Divine Senses were appearing from all directions, most of them originating from various corners of the world. Beyond that, there were also Divine Senses that did not belong to this world, and surprisingly, some even came from the Great Desolate Celestial Realm.
Su Hua had initially thought these Divine Senses belonged to the Great Dao experts secretly backing Jade Dragon Flying Star and the other two, having come here to protect their safety. However, she soon realized the situation was not that simple.
Among these Divine Senses, perhaps some were indeed the Great Dao experts backing Jade Dragon Flying Star, but more were likely powerful beings who had been secretly and closely observing Gu Qingfeng all along.
Their purpose in coming today was not merely to protect Jade Dragon Flying Star and the others, but more importantly, to find out exactly what kind of existence Gu Qingfeng was.
Yes.
That was absolutely the case.
If their sole purpose was purely to protect Jade Dragon Flying Star, they could have simply taken him and the other two away right now. Gu Qingfeng definitely would not stop them. If he were to stop them, he wouldn't have shown them any mercy in the first place.
The problem was, so far, none of the Divine Senses that had appeared had made a move.
Clearly.
They all wanted to take this opportunity—or more precisely, use the fact that Jade Dragon Flying Star and the others bore Heaven's Mandate—to probe Gu Qingfeng.
First, to probe Gu Qingfeng's attitude towards the Mandate of Heaven.
Second, to probe Gu Qingfeng's true depths.
If Gu Qingfeng dared not act today, it would prove he still held reverence and fear towards the Heavenly Dao.
If he dared to act today and eradicate those bearing Heaven's Mandate, the Heavenly Dao would inevitably descend with Heaven's Retribution and Judgment. They could then use this Heavenly Judgment to probe Gu Qingfeng's depths.
What kind of existence Gu Qingfeng truly was, no one knew, no one understood. He was like an endless abyss; no one dared to probe his depths lightly. Under such circumstances, they could only use the Heavenly Dao's Judgment to test him.
And Su Hua knew even more.
Regarding today's events, besides the many mysterious great powers closely watching, the Immortal Dao and even other Great Daos were also paying close attention. They were also probing, though not probing Gu Qingfeng, but rather the Heavenly Dao's attitude towards Gu Qingfeng.
To this day, Su Hua still clearly remembered nine years ago, when the Immortal Dao attempted to eradicate Gu Qingfeng, the Heavenly Dao's attitude towards him had been ambiguous. Back then, the Immortal Dao spared no effort to destroy him, but what about the Heavenly Dao?
It remained aloof, standing by. Even when the Heavenly Dao's law enforcers of this world were obliterated on the spot by Gu Qingfeng, the Heavenly Dao still took no action.
If today, Gu Qingfeng revered the Heavenly Dao and dared not kill Jade Dragon Flying Star and the other Mandate-bearers, then so be it.
But if Jade Dragon Flying Star and the other two truly died by Gu Qingfeng's hand...
What would the Heavenly Dao do then?
Would it remain ambiguous and indifferent towards Gu Qingfeng, just like nine years ago?
Thinking of this.
Su Hua realized that today's events were far more complex than she had imagined.
Suddenly.
Su Hua remembered something—the invitation sent in the name of Lord Chixiao.
Who had sent that invitation? No one knew.
Now, thinking about it, today's events seemed more like a trap, a game of chess—a premeditated trap, a chess game with many Great Daos secretly fueling it from behind. Jade Dragon Flying Star and the other two were merely pawns in this game.
Su Hua thought this in her heart, but she dared not be certain it was truly so.
After pondering for a moment, she decided to test it.
In her mind, if her guess was correct, if she forcefully intervened to take Jade Dragon Flying Star away, someone would definitely stop her.
She hoped it wasn't true.
Taking a deep breath, Su Hua focused her mind. Radiance flickered around her. Just as she was about to make her move, sure enough—whoosh!—hundreds of Divine Senses instantly enveloped her. The feeling was as if countless eyes were fixed intently upon her.
At the same time, a voice transmitted into Su Hua's ears.
"Junior Sister, do not interfere in this matter!"
Hearing this voice, Su Hua was immediately startled and exclaimed in astonishment, "Senior Martial Sister?"
"It's me."
Responding to the call, a figure appeared—ethereal and indistinct, like mist, its features unclear. One could only vaguely tell it was a woman.
And this woman was none other than Su Hua's Senior Martial Sister from her previous life, Nalan Qianqiu.
"Why are you here too?"
Since parting with Nalan Qianqiu nine years ago, Su Hua had never seen this Senior Martial Sister of hers again. However, she was used to it. In her impression, this Senior Martial Sister of hers had always come and gone without a trace. What surprised Su Hua was that her Senior Martial Sister, who had disappeared for nine years, had reappeared, and by the looks of it, was also observing this matter.
"I've been here all along."
Nalan Qianqiu's voice sounded troubled. As she appeared, she gazed towards Gu Qingfeng in the distance.
"If you've been here all along, why didn't you see me?"
"You have your affairs, and I have mine."
"Then what brings you here today? Are you the same as them? Here to probe Gu Qingfeng too?"
Faced with Su Hua's questions, Nalan Qianqiu did not respond. Instead, she questioned, "Junior Sister, why didn't you listen to my advice?"
"What advice?"
"I told you not to see him again in the future, to stay as far away from him as possible. Why wouldn't you listen? Not only did you not avoid him, how could you get so close to him? Don't you know this will harm you in the end?"
"Senior Martial Sister, have you been spying on me?"
"Do I need to spy on you? Your affairs with him have been the talk of the world lately. Who doesn't know? Do I need to spy?"
Nalan Qianqiu sighed, her tone filled with helplessness. "Junior Sister, you know better than anyone how important your existence is to Heaven and Earth, to the Present-Ancient Era. Even if you don't think of others, think of yourself... If you truly get entangled, when the time comes, you won't even have a place to cry..."
"Why would I cry? You know, in all of Heaven and Earth, only he can help me unravel my dream. To unravel that dream, if there's no place to cry, then so be it. I don't care."
"Damn it! That dream again!"
Now, hearing Su Hua mention that Karmic Dream, Nalan Qianqiu got a headache. She also knew that it was precisely for that damned dream that Su Hua had relentlessly sought Lord Chixiao regardless of the cost. She knew even more that to unravel that dream, Su Hua would absolutely give up everything.
"Forget it, I don't want to talk about this anymore. It gives me a headache."
Nalan Qianqiu understood Su Hua. She knew this girl was stubborn and extremely persistent. Once she set her mind on something, she wouldn't listen to anyone's advice. Most importantly, the current situation wasn't a good time for persuasion.
"Regarding today's matter, just stay here quietly and watch. Don't interfere anymore. If you interfere, you'll only make this mess worse and make them dislike you even more."
"Them? Why would they dislike me?"
"You have the nerve to ask? Don't you think about your own identity? Let's not mention other things. In this world, you represent the Nine Heavens after all. What do you think it looks like, you hanging around all day with a criminal of the Immortal Dao, a chaotic demon king? Don't you know your actions have disappointed many? Over in the Nine Heavens, quite a few old-timers have already started to hold grievances against you..."
"Let them. Their mouths are on their own faces. What does it have to do with me? Do you think I wanted to represent the Nine Heavens? I never asked for it. They forced this identity on me. And besides..."
"Stop! Alright, fine, my lady, you win, okay?"