Transforming into a stunningly beautiful fox spirit, leaving a scar on the heart of a prodigy.

Su Chang'an trudged through the snow in Luoyan Town, her steps uneven. The snow was knee-deep, and the icy meltwater had completely soaked through her worn-out boots. Her legs felt incredibly heavy, and each lift required immense effort, leaving her panting heavily.

The biting wind, mixed with ice shards, lashed mercilessly against her face. Braving the chill that could numb her, she followed the faint, fading sense of connection in her mind and finally arrived at the dilapidated temple in the north of the town, where she stopped.

She didn't approach rashly. In this dangerous place where even breathing would reveal her presence, any recklessness could lead to destruction. Using the dilapidated mud walls and haphazardly piled firewood, she completely concealed her thin body in the shadows of the dim, narrow alley, not daring to make a sound.

She let the snow cover her red cotton coat layer by layer, using the temperature of the snow to completely cover her faint breaths and body temperature, making her almost blend into the snow.

Through the irregular cracks in the earthen wall, the scene inside the dilapidated temple courtyard came into clear view.

A bonfire burned in the center of the courtyard. The flames leaped and danced with difficulty in the howling wind, barely dispelling the chill in the small area around them. In the flickering firelight, a woman dressed in coarse linen stood with her back to the wall, her figure somewhat thin.

Not far from the woman stood a thin, lightly dressed boy. He gripped a rusty iron sword tightly in his hand, swinging the harmless piece of iron again and again with mechanical yet diligent movements.

That was the ancient celestial fox who had transformed into a rogue cultivator, and Li Changgeng in his youth.

Su Chang'an tried to adjust her posture slightly to gain a wider field of vision. However, she overestimated the endurance of her mortal body. Her muscles, completely numb from the extreme cold, became unusually sluggish. As she moved, the sole of her boot accidentally crushed a piece of dry tile buried under the snow, making a crisp sound.

Click.

The sound was extremely faint, easily concealed by the howling wind and snow. But the woman in hemp clothing inside the dilapidated temple noticed a barely perceptible twitch in her ears—her ears were remarkably sharp.

Gu Tianhu's originally gentle gaze underwent a dramatic change in an instant. His gaze, now filled with a chilling pressure, swept sharply towards the earthen wall where the dark alley was located, revealing his murderous intent.

Su Chang'an's pupils instantly contracted to the size of pinpoints. She immediately pressed her body tightly against the cold brick wall, completely holding her breath. Through sheer willpower, she forcibly suppressed her heartbeat to a minimum, daring not to relax even for a moment.

She was fully aware of her current predicament. If the Ancient Celestial Fox discovered this, causing two identical top-tier Celestial Fox origins to intersect in this spacetime, the Heavenly Dao's unreasonable annihilation lightning would instantly level this area. This was a death game with no room for error; losing meant annihilation, body and soul.

The atmosphere in the dilapidated temple froze completely at that moment. Young Li Changgeng also noticed something was wrong. He stopped swinging his rusty iron sword and nervously followed Gu Tianhu's gaze to the crumbling earthen wall, his palms sweating profusely.

Gu Tianhu stared at the shadows in the dark alley for a full three breaths, as if time had stood still.

Those three breaths felt incredibly long and unbearable for Su Chang'an. Just as her brain was racing, preparing to forcefully break through the sealed acupoints on her body for a final, desperate struggle...

A shivering wild cat suddenly darted out from over the wall. It jumped down in a panic, knocking down large chunks of snow that had accumulated along the edge of the wall. The snow clumps hit the ground with a dull thud.

The sharp killing intent in Gu Tianhu's eyes vanished instantly. She turned her head, reached out and gently patted the boy's shoulder, indicating that he didn't need to be nervous and could continue his practice.

Su Chang'an's extremely tense back finally relaxed slightly. She felt the cold sweat seeping from her forehead instantly turn into sharp shards of ice in the biting wind, stinging her skin and causing her great discomfort.

This stiff body is such a burden, it's unbelievable! She thought to herself coldly.

With the alarm lifted, Su Chang'an continued to peer through the cracks in the earthen wall, his eyes fixed on the wall for a moment.

