Over a thousand nine-star Immortal Officials and Dharma Aspect Grand Venerables of the Immortal Dynasty had been crippled, reduced to useless wrecks.
Now, twenty or thirty Immortal Dynasty Nobles were dead, their very souls extinguished.
The reason Noble Scions like Xingyao, Yingnian, and Ruolan were still alive was simply because they hadn't participated in the affair—but alive was all they were. Their Great-Sun Radiance Dharma Forms were destroyed, their Natural Colored Spirits crippled. Like the other Immortal Officials, their meridians were completely severed, leaving them as useless wrecks.
Lord Xun, Steward Bai, and the other few Xingyun Immortal Officials were still alive, but only because they hadn't made a move. That was all.
Gazing at the more than a thousand Immortal Officials on the ground and the bloody heads of the Immortal Dynasty Nobles, Lord Xun and the others still couldn't believe their eyes. In the hundred years of the Modern Era, such a shocking, earth-shattering event had never occurred before.
Even if an Immortal Official occasionally met with misfortune, it was at most an injury.
Because everyone knew that killing an Immortal Official was an unforgivable crime. No one would be foolish enough to openly oppose the Immortal Dynasty.
And that was just for Immortal Officials. Facing the Immortal Dynasty Nobles, with their powerful backgrounds and profound fortunes, others dared only to feel anger, not voice it. Forget killing an Immortal Dynasty Noble; even just injuring one would likely bring about utter annihilation.
Every Immortal Dynasty Noble's parents were Immortals, all hailing from Immortal families. Given that, who would dare provoke them?
The answer was certain.
No one dared.
But.
This person.
This Gu Qingfeng dared.
Not only did he dare provoke them, he killed these Immortal Dynasty Nobles, wiped them out cleanly.
What did this mean?
This was no longer just an unforgivable crime; it was a direct challenge to the Immortal Dynasty's dignity and authority!
Did he not want to live?
Did he want to die?
Leaving aside whether he was Lord Chixiao's successor, even if he really was, so what?
Did that qualify him to oppose the Immortal Dynasty?
The Modern Era was not the Ancient Era. The Modern Era's Immortal Dynasty was not the Ancient Era's Immortal Dynasty.
In the Modern Era, even if Lord Chixiao himself were still alive, he would absolutely not be a match for the Immortal Dynasty.
Lord Xun couldn't imagine what consequences today's events would trigger once they spread to the Divine Continent. One thing was certain: the Immortal families behind these Immortal Dynasty Nobles would not let him go, and the Immortal Dynasty certainly wouldn't either.
Raising his head, Lord Xun cautiously glanced over, only to find the white-robed man still sitting in the pavilion, drinking wine. His indifferent face showed no trace of emotion, his eyes calm as if everything that had happened here had nothing to do with him.
He had never seen a person who could be so detached.
No.
That wasn't detachment.
It was more like indifference, a lack of concern. Killing so many Immortal Officials and Nobles was like crushing a few ants to him—it had no effect on him whatsoever, not even a shred.
The sun set in the west.
Dusk approached.
Within the grounds.
Gu Qingfeng sat in the pavilion drinking wine. Glancing at the sky, he saw it was already evening. Having waited this long, he couldn't be bothered to wait any longer. "When will that Young Lord Long arrive..." Gu Qingfeng's voice startled Lord Xun out of his wits. He hurriedly replied, "Th-this... I don't know..." If he could, Lord Xun really wanted to ask this Lord Chiyan why he was waiting for Young Lord Long. Could it be he planned to kill Young Lord Long as well?
Young Lord Long was a disciple of the prestigious Langya Long Family, his fortunes extraordinary, his strength profound and unfathomable. Moreover, he possessed an Immortal Decree, representing the Immortal Dynasty on campaign. Under heaven, who would dare move against him?
And just then.
A voice came: "Might you be Lord Chiyan?"
Following the voice, they saw an elderly matron slowly walking into the grounds. This old matron had graying hair, leaned on a cane, and her face was weathered by time, especially her eyes—seemingly turbid, yet gleaming with sharp light.
The old matron was vigorous in spirit, her aura steady. The spiritual energy around her was incredibly dense, seemingly endless, evolving and transforming in endless cycles, and it carried a faint, flickering sense of vitality.
This was a master!
A master at the Great Perfection realm of the Nascent Soul Dharma Aspect.
Only by cultivating to the Great Perfection realm would one's spiritual energy evolve and transform in endless cycles.
And that faint, flickering vitality within the spiritual energy, like life itself, was none other than a sign of an Immortal Spirit.
Earth-Immortal!
This old matron was actually an Earth-Immortal at the Great Accomplishment stage.
Who was she?
Could she be an Earth-Immortal from the Immortal Dynasty?
No!
At the very least, Lord Xun did not recognize this old matron and was quite certain she was not an Immortal Official Earth-Immortal of the Immortal Dynasty.
The old matron walked slowly with her cane toward the pavilion. Looking at the Immortal Officials lying on the ground, the deeper she looked, the more her brows furrowed, the stronger the shock in her eyes grew. Reaching the front of the pavilion, the old matron cupped her hands. "This old one pays her respects to Lord Chiyan."
"You are not an Immortal Official of the Immortal Dynasty."
Gu Qingfeng glanced at her and spoke indifferently.
"I am not."
The old matron shook her head in denial, then added, "This old one has come on my young lady's orders to inform you, Lord. The two Decree-Bearing Young Lords of the Immortal Dynasty were originally supposed to arrive in the Great Northwest today, but they encountered some mishaps on the road. I'm afraid they will only arrive some days later."
"Oh, is that so?"
Gu Qingfeng was a lazy man. When he wasn't lazy, he wasn't human.
He had been thinking that since he'd already made a move, he might as well settle things completely, and also probe the Immortal Dynasty's true attitude toward the Chixiao Sect. That's why he had waited until now. He just hadn't expected the Immortal Dynasty's people to still not have shown up. What surprised him even more was this old matron who had come to deliver the message.
"Who is your young lady?"
"Fairy Wolan of Canyang Mountain."
"You are from Canyang Mountain?"
"Indeed. My young lady has long admired you, Lord Chiyan, and wishes to invite you to her residence as a guest. Might you be available?"
Canyang Mountain's Nine Elders' Cave Abode was quite mysterious, and back then, they had even wanted to erase him. Gu Qingfeng had always kept that matter in mind. Especially after meeting the Peach Blossom Old Daoist, the way that old man had clammed up about Canyang Mountain had only made him more curious. He just hadn't expected Canyang Mountain to seek him out today.
"Alright, no problem. I've also long admired Canyang Mountain."
Gu Qingfeng glanced at the Chixiao veterans of the Three Black Banners in the distance, then said to the old matron, "But I don't have time today. Another day."
"This...
Very well."
Though displeased in her heart, the old matron didn't dare say more, merely replying, "My young lady will await your esteemed presence at Jade Clear Villa. This old one shall take her leave for now."
With that, the old matron didn't linger. As she turned, she vanished in a flash.
Gu Qingfeng gazed in the direction the old matron had left, lost in thought for a moment. He then walked over and, looking at Lord Xun, said, "Tell the Immortal Dynasty's people: I killed them. If they want me, they need only shout my name to the sky."
"This..." Lord Xun and the other few Xingyun Immortal Officials dared not say anything.
Gu Qingfeng paid them no further mind. He then came before the banner leaders of the Chixiao Sect's Three Black Banners and said, "Let's go. Find a place to talk."