Why the sky had been overcast with dark clouds and thunder had roared when Gu Qingfeng was building his foundation, Huode didn't know. Why the surrounding region's natural order had undergone spiritual changes, Huode didn't know either. But he dared to bet it was definitely related to Gu Qingfeng.
In Huode's mind, only that kid Gu Qingfeng could stir up such a huge commotion. Others didn't have the capability, nor the skill.
Sure enough.
Gu Qingfeng took a sip of his wine and nodded, essentially admitting it.
"I knew it was you, kid!"
Huode immediately pressed for details. "What exactly happened?"
"Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand."
"How the hell would I understand if you don't tell me, kid!"
"Do you know the Natural Order?" Gu Qingfeng asked.
Huode's old face flushed red. He opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word. Despite having cultivated for seven or eight hundred years, he was only a Golden Core True Person. He hadn't even fully grasped immortal arts, let alone understood divine abilities. How could he possibly comprehend something like the Natural Order, which even celestial immortals in the Heavenly Realm couldn't fathom?
"Do you know how many profound mysteries and spiritual subtleties the Natural Order possesses?"
"Do you know what each of those mysteries is?"
Gu Qingfeng went on and on, and Huode didn't understand a single sentence. This wasn't the first time he'd been embarrassed. Ever since Gu Qingfeng left the Yunxia Sect back then, he had never been able to make sense of the things that happened to Gu Qingfeng. It wasn't that his knowledge was shallow; it was just that after Gu Qingfeng left the Yunxia Sect, he would advance a minor realm every three days, a major realm every half month, and a whole stage every year. One day he might have just opened his Violet Palace, the next he might have condensed a Golden Core. One year he was just a freakish True Person who dominated a region, the next year he was a damn Daozun renowned throughout the world, killing like a demon.
Today, his martial arts reached the profound. Tomorrow, his spells reached the perfected realm.
Today, he'd play around with some immortal fate. Tomorrow, he'd comprehend and research a divine ability.
Building his foundation, he could build it so fiercely it turned an entire region into a sea of fire.
Establishing his true body, he could establish it with a ten-thousand-zhang golden light.
Opening his Violet Palace, he could open so many that his whole body was Violet Palaces.
Condensing a Golden Core, he could condense eighty-one at once...
Thinking carefully, Huode realized he had once made a solemn vow to never ask about Gu Qingfeng's situation again. It wasn't that he didn't want to ask, nor that Gu Qingfeng didn't want to tell him. It was that even if Gu Qingfeng told him, he wouldn't understand.
However, that wasn't the reason he made the vow. The real reason that made him swear was that every time he inquired about Gu Qingfeng's situation, he would suffer a severe blow, feeling his life was utterly bleak. They were both humans, yet the gap was too vast. His heart couldn't accept it. It was a cruel devastation to his spirit, his confidence, and his self-esteem.
This wasn't the first time Huode had been stimulated by Gu Qingfeng. As for how many times he'd been stimulated, he himself couldn't remember. He'd long since been stimulated numb. You could compare yourself to anyone, but never to that Gu kid. Compared to him, even if you were a heavenly god descended to earth, you'd still be stimulated to death.
This wasn't an exaggeration, nor was it far-fetched.
Back then, that guy hailed as this world's number one prodigy was born with heavenly omens, startling not just the Immortal Dynasty, but even causing celestial immortals from the Heavenly Realm to personally descend. The Natural Order bestowed upon him a ten-thousand-zhang display of a thousand reds...
And yet, it was all for nothing. Later, wasn't he still beaten up by Gu kid every time they met? Beaten until his head bled in three days, beaten until his dantian cracked in ten days. Over a year, he was brutally beaten by Gu Qingfeng hundreds of times, his whole body covered in injuries...
Thinking of this, seeing Gu Qingfeng about to say something, Huode quickly waved his hand, tilted his head back to gulp down a bowl of wine, shot an extremely disdainful glare, and said indignantly, "Alright, alright, Ancestor! I know you're awesome, old man. Can I just not ask?"
"Hahaha!"
Gu Qingfeng leaned back in his chair, laughing heartily. Perhaps because he had suffered quite a bit under Huode's torment in his youth, every time he saw Huode afterwards, he always enjoyed stimulating him a bit. Every time he saw this old fellow's look of displeasure yet helplessness, Gu Qingfeng couldn't help but find it amusing.
"Damn it! I only tricked you into testing a few formations when you were a kid. You've actually held a grudge all this time? You're not happy unless you stimulate me every time, is that it?"
Gu Qingfeng shrugged and replied, "You're the one who asked, okay?"
"I..." Huode was left speechless. He could only blame his own excessive curiosity. Every time something happened to Gu Qingfeng, he wanted to understand it. He just never had, not even once. Regarding this, Huode let out a helpless, powerless sigh. He vowed never to ask again...
If he asked again, he'd tear his own mouth.
"By the way, Huode, I want to ask you something."
