No one believed that the young man before them—lacking cultivation, lacking fortune, lacking everything one could want, with a frail and weak physical body—was the legendary Lord Chixiao.
Old Master Fengxu and the other Chixiao People didn't even have the slightest interest in verifying his authenticity. Originally, they had wanted to figure out the real purpose behind this person impersonating Lord Chixiao and suddenly appearing at the Mountain-River Branch Hall. However, they simply had no extra time today. They didn't know what situation awaited them with the Mingyu Branch Hall later, and they had no desire to waste energy dealing with this matter.
"Fei Kui, this old man does not know your purpose in bringing this person to our Mountain-River Branch Hall today, and I do not wish to know now. Out of respect for Old Master Fo's face, I will not pursue your impersonation of the Monarch. However, I advise you to know your limits. Leave immediately and do not meddle further in the affairs of our Crimson-Letter Sect."
Old Master Fengxu neither ordered anyone to take action nor harshly drove them away. He simply told them to leave on their own, giving Fei Kui plenty of face.
Yet Fei Kui acted as if he hadn't heard, still bowing, head lowered, holding the wine pot, standing obediently.
"Fengxu, whether I am truly Gu Tianlang or not is none of your concern."
Gu Qingfeng glanced at Old Master Fengxu and said indifferently, "Right now, it seems the people from the Mingyu Branch Hall have arrived. That is what you should be concerned about."
The people from the Mingyu Branch Hall were here?
Hearing this, the expressions of everyone in the grand hall stiffened. Immediately after, commotion erupted from outside. Soon, Elder Huang, who was guarding the mountain gate, rushed into the hall with a hurried expression and reported, "Old Branch Master, the people from the Mingyu Branch Hall are here!"
As his words fell, the elders of the Mountain-River Branch Hall gathered in the grand hall also grew restless. Their expressions turned solemn and quite tense.
After all, they all knew that the Mingyu Branch Hall's visit today was absolutely ill-intentioned. There might even be fighting and killing. More importantly, the Mingyu Branch Hall was filled with experts—both arrogant, youthful fortune-bearing prodigies running rampant and old Chixiao People who had killed countless sitting in authority. Behind them were Zhou Taihe and the support of nearly fifty Crimson-Letter Sect branch halls.
Compared to them, the Mountain-River Branch Hall was completely at a disadvantage. Add to that the fact that Old Master Black Buddha was not in the Yanluo Kingdom. Under these circumstances, saying they weren't afraid or tense would be a lie.
"Pass down the order: without my command, no one is to act rashly."
Old Master Fengxu sat upright. His expression didn't seem to show much change. He was like this, and the dozen or so other old Chixiao People were no exception. They were masters who had waded through seas of blood, having experienced countless battles and life-and-death situations. Back then, they hadn't feared even the Immortal Court or the Immortals descended from the Nine Heavens. How could they possibly fear a mere Mingyu Branch Hall now?
Never mind that the Mountain-River Branch Hall was at a disadvantage; even if Old Master Fengxu and the other Chixiao People faced a thousand troops and ten thousand horses, they wouldn't so much as furrow a brow.
In the dictionary of the Chixiao People, the word 'fear' had never existed.
"Hahaha! Master, how have you been lately?"
The voice arrived before the person.
Following the voice appeared a group of over twenty people. The spiritual auras emanating from these individuals were immensely profound, circulating endlessly as if inexhaustible. Such an aura symbolized Earth Immortal cultivation. Shockingly, all twenty-three people from the Mingyu Branch Hall were uniformly Earth Immortals.
Seeing these twenty-plus Earth Immortals, the hundred or so people gathered in the grand hall, already somewhat tense, grew even more nervous for a moment. Setting aside the specific cultivation levels of these Earth Immortals, even if they had just recently achieved Earth Immortal status, an Earth Immortal was still an Earth Immortal. Even those who had become Earth Immortals nine years ago by leveraging the descent of Heaven's Mandate and the brilliance of the great nature could not be underestimated. At the very least, Dharma Aspect Great Venerables were no match for Earth Immortals.
This was suppression between realms. Unless one possessed powerful fortune capable of breaking through realm suppression. But fortune was not something everyone possessed.
What made the situation even more awkward for them was that, if one didn't count the old Chixiao People, the number of Earth Immortals in the Mountain-River Branch Hall was only five or six at most—far fewer than the Mingyu Branch Hall.
Among the twenty-plus Earth Immortals who had arrived, the leader was a middle-aged man.
This middle-aged man wore luxurious robes, hands clasped behind his back as he walked slowly forward. A faint smile hung at the corner of his mouth, and his eyes held a playful yet disdainful glint.
When the people in the grand hall saw this middle-aged man, they were filled with fury. Because this man was precisely the traitor of the Mountain-River Branch Hall, and also Old Master Fengxu's only direct disciple—Zhan Zhiming!
Mentioning Zhan Zhiming, no one in the Mountain-River Branch Hall wasn't furious.
Old Master Fengxu had raised him single-handedly, treating him as his own, enduring hardship for decades to teach him cultivation and raise him to adulthood. He had even passed the Mountain-River Branch Hall to him, placing great hopes upon him.
No one could have imagined that Zhan Zhiming not only failed to repay the old master's nurturing and teaching kindness, but after taking over the Mountain-River Branch Hall, he wantonly amassed wealth—that aside, harming disciples aside—he later even nearly stole the Mountain-River Branch Hall's mountain-guarding treasure, the Blue Essence Heart.
Back then, when the old master discovered his wicked deeds, he was still merciful and let him go. But this Zhan Zhiming, showing no remorse, defected to the Mingyu Branch Hall and had been opposing the Mountain-River Branch Hall ever since. Now it was even worse; he had begun openly dealing with the Mountain-River Branch Hall.
"Traitor! How dare you show your face at the Mountain-River Branch Hall!"
"Ungrateful wretch! Today you'll come but not leave!"
The elders of the Mountain-River Branch Hall were all seething with rage. Even those old Chixiao People, upon seeing Zhan Zhiming, flushed red with anger, eyes glaring fiercely, killing intent flashing wildly. However, they all suppressed the fury in their hearts. No one made a move. They knew Zhan Zhiming wasn't the main event today and understood that today's matter was of great importance. Even if they were to fight, it definitely wouldn't be now.
"Zhan Zhiming, this old man severed our master-disciple bond long ago. You are not worthy, nor do you have the qualification, to be this old man's disciple!"
After seeing Zhan Zhiming, Old Master Fengxu's face showed no trace of anger, nor did any killing intent flash. Although he tried hard to conceal it, his eyes still betrayed his inner emotions at this moment. But it wasn't anger; it was a kind of pain—the pain of extreme disappointment, the pain of utter despair.
No one could bear the betrayal of a loved one.
This kind of agony was something ordinary people could not comprehend. It was a pain more excruciating than having one's liver and intestines severed, like the heart dripping blood!
But.
Old Master Fengxu still endured it. At least, nothing showed on the surface.
"Heh... Is that so?"
The playful smile at the corner of Zhan Zhiming's mouth had long indicated that his earlier call of 'Master' was merely his mockery. He chuckled, his laughter filled with disdain and contempt. "Indeed it is. Who are you, old master? The branch master of the Mountain-River Branch Hall, and also the banner master of the Golden Radiance Banner under Old Master Black Buddha of the former Chixiao Sect. How could someone like me possibly have the qualification to be your disciple?"