Su Hua and the others had no idea what was happening, all thinking Gu Qingfeng was joking.
However, they soon discovered something utterly unbelievable. After Gu Qingfeng finished a cup of wine, his cultivation level suddenly became the second layer of the Purple Mansion—silently, without any warning. This fellow didn't even furrow his brow, as if he was completely unaware of the matter, showing no reaction whatsoever.
Could it be that he truly didn't know his cultivation had advanced?
What a joke.
When one's own cultivation advances, even if it happens inexplicably beforehand, one would inevitably become aware of it afterward.
If so, why did he have absolutely no reaction to his cultivation advancement?
Not only that, he remained standing there, merely pouring wine for himself and chatting idly with Huode.
Just as the women were filled with suspicion and doubt, something even more bizarre occurred. Gu Qingfeng's cultivation advanced from the second layer of the Purple Mansion to the third layer.
And still, he showed no reaction, continuing to drink.
Immediately after, the fourth layer of the Purple Mansion...
The fifth layer...
The sixth layer...
Gu Qingfeng just kept drinking wildly, and his cultivation just kept advancing. One cup of wine, one breakthrough; one cup of wine, one advancement. After nine cups of wine, his cultivation had actually advanced all the way to the nine-layer Purple Mansion realm?
This scene stunned everyone, especially Su Hua. Having lived two lives, she had seen far too many immortal Dao geniuses—countless numbers of them. It wasn't that she hadn't seen rapid cultivation advancement before; continuous breakthroughs weren't rare either. Not to mention advancing continuously from the first to the ninth layer of the Purple Mansion, she had even seen people continuously form a Golden Core and then a Nascent Soul from the Purple Mansion stage.
However, most of these people had undergone closed-door cultivation—some for a hundred years, some for ten years, the shortest being several months.
But to say that someone like Gu Qingfeng could advance from the first layer to the ninth layer of the Purple Mansion in the blink of an eye after just a few cups of wine—not only had she never seen such a thing, she had never even heard of it before. One must know that in her previous life, she was a fairy born in the Nine Heavens. What kind of place were the Nine Heavens? Immortals were everywhere, and every single being who had cultivated to become an immortal was absolutely a peerless genius in the mortal world. Even so, she had never heard of anyone achieving nine consecutive breakthroughs in the blink of an eye.
Yet.
The real reason Su Hua felt a chill run down her spine was that she discovered Gu Qingfeng had been drinking from start to finish. When he advanced to the second layer, he showed no reaction; the third layer was the same; even when his realm finally advanced to the nine-layer Purple Mansion, he still showed no reaction.
With such a massive advancement in cultivation, it was impossible for him, as the person involved, not to know.
If he knew and still showed little reaction, in other words, advancing nine layers was completely within his expectations.
Not only was it within his expectations, but this matter also seemed utterly ordinary to him—so ordinary that it couldn't spark the slightest interest in him, far less attractive than a few cups of fine wine.
Even if he wasn't a reincarnated person, if he were, achieving nine consecutive advancements couldn't possibly elicit no reaction at all!
Just what kind of person was he!
Su Hua screamed inwardly, staring at Gu Qingfeng with wide, stunned eyes as if looking at a monster.
If even she was like this, let alone Lan Fei'er, Shui Yunruo, and the others. Witnessing Gu Qingfeng's cultivation advance from the first layer to the ninth layer of the Purple Mansion with their own eyes, the women were instantly dumbfounded, their minds unable to function normally, their thoughts a complete blank.
"Alright, let's head back."
After finishing a pot of wine, Gu Qingfeng waved his hand, signaling for Huode to leave. Then, he glanced at the chaotic Taixuan Platform, shook his head slightly without further thought, tapped his toes, leaped up, and his entire person instantly transformed into a streak of light, shooting straight into the sky.
Suppressing the shock in her heart, Su Hua was the first to give chase, followed closely by Qianshan.
