Seeing the five Phoenix Hairpins, both Little and Big, allow Gu Qingfeng to leave just like that, everyone present was deeply puzzled. In their minds, Gu Qingfeng had instigated a little girl to fabricate such a lie, which not only damaged the reputations of the five Phoenix Hairpins but also tarnished their virtue, even amounting to an insult.
How could they let him off so easily?
After all, Lan Feier was the successor of the Fengyun Branch.
Huo Wu Chen Yue was the young mistress of the Huo Wu family.
Shui Yunruo was the successor of Taixing Cave.
And Qing Zhu and Xiao Danrou were, respectively, the Valley Master of Xiaoxian Valley and the Hall Master of Cloud-Heart Hall.
Even if these five Phoenix Hairpins truly chose not to pursue the matter, the people from their respective factions—the Fengyun Branch, the Huo Wu family, Taixing Cave, Xiaoxian Valley, and Cloud-Heart Hall—would certainly not let it slide. Seeing Gu Qingfeng showing signs of leaving, the elders and others from these five major forces immediately rushed forward.
Witnessing this scene, the five Phoenix Hairpins felt both exasperated and helpless, their hearts filled with utter frustration. Although the events of the Black-Raven Secret Realm had been exposed, they were the ones at fault in the first place. Moreover, Gu Qingfeng had already stepped forward to clarify the situation, so how could they have the face to pursue responsibility?
More importantly, they had all experienced firsthand how terrifying Gu Qingfeng was. If they wanted to hold him accountable, they would have done so long ago; why wait until now? Seeing their own people surging forward, clamoring to denounce Gu Qingfeng, the five Phoenix Hairpins immediately intervened to stop them.
The matter had almost settled down, and they didn’t want any further complications.
Most crucially, and what worried them the most, was that if these people really went to denounce Gu Qingfeng and his strength was exposed, wouldn’t that prove that the five of them had truly exhausted all their means yet failed to harm him?
If that were confirmed, then what Xiao Jinr said about the events in the Black-Raven Secret Realm would, in a sense, also be verified…
Thinking of this, the five Phoenix Hairpins felt on the verge of collapse.
Because of the Black-Raven Secret Realm incident, the five of them had always harbored a deep-seated resentment toward Gu Qingfeng, gnashing their teeth in anger—especially Lan Feier. Not only was this guy’s impersonation of Lord Chixiao’s heir still unresolved, but now the Black-Raven Secret Realm affair had surfaced. What drove her even more mad was that, because several Chixiao elders believed Gu Qingfeng was Lord Chixiao’s heir, she, as the successor of the Fengyun Branch, was forced to stand on the same side as him.
And now?
Out of fear that Gu Qingfeng’s strength would be exposed and the Black-Raven Secret Realm incident confirmed, she had to step forward and stop those denouncing him. She felt she was going insane. This guy had taken such advantage of her, yet now she had to protect him.
The five women’s earlier intense reactions had already aroused suspicion.
Now, when everyone was trying to denounce Gu Qingfeng on their behalf, not only did the five women not support it, they even stepped in to stop it. This made those already suspicious even more doubtful.
The five women were not unaware of this. They knew full well that the best course of action in such a situation was to remain silent and ignore it. But now, they simply couldn’t stay silent. Although stepping forward to intervene would raise suspicions, it was only suspicion. If Gu Qingfeng actually took action, it wouldn’t be mere suspicion anymore—it would be outright confirmation.
Just then, someone cast a spell technique at the Four-Steed Grand Carriage. Then came a second, a third…
In an instant, over twenty spell techniques shot toward it. Just as they were about to strike, five figures flashed forward. With a sweep of their arms, radiant light bloomed, and the twenty-plus spell techniques instantly dissipated.
Everyone focused their gaze and were stunned, because those who had acted were none other than the five Phoenix Hairpins: Huo Wu Chen Yue, Lan Feier, Shui Yunruo, Qing Zhu, and Xiao Danrou.
This scene left everyone dumbfounded.
No one could understand their behavior. Gu Qingfeng had clearly instigated a little girl to tarnish their virtue. Not only did they not pursue the matter, but when others tried to denounce him on their behalf, they stopped them. And now, they were actually protecting him?
This…
Why?
No one knew the reason.
At this moment, the five Phoenix Hairpins felt an indescribable awkwardness. All they hoped for now was that Gu Qingfeng would leave quickly, the farther the better. With so many experts present, to avoid any mishaps, the five women didn’t dare use secret voice transmissions. Instead, they kept shooting meaningful glances at Gu Qingfeng.
Gu Qingfeng had no intention of lingering either and signaled Fei Kui to depart.
“Wait!”
Seeing Gu Qingfeng about to leave, Tu Gao shouted and moved to intercept him. But the moment he moved, Huo Wu Chen Yue blocked his path.
“Huo Wu Chen Yue, why are you stopping me?”
“If he wants to leave, just let him go. Why chase after him?”
“My affairs are none of your concern! Get out of my way!”
“I refuse!”
“You!”
Beside them, Huo Dong, Ma Zhengtian, and the other Ten Little Hidden Dragons all wanted to give chase, but they were all blocked by Xiao Danrou and the others.
“Valley Master Qing Zhu and Hall Master Xiao, whether you pursue responsibility against him is none of my business, and I don’t wish to interfere,” Huo Dong said with a furrowed brow. Clearly, he couldn’t understand what these five women were thinking. He continued sternly, “But your actions make it impossible not to suspect. Could it be that what that little girl said earlier was true? Did you really engage in Dual Cultivation with him in the Black-Raven Secret Realm?”
“Huo Dong! What are you saying!”
“Huo Dong! How dare you spout such nonsense!”
“If you dare speak such drivel again, don’t blame me for being impolite!”
The more Huo Dong looked, the less sense it made. He shouted, “If not, then why are you protecting him like this?”
This question left the five Phoenix Hairpins feeling particularly awkward, unsure how to respond.
Over there, the Four-Steed Grand Carriage hadn’t gone far before it was blocked by another group of people. Huode cursed loudly and looked at Gu Qingfeng, saying, “Kid, do you have to be this lazy? What’s the big deal about using a Grand Teleportation?”
Grand Teleportation was a profound divine ability, typically only mastered by Daozuns who had manifested their Primordial Spirits. Although Gu Qingfeng’s cultivation was only at the Purple Palace stage, Huode knew that for Gu Qingfeng, this was no difficulty at all. As long as he had Spiritual Power, there was no divine ability he couldn’t execute.
Gu Qingfeng leaned casually against the carriage of the Four-Steed Grand Carriage, lazily glancing at Huode before retorting irritably, “If I could act, I would’ve gotten the hell out of here long ago. Why would I still be dawdling here with these little brats?”
“What’s going on? What do you mean you can’t act?”
“My Spiritual Power is extremely unstable right now. Forget using Grand Teleportation; even casually employing a bit of Spiritual Power might trigger a Spiritual Power riot.”
Gu Qingfeng could clearly feel the chaotic Spiritual Power surging wildly like a tsunami through his Purple Palace’s meridians, growing increasingly violent and disordered. The chaos had reached a point where Gu Qingfeng could no longer continue suppressing it. He had been pondering whether there was a solution, even considering whether to disperse his cultivation or condense a Golden Core.