Not far away.
The Twelve Royal Lords and Twenty-Four Virtuous Dao Venerables of the Nine-Hua Alliance stood in the air. Hearing Gu Qingfeng's arrogant words, the twenty-four Daozun all shook their heads and sighed. Clearly, in their eyes, the boasts Gu Qingfeng had uttered were nothing but a deliberately mystifying joke, and a rather low-level one at that.
"That Gu Qingfeng truly has the gall to boast so shamelessly! If he truly dares to come today, I, Li Feng, will be the first to slaughter him!"
Daozun Bai Xuan advised, "Fourth Young Lord, do not be impulsive. Do not forget what happened on the Taixuan Platform—Ninth Young Lord's cultivation was crippled by him."
Li Feng scoffed disdainfully, "Old Ninth was merely at the Nascent Soul level. How can he be compared to me?"
"Exactly! Didn't that fellow surnamed Gu fail in forming his Golden Core? With Fourth Brother's strength, killing him would be more than sufficient, right?"
The other Royal Lords also laughed.
"Have you all forgotten how Huo Dong, Tu Gao, and the others died?" Daozun Bai Xuan said gravely. "That Gu Qingfeng failed in forming his core and suffered severe injuries, yet he still managed to wipe out dozens of people in one breath—and they were all geniuses blessed with great fortune. Such a thing, this old man had never even heard of before, and to this day, I cannot comprehend it. I must say, that Gu Qingfeng is truly mysterious and bizarre."
"When core formation fails, the Purple Mansion is bound to wither, and the foundation will subsequently decay. This is the law. No matter how mysterious or bizarre Gu Qingfeng is, he cannot defy the laws of cultivation."
The Twenty-Four Virtuous Dao Venerables discussed animatedly. Although they had all cultivated for thousands of years, more than half of that time had been spent in seclusion. Their experience and vision could hardly be called rich, and most of their understanding of cultivation came from various ancient texts and records.
And it wasn't just them.
Many cultivators in this world were more or less the same. Because a thousand years ago, cultivation emphasized two main schools of thought: one was Chan cultivation, and the other was ascetic cultivation.
Chan cultivation emphasized seclusion from the world. Only by distancing oneself from worldly affairs could the mind become pure. With a pure mind, there would be fewer distracting thoughts, thereby making cultivation twice the result with half the effort.
Therefore, some old-timers who had cultivated for thousands of years might have high cultivation levels, but their life experience was lacking. To put it nicely, they were rigid in their ways, preferring to do everything step-by-step. To put it bluntly, they were pedantic, unable to adapt, full of theories when debating, yet timid and hesitant when it came to real, life-and-death combat.
However, Daozun Bai Xuan was different. He belonged to the ascetic school. He spent little time in seclusion and much time traveling and gaining experience. Having experienced much, he naturally had seen much. Both his vision and experience were far beyond what those of the Chan school could compare to.
He understood clearly that the laws of cultivation were just that—laws. They did not mean there were no existences outside those laws.
At the very least, he knew that the Monarch Chixiao, who dominated the ancient era, was such an existence.
Back then, when Monarch Chixiao formed his Golden Core, he could form eighty-one of them. Who dared to say that wasn't outside the law?
When nurturing his Nascent Soul, he could nurture one with three heads and six arms. Who dared to say that wasn't outside the law?
When manifesting his Primordial Spirit, he could manifest one that blotted out the sky and covered the earth. Who dared to say that wasn't outside the law?
Monarch Chixiao defied the heavens with every step. From Foundation Establishment, True Body, Purple Mansion, to Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Primordial Spirit—which of his cultivation realms conformed to the laws of cultivation?
Which of his world-shaking, heaven-defying fortunes did not violate the laws of cultivation?
Nine destructions and nine reconstructions, losing his cultivation nine times, re-establishing his foundation nine times—did that conform to the law?
