"Is there such a thing?"
Gu Qingfeng glanced at Huode beside him and asked.
"Who the hell are you asking, kid?"
Huode replied irritably, "Even you don't know, so how could this old man possibly know?"
Gu Qingfeng thought carefully and did remember that when Mount Wudao descended back then, Su Hua had indeed come to find him. But as for what was said in between, he really couldn't recall. What puzzled him was, even if he had said such things, how did others come to know about it?
"Big sister, how did you know about this?"
"What do you mean 'how did I know'? The matters between Emperor Jiuyou and the Holy Maiden are known throughout the myriad realms of the heavens! Aren't you a great admirer of Emperor Jiuyou, seeing him as your idol, even taking your Dao title from his? Don't you know this?"
"This is really strange..." Gu Qingfeng was genuinely curious about how his personal affairs with Su Hua had become so widely known. Could it be that Su Hua herself had spoken of it? That seemed unlikely. Su Hua wouldn't be so bored as to share such private matters with outsiders. And from what he knew of her, she wasn't that type of person.
But if Su Hua hadn't said it, then how exactly had this spread?
He shook his head, unable to figure it out, and was too lazy to dwell on such an irritating question.
He glanced at Li Xin Xianzi and said, "So that means, no matter what request I make, you'll agree to it?"
"As long as it doesn't cross any principled bottom line, there shouldn't be a problem."
"Is that so...
Does that include yourself?"
"Myself?"
Li Xin Xianzi frowned, and after a moment of realization, she stared at Gu Qingfeng and asked, "I wonder what the Great Lord wishes of this little lady?"
"What do you think?"
At that moment, Gu Qingfeng was sprawled in his chair, one leg crossed over the other and resting on the table. His lecherous eyes swept over Li Xin's graceful figure—a veritable picture of a scoundrel.
Li Xin Xianzi naturally sensed the insinuation in his words and that he was blatantly teasing her.
Just as she was about to respond, a flash of light suddenly appeared. The Cloud-Water Sword vanished, and Qingqing awoke from her meditative state. Noticing Qingqing's pale complexion and disturbed expression, Li Xin Xianzi immediately asked with concern, "Qingqing, why do you look so unwell? What happened?
Did the fusion with the Cloud-Water Sword not go smoothly?"
"No!
It didn't. My fusion with...
with the Cloud-Water Sword went very smoothly. I just..." Upper Immortal Qingqing glanced at Gu Qingfeng, a flash of fear in her eyes before she quickly looked away.
"If the fusion went smoothly, then why is your complexion so..."
"It's nothing. Perhaps I expended too much energy during the fusion with the Cloud-Water Sword. Maybe...
I'm just too tired."
"Is that so? Then you should go back and rest first. Let me accompany the Great Lord."
"Alright...
Alright then. I'll go rest for a while."
Upper Immortal Qingqing bowed her head and curtseyed to Gu Qingfeng, saying, "G-great Lord, this junior...
is feeling unwell. I'll...
go back and rest for a moment."
"Little sister, are you alright?
Did something go wrong during the fusion with the Cloud-Water Sword? That sword has quite a temper and is rather willful. Did it throw another tantrum?
If so, tell me, and I'll discipline it."
"No!
No...
Great Lord, please don't misunderstand. This junior gets along...
very well...
with Yunshui."
"That's good then. Alright, go back and rest. We can talk more after you've recovered."
"Great Lord, this junior will take my leave now."
After Qingqing departed, Li Xin Xianzi continued drinking with Gu Qingfeng and Huode.
Outside this Xuantian vessel, on another large ship, a group of people were also drinking. The difference was, they were drinking in gloomy silence.
Among this group were Upper Immortals like Mo Baiyu, Mu Feng, Fu Ying, and Yun Zhou—all who had received the Immortal Path's Edict—as well as Immortals like Shangguan Dong, who had been conferred titles by the Immortal Path. The reason they gathered here to drink their sorrows was simple: not only had they failed to win Upper Immortal Qingqing's favor earlier, but they had also been publicly scolded by Li Xin Xianzi in front of everyone, causing them to lose face completely.
However.
What truly made them seethe with resentment wasn't the loss of face from being scolded by Li Xin Xianzi, but their jealousy and hatred towards Gu Qingfeng—a fellow with nothing to his name, whose speech and behavior were frivolous and casual. He had done nothing, yet he was so fortunate as to be invited aboard by Li Xin Xianzi to share fine wine, with Upper Immortal Qingqing herself keeping him company.
Why?
Just because he was some so-called 'Shangren'?
Or because he was the former owner of Upper Immortal Qingqing's Lingyu Sword?
To be honest.
They couldn't care less whether Gu Qingfeng was a Shangren or not. Even if he really was, they wouldn't give him a second glance.
As for whether Gu Qingfeng was or wasn't the former owner of the Lingyu Sword.
They weren't particularly concerned about that either.
In their minds, even if this so-called Shangren truly was the master of the Lingyu Sword, so what?
For Upper Immortal Qingqing to use an Immortal Sword he forged was an honor for him, a face-saving gesture. With Upper Immortal Qingqing's esteemed status, no matter whose Immortal Sword she used, it would be a tremendous honor for anyone.
Moreover, who was Upper Immortal Qingqing?
One of the Ten Great Upper Immortals renowned throughout the Great Wasteland, a peerless Upper Immortal bestowed by the Nine Heavens, a disciple of the Eternal Life Pavilion, and the direct disciple of Lord Fusheng.
Would she lack an Immortal Sword?
The answer was certain.
She would not.
Not only would she not lack one, it was no exaggeration to say that with her status, whatever type of Immortal Sword she wanted, someone would forge it for her—and they would be fighting for the chance to forge it and gift it to her. Furthermore, Upper Immortal Qingqing's master was the famous hero of the Present-Ancient Era, Lord Fusheng. Any Immortal Sword casually forged by Lord Fusheng would be a peerless treasure.
That so-called Shangren, by some stroke of dogshit luck, had forged a shoddy sword back in the day that happened to be picked up by Upper Immortal Qingqing. Not only did Upper Immortal Qingqing reforge it for him, she had also nourished it all these years, even nurturing a rare sword spirit. And this so-called Shangren, showing no gratitude, no sense of honor, actually wanted to reclaim it. Judging by his tone, it seemed he even wanted to take this opportunity to extort a hefty sum from Upper Immortal Qingqing.
It was utterly infuriating!
Not only were they displeased, even Bai Ze and Leng Jue were simmering with pent-up anger. The moment Upper Immortal Qingqing began fusing with the Cloud-Water Sword, the two had directly left and come to this large ship. Bai Ze didn't hold back, adding fuel to the fire as he recounted the events on the ship to Mo Baiyu and the others.
How Li Xin Xianzi, to express her gratitude, had prepared a table full of delicacies, including many thousand-year snow lotuses and three ten-thousand-year vermillion fruits, all of which had been devoured by that fellow—not even the pits remained, eaten clean, clearly the behavior of a worldly mortal who had never seen better things.
After eating, that scoundrel was still unsatisfied, actually wanting to eat more ten-thousand-year vermillion fruits. Even more shameless was that after finishing the table of delicacies, he had said something about being treated well with good food and drink these days, and only after he had thought of what treasures he needed would he state his conditions. Only then would he agree to hand the Lingyu Sword back to Upper Immortal Qingqing.
And Mo Baiyu and the others, already harboring jealousy and hatred towards Gu Qingfeng, upon hearing Bai Ze's words, were all so enraged that their killing intent surged!