"So it really is..." At the moment, Gu Qingfeng was leisurely sitting in the pavilion, leaning against a pillar with his legs crossed, enjoying the delicacies on the table and sipping his wine. Hearing that this mountain villa was related to him, he felt rather puzzled. He had no recollection of ever establishing any mountain villa, so he couldn't help but ask curiously, "What does this mountain villa have to do with the Crimson Sky King?"
"The 'Crimson-Letter' name is the Monarch's title."
Fei Kui, bowing respectfully, poured more wine as he explained, "In our Great Northwest territory, any enterprise bearing the 'Crimson-Letter' name—whether it's a mountain villa, a trading house, or even a gang—is under the protection of Lord Heishui."
"Lord Heishui?"
Gu Qingfeng grew more confused the more he listened. He grabbed a fresh fruit from the table and took a bite, asking, "Who is this fellow?"
"Young Master, Lord Heishui is the overlord of our Great Northwest territory, known as the King of the Great Northwest. You..." Fei Kui didn't know who Gu Qingfeng was and didn't dare to inquire. But hearing that Gu Qingfeng didn't even know of Lord Heishui truly baffled him. That was one of the giants of the Great Northwest! Anyone from the Great Northwest territory knew of Lord Heishui's formidable reputation.
"Lord Heishui? King of the Great Northwest?"
Gu Qingfeng was quite perplexed. Calculating, he had at most been away from this world for three hundred years. How did it feel like he couldn't keep up with the times? He asked, "What's this fellow's relationship with the Crimson Sky King?"
Fei Kui didn't know how lacking Gu Qingfeng's common knowledge was and momentarily didn't know where to start. He tentatively inquired, "Young Master, you know of the Crimson Sky King, right?"
"I suppose I do. And then?"
Hearing that Gu Qingfeng knew of the Crimson Sky King, Fei Kui finally let out a sigh of relief. It was fine not to know Lord Heishui, but if one hadn't even heard of the Crimson Sky King's great name in this world, Fei Kui truly wouldn't know what to say.
"Since Young Master knows of the Crimson Sky King, you must surely know of the saying: 'One person, two elders, three sects, six paths, nine mighty lords; eighteen furious generals shake the four borders, thirty-six Heavenly Stars dominate the eight directions, seventy-two Earth Fiends guard the frontiers.'"
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng couldn't help but chuckle. Holding a cup of wine, he asked, "Who said that?"
"Who said it?"
Perhaps not expecting Gu Qingfeng to ask this, Fei Kui was momentarily stunned before responding, "This... it's common knowledge, always passed down like this..."
"Alright."
Gu Qingfeng shook his head with a helpless smile, then added, "So what does this saying have to do with Lord Heishui?"
"Lord Heishui was one of the Crimson Sky King's seventy-two Earth Fiends back in the day—Heishui the Fiend."
"How strange..." Gu Qingfeng thought carefully. When he had cultivated in this world before, he had indeed founded the Chixiao Sect and led a group of brothers to conquer the world. But this nonsense about 'one person, two elders, three sects, six paths, nine mighty lords,' and 'eighteen furious generals shake the four borders, thirty-six Heavenly Stars dominate the eight directions, seventy-two Earth Fiends guard the frontiers'—this was truly the first time he'd heard of it.
Heishui the Fiend?
Gu Qingfeng searched his memories and couldn't help but recall a fellow with a bandit-like aura. He asked, "Is this Heishui the Fiend you speak of dark-skinned, tall and sturdy, with the given name Ergou? Used to be a bandit, specializing in plundering and looting?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Fei Kui's face turned pale with fright, his whole body trembling. He hurriedly looked around, and only after confirming no one else was nearby did he swallow hard, his eyes wide, throat choked, whispering, "Young Master, you can say such things in front of me, but please never say them outside... I know you're formidable, Young Master, but... but Lord Heishui is after all one of the overlords of our Great Northwest territory. That's not the important part; what's important is that Lord Heishui was one of those who followed the Monarch to sweep across the world back in the day."
