Gu Qingfeng had originally intended to take this opportunity to inquire about the situation with Ku Mu. However, seeing the seniors from Wuse Mountain fully focused on restoring the Teleportation Array, he couldn't bear to disturb them. After some thought, he decided he would personally visit Wuse Mountain another time.
"I never expected a Rogue Cultivator like you to be so stubborn. Senior Jing Lei offered you a Blue Cloud Crystal Ore, yet you refused it, insisting on staying in this dangerous cave dwelling to search for treasure."
The one who responded was a woman dressed in a green silk skirt, with exquisite features and a head of crimson hair. It was none other than Ouyang Ye.
She had clearly overheard the conversation between Gu Qingfeng and the seniors from Wuse Mountain earlier. As she appeared, she couldn't help but chide him, "Little do you know, more often than not, failing to find treasure means losing your life for it."
Gu Qingfeng had already altered his appearance the moment he entered this place. He had transformed into a handsome, dashing, and elegant young man. Looking at the approaching Ouyang Ye, Gu Qingfeng responded with a smile, "Since ancient times, it's been said: Humans die for wealth, birds perish for food. Dying while seeking treasure may cost you your life, but it's no disgrace."
Perhaps it was because Gu Qingfeng's transformed appearance was simply too handsome.
Or perhaps it was his graceful demeanor and smiling expression.
Or maybe it was his leisurely, teasing tone.
All of this made Ouyang Ye take a few extra glances at him. She pursed her lips and said, "You've already fallen to the level of a Rogue Cultivator, yet you still care about disgrace or not? Being able to stay alive is good enough!"
"What do you mean, 'fallen to the level of a Rogue Cultivator'? What's wrong with being a Rogue Cultivator?"
"Rogue Cultivator..." Ouyang Ye sized up Gu Qingfeng from head to toe, growing more and more puzzled as she looked. "Somehow, you don't look like a Rogue Cultivator to me."
"There's a 'look' for Rogue Cultivators?"
Gu Qingfeng gently fanned himself with his folding fan, glanced at himself left and right, and chuckled, "What part doesn't look like one?"
"Every part."
Ouyang Ye stared at Gu Qingfeng. The more she looked, the less this fellow seemed like a Rogue Cultivator. In her impression, most Rogue Cultivators were vagrants who didn't have a very good life. At least, the few Rogue Cultivators she had encountered were like that—they had all violated their sect's rules and been expelled.
Although there were also those who couldn't stand the constraints of sect rules and pursued freedom, these people were generally quite unkempt, the type who didn't bother with appearances. Traveling alone in the outside world, even if they wanted to be particular, they couldn't manage it.
In the current era, unless one was a heaven-defying prodigy, without the support of a family or the backing of a sect, it was extremely difficult for a single person to make a name for themselves in this world. Forget making a name—simply staying alive was a challenge.
In contrast, this fellow before her, who claimed to be a Rogue Cultivator, wore simple and plain clothes, but they were clean. Especially that handsome face of his—there wasn't a trace of the weathering one would expect from someone wandering outside.
If you said he was a Rogue Cultivator, Ouyang Ye wouldn't believe it even with a hundred reasons. But if you said he was a young master from some great family, that would seem more plausible.
Thinking more carefully, that didn't seem right either. What kind of young master, with only Golden Core cultivation, would dare to barge into an ancient cave dwelling all alone?
Did he not want to live?
Ouyang Ye was about to ask something when the seniors from Wuse Mountain had already restored the Teleportation Array. Senior Jing Lei formed hand seals and cast a spell, instantly activating the array, which emitted a faint, radiant light.
Without hesitation, they flashed into it. Ouyang Ye stepped forward, also preparing to enter the Teleportation Array. Before leaving, she glanced at Gu Qingfeng and said, "Hey, I don't care if you're a real Rogue Cultivator or a fake one. I advise you to leave. This really isn't a place you should be."
As she spoke, she also took out a crystal-clear Crystal Ore, shimmering with faint, colorful light inside. It was a multi-colored Crystal Ore, far more valuable than the Blue Cloud Crystal Ore Senior Jing Lei had offered earlier.
"Seeing as your little face is quite handsome—the type this young lady likes—I can't bear to see you die here. Here!
Take this multi-colored Crystal Ore and leave."
"It sure is good to be good-looking!"
Gu Qingfeng accepted the multi-colored Crystal Ore and laughed, "Alright, big sister, I got it."
"Big sister?"
'Big sister' was a very colloquial form of address in the current era, so common that almost no one would use it to address a woman. Yet, it was precisely this utterly common form of address that made Ouyang Ye's expression freeze abruptly, her entire body stiffening as if struck by lightning.
Because this form of address reminded her of a person.
A person who had turned to ashes three years ago.
In a daze, Ouyang Ye suddenly realized that this fellow who claimed to be a Rogue Cultivator bore some resemblance to that person from three years ago.
That person wore simple white clothes.
This person did too.
That person had a fair and clean appearance; this person was the same.
That person was at the Golden Core cultivation level; this person was too.
That person often wore a carefree, playful smile; this person's smile seemed to carry a hint of that same playfulness.
That person seemed like an unaccomplished young master; this person gave off the same feeling.
The only difference was that person wasn't as handsome as this fellow.
That person liked to drink, while this person liked to play with a fan.
That person lacked the vigor of youth and seemed listless; this person also appeared to lack vigor and spirit, but he didn't have that unique, desolate aura that belonged solely to that person.
And the biggest difference was: that person was already dead, while this fellow was still alive and well.
"I say, big sister, even if I am this good-looking, there's no need to stare at me like that."
Gu Qingfeng said with a smile.
Ouyang Ye shook her head slightly, pulling back her somewhat sorrowful thoughts. She said nothing more, flashed into the Teleportation Array, and with a flash of light, she vanished.
However, nostalgic thoughts aren't something you can just pull back whenever you want. That momentary daze just now had thrown Ouyang Ye's thoughts into chaos, images of that person flashing incessantly in her mind.
She still clearly remembered her first encounter with that person in Lord Chixiao's mausoleum.
She also clearly remembered the shock of that person playing 'Drunken Chant of the Azure Sea' on an empty zither.
She clearly remembered that person's heroic bearing when he single-handedly suppressed the entire crowd on the day of Yunxia Sect's heir-apparent ceremony.
She even more clearly remembered that person's imposing demeanor when his mere shout intimidated thousands at Chixu Manor.
She still clearly remembered that person's arrogance when he obliterated Young Lord Cai Ling at the foot of Bingxuan Sect.
She also remembered that person's domineering might when he fought against numerous heroes at Liuren Mountain.
She remembered that person's calm and effortless display of musical mastery at Tai Xuan Platform.
She remembered that person's furious rampage when he slaughtered the various geniuses from the Four Great Domains at Yunxia Sect.
She even more remembered that person's world-shocking massacre at the Fengyun Branch.
Yes.
Ouyang Ye remembered everything, and she remembered it more clearly than anyone else.
Similarly, she also remembered that person was dead, having inexplicably turned to ashes beneath the Tai Xuan Monument just like that.