"That's good..." Having slept for nine years, Gu Qingfeng missed Jin'er quite a bit. He asked, "Nine years have passed, Jin'er must have grown up, right? That girl has a good foundation. She's definitely going to be a stunning beauty when she grows up, at least on par with you."
"Of course."
Gu Qingfeng glanced at her and chuckled. "You're not exactly modest, are you?"
Perhaps sensing the sarcasm in his remark about her lack of modesty, Su Hua shot him a glare.
"How's the little girl's cultivation level now?"
"Not too sure."
"Not too sure? Wasn't she always with you?"
"Jin'er entered the Shangqing Sect to cultivate three years ago."
"Shangqing Sect?" Hearing the name, Gu Qingfeng's brow furrowed slightly. "That Shangqing Sect? The number one sect in this world?"
"That's the one."
"Why join the Shangqing Sect out of the blue? Couldn't you teach her?"
"What qualifications do I have to teach Jin'er?"
"Well, well. I say you're not modest, and you really go all out. If even a Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden like you says you're not qualified to teach Jin'er, then who in all the world would be?"
"Teaching is teaching, cultivation is cultivation. They're two completely different things. No matter how high one's own cultivation is, it's just their own. It doesn't mean they have the ability to instruct a disciple."
Su Hua continued, "Besides, Jin'er is innately gifted and has exceptional comprehension. I can't really teach her much. Jin'er lacks nothing except for systematic learning of cultivation knowledge. The Shangqing Sect is hailed as the number one sect. For Jin'er to enter and cultivate there is the most suitable choice."
Gu Qingfeng nodded, agreeing with Su Hua's words.
He himself was a prime example. Despite having successively ascended to the peerless thrones of Immortal and Demon, and later obtaining the Nine Nethers Emperor's Seal in the Celestial Realm, when it came to teaching disciples, he also questioned his own qualifications.
After all, he had only cultivated for about five hundred years, and more than half of that time was spent fighting and killing. If it was about teaching someone to fight and kill, he was proficient. But teaching others how to cultivate? He had no such skill, because he himself had never systematically learned cultivation back in the day. Even now, he was still unclear about some basic cultivation common sense.
Given that, how could he teach others?
"You seem rather displeased about Jin'er joining the Shangqing Sect?"
"Why would I be displeased? It's the number one sect, after all. As you said, Jin'er lacks cultivation common sense. Systematically learning cultivation knowledge will benefit her future."
Gu Qingfeng felt this deeply. When he was young, precisely because he hadn't systematically learned cultivation knowledge and lacked basic common sense, he had taken many detours on his cultivation path, almost succumbing to Qi deviation several times.
Cultivation knowledge was the foundation. If the foundation wasn't solid, the path ahead would be even harder.
"The Shangqing Sect isn't just the number one sect in this world to you, is it?"
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing much. I just know the Shangqing Sect once produced a remarkable female sect master. And I heard she had some earth-shattering, tear-jerking love-hate entanglement with a certain someone."
Su Hua said this with a smile, her words laced with a hint of mockery, as if retaliating for Gu Qingfeng's earlier teasing.
"What does a little girl like you know!"
"A little girl? You've only cultivated for five hundred years. My previous life's cultivation years exceed yours by more than fivefold. And you dare act like a senior in front of me?"
"That was just a previous life. If previous lives count, who knows which of us has lived longer."
"Tch."
Su Hua shot him another disdainful glare.
Watching Gu Qingfeng seriously examining the painting, Su Hua asked, "If I'm not mistaken, the mountain in this painting is Wu Dao Mountain, right?"
"That's right, it is."
"So it's true!"
Su Hua immediately became excited and pressed on, "Where did you get this painting?"
"A woman gave it to me."
"Gave it? And a woman? Who? Why did she give you this painting? And why is this painting called 'The Nirvana and Self-Forgetting Painting'..." Su Hua poured out all the questions in her heart in one breath. Only when she saw Gu Qingfeng's unfriendly gaze sweep over her did she realize she had asked too much and gone too far.
Especially under the stare of Gu Qingfeng's deep, dark eyes, Su Hua felt very awkward. An apologetic look involuntarily appeared on her stunningly beautiful face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry into your privacy. I just... I just want to know the whereabouts of Wu Dao Mountain."
"Who gave me this painting, I don't want to say. Why it's called 'The Nirvana and Self-Forgetting Painting,' I don't know either. As for the whereabouts of Wu Dao Mountain, I'm even more clueless. Asking me is useless."
"Do you really know nothing about Wu Dao Mountain's whereabouts?"
"Nonsense. If I knew, I would have gone looking for it long ago."
"So you're also searching for Wu Dao Mountain. Can I ask why you're looking for it? Of course, if you don't want to say, just pretend I never asked."
"I have my reasons for seeking Wu Dao Mountain."
And then?
There was no 'and then.'
That was all Gu Qingfeng said.
Faced with this, Su Hua felt anxious, angry, and helpless, but couldn't very well lose her temper with Gu Qingfeng.
"Alright, little sister, you go look for Wu Dao Mountain first. Just let me know when you find it."
"What about you?"
"I have things to do, so I'll be leaving first."
"Wait."
Gu Qingfeng turned around. "What?"
"Can I ask what your plans are for the future?"
"No plans."
"What do you mean 'no plans'? You killed so many scions of the Immortal Dynasty in the Great Northwest, and then so many people from the Immortal Dynasty in Yanluo. The news will soon reach the Immortal Dynasty. I believe the news of your return as Chixiao King Gu Tianlang will spread across the world in no time."
"So what?"
"If the Immortal Dynasty finds out you're still alive..."
"Let them find out. Do you think I'm afraid of them?"
"You misunderstand. I know you're not afraid of the Immortal Dynasty. But do you intend to let the enmity between you and the Immortal Dynasty continue from the Ancient Era into the Present Era?"
"Little sister, that's not my intention. You need to understand one thing clearly: if the Immortal Dynasty and I clash again in the Present Era, it will definitely be because the Immortal Dynasty cannot tolerate me first, not because I cannot tolerate the Immortal Dynasty."
"Then can I understand that if the Immortal Dynasty can tolerate you, you'll let bygones be bygones and not oppose them anymore?"
"Do you think I have nothing better to do? That I'd stir up trouble for no reason?"
"If you trust me, please give me some time. I'll do everything in my power to persuade the Immortal Dynasty to leave you alone."
"Little sister, do you really think that's possible?"
"Why wouldn't it be? Although there are still some within the Immortal Dynasty who cling to grievances from the Ancient Era, they are only a small minority. Most Immortals are open-minded and noble. Not all Immortals are as bad as you imagine."
"Little sister, you were there in the Great Northwest nine years ago. Don't you understand yet? The key issue now isn't whether the Immortal Dynasty can tolerate me, but whether the Immortal Dao, the Heavenly Dao, the Buddhist Dao, even the Three Thousand Great Daos, and the very heavens and earth can tolerate me."