Within the Wuse Gardens stood a performance platform.
This platform was prepared for those who wished to showcase their talents during the flower festival.
At this moment, the area around the platform was crowded with people, their gazes wandering over the figure of Qing Xi.
Qing Xi.
The leader of the Twenty-Four Young Masters of Wuse Mountain, one of the ten renowned Heaven-Proud Daughters of the Great Northwest. Despite her youth, she had already reached the Great Perfection of the Eighty-One Manifestations Nascent Soul Daozun realm, blessed with innate fortune. Not only were her martial arts attainments extraordinary, but her mastery of music was also unparalleled.
Most importantly, everyone knew that Miss Qing Xi possessed a pure and beautiful appearance, an ethereal and transcendent temperament, and a gentle, kind-hearted nature. It was precisely because of this that her popularity in the Great Northwest was extremely high, and she was the goddess in the hearts of the younger generation.
Wuse Mountain could truly be called a land of outstanding people. At this moment, the disciples arranging formations on the platform were not limited to Qing Xi alone; there were also the other members of the Twenty-Four Young Masters of Wuse Mountain. These disciples were all famous in their own right. Although their reputations might not match Qing Xi's, they were all outstanding geniuses.
However.
There was one person whose fame could absolutely rival Qing Xi's.
That was a dignified and beautiful woman, a graceful and moving woman. She possessed a mature charm that young women lacked, and her every gesture exuded elegance. She wore a white dress, her long hair cascading naturally down her back as she stood on the platform, seemingly adjusting an ancient guqin.
The gazes of the young people in the crowd mostly lingered on Qing Xi, while the eyes of some old-timers who had lived through the resource-scarce era of antiquity were fixed on this woman.
If Qing Xi was the goddess in the hearts of the younger generation of the Great Northwest.
Then this woman was the goddess in the hearts of the older generation of the Great Northwest.
She was none other than Qing Xi's master, Liu Qingyan, also one of the Eighteen Swords of Wuse Mountain. Because she presided over the Wuse Flower Festival in antiquity and scattered the Wuse Flower petals, she was hailed as the Wuse Fairy in that ancient era. It was no exaggeration to say that in that resource-scarce age, anyone who had come to Wuse Mountain to collect the Wuse Flower petals held deep admiration for this Wuse Fairy.
Within the crowd.
Gu Qingfeng gazed at Liu Qingyan, who was adjusting the guqin on the platform, his heart filled with complex emotions.
He was a rather forgetful person, especially regarding people he knew in his youth; most of their faces had grown blurry in his memory. Yet, the image of Liu Qingyan remained vividly clear.
With just one glance, he recognized her as the goddess of his youth.
Her appearance hadn't changed one bit.
She was still that beautiful.
Beautiful like an elegant flower.
The only difference was that she now carried a more mature charm and seemed tinged with a hint of melancholy, no longer as cheerful and bright as she had been back then.
"Old Gu, you actually like Daozun Qingyan?"
"What's wrong?
Is that not allowed?"
"It's not that it's not allowed, it's just that your taste is really unique. You actually like an older woman. I thought only someone like Old Man Liu would have such preferences."
Before Gu Qingfeng could reply, Old Man Liu scolded, "You brat!
Watch your words! What do you mean 'older woman'? In this old man's heart, there is only one goddess in the Great Northwest, and that is the Wuse Fairy, Liu Qingyan."
As he spoke, Old Man Liu looked towards Liu Qingyan on the platform and said, "You young people of this generation are lucky to have been born in a good era. For those of us who lived through the resource-scarce era of antiquity, even taking a single breath of spiritual energy was a luxury. Back then, the annual Wuse Flower Festival was the most anticipated event of the year for this old man. After the festival, Daozun Qingyan would descend like a celestial maiden and scatter the Wuse Flower petals...
Thinking about it now, it's truly...
something to savor!"
He paused, then sighed with emotion, "Although this old man came every year to fight for the Wuse Flower petals and never managed to get any, I've never regretted it. Being able to witness Daozun Qingyan's grace and elegance each year was an experience worth it in itself."
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng nodded in deep agreement.
Li Pangzi, having not experienced that era, truly couldn't understand that Liu Qingyan's position in the hearts of Old Man Liu's generation was not merely that of a goddess, but more like a benevolent fairy who alleviated suffering and aided the needy.
"Ah!
What a pity...
What a pity...
Indeed!"
"Old Liu, what are you pitying?"
"Heh heh!
Old Gu, let me tell you what Old Man Liu is pitying. He's pitying that Daozun Qingyan already has someone in her heart, so he has no hope in this lifetime."
"Oh?
Has Liu Qingyan already taken a Dao companion?"
"She hasn't taken a Dao companion, but Daozun Qingyan admires the Monarch and has never taken a Dao companion to this day. She probably never will in this lifetime. That's why Old Man Liu feels it's such a pity."
"Admires Gu Tianlang?"
Gu Qingfeng was astonished and said, "That's nonsense. The two of them have never even met. What's there to admire?"
"Old Gu, that's why I say you lack common knowledge. Don't you even know that Daozun Qingyan once saved our Monarch?"
"That was ages ago. When Liu Qingyan saved Gu Tianlang, he was only seven or eight years old. What was there to admire?"
"Heh heh, whether Daozun Qingyan admires the Monarch or not, we don't know. But we do know that the Monarch admired Daozun Qingyan. I heard she was even the goddess of his youth."
"Oh?
You know about that too?"
"Of course I do! Who in the world doesn't know about that? Back then, Daozun Qingyan not only saved the Monarch's life, she almost took him on as a disciple. Although the Monarch didn't end up joining Wuse Mountain later, he always remembered that kindness. After he grew up, didn't he come to pay a visit? It's just a pity that Daozun Qingyan was out traveling for training at the time, so the two never met. I heard that back then, the Monarch even fought a spectacular battle for Daozun Qingyan."
"Fought for Liu Qingyan?"
Gu Qingfeng thought carefully but had no recollection. He asked, "Did such a thing really happen?"
"It certainly did."
Old Man Liu stroked the beard on his chin and said, "Back then, there were many people pursuing Daozun Qingyan. Among them, Lei Pili of Hunyuan Gate was the most persistent and troublesome. Daozun Qingyan went out traveling for training back then precisely to avoid Lei Pili's pursuit. When the Monarch learned of this, without a second word, he found that Lei Pili and gave him a severe beating. If the elders of Hunyuan Gate hadn't arrived quickly back then, the Monarch might have beaten Lei Pili to death on the spot."
"The reason the Monarch developed a grudge with Hunyuan Gate back then was precisely because of this incident. Lei Pili was the Heir Apparent of Hunyuan Gate at the time and was nearly beaten to death by the Monarch. After the people of Hunyuan Gate learned of this, they searched the world for the Monarch for a good half a year."
Li Pangzi chuckled and said, "Hunyuan Gate had it coming. Who were they trying to compete with for a woman? They had to pick a fight with the Monarch. That was just asking for a beating. And what was the result? The Monarch went into seclusion for half a year, then charged into Hunyuan Gate single-handedly. If it weren't for several elders from Wuse Mountain, like Kumu, stepping in to stop him, there probably wouldn't be a Hunyuan Gate in our Great Northwest today."
Hearing the two of them speak like this, Gu Qingfeng finally remembered that such an incident had indeed occurred. Thinking about it now, he had truly been young and reckless back then.
"It's a pity that the Monarch is no longer here, while Lei Pili is still alive."