"Young Master, it's me, Dashan! Wang Dashan!"
Wang Dashan?
Gu Qingfeng looked at the muscular young man before him, repeating the name 'Wang Dashan' in his mind. He vaguely remembered that when he first arrived at the Yunxia Sect and lived in Lingyin Garden, there was a laborer disciple in the garden who seemed to be named Wang Dashan.
"Are you that Wang Dashan from the Yunxia Sect?" Gu Qingfeng asked tentatively.
Wang Dashan nodded heavily, excitedly saying, "Young Master, it's me! I used to be the laborer disciple Wang Dashan at the Yunxia Sect!"
"Well, well!" Gu Qingfeng landed on the ground, smiling. "It's been a few years, and you've changed quite a bit, kid!"
He still remembered that back then, Wang Dashan was just a minor laborer at the Yunxia Sect, with dull aptitude. He had worked as a laborer at the sect for over ten years without even reaching Foundation Establishment. In his spare time, he liked tending spirit fields. Now, after only about three or four years apart, this kid had already condensed a Nascent Soul. What surprised Gu Qingfeng even more was that he hadn't noticed back then that this kid possessed the Ao-Zheng Tiger bloodline.
"Hehe!" Wang Dashan scratched his head sheepishly, grinning foolishly. "Young Master, you're still the same as before, not a bit changed!"
"What change could I have? But you've changed quite a lot."
Gu Qingfeng looked Wang Dashan up and down. Not only was this kid's physical body formidable, but his Nascent Soul was also unusually strong. Even his voice carried a hint of tiger-roar authority, likely influenced by the Ao-Zheng bloodline. Otherwise, with his aptitude, he probably wouldn't have been able to cultivate a Nascent Soul in this lifetime.
"Hehe, I actually haven't changed much either. After the Yunxia Sect was gone, I wandered around. Later, I encountered danger once, and Miss Anning saved me, so I became her attendant."
Wang Dashan briefly recounted his experiences over the years. Though he spoke lightly, Gu Qingfeng could tell that this kid's days of wandering had definitely not been easy. If nothing else, the Dao scars on his body were proof enough.
"What's the story with your bloodline? Your surname is Wang, and you awakened a White Tiger bloodline. Could you be from the Tiger's Majesty Wang Family?"
"The Tiger's Majesty Wang Family..." When mentioning the Tiger's Majesty Wang Family, a flash of pain appeared in Wang Dashan's eyes, and his expression grew complicated. After a moment, he said, "To be honest with you, Young Master, I used to be from the Tiger's Majesty Wang Family. But ever since my grandfather's generation, we were expelled from the family. So, strictly speaking, I'm not a member of the Tiger's Majesty Wang Family now."
"Was your grandfather expelled from the Tiger's Majesty Wang Family back then because of his bloodline?"
Wang Dashan nodded. "Probably. The people from the Tiger's Majesty Wang Family always said my grandfather was a traitor... an... ill-omened person... and also..." As he spoke, the pain in Wang Dashan's eyes grew more intense, mixed with even more hatred. It seemed he also had an unpleasant past with the Tiger's Majesty Wang Family that he didn't want to bring up.
"Do you know what bloodline you awakened?"
"Not really. My grandfather died early, and my father died when I was young... Before my father passed, he said my bloodline was ill-omened... As for why it's ill-omened, I'm not sure either. I've rarely manifested my bloodline true form all along. This time, if I hadn't been forced into a corner, I wouldn't have..." Gu Qingfeng originally intended to tell Wang Dashan the origin of his bloodline, but he held back at the last moment. Upon careful thought, he decided to let it be. The existence of the Ao-Zheng bloodline wasn't just ill-omened; it was a threat to all collateral branches of the White Tiger bloodline. Fortunately, no one knew he had awakened the Ao-Zheng bloodline, or this kid wouldn't have lived to this day. Even if the White Tiger's collateral branches didn't kill him, the Immortal Court would have slaughtered him. Beings like the Ao-Zheng had long been targets of the Nine Heavens' judgment.
"Since awakening your bloodline, have you had impulses to crave blood?"
As soon as the words fell, Wang Dashan stared at Gu Qingfeng with wide, tiger-like eyes, utterly shocked, stammering, "Young... Young Master, how... how do you know?"
"Don't ask me how I know. Just tell me if you have or not."
Wang Dashan nodded, saying, "I don't know why either. Ever since my bloodline awakened, I... I... always wanted to eat... eat people, really wanted to... really wanted to... I always feel like there's a monster inside me, a monster that eats people!"
"Eat people?" Gu Qingfeng laughed. "Fortunately, you've only awakened it for a short time. If another ten or twenty years pass, you won't just want to eat people."
For evil mutated White Tiger descendants like the Ao-Zheng, ferocity and bloodlust were their essence—more precisely, their nature. It was innate and unchangeable.
However, Gu Qingfeng's words thoroughly frightened Wang Dashan. His honest face instantly turned pale and ashen. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but seemed hesitant. Then his expression gradually darkened as he murmured, "Maybe... my bloodline really is ill-omened."
"What's ill-omened or not? When you awaken a bloodline, you also inherit the True Spirit's nature. Those who say your bloodline is ill-omened are talking nonsense!"
Gu Qingfeng patted his shoulder, smiling. "Besides, it's just a bloodline. As long as you have righteous qi in your heart, you can control any bloodline."
With that, Gu Qingfeng took out a few spirit stones from his storage bag. As his fingers moved, light flickered at their tips. In the blink of an eye, he had refined the spirit stones into a spirit talisman. With a thought, he imprinted a cultivation method into it, saying, "This spirit talisman contains a cultivation method suitable for you. Go back and contemplate it slowly. Once you fully comprehend this method, you'll be able to control your bloodline."
"Young Master... you..." Wang Dashan took the spirit talisman and immediately knelt on the ground, kowtowing. "Young Master's great kindness and virtue, I have no way to repay. In the future... in the future... as long as Young Master says the word, I, Wang Dashan, am willing to go through fire and water for you..."
"Enough, no need to be so formal with me!" Gu Qingfeng pulled him up, smiling. "Besides, if it weren't for me, the Yunxia Sect wouldn't have been destroyed. If the Yunxia Sect were still around, you wouldn't have had to wander everywhere."
Wang Dashan was an honest and sincere person. Perhaps he hadn't spent much time with Gu Qingfeng, but he had worked as a laborer beside Huode for over ten years. He not only respected Huode greatly but also deeply believed everything Huode said. Huode had once told him that Gu Qingfeng was omnipotent, and he had never doubted it. Huode had also told him to serve Gu Qingfeng like a master, which he had done back then.
Most importantly, when his bloodline first awakened and he discovered his bloodlust impulses, the first person he went to was Huode. And Huode had said that under the heavens, only one person could help him: Gu Qingfeng.
Unfortunately, when he went to Huode, Gu Qingfeng had already been 'dead' for two years.
Though he later heard that Gu Qingfeng had returned from death, Wang Dashan never actively sought him out. Not that he didn't want to, but he was too embarrassed. He didn't know if Gu Qingfeng still remembered him, and even if he did, he wasn't sure if Gu Qingfeng would help him.
However, what he never expected was to run into Gu Qingfeng in this swamp today.
...
PS: Second update today! Barring any surprises, there will be four updates today! Readers with monthly or recommendation tickets, please be sure to help Old Jiu out! Thank you!