Could Elder Huode really have some method to help Gu Qingfeng cultivate again?
Impossible!
The reason a Mutated Body was called a Foundation Establishment Crippled Body was because the failure of the Foundation Establishment stage caused both the spiritual root and the Dantian to dissipate. It was fundamentally impossible to cultivate again. Even if one forcibly consumed elixirs to convert them into spiritual power within the body, that was all it was. Without a Dantian, this spiritual power would be like a person without a home, chaotically rushing through the meridians. If things went wrong, one might even die suddenly.
Heavens!
Why was I so foolish to believe Elder Huode?
Watching the long-vanished Elder Huode and Gu Qingfeng, Ouyang Ye grew more and more regretful the more she thought about it. Suddenly, she realized another suspicious issue.
She clearly remembered Gu Qingfeng saying he knew Elder Huode, saying their relationship was pretty good?
And that they met through gambling?
But...
But just now...
Elder Huode didn't know him at all!
Damn it!
That damned liar tricked me again!
"Gu Qingfeng, you damned liar!
Hmph!
I, this young lady, was actually worried about you just now, and I never expected you to trick me again..." "I was even planning to go find the old master to let you off, but now!
Hmph! Hmph!
You just wait!
Wait to go test the old master's formations! When the time comes, you won't even be able to cry! Let's see if you dare trick me again!
"Damned liar!"
...
The Yunxia Sect was vast, boasting three mountains, six halls, nine peaks, and twelve courtyards. Elder Huode led Gu Qingfeng onto one of the peaks and ducked into a cave abode.
The cave abode inside was spacious, resembling a great hall. Around the hall were many stone chambers. Typically, cave abodes with this structure were called refining caves, not used for secluded cultivation, but for alchemy, formation crafting, and forging magical treasures.
Gu Qingfeng looked around. Sure enough, this small cave abode was practically filled with formations everywhere, and many of them were half-finished, very unstable. This was clearly the place where Huode, this old man, crafted his formations.
True Being Huode casually formed a spiritual seal with his hand. Immediately after, a formation resembling a lotus flower appeared in the center of the hall. Looking at Gu Qingfeng who was observing his surroundings, the old master said with a grin, "Kid, stop looking around for now. Hurry up and stand inside. This old man will first use a formation to examine your condition."
"Didn't you examine me outside already?"
"Your internal condition is rather complex. This old man can only get a general idea using divine sense. But with the help of this Nine Radiance Cloud Splendor Formation, it's different. This old man can see the situation inside you clearly and thoroughly."
There were quite a few delicious things in the cave abode, including wine and meat. Gu Qingfeng walked over, poured himself a cup of fine wine, sat down on a chair, took a sip, looked at the formation on the ground, and laughed, "Tell me again, what formation is this?"
"The Nine Radiance Cloud Splendor Formation!"
Huode said very seriously, "What's the matter, kid? Don't you trust this old man?"
"Hahahahaha!"
Gu Qingfeng couldn't help but burst into hearty laughter. His laughter made True Being Huode frown deeply and also made the old master feel a bit guilty. He asked, "Kid, what are you laughing at?"
"Huode, ah, Huode...
It's been many years, but your skill at bluffing people has truly been cultivated to perfection!
Have you reached the realm of telling barefaced lies with your eyes open?
Daring to call a Nine-Linked Eight Trigrams Formation the Nine Radiance Cloud Splendor Formation?"
Hearing this, True Being Huode couldn't help but be stunned, his expression full of astonishment. He truly hadn't expected this kid before him to understand formations, and even be able to recognize this as a Nine-Linked Eight Trigrams Formation?
Wait!
What did he say?
Many years no see?
Hmm?
Thinking of this, True Being Huode's eyes gradually narrowed, his expression turning extremely serious. His eyes were filled with confusion as he asked, "Kid, who are you?"
"You guess..." Gu Qingfeng wasn't in a hurry either. Sitting in the chair, he crossed his legs and leisurely sipped his wine.
Guess?
True Being Huode scrutinized him again while also seriously recalling. After thinking for a long time, he was quite certain he absolutely did not know this kid before him.
Seeing the old master's puzzled expression, Gu Qingfeng couldn't help but want to tease him a bit, saying, "If I remember correctly, you've been cultivating for about seven hundred years, right?
Seems like you were also an orphan?
You wandered the Qingyang region since childhood, later met your master, and only then entered the Yunxia Sect. Your aptitude and spiritual root were both good, plus you had a clever mind, so you quickly made a bit of a name for yourself in the Yunxia Sect. However...
You've been wild since you were a kid, always liked to steal chickens, snatch dogs, dig pits, set traps, and such...
Especially when it came to excavating cave abodes, you had a particular fondness for that..." Gu Qingfeng sipped his wine, speaking unhurriedly, while the True Being Huode opposite him grew more and more shocked the more he listened, his eyes widening more and more. He truly couldn't believe this kid before him knew him so well, recounting events from his childhood to adulthood clearly and in detail. Not only did he know he was an orphan, but also how he entered the Yunxia Sect!
Gu Qingfeng mentioned many of True Being Huode's private matters, even including some of the old master's scandals with certain women.
This left True Being Huode dumbfounded, staring at Gu Qingfeng with a horrified expression, as if he could barely speak: "You...
How do you know...
You!"
Shock!
True Being Huode was a bit dazed now. He had never told these private matters to outsiders. No!
