Yu Chen knew the consequence of failure: dust returns to dust, soil returns to soil, the great Dao that came from heaven and earth will return to heaven and earth.

He closed his eyes, bent down, and kowtowed, "If I fail, then let it be Yu Chen’s return to nature."

The turquoise butterfly in the palm of the Carefree Ancestor flew to Yu Chen, its transparent wings glimmering faintly.

Yu Chen’s body transformed into a streak of flowing light, merging into the butterfly. Then, the butterfly flew back to the Carefree Ancestor’s palm, slowly regressing into a cocoon.

...

"Master, where is Mistress? When are we going to find her?"

On a certain street in White Emperor City, Zhuge Hong curiously asked.

Fan Wubing corrected, "It’s the future Mistress." Then immediately thought this wasn’t right either and rephrased, "Whether she’s Mistress or not is still unsure."

Zhuge Hong widened her eyes, "Won’t you marry her?"

Fan Wubing was embarrassed, "Where does your confidence come from, acting as if I’m surely going to take you as a disciple."

Zhuge Hong chuckled, "Well, one must be confident in life, right?"

"Is that your intuition?"

Zhuge Hong shook her head, "I can foresee other people and other things, but I can’t predict my own future. It’s like a doctor unable to heal themselves or a fortune-teller unable to read their own fortune. Hey, Master, you haven’t answered me. When are we going to find Mistress?"

Fan Wubing calculated using the Divination Skill, and moments later frowned slightly.

He could sense Qingyao was in the Sword Continent, but the exact location was very vague, unable to pinpoint accurately. Moreover, even the Dao Marriage Shackles seemed shrouded in a mist.

"Master, what’s wrong?"

Fan Wubing looked at Zhuge Hong, "Can you feel where she is?"

Zhuge Hong clutched her head and said, "Trying to sense such precise details would break my brain."

"Alright then."

The more precise the matter, the greater the deviation Zhuge Hong sensed and the more effort it took.

For binary distinctions like "yes or no," "right or wrong," they were the easiest for her. But for specific details about a particular person, in a particular place, doing a particular thing, it truly was difficult for her.

Quite the opposite from the Divination Skill.

The advantage of the Divination Skill lies in precisely deducing specific matters, yet it cannot judge the overall situation in a general direction.

"Zhuge Hong plus the Divination Skill... a complementary advantage!" When Fan Wubing thought of this, the more he looked at Zhuge Hong, the more pleasing she became. He slightly exhaled, smiled, and said, "Alright, let’s set off."

With that, he waved his hand and left White Emperor City with Zhuge Hong.

...

A hundred miles east of White Emperor City, there was a large mountain, and deep within lay a dilapidated temple. Long devoid of human presence, it was overtaken by grass, trees, insects, and birds. Under a withered bodhi tree stood a woman dressed in black like ink, her hair long down to her waist.

She examined the bodhi tree intently, resembling a statue.

Suddenly, the sound of a snapping branch echoed from behind, startling her to turn around,

"Who is it?"

She saw a man and a woman walking towards her, one in front and one behind.

After a moment of shock, she first conjured a Clear Heart Technique to ensure she wasn’t hallucinating and was indeed awake, and then smiled and asked,

"What brings you here?"

Fan Wubing smiled, "Your Patrolling Dao cultivation is so serene, just wandering around enjoying the scenery."

Fu Manman furrowed her slender brows, disagreeing, "Nonsense, Patrolling Dao is quite tiring, you know. I have to investigate the large and small powers everywhere, observe the flow of energy, the passage of the great Dao, the movement of fortune, the atmosphere of cultivation... many things I need to carefully observe and summarize. And——" As she spoke, she suddenly paused, eyes widening slightly as she looked at Zhuge Hong behind Fan Wubing.

She first opened her mouth slightly, then held her breath, angrily looking at Fan Wubing.

Fan Wubing immediately understood what she was thinking and quickly introduced, "Her name is Zhuge Hong, a talented disciple of the Mo Family, helping the Fan Family build the Spirit Realm in Little South Continent." He scratched his head and laughed, "I don’t know what she sees in me, but she’s always wanted to be my disciple."

"A disciple?" Fu Manman curiously looked at Zhuge Hong.

Zhuge Hong’s eyes blinked spiritedly. It was the first time she saw Master Fan defending her in front of people, afraid of being misunderstood. After a brief thought, she suddenly realized, and immediately bowed deeply to Fu Manman,

"Hello, Mistress!"

