"Xiao Fuxuan." Wu Xingxue turned his head to look at him.

"Mm." Xiao Fuxuan responded in a low voice and released his hand.

The warmth suddenly receded. Wu Xingxue rubbed his fingers and suddenly asked, "Are you testing me?"

Xiao Fuxuan lowered his gaze and, after a moment, replied, "No."

"Really?"

...

Just as Wu Xingxue was about to ask again, he belatedly realized that the hand warmer in his palm had grown warm again. A slightly scalding heat passed through his skin to his fingertips, making his bones relax.

It was self-evident who had done this.

Xiao Fuxuan glanced at him and said no more.

It was as if that earlier sentence, "Your hands are cold as ice," hadn't been to point out that he had used his extremely cold internal energy, but was just a simple, perfectly natural statement.

As Wu Xingxue was staring blankly while holding the hand warmer, he was suddenly bumped.

He stepped aside and saw that the ones who had bumped into him were commoners who had come looking for people.

These commoners knew no immortal arts. Having fallen into this tomb for no reason, and with the ground littered with the corpses of Yin Creatures, they were so frightened they didn't know where to step.

Their faces were colorless as they dodged about frantically, not paying attention to what was behind them, which was how they bumped into Wu Xingxue.

"Sorry, sorry." They apologized repeatedly. "This... this place is too scary."

Their winter coats were tied thick and tight, making their movements clumsy and awkward. They nodded so much it was like bowing. As the heavily padded coats compressed, a scent was released into the wind.

Wu Xingxue found the scent somewhat familiar.

Before he could speak, those few disciples from the Immortal Sects spoke first, "Such a strong smell of offering incense."

"You brought offering incense?" they asked the commoners.

The commoners stammered.

A disciple from an Immortal Sect said anxiously, "Didn't we tell you before you came? You can't bring any of these things, why didn't you listen!"

"What's wrong with offering incense?" Wu Xingxue supported the woman who was stumbling unsteadily.

The Immortal Sect disciple said, "Didn't all those who were Summoned send dreams, telling their families to come to Great Sorrow Valley to make offerings? Ordinary offerings are nothing more than food or incense, but that's where the problem lies."

The Immortal Sect disciple glanced at the woman with red-rimmed eyes and said hesitantly, "Those who were Summoned... nine times out of ten, they've met a terrible fate. If their limbs were really scattered like in the dream, and in a sinister place like Great Sorrow Valley, they will become very malevolent."

The woman's eyes grew redder, and her body trembled.

Knowing in her heart that the odds were against them was one thing, but hearing it said so bluntly was another. She looked like she was about to collapse and was held up by her companions, who clumsily patted her to soothe her.

The Immortal Sect disciple had a guilty look on his face, but he still forced himself to continue, "Food or incense are offerings for true Immortals. If they've become malevolent beings, these offerings are useless. What they want is living people. If you try to fool them with offering incense and pastries, wouldn't that just provoke their anger? It's like when we're hungry, and someone brings us some food, but it turns out to be something we can't eat. Wouldn't that just make us hungrier?"

They were afraid the commoners would be stubborn and not understand, so they practically broke it down into pieces for them.

The few commoners huddled by the stone wall, listening obediently, even licking their lips in agreement.

The Immortal Sect disciples: ...

They were extremely exasperated. "Haven't you heard? A few families before got anxious and didn't seek help from the Immortal Sects. They came to Great Sorrow Valley on their own with incense and food. And the result? Not a single one of them returned. It's said that those who entered the valley later only saw some bloody scraps of clothing, as well as remains and severed limbs. You people! Ai!"

The few commoners fell silent, their faces extremely pale, as if scared witless.

Wu Xingxue sniffed the air again, glanced at them, and suddenly held out his hand, "What did you all bring? Take it out and let me see."

The commoners were stunned, their hands touching their chests.

The Immortal Sect disciples were shocked. "Don't! Absolutely don't! Young Master, don't teach them the wrong thing!"

They turned their heads and glared over.

Wu Xingxue looked innocent, but inwardly he was quite amazed.

'He thought to himself, 'Shouldn't everyone avoid me like the plague? These kids are quite bold, they even dare to glare at me?''

But he quickly realized that these young disciples were still young. Twenty-five years ago, when he was nailed into the Canglang Northern Domain, they probably hadn't even been born. It was perfectly normal that they didn't recognize him.

"Although the Young Master's companions are all experts," those young disciples glanced at Xiao Fuxuan, Ning Huaishan, and Fang Chu, "there are some things you might not be so clear about—"

Hearing this, Wu Xingxue felt much more balanced.

See, even High Immortal Tianxiu and the others weren't recognized. They probably didn't see the 'Mian' Character seal and took Xiao Fuxuan for some rogue cultivator expert.

"Since you've brought these offerings, it's better to hide them than to take them out." One of the more straightforward young disciples clasped his hands and bowed to the commoners, "I'm begging you, please keep them hidden securely and don't run around. Once those malevolent beings have tasted the offering of a living person, there's no going back. If no one offers themselves up, they might come out to catch people themselves."

The commoners swallowed, wrapped their thick shawls tighter around themselves, and nodded.

After the Immortal Sect disciples finished their instructions, they took out the golden needle artifacts used for finding malevolent beings from their robes and began probing around.

One of the disciples held up his golden needle and probed the divine statue, suddenly letting out a sound of surprise. He asked, "Have you guys seen this statue before? Why don't I recognize it? Who is being worshiped here?"

The other Immortal Sect disciples turned to look, also becoming puzzled. "That's right, which Immortal is this? I've never seen them before, do you recognize them?"

"Don't recognize them."

"Didn't you memorize the Immortals Registry?"

