It was high noon on a bright, sunny day.
In the Cloud Mist Sect, at the secluded Spirit-Hidden Garden on the back mountain.
Gu Qingfeng lay reclined on a master's chair, basking in the sun, leisurely sipping his wine while chatting idly with Huode.
Picking up an exquisite wine pot, he examined it left and right. After pouring the last cup of Sea-Blue Moon into his Taixu Cup, he sniffed it, a look of reluctance on his face. "Who knows where that little lass got this Sea-Blue Moon from. This stuff is a rare treasure."
"What do you mean 'who knows'? She definitely stole it from Old Fire Chicken."
"Old Fire Chicken?"
"The clan leader of the Huowu Family, a side branch of the Phoenix Bloodline."
Seeing Gu Qingfeng's look of confusion, Huode rolled his eyes. "Have you forgotten, kid? The nickname 'Old Fire Chicken' was one you gave him yourself. He used to be called Old Monster Huowu."
Gu Qingfeng thought hard but really couldn't recall. "Do you know Jiangzhu Ancestor?"
"Of course."
Huode downed the wine in his cup in one gulp, then took a fierce drag from his large tobacco pipe. "Back then, an ancient cave mansion emerged in the Changhong Great Domain. We all went in together—Jiangzhu Ancestor, Old Monster Huowu, those old bastards from Cloud-Heart Hall, those old bastards from the Jade-Purity Sect, and a few old hags from Little Immortal Valley..." Noticing Gu Qingfeng still seemed to have no recollection, Huode continued, "How is your memory so bad, kid? That ancient cave mansion yielded quite a few treasures back then. Relying on your superior skills and boldness, you practically scooped up all the treasures inside. As a result, you pissed off that bunch of old-timers, and they teamed up to besiege you."
"At the time, you had just cultivated eighty-one Golden Cores not long before. You were so high-spirited, so arrogant and domineering. Not only did you beat them half to death, you also robbed them clean of all their treasures. That Old Monster Huowu summoned his Bloodline True Body back then, transforming into a firebird. In the end, you got so pissed off you literally tore one of his wings off."
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng finally began to have some vague recollection. He couldn't help but shake his head with a bitter smile. "You're saying this wine belongs to Old Monster Huowu?"
"Exactly! Who else but that old fellow would have something like Sea-Blue Moon? I reckon his granddaughter probably had no idea of its value either, so she stole it hoping to trick you. The result..." Huode chuckled. "If Old Fire Chicken finds out his treasured Sea-Blue Moon was drunk by you, kid, that old fellow would be furious to death."
Gu Qingfeng shrugged, neither confirming nor denying. He just asked, "How is Old Fire Chicken doing now?"
"How do you think? After you tore off one of his wings back then, his bloodline was basically crippled. Especially after Jiangzhu Ancestor stole one of your flying swords and you hung him up and beat him for three days and three nights. When Old Fire Chicken and the others heard about that, they were practically scared shitless. Ever since that incident, Old Monster Huowu, the old monsters from Cloud-Heart Hall, the Jade-Purity old monster, and those few old hags from Little Immortal Valley all passed down their positions and ran off directly."
Gu Qingfeng laughed. "I just taught Jiangzhu Ancestor a lesson, that's all. These people really... their courage is too small."
"Damn it!" Huode cursed, glaring as he shouted, "Back then, you skinned Jiangzhu Ancestor alive, you even dug out his Nascent Soul! You whipped his Nascent Soul with a whip! Jiangzhu Ancestor's agonized wails could be heard throughout the entire great domain! You call that 'just a lesson'?"
"Jiangzhu Ancestor's methods were rather underhanded, and he liked to play dirty. He tricked me once, nearly costing me my life. Besides, he held a grudge. If I hadn't beaten him into submission, that guy would definitely have come for revenge."
Thinking of the deeds he'd committed in his youth, Gu Qingfeng felt quite sentimental inside, sighing over his youthful arrogance. If it were now, he definitely wouldn't do those things. Shaking his head, he asked, "How are Old Monster Huowu and the others now? Haven't they returned since leaving?"
"They came back. Hid in some mountain crevice for over a hundred years, didn't come back until after you were judged by the Immortal Dao."
Perhaps because he had experienced more, or perhaps because his mindset had aged, thinking back on the mischief of his youth now felt somewhat excessive and violent. He took out the Shuiyun Wine, poured a cup, and asked, "Are they all doing well now?"
"Well?" Huode spat out a puff of smoke, saying sourly, "They're doing more than just 'well'."
Gu Qingfeng raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"Aside from Jiangzhu Ancestor, whom you completely reformed, all those other old bastards are now living the high life in the Nine-Hua Alliance. Whether it's the Huowu Family, Cloud-Heart Hall, or the Jade-Purity Sect, they're all major powers within the Nine-Hua Alliance now. Especially that despicable old bastard from the Jade-Purity Sect—he's now a Vice Alliance Leader of the Nine-Hua Alliance. Thinks he's hot stuff."
"Is that so."
Gu Qingfeng lay back in the master's chair, closed his eyes, and yawned, feeling somewhat sleepy.
"Kid Gu, what do you plan to do about this matter?"
"What matter?"
"This Nine-Hua Alliance business."
Huode stood up, poured Gu Qingfeng a cup of wine, and said, "The waters in the Nine-Hua Alliance run deep. There are quite a few reincarnated individuals. I hear the Nine-Hua Alliance even has people from the Immortal Dynasty backing it from behind. The Immortal Dynasty has long wanted to bring order to the Great Northwest Region, but you know how chaotic this place is. People from the Immortal Dynasty can't gain a foothold here, so they're preparing to cross the river by stealth—first propping up a few major powers, then descending openly..."
"I just want to find the Heart of Flaming Sun, that's all," Gu Qingfeng said, propping his head up with one hand and yawning. "As for what kind of existence the Nine-Hua Alliance is, it has nothing to do with me. I can't be bothered to worry about it."
"How does it have nothing to do with you? Don't blame this old man for not warning you."
"What is it?"
"'What is it?' I ask you, do you remember the Murong Family from the Nine-Hua Alliance? The one with the mutated bloodline."
"I remember."
"You know what their mutated form looks like, right? Loss of humanity, blood-refining Golden Cores. They're evil cultivators, right?"
Gu Qingfeng nodded. "They are indeed evil cultivators."
"Since they're evil cultivators, aren't you curious how they can still live so well? Not only do they live freely, they're also one of the major powers within the Nine-Hua Alliance."
Huode squatted casually on the ground again, taking a puff from his pipe. "And here your Crimson-Letter Head dares to claim eradicating demons and defending the Dao as its mission..."
Gu Qingfeng seemed to understand. "Are you saying Crimson-Letter Head is secretly colluding with the Nine-Hua Alliance?"
Huode scrambled up again in one motion, glaring. "You only realized this now, kid?"
"Is there such a thing?"
Gu Qingfeng recalled Old Sen and the other twelve Chixiao people, shaking his head. "They don't have the guts for that, and they absolutely would not do such a thing."
"Kid Gu, oh Kid Gu, you've been away from this world for far too long. You have no idea how much the world has changed. The Chixiao people who followed you in conquering the world back then indeed wouldn't dare and wouldn't do such a thing, but that doesn't mean others wouldn't."