Lower Realm.
True Martial Heaven.
"Fairy, the sweet potatoes will be done soon. Just wait a little."
In a deathly silent little village under the rule of the White Tree Kingdom in the Mortal World, an old man with white hair and beard sat with his head lowered, stirring the coals before him.
A woman of exquisite, otherworldly beauty sat across from him with a complicated expression, several times opening her mouth only to stop herself.
Outside, a bitter wind howled. The coals crackling between them seemed like a barrier, keeping out the cold that poured in from outside.
At last, the old man set down the iron pincers he had been using to stir the coals.
He raised his head and looked at the woman, his smile full of wrinkles.
"Fairy, do you think he really will come back?"
The woman nodded emphatically.
"He certainly will!"
The old man fell silent for a moment. The coals lit his deeply wrinkled face, and at last, he smiled and slowly said:
"That's good, then."
With that, he lowered his head again and began stirring the coals in the stove.
At this point, the woman could no longer hold back her question.
"Xu You, why didn't you eat the Spirit Fruits I left you?"
"Those few Spirit Fruits I gave you could have kept you alive for at least another ten years. Even if they couldn't give you ten years, they would never have left you with your vitality exhausted like this!"
Utterly bewildered, she continued:
"In your current state, even if Xu Taiping comes back, I'm afraid he won't be able to save you!"
The old man shook his head and said calmly:
"Fairy Yuejian, I don't need Xu Taiping to save me. This was my own choice."
These two were