FIVE YEARS LATER...

The mortal realm was in an uproar ever since a piece of particular news made its way out of the closed grounds of the Guixian Academy.

"Did you all hear? Master will soon be returning!"

"Really?"

"It has been years!"

"You are right. We have not seen Master for so many years."

"We miss our Miss Li so much!"

"She's finally returning!"

"..."

"Wait! Are you guys talking about Li Ming? The young lady who runs the entire Li Empire and has not been seen for the past five years?"

"Yes! We are talking about that exact same person. She's soon returning."

And just like this, the words spread throughout the entire black market and soon made their way to the capital city.

Dongji Town, Xie Qiu City, Capital city of the Wang Empire, Herb market of the Jin Empire, and the entire Moon manor was filled with anticipation and a never before seen happiness as they all prepared to welcome their beloved Miss Li.

Everyone was excited to surprise her with the improvements and progress that they had made over the past few years in her absence.

And just like these people who were eagerly waiting for their young miss to return to them, five Immortal Lords were far more excited and nervous about the news of her returning.

"You are sure that this is not a fake news, right?" Ruoshan asked as he looked at the Supreme Immortal with hopeful eyes.

"What do you take me and my academy as? How can someone just spread rumors like this if it's not true? Of course, this is true news. Lotus Manor Master and Sweet Girl are indeed coming out of their closed-door cultivation." Wen Guiying replied with a small scoff.

"Alright! Let's go and reside in the Academy for the coming few days so that we can be there right the moment she came out." Ruoshan said excitedly as he tried to control his happiness.

It had been so long since he last felt the warmth of his Xingan in his arms, since he last felt her soft heartbeats.

It had been so long since he last kissed her senseless and cuddled her when she could not fall asleep at night.

He definitely had missed her a lot in the past five years that had felt like five thousand years to his immortal self.

He had never missed someone like this. He never craved the presence of someone before this and he definitely not woke up in the middle of the night countless of times as he dreamt about her.

It really had been so long since he last saw her beautiful smiling face and played with her.

And just like him, his brothers were too missing her.

"None of you are allowed to set foot inside the Guixian Island!"

The sharp cold words that came from Wen Guiying stopped the others in their tracks as they all turned to face the Supreme Immortal.

"What do you mean?" Hei Long asked with a small frown decorating his ethereal face.

The others too were waiting for the Supreme Immortal to answer the Second Demon Prince's question.

"If all of you appeared in the Academy out of nowhere, it will bring unwanted attention towards you all. I don't think our mate will appreciate the extra attention."

Everyone was silent as they thought about what Wen Guiying just said about them bringing extra unwanted attention to their mate.

After a long time of pondering, none of the rest of the four immortals were able to find an excuse to make the Supreme Immortal agree with their plan of visiting Li Ming at the Academy.

"Fine! We won't go to the Academy but only on one condition." Roshan said after a few minutes of deep thinking.

"And what is that?" Wen Guiying asked as he looked at the Evernight Lord with slightly raised eyebrows.

Ruoshan gave a quick glance to the rest of his equally puzzled brothers before he returned his focus to Wen Guiying and replied, "If we are not allowed to meet Xingan before she returns to this side of the ocean, then you are not allowed to meet her either before that."

As soon as his words were out, it was clear from the sudden frown that appeared on Wen Guiying's face that he was not that pleased with the condition.

However, before he could voice out his objection his eyes landed on the rest of the three Immortals, and unfortunately, it looked like they fully supported Ruoshan's idea.

All his objections died inside him before they could make their way out of his mouth.

"That's not possible. As the head of the Academy, I would need to attend the feast that the elders are organizing for Master Lu. It's obvious that as his sole disciple, she will also be there."

The rest of the Immortals looked at each other and after passing each other some silent ideas and instructions, the Heaven Emperor decided to break the silence.

"Fine! You can join the feast. However, you are forbidden to go anywhere near our mate. You can neither talk to her nor can you touch her. And it's not a request."

His commanding tone did not give Wen Guiying any chance to object even though he was certainly not liking the idea.

"Alright! I'm ready to accept your condition if you all promise to not appear in the Academy." Wen Guiying said as he looked at his brothers with equally sharp eyes.

Only one nod from each of the five Immortal Lords and the deal was set.

None of them were allowed to meet Li Ming before she returned to the mainland.

***

Small but sharp and pointy pebbles drifted down the cliff as the entire pack of snow wolves stomped their feet on the snow covered top of the cliff.

Their sharp eyes were glaring directly at the girl in the crimson red and black dress that shone directly in the snow covered forest.

She was hanging from a branch of a tree that had grown out in the cracks of the high ridge. However, by hearing the cracking sounds that the branch was making, it was clear that it would no longer be able to bear her weight.

Even though she was currently in such a bizarre situation, but her looks could still succeed in leaving anyone mesmerized.

Her dark long black hair now no longer looked entirely black, rather there were dark crimson colored strips hidden beneath the blackness. The light blue color was so little that it could almost skip the attention if not for the waves that put them on display.

Overall, the previously simple black hair was carrying a new look, a combination of both fire and water along with the darkness.

Dark obsidian eyes, sharp eyebrows, small nose, doe like beautiful eyes, soft pink glistening lips and jade like smooth skin, her face could make people forgot to breathe.

The blue colored head decoration was the final touch to her mesmerizing beauty.

Her body was fully grown and was at its peak. Her clothes fitted perfectly around her curves and at the height of five four, she no longer looked like the girl who died in the Thundering Peaks around seven years ago.

Even the people from orphanage could no longer recognize her given the fact that she had nothing similar to that dead girl.

"You all are really looking forward to be beaten by this big sister of yours. Fine! I won't disappoint you then."

Li Ming shouted out loudly at the pack of Snow wolves that had been chasing her around the Forbidden Peaks ever since she entered the forest.

She was there for a particular treasure and she needed to get it before it was too late. There was never an option of failing and trying next time.

Just then a loud creaking sound echoed through the valley and before the branch could even break away from its trunk, Li Ming loosened her grip on it.

However, rather than falling into the depths of the snow covered valley at the bottom, she flew up towards the top of the cliff.

Even before the Snow wolves could understand exactly what was going on, there was a number of dead bodies of those snow wolves lying around.

As the wolves saw the dead bodies of their family, anger took over their already hungry for blood senses and immediately, a group of seven huge wolves jumped at the girl who was now standing right in front of them.

For a moment it appeared like the wolves succeeded in burying Li Ming under their hundreds of pounds of weight but then a huge wave of spiritual force came out from the girl and it sent all the wolves flying around.

Next second, the initially silent air of the third cliff of the Forbidden Peaks was filled with crying sounds of the snow wolves as one after the other they became a prey of the legendary Thundering Whip.