At this moment.
Everyone in the gambling house was dumbfounded, all looking over with incredulous gazes.
Here.
The white-robed man sat quietly in his chair. He did not respond, not even sparing a glance. He merely held the wine pot, pouring himself a cup. His cold, stern face seemed devoid of any emotional color, very placid, like a silent sea, without a single ripple.
"The Jin family's juniors have offended you today, Young Lord. I hope you, a great man, will not hold it against these petty people. Considering... considering their youth and ignorance, their lack of awareness of your esteemed might, please forgive them. I... I kowtow to apologize to you, Young Lord... I beg for your forgiveness!"
True Being Da Qian knelt on the ground, respectful, pleading, afraid, and terrified, kowtowing with loud thuds!
This scene stunned everyone.
"Ancestor, you..." Jin Jun and Jin Hui were just about to speak when True Being Da Qian suddenly roared: "Beasts! Hurry up and kowtow to apologize to the Young Lord!"
With that, he pressed their heads down, smashing them against the floor.
This scene was too bizarre!
Bizarre to the point of not just being unbelievable, but starting to send chills down one's spine. Even the well-traveled Elder Yan was holding his breath at this moment, his expression fearful, eyes wide, mouth agape, wanting to say something but hesitating.
Why?
Why on earth?
Just who is this white-robed man!
Others might not know.
Only True Being Da Qian knew in his heart.
Although two days had passed since leaving the cave dwelling, what happened then was still reverberating in his mind, unable to be shaken off or dispersed.
He would never forget the terror of the man before him—raising a hand to summon thunder, wielding immense force, wiping out lives with a flick of a finger, acting with unbridled arrogance.
He did not know exactly who Gu Qingfeng was, nor did he know the true extent of Gu Qingfeng's strength.
But he knew that Gu Qingfeng killed people as easily as slaughtering dogs. Even Murong Fei of the Nine-Hua Alliance, with his special bloodline, was utterly defeated before him. The mysterious Lord Wei Qing did not even dare to raise his head in his presence. However, this was not the real reason he was kneeling here today. The truth was that in the cave dwelling, he had personally witnessed Gu Qingfeng, with a single inhalation, completely drain the inexhaustible Tai Yin Spiritual Qi from the cave dwelling's eye.
That was Tai Yin Spiritual Qi!
An ordinary person would need years or even decades to refine just a wisp. Even with his thousand-year-old, pure Golden Core nurtured within his Violet Palace Dantian, he dared at most to absorb a little Tai Yin Spiritual Qi. Any more, and his Golden Core could not withstand it, nor could his Violet Palace Dantian or meridians.
Yet this person had sucked dry the hundreds of millions of Tai Yin Spiritual Qi from the cave dwelling's eye in one breath, completely unaffected.
True Being Da Qian did not know what kind of person could be so formidable, but one thing he was absolutely clear about: the existence of the person before him was extremely terrifying, terrifying far beyond imagination, terrifying to a degree he simply could not afford to provoke.
At this moment, a servant from the gambling house walked in. He had come to deliver wine to Gu Qingfeng.
When the servant returned and saw this scene, he was also scared stiff, holding the storage bag and frozen in place.
"Fei Kui."
Finally, the white-robed man stood up. However, he did not acknowledge the kowtowing True Being Da Qian. After finishing the wine in his cup, he called out Fei Kui's name.
"Young Lord."
Fei Kui bowed, responding softly, his voice trembling slightly.
"Settle the bill."
Leaving these two words, Gu Qingfeng walked over, took the storage bag from the servant's hand, and left directly.
Just like that, he left.
From beginning to end, he paid no attention to True Being Da Qian. Even as he departed, he did not spare a single glance.
"Elder Yan, how much for the wine?"
Fei Kui asked.
Elder Yan stared wide-eyed at this short, fat, somewhat ugly man wearing loose robes, his mouth agape but unsure how to respond. It wasn't that he didn't know, but he was scared—scared to the point of being speechless.
"How about... we put it on the account for now? The Young Lord will be staying at the manor for a few more days."
"Alright!"
Elder Yan nodded forcefully, uttering a single 'alright,' his voice also trembling.
The gambling house was a place where all sorts gathered. Elder Yan had seen all kinds of strange and unusual events, big and small. But he had never encountered such a bizarre person, such a bizarre event—bizarre to the point where one dared not dwell on it, for dwelling on it led to extreme fear.
