The reason an Extreme Body was called an Extreme Body was precisely because its existence represented an extreme and ultimate constitution. Once awakened, it could indeed be terrifyingly powerful. However, most could not awaken at all. Forget awakening, forget even growing—many couldn't even bear the weight of it themselves, with ninety-nine out of a hundred perishing young.
Across the heavens and earth, throughout billions of great worlds and the teeming masses of living beings, the number of Extreme Bodies born was not small. It was just that most perished early, unable to bear such heaven-defying fortune. Even those who survived rarely lived long. Unless you were that kind of unparalleled, once-in-an-eon, heaven-favored prodigy, you might have a chance of awakening.
It wasn't just Extreme Bodies that were like this. Other supreme constitutions such as Noble Bodies, Overlord Bodies, and other pinnacle physiques, even some peerless fortunes, were not easy to bear. Throughout history, far too many peerless geniuses had ultimately been dragged to their deaths by the very fortunes they possessed.
Therefore,
Having fortune was not necessarily a good thing. The greater the fortune, the more terrifying the tribulations that accompanied it.
At this moment, the young girl standing beneath the tombstone of Monarch Chixiao possessed the Pure Yin Extreme Body. Naturally, Gu Qingfeng could also see that this girl, unable to bear the weight of the Pure Yin Extreme Body, was extremely weak, her breath faint as gossamer, her spirit nearly absent, her soul like a candle flame in the depths of winter, flickering as if it could be extinguished at any moment. Gu Qingfeng judged that this girl's lifespan was, at best, five years, and at worst, three years—she would likely die.
What puzzled Gu Qingfeng was that, despite this, the young girl remained devoutly standing before his own tombstone, silently praying. And what she prayed for was not her own frail body, but rather the Yanluo Kingdom.
"Fei Kui, do you know that girl?"
Gu Qingfeng's voice came through. Fei Kui followed his gaze and, when he saw the praying girl beneath the tombstone, a flicker of surprise shone in his narrowed eyes. He replied, "Young Master, she is Princess Rou of the Yanluo royal family."
"Oh?
So she's a princess. No wonder."
Hearing that the girl was a princess of Yanluo, Gu Qingfeng felt somewhat relieved. No wonder she had just prayed for Yanluo's peace.
"Princess Rou is the youngest princess of Yanluo Kingdom, and also Emperor Yunqi's most beloved little daughter. Princess Rou is innately intelligent, her comprehension peerless. From a young age, she mastered all Ten Immortal Arts. Any immortal art, she only needed to see it once to comprehend it. She could be called a prodigy among prodigies, a genius among geniuses. It's just a pity... Princess Rou has been very weak since birth. If Emperor Yunqi hadn't invited several royal high ancestors to intervene, Princess Rou would likely have perished long ago."
Gu Qingfeng nodded. He had carefully probed Princess Rou's body earlier and clearly sensed several extraordinary immortal spiritual energies supporting her. Especially the colorful spirit bracelet she wore on her wrist—it was definitely no ordinary item. It seemed to pulse with endless vitality. That this girl could survive was largely due to the great merit of this colorful spirit bracelet. Moreover, the girl's soul seemed to be shrouded by a mysterious power. It was precisely this power that had been protecting her fragile soul all along, though this mysterious power was hidden very deeply, difficult to detect, as if it didn't want to be discovered by others.
It seemed there was a rather extraordinary expert behind this girl secretly helping her, and that person didn't want anyone else to know.
Thinking about it carefully,
This was not surprising. The Yanluo royal family had experts as numerous as clouds. It wasn't unheard of for an expert to not want to show their face or be known. The old man Tang guarding this cemetery was one such person. Since this girl was a princess, perhaps it was an old ancestor of the Yanluo royal family like old man Tang who had secretly intervened.
Gu Qingfeng didn't continue watching. He headed into the gardens to find old man Tang.
Beneath the tombstone of Monarch Chixiao.
Princess Rou clasped her hands together, fingers interlocked, and placed them over her chest, her eyes lightly closed.
Not far away, Elder Qinghua of the Meishan Branch and Elder Xu Mu of the Taiji Sect were both watching this pitiable young princess. Elder Qinghua asked, "How has Princess Rou's health been recently? Has it improved?"
Elder Xu Mu shook his head and sighed. "Still the same as ever."
"Then why did you still bring her out?"
"She came out with Elder Qianling. Qianling is over there busy setting up formations. Princess Rou said she wanted to pay respects to the Monarch, so I could only accompany her here."
Hearing that Princess Rou had come out with Elder Qianling, Qinghua said nothing more. He knew Elder Qianling was Princess Rou's master, a highly renowned expert within the Taiji Sect and even the Yanluo Kingdom. In the field of medical arts within Yanluo Kingdom, if she claimed second place, absolutely no one dared claim first.
Although Princess Rou's health was poor, she still adhered to royal tradition and entered the Taiji Sect to cultivate. Initially, Emperor Yunqi had not agreed, but Princess Rou insisted, and he ultimately had no choice. Worried about Princess Rou's condition, Emperor Yunqi arranged many attendants, but Princess Rou refused them all, because she didn't want to appear different from others or be taken care of at every turn.
She very much wanted to live like a normal person. This had always been her unwavering dream.
It was just that what was utterly ordinary for others was a distant, unattainable dream for Princess Rou.
At that moment,
Two people approached. Both were young, and both were direct disciples of the Taiji Sect. The one with an arrogant expression was named Li Juncai, while the one who appeared steady and composed was named Lan Xingyu.
The Taiji Sect was hailed as the number one major sect of Yanluo Kingdom.
Its lineage stretched back even further than Yanluo Kingdom itself. Not only did it boast experts as numerous as clouds, but its disciples also surpassed their masters, with countless Fortuned geniuses. To become a direct disciple of Taiji Sect was to be a genius among geniuses. Almost every one possessed a dazzling array of Fortunes.
After Li Juncai arrived, he was about to call out to Princess Rou when Lan Xingyu stopped him.
"The Princess is praying. Do not disturb her."
Li Juncai glanced at the Monarch's tombstone, a trace of disdain in his eyes, and said in a low voice, "I really don't know what the Princess is doing praying here. What's the point of praying to a sinner of the Immortal Dao?"
In this world, many people worshipped Monarch Chixiao, viewing him as a god-like existence.
Even those who didn't worship him held deep reverence in their hearts, considering him a hero.
Of course!
Not everyone worshipped the Monarch, nor did everyone revere him. There was also a small minority who believed Monarch Chixiao was merely lucky to have lived during the corrupt final days of the Ancient Era's Immortal Dynasty, with nothing particularly praiseworthy about him.
Especially those arrogant geniuses of the Present Era, relying on their own powerful Fortunes, looked down on everyone and sneered at the very existence of Monarch Chixiao.
Evidently,
Li Juncai was such a person.
In his view, the so-called Monarch Chixiao was nothing more than a product of that special era at the end of the Ancient Era, combined with a bit of dog-shit luck. There was nothing remarkable about him. If it were him, he could have done the same.
However, the true reason he sneered at Monarch Chixiao wasn't just that. More importantly, it was because his master was Cang Yun, the Deputy Sect Master of the Taiji Sect.