mountain.
The mountain wind whipped her sleeves and hair into a flutter.
Gu Yuanqing stood in the courtyard, the delicate fragrance of her hair still lingering beneath his nose.
With his hands clasped behind his back, he looked up toward the summit.
Li Miaoxuan turned her face toward him, and their eyes met.
Li Miaoxuan nodded.
Gu Yuanqing smiled, then released the North Spring Realm's restraint on her aura.
In an instant, a vast aura shot skyward from the summit, piercing straight through the clouds.
The Great Dao River trembled. The heavens of the Spirit Realm seemed to awaken in alarm at this aura, and the clear, cloudless sky suddenly darkened.
Calamity clouds surged in from every direction, roiling like ink, with lightning flickering within.
The Immortal Tribulation had arrived!
Within the Spirit Realm.
The Spirit Venerable was stunned.
"This—another Immortal Tribulation?"
"Is it Li Miaoxuan?"
"But—isn't this far too soon?"
The Spirit Venerable abruptly vanished, rushing toward Canghai at tremendous speed.
After Gu Yuanqing