The soul is the origin of a person.
If only the physical body dies while the Nascent Soul remains, one can still seize a body and be reborn.
If even the Nascent Soul is extinguished, leaving only the soul, one can still reincarnate. Even if unable to reincarnate, at the very least, one could become a ghost.
But if even the soul is extinguished, then one truly scatters to ashes, not even able to become a ghost.
The moment Xuan Shui Zunzhe earlier harbored killing intent towards Gu Qingfeng, it was already destined that he wouldn't even get the chance to become a ghost. As his soul emerged, Gu Qingfeng rubbed his hands together, directly scattering it to ashes.
Beside him.
Old Senior Zhuo, already plunged into deep terror, witnessed this scene and was so frightened he didn't even dare raise his head.
Couldn't fight.
Couldn't escape.
Begging for mercy was useless.
The only thing Old Senior Zhuo could do now was wait for death.
"Your previous life was a True Immortal."
Gu Qingfeng's voice came. Old Senior Zhuo trembled as he replied, "That is correct."
"How long did you cultivate?"
"Ten thousand...
...years."
"Ten thousand years?"
Gu Qingfeng took out a wine gourd and poured himself a cup, smiling, "You've been an immortal for ten thousand years. I imagine you are a senior who has seen much of the world. After reincarnating, you should understand even more the true meaning of 'cultivation is not easy, life is precious'."
"I... I know..."
"Good, knowing is good. Let me ask you again, did I offend you earlier?"
"N-no! Young Lord has never offended this old man...
Never!"
"Since not, why did you take action against me?
Were you also like the others, wanting to snatch something from me?"
"No!
No!
I didn't!
This old man never had such a thought. This old man was merely cultivating and nurturing his nature within the Immortal Estate, and Young Lord earlier at Wuse Mountain...
So...
This old man specifically came...
for the Immortal Estate..."
Indeed.
Old Senior Zhuo had no intention of seizing Gu Qingfeng's Black Tortoise. Even if he did, it was only covetousness, wanting to broaden his horizons.
His previous life was, after all, a True Immortal who had attained the Dao for ten thousand years. He still had a bit of that virtue.
"This old man came this time truly to lend support and bolster the Immortal Estate's prestige. Beyond that, I had no other intentions. I beg Young Lord to be magnanimous and forgive this old man's foolishness this time. If..."
Before he could finish, Gu Qingfeng raised his hand and brought it down. With a *bang*, he slapped it onto the crown of Old Senior Zhuo's head.
*Gah!*
Old Senior Zhuo immediately bled from all seven orifices. The Nascent Soul he had painstakingly cultivated was shattered and dispersed!
"Lend support and bolster prestige?
This slap cripples your cultivation, to make you remember this lesson, to let you know the price of 'lending support', and to make you understand one thing: my formation, you cannot support, nor do you have the qualification to support!"
*Bang!*
Gu Qingfeng lifted a foot and kicked him squarely in the chest. Old Senior Zhuo was sent flying sideways, his foundation, meridians, and channels all shattered, paralyzed on the ground like a pile of mud.
"Since you didn't harbor killing intent earlier, I'll spare your life today. Behave yourself in the future. Don't fucking come out looking for trouble when there's none!"
Crippled.
Completely crippled.
Just now, Xuan Shui Zunzhe's body, Nascent Soul, and soul were all utterly destroyed by Gu Qingfeng. As for Old Senior Zhuo, although he still had a soul, that was all he had left. His Nascent Soul was destroyed, his body's meridians severed. Whether he could ever stand again was an unknown.
And everyone knew the only reason he wasn't completely dead was because he hadn't shown killing intent earlier. That was all.
No.
Not just Old Senior Zhuo.
Within the grounds.
Everyone who had taken action earlier was dead, destroyed, annihilated. No one was an exception. The sect head of Hunyuan Gate and its hundreds of elders, the Huwei Wang Family, Yaoyue Palace, the Immortal Estate, and so on—almost all who had acted were dead. Those who hadn't acted had long since fled. Similarly, it was Gu Qingfeng who let them flee.
Exactly how many died, no one knew. They only knew that outside Xiao Zhe Manor, a river of blood had already formed, corpses littering the ground.
*Boom rumble rumble—CRACK!*
Morning?
Noon?
Or night.
Unclear.
They only knew that when Gu Qingfeng began his actions, winds had risen, clouds surged, lightning flashed, thunder roared, dark clouds blotted out the sky, plunging everything into gloom, indistinguishable between morning or afternoon. At this moment, no one cared about such things.
Silence.
Deathly silence.
Stillness.
Grave-like stillness.
Earlier, the various major sects had numbered over ten thousand people. Now, within the grounds, only the several hundred people from Changhong Branch Hall remained.
They weren't dead, nor destroyed. Not even many were injured.
That was because they hadn't taken action. Not that they didn't want to, but because they were stopped by Xue Feng, Hong Wen, and over ten other old Chixiao veterans. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable. At the very least, Changhong Branch Hall's Hall Master Ming Hui and the elders were very grateful, grateful that they were stopped by the old Chixiao veterans at that critical moment. Otherwise...
Changhong Branch Hall would likely have faced disaster today.
Even so.
They were still terrified.
So terrified they dared not breathe, dared not speak, dared not do anything.
Having witnessed Gu Qingfeng's power and terror with their own eyes, who wouldn't fear?
Who wouldn't be afraid?
Even the dozen-plus old Chixiao veterans who had once waded through seas of blood, witnessing Gu Qingfeng's silent slaughter, felt their scalps tingling with numbness.
Speaking of fear.
Within Changhong Branch Hall, one person was currently the most afraid.
That person was none other than Wan Dongfang, the head of the Nine Dragons.
His fear wasn't because he had earlier stepped forward to incite others to join forces, but because when everyone launched their assault, he too had acted. Even though Xue Feng later stopped him, the fact remained that he had acted.
Now, all who had acted were dead.
How could Wan Dongfang not be afraid?
Especially when Gu Qingfeng's deep, cold, silent eyes swept over him, he was so frightened he nearly lost his footing.
"Ancestor, save me!
Save me!"
Wan Dongfang was simply too afraid. Even hiding in the very center of the Changhong Branch Hall crowd, he trembled incessantly.
Meeting Gu Qingfeng's gaze, Xue Feng seemed to realize something. He stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Earlier, Dongfang acted rashly and offended Young Lord, truly out of ignorance. I beg Young Lord, considering Dongfang's youthful ignorance, to forgive him this once."
Having said that, he glared fiercely at Wan Dongfang and scolded, "Aren't you going to apologize to Young Lord Chiyan!"
"Ancestor, how can I..." Wan Dongfang hesitated. At that moment, Xue Feng, in a fit of anger, pressed down on his head, forcibly making Wan Dongfang kneel. With a *crack*, Wan Dongfang's knees were shattered. Clearly, Xue Feng did this intentionally as an apology.
Gu Qingfeng didn't respond. Instead, he sat back down in his chair and poured himself another drink.
After a moment, he slowly spoke, "What is his relationship with Huo Toutuo?"
"Dongfang is...
the great-grandson of the old banner master."
"Since he's a descendant of Huo Toutuo, I'll give him face and spare his life."
Gu Qingfeng downed a cup of wine and said, "However, while the death penalty may be exempted, the living penalty is hard to escape. Youth is not wrong, arrogance is not wrong, conceit is even less wrong. Flaunting one's power, caring for face, even killing and plundering are not wrong. But if a person lacks even self-awareness, then they can't blame others."