"What do you mean by that, kid?
What, have you grown some skills now, become capable, and want to seek revenge on this old man?
Kid Gu, I treated you pretty well back in the day!"
"Enough, don't try to play dumb with me. You know that's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?"
Taohua Old Daoist sat opposite, looking very displeased. However, when his gaze met Gu Qingfeng's deep, dark eyes, his heart gave an involuntary lurch. Whether out of guilt or something else, his eyes darted about evasively as he cursed, "Kid, can you stop looking at this old man with those eyes?
It's downright creepy."
"Heh heh..." Gu Qingfeng picked up the wine pot, poured a cup for himself, then one for Taohua Old Daoist, speaking unhurriedly, "Old Daoist, tell me about what happened back then."
"What happened back then? Can you be clearer, kid? I'm having a bit of trouble understanding."
Seeing Taohua Old Daoist feigning ignorance, Gu Qingfeng shook his head and smiled, looking somewhat helpless. He continued, "Since you're still playing dumb with me, I'll just say it outright. Why did Canyang Mountain and the Nine Elders Cave Dwelling want to kill me back then?"
"What Canyang Mountain? What Nine Elders Cave Dwelling? When did they ever try to kill you? When was this?
This old man knows nothing about it."
Gu Qingfeng looked at Taohua Old Daoist, smiling without speaking.
"No!
Kid Gu, don't look at me like that. I really don't know. Of course, I've heard of Canyang Mountain and the Nine Elders Cave Dwelling, but only heard of them. The Nine Elders Cave Dwelling rarely shows itself, and Canyang Mountain has been sealed for over five hundred years. I've never even met them. They hunted you down?
Is that true? When?
Really? You didn't have any grudge with them, did you? Why would they want to kill you?"
"That's the question I want to ask you. Back then, I never offended Canyang Mountain or the Nine Elders Cave Dwelling. Why did they want to kill me?"
"That's right, why would they want to kill you?
It's been so long, maybe you remembered wrong, kid?"
"You know my memory has always been good, especially towards those who have harbored killing intent towards me. I'll never forget them in this lifetime."
"Is it really true?"
"Heh heh..."
"What are you laughing at, kid?
If this old man knew, there's no reason not to tell you, right?"
"Old Daoist!"
Gu Qingfeng sighed, looking at the Taixu Cup in his hand. "I used to be young and impulsive, bearing grudges over the slightest offense. But after experiencing so much, I've long since seen through and grown indifferent to such things. So, don't overthink it. I have no other meaning. I just want to know the reason why Canyang Mountain and the Nine Elders Cave Dwelling tried to erase me back then."
"I'm not overthinking anything either. And what do you mean by saying these things, kid?
You make it sound like I'm deliberately hiding something from you. What does your indifference have to do with me? If you don't say it clearly, I truly don't know about this matter."
"If it has nothing to do with you, then why are you nervous?"
"Nervous?
Ha ha ha!"
Taohua Old Daoist laughed heartily. "I say, kid Gu, when was this old man ever nervous? Besides, why would I be nervous?"
"Old Daoist, let me reiterate. I really have no other meaning, and I won't go seek revenge on them. I purely want to know why Canyang Mountain and the Nine Elders Cave Dwelling wanted to erase me. Stop hiding and covering up. Just tell me honestly. If you had no connection to Canyang Mountain and the Nine Elders Cave Dwelling, I wouldn't be saying these things to you today."
"What a joke! What connection could this old man possibly have with Canyang Mountain and the Nine Elders Cave Dwelling..."
As Taohua Old Daoist was defending himself, Gu Qingfeng directly cut him off. "Back then, I left the Great Northwest injured. People from Canyang Mountain and the Nine Elders Cave Dwelling found me and wanted to erase me, but they were stopped by a mysterious person. At the time, I didn't know who that mysterious person was, but afterwards, I could roughly guess. That person was you."
Taohua Old Daoist flatly denied it. "Impossible!
This old man never did such a thing. Kid Gu, you must have remembered wrong. The mysterious person you mentioned was definitely not me."
"Originally, I wasn't very sure. But just now, when you used that Space Barrier on me, I knew that person must be you. Because the person who saved me back then used the same method."
"Space Barriers aren't something only this old man knows. There are plenty of people in heaven and earth who understand Space Barriers."
"It's true many people understand Space Barriers, but not everyone can layer them upon the foundation of the Taohua Secret Realm. Similarly, the only one who can make layered Space Barriers bloom like flower petals is you."
Having said that, Gu Qingfeng continued without waiting for Taohua Old Daoist to speak. "I don't know why you refuse to admit it, but I know that person must be you. Whether you admit it or not doesn't change the facts. I came to you today to get to the bottom of this matter. You don't have to tell me, and I won't force you. At most, I'll just go to Canyang Mountain myself. However..." His tone shifted. "You also know what kind of person I am. I either don't do something, or I do it thoroughly. I won't rest until I turn Canyang Mountain and the Nine Elders Cave Dwelling completely upside down. And..."
As he was speaking, Taohua Old Daoist hurriedly cried out, "Don't! Please don't!
I'll talk...
I'll talk, alright?"
Taohua Old Daoist looked at Gu Qingfeng with a woeful expression, seeming very afraid that Gu Qingfeng would go to Canyang Mountain to cause trouble.
Indeed.
He could easily imagine that if this kid went to Canyang Mountain, it wouldn't just be a matter of turning it upside down. Canyang Mountain would probably vanish completely from the Great Northwest.
Taohua Old Daoist sighed heavily, tilted his head back, and took a big gulp of wine. "You're right, kid. It was indeed this old man who saved you back then."
"Why did they want to kill me back then?"
Gu Qingfeng closed his eyes, carefully recalling the events of that time. "I was already injured and unconscious back then. I vaguely heard you arguing with them about something like 'lifeblood' and 'threat.' What exactly was going on?"
Taohua Old Daoist stared deeply at Gu Qingfeng, seeming hesitant. He downed three bowls of wine in succession, steeled his heart, gritted his teeth, and stomped his foot. "Forget it, forget it. Since you've come back, kid, it seems everything is destined. This old man might as well tell you."
Taking a deep breath, Taohua Old Daoist said, "The reason Canyang Mountain and the Nine Elders Cave Dwelling wanted to eliminate you is precisely this. Your existence threatened the secret they guard, which is also the so-called lifeblood of the Great Northwest."
"What in the world is the lifeblood of the Great Northwest?"
"As for what exactly the lifeblood of the Great Northwest is, even this old man doesn't know to this day. I only know it conceals an ancient secret, an ancient secret passed down from an era so old no one knows when it began."