Beside him.
The conversation between the proprietor of Luo Xuan Old Soup and Elder Bai Xuan of the Shangqing Sect's Outer Gate reached Gu Qingfeng's ears, causing his heart to jolt in surprise.
That woman Ye Tianlan is preparing to emerge from seclusion?
And it's within the next couple of days?
Why on earth would that woman choose this exact moment to come out of seclusion?
Could it be specifically aimed at me?
Gu Qingfeng sank into contemplation.
During his time cultivating in this world, he had twice been tripped up by women. One was the World-Honored Empress Jun Xuanji, and the other was the Female Sect Empress Ye Tianlan.
These two women, their methods were each more sophisticated than the last, their schemes each more profound, and the traps they laid were each more bizarre and unfathomable.
Jun Xuanji was mysterious, a mix of truth and falsehood, reality and illusion. The games of love, hate, passion, and enmity she played were utterly dazzling. In the end, she played until Gu Qingfeng was nearly driven to mental collapse. Back then, he truly couldn't discern how much of the love and hate Jun Xuanji played at was real and how much was fake.
As for Ye Tianlan, compared to Jun Xuanji, she was absolutely no less formidable, if not more so.
The world knew that during the Great Assembly of Martial Heroes, he had flirted with Ye Tianlan.
What they didn't know was that on the eve of the Great Assembly, Ye Tianlan had provoked Gu Qingfeng in every way imaginable. Moreover, the condition that the loser of their proposed duel would have to form an Immortal Fate Cultivation Partner bond was first suggested by Ye Tianlan herself. When Gu Qingfeng didn't agree, Ye Tianlan mocked and ridiculed him. Finally, during the Great Assembly itself, Gu Qingfeng, unable to bear the humiliation any longer, declared before the entire world that if Ye Tianlan lost, they would become Immortal Fate Cultivation Partners.
Back then, Gu Qingfeng couldn't for the life of him understand why Ye Tianlan was so insistent on gambling with him.
And why the wager had to be an Immortal Fate Cultivation Partner bond.
What surprised him even more was that later, Ye Tianlan actually seemed prepared to form that bond with him.
The Gu Qingfeng of that time didn't realize this was all part of Ye Tianlan's scheme.
After he publicly refused, Ye Tianlan suffered a mental collapse, nearly descending into madness. This filled Gu Qingfeng with immense guilt; he felt terribly sorry for her.
Later, when the Immortal Dynasty suspected Ye Tianlan of colluding with him and insisted on executing her, Gu Qingfeng, burdened by his guilt, had no choice but to step in and save her.
If he hadn't later discovered Ye Tianlan's other identity as the Eldest Princess of the Immortal Dynasty, Gu Qingfeng might have truly ended up forming that Cultivation Partner bond with her.
It was only after learning that Ye Tianlan's other identity was the Eldest Princess of the Immortal Dynasty that Gu Qingfeng realized the so-called gamble for Immortal Fate had been a trap meticulously dug by that woman from the very beginning.
Her display of anger when he proposed the Immortal Fate wager at the Great Assembly? Completely feigned!
Her mental collapse, vomiting blood, and descent into madness after being publicly rejected before the world? All an act!
And later, the Immortal Dynasty suspecting her of colluding with him? That too was orchestrated by Ye Tianlan herself. For heaven's sake, she was the Eldest Princess of the Immortal Dynasty, second only to one, above ten thousand—who would dare execute her?
A scheme!
It was all a scheme!
And a seamless one at that.
As for why that woman Ye Tianlan did all this, Gu Qingfeng couldn't figure it out back then, and he still couldn't now.
He also didn't understand why Ye Tianlan, as the Eldest Princess of the Immortal Dynasty and the Sect Master of Shangqing Sect, would go to such lengths to force a Dual Cultivation Partner bond with him.
What exactly was she after?
Logically, given her status, she should have wanted him dead. But she didn't.
