Even long after Gu Qingfeng had departed, the people within the venue still hadn't regained their senses.
Gazing at the pools of blood on the ground, the corpses, the severed limbs, no one dared to believe this was real.
Granny Qinghua, the Elder of Hunyuan Sect, was dead.
The Blackwind Duo of Blackwind Cave were dead.
Elder Ziyu of Yaoyue Palace.
The Elders of the various major sects were either dead or crippled; those who were neither dead nor crippled had their cultivation utterly destroyed.
And it was the same for them as it was for the Direct Disciples of the various major sects—similarly, they were either dead or crippled.
Ding Rui of Hunyuan Sect, Leng Yefei of Yaoyue Palace, Wang Han of the Tiger Might Wang Family—over ten Direct Disciples, including Wei Chaoqun of the Immortal Mansion and Li Qianhua of Blackwind Cave—had all died violent deaths. Although Wuhen, Chiyu, and Feiying of the Changhong Branch were still alive, they were merely alive. Their cultivation was destroyed, they were missing arms and legs; even if they could survive in the future, they would never be able to care for themselves again.
Since the opening of the Modern Era a hundred years ago, the great northwest had never witnessed such a terrifying event.
This was the first time.
One must understand that those who died or were injured were either Elders of major sects or their Direct Disciples. In ordinary times, they would see each other constantly; even if there were deep-seated grudges, no one dared to kill the other. Everyone knew that whether it was an Elder or a Direct Disciple, they were both immensely important to a sect, especially a Direct Disciple. The resources, effort, and heart's blood consumed to nurture a single one were unimaginable.
Once a Direct Disciple was killed, it was a tremendous blow to any sect; no sect would let it go easily.
Moreover, this time, the major sects hadn't lost just one Elder or one Direct Disciple, but several. Hunyuan Sect had lost five Elders and four Direct Disciples. Yaoyue Palace had lost three Elders and three Direct Disciples. The Tiger Might Wang Family had lost seven or eight of their disciples...
Hunyuan Sect was one of the giants in the frontier region of the great northwest.
Yaoyue Palace was also one, as was Blackwind Cave. The Tiger Might Wang Family was hailed as the number one family in the great northwest.
Now, these four giants had suffered so many casualties among their Direct Disciples and Elders. One didn't need to think hard to know that upon learning of this, the four giants would be absolutely furious.
Even more terrifying was that Wei Chaoqun of the Immortal Mansion was also dead. He was one of the Twenty-Four Immortal Prodigies, an Immortal Official possessing two Immortal Haloes! In ordinary times, even reincarnated great powers would have to show him some respect. And now, he had died just like that.
And then there were Wuhen, Chiyu, and Feiying of the Changhong Branch. Although not dead, they might as well be. They were the Nine Dragons and Eighteen Elephants of the Red-Letter Changhong Branch; in terms of status, background, and influence, they were in no way inferior to the Immortal Dynasty. And now, they had become cripples.
Looking at these dead and injured people on the ground.
Everyone knew that the great northwest was about to undergo a cataclysmic change...
Regardless of whether that Gu Qingfeng was truly the Chiyan Young Master or not, and regardless of whether he was the Monarch's heir or not—even if he were—this time, he would absolutely be unable to escape calamity. The giant sects would not let him go, the Red-Letter Head would not let him go, and the Immortal Mansion would be even less likely to let him go.
Offending the giant sects might still leave a path to survival, but offending the Red-Letter Head or the Immortal Mansion left absolutely no path to survival whatsoever. Moreover, that Gu Qingfeng had not only offended the Red-Letter Head but also the Immortal Mansion, and these two entities were the two supreme rulers of order in the world today.
The sun set in the west, dusk fell.
After receiving the news, the leaders of the various major sects and giants rushed to Wuse Mountain. When they saw the Direct Disciples they had painstakingly nurtured either dead or crippled, they couldn't believe it, nor could they accept such a cruel reality.