In the courtyard, Gu Tianhu walked up behind the young Li Changgeng. She reached out and grasped the wrist of the boy holding the sword, beginning to guide him in swordsmanship. Li Changgeng's movements appeared very clumsy and stiff, each swing of the sword carrying an uncoordinated, halting quality. However, the force with which he swung the sword revealed a stubbornness that wouldn't give up until he hit a wall, a very obstinate spirit.

Gu Tianhu showed no impatience whatsoever. She patiently corrected the angle of the boy's wrist rotation and adjusted his center of gravity. The warm firelight shone on the two of them, creating a rare and heartwarming scene in this cruel and cold snowy world.

Su Chang'an stared intently at Professor Gu Tianhu's sword techniques, his gaze gradually becoming profound.

Those seemingly basic slashes and thrusts, in the eyes of this powerhouse who once stood at the peak of the Great Saint Realm, clearly revealed a Daoist essence that was extremely simple yet went straight to the heart. There were no superfluous frills, only the purest killing paths, each move deadly.

She recognized it. This was the foundation of the basic sword technique of the Supreme Forgetfulness Sect, which would later become famous throughout the Central Continent.

This discovery allowed her mind to quickly piece together the logic. She instantly confirmed her current timeline: it was the eve of the founding of the Supreme Forgetfulness Sect. The time since Gu Tianhu shielded Li Changgeng from the devastating divine punishment brought by the Extreme Evil Fate had been pushed to the brink. Time was running out, and the situation was urgent.

As Li Changgeng's sword practice deepened, he suddenly shouted. He took a step forward and swung his sword forcefully.

The rusty sword tip sliced ​​through the swirling snow, creating a faint ripple of spiritual energy. This ripple sliced ​​several falling snowflakes in two, revealing a sharp edge.

Gu Tianhu smiled and nodded at this scene, generously offering his praise.

Just as Li Changgeng, encouraged and excited, turned around to continue practicing, Su Chang'an's sharp gaze pierced through the layers of swirling snowflakes, fixing on a subtle movement made by Gu Tianhu with his back to the boy, seeing it clearly.

Gu Tianhu's hands, hidden beneath the wide sleeves of his hemp robe, were clenched into tight fists. The force was so great that his fingernails had dug deep into the flesh of his palms.

A wisp of extremely concealed, dark red primordial energy, undetectable unless one was of the same origin, was silently flowing from the feet of the Ancient Celestial Fox into the cold earth veins. This power traveled underground, rising from the ground beneath Li Changgeng's feet, continuously flowing into the frail boy's body.

Su Chang'an's heart suddenly clenched.

By the firelight, she could see Gu Tianhu's pale profile. Gu Tianhu was clenching his teeth tightly, and the veins on his forehead were slightly bulging, clearly indicating that he was enduring great pain.

She was secretly and frantically burning her own celestial fox essence. In this almost self-destructive way, she was forcibly cleansing the marrow and bones of the mortal boy to suppress the extremely evil destiny that was about to erupt within him.

The sword practice continued in the dilapidated temple. Young Li Changgeng, having successfully swung his sword once again, turned around, revealing a pure and hopeful smile.

Despite the excruciating pain from the backlash of his origin, Gu Tianhu forced himself to relax his facial muscles and returned an incredibly gentle gaze.

Seeing this absurd and cruel scene, Su Chang'an silently shrank back into the shadows of the alley.

Her back was pressed tightly against the cold brick wall, the rough bricks digging into her spine. She witnessed firsthand the recurrence of this history buried by time, and she also saw clearly the heavy, potentially fatal, causal threat.

The young man named Li Changgeng had no idea that every small improvement he made with his sword was built on the price of the woman behind him burning her life. And that woman was willingly using herself as fuel to fill an abyss that was destined to be bottomless—she was truly insane.

Self-sacrifice? How foolish it's laughable! Su Chang'an thought coldly to himself.

But her hands involuntarily tightened around her thin red cotton coat. She lay silently in the wind and snow, making no sound. She etched the crucial information she had gleaned that day into her mind. She knew this would be her strongest bargaining chip in overthrowing that quasi-emperor and shattering her damned fate.