In Gu Qingfeng's memory, during his years cultivating at the Shangqing Sect, Ye Tianlan had helped him on multiple occasions, both openly and covertly. It was no exaggeration to say that his ability to go from a half-dead cripple to an Earth Immortal in just nine short years at Shangqing Sect was due not only to Elder Zhenjue's guidance but also greatly to the various spirit pills, miraculous medicines, cultivation techniques, and scriptures provided by Ye Tianlan. The two great fortunes on his body were even awakened by her.
What left the deepest impression on Gu Qingfeng was that when he overthrew the Immortal Dynasty, Ye Tianlan, as the Eldest Princess, did not step forward to stop him. She didn't even show her face, let alone intervene. Not only that, when the Heavenly Dao passed its judgment, Ye Tianlan actually shielded him from it.
What was Ye Tianlan's true objective?
Why did she do all these things?
Gu Qingfeng truly did not know.
The only thing he was certain of was that woman Ye Tianlan was unfathomably deep. Like Jun Xuanji, her methods were a mix of truth and falsehood, reality and illusion, leaving one frustrated, furious, yet also guilt-ridden and confused. She was utterly inscrutable, impossible to see through or guess.
Now, hearing that Ye Tianlan was about to emerge from seclusion, Gu Qingfeng's heart was indeed filled with an indescribable feeling.
Could it be that woman heard I've returned and is coming out of seclusion specifically, planning to stir up trouble again?
He had originally thought to visit the Shangqing Sect to pay respects to a few old friends and benefactors, to secretly see his mentor Elder Zhenjue without anyone knowing. But now, it seemed that might not be possible. Ye Tianlan choosing to emerge at this time was almost certainly because of him.
The words of the Old Monk within the Bone Jade of Annihilation were absolutely correct: what is destined to come will come. Hiding is futile; it cannot be avoided.
Gu Qingfeng shook his head, sighed softly, and continued drinking the Luo Xuan Old Soup.
Since he couldn't avoid it, he no longer intended to hide. He might as well take this opportunity to figure out what Ye Tianlan's intentions really were back then. He was young and impulsive back then and fell into her trap. But the present Gu Qingfeng would not be fooled a second time.
Beside him.
The proprietor of Luo Xuan Old Soup was chatting idly with Elder Bai Xuan of the Shangqing Sect. He asked, "Um, Elder Bai Xuan, this junior has always had a question in mind. I'm not sure if I should ask."
"Ask away, it's fine."
"In that case, this junior won't stand on ceremony."
The proprietor of Luo Xuan Old Soup leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "The Female Sect Empress has been in seclusion for many years now, right? If this junior remembers correctly, she began her seclusion right after the Monarch was judged. She hasn't emerged all these years. Not long ago, news came from the Yanluo Kingdom area saying the true Monarch has returned. Do you think... the Female Sect Empress emerging from seclusion at this time might be because the Monarch has returned?"
If it were any other elder of the Shangqing Sect, the proprietor naturally wouldn't dare mention the Monarch in their presence. Because almost everyone in the world knew that the name 'Chixiao Monarch' was taboo within the Shangqing Sect.
Why?
No particular reason.
Because the grudges between the Chixiao Monarch and the Shangqing Sect were far too many, so many they couldn't be finished or clarified in days and nights of talking.
And the most important of these, the one that brought the greatest shame and caused the Shangqing Sect to hang its head in humiliation, was the Monarch's public flirtation with the Female Sect Empress before the entire world, followed by his public rejection of the Empress's Immortal Fate bond. For the Shangqing Sect, this was absolutely a profound disgrace.
Just think: the Sect Master of the world's number one sect being publicly flirted with was already a devastating loss of face. Then being publicly rejected for a Cultivation Partner bond? That was an even greater humiliation.
Fortunately, the matter was many years in the past. Moreover, the older generation of the Shangqing Sect didn't particularly feel it was shameful. Plus, Elder Bai Xuan and others were regular patrons here. That's why the proprietor of Luo Xuan Old Soup dared to ask about this matter.