"Yeye, what nonsense did Lao Jiu brag to you about? What's all true?"
Han Dong and the others were puzzled.
Ouyang Ye took a deep breath, steadied herself, and said, "That guy told me his situation is a bit... special."
"Special? How so?"
"How special, he didn't say. He just told me that no ghost should come near him. If they do, not only would they be affected, but they'd risk being utterly annihilated. And... he said it wasn't just ghosts. He claimed even Ghost Kings and Ghost Venerables would have to kneel before him."
"He really said that?"
"Yes! At first, I thought his old habit of boasting had flared up again... but now it seems it really is true!"
Beside them, Qian Shan opened her mouth, then closed it, words stuck in her throat.
She simply couldn't fathom what kind of person could make any ghost dare not approach, with annihilation the penalty for getting close? No matter how high one's cultivation or how great one's abilities, it should be impossible! Even Immortals and Demons couldn't do that.
Buddhas? Perhaps some powerful Buddhas could.
But that Lao Jiu impersonating Young Lord Chiyan was neither Immortal nor Demon, much less a Buddha. He was just a pure Golden Core cultivator. How could he make Aunt Xue so terrified she fainted?
Could he have some Buddhist treasure on him? That didn't make sense either! Even if he had Buddhist treasure, at most ghosts would be wary and avoid him. But it was absolutely impossible that mere proximity meant annihilation.
And saying Ghost Kings and Venerables would kneel before him? Wasn't that too far-fetched?
Setting aside whether he had Buddhist treasure or not, even if he were truly a Buddha, Ghost Kings and Venerables might fear him, but that would just be fear. They would never be so terrified they'd kneel.
What in the world was going on? Qian Shan truly couldn't figure it out.
But then she suddenly remembered an even more baffling question.
"Aunt Xue, if you were so afraid, even to the point of fainting, how did you manage to possess Lao Jiu?"
This was something Ouyang Ye and Han Dong also wanted to know. Ouyang Ye added, "Yes, Aunt Xue. After possessing him, how did you perform such incredible feats so stealthily? You didn't use any spiritual power, yet you casually crushed that Great Nature's Seven-Color Crystal into dust, and then like magic conjured a Seven-Color Phoenix! It's truly unbelievable! Aunt Xue, how on earth did you do it?"
"What incredible feats? What Seven-Color Crystal?"
Aunt Xue wore a look of utter confusion, shaking her head. "I... I never possessed that impostor Young Lord Chiyan."
With those words, Ouyang Ye and Han Dong were struck dumb on the spot.
Qian Shan also froze, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Perhaps the words were too shocking, as the three of them remained stunned for a long while before regaining their senses. Ouyang Ye even doubted her own hearing, asking repeatedly, "Aunt Xue, what did you just say? You didn't possess him?"
"Yeye, ever since you handed the bracelet to him, I didn't dare move a muscle. I didn't even dare breathe loudly," Aunt Xue said, her dignified, beautiful face etched with a look of utter helplessness. "I was so scared I fainted. How could I have possessed anyone..."
Aunt Xue's words struck Qian Shan, Ouyang Ye, and Han Dong like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, leaving them dumbstruck and their minds utterly blank.
Ouyang Ye took several deep breaths in succession but couldn't suppress the trembling in her heart. When she spoke, her voice had turned hoarse. "Aunt Xue, if... if you didn't possess him, then... it was Lao Jiu himself all along?"
"You mean it wasn't you, but Lao Jiu himself who crushed that Great Nature's Seven-Color Crystal into a pile of sand?"
"And he himself reshaped that pile of sand into a Seven-Color Phoenix?"
"And it was him... himself who kicked Bi Lan until she bled from all seven orifices? And scared everyone else away?"
Aunt Xue shook her head, responding blankly, "I... I don't know... I was unconscious at the time... I know nothing."
"Mother of heaven!"
Perhaps the truth was too outrageous, too unbelievable, and too difficult to accept. Ouyang Ye simply couldn't bear it. With a thud, she slumped to the ground.
Han Dong's cold, beautiful face was also filled with incredulity. She murmured, "How is that possible! He... he's only at the Golden Core level. He doesn't have any treasure body or true form... How did he do it?"
"He not only lacks a treasure body and true form, he has nothing except his Golden Core cultivation," Qian Shan said, as if she too couldn't withstand such an unbelievable revelation. She took a step back and sank into a chair, muttering, "This is simply impossible. Yeye, where did you find such a person?"
"Where?" Ouyang Ye's thoughts were chaotic, her mind in a fog. "Yes! Where did I meet him? My mind is a mess right now... Let me think... Damn it... Why can't I remember at all? Where was it... Ah! It was at the Peach Blossom Secret Realm! Yes! It was at the Peach Blossom Secret Realm."
"Could he also coincidentally possess the Bedrock Physique and Absolute Force?" Han Dong asked.
After a moment, Qian Shan shook her head. "The so-called Bedrock Physique and Absolute Force are just ancient legends. What the true Bedrock Physique and Absolute Force actually look like, no one really knows. In other words, whether the real Young Lord Chiyan even has the Bedrock Physique and Absolute Force is still unknown, let alone anyone else."
Aunt Xue also nodded. "Even if the real Young Lord Chiyan possesses them, could that Lao Jiu have them too? Isn't that too much of a coincidence? And such a coincidence that Yeye just happened to find him to impersonate Young Lord Chiyan? How could there be such an incredible coincidence in the world?"
At that moment, Han Dong seemed to recall something. "Yeye, do you remember... what he said?"
"What did he say?"
"He seemed... to have said more than once that he himself is... Young Lord Chiyan."
Boom!
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Ye, still slumped on the ground, felt as if struck by lightning again. Dizziness overwhelmed her, the world seemed to spin, and she could barely sit upright, her body swaying precariously. She mumbled, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Simultaneously, Qian Shan stood up from her chair, shaking her head with certainty. "It's impossible!"
"When Gu Qingfeng died, I saw with my own eyes him turning to ashes. He can't possibly still be alive!" Ouyang Ye declared.
Qian Shan added, "I was there too at the time. Not only me, but Immortal Suhua was also present. I might have been mistaken, but Immortal Suhua definitely wouldn't be. She said Gu Qingfeng was dead, his flesh and soul had disintegrated, completely turned to dust within the Great Nature... Moreover, back then, to ascertain Gu Qingfeng's fate, Immortal Suhua stayed by the Tai Xuan Stele for a full year... She was certain Gu Qingfeng had perished utterly... with no possibility of resurrection."
PS: Second update for today. Still seeking recommendation votes, still seeking monthly votes!
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