Fu Manman was initially stunned, then immediately beamed with a smile, hurriedly stepping forward to help her up,

"Stand up straight, let Mistress have a good look at you."

Fan Wubing said, "I haven’t taken her as a disciple yet."

But Fu Manman was already captivated by the sweet "Mistress", not listening to him, her eyes about to overflow with honey,

"She’s a beauty."

Zhuge Hong smiled sweetly, her eyes turning into crescent moons, "Mistress is the real beauty! You’re so tall and have such a great figure; it’s Master who is blessed to have met you."

Fan Wubing coughed, "Stop changing your address in secret! I haven’t accepted you as a disciple yet!"

Zhuge Hong ignored him, focused only on being obedient in front of Fu Manman.

He immediately understood, this girl was taking an alternative route, aiming her ideas at Fu Manman.

He rolled his eyes, thinking, "Well, I thought she was an honest and straightforward person, but she has some little tricks up her sleeve."

Looking at Fu Manman, she had a whole motherly look, truly considering herself as Mistress.

After their enthusiasm slightly cooled down, Fan Wubing finally asked,

"Have you been out of touch with worldly affairs these few years?"

Fu Manman replied, "Although I have been searching for ancient relics in the deep mountains of Sword Continent in recent years, I wouldn’t say I’m out of touch with worldly affairs. How could I not know about the famous Immortal Master Fan showing his divinity in the mortal realm."

Fan Wubing laughed, "There’s a hidden meaning in your words."

Fu Manman stayed expressionless, "You can figure it out yourself."

Fan Wubing leaned in, "Are you upset it took me so long to find you?"

Fu Manman smirked without smiling, "Oh, so you’re not a fool."

"Oh!" Zhuge Hong suddenly sensed something, her eyes widened, exclaiming, "Do I have more than one Mistress?"

Fan Wubing held his forehead, "Can’t you use your intuition in places where it should be used?"

Fu Manman, being meticulous, deduced with just a few words,

"It seems someone came to Sword Continent specifically to find his dear junior sister, stopping by to see me on the way. Alas, I am nothing but a person with a fragile fate." As she spoke, her eyes welled with tears.

Fan Wubing was at a loss, wanting to get closer to Fu Manman, but with Zhuge Hong watching from the side, he was embarrassed, hesitating to lower his guard, and ended up standing there.

Fu Manman saw this, chuckled,

"Relax, I’m just teasing you, don’t take it seriously."

Fan Wubing breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, when did Man’Er become so unreasonable.

Fu Manman turned serious, "When I first came to Sword Continent, I looked for Qingyao. At that time, she was participating in the Heart Sword Sect’s sword trial conference under the name ’Star Plucker’. Something happened, she suddenly lost control and split the Heart Sword Sect’s main peak in half with one sword stroke. The Heart Sword Sect thought she came to make trouble, so they wanted to capture her, but fortunately, Senior Brother Jiang Maodian mediated, resolving the misunderstanding."

Fan Wubing knew Jiang Maodian was invited to join the Heart Sword Sect due to his high talent in the Sword Dao.

"What happened then?"

"Later, I found Qingyao, asked what happened, but she only shook her head. When I explained your situation, she was indifferent, even cold. I couldn’t understand it, so I asked if she was troubled by something." Fu Manman sighed, "She didn’t say anything and just left. Later, I looked for her several times, but it was always the same result. After that, I didn’t know where she went."

Fan Wubing fell into silence after hearing this.

Fu Manman, afraid he might blame her, stepped forward, holding his hand, softly speaking,

"Don’t think too much, Qingyao is such an outstanding person, she’ll be fine."

Fan Wubing shook his head,

"No matter what, we should find her first."

Fu Manman asked, "Should I go with you?"

Fan Wubing raised an eyebrow, "Do you even need to ask!"

Fu Manman smiled without saying a word, her gaze soft.

Zhuge Hong observed the look in their eyes as they gazed at each other, and couldn’t help but be curious, "What is ’love’, that it can have such a powerful force to make Master Fan, usually so imposing like a mountain and profound like the universe, become so gentle and genuine."

Often, she felt that Fan Wubing was someone distant and out of reach, but seeing him now, she felt he was someone close, within arm’s reach.

Suddenly, a chill ran through her heart, she abruptly looked to the distant sky, instinctively clutching her chest, thinking,

"I suddenly have a bad feeling."

She opened her mouth, wanting to suggest Fan Wubing delay looking for the "Qingyao" Mistress for the time being, but seeing his determined gaze, she remained silent.