"Hahaha!
I do have a way to find out if that Gu Qingfeng is the Gu kid or not."
"What way?"
Luo Xuan Mingyue said, "Great-grandfather, although you had a good relationship with the Chixiao Monarch back then, that was all in the past. Even the Chixiao people who followed the Monarch back then can't verify his authenticity. What method could you possibly have?
I'm telling you, regarding the authenticity of the Monarch, you absolutely must not speak carelessly, or it will cause major chaos."
"What do you, a little girl, know? Let me tell you, if that so-called Gu Qingfeng from Yanluo really is the Gu kid, the first thing he'll do upon arriving in the Weiyang Great Domain is go to Elixir-Eater Town."
"Go to Elixir-Eater Town for what?"
"Nonsense, of course to drink our family's Luo Xuan Old Soup, and he'll definitely come visit this old man as well."
Hearing this, Luo Xuan Mingyue was torn between laughter and tears, helplessly saying, "Great-grandfather, please stop fooling around, alright?
Even if the Chixiao Monarch really drank a lot of our family's Luo Xuan Old Soup back then, so many years have passed, he's probably forgotten about it by now, right?
And visiting you?
Really, after all these years, whether the Monarch even remembers you is an unknown."
"Girl, you don't understand the Gu kid. That kid was an orphan, with no father or mother. His journey has been very difficult. Precisely because of this, that kid values loyalty and righteousness more than anyone else. I can't claim to be his benefactor, but I did help him back then, didn't I? Not to mention anything else, just based on the fact that he drank so much of our old soup at our place, and I never asked him for a single spirit stone, shouldn't he at least come visit this old man?"
Luo Xuan Ancestor spoke with considerable seriousness, "A fake Chixiao Monarch would definitely not come to drink our family's Luo Xuan Old Soup, much less come see an old wreck like me. But if it's the real Chixiao Monarch, I dare guarantee with my character that he will definitely come drink our old soup, and he definitely won't forget an old man like me who once personally went to Shangqing Sect to demand justice for him!"
"In other words, if that so-called Gu Qingfeng really comes to our place to drink the old soup, and still recognizes me, then he must be the real Gu kid."
Luo Xuan Mingyue curled her lips, unconvinced and unable to understand, saying, "Great-grandfather, I've been afraid to make you angry before, so there's one question I've never dared to ask you."
"What question?"
"When the Monarch entered Shangqing Sect back then, wasn't he already that... notorious demonic evil disciple?
If I remember correctly, before that, he had already killed many people in the Great Northwest, and killed many more in Yanluo Kingdom. Wouldn't you say he was a wicked person who committed countless crimes and was steeped in evil?"
"What demonic evil disciple, what steeped in evil? You little girl, don't talk nonsense about things you don't understand. You were born in a good era, in this flourishing Modern Era. How could you know what a hellish place the Ancient Era was?"
Luo Xuan Ancestor scolded, "In the Ancient Era, there wasn't a trace of spiritual energy in the world. All spirit veins were monopolized by the Immortal Dynasty. Back then, for a cultivator to take a single breath of pure spiritual energy was harder than ascending to heaven. Now? If you drop a spirit stone on the ground, no one would even bother to glance at it. But in the Ancient Era, for a single spirit stone, people would fight until their heads bled, and deaths were common occurrences."
"Even the Divine Land was like that, let alone the Great Northwest region in the Ancient Era, which was notoriously a gathering place for demons and monsters. If you wanted to survive there, if you didn't kill others, you'd only be killed yourself."
"As for committing countless crimes, in the Ancient Era, mere survival was a problem. What good and evil were there?"
"Alright."
Luo Xuan Mingyue was convinced, having long known that as soon as she said anything negative about the Monarch, her great-grandfather would inevitably lecture her with a bunch of twisted logic. She said, "Even if the Monarch wasn't steeped in evil back then, the fact remains that he was a criminal wanted by the Immortal Dynasty, right?
How did you, old man, ever think of helping him back then?
Weren't you afraid the Immortal Dynasty would come after you?"
"Sigh."
Speaking of this matter, Luo Xuan Ancestor also sighed, "At first, I just felt sorry for the Gu kid. He was truly pitiful, covered in wounds, hardly a single spot on his body was unharmed. No one at Shangqing Sect treated him well. When he went out, everyone pointed fingers at him. I still remember clearly the first time I saw the Gu kid. He had been beaten nearly to death by a few brats from Shangqing Sect. Even so, that Gu kid stubbornly didn't cry out in pain once. He just covered his head, letting those brats beat him half to death."
Luo Xuan Mingyue frowned, "Why didn't the Monarch leave Shangqing Sect back then?"
"You think he could leave?"
"Why couldn't he? Didn't Senior Zhenjue step forward to plead for him back then, and didn't the Immortal Dynasty agree not to pursue the matter? Why couldn't the Monarch leave?"
"Girl, you're still too young. You simply don't know the dirty tricks involved. The reason the Immortal Dynasty and the various sects spared the Gu kid's life back then wasn't because they were kind-hearted, but because Zhenjue stepped forward. Zhenjue is an Ancient Immortal, with a good reputation, good standing, and a not-so-simple background. They had no choice but to give Zhenjue face."
"But didn't Senior Zhenjue already accept the Monarch as a nominal disciple later?
Why did those people from Shangqing Sect still target the Monarch everywhere?"
Recalling the events of those years, Luo Xuan Ancestor said, "After all, the Gu kid had killed quite a few people from the Immortal Dynasty back then. Although Zhenjue saved his life, it was only his life. Nominally accepting the Gu kid as a nominal disciple was just that—nominal. There were three reasons why Old Master Zhenjue accepted the Gu kid as a nominal disciple back then."
"First, Old Master Zhenjue was truly compassionate. He knew the Gu kid's nature wasn't bad and wanted to guide him to reform."
"Second, Old Master Zhenjue knew that only by accepting the Gu kid as a nominal disciple would the Immortal Dynasty and the various sects truly let the Gu kid go."
"Third, Old Master Zhenjue was also giving an explanation of sorts to the Immortal Dynasty and the various sects."
Luo Xuan Mingyue asked, "An explanation?
An explanation for what?"
"Nonsense, the Gu kid's fortunes back then were extremely sinister. In the Great Northwest, he had already died and come back to life several times, and his cultivation had been destroyed and rebuilt three times. When Old Master Zhenjue saved the Gu kid back then, many people opposed it. They were all afraid that if the Gu kid cultivated successfully again, it would be like raising a tiger to later cause trouble."
Hearing this, Luo Xuan Mingyue seemed to understand somewhat, saying, "So, back then, when Senior Zhenjue accepted the Monarch as a nominal disciple, besides wanting to guide him to reform, another layer of meaning was to imprison the Monarch at Shangqing Sect?"
"That's right, that was indeed the meaning. But it was also a last resort. If Old Master Zhenjue hadn't done this, the Immortal Dynasty and the various sects would never have agreed to spare the Gu kid's life. Even so, back then, to prevent the Gu kid from cultivating again, the various sects acted ruthlessly. Not only did they cripple the Gu kid's cultivation, they also completely destroyed his fortunes. In the end, they beat him half to death. What's even more shameless is that the various sects also placed many underhanded restrictions on the Gu kid's body. All sorts of vicious seals tightly locked every meridian and acupoint in his body. If the Gu kid dared to absorb even a single breath of spiritual energy, the restrictions would activate, causing him unbearable agony."