The sun in the Fengyue Small World never set, hanging perpetually high in the sky. This endless day and night made one completely lose track of time.
However.
Whether one had a sense of time or not mattered little to cultivators.
Refining a treasure, entering seclusion—these could take a few years at least, or a hundred, even a thousand years at most. Once you got used to it, you became numb, and once numb, you stopped caring.
Having eaten and drunk his fill, Gu Qingfeng was about to go out and bask in the sun. But just as he stepped out the door, before he could even jump down from the Grand Carriage, he saw a woman walking towards him.
The woman wore a simple, unadorned white robe. Her features were delicately beautiful, and her eyes were as still as stagnant water.
It was Qiānlíng.
"Well, if it isn't Big Sister Qiānlíng?"
"Is Qiānniǎo inside?"
"That's right, she's inside refining that Blue Moon Sword. Want me to call her?"
"No need. I came to find you."
"Me?"
Gu Qingfeng was quite surprised and chuckled. "Now that's a rarity. Come on in, have a seat. Let you experience the luxury of this Grand Carriage too."
"Could we...
go for a walk instead?"
"A walk?"
Gu Qingfeng asked, "Do you have something to discuss with me?"
"I just...
wanted to chat with you."
"A chat, huh? Alright then, let's walk."
Gu Qingfeng jumped down from the Grand Carriage and followed behind Qiānlíng, strolling along the elegant paths of the floating island.
The floating island was truly sizable, with over a hundred various manors and estates. The scenery on the island was rather pleasing to the eye. Gu Qingfeng followed Qiānlíng for a while, but seeing her remain silent, he found a pavilion and sat down. "Listen, sister, if you have something to say, just say it directly. You know my Physical Body is still a bit weak right now. All this walking is getting tiring."
The pavilion stood at the edge of the floating island. Qiānlíng stood beside it, gazing down at the scenery of the Fengyue Small World. After a long while, she finally spoke. "Can you tell me... what kind of person you are?"
"What kind of person?"
Gu Qingfeng pulled out a jug of wine and took a drink. "What's with this question all of a sudden?"
"It's not 'all of a sudden.' It's not a random question. I've always wanted to ask you this."
"What else could I be? Just an ordinary, common person. You know that."
Qiānlíng suddenly turned around, her gaze fixed on Gu Qingfeng. "Are you ordinary?"
"Do I not look like an ordinary person?"
Qiānlíng stared at Gu Qingfeng for a long time, then shook her head and turned back to look at the Fengyue Small World. "An ordinary, common person wouldn't inexplicably appear in the Liusha Small World. An ordinary, common person's Physical Body wouldn't inexplicably become so bizarre. An ordinary, common person whose Physical Body is in such chaotic disarray, devoid of essence, energy, and spirit, couldn't possibly still be alive."
"I forgot about the past, didn't I?"
"You forgot."
Qiānlíng turned to stare at Gu Qingfeng again. "Or is it that you don't want to say?"
Gu Qingfeng raised his wine cup, meeting Qiānlíng's gaze with a smile. "It's not that I don't want to say. I really have forgotten."
"My cultivation years may not be long, but that doesn't mean I'm naive. An amnesiac who wakes up in a strange place, with a Physical Body in utter chaos—no matter what, they wouldn't be as carefree and idle as you, drinking and sunbathing all day."
"Then tell me, what should I have done upon waking up to qualify as an amnesiac? Regulate my Physical Body? Oh right! I am trying to regulate it, see? This fine wine is Rolling Knife Burn, these pills are Great Law Yi Jing Marrow-Refining Pills..."
"Is eating Bitter Bodhi Fruit also regulating your Physical Body?"
"This..." Gu Qingfeng rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Isn't it because drinking Rolling Knife Burn and taking Great Law Yi Jing Marrow-Refining Pills had no effect, so I thought of trying to fight poison with poison? What if it has some miraculous effect? What do you think?"
"Just how long are you going to keep hiding the truth?"
This question from Qiānlíng left Gu Qingfeng bewildered. "Big sister, I don't quite understand what you're saying. What exactly do you mean?"
"I've seen the Spirit Monkey you keep."
"You've seen my monkey?"
Gu Qingfeng didn't understand. "So what?"
"Its spiritual intelligence has awakened."
"That's normal, isn't it? Spirit Monkeys are among the wisest of Spirit Beasts. Its intelligence awakening isn't strange."
"Yes, Spirit Monkeys are indeed relatively intelligent among Spirit Beasts, and an awakened intelligence isn't strange. But the key point is, it awakened when it was only seven or eight years old. Even the most intelligent Spirit Beast would need at least several hundred years for its intelligence to awaken."
"Maybe the one I keep is special."
"The Spirit Monkey you keep is certainly special. Not only did its intelligence awaken in its youth, but it also knows how to cultivate. Not only does it know how to cultivate, but it also knows spells. Did it comprehend all of that on its own?"
"That's right, it comprehended it all itself. Don't doubt it. Sometimes monkeys have higher comprehension than people."
"You brought it with you this time, didn't you?"
"It's inside the Grand Carriage. Why?"
"Do you dare call it out for a confrontation?"
"Why wouldn't I dare?"
"Heh!"
Qiānlíng suddenly laughed.
"What are you laughing at? Don't believe me? How about we go into the Grand Carriage right now and wake that little monkey up for a confrontation?"
"No need. I've already asked."
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng's heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean, 'already asked'?"
"I understand Spirit Tongue."
"You understand Spirit Tongue?"
Upon hearing 'Spirit Tongue,' Gu Qingfeng knew the game was up. "So you communicated with it? What did it tell you?"
"Everything that should be said, and everything that shouldn't be said."
"This..." Gu Qingfeng gave an awkward smile. "I never realized you understood Spirit Tongue. Didn't see that before."
"Now, do you still dare claim you've merely lost your memory?"
"Is there a conflict? Losing my memory just means I lost my memories, not everything. I still remember some little tricks I learned before."
"Little tricks?"
"Big Sister Qiānlíng, enlightening a Spirit Beast's intelligence isn't some great skill, is it? Teaching a Spirit Beast a minor spell can only be considered a little trick at best."
"Whether enlightening a Spirit Beast's intelligence is a little trick or not, I don't know. But I do know... that you secretly enlightening me to comprehend the Heavenly Profound Ten Thousand Swords Art was definitely not a little trick."
"What Heavenly Profound Ten Thousand Swords Art? Sister, what are you talking about? I don't understand."
"Stop playing dumb with me. I know it was you who enlightened me to comprehend the Heavenly Profound Ten Thousand Swords Art ten years ago."
"Big sister, you must be misunderstanding something. I really don't know what you're talking about. I've never even heard of any Heavenly Profound Ten Thousand Swords Art."