Nine Immortals and Nine Demons, achieving immortality nine times, falling into demonhood nine times, dual thrones of Immortal and Demon—did that conform to the law?
Looking at Monarch Chixiao's entire life, you could not find a single thing about him that conformed to the laws of cultivation.
There was one Monarch Chixiao.
Who dared to guarantee there wouldn't be a second or a third Monarch Chixiao?
Therefore, Daozun Bai Xuan believed nothing in the world was absolute. Anything was possible.
He paid no heed to Li Feng and instead looked at Jing Yun, asking, "What does First Young Lord think?"
"To fail in core formation yet still be able to wipe out Huo Dong and the others... that Gu Qingfeng is indeed extraordinarily bizarre. I hear he is neither a reincarnated soul nor a body-snatcher reborn, and he carries no great fortune on him... Heh... Such a person, I, Jing, truly wish to meet personally."
"There is one matter First Young Lord must definitely be cautious about."
"What matter?"
"Ziyang and the other Chixiao people risked their lives to protect the Soul-Link Bracelet. Previously, there were also rumors that Gu Qingfeng is the descendant and heir of Monarch Chixiao. So..." At this moment, Ma Gan, who was standing nearby, spoke up: "Senior Bai Xuan, you are overthinking this far too much. I can tell you very responsibly that Gu Qingfeng, that evil demon, is nothing but a fraud impersonating the Monarch's heir. Ziyang and these old fools have been in seclusion for many years and know nothing of the current era. They have no idea that after the Great Calamity, many frauds can forge fake Chishang Seal Tokens."
"Ziyang, Wei Xuan, and the others may have been in seclusion for many years, but Wan Sen previously managed Crimson-Letter Manor. He knows much about the current era and should naturally be aware that after the calamity, many people in the world forge fake Chishang Seal Tokens."
"Wan Sen?"
Hearing Wan Sen's name, the smile on Ma Gan's lips grew even more pronounced, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world. "Senior Bai Xuan, do you know why my master, also the old Incense Master Fang, could determine that Gu Qingfeng, that evil demon, is a fraud without even meeting him?"
"Oh? I would like to hear the details."
"Among those old fools Ziyang and Wei Xuan, only Wan Sen personally witnessed Gu Qingfeng forge a Chishang Seal Token. Although Wan Sen, that old fool, has not been in seclusion during the current era... it's a pity... he was merely a menial laborer in the Black Nether Banner of the Chixiao Sect back then, just running errands under my master. When he was in the Chixiao Sect back in the day, whether he had even seen a real Chishang Seal Token is an unknown."
Daozun Bai Xuan pondered for a moment, nodded, then shook his head again. "If that Gu Qingfeng truly is a fraud, then why didn't your Young Lord's Chixiao Dragon-Elephant devour Gu Qingfeng on the Taixuan Platform? And there are rumors that back at Yunxia Sect, your Young Lord's Chixiao Dragon-Elephant even took human form, knelt before Gu Qingfeng, and then dispersed..."
"Why Zheng Tian's Chixiao Dragon-Elephant did not devour Gu Qingfeng, I do not know. As for taking human form? Hmph! That's just those little girls deliberately mystifying things and talking nonsense! It's only a pity my son's consciousness is currently weak, otherwise asking him would reveal the reason."
Thinking of his son Ma Zheng Tian's condition, Ma Gan's anger flared uncontrollably. Gnashing his teeth, he said, "Today, as long as that evil demon surnamed Gu dares to appear, I, Ma Gan, even if I have to sacrifice my life, will avenge my son and wipe out this hatred!"
Daozun Bai Xuan offered a few words of comfort before sinking back into deep thought. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Gu Qingfeng was too mysterious and bizarre. A sense of worry arose in his heart, and he reminded, "First Young Lord, if that Gu Qingfeng truly dares to appear today, when the time comes, we must act with utmost caution. He knows so many people want him dead, yet he still dares to come. That can only indicate one thing."