"Did Da Fuzi say what he was waiting for me to do at Shangqing Sect?"
Old Mei shook his head. "Back then, Da Fuzi only told me he was waiting for you at Shangqing Sect. As for what he was waiting to do, the old master didn't say."
"Who knows what game the old master is playing this time," Gu Qingfeng sighed. "It seems I'll have to go there myself."
Whether it was Laofuzi or Da Fuzi, both had shown him immense kindness in the past, and Gu Qingfeng held deep respect for them in his heart. Since he now knew Da Fuzi was living in seclusion at Shangqing Sect, Gu Qingfeng felt he absolutely had to pay him a personal visit. Besides, he had many things he wished to ask Da Fuzi.
"Monarch, you're not really planning to go to Shangqing Sect, are you?" Heishui craned his neck to ask.
"What's wrong? Can't I go?"
"It's not that you can't go, but... do you even have the face to go?"
"Why wouldn't I have the face to go?"
Heishui chuckled. "Your Majesty, you have so much history with Shangqing Sect—so many grudges and favors tangled together. And you even had that... ahem... past with the Female Sect Master. Do you really have the nerve to go back?"
Speaking of grudges, Gu Qingfeng indeed had a long and complicated history with Shangqing Sect.
He had once enrolled in Shangqing Sect and cultivated there for a full ten years. Although he was later expelled for causing trouble, he was still considered a disciple of the sect.
During those ten years at Shangqing Sect, he had killed its direct disciples, assaulted its elders, cursed its patriarchs, and even cleaved its ancestral monument. Most notoriously, he had flirted with the sect master hailed as the number one in the world—Ye Tianlan.
His entanglement with Shangqing Sect ran deep. So deep that he had once knelt in apology, shaming his mentor. So deep that Shangqing Sect's patriarch had knelt before him, begging for mercy. So deep that he had nearly become dual cultivation partners with Ye Tianlan, nearly died at Shangqing Sect, and nearly slaughtered the entire sect.
Remembering those past grievances, Gu Qingfeng still felt a lingering melancholy. Truly, some memories were too painful to revisit.
After a long silence, Gu Qingfeng sighed and asked, "Is my mentor still at Shangqing Sect?"
"You mean Old Master Zhenjue? I heard he's still there."
"Is he well?"
"That, I'm not too sure about."
Back in the day, Shangqing Sect was the world's number one sect and had clashed with the Chixiao Sect, even engaging in a fierce battle once. Because of this, Heishui and the other Chixiao members rarely had dealings with Shangqing Sect.
"After you left, Old Master Zhenjue resigned from his position as Grand Elder of Shangqing Sect," Old Mei explained. "The sect invited him to join the inner council, but he refused. He's been resting at Shangqing Sect ever since, though he rarely involves himself in sect affairs. Occasionally, he plays chess with Da Fuzi."
"That's good."
Gu Qingfeng had always felt he owed Old Master Zhenjue a great debt. In those days, he had enemies everywhere. The Immortal Dynasty hunted him relentlessly, and he was besieged multiple times. Though he narrowly escaped the first few ambushes, the last one was overwhelming—surrounded by countless experts, his cultivation was crippled, his body severely wounded, leaving him with barely half a life.
If Old Master Zhenjue hadn't stepped forward to protect him, he would have died right there in that siege.
Taking pity on him, Old Master Zhenjue kindly took him in and, defying all pressure, accepted him as a disciple, hoping to reform him and set him on the right path.
Under Old Master Zhenjue's guidance, Gu Qingfeng had genuinely wanted to turn over a new leaf, abandon his wicked ways, and start anew.
But fate played tricks on him.
Young, impulsive, and inherently unruly, due to various circumstances, he ultimately embarked on that road of no return.
Not only did he betray Old Master Zhenjue's expectations, but he also dragged the old master's reputation through the mud, making him a target of public scorn and criticism.
"Monarch, you're still brooding over what happened back then? In my opinion, there's no need. Didn't you repay the debt you owed Old Master Zhenjue later?"
Heishui and the others were well aware of Gu Qingfeng's history with Shangqing Sect. They knew that Gu Qingfeng had tolerated the sect's provocations again and again solely out of respect for Old Master Zhenjue. Unfortunately, Shangqing Sect didn't know when to stop—instead, they grew bolder, repeatedly challenging Gu Qingfeng's limits until he could endure no more and stormed into the sect. In the end, it was Old Master Zhenjue who intervened, preventing Gu Qingfeng from slaughtering the entire sect.
Later, when the conflict between Chixiao Sect and the Immortal Dynasty escalated into continuous warfare, Shangqing Sect once again mobilized various nations and sects to join forces, aiding the Immortal Dynasty against Chixiao Sect. Gu Qingfeng slaughtered the experts from all other nations and sects cleanly, yet showed mercy only to Shangqing Sect.
Not only that.
Later still, when the Immortal Dynasty suspected Shangqing Sect of secretly colluding with Gu Qingfeng's Chixiao Sect and its immortals sought to eliminate the sect, it was Gu Qingfeng who stepped forward and slaughtered the Immortal Dynasty's immortals, saving Shangqing Sect from annihilation. Even when Ye Tianlan, then the heir apparent disciple, was imprisoned in the celestial dungeon by the Immortal Dynasty, it was Gu Qingfeng who single-handedly rescued her.
In the eyes of Heishui, Hei Fo, and the other Chixiao members, Gu Qingfeng had already shown the utmost benevolence and duty—both to Old Master Zhenjue and to Shangqing Sect.
"Some debts can be repaid," Gu Qingfeng murmured to himself. "But some debts can never be repaid, never settled."
"Monarch, when you speak of debts, are you referring to the Female Sect Master, Ye Tianlan?" Heishui asked. Perhaps sensing the unfriendly look Gu Qingfeng shot him, Heishui chuckled awkwardly, then pursed his lips and muttered a few words under his breath.
Heishui had always revered Gu Qingfeng to the extreme, admiring him with utter devotion. In his heart, Gu Qingfeng was practically a god.
But the one thing Heishui could never agree with was a certain flaw Gu Qingfeng possessed—a fickle heart.
Not only could he not agree, but deep down, Heishui rather despised this flaw of Gu Qingfeng's.
Take Ye Tianlan, for instance.
Back then, Gu Qingfeng wasn't yet the Chixiao Monarch but merely a disciple of Shangqing Sect, and a notorious fugitive wanted by the Immortal Dynasty.
And back then, Ye Tianlan wasn't yet the First Female Sect Master but the heir apparent of Shangqing Sect, renowned throughout the world as the top prodigy.
Heishui still vividly remembered that year, during the World Martial Assembly on the Celestial Stairway, when His Majesty challenged Ye Tianlan to a duel. Before the entire world, he declared that if Ye Tianlan lost, she must become his dual cultivation partner—a demand that shook the heavens.
Though Ye Tianlan didn't agree at the time, neither did she refuse. Later, no one knew what methods Gu Qingfeng used, but he gradually wooed the Female Sect Master until she finally succumbed, ready to fulfill their old agreement and become his dual cultivation partner.
But then...
Gu Qingfeng backed out, saying it had all been a joke, a bit of fun, and hoping Ye Tianlan wouldn't take it seriously.
One could imagine how heartbroken the Female Sect Master must have been.
It was true, utter heartbreak. Heishui saw it with his own eyes back then—the Female Sect Master so grief-stricken she vomited blood, nearly suffered a cultivation deviation, her spirit shattered, her consciousness blurred.