Within the Nine-Hua Alliance, many reincarnated great powers lay hidden.
Most of them cultivated in seclusion, maintaining an extremely low profile. They not only refused invitations from various major sects but also rarely interacted with others.
The reason for this was not because they considered themselves aloof, nor was it due to their inherent nature. Their state of mind could hardly be described as free from desires. Rather, before their reincarnation, they had all aspired to become Immortals. They had experienced much and, consequently, knew much.
As the saying goes, ignorance breeds fearlessness.
The more one knows, the more cautious and hesitant one becomes.
In the eyes of ordinary people, the era following the Great Cataclysm, with all things reviving, was a beautiful age.
But in the eyes of those who had reincarnated, behind this beautiful age lurked countless hidden undercurrents and many mysterious, unknown existences. Most crucially, reincarnation itself was a kind of sin. Who knew when Heaven might descend with its judgment? Therefore, they had no choice but to keep a low profile.
Their presence here today to listen to the Dao Lecture was entirely out of respect for Su Hua's face.
They all knew Su Hua's identity. They knew she possessed knowledge of heavenly secrets above and earthly divinations below, and was proficient in the art of divination. Coming here, they mostly wished to seek a divination from her. They simply hadn't expected Situ Zhengnan to push them into the public eye. Since Situ Zhengnan was a disciple of Hua Xiong, the Alliance Leader of the Nine-Hua Alliance, and they themselves were hiding within the Nine-Hua Alliance, they felt they had to give him some face, however reluctantly.
Earlier, the three of them had listened as the crowd kept discussing the name Gu Qingfeng.
As for who Gu Qingfeng was, the three of them didn't know and had no interest whatsoever.
However, they never could have imagined that the Gu Qingfeng everyone was talking about was actually that mysterious and bizarre person from the Black Crow Secret Realm.
Yes.
Mysterious and bizarre.
All three remembered clearly. That day, inside an ancient temple within the Black Crow Secret Realm, they had all been affected by the Buddha Aura and were unable to enter. Yet when this young man appeared, not only was he unaffected by the Buddha Aura, but with a flick of his fingers, he condensed and manifested thousands of spirit incantations to shatter the aura and directly charge inside. What left the deepest impression on them was this person's terrifying strength—a single slap had nearly beaten Elder Jin half to death.
When Gu Qingfeng appeared, none of the three could remain seated. They stood up. Wan Huaiyu and Qin Hao exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's hearts. Beside them, Elder Jin's expression was extremely unnatural, the muscles at the corner of his mouth twitching slightly as he stared fixedly at Gu Qingfeng, a sharp killing intent gleaming in his gloomy eyes.
"Brother Jin, I advise you to calm down. How terrifying this person's existence is, I need not say; you should understand clearly yourself."
Wan Huaiyu seemed to have discerned Elder Jin's thoughts and persuaded, "Although he possesses neither pure aura nor turbid aura, the powerful methods he displayed in the Black Crow Secret Realm, especially that hint of disdainful killing intent that flashed in his eyes when he warned you that day, are enough to prove his existence is beyond our imagination. If you don't want to lose your life, you'd better behave."
Hearing this, Elder Jin's heart gave a violent jolt. The killing intent in his eyes instantly vanished without a trace, replaced by an unconcealable wariness—a deep, profound wariness. He understood better than anyone how terrifying the killing intent in that young man's eyes had been that day. It was the most domineering, most disdainful killing intent he had witnessed in both his lifetimes. He truly could not imagine what kind of person could reveal such terrifying killing intent with just a single glance.
The scene within the platform was chaotic.
The Ten Little Hidden Dragons, the Young Masters of the Hua Pavilion, the Taixuan Young Lords, and the heir apparent and direct disciples of various major sects all stood on the Taixuan Platform, surrounding Gu Qingfeng in layer upon layer, leaving him not an inch of escape. If not for Immortal Su Hua persistently guarding him, this crowd would likely have torn him to pieces without hesitation.
At this moment, Gu Qingfeng had undoubtedly become the number one 'hot commodity' on the Taixuan Platform.
Having debuted for barely a year, he had killed many young nobles, naturally offending many major sects and great clans.
By impersonating the Heir of Lord Chixiao, one could say he had offended the entire world's Crimson-Letter forces.
Declaring himself an evil demon at Liuren Mountain was tantamount to making an enemy of the entire world.
Deceiving, violating, and defiling Immortal Su Hua had offended everyone.
In other words, if anyone could slay Gu Qingfeng today, they would absolutely make a name for themselves, shaking the Four Great Regions, even the entire Great Northwest Frontier. Who would want to miss such an opportunity?
No one.
Especially the Little Hidden Dragons like Ling Feng, Tu Gao, Ma Zhengtian, Wang He, and Huo Dong. They understood better than anyone how rare this opportunity was, and they also understood better than anyone how immense the benefits this opportunity could bring. It was no exaggeration to say that whoever slew Gu Qingfeng today would have the title of 'Leader of the Ten Little Hidden Dragons' fall upon them.
Most crucially, the year's end was approaching, and the Centennial Term was imminent. The Thirty-Six Giants of the Nine-Hua Alliance were all engaged in overt and covert struggles, vying to pull various forces to their side. Being able to slay Gu Qingfeng would undoubtedly provide immense benefits in rallying support.
Under such circumstances, how could they not go mad?
One by one, they stared at Gu Qingfeng, their expressions truly resembling hungry wolves spotting a little lamb, wishing they could slaughter him on the spot.
They were frenzied; they were hungry wolves.
And at this moment, that man in white also resembled a lamb waiting to be slaughtered—a lost little lamb at that. The resemblance was striking.
And indeed, that was the case. Gu Qingfeng had no idea what was going on. He had met the Daughter of Original Sin, returned to find Huode missing, was just puzzling over it when Su Hua dragged him to the Taixuan Platform. Seeing this crowd of people eyeing him like tigers watching their prey, Gu Qingfeng was utterly bewildered.
"What's going on?"
Gu Qingfeng glanced at Huode and transmitted with a laugh, "I was only gone for a short while. How did it get this chaotic?"
"It's all because of the mess you stirred up, kid."
"Me?"
Gu Qingfeng rubbed his chin, sat back down on the carriage, and asked, "How so?"
Huode used a secret sound transmission to briefly explain the situation. Listening, Gu Qingfeng frowned, then found it both laughable and exasperating. He cursed with a laugh, "Damn it, I thought it was something serious. Just because I had Su Hua give me a massage, these people want to kill me?"
"What else did you think? This old man warned you long ago. Su Hua's reputation is immense, her prestige high. You shouldn't have provoked her for no reason. But you, kid, had to have her give you a massage. Now that it's spread, everyone thinks you defiled the Immortal and wants to skin you alive."
Huode said with exasperation, "Of course, that's not all. Now everyone considers you a fraud—deceiving the Immortal, deceiving the Crimson-Letter forces. They all say you're a fake impersonating your own heir..." As he spoke, Huode couldn't help but chuckle, deliberately teasing, "Don't you think this is quite ironic and utterly absurd..." Gu Qingfeng was rendered speechless. Thinking about it carefully, indeed, it was both ironic and utterly absurd.
Being mistaken by others for impersonating himself was absurd enough, but to top it off, impersonating his own heir? What could be more absurd than that?