The area around the Wind-Cloud Branch Hall was packed with a sea of people, stretching as far as the eye could see, countless in number.
People from the major sects of the Four Great Regions were all eyeing Gu Qingfeng here with predatory intent.
Perhaps because Gu Qingfeng was too mysterious, or too bizarre, none of them dared to make the first move. Even though they could all see that Gu Qingfeng's aura was weak, that he had no Spiritual Breath about him at all, and even though the twelve Chixiao People like Ziyang were no longer guarding him, they still did not dare.
The sect leaders of the major sects might have been blinded and confused by hatred when they first saw Gu Qingfeng, but now that they had calmed down, the more they looked, the more bizarre he seemed. The more bizarre, the more wary they became in their hearts. The more wary, the less they dared to act.
Gu Qingfeng clearly had no cultivation, yet he could stand calmly in mid-air at this moment.
This was one of the things that made them feel strange.
Added to that was the way Gu Qingfeng carried himself—that effortless ease, that casual indifference, that carefree naturalness—it truly made them unable to get a proper read on him.
Most importantly, the kind of utmost reverence that the twelve Chixiao People like Ziyang showed towards Gu Qingfeng forced them to seriously consider one question: was Gu Qingfeng truly the heir of Monarch Chixiao?
This question was too important.
They didn't even dare to provoke the Chixiao People. If Gu Qingfeng really was the heir of Monarch Chixiao, the consequences were simply unimaginable.
Thinking of this, the sect leaders of the major sects were not just wary anymore; they were beginning to feel afraid.
Of course.
Not all the big shots were afraid.
Nor were all the sects here for revenge.
Many more had come just to join the spectacle.
For example, the Cloud-Heart Hall, the Little Immortal Valley, the Fire-Dance Clan, and so on. Xiao Danrou, Qing Zhu, and Huo Wu Chen Yue had all come. Not only had they come, but the old Hall Master of Cloud-Heart Hall and his Supreme Elders, the old Valley Master of Little Immortal Valley and several of his Supreme Elders, the old clan head of the Fire-Dance Clan, Huo Wu Hengsheng—who was also Huo Wu Chen Yue's grandfather—had pretty much all arrived.
Many people were puzzled. Although Gu Qingfeng had killed quite a few heir apparent disciples, none were from Cloud-Heart Hall, Little Immortal Valley, or the Fire-Dance Clan. They didn't know why these old seniors, who had lived in seclusion for many years and paid no heed to worldly affairs, had also come today.
Was it just to join the spectacle?
They didn't know.
Not only did they not know, even Huo Wu Chen Yue couldn't figure it out. She clearly knew that her grandfather had chosen to retire into seclusion after suffering severe injuries over four hundred years ago. After the Great Calamity, he had practically never left the clan, not even once. He had never even visited the Tai Xuan Stele of the Nine Radiance Alliance. Even when the Alliance Head of the Nine Radiance Alliance personally invited him, the old man had refused to meet.
Why was he in such high spirits today?
To join the spectacle?
No!
Impossible!
Huo Wu Chen Yue knew her grandfather was absolutely not someone who would join a spectacle. Moreover, even if he really had come to watch, it didn't seem like it. Ever since arriving at the Wind-Cloud Branch Hall, her grandfather had been looking distracted and absent-minded. This puzzled Huo Wu Chen Yue greatly. Since she was born, this was the first time she had seen her grandfather like this. Especially when Gu Qingfeng arrived, she noticed the old man was no longer just absent-minded; he had become completely flustered.
"Grandfather...
What's wrong with you?"
Huo Wu Hengsheng was an old man with graying hair, wearing a very ordinary gray robe. His old face was covered with the marks left by the passage of time. His turbid eyes were now fixed intently on Gu Qingfeng, his gaze especially complex. It seemed as if he was struggling with something, and also as if he was afraid of something. He would glance at the Chixiao People like Ziyang, then at Huode, and when he looked at Gu Qingfeng, the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably, and his breathing became increasingly rapid.
Seeing her grandfather's flustered state, Huo Wu Chen Yue was extremely worried. The other members of the Fire-Dance Clan also had no idea what was going on. In their memory, the old man had been absent-minded for the past few months. To be precise, he had become like this ever since returning from a trip to Jiangzhu Mountain.
Jiangzhu Mountain was the cultivation place of the Jiangzhu Ancestor, Senior Nan Qing. A few months ago, the Jiangzhu Ancestor had been inexplicably frightened into madness by Gu Qingfeng at Liu Ren Mountain, and he remained insane to this day. As for why he had been frightened into madness by Gu Qingfeng, Huo Wu Chen Yue didn't know either. What she couldn't understand was why her grandfather had become like this after a trip to Jiangzhu Mountain.
"Grandfather...
Don't scare me, what exactly is wrong with you?"
Huo Wu Hengsheng did not speak. His face just grew increasingly grim, and his breathing more and more ragged. A memory he had sealed away long ago surged forth continuously in his mind.
It was a shadow he did not wish to recall, and dared not recall.
Over four hundred years ago, an ancient cave mansion named Qingxia appeared in the Four Great Regions. Because the cave mansion was full of dangerous traps, he and the sect leaders of the Nine Great Powers of the Four Great Regions at that time joined forces to charge in. They were from the Jade Purity Sect, Purple Mountain Sect, Yuan Eagle Sect, Little Immortal Valley, Cloud-Heart Hall, and Jiangzhu Mountain.
After charging in, they discovered that all the treasures inside the cave mansion had already been taken by a young man surnamed Gu. Back then, unable to resist the temptation, they prepared to join forces to eliminate that young man surnamed Gu. In the end, not only did they fail to eliminate him, but they were also severely injured by that young man. For this, his Phoenix Bloodline True Body even had one of its wings broken.
The fact that the sect leaders of the Nine Great Powers of the Four Great Regions had joined forces to rob a young man was already disgraceful in itself. Being severely injured by the young man was an even greater humiliation. Therefore, apart from themselves, no one else knew about this matter. This secret had been buried deep in his heart.
Because the young man they had joined forces to rob back then was named Gu Tianlang, also known as the Monarch Chixiao who dominated the world in the ancient era.
Because of this, they hid for a very, very long time. Only after Monarch Chixiao was judged by the Immortal Dao and reduced to ashes did they dare to return.
He had originally thought this matter was over, and even he himself had almost forgotten it.
However, he never, ever expected that a few months ago, the Jiangzhu Ancestor would be frightened into mental confusion by a young man at Liu Ren Mountain.
And that young man was also surnamed Gu...
What made Huo Wu Hengsheng even more unable to believe it was that at the time, that young man had also mentioned the two characters 'Qingxia'.
Again surnamed Gu, and again Qingxia.
Huo Wu Hengsheng immediately thought of one person.
He went to Jiangzhu Mountain at the first opportunity.
He still remembered clearly to this day, the Jiangzhu Ancestor, in his madness, kept muttering a few words: He's back...
Although Huo Wu Hengsheng did not believe that person was still alive, nor did he believe he could come back...
But being surnamed Gu and the mention of Qingxia forced him to doubt.
The two characters 'Qingxia' were a secret he would rather die than reveal to outsiders. Not because the joint robbery back then was disgraceful, but because the person they had robbed was the world-dominating Monarch Chixiao. He would not speak of it, and he believed that the others who participated in the matter back then would absolutely not reveal it either.