"I don't recognize them either."

A divine statue that even the young disciples of the Immortal Sects didn't recognize? That was indeed quite strange.

Wu Xingxue raised his head.

The statue had developed fine cracks from the tremors, but one could still see that its features were handsome, its aura delicate and gentle. One hand rested on a white banner, the other held a green branch. The long branch extended upwards, and at its tip bloomed a flower, which happened to cover one of the statue's eyes.

Such a divine statue, if one had truly seen it before, would not be easily forgotten. But the young Immortal Sect disciples racked their brains and still couldn't come up with an answer.

Never mind the young disciples, even Yi Wusheng didn't recognize it. He was seen pinching a piece of paper, frowning, looking as though he was searching his guts for an answer, but he couldn't squeeze out a name for a long time.

Wu Xingxue became even more curious.

He raised his hand and poked Xiao Fuxuan, pointing at the statue. "What about you? Do you recognize it?"

If even Xiao Fuxuan didn't recognize it, then it was truly bizarre.

Fortunately, Xiao Fuxuan did recognize it. His gaze swept over the statue, and he nodded.

...

Wu Xingxue waited a moment, but when there was no follow-up to the nod, he poked him again.

Xiao Fuxuan said in a low voice, "His name is Yun Hai. He was once a disciple of Immortal Leader Mingwu, Hua Xin, and later ascended to become an Immortal."

Wu Xingxue found it even stranger. "A disciple of Immortal Leader Mingwu, Hua Xin? Then he should have some connection to the Hua Family, since Hua Xin is their ancestor. How come even Yi Wusheng looks like he's never heard of him?"

Xiao Fuxuan: "Because he was later no longer an Immortal."

Wu Xingxue was stunned for a moment.

Xiao Fuxuan seemed to recall something and fell silent after saying this. After a long while, he looked at Wu Xingxue and said, "Because he was no longer an Immortal, the common people in the mortal realm, the Immortal Sects, and even those who had deep connections with him no longer remember him."

Wu Xingxue said softly, "I see..."

He was quiet for a moment, then asked, "Is this a rule set by your Immortal Capital?"

Xiao Fuxuan shook his head. "It's a rule of the Heavenly Dao."

Wu Xingxue asked again, "Then why did he end up like this?"

Xiao Fuxuan: "He violated a Heavenly Edict in his early years and was punished."

...

Back then, Yun Hai was a disciple personally taught by Hua Xin, and their master-disciple bond was deep and strong. He ascended to become an Immortal, presiding over matters of joy and mourning, one of the posts that received the most incense offerings. Later, because he made a mistake, Lingtai received a Heavenly Edict and a transfer order moved him to a different place.

That new place was none other than Great Sorrow Valley.

In those days, the mortal realm was blessed with favorable weather and peace. The Immortal Sects were at their peak. Evil Demons and Yin Creatures were not uncommon, but they posed no threat. The Great Sorrow Valley of that time didn't have the sinister occurrences of later years. It was situated between several large cities, and while carriages and horses often passed through, they would always do so in a hurry without stopping.

It had no legends, nor had any dangerous incidents ever occurred. Therefore, no one would get off their horse or carriage during their journey to find a temple in the valley and offer incense, because there was nothing to pray for.

Everyone in the world knows that Immortals rely on incense offerings. If no one paid homage for a long time, then there would be no need for that Immortal to exist.

Thus, less than a hundred years after becoming an Immortal, Yun Hai fell back to the mortal realm and became a mere mortal.

Coincidentally, ten years after that, the peaceful days in the mortal realm came to an end. Wars broke out, disasters were rampant, and then Evil Demons ran wild. The area around Great Sorrow Valley was particularly chaotic, so much so that refugees gathered in droves nearby, and all carriages and horses passing through there were terrified.

So, someone finally remembered that there seemed to be a mountain temple in Great Sorrow Valley. From then on, before entering the valley, travelers in carriages and on foot would all pay their respects at that temple.

The temple was very small, with only an incense table and no divine statue. But no one had ever been curious, because no one remembered that the Great Sorrow Valley of the past had once had a presiding Immortal.

Wu Xingxue heard the gist of it and asked, "What happened to Yun Hai later?"

Xiao Fuxuan: "...He died."

"How did he die?"

For a moment, Xiao Fuxuan's expression was laced with irony. "He died in Great Sorrow Valley, eaten hollow by Evil Demons."

Wu Xingxue let out a soft "ah."

That was indeed too ironic. The Immortal who once presided over Great Sorrow Valley ultimately died at the hands of the Evil Demons of Great Sorrow Valley. And after his death, the incense offerings in the temple flourished, but it had nothing to do with him anymore.

Wu Xingxue looked up at the divine statue again and, as if remembering something, asked, "Since no one in the mortal realm remembers him anymore, why is there still a statue of him here?"

Xiao Fuxuan said, "Back then, when Hua Xin learned of his death, he disregarded Lingtai's heavenly rules, went down to Great Sorrow Valley, and slaughtered the Evil Demons in the valley. He then carved out this tomb beneath Great Sorrow Valley."

Ah, no wonder.

Wu Xingxue recalled what Ning Huaishan had said about the sealed tomb being protected by immortal arts. No wonder Xiao Fuxuan was able to open it.

"So you knew about this tomb before?" Wu Xingxue asked, "Have you been here before?"

Xiao Fuxuan: "I have."

Wu Xingxue: "...To see this Yun Hai?"

Xiao Fuxuan seemed to be in a daze for a moment, lost in some memory. After a long while, he said, "In the Immortal Capital, he wasn't the only one who was cast down to the mortal realm and did not meet a good end. And as for the statues of Immortals in this tomb, his is not the only one."