"Hahaha..." Seeing Fei Kui's terrified appearance, Gu Qingfeng burst into hearty laughter. He wasn't laughing at Fei Kui's timidity but rather found it impossible to connect that reckless bandit from back then with the so-called King of the Great Northwest, Lord Heishui.
But as he laughed heartily here, he thoroughly frightened Fei Kui beside him. Fei Kui didn't dare to stop him, could only stare wide-eyed, constantly looking around, afraid others might hear.
Only after laughing for quite a while did Gu Qingfeng finally stop. Sipping his wine, he asked, "So, this mountain villa is run by Ergou... oh no, by our Lord Heishui?"
"Lord Heishui is, after all, a great figure. This mountain villa is merely under his protection. The one running the villa is Old Sen."
How capable Gu Qingfeng was, Fei Kui didn't know.
How bold he was, he also didn't know.
Of course, he didn't dare to ask too much. Fortunately, Gu Qingfeng had finally stopped laughing, and the stone hanging in Fei Kui's heart finally settled. Afraid Gu Qingfeng might laugh again, he quickly continued, "Old Sen is a highly respected senior in the surrounding area, with great prestige. But he rarely involves himself in the villa's affairs, living in seclusion. The one currently managing the villa is his disciple, Second Master Hai. Her younger sister is Ouyang Feiyue."
"Ouyang Feiyue? This family is quite interesting."
Gu Qingfeng suddenly remembered Ouyang Ye, who seemed to be Ouyang Feiyue's niece. Thinking of this, he smiled, "So, this Second Master Hai is Ouyang Ye's biological father?"
"He's considered Ouyang Ye's second uncle. Her biological father is the eldest of the Ouyang family, though not her biological father either."
Fei Kui thought for a moment, then added, "I heard Ouyang Ye was adopted by the Ouyang family, so there's no blood relation."
"I see..." Perhaps having sat for too long, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, Gu Qingfeng stood up and stretched, murmuring the name Ergou.
Originally, after this awakening, he hadn't planned to meet with those old friends from before. For one, he was now a body bearing heavenly sin—who knew when the heavens would pass judgment? For another, even if the heavens didn't pass judgment, once his identity was exposed, the Immortal Court would definitely cause trouble.
But just now, hearing Fei Kui mention Ergou, he couldn't help but recall those wild years when he led that group of brothers to conquer the world. Thinking about it carefully, it was quite nostalgic and somewhat sentimental. After all, they were all brothers who had experienced countless life-and-death situations. He wondered how they were all doing now.
Let fate decide.
If they met, he'd take a look. If not, then so be it.
Better to first clarify his own karma.
Remembering karma, Gu Qingfeng suddenly realized something important and asked, "When I returned, I was too focused on resting and forgot something important. Fei Kui, do you know any news about the other six cave dwellings?"
"These past two days, many people in the villa have been discussing it. I've also heard some things. I heard many died this time, including some multi-colored spirit geniuses and some seniors. Some sects and gangs were also wiped out because of it. I heard it was all to snatch the treasures in the cave dwelling's central eye. It seems each cave dwelling's central eye contains a Taiyin Seed."
Gu Qingfeng nodded, pondering that his guess was probably correct. Seven cave dwellings, each central eye containing a Taiyin Seed, within which should be sealed one of that woman's seven souls.
"Do you know who ended up with those Taiyin Seeds?"
"This... I only heard that the Taiyin Seed from the cave dwelling that appeared on the first day seems to have been snatched by Leng Yanqiu of the Bingxuan Sect."
"Leng Yanqiu?"
Gu Qingfeng slowly sat down again. Previously, when the Bingxuan Sect came looking for him, he seemed to have heard them mention this name. She was apparently about to become the Bingxuan Sect's sect leader, said to be a very mysterious woman.