"An accident happened five hundred years ago?
What kind of accident?"
When Gu Qingfeng's voice came, Wei Qing across from him shook his head and once again replied with two words: "I don't know."
Wei Qing wasn't lying; that was indeed the truth.
He truly didn't know what had happened five hundred years ago. Everything was very sudden and utterly inexplicable. That day, several of them all felt physically unwell, their Seas of Consciousness were abnormally chaotic, and their bodies began to weaken...
Then they fell into a deep slumber, only beginning to awaken after the Great Calamity, with their bodies gradually recovering...
It's just that their past memories had become extremely disordered, and many memories were lost as a result.
Gu Qingfeng could naturally tell that Wei Qing was speaking the truth, but it left him somewhat puzzled. He asked, "Your Seas of Consciousness were all sealed by Yun Nishang using her Blood Spirits."
"Yes."
"When were they sealed?"
"Three thousand years ago, when the Empress left."
Gu Qingfeng didn't ask further. When he was at the mountain villa, he had personally probed Liu Piaopiao's Sea of Consciousness. There was indeed a Blood Spirit Seal left by Yun Nishang inside.
This thing was the same as the method used to seal souls; aside from Yun Nishang herself, no one could open it.
In Gu Qingfeng's mind, the reason Yun Nishang had sealed their Seas of Consciousness was probably to prevent others from peering in, or to facilitate her examination of Karma after she awakened.
Now Wei Qing was saying that five hundred years ago, they had inexplicably weakened physically, and their Seas of Consciousness had become utterly chaotic.
This kind of situation should have occurred because the Blood Spirit Seals on their Seas of Consciousness had changed.
And Blood Spirits couldn't change for no reason.
Unless Yun Nishang herself had tampered with them.
Could it be that Yun Nishang had awakened five hundred years ago?
"Five hundred years ago..." Gu Qingfeng took occasional sips of wine, murmuring the special era of five hundred years, an uneasy premonition rising in his heart.
Because he himself was born five hundred years ago.
If the chaos in Wei Qing and the others' Seas of Consciousness was truly caused by the Blood Spirits,
then it must be related to Yun Nishang. If that were the case, it would mean she had awakened five hundred years ago; otherwise, their Seas of Consciousness couldn't have mutated for no reason.
Why specifically five hundred years ago?
Could it be a coincidence?
If it wasn't a coincidence, then what was it?
Wei Qing said his Sea of Consciousness had been chaotic for four hundred years, only starting to improve after the Great Calamity.
Could it be that after Yun Nishang awakened, she also existed for four hundred years, and possibly fell into slumber again after the Great Calamity?
He didn't know. Gu Qingfeng couldn't figure it out either. He asked, "Do you still remember the exact year and day when your Sea of Consciousness became chaotic?"
"The specific date is already hazy. It should have been near the end of the Ancient Era, around the tenth month of the ninth year of the Immortal Dynasty's Great Qian Shang reign."
"The ninth year of Great Qian Shang, tenth month..." Gu Qingfeng crossed his legs, rubbed his chin, and narrowed his eyes in recollection. At that time, he should have been just over twenty years old. He remembered this year very clearly—he had been expelled from the Yunxia Sect. Aside from that, nothing particularly special had happened around him.
It seemed that to understand this matter clearly, he would have to wait until Yun Nishang awakened to ask her properly. After thinking for a moment, he asked again, "Now that all seven of your master's Soul Pearls have appeared in the world, she should be awakening soon, right?"
"The Empress said that when the seven Soul Pearls reunite, it will be the day her bloodline awakens."
Wei Qing weighed his words carefully and said, "It should be in a few days, during the celebration held by the Bingxuan Sect."
"Speaking of the Bingxuan Sect, I've heard that sect has produced a formidable figure now?
What's her name again?
Leng Yanqiu?"
Gu Qingfeng looked at the incomplete chess game on the stone table, picked up a black piece, and placed it on the board. He asked, "Is she related to this matter?
Does she have your master's bloodline?"
