The one who answered the call was an old man dressed in simple gray cloth.
The old man was unkempt, looking somewhat slovenly, with a gourd of wine hanging at his waist and a long-stemmed pipe clutched in his hand.
Many people in the arena recognized this old man—he was Elder Huode of the Yunxia Sect.
Huode had also received an invitation from Old Man Shi Tong to attend the banquet. He hadn't arrived particularly early or late, just in time to witness Gu Qingfeng's confrontation with these people.
Looking at the more than two hundred people lying paralyzed on the ground, Huode shook his head and sighed. He glanced at Elder Jin Yu of the Fenghui Sect and said, "Old scoundrel Jin Yu, the fact that you're still alive now is nothing short of a miracle from your ancestors' graves. Stop making a fuss and let this end here."
"Huode, you ignorant brat who doesn't know life from death, how dare you put on airs in front of this old man!"
Huode's cultivation and strength might not be impressive, but his reputation was enormous. Not just in the Liuli Great Region, but throughout the Four Regions, almost every old-timer of a certain age knew him. The reason was simple: the world knew Huode had a close relationship with Lord Chixiao, and it was precisely because of this that the Yunxia Sect had managed to survive.
Of course.
Having a close relationship with Lord Chixiao didn't mean people would hold him in high regard.
Firstly, because the Yunxia Sect had expelled Lord Chixiao back in the day.
Secondly, because Huode's reputation wasn't exactly stellar. In the past, he'd been involved in all sorts of shady dealings—stealing chickens, digging pits, and setting traps.
Even the outstanding talents among the younger generation didn't take Huode seriously, let alone someone like Jin Yu, an Elder of the Fenghui Sect.
"Old scoundrel Jin Yu, you can't even stand up right now, yet you're still putting on airs in front of this old man."
Huode walked to the pavilion, pulled out his pipe, tapped it against a chair to empty the old tobacco, and said, "Daring to pin the label of 'Evil Cultivator' on that kid Gu's head—your courage is truly something else. It's fortunate this is Liuren Mountain, and fortunate that kid's temper has mellowed a lot. If this were the old days, you pinning that Evil Cultivator label on him would've gotten you killed eight hundred times over already."
Huode had been present when Gu Qingfeng took action, witnessing the entire incident firsthand. However, he hadn't stepped forward to stop it, nor had he even tried to persuade him. Not only that, he'd kept his distance.
Because he'd tried to persuade Gu Qingfeng once before, not only failing to stop him but nearly getting killed himself. Since then, Huode had sworn never to intervene with persuasion again, especially when Gu Qingfeng was labeled an Evil Cultivator or Evil Demon. When he decided to kill, not even this world, let alone the heavens themselves, could stop him.
He understood Gu Qingfeng, knew better than anyone that this kid hated nothing more than being labeled an Evil Cultivator or Evil Demon. If he hadn't been pinned with that label back then, Gu Qingfeng wouldn't have taken up the slaughtering blade, cutting a bloody swath across the world, nor would he have stirred up such a storm, turning this world upside down. It was no exaggeration to say that the root of it all was Gu Qingfeng being labeled an Evil Cultivator and Evil Demon.
Now, after so many years, he was being labeled an Evil Cultivator again.
One could imagine Gu Qingfeng's state of mind.
To be honest, the fact that Gu Qingfeng hadn't slaughtered all these people left even Huode very surprised. In his estimation, given that kid Gu's temper from his youth, he would've definitely wiped out this entire bunch. And killing them wouldn't have been enough—he'd have likely wiped out the Ten Great Sects and the Three Caves and Five Mountains while he was at it.
He truly hadn't expected Gu Qingfeng to show mercy. After emptying the pipe's tobacco, Huode added a little fresh tobacco. He snapped his fingers, a flicker of flame appearing at his fingertip to light the pipe. Taking a deep drag, he exhaled wisps of smoke, glanced at the dozen or so Elders from the Fengyun and Huoyun Branch Halls who were barely breathing, and sighed again.
"Others pinning the Evil Cultivator or Evil Demon label on that kid Gu is one thing, but you, the Crimson-Letter Sect, pinning the Evil Demon label on him? That's a fucking joke of cosmic proportions!"
