After Mu Lingyao finished speaking, Xuan Yun could no longer contain himself. He raised his head and shouted angrily, "Mu Lingyao! What does my wager with others have to do with you!"
"I never said it had anything to do with me."
"Then why are you standing there making sarcastic remarks!"
"This young lady feels like it. Is that any of your business?"
"You!"
If it were anyone else daring to humiliate them so publicly today, whether it was Xuan Yun, Bai Yufei, or Liu Feng, all three would have immediately made them pay a heavy price without hesitation. But facing Mu Lingyao, whose family background was so powerful, none of the three had the courage, even with their elders present.
"Yun'er, do not be presumptuous!" Old Senior Dan Lei reprimanded Xuan Yun.
As an experienced and widely-traveled old senior, he understood clearly that the current situation wasn't about whether Mu Lingyao's family background was powerful or not. Even if it were someone without a powerful background, he would still have scolded Xuan Yun. Because regarding the wager, they had simply lost. And with the matter blown up so publicly, the best solution now was to minimize the issue, let small matters dissolve, and pacify the situation. The worst thing would be to escalate it further—the bigger the fuss, the greater the humiliation they would suffer.
The Lotus Secret Realm had been passed down since ancient times and enjoyed a good reputation in the Dual-Pole Celestial Domain. Losing a fight wasn't a big deal; losing a bet wasn't either. But if they lost a bet and then refused to acknowledge it, acting like sore losers—that was a loss of face the Lotus Secret Realm absolutely could not afford.
As for the Golden Crow Liu Family and the Prestigious Bai Family, although their influence wasn't as great as the Lotus Secret Realm's and their reputation wasn't as sterling, they were still, respectively, an Immortal Family and a prestigious clan. If it were just some squabbling among juniors, it wouldn't matter much. But now that their elders had stepped in to intervene, they had to acknowledge the bet. After all, they were all respected seniors with status in the Dual-Pole Celestial Domain. Refusing to honor a lost bet—such a shameful act—was something they simply couldn't bring themselves to do.
Whether it was an ancient Secret Realm, an Immortal Family, or a prestigious clan, to establish themselves in the Dual-Pole Celestial Domain and endure through generations, besides relying on their own formidable strength, they depended even more on their accumulated reputation over time.
If their reputation was poor, in the long run, forget about prestigious clans, forget about Immortal Families—even ancient, inherited Secret Realms would eventually be eliminated.
Of course.
Besides this, there was an even more important reason.
That was the mysterious Great Old Master who had made the bet with Xuan Yun and the other two. His existence was too mysterious, too bizarre, too peculiar and unknown. None of them knew who this Great Old Master truly was. But one thing they all understood clearly: this Great Old Master, who could effortlessly ascend to the eighty-first layer of the Tower of Stolen Gold, was definitely no ordinary figure, and certainly not as simple as he appeared on the surface. His existence might be beyond imagination.
Youngsters like Xuan Yun, Bai Yufei, and Liu Feng might not take it seriously, thinking it was no big deal. In their minds, even if this Great Old Master was once some exalted expert with powerful Divine Sense, it was just Divine Sense. What use was powerful Divine Sense? With his Cultivation Level completely lost, he was like a toothless tiger, not worth fearing at all.
Old Senior Dan Lei and the others also acknowledged that in the Great Wasteland, many senior experts had cultivation go awry, leading to the complete loss of their Cultivation Level. Their situation was indeed like that of a toothless tiger.
But the problem now was this.
Although this mysterious Great Old Master had lost his Cultivation Level, he had still managed to scare four Great White Gold Immortals to death on Floating Sky Island. This alone was enough to illustrate one point: losing one's Cultivation Level did not mean losing one's strength.
Moreover, old seniors like Dan Lei, who had cultivated for thousands upon thousands of years, all knew this: formidable cultivation strength wasn't scary; a powerful family background wasn't scary either. What was truly frightening was not knowing how formidable the other party's cultivation strength was, nor how deep their family background ran.