Kuyu and the others from Wuse Mountain comforted them while also recounting the course of events.
Only Qing Xi stood there alone, looking lost in thought, as if pondering something.
To be honest.
She also sympathized with these dead and injured people, but it was only sympathy. Beyond sympathy, she felt nothing else, because she knew that the reason these people had ended up like this was their own coveting of the Mystic Tortoise in the Chiyan Young Master's possession. In other words, they had brought it entirely upon themselves.
Although she didn't want to, she had to admit that the Chiyan Young Master had not actively provoked these people. In fact, when these people first attacked, he had shown restraint and had even warned them, but they hadn't heeded the advice.
It was all self-inflicted.
For people like this, Qing Xi had always only felt sympathy, nothing more.
Right now, she only wanted to know whether that Chiyan Young Master was real or fake, and whether he was the Monarch's heir.
Yes.
She very much wanted to know.
In her mind, if the Chiyan Young Master was fake, what was his purpose in coming to Wuse Mountain?
To swindle something?
No!
He hadn't swindled anything.
Could it be to kill Great Master Uncle Kumu?
That wasn't it either.
Qing Xi clearly understood that with the Chiyan Young Master's strength, if he wanted to kill Great Master Uncle Kumu, it would be the work of a mere snap of his fingers. Why would he play a melody and use such a strange method to cause Great Master Uncle's Primordial Spirit to dissipate bit by bit?
But if he didn't want to kill Great Master Uncle Kumu, then why did he do this?
Could it truly be as he said—that he was the real Chiyan Young Master, also the real Monarch's heir, and that his purpose in coming to Wuse Mountain was truly to repay the Monarch's debt of gratitude by recasting Great Master Uncle's Primordial Spirit?
Was that possible?
She didn't know, and she wasn't clear.
Qing Xi neither believed that someone who had been reduced to ashes could die and come back to life, nor did she believe in the so-called Monarch's heir, and even less did she believe in the heaven-defying method of recasting a Primordial Spirit that only existed in legends.
But if she said she didn't believe it, she truly couldn't find a reason not to believe.
Chaos.
Qing Xi's mind was a complete mess, filled with far too many doubts and curiosities.
She was like this.
And at this moment, the doubts and curiosities in the hearts of Qianshan, Handong, and Ouyang Ye were even greater and more intense than hers.
The three of them had chased after him the moment Gu Qingfeng left. Unfortunately, by the time they left Wuse Mountain, Gu Qingfeng had long since vanished without a trace.
All three knew that Gu Qingfeng was a fake, an impostor, and this impostor had been personally found by Ouyang Ye.
However, the three of them now also couldn't distinguish whether the person who had unleashed such slaughter on Wuse Mountain was Old Nine or the real Chiyan Young Master.
"Could it be...
he really is the Chiyan Young Master Gu Qingfeng?"
Handong asked.
Ouyang Ye didn't respond, because she didn't know either.
She wanted to know the answer to this question more than anyone.
Qianshan also frowned deeply, shaking her head. Her mind was a bit of a mess right now too.
"Senior Qianshan, didn't you say the real Chiyan Young Master had achieved a Taiji Golden Core?
And Old Nine doesn't have the aura of a Taiji Golden Core, which is why you also thought he wasn't...
Why...
are you starting to doubt now..."
Why?
Qianshan also wanted to know why.
She was very certain that the real Chiyan Young Master indeed possessed a Taiji Golden Core. But upon careful thought, the Chiyan Young Master had destroyed one Taiji Golden Core back then. Who could guarantee he wouldn't destroy a second one? If, for the sake of survival, he had also destroyed his second Taiji Golden Core, that wasn't an impossibility.
As for being reduced to ashes and then dying and coming back to life...
Although she didn't believe it either, she also knew that nothing in heaven and earth was absolute.
The real Chiyan Young Master had even managed to gestate two Taiji Golden Cores. If one said he could be reduced to ashes and then die and come back to life...
that might not be impossible either!