The reason Gu Qingfeng personally buried the Chixiao Sect back then was his fear that after his departure, the Immortals of the Nine Heavens would seek revenge on his sworn brothers.
Even though he had annihilated the Immortal Dynasty of this world.
However, the Immortal Dynasty was just the Immortal Dynasty; above it were the Nine Heavens, and the Immortals of the Nine Heavens were countless—impossible to kill all, impossible to eradicate completely.
He was well aware that the Nine Heavens would one day descend again to rule over this world.
Even if the Immortals of the Nine Heavens didn't trouble the Chixiao Sect, this world would absolutely not tolerate the Chixiao Sect's existence.
After all, the Chixiao Sect had shed too much blood. The mere crime of obliterating the Immortal Dynasty was enough to stain every member of Chixiao for life, impossible to wash clean.
Even though Gu Qingfeng, to bestow grace upon the world back then, scattered spirit stones across the land, distributed spirit veins, and even cleaved open the Immortal River to bring down spiritual rain, it was all in vain.
He could bestow grace for a time, but not for a lifetime.
One day, the Immortal Dynasty would descend again. One day, the people of this world would forget the tyranny with which the Immortal Dynasty once oppressed them and instead turn their swords toward the Chixiao Sect.
This was beyond doubt, because everyone cultivated the Immortal Dao.
Gu Qingfeng had long foreseen this, which was why he buried the Chixiao Sect. He just hadn't expected that after the Calamity, the Crimson-Letter Sect would emerge from the turmoil.
As for the affairs of the Crimson-Letter Sect, he didn't want to meddle, couldn't be bothered to meddle, and certainly had no leisure to meddle. Yet, though the Crimson-Letter Sect wasn't founded by him, it arose because of him. If it were to perish in the future, it would inevitably perish because of him.
He was a sinner of the Immortal Dao, the chief culprit.
If the Immortal Dynasty were to crusade against the Crimson-Letter Sect, they would surely attribute the sins of the former Chixiao Sect to the Crimson-Letter Sect.
To be honest.
Gu Qingfeng couldn't care less about the life or death of the Crimson-Letter Sect. It's just that every branch of the Crimson-Letter Sect had members of Chixiao presiding over them.
And these Chixiao members were all the sworn brothers who had shared blood oaths with him back in the day.
Their lives and deaths, Gu Qingfeng had to care about.
But how to care?
Talking about it was easy; actually doing it was utterly perplexing.
Re-emerge into the world, proclaim to all under heaven, and gather all the Chixiao members together?
Gu Qingfeng shook his head. If he truly did that, he would inevitably tread the same old path as before. Even if he didn't want to, the Immortal Dynasty side would not tolerate it.
But if he didn't do that, what then?
He didn't know.
Truly didn't know.
Gu Qingfeng drank his wine, lost in thought, and asked, "Can you confirm that the Immortal Dynasty intends to move against the Crimson-Letter Sect?"
"Don't ask me about such matters. I only heard about it. I'm just giving you a heads-up, nothing more. You'd better figure this out clearly, kid. Whatever you do, don't walk that old path again."
Huode had watched Gu Qingfeng grow up and had always regarded him as family in his heart.
He didn't want Gu Qingfeng to stir up trouble.
Even more, he didn't want Gu Qingfeng to tread that old path again.
However, he understood Gu Qingfeng, knew he valued loyalty and righteousness. That's why he brought this matter up, leaving the decision to Gu Qingfeng himself.
"We don't know the situation over in the Divine Continent, but here in our Great Northwest, it's a bit hard to say."
Huode took a sip of his wine, organized his thoughts, and said, "You know the situation in the Four Directions Great Region. The Nine Hua Alliance was concocted by the Immortal Dynasty with the aim of dominating the Four Directions Great Region."
"And that's just the situation in the Four Directions Great Region. The entire Great Northwest has over a hundred great regions. Almost every great region has forces secretly backed by the Immortal Dynasty. Using these forces as a foundation, the Immortal Dynasty is everywhere winning over..."
"Among them, the Immortal Offices are the most prominent."
"Immortal Offices?"
Gu Qingfeng was unfamiliar with these two words.
