"Gu, you there, do you agree that he was a wolf-hearted, dog-lunged, cold-blooded, heartless, emotion-deceiving, fickle, faithless scoundrel?"
The ethereal voice came again, still laden with endless mockery.
Gu Qingfeng stood quietly, hands clasped behind his back, gazing intently at the Taixuan Stele in the west. After a long silence, he replied, "I agree."
"Good!
That you admit it is good. He bears the surname Gu, and so do you. He admitted it with abandon back then, and now you admit it even more freely than he did. He was shameless back then, but I never thought you could be even more shameless than him, hehehe...
Gu, I ask you again, has Lord Chixiao Gu Tianlang truly died?"
"He has died..."
"Hehehe..." The woman laughed heartily, her laughter coming from all directions, entering the ears and causing intense discomfort—an indescribable, exceptionally unpleasant feeling.
"Gu, you said earlier that you've seen a wisp of Lord Chixiao's spiritual will..."
"So what?"
"Then did he ever mention a person to you?
That person's surname is Jun, given name Xuanji."
Hearing the woman mention the name Jun Xuanji, everyone present was startled. They all knew that Jun Xuanji was once the World-Venerable Lady of this world.
What did World-Venerable mean? It meant the Supreme Venerable of the World, the existence who ruled the world, wielded the world's laws, controlled the world's order. She was the supreme overlord, the foremost among many legendary women of the Ancient Era, and the goddess in the hearts of many women.
This included Lan Fei'er, Shui Yunruo, Xiao Shanrou, Qingzhu, and even Su Hua was no exception.
Others might not know, but Su Hua, born in the Nine Heavens in her previous life, was well aware that Jun Xuanji was not only a legend in this world, but also a famously renowned legendary prodigy in the Nine Heavens.
It was just a pity that later, she met Lord Chixiao. She abandoned her status as a Mystic Maiden, renounced her title as World-Venerable, stormed the Nine Heavens, defied the Immortal Dao, entered the Demonic Path, rebelled against the heavens, stained the Lonely Moon, swore a Heavenly Oath, severed heaven and earth...
A woman, a World-Venerable.
A legend.
A tragedy.
The main reason why Lord Chixiao could never shake off the hat of a 'philandering, fickle, faithless man' bestowed upon him by the world was precisely because of World-Venerable Lady Jun Xuanji.
"I asked you a question, why don't you answer? Did he ever mention the name Jun Xuanji to you?"
The ethereal voice came again. Gu Qingfeng remained silent, his brows knitted, his dark eyes filled with helplessness, conflict, and, more than anything, sorrow. He gazed at the Taixuan Stele in the west and responded, "What do you want me to say?"
"I'll listen to whatever you say!"
"Fine!"
Gu Qingfeng replied in a heavy voice, "He didn't mention anyone, including Jun Xuanji."
"Hehehehe..." The woman let out another peal of laughter. This time, it was no longer mocking or filled with resentment, but accompanied by boundless rage.
Her laughter seemed to make the very heavens crack and the earth tremble!
For a moment, the world spun.
"I ask you again, did he ever mention the name Jun Xuanji to you?"
"No!"
The woman's laughter grew even more furious. The heavens kept cracking, the earth trembled even more!
"I ask you again, did he ever mention the name Jun Xuanji to you?"
The woman asked again, and Gu Qingfeng answered again. This repeated over and over, just like the earlier questioning about whether Lord Chixiao had died—asking tirelessly, again and again, while Gu Qingfeng likewise responded each time with the same two words: 'No.' With each response, the woman's laughter grew more vast, the firmament cracked more violently, and the earth trembled more fiercely.
In the distance, the people from Little Immortal Valley, the Huowu Family, and Cloudheart Hall didn't understand what was happening but felt it was extremely bizarre. Not daring to stay long, they all retreated.
Qin Hao, Wan Huaiyu, and other reincarnated great experts knew how terrifying the Venerable Taixuan residing within the Taixuan Stele was. Without a second thought, they instantly flashed away.
"I ask you one more time, did he ever mention the name Jun Xuanji to you?"
"No!"
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a mysterious and vast pressure instantly swept forth. Those fleeing had no idea what was happening; their Heart-Minds instantly crumbled, and they fainted on the spot. Thud! Thud! Thud!
One after another, they plummeted from mid-air—those from Little Immortal Valley, the Huowu Family, even the fleeing reincarnated great experts were no exception. Their Heart-Minds all crumbled, their consciousness all lost.
A roar—the dragon's cry and elephant's fury came, but it was useless. Ziyang and the other Chixiao people all had their Heart-Minds crumble and consciousness fade.
In the garden of the Wind-Cloud Branch Hall, Su Hua immediately formed hand seals, summoning the Supreme Lingfu Seal to envelop Qian Shan, Shui Yunruo, and the others, attempting to resist the vast pressure.
However, it was utterly useless.
The Supreme Lingfu Seal dissipated like a bubble in an instant. With a thud, Qian Shan, Lan Fei'er, and the others had their Heart-Minds crumble and consciousness fade.
Only Su Hua remained.
Su Hua felt the terror of the pressure and dared not be negligent. She clasped her hands together, chanting scriptures, fortifying her Heart-Mind.
She knew this was Great Spiritual Pressure, but she had never seen such terrifying Great Spiritual Pressure before. Its force was comparable to the might of Heaven itself, utterly horrifying.
Just what kind of person was this Venerable Taixuan residing within the Taixuan Stele?
How could his Great Spiritual Pressure be so terrifying?
As she resisted, she sensed something strange. Su Hua looked up, her face instantly turning deathly pale. She saw that the western sky had somehow been engulfed by a sea of blood.
It was truly a sea of blood—a roiling, overwhelming sea of blood surging from the west, sweeping across the firmament of the sky...
A crimson, shadowy moon slowly rose from the west...
Seeing this Blood-Shadow Moon, Su Hua was greatly alarmed, utterly shocked. It was as if she had realized something, murmuring, "Blood staining the lonely moon...
Jun!
Xuan!
Ji!
—" Perhaps she was too shocked, causing her to lose focus. Her Heart-Mind instantly lost its defense and crumbled. Su Hua's consciousness sank, and she collapsed to the ground with a thud.
At this moment.
Everyone present, including Su Hua, had their Heart-Minds crumbled, consciousness lost, and bodies fallen to the ground.
Only Gu Qingfeng remained standing quietly in place, unmoved by the pressure no matter how powerful, by the aura no matter how vast.
Here, a crimson Blood-Shadow Moon hung in the western sky. A vast expanse of bloody color, like a flood or tsunami, devoured the firmament bit by bit. In the blink of an eye, the sky was filled with a bloody hue.
"I ask you one last time, did he ever mention the name Jun Xuanji to you?"
The voice came, no longer ethereal, no longer mocking, no longer angry, no longer assaulting from all directions. It was as if it were right beside him, echoing in the depths of his soul, in the recesses of his mind.
His white robes fluttered.
His black hair danced wildly.
Gu Qingfeng stared intently at the Blood-Shadow Moon hanging in the sky and said in a heavy voice, "No!"
"Gu!
Tian!
Lang!"
Swoosh!
A bloody phantom condensed and emerged from the Blood-Shadow Moon.
It was a woman.
Three thousand strands of white hair.
A robe of blood.
A woman of unparalleled grace, stunning beauty, and matchless elegance.
Her beauty was such that it dared to contend with the sun and moon for brilliance, a beauty that made all things in the world pale and dim in her presence.
She came from the Blood-Shadow Moon, arriving instantly, one hand clamping around Gu Qingfeng's neck.