"Sir, wait!"
Just as Fei Kui was about to leave, True Being Da Qian called out to stop him. He raised his head, his forehead already bleeding from the kowtowing. Looking at Fei Kui, he pleaded: "Earlier, it was my Jin family's juniors who offended you, sir. I hope you, a great man, will be magnanimous and not hold it against them. If... if possible, I hope you can put in a good word for us before the Young Lord. We... would be eternally grateful!"
Fei Kui glanced at him, said nothing, and left directly, leaving behind a True Being Da Qian filled with worry and fear.
Only after Fei Kui had left did Jin Hui and Jin Jun dare to ask: "Ancestor! Why! Why on earth! Why did you do this? Why were you so respectful to that person! Who is he!"
"Shut up!"
True Being Da Qian slapped both of them across the face again, his face flushed with anger as he berated: "You two beasts nearly brought disaster upon our Jin family! Do you have any idea!"
Brought disaster upon the Jin family?
This...
Jin Jun and Jin Hui were both beaten into fear and terror, standing there dumbfounded, completely stupefied.
"Why did you have to provoke him!"
True Being Da Qian glared, almost roaring in fury: "Why! You two beasts truly have no regard for your own lives!"
Among those who had come were several old-timers from the Liujin Region. They had been drinking tea and chatting with True Being Da Qian at the tea manor, discussing matters of the cave dwelling. Hearing that Jin family juniors had been beaten at the manor, they had also rushed over. They just hadn't expected True Being Da Qian to be so terrified of that young man.
They were old friends of True Being Da Qian, well aware of his character. They knew that even facing the Nine-Hua Alliance, True Being Da Qian would not be this afraid. Just who could that young man be?
While puzzled, they couldn't help but recall what True Being Da Qian had mentioned about the cave dwelling and the person inside it during their tea chat. Thinking of True Being Da Qian's terrified demeanor just now, the several old-timers seemed to realize something. One asked gravely: "Da Qian, that person just now... could it be... could it be Young Lord Chiyan, Gu Qingfeng?"
True Being Da Qian closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded.
Upon hearing the name Young Lord Chiyan, Gu Qingfeng, the gambling house immediately erupted into commotion, with everyone discussing fervently.
After the Great Nature Spirit Transformation, seven mysterious cave dwellings had appeared in the surrounding regions. For the past two days, rumors had been flying.
Some said there were ancient secret treasures within the seven cave dwellings. To compete for these treasures, many families, sects, and even gangs in the surrounding regions had lost many people. Some sects had even been annihilated.
There were rumors that Leng Yanqiu of the Bingxuan Sect had killed many people to seize the ancient secret treasures.
Others said experts from the Nine-Hua Alliance had slaughtered many masters to compete for the treasures.
However, the most rampant rumors about the seven cave dwellings were neither about the Bingxuan Sect nor the Nine-Hua Alliance, but about Young Lord Chiyan, Gu Qingfeng.
Some said that to compete for the ancient secret treasures in the cave dwellings, he had not only killed two Color-Spirit geniuses and several elders of the Lingdu Sect, but also a Color-Spirit genius and many elders of the Bingxuan Sect. Most terrifyingly, it was said he had even killed Lord Murong Fei of the Nine-Hua Alliance.
Many people knew that for the past two days, people from the Lingdu Sect, Bingxuan Sect, and the Nine-Hua Alliance had been searching everywhere for Gu Qingfeng.
No one had imagined he was hiding in Chixu Manor.
"Ancestor, even if that person is Gu Qingfeng, you... you also... didn't need to kowtow to him, did you? He killed so many people in the cave dwellings. Right now, the Lingdu Sect, Bingxuan Sect, and Nine-Hua Alliance are all looking for him. He won't even know how he dies. Why... why did you still... kowtow to him."
The one who said this was a senior member of the Jin family. As soon as he finished, True Being Da Qian slapped him!
"Hold your tongue!"
True Being Da Qian's face was ashen, his breathing heavy as he shouted: "From now on, stay far away if you see Young Lord Chiyan! Starting today, even his name is not to be mentioned! If I ever find out anyone disrespecting him, whether openly or secretly, I'll be the first to kill them!"
Why?
This was the answer everyone wanted to know.
However, the answer to this question was known only to True Being Da Qian alone. He would not say, and he dared not say.