A young man walked out from within.
He was slender of build, dressed in pristine white robes whiter than snow, with long black hair cascading naturally. His face was coldly handsome, his expression somewhat placid. His dark eyes were as still and deep as an abyss. His aura was neither aloof nor sharp, nor was it arrogant or overbearing. Instead, it carried a sense of twilight, like the setting sun, the arrival of dusk.
That was precisely the feeling!
Even though it was now high noon with the blazing sun overhead, when this man stepped out of the house, everyone present felt an illusion—as if the sun was setting, dusk was falling, twilight was enveloping everything. It felt lonely, and eerily cold.
This was a very clean man, clean as if untouched by a single speck of dust.
He was also a man devoid of vitality, weighed down by the gloom of twilight, like an endless, tranquil sea of silence—so still it felt oppressive, so silent it evoked a strange, inexplicable fear.
He walked forward, glanced at the dense, dark crowd outside, and his brows furrowed slightly, as if surprised by the number of people. But that was all. The furrowed brows smoothed out almost instantly. He shook his head, looking somewhat helpless.
"Big Brother!"
Xiao Jinr excitedly ran over and threw herself into Gu Qingfeng's arms, asking, "These bad people have come to cause trouble for Big Brother again, how annoying!"
"Isn't that the truth."
Gu Qingfeng reached out and gently tapped Xiao Jinr's delicate nose. "So, did they scare you just now?"
"With Big Brother here, Jinr isn't afraid of anything."
"Ha!"
Gu Qingfeng laughed heartily and picked Xiao Jinr up.
Strangely enough, the gloomy twilight aura that had surrounded him moments ago vanished in the blink of an eye with that hearty laugh, replaced by a feeling as bright and warm as sunlight. If before he had felt like the setting sun, the arrival of dusk, then at this moment, he felt like the rising sun, sweeping away all gloom. It was truly bewildering.
"You two really are something," Gu Qingfeng said, walking into the garden and sitting down on a chair. He took out some peach blossom wine, poured himself a cup, and asked with a smile, "What's the matter? Didn't you have enough excitement earlier?"
"You! How do you know?"
Qian Shan, Ouyang Ye, and Han Dong were all utterly shocked, unclear how Gu Qingfeng knew about their ordeal at Yao Yue Palace.
"Nonsense. I went into hiding to help the Old Master restore his primordial spirit. Since they couldn't find me, they'd naturally come looking for you." Gu Qingfeng sat down, a playful smile on his lips. "One of you is my Dao companion, the other my sworn little sister. With such close relationships, as your Dao companion and sworn big brother, of course I have to keep an eye on you. What if you got killed? I'd feel terrible."
He paused, looked at Qian Shan, and sighed. "I originally thought that with Sister Qian Shan by your side, there shouldn't be a problem. After all, you have the great Immortal Su backing you. Who would have thought... the prestige of the great Immortal Su Hua isn't all that impressive. She couldn't protect you, nor could she hold the scene."
"You..." The three of them were dumbfounded.
They never imagined that Gu Qingfeng not only knew about their trouble at Yao Yue Palace but knew every detail.
How did he do it?
He was here all along.
Could he have been using his divine sense to probe Yao Yue Palace the whole time?
Was his divine sense that powerful?
"Big Brother, have you already successfully helped Old Master Ku Mu restore his primordial spirit?"
"Of course."
"Ah! Big Brother, then why haven't we seen Old Master Ku Mu?"
"The old master is still resting. He'll probably wake up a bit later."
Hearing Gu Qingfeng mention Ku Mu, Kuyu, Liu Qingyan, and Qingxi from Five-Color Mountain instantly rushed forward. Kuyu demanded, "Sir, please hand over my junior brother!"
Qingxi asked, "Young Lord Chiyan, please hand over my grandmaster uncle!"
Gu Qingfeng picked up his wine cup, his dark gaze sweeping over Kuyu, Liu Qingyan, Qingxi, and the others one by one. He said lightly, "The Old Master is resting inside right now."
Upon hearing this, Kuyu and the others tried to charge inside, but with a bang, the door to the room instantly slammed shut. At the same time, Gu Qingfeng's voice came: "My apologies. The Old Master's condition isn't very stable at the moment. You cannot go in and disturb him either."
"You!"
Kuyu and the others had all clashed with Gu Qingfeng at Five-Color Mountain and knew his strength was unfathomable. Though anxious, they were helpless before him.
"Don't be in such a hurry. When the Old Master wakes up later, I'll naturally let you in."
Gu Qingfeng waved a hand, and several more wine cups appeared on the table. "It's still early. Why not sit down and have a few drinks first."
Drink?
From the Nine Desolate Ancients to the Eighteen Swords and the Twenty-Four Young Heroes, everyone from Five-Color Mountain had been worried sick about Old Master Ku Mu's safety. How could they be in the mood for wine? And even if they were, they wouldn't drink with this Young Lord Chiyan, whose origins were unknown and who had taken Ku Mu captive.
Their hearts weren't that big.
However, there was one thing they couldn't help but admire.
Right now, major powers of the Great Northwest like Hunyuan Gate, the Huwei Wang Family, and Black Wind Cave had all turned out in full force, surrounding Xiao Zhe Manor so tightly not even water could pass through. Even the Immortal Mansion and the Changhong Branch had come. Countless experts were present, including various reincarnated great abilities. Without a doubt, they were all here for him—whether for revenge or for that Mysterious Turtle. One thing was certain: this fellow was absolutely doomed today.
Anyone else would probably be terrified.
No matter how grand their background or how high their cultivation, it would be no exception.
After all, no background was greater than the Immortal Mansion or the Crimson-Letter Sect.
No cultivation level was high enough to withstand the joint siege of so many experts present.
And yet this man...
His heart was truly immense.
When he appeared, he chatted and laughed with Xiao Jinr as if no one else was around. And now, he was sitting here as if nothing was wrong, leisurely drinking his wine.
It made one wonder.
Was he truly fearless, or was he just putting on a calm front?
The Bedrock Physique?
Absolute power?
Perhaps ten, a hundred, even a thousand immortal arts couldn't harm him. But what about ten thousand immortal arts, millions of divine abilities?
Even if he really was Young Lord Chiyan, even if he really was the heir of the Nine Nethers Emperor...
So what?
Perhaps he could intimidate the Changhong Branch.
But he absolutely could not intimidate the Immortal Mansion.
Moreover, most of the people here had come for that Mysterious Turtle. Faced with a turtle that could grant someone the Bedrock Physique, others wouldn't care whether he was the heir of the Nine Nethers Emperor or not.
Of course.
That's what could be said, and that was indeed the reality.
But faced with Gu Qingfeng's composed and unruffled demeanor here, whether it was the sect masters and elders of various major sects, the Twenty-Four Pride Immortals and the Nine Dragons Eighteen Elephants, or even those reincarnated individuals hiding in the shadows, none of them made the first move.
A person's reputation is like a tree's shadow.
Setting aside whether he was or wasn't the heir of the Nine Nethers Emperor, Young Lord Chiyan, just the series of miraculous and bizarre deeds—like killing dozens with a single shout at Five-Color Mountain, wiping out Young Lord Chanchu with a flick of his finger, and enlightening Ancestor Fenglie—were enough to make these people wary, not daring to act rashly.