Facing such a person, the best approach was to keep a respectful distance.
Otherwise, if the other party turned out to be some mysterious exalted expert, they might face utter annihilation.
This was no exaggeration at all. Throughout history, such incidents were not uncommon. In the Dual-Pole Celestial Domain, some powerful Secret Realms had been completely wiped out because they provoked someone they shouldn't have.
In the minds of Old Senior Dan Lei and the others, even if this mysterious Great Old Master wasn't such a person, he was certainly not far from it.
Since they didn't know the Great Old Master and were unaware of his temperament, Old Senior Dan Lei and the others found it inappropriate to plead on behalf of Xuan Yun and the other two. They had originally intended to ask Mu Lingyao to put in a good word for them, but who knew Mu Lingyao would directly state that she just wanted to borrow the tiger's might to show off, to mock and ridicule Xuan Yun and the others. As for pleading? Sorry, that wasn't her concern. If they wanted to plead, they should go beg the Great Old Master themselves.
Old Senior Dan Lei pondered for a moment, then walked over to the side of the Nine Firecloud Crimsonflame Tigers Grand Carriage. He cupped his hands and said, "This old one is Dan Lei of the Lotus Secret Realm. I pay my respects to the Great Old Master."
Not knowing Gu Qingfeng's depths, Dan Lei didn't dare to put on airs. Moreover, he was currently pleading for Xuan Yun, so he naturally had to adopt a humble posture. Adding to that, the Tower of Stolen Gold's Grand Steward, Old Senior Luo—his peer—had also addressed him as Great Old Master. After careful consideration, he could only use the same respectful title.
Dan Lei had cultivated for tens of thousands of years. Both his Cultivation Level and seniority were greater than those of Bai Teng of the Prestigious Bai Family and Liu Kaiyun of the Golden Crow Liu Family. Now that he was addressing Gu Qingfeng as Great Old Master, when Bai Teng and Liu Kaiyun approached, they first introduced their own identities, then, like Dan Lei, respectfully addressed him as Great Old Master and performed the greeting ritual.
Logically speaking, with three old seniors like Dan Lei paying their respects and addressing him as Great Old Master, even if the other party didn't rise to return the courtesy, he should at least respond politely and courteously. After all, these three were all senior experts of considerable influence in the Dual-Pole Celestial Domain, especially Dan Lei, who had cultivated for tens of thousands of years and was an elder of the Lotus Secret Realm. Throughout the entire Dual-Pole Celestial Domain, there were absolutely few people who could make him adopt such a low posture.
However.
To everyone's surprise, that mysterious Great Old Master neither rose to return the courtesy nor responded politely or courteously. He didn't even utter a single word in reply. He remained seated in that wide, comfortable chair, legs crossed, body tilted to one side. One hand rested on the armrest, toying with two Earth Fiend Mysterious Wonder Orbs, while the other held the Purple-Gold White Jade Smoking Pipe. He squinted his eyes slightly, looking at Dan Lei and the other two. But he was merely looking—not a single word, not a single syllable, escaped his lips.
Old Master Ma stood obediently to the side, holding a wine jug, attending to Gu Qingfeng's fine wine.
Mu Lingyao, Huadiexianzi, Qiānlíng, and Qiānniǎo stood behind. They glanced at Dan Lei, Liu Kaiyun, Bai Teng, and the others, then looked at Gu Qingfeng in his current state.
Previously, when they were with Gu Qingfeng, they all felt this fellow was sloppy and roguish, especially the way he sat in this chair—it gave them the impression of being as frivolous as could be.
But for some reason.
At this very moment, when Dan Lei and the others came forward to cup their hands and pay respects, Gu Qingfeng was still sitting casually in the chair in the same manner, still with his legs crossed, still smoking his spiritual smoke. Yet, their impression of Gu Qingfeng was no longer one of frivolity, but rather an indescribable, elusive feeling.