The Elders from the Fengyun and Huoyun Branch Halls already had their internal organs failing, their souls dissipating bit by bit. How could they possibly speak?
"Huode! You ignorant brat! Once this old man recovers, I'll make sure you regret this!"
"Elder Jin Yu, why waste words on him? Quickly regulate your breathing and send a message talisman to notify the Sect Head!"
No one took Huode seriously. The Elders from the Ten Great Sects and the Three Caves and Five Mountains were all regulating their breathing. With just a little recovery, they could send out their message talismans.
"You bastards really won't give up until you see the coffin."
Huode looked at Elder Jin Yu and the others with an expression of frustration at their stubbornness. He pointed his pipe at Shui Yunruo and said, "What Miss Shui said earlier was spot on. Don't you think about it? That kid Gu isn't even afraid of the Chixiao People from the Fengyun and Huoyun Branch Halls. Why would he fear the sect heads of your little sects?"
"For the sake of the heavens, I'll tell you the truth."
Taking another deep drag from his pipe, Huode continued, "Whether the Chixiao People from the Fengyun and Huoyun Branch Halls will even come later is still unknown. Even if they do come, they'll only be here to kneel. Even if you lent them ten thousand times the courage, they wouldn't dare make a move in front of that kid Gu."
To Elder Jin Yu and the others, Huode's words were nothing but a joke.
The Chixiao People from the Fengyun and Huoyun Branch Halls numbered nearly ten in total. Each carried the Dragon-Elephant Totem on their backs that manifested upon tasting blood. Every one of them was a veteran who had followed Lord Chixiao in conquering the world.
Now Huode was saying that these Chixiao People, who could slay immortals above and demons below, upon meeting some insignificant, death-ignorant Evil Cultivator, wouldn't even dare to make a move? Not only that, but they'd only be here to kneel?
What a joke!
Even Shui Yunruo, Lan Feier, and Chen Yue thought it was a joke. Although they could tell Gu Qingfeng wasn't afraid, and they didn't know why he wasn't afraid, the idea that the famous Chixiao People would see Gu Qingfeng and not dare to act, only kneel—the three women absolutely couldn't believe that.
Huode couldn't be bothered to explain further. He just continued, "That kid Gu didn't kill you not because he's kind-hearted, and certainly not because he's afraid of anything. As I said, it's only because this is Liuren Mountain, and Liuren Mountain is Old Man Shi Tong's place. That kid Gu didn't want to unleash a massacre here, that's all. That kid Gu gives face only once, even if it's the face of the heavens. There's never a second time."
He paused, then added, "And from my understanding of that kid Gu, if you stop here, he'll be too lazy to bother with you further. But if you insist on sending message talismans, calling for your sect heads and ancestral patriarchs—however many you call, he'll dare to kill that many. If you call everyone from the Ten Great Sects and the Three Caves and Five Mountains, that kid will dare to wipe you all out."
"That kid Gu hates trouble the most, especially trouble caused by fighting. So when he fights, he's always had this habit: he likes to wipe the slate clean. If he doesn't kill, he doesn't kill. But once his killing intent stirs and he unleashes a massacre, it's always a clean sweep—raising the blade, from the ancestral patriarchs above to the disciples below, leaving not a single one alive. He won't rest until he's killed every last one of you."
"Of course, that was that kid's old habit when fighting. What habits he has now when fighting, I don't know. But one thing is certain: old habits die hard. That kid's bones flow with a kind of ferocious blood. When he turns ferocious, not even the heavenly kings are safe from his blade. And... that kid never treated human life as a big deal in the past. Now... hah. The lives of immortals and demons are probably like ants and weeds in his eyes."
"Alright, I don't want to watch you march to your deaths with my own eyes, and I don't want that kid Gu to unleash a massacre. That's why I've wasted so much breath on you. Whether you listen or not is up to you. Whether you believe or not is also up to you. That kid Gu said before he left: life only comes once. That's the best warning he could give you."
"Don't use your ignorance to challenge that kid Gu's temper. That kid's temper has never been good. And don't use your gambling to test that kid Gu's mercy. With that kid, the word 'mercy' has never fucking existed."