Gu Qingfeng remembered the Yanyang Heart. Upon his inquiry, Huode said irritably, "Why are you asking about the Yanyang Heart? You're so awesome, old man, even the Heavens can't judge you. Do you still care about a broken stone?"
"Alright, I'm serious. I'm not joking with you. Is the Yanyang Heart still in your possession now?"
"No."
Huode shook his head and responded, "The Three Elders gave it away."
"Gave it away?"
Gu Qingfeng was taken aback. He sat up and asked, "To whom?"
"To the Nine Hua Alliance, who else."
Seeing Gu Qingfeng's serious expression that didn't seem like a joke, Huode asked, "Kid, why are you suddenly asking about the Yanyang Heart for no reason? That thing isn't useful to you, is it?"
The Yanyang Heart was once the Yunxia Sect's supreme treasure, a treasure passed down by the founding patriarch.
It was called the supreme treasure, but this thing had been passed down generation after generation. As for what it was actually for, for thousands of years, no one had been able to figure it out. If Gu Qingfeng hadn't coincidentally had his physique transformed by the Yanyang Heart back then, Huode might have always considered that thing a broken stone.
Unfortunately, not everyone had such good luck. Over thousands of years, besides Gu Qingfeng, only one other woman had been tempered by the Yanyang Heart. As for others, there were none...
Huode had researched it for most of his life and still hadn't figured it out.
"Didn't I tell you back then to keep that Yanyang Heart safe? How did you let the Three Elders give it away?"
To be honest, as for what the Yanyang Heart actually was, Gu Qingfeng didn't know either. He was young back then and had no idea how he ended up being tempered by the Yanyang Heart. Too much time had passed, and he himself had forgotten the specifics of what happened then.
"What do you mean 'I let the Three Elders give it away'? If the Three Elders wanted to give it away, could I have stopped them? I can't beat them, and my seniority isn't as high as theirs."
Huode rolled his eyes and said, "Moreover, after the great calamity back then, I heard someone from the Alliance specifically requested to borrow our Yunxia Sect's Yanyang Heart, saying they would return it when the hundred-year period was up."
"Who borrowed it?"
"I don't know that person's formal name. Everyone calls him Old Master Rong. He's one of the elders of the Nine Hua Alliance. And..." Huode thought carefully for a moment more. "Who that old master is, I'm not clear either. Never met him, never heard of him before. But he must be very powerful. Not long after the Yunxia Three Elders sent the Yanyang Heart over, they successfully passed their longevity tribulation. Think about it, someone who could help the Three Elders pass their longevity tribulation—would Old Master Rong be an ordinary person?"
"Why would he want to borrow your Yunxia Sect's Yanyang Heart for no reason?"
Although Gu Qingfeng couldn't clearly remember the events of his youth, based on his experience, he suspected that Yanyang Heart was definitely not an ordinary thing. It likely held other mysteries, mysteries that ordinary people probably couldn't discern.
Since that Old Master Rong from the Nine Hua Alliance specifically requested to borrow the Yanyang Heart, had he seen its mysteries?
Huode shook his head and responded, "I'm not clear about such matters either."
Gu Qingfeng pondered for a moment, holding a cup of fine wine, bringing it to his lips, frowning in thought. Then he asked again, "What did Old Master Rong do after borrowing it?"
"Not too clear. Old Master Rong has been in seclusion, for several decades now, right? The hundred-year period is almost up. When he borrowed it, he said he'd return it when the hundred years were up. Presumably, he'll come out of seclusion then."
Gu Qingfeng considered that since the Yanyang Heart was the root of the first major turning point in his life, and also the first branch of his Karma, in other words, anyone related to the Yanyang Heart was, to some extent, connected to him by Karma. Thinking of this, he asked again.
"After I left, was there anyone else tempered by the Yanyang Heart?"
"This..." Huode seemed somewhat hesitant.
"What's wrong?"
Huode picked up his bowl and took a drink of wine, stealing a glance at Gu Qingfeng. Then he grinned and said, "Well, Gu kid, I still have some matters to attend to..." Huode was clearly looking for an excuse to leave. But just as he was about to go, Gu Qingfeng stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder, saying seriously, "Huode, this matter is very important to me. Don't hide anything. Say what you have to say."
"Well...
Gu kid, it's not that I don't want to say. I'm just afraid saying it might stir up some sad memories for you."
Sad memories?
Gu Qingfeng thought about it. He didn't have any particularly sad memories in the Yunxia Sect.
If there were any, it would be that passionate first love from his reckless youth.
Just as he was thinking, Gu Qingfeng suddenly thought of a name. Remembering what Huode just said about sad memories, could it be...
Gu Qingfeng asked somewhat uncertainly, "After I left, it couldn't be... Hongxiu was also tempered by the Yanyang Fire, was she?"
Volume One 'Wind Rises Over Yunxia' is more or less concluded...
Volume Two 'Prestige Shakes Nine Hua' officially begins...
The story will also become more exciting...
And of course, there will be no shortage of satisfaction!
It's Monday again, time to charge up the rankings again...
I hope friends with recommendation votes will cast more votes!
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