"I carry several ident.i.ties to cover up who I really am," Di Fuyi briefly explained.

Gu Xijiu could no longer hide her surprise. The man could carry other ident.i.ties with weaker spiritual power and strength to conceal his true self.

During the peak of her power, Gu Xijiu was also able to create other ident.i.ties too. However, her extended period of inactivity had stripped that power away.

It seemed that this man must be someone powerful, for he was able to conceal his true self so well. This made her even more curious about his actual ident.i.ty.

Abruptly, she held his wrist. Di Fuyi did not push her hand away, though he was surprised by her sudden action. "What is this for?"

Gu Xijiu slowly let go of his hand, as if in disbelief. "You are only 22 years old." The method that she had just used to check his age was the Bone Touching Skill, which had never been incorrect when determining one's age. 

Di Fuyi gave her a quick glance before taking back his hand. "I am impressed by the precision of your foretelling. You truly are the creator of the universe."

"Tell me more about you," Gu Xijiu sternly said.

Di Fuyi suddenly let out a good laugh. "Divine Lord, you and I have only just met. It is inappropriate for you to study my background so quickly, isn't it?"

He was obviously reluctant to share about his past, but Gu Xijiu refused to step back. "Did you come into this world without any parents? Did the essence of heaven and earth create you?"

She was perplexed by his lack of popularity. Usually, a child birthed by the essence of heaven and earth would be highly appraised and valued by society, which would then lead to a series of fights to take possession of the child. How did Di Fuyi stay anonymous for so long?

Gu Xijiu had never heard of his name anywhere before.

Di Fuyi seemed offended. He didn't answer Gu Xijiu's question, but instead, he threw her a bright piece of thin red cloth and said, "Put this on. It can keep you safe in the vortex of spiritual winds." He then walked away.

Slightly disappointed, Gu Xijiu knew that she had no way of making the man tell the truth. She decided to keep her questions aside for now. As soon as she opened up the red cloth, a brief touch was enough for her to tell the value of the scarce fabric.

It was a piece of sunbeam fabric. Legends have it that the mermaids actually weaved the fabric by mixing the rays of sunlight with fresh blood of their own. The cloth produced was able to keep away wind and dust, thus providing its bearer with warmth. Gu Xijiu guessed that the reason Di Fuyi had left earlier was to get this cloth for her. 

Nonetheless, other thoughts popped up in her mind. The young man seemed to know the place well. Was this where he grew up? She shook her head to dismiss the thoughts at once, for there were other agendas of higher priority right now. She put on the red cloth and felt as if it was fueled by enormous energy from the sun.

All of a sudden, a swirling vortex of winds swung by, so she dived right in. With the protective red cloth, she was no longer bothered by the blowing gales of the vortex. The extreme cold became tolerable. In fact, all she could feel now was the abundance of spiritual energy in the vortex. 

Gu Xijiu spent the next month absorbing the spiritual energy that the land had to offer. Di Fuyi never showed up during that time. It would seem that she was abandoned in the icy hills alone. Gu Xijiu finally broke free from her stillness in the vortex and walked away in a fresh new display of vitality.

Cold winds continued to roam the ridge of ice, but she could hardly feel any discomfort. In a month, her power had recovered by more than twenty percent. With this amount of power, the cold would not pose a threat to her. 

Being naturally curious, Gu Xijiu wanted to find out more about the place. She had traveled to almost every corner of the land but could not find any exits. The place was like a self-sustaining environment that had no connections to the outside world.

She was worried about her disciple, Fan Qians.h.i.+, and her closest servant, Wu Qianyan. She had never been away from them for this long. They must be worried about her.

Gu Xijiu took a walk around the snow-capped mountain to look for Di Fuyi, but could not see him anywhere. To her surprise, she found a stream of fog between the sky and the summit of the mountain. The violent torrents seemed to roll thunderously in that path of fog.

She decided to leap into the fog to see if the torrents could lead her all the way out. As soon as she went into the torrents, she could feel her body being lifted in a dazzling swirl. When she finally landed, she was surprised to find herself standing by a hillside, which she found familiar.

She soon realized that it was the outskirts of the Monster Kingdom. However, it was at least a thousand miles away from the restaurant that she once feasted with Di Fuyi, but only a hundred miles away from Fanyin Valley. 

"Master!"

Gu Xijiu was interrupted by a sudden voice that called out for her from afar. She looked up and saw Fan Qians.h.i.+. Excited by the sight of her, he tripped over a stone and swayed a little, but he was not bothered. He continued to walk up to her in disbelief. "Master?"