Facing a Monarch Chixiao whose authenticity was unknown, the two Earth Fiend Lords, Heishui and Hei Fo, were both extremely tense and dared not speak recklessly.
Old Mei was in the same boat.
Although he couldn't discern whether Gu Qingfeng was real or fake, as Gu Qingfeng himself had said, Old Mei was a recluse of profound ability, a Monster Immortal who had cultivated for who knew how many years. His experience and discernment were far beyond that of ordinary people. Naturally, he could see that even if Gu Qingfeng wasn't the genuine Monarch Chixiao, he was definitely an unfathomable figure.
Therefore, he didn't dare to be negligent and cupped his hands in response. "Forgive my poor eyesight."
"'Poor eyesight' is an understatement. You're probably just old and blind, aren't you?"
Gu Qingfeng raised his head, squinting slightly as he gave Old Mei a faint glance.
Just that one glance.
Instantly, Old Mei's face changed drastically, his soul seemed to flee in terror, his spirit shattered, as if plummeting into an endless abyss, sinking into infinite darkness. He couldn't even stand steady, collapsing to his knees with a thud, trembling as he said, "I beg... I beg your forgiveness!"
Old Mei's kneeling wasn't a minor matter; it thoroughly frightened the over three hundred Chixiao People present. Heishui and Hei Fo had no idea what was happening. Seeing Old Mei kneel, their hearts skipped a beat. Not daring to think too much, they hurriedly knelt down themselves. With these two Earth Fiend Lords kneeling, how could the other Chixiao People hesitate? They all knelt down one after another, pleading for forgiveness.
Led by Hei Fo and Heishui, over three hundred Chixiao People knelt down in a grand spectacle, instantly causing an uproar in the venue.
No one knew what had happened.
Everyone wore expressions of bewilderment.
Yes.
Bewilderment.
Because someone had already confirmed earlier that this man in white was the Chiyan Young Master Gu Qingfeng from the Great Northwest.
Yet, the ancestor of the Yanluo Royal Family insisted he was Monarch Chixiao, and the man in white also seemed to consistently present himself as Monarch Chixiao.
What made everyone even more confused was that just moments ago, someone from the Immortal Dynasty had also said this man in white was not only the Chiyan Young Master Gu Qingfeng from the Great Northwest but also the true Monarch Chixiao, Gu Tianlang. Moreover, the ones saying this were three Purple-Gold Immortal Nobles.
Regarding the identity of the man in white, Gu Qingfeng—whether he was the Chiyan Young Master or Monarch Chixiao, or truly both the Chiyan Young Master and Monarch Chixiao—opinions were divided.
No one knew what was really going on.
At this moment, seeing over three hundred Chixiao People, led by the two Earth Fiend Lords Heishui and Hei Fo, all kneeling and pleading for forgiveness, it couldn't help but make people suspect: Could this person truly be Monarch Chixiao?
Within the venue.
The sect masters and elders of the Four Great Families and Seven Great Sects were all shocked.
Even those from the Immortal Dynasty showed varying degrees of panic.
The Chixiao People following Zhou Taihe felt as if sitting on pins and needles.
Over at the Yanluo Royal Family's side, Tang Yunhao and his wife also exchanged a look, finding it incredible. Their hearts were filled with numerous doubts, and Tang Manqing's beautiful face was covered in shock and suspicion.
At the same time.
Liu Yue was the same.
She had been staying by her father Ben Lei's side. The moment Lord Hei Fo knelt, her father Ben Lei and her brother Hao Yang both knelt down immediately. Naturally, she didn't dare hesitate and knelt as well.
As for why she knelt.
She didn't know.
She couldn't figure out what was happening in her heart.
Just moments ago, Old Mei had said he couldn't determine if this person was the Monarch. How could he suddenly kneel? Could it be that Old Mei had already confirmed this Gu Qingfeng was the Monarch?
Uncertain.
Without overthinking, she immediately sent a secret sound transmission to her brother Hao Yang, asking, "Brother, what exactly is going on?"
"I don't know either!"
Hao Yang's voice came through. Liu Yue was both amused and exasperated. "If you don't know, then why did you kneel?"
"Nonsense!
Our dad, our grand-teacher, everyone knelt. Would I dare remain standing?"
Then Liu Yue hurriedly asked her father, Ben Lei. Ben Lei also wore a look of utter confusion, replying, "I don't know either. Your grand-teacher knelt, would I dare not kneel?"
Ben Lei then quickly asked Lord Hei Fo. Lord Hei Fo was also somewhat bewildered. He glanced at Heishui, who shook his head, indicating he didn't know the situation either. So, the two secretly sent sound transmissions to inquire of Old Mei.
"Old Mei, have you... already confirmed he is the Monarch?"
"I don't know."
Old Mei's voice came through. Heishui was dumbfounded, and Hei Fo was stupefied. After a moment of stunned silence, Heishui asked, "What do you mean, 'don't know'?
If you don't know whether he's the Monarch, why kneel blindly? Aren't you making us lose face along with you!"
Old Mei knelt on the ground, his face filled with helplessness, his heart even more despondent.
He truly didn't know whether Gu Qingfeng was the Monarch.
As for why he knelt.
To tell the truth, he himself didn't know what happened. The moment Gu Qingfeng rebuked him, he completely lost control and knelt down involuntarily, as if overwhelmed by drowsiness and inexplicably falling asleep.
Over three hundred Chixiao People were kneeling, yet Gu Qingfeng remained as leisurely as ever, sitting in his chair, legs crossed, taking sips of his wine. His cold, handsome face showed neither sorrow nor joy, neither anger nor worry. His expression was very placid, placid to the point of being devoid of any emotional color. Even with all the Chixiao People kneeling on the ground, it had absolutely no effect on him.
Fei Kui had been standing beside Gu Qingfeng all along, bowing slightly, holding the wine pot, ready to pour at any moment.
Time passed bit by bit. After Gu Qingfeng drank three cups of wine in succession, he spoke again, his tone neither strong nor weak. "Alright, what are you kneeling for? Get up. If you lot can't even recognize whether I'm Gu Tianlang or not, there's no point in kneeling."
Get up?
Who dared?
No one dared.
Over three hundred Chixiao People all looked toward the two Earth Fiend Lords, Hei Fo and Heishui. The two of them originally intended to signal everyone to rise and discuss things later, but just then, Old Mei's secret voice transmission came: "Everyone, continue kneeling. Do not get up."
"Old Mei!
What's wrong with you today?
What kind of act are you putting on?"
Lord Heishui was very puzzled. In his impression, Old Mei had always been a cautious person. Over the years, they had encountered many impostors pretending to be the Monarch, but Old Mei had seen through them all. Even when facing several Monarchs in the South Sea whose authenticity was hard to determine, Old Mei had never knelt. Why was he so fearful of this Monarch this time? Not only kneeling without confirmation, but now not even planning to get up?
"Old Mei, you kneeling is one thing, but we can't keep kneeling! In the past, because we knelt to impostor Monarchs, we lost face so badly it reached our ancestors' graves."
Lord Hei Fo also nodded, expressing deep sympathy. In recent years, things had been better, but shortly after the Monarch was judged by the Immortal Dao in the Ancient Era, people came out impersonating the Monarch. At that time, how could Heishui and Hei Fo have imagined anyone daring to impersonate the Monarch? So, they indeed knelt to quite a few impostor Monarchs. After the news spread, the embarrassment was known throughout the world. This was also the fundamental reason they were so cautious when facing a Monarch of uncertain authenticity.