"Where could he be hiding now?"
Su Hua murmured softly to herself.
She very much wanted to find Gu Qingfeng. Not only did she want to know the current state of his injuries, but she also wanted to know whether Gu Qingfeng was truly the descendant and heir of Lord Chixiao. If he was, Su Hua wanted even more to ask whether Lord Chixiao was still alive. This was what concerned her most.
Alas.
Gu Qingfeng seemed to have evaporated from the mortal world, disappearing without a trace.
At that moment, someone suddenly rushed hurriedly into the garden. It was a girl of about seventeen or eighteen, her delicate face etched with anxiety, her strikingly vivid crimson hair particularly eye-catching. It was Ouyang Ye.
"Ye Ye?"
Seeing Ouyang Ye's flustered state, Su Hua asked, "What's wrong?"
"Sister Su Hua, it's... it's not good..." Whether from excessive urgency or from expending too much spiritual power on the journey, Ouyang Ye was panting heavily, her words coming in fits and starts. "Go quickly and save Jin'er! They... they're all looking for Jin'er!"
"What's wrong with Jin'er? And who are 'they'?"
"Many people, everyone... They heard Jin'er has a bracelet, and that through the bracelet they can find Gu Qingfeng. Now... now they're all searching for Jin'er like mad."
Hearing this, Su Hua's expression stiffened slightly. "Where is Jin'er right now?"
"Sister Fei'er and Sister Yunruo have already taken Jin'er to the Fengyun Branch to hide... They told me to... to come tell you... Sister Su Hua, please go quickly! Many people already know this news... I'm afraid... I'm afraid by then..."
"Let's go!"
Without hesitation, Su Hua took Ouyang Ye and Qian Shan and immediately set off for the Fengyun Branch.
On the way, Su Hua learned the details of what had happened.
Many people outside were calling Gu Qingfeng a demonic fiend. Jin'er, wanting to defend Gu Qingfeng, had gotten into an argument with someone. Perhaps unable to win the debate, in a fit of anger she revealed that Gu Qingfeng had given her a Soul-Link Bracelet. She even threatened to call Gu Qingfeng over right then and there in front of everyone using the Soul-Link Bracelet to prove these people were slandering him.
Fortunately, Ouyang Ye had been present at the time, stopping Xiao Jinr in time and immediately summoning Lan Fei'er and the others via messenger talisman.
Although they had left as quickly as possible, the news that Xiao Jinr wore a Soul-Link Bracelet gifted by Gu Qingfeng had already spread like wildfire, reaching the Four Great Regions at the fastest possible speed.
Cultivators all knew that the Soul-Link Bracelet was a rather special type of spiritual treasure.
When the creator forges such a bracelet, they infuse a wisp of their divine sense into it. Once the bracelet undergoes any change, their mind and spirit will sense it accordingly, hence the name 'Soul-Link Bracelet'.
Because the Soul-Link Bracelet is connected to one's mind and spirit, if the bracelet meets with misfortune, the creator's mind and spirit will also suffer a setback, posing a great danger. Therefore, even if the creator wishes to gift one, they would only give it to someone extremely close and important to them—a beloved family member or partner.
Generally speaking, sect heirs apparent or family successors would wear Soul-Link Bracelets. After all, sects invest immense effort and resources into nurturing them and absolutely cannot afford any accidents. As long as divine sense is activated through the bracelet, the creator will be the first to sense it.
For instance, practically every one of the Ten Little Hidden Dragons and the Thirty-Six Huage Young Masters of the Four Great Regions possessed a Soul-Link Bracelet. Unfortunately, Gu Qingfeng had acted too swiftly back then, so fast they hadn't even had a chance to activate their bracelets.
...
It was high noon on this day, the scorching sun blazing like fire.
The Fengyun Branch, stationed in the Liuli Great Region, was currently surrounded by thousands of people, packed layer upon layer, inside and out, a dense sea of humanity everywhere.
There were members of Yuqing Sect, Qixing Sect, Yuanying Sect, Zishan Sect, the Murong Family, the Huwei Family, and so on. It was no exaggeration to say that nearly all the major powers of any repute in the Four Great Regions had arrived, and large numbers of disciples from these major powers were still rushing to the scene.
The leaders of these major powers were all Sect Heads who commanded awe across the Four Great Regions.
Such as the Sect Head of Yuqing Sect, Daozun Yuqing.
The Sect Head of Qixing Sect, Daozun Qixing.
The Sect Head of Zishan Sect, Daozun Zishan.
The Family Head of the Murong Family, Daozun Murong.
The Family Head of the Huwei Family, Daozun Wang Yao.
Looking around, all the Sect Heads and Family Heads of the major powers who should have come were here. Scanning the crowd, the veteran Nascent Soul experts from the various sects numbered nearly a hundred in total, and over ten Daozun had also arrived.
Such a lineup was undeniably formidable. At the very least, since the great calamity a hundred years ago in the Four Great Regions, a gathering of so many experts had never occurred—not even once. And these were only the visible, nameable ones.
Everyone knew that the nine Supreme Elders of Yuqing Sect, the Supreme Elders of Zishan Sect, Yuanying Sect, and other major powers had already emerged from seclusion. Most of these Supreme Elders were Daozun themselves. Although their figures were not spotted within the crowd at the moment, that didn't mean they were unaware of what was happening here.
The existence of a Daozun was absolutely something cultivators yearned for and looked up to.
After transcending the ordinary with the Nascent Soul, one must undergo eighty-one transformations before the infant can transform into a spirit, nurturing a Nascent Soul and achieving the title of Daozun.
If Nascent Soul power could effortlessly destroy a mountain, then Nascent Soul power could overturn rivers and seas without the slightest effort.
The gap between the two was as vast as that between a rat and a tiger—utterly incomparable.
Even more terrifying was that a Nascent Soul could traverse a thousand miles in an instant and kill from afar.
Was that all?
No!
The true strength of a Daozun lay in their ability to comprehend divine abilities and immortal arts. The profundity of divine abilities and immortal arts was extremely terrifying. Even an ordinary punch could contain a myriad of changes, making it impossible to guard against and leaving nowhere to hide. Precisely because of this, Nascent Soul experts were utterly vulnerable before a Nascent Soul Daozun. Even veteran Nascent Soul experts who had cultivated for millennia and completed the eighty-one transformations to perfection had no choice but to flee when facing a Nascent Soul Daozun.
'In the Immortal Dao, none are truly sincere; on the path of cultivation, one grows cautious; swallowing hatred within the heart; once achieving Daozun, mysteries comprehended become divine; ten thousand True Humans' graves...'
This was a well-known old saying, describing an eternal, unchanging phenomenon among cultivators.
It spoke of how many people, after embarking on the path of cultivation, would gradually experience its hardships. In the struggle for benefits, family could become enemies, brothers could turn against each other. Experiencing the fickleness of human relationships, many gradually grew cautious, storing all hatred in their hearts. Once they finally cultivated a Nascent Soul, achieved Daozun, and comprehended divine abilities, they would unleash great slaughter to settle old scores and exact vengeance. Hence the saying about 'ten thousand True Humans' graves'.
This phenomenon had been passed down since ancient times, unchanged for millennia. In any region, whenever someone achieved Daozun, a pile of True Humans would inevitably perish because of it.
While it was a phenomenon, it also illustrated a certain truth: after cultivating a Nascent Soul and achieving Daozun, one's strength increased manifold, enabling them to effortlessly and easily obliterate Nascent Soul True Humans.