--Traffic jammed up, so I was late.
Meng Nishang's moth brows were lightly swept, her black hair like satin, her peerless features unchanged. She wore a simple, crisp white Daoist robe, making her aloof and distant aura seem even more ethereal.
For some reason, the moment Shi Xuan saw her like this, he recalled their first meeting in the Myriad Immortals Great Hall. Her appearance, temperament, and Daoist robe had not changed in the slightest; it truly seemed like yesterday.
Yet back then, Meng Nishang had been a Three Tribulation peak Yang Spirit True Person whose might had dominated Yuyu Heaven for thousands of years—cool and self-possessed, yet not arrogant. He himself had merely been a junior cultivator newly entered into the Primordial Spirit realm, long familiar with her reputation and greatly cared for by her. But now, he was a Half-step Golden Immortal without decay or tribulation, suppressing Yuyu Heaven, while Meng Nishang was about to begin her charge toward the Great Luo realm.
And separating those two similar scenes were the many elders, senior brothers, senior sisters, friends, disciples, and juniors Shi Xuan had lost, as well as Meng Nishang's many disciples, friends, and juniors who had died and vanished from the Dao.
Only as the years flowed by did the true meaning reveal itself.
Shi Xuan smiled and invited Meng Nishang to sit. "Senior, after you overcame Lifespan Decay, you became occupied with closed-door cultivation. This junior has never congratulated you. Today is just the right time to offer my congratulations."
Once the two had grown familiar, Meng Nishang had intended for Shi Xuan to address her by name. But Shi Xuan held firmly to his heart and refused to change, so she could only let him have his way. She nodded lightly and said blandly,