Huode pondered that someone who could casually rub their hands together and forge a wine cup identical to the Taixu Cup—such an existence was probably even more formidable than You Di himself!
A sudden jolt went through Huode's heart, reminding him of something.
It was said that in the Present-Ancient Era, with all things reviving, not only had many ancient mighty ones returned, but even those suppressed within the Guixu had also emerged.
Could it be that the lord before him was one of them?
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
If that were truly the case...
Then even invoking You Di's name might not be enough to intimidate him, and probably not even the Saintess Niangniang would suffice.
After all, those suppressed in the Guixu were all monstrous demon overlords like Chi You, Xing Tian, Hou Qing, and Jiang Chen.
"I say, Huode," Gu Qingfeng chuckled. "Who do you think I look like?"
"Who you look like?"
Huode stared at Gu Qingfeng. Although he found him somewhat familiar, he couldn't pinpoint who he resembled. Suddenly, he realized something was off and exclaimed in shock, "How do you know my name?"
Huode thought carefully.
He had never told this lord his name. How did he know?
Could he have deduced it from the legends about You Di?
But that couldn't be!
While it was true that You Di's legends were widely circulated throughout the myriad realms...
Those tales mentioned the Borderland Queen Feng Zhuyue, the Empress Tang Hengheng, the Female Sect Master Ye Tianlan, and the World-Honored Empress Jun Xuanji. They also mentioned the Yunxia Sect, but the records focused on You Di's first woman, Hong Xiu, who was the incarnation of Yun Nishang. As for the name 'Huode,' there was no record of it at all, and outsiders didn't know that someone named Huode existed on You Di's cultivation path.
How on earth did this fellow know his name was Huode?
Huode grew somewhat fearful, increasingly sensing that the person before him was too terrifying.
"I not only know your Dao title is Huode, but I also know your original surname is Zhang, your given name is Mo Dao, your childhood nickname is Er Gou, and people call you 'Fire Dog.'"
"You!"
Huode froze, his eyes wide, his expression one of utter shock, his heart filled with overwhelming panic.
He never imagined that the youth opposite him not only knew his Dao title but also his original name, his childhood nickname, and even his moniker.
One must understand, this was the vast, boundless Great Desolate that encompassed the myriad realms.
Never mind the Great Desolate—even back in the mundane world he came from, few people knew his original name, not even his friends or the disciples of Yunxia Sect.
Let alone his childhood nickname?
Because his nickname was 'Er Gou' (Second Dog), which sounded awful, he had almost never mentioned it to outsiders. In fact, if this youth hadn't brought it up, he would have forgotten he even had such a childhood name.
As for the moniker, that was given to him by You Di.
Wait...
Could it be that this fellow wasn't just putting on a mysterious act earlier, but actually knew You Di?
And had truly drunk with You Di?
"You...
You!
Just who are you?
How...
How do you know so much?"
Perhaps because he was genuinely terrified, Huode's face turned pale, cold sweat poured down his back, and his speech became stammering.
"Who am I?
Heh!"
Gu Qingfeng, who had been sitting in the chair, suddenly stood up. With a lift of his foot, he appeared right in front of Huode. Huode was so frightened he collapsed onto the floor, looking up with his mouth agape, staring in horror.
"Didn't you just say you were very familiar with me?
That you drank with me and listened to tunes a few years back? How come you don't even know who I am now?"
Perhaps due to sheer terror, Huode's thoughts were chaotic at that moment, and his reactions were sluggish.
He didn't recall saying he was very familiar with the lord before him.
Nor did he remember saying he drank or listened to tunes with this lord.
That was about You Di, about that kid Gu!
Wait!
At this thought, Huode seemed to realize something. He stared fixedly at Gu Qingfeng and shouted, "You!
You!
You!
You!
You!
You!"
Pointing at Gu Qingfeng, Huode stammered 'you' for a long time without getting anywhere. He took a deep breath, swallowed some saliva, and blurted out, "What do you mean?
You...
You're saying you...
You!
Could it be...
Could it be...
Could you be You Di?
No!
You are...
You're Gu...
Kid Gu?"
Gu Qingfeng slowly crouched down, looking at him with a smile. "Obviously. Otherwise, who did you think I was? In all the myriad realms, besides me, is there a second person who knows you, old man, inside out?"
Boom!
At that moment, Huode felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His mind went blank, dizzy and disoriented, the world spinning around him.
His spirit scattered, his thoughts froze, and his consciousness turned numb.
Gu Qingfeng hadn't expected to encounter Huode in the vast, boundless Great Desolate.
And Huode, likewise, never imagined he would meet Gu Qingfeng.
No!
It wasn't that he hadn't thought about it.
He simply didn't dare to think about it.
He didn't even know whether Gu Qingfeng was alive or dead.
Back then.
After Gu Qingfeng had reconstructed his physical body for him, Huode had remained in a state of chaos. When he finally regained consciousness, a thousand years had already passed in the Present-Ancient Era. It was only afterward that he learned Gu Qingfeng had died a thousand years earlier, having ignited the Original Sin Karmic Flames and turned to ashes.
To be honest.
At first, Huode didn't believe Gu Qingfeng was truly dead.
Based on his understanding of Gu Qingfeng, he felt that life and death were like everyday occurrences to him. He also clearly remembered Gu Qingfeng saying that as long as he didn't want to die, no one could kill him.
However.
As Huode gradually learned more about Original Sin and understood the meaning behind the words 'Original Sin Karmic Flames,' he went from firmly believing Gu Qingfeng wasn't dead and wouldn't die to gradually beginning to doubt.
So.
He left the mundane world and came to the Great Desolate.
He originally thought that as long as he met the Saintess Niangniang, Su Hua, he would learn whether Gu Qingfeng was dead or if he would come back to life.
Unfortunately.
He didn't get the answer he wanted from Su Hua.
In the end.
Huode could only wander the Great Desolate alone, searching while inquiring about news of Gu Qingfeng. The reason he took up the banner of 'subduing demons and vanquishing evil' was to see if he could gather information about Gu Qingfeng from the demonic beings, since Gu Qingfeng had once been the Nine Nethers Emperor, ruling over the demonic and ghostly Daos.
Alas.
After wandering the Great Desolate for so many years and interacting with numerous demons and ghosts, he still hadn't heard any news about Gu Qingfeng.
Later, he came up with another idea.
That was to fly Gu Qingfeng's flag, claiming to be Gu Qingfeng's ancestral master, committing all sorts of misdeeds and acting tyrannically everywhere. His goal was also to use this method to see if he could gather information about Gu Qingfeng.
The result was the same: he never heard any news about Gu Qingfeng.
Huode didn't give up, though. Since he had nothing else to do anyway, and idleness was idleness, as long as he hadn't confirmed that Gu Qingfeng was truly and utterly dead, he planned to keep searching.