"Little Jin'er."
Looking at the little girl with two ponytails in the sky above Yunxia Sect, Gu Qingfeng felt quite pleasantly surprised. He clearly remembered when he had just awakened and was brought by Ouyang Ye to First-Class Villa, where he met Little Jin'er practicing her musical arts. He just hadn't expected to see the little girl again after several months.
"Big Brother!"
Little Jin'er broke free from Master Wenzhu's embrace and landed in the Spirit Seclusion Garden. Blinking her big eyes, she looked happily at Gu Qingfeng and exclaimed with delight, "Big Brother, it's so wonderful to see you!"
"It's been over half a year. You've grown taller, little one."
Gu Qingfeng sat in his chair, stretched out his arms, and smiled slightly. "Come, let Big Brother give you a hug."
Little Jin'er didn't refuse at all and directly sat in Gu Qingfeng's lap. After Master Wenzhu descended, he initially wanted to stop her, but it was too late. He could only awkwardly and nervously greet Gu Qingfeng first. "Young Master Chiyan, I trust you've been well since we last met."
"Ha! Master Wenzhu, it's been a long time."
Gu Qingfeng returned the greeting. Fei Kui immediately brought over a chair and poured fine wine.
However, Master Wenzhu absolutely dared not sit down. He was a local. Although he had never met Gu Qingfeng before, he had heard almost all the rumors about him, especially the incident at Liuren Mountain some time ago—how he wiped out over ten thousand people from the Feng Hui Sect with a wave of his hand, terrified Patriarch Jiangzhu into collapse, and had the Twelve Chixiao People kneel and pay respects. He deeply understood that Gu Qingfeng's identity and background were mysterious and complex. Right now, outside opinions about Gu Qingfeng's background were varied: some said he was an upstart who had stumbled upon a great opportunity; others said he might have a powerful Chixiao background, possibly being a second-generation Chixiao; and quite a few said Gu Qingfeng might be an impostor pretending to be a second-generation Chixiao.
Exactly who Gu Qingfeng was, Master Wenzhu did not know, and naturally, he neither wanted nor dared to let his precious granddaughter have contact with him. But since things had already come to this, he couldn't very well say it outright. He could only stand to the side, nervous and helpless, while also worrying.
In contrast, Little Jin'er was innocent and adorable, not overthinking things. Nestled in Gu Qingfeng's arms, she said unhappily, "Big Brother, when you left First-Class Villa before, you promised you'd come find Jin'er. Jin'er waited for you for such a long time."
"My sincere apologies," Gu Qingfeng said apologetically. "Big Brother has been very busy recently. I was planning to go see you after finishing up this period of work, but I didn't expect you to come here instead."
"Jin'er wanted to come to Yunxia Sect to find Big Brother several times, but Grandpa wouldn't let me... Grandpa said... Big Brother's current identity is suspicious, and your situation is also very dangerous. He said Jin'er should stay away from Big Brother."
"Oh? Hahaha!"
"Young Master Chiyan, this old man..." Master Wenzhu's face changed dramatically, and he hurriedly tried to explain, but Gu Qingfeng waved a hand and laughed. "Master Wenzhu, you worry too much."
Gu Qingfeng glanced at the people who had appeared in the Spirit Seclusion Garden, then looked at the people in the sky above Yunxia Sect, and asked, "Jin'er, what are you and they... here for?"
"It's like this, Big Brother. This morning, Jin'er heard that Sister Su Hua was paying respects at the mausoleum in Chixiao Sovereign's hometown, so Jin'er dragged Grandpa along to come too. Unfortunately, Sister Su Hua had already left. While at the mausoleum, a talking spirit bird appeared out of nowhere, and everyone started fighting over it. Later, the spirit bird flew in this direction, so Jin'er followed it here."
"So that's what happened," Gu Qingfeng said with a laugh. "I thought they were all here to cause trouble for me."
"Little Jin'er, right? What did you just say? Immortal Su Hua came?" Hearing Su Hua's name, Huode couldn't help but ask curiously. "And she went to pay respects to the Chixiao Sovereign at the mausoleum beneath Chiyan Ridge?"
"Mhmm, old grandpa, you didn't know?"
"I really didn't."
The three of them chatted casually.
Within the Spirit Seclusion Garden, the gazes of Dianyun Branch Hall's Young Helm Master Xu Jintong, along with the three young masters from the Nine-Hua Alliance's Thirty-Six Huage—Chang Tianrui, Situ Zheng, and Bai Hanfei—remained locked on Gu Qingfeng. Their spiritual senses were also frantically probing him.
Just as Little Jin'er had said, they had all rushed over upon hearing the news that Immortal Su Hua was paying respects to the Chixiao Sovereign at the mausoleum. Unfortunately, Immortal Su Hua had long since departed. Instead, a spirit bird that could speak human language had caught their attention. In the struggle over it, the spirit bird escaped, and they chased it all the way here, only for it to vanish without a trace.
All four had emerged from seclusion not long ago. They had all heard the name Gu Qingfeng and knew this person was mysterious and bizarre. Whether he was an upstart, a genuine second-generation Chixiao, or an impostor, no one knew. But one thing was certain: Gu Qingfeng possessed unbelievable strength.
He had wiped out over ten Nascent Soul experts from the Feng Hui Sect with a wave of his hand.
He had caused over ten thousand casualties in the Feng Hui Sect with just a few moves.
That alone was enough to make anyone wary.
Although all four were now geniuses of the Great Nature five-realm nine-refold flowing-color cultivation, each possessed innate creations, and had nurtured nine-refold flowing-color Nascent Souls, if they wished, wiping out over ten ordinary Nascent Soul experts would be absolutely no difficult task for them. Deterring over ten thousand cultivators with a few moves would also be well within their capabilities.
Any one of the four had the ability to do so. However, relying on Purple Palace cultivation to wipe out over ten Nascent Soul experts—such an unbelievable and unheard-of feat—still forced them to be cautious and wary.
They were the young masters of the Thirty-Six Huage, also the chosen successors selected by the Nine-Hua Alliance's Thirty-Six Great Powers from among millions of disciples. Whether in terms of aptitude, talent, temperament, mindset, or experience, they were not comparable to ordinary second-generation heirs.
Otherwise, faced with someone who not only ignored them but was also laughing and chatting with a little girl, the three of them would not have remained so calm.
The same was true for Dianyun Branch Hall's Hall Master Xu Jintong. He was not unaware that Gu Qingfeng had previously killed a deputy hall master of his branch. Yet, seeing Gu Qingfeng now, he could still remain this calm, which was enough to show his remarkable and extraordinary mindset.
The four had been continuously probing Gu Qingfeng with their spiritual senses, but no matter how they probed and investigated, aside from the aura of the Purple Palace, they found nothing else on Gu Qingfeng.
Across from them, Gu Qingfeng paid no attention to these people. Upon hearing the name Su Hua, he also showed a bit of curiosity, because in the over half a year since his awakening, he had heard too many people mention this name. They said she was proficient and masterful in all ten immortal arts, giving lectures everywhere, offering guidance to the lost, and enlightening immortal fates, etc. Even those reincarnated experts held her in great respect.
Of course, that wasn't the reason for Gu Qingfeng's curiosity.
The real reason was that during casual chats with Huode before, he had heard that this woman Su Hua had been searching the world for him, and she had even come to Yunxia Sect to inquire about the Chiyan Heart. Therefore, his impression of the name Su Hua was particularly deep, and he was very interested in meeting this woman.
Looking at the people who had appeared in the Spirit Seclusion Garden, he held Little Jin'er with one arm, picked up his wine, took a light sip, and asked, "Do you have any business here?"