Within the silent arena.
A sudden explosive sound rang out.
Everyone looked over to see a sphere of light abruptly appear in the dark night sky. The sphere was as bright and dazzling as a domineering sun, turning night into day in an instant.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A group of several dozen people shot out from within it, all of them Immortals. The one leading them was an old man with white hair and beard, possessing an ethereal, Daoist demeanor.
Not far away.
Su Hua recognized him at a glance. This old man was Elder Lingyun of the Immortal Court's Elder Hall, a figure of very high status within the Immortal Court. Most importantly, he was someone close to the Third Prince. Su Hua didn't need to think to know that Elder Lingyun must have come here on the Third Prince's orders.
Upon seeing Gu Qingfeng, Elder Lingyun cupped his hands in salute. "Elder Lingyun of the Immortal Court Elder Hall pays his respects to Lord Chixiao."
For a dignified Immortal Court Elder to salute a man widely known as a sinner of the Immortal Dao was an extremely rare sight, though at the moment, no one seemed to care about such formalities.
Yet Gu Qingfeng paid no heed, still standing quietly with his eyes closed.
Elder Lingyun waited for a moment, but receiving no response from Gu Qingfeng, he raised his head. After a moment's thought, he said, "Jade Dragon Flying Star overestimated his own abilities and acted impulsively, offending Your Lordship. I hope Your Lordship will be magnanimous, consider his youth and ignorance, and forgive him this once."
After saying this.
Elder Lingyun added, "The Third Prince is currently occupied with urgent matters and cannot come in person. Upon learning of this incident, His Highness immediately ordered us to come and apologize to Your Lordship. On another day, the Third Prince will surely pay a personal visit to express his gratitude."
Elder Lingyun made no attempt to hide it, directly stating that he had come on behalf of the Third Prince, hoping Gu Qingfeng would give the Third Prince some face.
However.
Gu Qingfeng acted as if he hadn't heard, still paying no attention.
Elder Lingyun grew anxious inwardly but dared not say anything more. Seeing Gu Qingfeng remained unresponsive, he immediately turned to Su Hua, cupping his hands again. "Fairy Hua, you should know that today's matter was not the Third Prince's original intention, but rather the deliberate work of certain individuals. I hope Fairy Hua will step forward and persuade His Lordship."
Su Hua also remained silent.
Not to mention she had no place to intervene in this matter, even if she could, she would not step forward for Jade Dragon Flying Star.
Because she knew that if Jade Dragon Flying Star had come here today, the Third Prince must have been aware, and it was highly likely the Third Prince had instigated it from behind. The purpose was simple: to test Gu Qingfeng.
Perhaps the Third Prince hadn't anticipated so many people would come to test Gu Qingfeng.
Or perhaps the Third Prince hadn't realized how deep the waters here ran.
Or perhaps the Third Prince, famed for his knowledge of Heaven's Mandate, had deduced something terrifying and thus wanted to end this affair.
At that moment, Nalan Qianqiu's voice sounded in Su Hua's ear. "It seems the Third Prince is afraid..." Su Hua asked, "What do you mean?"
"I'm not entirely sure either. The Third Prince probably deduced something frightening and doesn't want to bring disaster upon himself. More precisely, he doesn't want to provoke a mysterious, unknown, and terrifying figure like Gu Qingfeng."
"If that's the case, why doesn't he come in person?"
"He'd have to dare to come first."
Nalan Qianqiu said meaningfully, "The Third Prince may know Heaven's Mandate, but I dare say he certainly doesn't know the depths of Gu Qingfeng. If he did, he wouldn't have sent a Destiny-Bearer like Jade Dragon Flying Star to test him."
"Fairy Hua!"
Elder Lingyun spoke again. "Jade Dragon Flying Star is, after all, a Stellar Fate Child possessing a Great Destiny, under the protection of Heaven. He cannot be killed! I implore Fairy Hua to consider the greater situation and also think of His Lordship's safety!"
Looking at Elder Lingyun, Nalan Qianqiu thought to herself: What a clever Third Prince. Sending Elder Lingyun here probably wasn't to persuade Gu Qingfeng to show mercy at all, but to persuade Junior Sister to step forward. He knows he can't persuade Gu Qingfeng, and he knows only Junior Sister's intervention might end this matter. For this, he specifically mentioned the greater situation and Gu Qingfeng's safety.
And Nalan Qianqiu knew that the so-called greater situation referred to the calamity of the Present Era. As the one destined to face this era's tribulation, Su Hua naturally could not stand aside.
As for Gu Qingfeng's safety, that was precisely what Su Hua worried about most at this moment.
Truly worthy of the Third Prince who knows Heaven's Mandate, his methods are so high.
Nalan Qianqiu said, "Junior Sister, you must not fall for this. The Third Prince wants to use you."
How could Su Hua not know?
The so-called greater situation of the Present Era, she could disregard.
But Gu Qingfeng was her karma; she could not disregard him.
She truly feared that Gu Qingfeng, in a fit of anger, would kill Jade Dragon Flying Star. If Heaven's Dao then descended its Judgment, once its stance was made clear, the path awaiting Gu Qingfeng would truly be one of utter rejection by Heaven and Earth.
But if Gu Qingfeng showed mercy to Jade Dragon Flying Star today and chose compromise, would the Three Thousand Great Daos spare him?
No!
Not only would they not spare him, the Three Thousand Great Daos would likely advance step by step, again and again, until they forced Gu Qingfeng into a corner with no retreat.
What to do?
Su Hua didn't know what to do either.
She simply gazed at Gu Qingfeng in that place.
Suddenly, she noticed that when Gu Qingfeng's thumb stopped sliding along the string of prayer beads, his eyes, which had been closed, finally opened. His dark eyes still held no ripple of emotion, empty and silent like an abyss.
He looked up at the sky, then drew a deep breath, shaking his head slightly as if somewhat helpless. Slowly, he raised his hand, using two fingers to pinch the tip of the Star Sword. Without any apparent effort, a crack sounded—the Star Sword was simply snapped in two by him. The moment it broke, a fissure immediately appeared on the body of Jade Dragon Flying Star, who had transformed into the Stellar Fate Deity. Then a second fissure, a third...
At this moment, Jade Dragon Flying Star in his Stellar Fate Deity form was like a cracking ice sculpture, fissures appearing one after another on his body.
Ahhh—
A heart-rending, agonized scream came from Jade Dragon Flying Star. Finally, with a whoosh, Jade Dragon Flying Star's Stellar Fate Deity completely disintegrated.
Jade Dragon Flying Star's true form then manifested, covered in blood and paralyzed on the ground like a pile of mud. Ignoring the pain wracking his body, he tried to flash away and escape, but it was already too late. Because the moment his Stellar Fate Deity exploded, his Immortal Spirit also dissipated, and all his meridians and bones shattered, rendering him completely crippled.
He had thought his earlier paralysis from Gu Qingfeng's single earth-shaking roar was merely due to his own momentary carelessness and lack of preparation.
In his mind, as long as he summoned his Stellar Fate Deity, he could surely obliterate Gu Qingfeng.
Now.
He finally realized this was all just his own assumption.
Even after summoning his Stellar Fate Deity and unleashing his most powerful strength, he could not budge Gu Qingfeng in the slightest. Not just budge him—in front of Gu Qingfeng, he didn't even have the qualification to strike, to stand, to move.
He was afraid.
Utterly afraid.
Especially when his gaze met Gu Qingfeng's dark, silent eyes, it felt like falling into an endless dark abyss, enveloped by boundless terror.