"Spending the rest of my life in peace and quiet?
That sounds so old-fashioned, big sister. Not to criticize you, but with such splendid youth, if you don't go out and squander it recklessly, you'd be doing yourself a great disservice. Otherwise, what's the point of cultivating, seeking the Dao, or becoming an immortal? Time, this thing, is meant to be squandered. Only when squandered does it become 'time'; otherwise, it's just years and days passing by. And only by squandering it can you feel you've let down all that bitter cultivation from back in the day."
Gu Qingfeng chuckled teasingly. "Big sister, don't you think that's the truth?"
"Did Your Majesty the You Emperor cultivate so bitterly back then just so you could recklessly squander time today?"
"Of course."
Gu Qingfeng shrugged. "Otherwise, only a fool would cultivate."
Feiyue shook her head helplessly, unsure how to respond to Gu Qingfeng's words.
"Sister, honestly, with such a vast Heaven and Earth, don't you really want to go see it?"
"No."
"Alright, to each their own."
Gu Qingfeng stood up, casually strolling through the garden while looking at the flowers and plants. "Actually...
Come to think of it, spending the rest of my life peacefully here isn't a bad thing either. The days might be plain and simple, but at least there's not so much scheming and deception. If possible, I'd like to spend my remaining years here in peace too."
Hearing this, a strange glint flashed in Feiyue's eyes. "Yeye once said something similar."
"Really?"
Gu Qingfeng asked, then let out an "oh" before falling silent.
"Your Majesty the You Emperor, did you know Yeye once came to Yunxia Sect?"
"I heard Huode mention it. Seems she even gifted a Seven-Colored Exquisite Tree. The Empress of the Great Nature is truly the Empress of the Great Nature—her generosity is truly remarkable. For Yunxia Sect to have had a disciple like her back then, their ancestral graves must have been smoking with good fortune."
"Yeye said she has been a disciple of Yunxia Sect for two lifetimes and shares a deep karmic bond with it. The Seven-Colored Exquisite Tree was a token of her sentiment."
"That makes sense."
Gu Qingfeng asked lightly, "How is she now?
Is she well?"
"Not well."
"Not well?"
Gu Qingfeng said, "She's become the Empress of the Great Nature, and she's still not well?
Even the ancestors of the Three Thousand Great Daos have to show her some respect. If she's not well, then no one in all of Heaven and Earth is doing well."
"Yeye said she doesn't like her current life. In fact, you could say...
she despises it. Yeye also said she hates who she is now and misses her former self."
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng laughed. "What a coincidence. I despise my current life too, but what can I do? Despise it as I may, life must go on, right? And, to be honest, I also hate who I am now and miss my younger self. But all I can do is miss him."
Stretching lazily, Gu Qingfeng continued, "When we're young, everyone dreams of growing up to become their ideal selves. But who knew that after growing up, not only do we fail to become that ideal self, we end up becoming the very person we hated the most? Everyone's the same; no one's an exception."
Sitting back in his chair, Gu Qingfeng seemed to reminisce about his younger self. "Every man, in his youth, dreams of being a hero. I was no exception. Back when I was wandering Chiyan Ridge, I used to fantasize about growing up to become a peerless hero revered by all, then returning home in glory and splendor."
"But look at what I've become now?
Either a heinous criminal or a villain steeped in evil, either rejected by Heaven and Earth or a scourge upon all living beings. I was supposed to become a peerless hero revered by all, but now I'm the number one criminal despised by everyone."
"So, next time you see Yun Nishang, advise her to take it easy. If she can't, just have her look at my life now—she'll feel much better."
"If I see Yeye again, I will relay your words to her verbatim."
With that, Feiyue raised her hand, and a pendant appeared in her palm—a stone hanging from it. She handed it to Gu Qingfeng. "Last time Yeye came, she asked me to give this to you."
"What is this thing?"
Gu Qingfeng took the stone. It was an ordinary stone, only the size of a thumb, with a strange shape resembling a character—the character 'Gu'. Seeing this stone, memories long sealed away surged instantly from the depths of Gu Qingfeng's mind.
He recognized this stone pendant.
Because this stone pendant originally belonged to him.
Ever since he had consciousness and memory, he had worn this pendant around his neck. As he recalled, the reason he bore the surname 'Gu' was precisely because he wore this 'Gu' character pendant around his neck. Hence, later on, Gu Qingfeng gave himself the name Gu Tianlang.
As for why he had always worn this stone pendant around his neck, he didn't know, and no one else did either. According to the common folks of Chiyan Ridge, when Gu Qingfeng was first discovered on Chiyan Ridge, this 'Gu' character pendant was already hanging from his neck.
Later, after entering Yunxia Sect to cultivate, he met the first woman he ever fell for—Hongxiu.
Alas, back then, Gu Qingfeng was merely a lowly laborer at the bottom of Yunxia Sect, while Hongxiu was the sect's pride and joy, entrusted with the hope of inheriting and expanding Yunxia Sect in the future.
As the saying goes, the match was ill-suited.
Although Gu Qingfeng eventually won Hongxiu's heart, he faced opposition from the entire Yunxia Sect. In a fit of rage, Gu Qingfeng nearly beat a direct disciple of Yunxia Sect to death. In the end, it was Huode who risked his life to save Gu Qingfeng, secretly sending him away.
Before leaving, Hongxiu secretly gave Gu Qingfeng Yunxia Sect's ancestral treasure, the 'Yanyang Heart', hoping he could fuse with it and make something of himself in the future.
And Gu Qingfeng, in turn, gave Hongxiu the 'Gu' character pendant he had worn since childhood, swearing to her that he would surely achieve great cultivation, make a name for himself, become a great hero revered by all, and return in glory to marry her.
After leaving Yunxia Sect, Gu Qingfeng fused with the Yanyang Heart, and his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. In just a few short years, he became a formidable expert roaming the Great Northwest. Unfortunately, by the time he returned to Yunxia Sect, Hongxiu had already vanished.
Some said that after Gu Qingfeng left, Hongxiu fell ill from longing, her spirit shattered, leading to a cultivation deviation.
Others said Yunxia Sect forced Hongxiu to form a cultivation partnership with another direct disciple, and when she refused, she secretly fled.
It wasn't until the end of the Ancient Era, when Gu Qingfeng perished and was reborn in this world, that he learned Hongxiu was the reincarnation of Yun Nishang.
After learning this, the memories of those past events gradually faded.
If Feiyue hadn't taken out this stone pendant, Gu Qingfeng would have forgotten he ever owned such a thing.