Many within the crowd stepped forward to angrily rebuke Gu Qingfeng. Then Fuying, who possessed dual mandates, also stepped forward to berate him: "Immortal Li Xin is a revered figure from the Ancient Era, and a senior of the Eternal Life Pavilion. What are you, to dare show such disrespect to Immortal Li Xin!"
Following that, Upper Immortal Yunzhou also rebuked: "Truly knows neither the height of the heavens nor the depth of the earth. He's merely a Worthy One, nothing extraordinary."
"More than just not knowing the heavens and earth, he simply has no regard for his own life," Upper Immortal Mufeng chimed in: "Let alone the fact that he is merely a Worthy One who has received the Human Path mandate, even if he were a Human Sovereign who received the mandate of Heaven, he would have to lie low obediently in the Great Desolate!"
"What Worthy One or not, in my Yuanwu's eyes, the so-called masses of the Human Path are nothing but lowly ants." Upper Immortal Yuanwu stood imposingly in mid-air, pointing accusingly at Gu Qingfeng as he roared: "A lowly ant dares to be so arrogant and presumptuous in the Great Desolate. I think you're looking for death!"
Immediately after, Mo Baiyu also spoke: "Sir, you are far too arrogant and contemptuous of others. Immortal Li Xin is a revered figure of the Eternal Life Pavilion, and a senior we all admire. For you to refer to yourself as 'Lord' in front of Immortal Li Xin insults not only us, but also Upper Immortal Qingqing, Old Lady Jin Hua, Fuying, and even the Eternal Life Pavilion itself, which has been passed down since antiquity!"
As Mo Baiyu, Fuying, Yunzhou, Mufeng, and Yuanwu—these Upper Immortals—stepped forward, more and more people within the crowd came forward to denounce and berate Gu Qingfeng.
Of course.
It was only denunciation, only berating.
No one actually made a move.
Not that they didn't want to, but they didn't dare.
If possible, they all wished to step forward at this moment and teach this so-called Worthy One a harsh lesson for his disrespectful words towards Immortal Li Xin.
Although they had all come for Upper Immortal Qingqing, and Qingqing herself was not present at the moment.
But that wasn't important.
As long as they stood up for Immortal Li Xin, it was equivalent to standing up for Upper Immortal Qingqing. Moreover, once Upper Immortal Qingqing emerged, she would undoubtedly learn of this matter.
They did not expect to win Upper Immortal Qingqing's favor with this incident, nor even hoped she would be grateful. Simply being able to use this opportunity to meet Upper Immortal Qingqing a few more times was enough.
Unfortunately, no one dared to seize such a rare chance to make an impression.
The reason was simple. Although they all claimed with their mouths that a Worthy One was nothing extraordinary in the Present Era, that was merely lip service. What they said did not necessarily reflect what they truly thought.
Since they were able to receive the mandate of the Immortal Path, they were no ordinary individuals. They might be arrogant and conceited, but they were definitely not blindly overconfident. They all clearly understood that without understanding the other party's family background, cultivation, and strength, it was best not to act rashly.
Furthermore, they didn't even know what kind of existence Gu Qingfeng was, so how could they dare act recklessly? Especially with Gu Qingfeng's utterly fearless and leisurely demeanor, it made them even more uncertain.
In their minds, this so-called Worthy One must have some kind of backing. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so fearless, nor would he dare to be so arrogant as to refer to himself as 'Lord' in front of Immortal Li Xin.
But as for what backing Gu Qingfeng possessed, none of them knew, nor could they imagine what kind of backing would dare disregard even someone like Immortal Li Xin from the Eternal Life Pavilion.
They had initially hoped Yuanwu would make a move to test Gu Qingfeng.
Strangely, Yuanwu, who usually loved to show off and throw his weight around, was at this moment only shouting fierce rebukes—all thunder and no rain.
In truth.
While they were waiting for Yuanwu to act, Yuanwu was also waiting for them to act.
To be fair, Yuanwu did love the limelight and loved to show off, to display himself before others.
He dared to clash fiercely with Mo Baiyu, dared to clash fiercely with Fuying, because he knew Mo Baiyu and Fuying's family backgrounds, cultivation, and strength, and knew they wouldn't dare do anything to him.
Mo Baiyu and the others wanted to use this opportunity to make an impression, to have Upper Immortal Qingqing owe them a favor.
And Yuanwu wanted even more for Upper Immortal Qingqing to owe him a favor.
However.
The enigmatic Gu Qingfeng made Mo Baiyu and the others wary, and likewise made Yuanwu wary.
Gu Qingfeng's leisurely, fearless demeanor, daring to refer to himself as 'Lord' in front of Immortal Li Xin, left Mo Baiyu uncertain, and likewise left Yuanwu uncertain.
Mo Baiyu and the others dared not act rashly, and Yuanwu dared even less.
Yet.
Facing such a bizarre existence as Gu Qingfeng, those who dared not act rashly and were uncertain were not limited to them. They also included Baize and Lengjue.
Baize was a disciple of the Eternal Life Pavilion, and Lengjue was a disciple of Danding Valley. Both came from the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands. Whether in terms of status and background, cultivation and strength, or mental fortitude and vision, they were not on the same level as Upper Immortals like Mo Baiyu. Precisely because of this, they were even more wary of Gu Qingfeng's existence, and even more uncertain.
Because, like Old Lady Jin Hua, they knew the legends about Worthy Ones were not exaggerated, but truly as described in the tales—possessing immense strength and vast supernatural powers.
Although they both felt that if Gu Qingfeng were truly a Worthy One, he shouldn't be devoid of any cultivation or fortune.
But if he were false, what gave him the right to be so brazenly fearless?
They didn't know.
Neither Baize nor Lengjue had any idea.
In their minds, if Gu Qingfeng wasn't a Worthy One, then he wasn't particularly fearsome. But if he truly was a Worthy One, then he was not someone they could afford to provoke.
It was true they were disciples of the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands.
With the immense backing of the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, under normal circumstances, no one dared to kill them. Not only did no one dare kill them, but most immortal clans and families across the myriad realms would treat them with respect, bowing or greeting them upon meeting, and they would be honored guests wherever they went.
However.
That was only under normal circumstances.
There were also abnormal circumstances.
If they encountered those desperadoes roaming the Great Desolate, or perhaps bloodthirsty, ruthless ancient demons, or those resurrected ancient mighty beings... these existences wouldn't care if you were a disciple of the Thirty-Six Heavens or the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands. If you offended them, they would kill you without a second thought.
Others might not know.
But as disciples of the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, they were well aware that since ancient times, many disciples of the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands had died outside.
Most importantly, in the Present Era, with the revival of all things, many ancient existences had resurrected and returned. Even the Guixu had collapsed. Before this outing, the elders of the Eternal Life Pavilion had specifically instructed them to be cautious and careful when outside, to act with low profile, and especially when encountering those mysterious, unknown, strange, and bizarre existences, they must keep their distance and avoid provoking them.
Therefore, they too were afraid. Afraid that Gu Qingfeng might be one of those ancient Worthy Ones who had resurrected and returned.