"Then you'd better perk up your ears and listen well. Your lord here is the Great Old Master who looks down upon the firmament, dominates the Great Wasteland, and runs rampant across Heaven and Earth! 'Old' as in the 'old' of 'ancestral patriarch,' 'Master' as in the 'Master' of 'Heavenly Master,' and 'Great' as in 'I am the greatest under Heaven and Earth'—how about that?
Is that grand enough to surpass your Three Thousand Great Daos?
Hahahahahaha!"
Having said this, Gu Qingfeng couldn't help but burst into loud laughter himself.
Everyone present believed this fellow was boasting, and boasting in the most exaggerated, utterly unbelievable way. No one took it seriously, and no one mocked him, because everyone knew it was a joke—and a rather unfunny one at that.
The crowd murmured amongst themselves. Although, out of respect for Immortal Lixin and Upper Immortal Qingqing, no one stepped forward to ridicule him openly, the looks they cast at Gu Qingfeng were filled with contempt.
Yet, along with that contempt, their inner confusion only grew deeper.
A fellow who had nothing to his name and loved to boast everywhere—even if he had once been some 'Great Old Master,' at best he would have been a local tyrant or bandit roaming the mortal world. They truly couldn't understand why Lixin and Qingqing treated this fellow as an honored guest and served him with such reverence.
Immortal Lixin and Qingqing had been standing quietly all along. They were the only two in the scene who did not look down on Gu Qingfeng.
They knew that if Gu Qingfeng really was You Di, he absolutely deserved the title of 'Great Old Master who looks down upon the firmament, dominates the Great Wasteland, and runs rampant across Heaven and Earth.'
But the problem was...
Was this fellow really You Di?
Especially for Immortal Lixin, the doubts in her heart grew stronger and stronger.
Although all the signs Qingqing mentioned indicated this fellow might be You Di, Lixin had never fully believed it from the start.
She always felt this fellow was too frivolous and flighty, utterly impossible to connect with the terrifying You Di she had witnessed with her own eyes all those years ago. It was like comparing heaven to earth, a dragon or tiger to a snake or rat—they simply couldn't be mentioned in the same breath.
The legendary You Di was indeed free-spirited and unrestrained, with a casual temperament, but being free-spirited didn't mean being frivolous and flighty. A casual temperament didn't mean being sloppy and unrefined.
And then there was this fellow earlier, forcing her to say he was a good person—that was one thing.
But now he was actually boasting like this.
Yes.
The true You Di indeed deserved to be called the Great Old Master who runs rampant across Heaven and Earth.
But there was nothing wrong with others saying that—who ever heard of someone praising themselves like that?
And saying things like 'Old' as in the 'old' of 'ancestral patriarch,' 'Master' as in the 'Master' of 'Heavenly Master,' and 'Great' as in 'I am the greatest under Heaven and Earth'?
Wasn't that boasting a bit too much?
Even if this fellow really was You Di, he couldn't live up to those words!
It wasn't just Immortal Lixin who had doubts; even Upper Immortal Qingqing, who had originally believed in Gu Qingfeng without question, now began to have second thoughts. She also felt that the real You Di might not be as aloof, domineering, cold, and ruthless as the legends said, but no matter how free-spirited he was, he wouldn't shamelessly call himself a good person and boast so frivolously in front of everyone, would he?
Was this really You Di?
Was it fake?
But if it was fake, then what about the Cloudwater Sword?
What about the traces of Dao Judgment within the sword spirit's world?
That Cloudwater Sword looked exactly like one of You Di's legendary Five Elements Swords.
Could it be that the Cloudwater Sword recognized the wrong person?
Could it be that this fellow wasn't You Di at all?
This...
Was that possible?
She didn't know.
Upper Immortal Qingqing was also feeling a bit dazed now.
Both Immortal Lixin and Upper Immortal Qingqing were growing more and more doubtful about whether Gu Qingfeng was truly You Di. Along with their doubts, their hearts were filled with immense complexity. They both hoped Gu Qingfeng wasn't the real You Di, yet also hoped that he was.
