"You brat...
You son of a...
You...
You really...
You really are Gu Tianlang!"
It took a long while before True Being Huode managed to utter a sentence, and even then his words were disjointed.
He was utterly shocked.
So shocked that he couldn't believe this scene was real.
He believed the fellow before him should be Gu Tianlang.
No!
Not 'should'!
He definitely was.
True Being Huode was certain of this. He knew that under the heavens, aside from Gu Tianlang himself, there absolutely could not be a second person who knew so many things about him.
But believing was one thing, and certainty was another.
Whether he could accept it was a different matter entirely.
At the very least, at this moment, True Being Huode found it somewhat difficult to accept. It wasn't that he couldn't accept the fact that Gu Tianlang was still alive, but rather that this fact was too abrupt and too shocking for him, something he simply couldn't bear.
"You brat really didn't die...
You brat really is still alive...
I knew you had great fortune and a tough life...
I knew you couldn't have been so easily judged to death by the Immortal Dao...
I knew..." Perhaps too agitated, as he spoke, True Being Huode's eyes grew moist, and then he could no longer suppress the emotions in his heart, letting out a loud wail, crying until his old tears streamed down his face.
His crying left Gu Qingfeng utterly bewildered. Shaking his head, speechless, he walked over and said, "I say, Huode, do you have to be like this? A grown man crying like this, what's the point?"
True Being Huode didn't know why he was crying either. He just couldn't control himself, wailing loudly for a good while. When his emotions finally settled, he quickly stood up, glaring at Gu Qingfeng and asking, "You brat...
What exactly happened to you? I witnessed with my own eyes back then how you were judged and dispersed by the Immortal Dao...
How are you now..." True Being Huode fired off a barrage of questions, giving Gu Qingfeng a headache. Waving his hand, Gu Qingfeng signaled for True Being Huode to stop asking and said, "Back then, I just played a little trick, used a move to deceive the heavens and cross the sea, and fooled the Immortal Dao, that's all."
"So that means you really ascended to the Celestial Realm?"
Seeing Gu Qingfeng nod, True Being Huode pressed further, "But I later asked around for news about you, and there was no word of you in the Celestial Realm either!"
"You think I'm stupid?
After going through so much trouble to deceive the Immortal Dao's judgment, would I still use my real name?
Forget the name, back then, in order to fool the Immortal Dao, I even abandoned my physical body and purified my soul...
It was only after reforging my body and purifying my soul that I ascended to the Celestial Realm."
Abandoning his body, purifying his soul.
What kind of terrifying methods were these?
True Being Huode had never even heard of such things.
"Then what's going on with you now?
Did you also reincarnate in the Reincarnation Storm like those other great powers from the Celestial Realm?"
It was said that when the Cataclysm of the Heavens occurred, the laws of heaven and earth were thrown into chaos, and the Gate of Reincarnation inexplicably opened. Many great powers, in order to escape this calamity, had no choice but to rush into the Gate of Reincarnation and undergo reincarnation one after another. This was the so-called Reincarnation Storm.
"Reincarnation?
I didn't reincarnate."
"You didn't reincarnate?
Then what are you now..." "My situation is a bit complicated."
Gu Qingfeng motioned for True Being Huode to sit down, poured him a cup of wine, and handed it over, saying, "When the Gate of Reincarnation opened, I tried many times but was stopped each time..."
"Stopped?
Stopped by who?"
Gu Qingfeng pointed upward. True Being Huode looked up, then shook his head, not understanding.
"The Heavenly Dao."
Gu Qingfeng sighed and said, "The reason I've ended up in this sorry state now is also because I offended the Heavenly Dao. When the Cataclysm of the Heavens occurred, the Heavenly Dao chased after me relentlessly, determined to pass judgment on me before it would stop...
If I weren't so tough, you probably wouldn't be seeing me today."
Judged by the Heavenly Dao...
Good heavens!
True Being Huode felt his scalp go numb just hearing it. He couldn't imagine, nor could he conceive, what kind of terrifying deeds Gu Tianlang must have committed in the Celestial Realm to be judged by the Heavenly Dao!
That was the Heavenly Dao!
The leader of the Great Dao!
The Old Man of Heaven who wielded the laws of heaven and earth and governed the three thousand Great Daos!
"You..." True Being Huode stared wide-eyed, looking at him in astonishment, unable to speak for a long time.
"Tell me about yourself. How have you been all these years?"
Although the old man before him was only at the Golden Core realm in cultivation, and his character wasn't exactly stellar, deep in Gu Qingfeng's heart, he had always regarded Huode as a respected senior. When he was young and cultivating in the Yunxia Sect, many of his techniques were taught by this old man. Later, when he beat up an inner disciple in the Yunxia Sect, if Huode hadn't stepped in, he probably would have died in the sect.
Therefore, in Gu Qingfeng's heart, he not only regarded Huode as a senior but also as his lifesaving benefactor.
Back then, although he had made a name for himself in this world, he had offended many people, including the all-powerful Immortal Dynasty, so he never returned, fearing he would implicate the old man. This time, after awakening, the reason he insisted on coming to the Yunxia Sect was genuinely to visit the old man and repay his kindness.
The two chatted about many things, from the far south to the distant north, from ancient times to the present, from enemies to friends, from friends to brothers.
When the word 'brothers' came up, Gu Qingfeng couldn't help but think of the brothers he had made when he was carving out his path in this world. He had even once founded a sect called Chixiao. He wondered how those brothers who had fought alongside him back then were doing now. Upon asking, True Being Huode said, "You brat, you really are heartless. Back then, the Chixiao Sect you founded was so domineering, sweeping across the world with no one able to match it, even the Immortal Dynasty had to show it respect. And yet, you buried it with a wave of your hand..."
"I was thinking of everyone and had no choice but to bury the Chixiao Sect."
Gu Qingfeng looked calm as he asked, "After I left, the people from the Immortal Dynasty didn't move against them, did they?"
"Move against them, my ass!
Before the Immortal Dao judged you, the people from the Immortal Dynasty had been wiped out by you until not even dregs remained, and even the immortals ran the hell away..."
"That's good...
How are they now? How are they doing?"
"I heard Great Master and the others went into seclusion. As for the few old masters, most of them were invited by major sects to become elders. They're all renowned pillars of the world now."
"Great Master and the others going into seclusion was within my expectations. The few old masters were already highly skilled in cultivation, so becoming elders in major sects isn't bad either."
Gu Qingfeng recalled the people from the Chixiao Sect back then and suddenly remembered an interesting fellow. He asked, "What about Wang Pangzi and the others?"
"Wang Pangzi and that bunch are living much more carefree lives. They've all become local overlords now—some are mountain kings ruling over a region, some are great gang leaders intimidating an area, and some are wealthy magnates amassing fortunes. The most ostentatious among them is Wang Pangzi. That guy is incredible now; he's gone and founded a kingdom in the Southern Sea Cloud Region and become an emperor!"
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng was taken aback for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter. "I remember Wang Pangzi's childhood dream was to become an emperor. I never thought that kid would actually make his dream come true..."
"Kid Gu, you still have the face to laugh? These little bastards were all brought up by you, weren't they?
And they're all cut from the same cloth as you, each one more arrogant than the last, fighting with this person one day and that person the next, wiping out anyone who rubs them the wrong way...
One sect just said you were a sinner of the Immortal Dao, and Wang Pangzi immediately led an army and crushed that sect on the spot..."
"..." Gu Qingfeng shook his head, feeling rather speechless.