To be precise, he had only told one person: that person was Lord Chixiao, Gu Tianlang. He clearly remembered that year when he and that kid Gu Tianlang went to excavate a very mysterious ancient cave abode. As a result, the two were trapped inside for a long time. To pass the boring days, the two chatted about many things, pulling topics from east and west.
But...
How did this kid know about the things he told that kid Gu Tianlang back then?
Wait.
True Being Huode remembered that on the lawn outside, this kid claimed his surname was Gu, seemed to be called Gu Qingfeng. Could it be...
"Are you that kid Gu Tianlang's descendant?"
"What?
Descendant?"
Gu Qingfeng shook his head with a laugh, scolding with a smile, "Where would I have any descendants!"
True Being Huode thought carefully. Indeed, he hadn't heard that kid Gu Tianlang had any descendants.
Hmm?
What did this kid just call himself?
Called himself 'I' (this venerable one, a colloquial term often used arrogantly)?
I asked him if he was Gu Tianlang's descendant, and he said something like 'Where would I have any descendants'?
It seemed like he had thought of something, but the thing he thought of was too shocking, so much so that True Being Huode couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva, staring dead at Gu Qingfeng. Then he took a deep breath before speaking to ask.
"You...
You couldn't possibly...
Couldn't possibly be saying you are that kid Gu Tianlang, could you?"
"What of it?"
Gu Qingfeng held the wine cup, brought it to his lips, looked at him with a smile, and said, "Don't believe it?"
True Being Huode subconsciously shook his head. He indeed didn't believe it, asking in a deep voice, "What makes this old man believe you are Gu Tianlang?"
"What makes me?
Heh, Huode, when the two of us first met, it should have been through playing dice, right?
You lost but not only refused to admit it, you even tricked me, saying something about helping me improve my cultivation. In the end, you just wanted me to test your formations..." Gu Qingfeng recounted bit by bit the things that happened back in the Yunxia Sect years ago, but True Being Huode still didn't believe him.
"That kid Gu Tianlang's old stories have been circulating for three hundred years. You can grab any kid off the street and they'd know."
"Fine. Then do you remember that time the two of us went to steal a magical treasure from the Carefree Palace, ended up being chased all over the place, and you, damn it, got chased naked for hundreds of miles? And that other time..." Gu Tianlang recounted another series of the shady dealings the two of them did together back in the day. This time, True Being Huode was completely dumbfounded.
In his mind, Gu Tianlang's deeds were spread all over the world. It wasn't strange for this kid to know them. But the shady dealings he and that kid Gu Tianlang did, others couldn't possibly know.
Could this kid really be Gu Tianlang?
Impossible!
But if this kid wasn't, how could he know so many things?
The more True Being Huode thought, the more confused he became, but he still didn't believe the kid before him was Gu Tianlang.
Because three hundred years ago, he witnessed with his own eyes Gu Tianlang being judged by the Immortal Dao. At that time, the Immortal Dao descended a full eighty-one Immortal Dao Judgments, and then...
Then Gu Tianlang disappeared...
Some said Gu Tianlang's soul and spirit were completely annihilated by the Immortal Dao Judgments.
Others said Gu Tianlang had always been mysterious and unpredictable, with vast supernatural powers, so it was impossible for his soul and spirit to be annihilated. He had just temporarily disappeared...
As for whether Gu Tianlang was truly dead or had just temporarily disappeared...
No one knew.
True Being Huode didn't know either. Although he was present at the time, the situation was too chaotic. He couldn't see anything and didn't dare to release his divine sense to investigate. However, he believed that kid Gu Tianlang probably didn't die.
Yes.
Probably.
He wasn't certain.
True Being Huode clearly remembered that after Gu Tianlang disappeared under the Immortal Dao Judgments, a farewell voice from Gu Tianlang still echoed in his ear, just a few simple words: Old friend, I'm leaving.
Just these six words. True Being Huode had pondered them for three hundred years and still couldn't understand. What exactly did the word 'leaving' in Gu Tianlang's final farewell represent? Did it mean he died?
Or did he truly leave.
Thinking of this, True Being Huode pressed further: "If you really are that kid Gu Tianlang, you should remember that three hundred years ago, after you were judged by the Immortal Dao, you said one sentence to me. Answer it correctly, and this old man will believe you!"
"Let me think..." Gu Tianlang closed his eyes, reached up and patted his forehead, murmuring, "Back when I was being judged by the Immortal Dao, because the situation was urgent and I was also very weak, I didn't say much. I just told you 'I'm leaving,' right?"
As his words fell, with a *thump*, Elder Huode sat down on the ground. The entire person was as if struck by lightning, frozen there, his face full of shock. His appearance was even more terrified than if he had seen a heavenly god. His eyes were wide open, filled with disbelief. He wanted to say something but couldn't get the words out. He opened his mouth several times, but the sounds he made were either hoarse or sharp. He took several deep breaths in succession but still couldn't suppress the shock in his heart. Even the arm pointing at Gu Qingfeng trembled violently, uncontrollably.
"I say, Huode, do you have to be so exaggerated? I'm not some evil asura, am I going to eat you or something..." (Getting old...
Hands and feet aren't as nimble...
Maybe I've been resting for a few months?
My writing skill has regressed a bit...
Don't worry, let's take it slow. If nothing unexpected happens today, there should still be three chapters. Consider this chapter as yesterday's!
)