They hoped he wasn't You Di because they both knew that if You Di were to die and return to life, it would pose an extremely terrifying threat to the Myriad Heavens and Worlds, the Three Thousand Great Daos, all living beings, and the entire Great Wasteland Heaven and Earth.
As part of those living beings, they naturally also didn't wish for such a terrifying existence as You Di to return.
They hoped Gu Qingfeng was the real You Di because ever since suspecting he might be You Di, they had done everything they should have done, and even things they shouldn't have. They poured wine and served him, played music, gave massages, knelt before him, and even beat Bai Ze half to death. They could be said to have lost all face and dignity in front of everyone, including the dignity and prestige of the Eternal Life Pavilion.
If this fellow really was You Di, then so be it—losing face was losing face.
But if this fellow wasn't You Di, then today they would have lost face all the way to their grandmother's house.
If word got out in the future, they both knew very well that the two of them would become a colossal joke throughout the Myriad Heavens and Worlds. Even Fusheng Dijun, and even the prestige of the Eternal Life Pavilion, would have their dignity utterly tarnished by their actions today.
Thinking of this, Immortal Lixin and Upper Immortal Qingqing felt like dying. They were filled with regret, regret so intense they wished they could slap themselves hard several times. Why had they been so impulsive, acting out of fear without even verifying the truth? They had cowered so completely they didn't dare make a peep, and had even eagerly fawned over him.
No.
This couldn't go on.
They had to figure out whether this fellow was really You Di.
They couldn't keep serving him in this muddled state.
Otherwise, they would truly lose face all the way to their grandmother's house, and they might as well not even leave the house again...
They might as well find a place to kill themselves; they'd have no face left to live on.
But...
How could they figure out if this fellow was really You Di?
Test him?
How to test him?
The most direct and fastest method was to take action, to first see this fellow's strength.
But what if...
What if this fellow really was You Di? Taking action against him would be no different from seeking death.
But if they didn't test him by taking action...
Then what should they do?
There was no other way to test his authenticity.
Heavens!
What should they do?
The more Immortal Lixin and Upper Immortal Qingqing thought about it, the more they felt like collapsing. The more they felt like collapsing, the more they regretted their actions.
Suddenly.
Immortal Lixin thought of a method. She might not dare to test him by taking action, but that didn't mean others didn't dare. Weren't Jinyan and Wuhua, that couple, here today precisely because Yuanwu had been beaten? Although it wasn't this Great Old Master who had beaten Yuanwu, now that Old Daoist Huode wasn't here, this Great Old Master couldn't escape responsibility either.
Thinking of this, Immortal Lixin gradually formed a plan in her heart. She immediately sent a secret voice transmission to Qingqing: "Qingqing, that dog-man and dog-woman Jinyan and Wuhua are clearly here because of Yuanwu being beaten. It might be because of our relationship that they don't dare act rashly for now. Later, I'll think of a way to distance ourselves from the matter and let them feel free to take action."
"Elder Sister, you mean...
You want Jinyan and his wife to take action to test this...
Great Old Master?"
Qingqing was also exceedingly clever. Hearing Immortal Lixin's words, she instantly guessed her inner thoughts.
"What else?
Or should we just keep serving this lord in this muddled state?
What if he's a fake? How will we two ever show our faces again? We'll be laughed to death! If word gets out in the future, everyone will say that Lixin of the Eternal Life Pavilion was so scared by a fake You Di that she knelt and gave massages, almost stripping naked and throwing herself at him...
Your elder sister here hasn't even married yet! I still want some face!
!"
"But what if he really is You Di?
Have you thought about the consequences?"
"If he really is...
Wouldn't that be just fine?
After all, it wouldn't be us taking action. Even if he blames someone, it wouldn't be us, right?
Jinyan and his wife came here specifically for them anyway. We'd just be...
We'd just be playing a little dumb, that's all."