Shui Yunruo and Lan Fei'er also wanted to chase after him to see what was going on, but by the time they reacted, Gu Qingfeng had long since vanished without a trace.
"Just now...
he...
his cultivation...
cultivation..." Lan Fei'er seemed not yet recovered from the previous scene, her small mouth opening and closing slightly. Perhaps due to excessive shock, her speech was somewhat halting. After a long while, she finally asked in astonishment, "His cultivation advanced from the first layer to the ninth layer of the Purple Mansion?
Did you all see that?"
Shui Yunruo and the others all nodded, similarly unable to regain their composure for a long time.
Only Huode was accustomed to all of this. Not to mention instantly advancing nine layers, even if Gu Qingfeng achieved immortality on the spot, he wouldn't be particularly surprised.
Didn't conform to cultivation norms?
Contradicted the laws of the Immortal Dao?
Others might not know, but Huode knew very clearly that Gu Qingfeng's previous cultivation, from foundation to Purple Mansion, to Golden Core and Nascent Soul, not a single stage conformed to cultivation norms, and not a single one didn't violate the laws of the Immortal Dao. Compared to those, instantly advancing nine layers of the Purple Mansion was child's play.
Gazing at the sky, Huode muttered inwardly: Kid Gu, oh Kid Gu, back when you formed your Golden Core, you formed eighty-one of them, summoning the damn heavenly tribulation. This time, please don't produce eighty-one Golden Cores again.
As he spoke, Huode sighed heavily, suddenly remembering that Gu Qingfeng had said earlier that he himself didn't know what would happen.
In the world of cultivation, one often has no control over oneself.
Huode knew, and had heard Gu Qingfeng mention, that in his current existence, many things were simply beyond his control.
If it weren't for this, Gu Qingfeng wouldn't have deliberately suppressed his cultivation, refusing to advance it.
...
Above the clouds, Su Hua and Qianshan stepped onto the cloud layer, using their spiritual sense to lock onto Gu Qingfeng as they shot straight up into the firmament.
The void was filled with fierce and savage Gang Wind. The higher one went, the stronger the Gang Wind became. Ordinary cultivators, even Daozun, would find it difficult to withstand the Gang Wind at the cloud layer. More terrifyingly, above the clouds, there wasn't just Gang Wind, but also the pressure from the sky itself—the legendary Heavenly Might.
Although neither Su Hua nor Qianshan were ordinary people, as they got closer and closer to the firmament, the Gang Wind became increasingly terrifying, and so did the Heavenly Might. Su Hua was fine, seemingly unaffected, but Qianshan was already beginning to struggle.
"Just what kind of person is that Gu Qingfeng? I am of an exotic race, my physical body inherently powerful beyond compare. Reaching this point has already been extremely strenuous, yet how does he look completely unaffected?"
Qianshan's voice came through. Su Hua shook her head, offering no response.
If possible, she too would very much like to know the answer to that question. Although she possessed profound destiny and didn't fear the Gang Wind at the cloud layer, Heavenly Might was something that shook the mind and spirit. It wasn't something one could withstand just by having great destiny. Under the heavens, no destiny could withstand Heavenly Might. No matter how powerful one's mind and spirit, facing increasingly powerful Heavenly Might, they would tremble with fear.
Facing the increasingly powerful Heavenly Might, even Su Hua had no choice but to fortify her mind and spirit, slowing her speed. But what about that Gu Qingfeng? Not only did he not slow down, he actually went faster and faster. This couldn't help but make one wonder: just how bold was he? Did he not fear Heavenly Might?
No!
Impossible!
Facing Heavenly Might, it wasn't a matter of being bold enough to not fear it.
Human fear of Heavenly Might is innate, predestined. Just as mice are naturally afraid of cats, it is the order of heaven and earth, a law that no one can defy—unless one can leap beyond the laws of heaven and earth, or refuse to abide by the order of heaven and earth.