"So-called Immortal Offices are naturally government offices opened by the Immortal Dynasty."
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng was quite surprised. "The Immortal Dynasty is already openly establishing government offices in the Great Northwest?"
"What do you think? And they started not long after the Calamity."
Huode took a puff from his large tobacco pipe. "This is the Modern Era, not the Ancient Era. In the Ancient Era, the Immortal Dynasty's hegemony monopolized all the spirit veins of this world, plunging the people into misery. No one looked favorably upon the Immortal Dynasty. But the Modern Era is different."
"After you overthrew them, when the Immortal Dynasty descended upon this world again, it was like they'd been replaced by a bunch of saints. They opened Immortal Rivers, brought down spiritual rain, bestowed grace upon the land..." "Then they established Immortal Offices in various great regions. At first, everyone was resistant to the Immortal Offices. Later, people found that the folks in the Immortal Offices had all turned into damn good people, great benefactors. Take our Great Northwest, for example."
"After the Calamity, the Immortal Dynasty set up government offices here. Guess what they did?"
"What?"
"The same things you did back in the day. Scattering spirit stones, distributing spirit veins. Not only that, but they also fostered new sects, giving them fixed resource subsidies annually. That's not the important part. The important part is, the people from the Immortal Offices even took care of the Crimson-Letter Sect's business."
Huode leaned in and asked, "Have you seen any demons, ghosts, or monsters in the Four Directions Great Region?"
Gu Qingfeng shook his head. He'd been here a while and really hadn't seen many demons, ghosts, or monsters.
"In the Ancient Era, the Great Northwest was a veritable mix of dragons and snakes—all sorts of evil cultivators, demons, monsters, and ghosts. Now? Forget demons, ghosts, and monsters; you can't even run into many evil cultivators, right?"
"Don't think this is the work of the Crimson-Letter Sect. This is the work of the Immortal Offices. Over the years, the Immortal Offices have been constantly eliminating demons and defending the Dao. Not only did they drive the demons, ghosts, and monsters of the Great Northwest beyond the borders, they also captured or killed all the notorious evil cultivators in the Great Northwest."
Gu Qingfeng smiled and shook his head. "The Immortal Dynasty's methods are quite sophisticated."
"Of course they are. Otherwise, why would half the sects in the Great Northwest now have pledged allegiance to the Immortal Dynasty?"
Huode let out a long sigh. "In the Ancient Era, the Immortal Dynasty lost the people's hearts, incurring the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people. The Modern Era is different. In the Modern Era, the Immortal Dynasty has learned to win over people's hearts. Once they've won over the hearts and secured their footing, then they'll deal with your Crimson-Letter Sect. By then, it'll be perfectly justified."
"You know how people are these days—quite pragmatic. 'Milk is mother,' and even more so when that mother is the Immortal Dynasty. After all, everyone cultivates the Immortal Dao. In the Ancient Era, the Immortal Dynasty, the birth mother, didn't acknowledge everyone as her children, so everyone acknowledged you, the stepfather. Now the Immortal Dynasty, the birth mother, acknowledges everyone as her children again, and treats them so well. Who still remembers the contributions of you, the stepfather?"
"Fewer and fewer people truly uphold righteousness these days. People are selfish. In the Ancient Era, you were a god in everyone's hearts. In the Modern Era, though many still regard you as a god, this god is the so-called 'Immortal Sin God.' In another thousand years or so, when the name Chixiao Sovereign is mentioned, it won't be a god anymore, but a thoroughgoing sinner of the Immortal Dao."
"I never expected to leave a lasting good name, nor did I want to be any god."
Gu Qingfeng's voice came through. Huode nodded. "I believe that."
Others might not know, but Huode knew perfectly clearly. Back then, when Gu Qingfeng embarked on that path, it was entirely a step-by-step descent into it. He had no other choice. Circumstances forced his hand. It was either him destroying the Immortal Dynasty, or the Immortal Dynasty destroying him.
PS: The updates have been a bit sparse these past couple of days. Please understand. The first volume is finished, and the second volume has just started. This is a transitional plot point bridging the two, so my thoughts are a bit scattered. Let me mull it over for a couple of days, and I'll make it up!