"Grandpa, do you have any impression of the girl from my past life? Even a tiny piece of information would be helpful, so I wouldn't be completely lost and not know where to start looking." Zhou Hong said again.
"I am truly sorry, my dear. You two were secretly in love in your past life, and before you could even introduce her to your family, our clan was annihilated." Zhou Hong's grandfather shook his head with regret.
"Alright then, I'll have to investigate from other angles. Speaking of which, if that girl is still alive, how old would she be now? She must be quite old, right?" Zhou Hong asked.
Zhou Sheng Gu pondered for a moment and said, "Indeed, she would be very old. You must understand that the reason I can now possess the Nine Dao Immortal Emperor is because this Nine Dao Immortal Emperor, in his youth, obtained my soul body. And this Nine Dao Immortal Emperor's age exceeds three hundred million years. Therefore, we can infer that your past life was at least three hundred million years ago."
Zhou Hong nodded. It seemed that the girl was indeed very old now, at least contemporary to the Nine Dao Immortal Emperor.
"My past life was three hundred million years ago, so why did it take so long for me to reincarnate and be reborn on Earth?" Zhou Hong couldn't quite understand the long gap.
"That, I'm not sure about. Perhaps it's random. Some people take this long, while others reincarnate in just a few hundred or thousand years."
Zhou Hong hummed in agreement and stopped dwelling on the issue.
"If your past life hadn't died, and if you had encountered the right opportunities, you would have also become an Immortal Emperor by now." Zhou Hong's grandfather said.
"Yes, and you too. Our grandfather-grandson talents were both exceptionally strong in our past lives. It's just a shame that Ye Chen Immortal Emperor, that scoundrel, extinguished us, causing so much trouble for no reason."
"Heh heh, it's not just us who were extinguished. In the entire Immortal Realm over hundreds of billions of years, how many talented geniuses have been snuffed out? Otherwise, the Immortal Realm now would be filled with Immortal Emperors, with them being as common as dogs, running around everywhere."
"That's true. I'll go and investigate then."
Zhou Hong stopped talking to his grandfather and immediately left the grand hall to inquire around, seeing if he could gather any information.
Currently, all Zhou Hong could offer was one piece of information: a devoted woman, and a devoted woman who had lived for hundreds of millions of years.
If anyone could provide this clue, Zhou Hong might be able to find that woman.
Over the next few days, Zhou Hong traversed the entire Immortal Realm, but unfortunately, no one knew of a devoted woman who had lived for hundreds of millions of years. He did, however, find out about many devoted women who had lived for thousands, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of years.
"Sigh! It seems too long ago, and no one remembers. It makes sense. Three hundred million years; if one hasn't become an Immortal Emperor, one simply couldn't live that long." Zhou Hong sighed helplessly.
While Immortals had long lifespans, they did have limits.
Anyone who could live for over a hundred million years was undoubtedly an Immortal Emperor. Those who hadn't reached that level would generally wither away after tens of millions of years. Even if they didn't age, the probability of perishing in conflicts over such a long period would significantly increase.
And the person Zhou Hong was looking for had lived for at least three hundred million years. Therefore, only someone of a similar age could possibly know her...
"Wait, three hundred million years. If she's still alive, wouldn't that mean... she must have also become an Immortal Emperor?" Zhou Hong suddenly realized something.
Indeed, without reaching the Immortal Emperor level, one couldn't live for a hundred million years. If the woman from his past life was still alive now, she would be three hundred million years old, which meant she must have already become an Immortal Emperor.
"Hahaha, that's great! My search target has immediately narrowed down to just over a hundred people!" Zhou Hong laughed heartily, with the prerequisite, of course, that the woman was still alive.
Zhou Hong immediately returned to the Sheng Gu Immortal Kingdom to ask his grandfather.
"Zhou Hong, have you found any news?" Zhou Sheng Gu asked eagerly as he saw Zhou Hong return in a hurry.
"Grandpa, I overlooked an important detail before. If the woman from my past life is still alive, she's at least three hundred million years old. Anyone who can live that long is at least an Immortal Emperor. Without reaching the Immortal Emperor level, one generally cannot live for over a hundred million years."
Zhou Hong's grandfather was taken aback. He hadn't considered this angle either. It wasn't that he hadn't thought of it, but rather that he himself hadn't cultivated to become an Immortal Emperor. He had only possessed the body of the Nine Dao Immortal Emperor, which is why he became an Immortal Emperor. Naturally, he lacked the experience related to age.
"It's true, I've heard that before. Without reaching Immortal Emperor status, one cannot live for over a hundred million years."
"Grandpa, if that woman is still alive, then she must be an Immortal Emperor now."
"You mean, she is one of the over a hundred Immortal Emperors in the Immortal Realm?" Zhou Hong's grandfather was slightly startled.
"If she's alive, she definitely is. If she's dead, then there's no point in looking for her information. Grandpa, you are quite familiar with the Immortal Realm. Think about it, among these over a hundred Immortal Emperors in the Immortal Realm, how many are women?"
"There are over thirty empresses," Zhou Hong's grandfather replied immediately. In the past ten years, he had visited almost every Immortal Emperor. Although he hadn't met some in person, he had at least shared tea with them and offered gifts.
"Then, among these over thirty empresses, do you think there is one who is... particularly unique, especially in terms of purity?"
"This...!" Zhou Hong's grandfather shook his head.
"What? Are you so sure?"
"Yes, I am very sure. Among these over a hundred empresses in the Immortal Realm, there isn't one like the pure one you're describing. As far as I know, these over thirty empresses all have numerous male consorts. Their male consorts are all tall and handsome, so it's obvious none of them are pure."
"Ah." Zhou Hong looked somewhat lost. Could all his previous deductions be wrong?
"Zhou Hong, if the outcome is different from your deductions, then it's clear your previous deductions were incorrect. You previously deduced that the girl is still waiting for you and often misses you. This part is likely wrong. That girl might indeed think of you often, but now... she likely has many other men. You were just her first love, and it's normal to often remember your first love. If the girl is still alive, she must be one of these over thirty empresses. She would undoubtedly have many male consorts, though for her, these male consorts are merely tools for venting lust and desire...!"
"Grandpa, please stop!" Zhou Hong felt a bit dejected. Perhaps reality was indeed like this. He thought it was a sacred love, but reality dealt him a heavy blow. Was there truly such pure love in the world?
"Zhou Hong, don't be too upset. After all, it's been three hundred million years. How could a girl remain alone, guarding a dead person for three hundred million years?"
Zhou Hong gave a wry smile. Yes, after such a long period, which woman could remain devoted? She'd rust through by then.