"Leng Yanqiu does not possess the Empress's bloodline. As for whether she is related to this matter, I don't know. Whether she wants to replace the Empress, or whether it's Zhu Xia who wants to replace the Empress, I also don't know."
"Zhu Xia?
Who is that?"
"She is the same as us."
Wei Qing hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to speak out. "Five hundred years ago, when our Seas of Consciousness mutated, Zhu Xia might have guessed that something had happened to the Empress. After the Great Calamity, when she awakened, she wanted to use the Bingxuan Heart along with the Empress's Blood Spirits and Leng Yanqiu in an attempt to replace the Empress."
"There's also a second possibility: Leng Yanqiu came for the Empress's matter, had planned it long ago, controlled Zhu Xia, schemed to seize the Bingxuan Heart, and attempted to replace the Empress."
"There's a third possibility as well: both Leng Yanqiu and Zhu Xia might be pawns, with someone else pulling the strings behind the scenes."
Gu Qingfeng nodded, thinking Wei Qing's speculations were quite good. There really were so many possibilities. Now, this matter concerning Yun Nishang had drawn in the Bearers of the Heavenly Edict, the Immortal Edict, the Demon Edict, and even the Edict of Original Sin. Who knew who was truly behind this setup.
Moreover, using Yun Nishang's Blood Spirits along with the Bingxuan Heart and her seven Soul Pearls, then fusing and refining them to replace Yun Nishang wasn't impossible. It's just that such a method was extremely complex and dangerous. Ordinary people wouldn't know about it at all, and even if they did, they wouldn't know how to fuse or refine them. There must be a mastermind behind it.
Just as Wei Qing speculated, either Leng Yanqiu herself was the mastermind, or the true mastermind was guiding things from behind.
Gu Qingfeng stood up, drained the wine from his cup in one gulp, and said, "Alright, that's enough for now. I've asked all I needed to ask. Let's leave it at that."
As he spoke, he picked up a white chess piece and placed it into the game. "I asked these questions without any other intentions. I have no grudges or entanglements with your master. I don't even know who your master is; I don't even recognize her. So, rest assured."
Hearing this, Liu Piaopiao, who had been silent all along, raised her head with a look of surprise, as if she hadn't expected Gu Qingfeng to say such a thing. Beside her, Wei Qing kept his head lowered; hearing Gu Qingfeng's words, he didn't seem particularly surprised.
Indeed.
When he learned that Gu Qingfeng had taken action and destroyed the Bearer of the Immortal Edict's avatar,
when Gu Qingfeng appeared out of thin air,
when Gu Qingfeng inquired about the Empress's identity...
Wei Qing's heart already knew that Gu Qingfeng was not an enemy of the Empress. Although he didn't know what Gu Qingfeng truly intended, one thing was certain: at the very least, Gu Qingfeng would not hinder the Empress's awakening. That alone was enough. If it weren't for that, he wouldn't have answered Gu Qingfeng's questions so unreservedly.
Sure enough.
Gu Qingfeng stretched lazily and said, "Not only am I not your master's enemy, I might even lend her a hand when the time comes."
Hearing this, Wei Qing finally raised his head. He could only be sure that Gu Qingfeng was not the Empress's enemy, but he hadn't expected Gu Qingfeng to say he would help the Empress.
What kind of scheme was this?
No!
Impossible!
With Gu Qingfeng's abilities, daring to kill the Bearer of the Immortal Edict's avatar right in front of the Bearer of the Heavenly Edict—he simply disdained playing any petty schemes or tricks with you.
No reason needed.
Completely unnecessary!
"You...
You...
Why would you?"
Wei Qing finally couldn't suppress the curiosity and confusion in his heart and asked blankly.
"It's a bit complicated. Hard to explain in a sentence or two. Although I don't know your master, my own matters might be somewhat related to her. So, I want to wait until she awakens to ask clearly."
Didn't know the Empress.
Yet was related to the Empress.
Wei Qing seemed to realize something, his heart jolting, but he didn't dare to voice it.
Gu Qingfeng walked over, patted his shoulder, smiled without saying a word, then leaped up and vanished in a flash.