The term 'nouveau riche' became popular after the Great Calamity.
Due to the Great Calamity of the Heavens, the world was reborn, and all things revived. Within this world, not only was spiritual energy abundant, but various opportunities and fortunes also emerged accordingly, truly causing many originally ordinary people to become extraordinary.
Those who obtained great opportunities, great strokes of luck, or great fortunes.
Whether their state of mind changed, their comprehension awakened, their strength skyrocketed, or their cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds—one year they might be at the Foundation Establishment realm, and the next they could soar to the Golden Core realm. This was not an exaggeration. In the hundred years since the calamity, similar events had become commonplace. Achieving enlightenment in a single day and becoming an immortal on the spot was not unheard of.
For such people.
While everyone envied and resented them, they were also deeply despised.
Because many originally mediocre cultivators, after accidentally obtaining great opportunities or strokes of luck, found that this 'happiness' came too suddenly. Their temperament would also change; most would become inflated, turning arrogant, domineering, and acting without restraint.
Seeing Gu Qingfeng's nonchalant attitude and even shamelessly identifying himself as nouveau riche, feeling no shame but rather taking pride in it.
Xiaolian felt even more contempt in her heart.
Beside her, Chen Yue had been staring at Gu Qingfeng. To be honest, she had seen many nouveau riche; there were quite a few in the Four Great Regions. Most of them, after becoming wealthy overnight, turned extremely arrogant and overbearing.
Previously, before meeting Gu Qingfeng and hearing about his deeds, Chen Yue also thought he might be a nouveau riche who had stumbled upon some stroke of luck. However, after seeing him in person, Chen Yue felt he didn't resemble the so-called nouveau riche.
Not a trace of the characteristics of a nouveau riche could be found on him.
He was neither arrogant nor overbearing, nor did he wear any expensive magical treasures to flaunt his status.
Although he appeared somewhat frivolous and playful, that was all. At most, he was a young master from a wealthy family, not connected to the nouveau riche.
But if he wasn't nouveau riche, then what was the deal with this fellow's physical body?
After much thought, Chen Yue guessed that he might have truly encountered some stroke of luck in a mysterious cave dwelling, but his temperament hadn't been affected, nor had he become inflated. Perhaps he came from an extraordinary background and had received guidance from a master.
That should be the case.
Recalling this fellow's playboy demeanor, Chen Yue seemed to confirm her own thoughts.
Ahead.
Gu Qingfeng rode the wind, drifting along like a wisp of smoke.
Since entering the Black-Raven Secret Realm, he had been carefully probing with his divine sense. The more he probed, the more he felt this place was sinister.
Not only was it filled with Spirit Hollow whirlwinds, but there were also eight dilapidated Ancient Pagodas within the secret realm.
The Ancient Pagodas were also filled with Spirit Hollow whirlwinds.
These things had formed bit by bit over many years, eroded by the Green Mist over countless ages, similar to a kind of nest. The flying beasts and monsters within the Black-Raven Secret Realm were bred from these things.
Of course, Spirit Hollow whirlwinds didn't form without reason. They were called Spirit Hollows because they contained spirit embryos.
And what could evolve into spirit embryos were all living beings.
Perhaps humans.
Or perhaps demons, ghosts, or monsters.
Regardless of what they were.
One thing was certain: to form a spirit embryo under the erosion of the Green Mist, one must have been at least at the Nascent Soul stage in life, possibly the Primordial Spirit stage, or even the Dao-heart stage.
There were many such Spirit Hollow whirlwinds, densely packed and everywhere. Each Spirit Hollow contained tens of thousands of bloodthirsty black crows. Once a Spirit Hollow was disturbed, the bloodthirsty black crows inside would swarm out in a frenzy.
This secret realm might have experienced a catastrophic disaster in the past; otherwise, there wouldn't be so many Spirit Hollows.
"Sister, that Ancient Pagoda is ahead."
Xiaolian pointed at a towering, dilapidated Ancient Pagoda in the distance, looking very excited. She and Chen Yue had come here a few days ago and found many priceless black obsidian fragments inside the pagoda.
Chen Yue gazed at the pagoda and replied, "This isn't the Ancient Pagoda we went to a few days ago. It's a different one."
"Huh? Are there more than one inside?"
Xiaolian was puzzled.
"When we came a few days ago, there were only three. Now there are eight."
Beside them, upon hearing that these Ancient Pagodas had only appeared in recent days, Gu Qingfeng couldn't help but feel suspicious.
He could tell that these eight pagodas weren't ordinary towers but a kind of sealing pagoda. The eight pagodas were located at the eight trigram positions, which reminded him of an ancient seal.
The Eight Trigrams Weiyang Seal.
This thing wasn't something just anyone understood, nor could it be casually set up by anyone.
Who could it be?
And for what reason had they set up the Eight Trigrams Weiyang Seal here, even using such Ancient Pagodas to suppress it?
What made Gu Qingfeng even more curious was: what was the Eight Trigrams Weiyang Seal sealing?
Without thinking further.
The three of them quickly arrived near the Ancient Pagoda.
The Ancient Pagoda was already in ruins, shrouded in a layer of black mist, looking like a towering tree. Watching Chen Yue and Xiaolian enter the pagoda, Gu Qingfeng followed them in. The inside of the pagoda was also in ruins, and nothing could be discerned.
The Green Mist inside the pagoda was sparse.
Its toxicity was also very weak, almost negligible. Although Xiaolian's cultivation wasn't high, having just reached Foundation Establishment, she wasn't much affected inside the pagoda.
"Hehe, finally free!"
Xiaolian giggled and was about to move away from Chen Yue's side to stretch her limbs when Chen Yue's voice suddenly came: "Don't move."
"Sister, the Green Mist inside the pagoda is weak. It doesn't affect me."
Chen Yue didn't speak. With a wave of her hand, white light bloomed, instantly illuminating the dark interior of the pagoda. Xiaolian focused her eyes and was immediately terrified, her face turning pale as she tightly hugged Chen Yue.
The floor of the pagoda was covered with the corpses of bloodthirsty crows, along with some dismembered limbs and flesh.
They were human limbs and human flesh.
There were quite a few.
About five or six people.
Suddenly, an arrogant voice came from above.
"A few more people who don't know the meaning of death have arrived."
The voice was wild, filled with disdain.
Immediately after.
A figure flashed over.
It was a young man.
The man appeared to be around twenty years old, wearing purple-green jade silk robes with a bright red cloak draped behind him. Both the robes and the cloak were embroidered with mysterious patterns resembling white cranes, vivid and lifelike, flowing with a faint radiance.
The patterns indicated that the robes and cloak were magical treasures.
The flowing radiance indicated that this person had already refined these two clothing treasures.
The man's appearance was ordinary, but his aura was extraordinary. His expression was cold and arrogant, and his eyes shone with a wild, overbearing gaze.
Seeing this person.
Xiaolian's eyes couldn't help but widen because she recognized this fellow.
He was from the Nine-Hua Alliance, and moreover, one of the famous Seventy-Two Tai Xuan Young Masters of the Nine-Hua Alliance.
White Crane Young Master.
Immediately after, whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh, four more figures flashed into appearance: an old man and three men with gloomy expressions. When the four appeared, they very tacitly stood behind White Crane Young Master, clearly indicating they were together.
As for who these four were.
Xiaolian didn't recognize them. She secretly transmitted her voice, asking, "Sister, can that White Crane fellow recognize us?"
"He doesn't have that ability."
"That's good. But why is this fellow here?"
"He's not the only one here."
"Who else?"
Just as Xiaolian finished her secret transmission, whoosh whoosh, two more figures flashed into appearance.