"Whether you feel you chose the wrong path back then, or you're unwilling to accept mediocrity now, none of that is really blameworthy. After all, each person has their own aspirations, everyone has their own way of living. No one can force anyone. Even if you truly pursue wealth and glory, I don't think there's anything wrong with that. It's completely understandable."
Gu Qingfeng drained the wine in his cup, then stood up and stretched lazily before continuing, "We all live in the mundane world; no one can escape its vulgarities. If it were me, I'd be the same. Who doesn't want to pursue wealth and glory? Who doesn't want to be someone above others?"
Perhaps having sat for too long, his body felt a bit weary. Gu Qingfeng shook his neck, twisted his waist, and moved his limbs about before sitting back down in the chair. He spoke unhurriedly, "Actually, there's one thing you said earlier that I agree with wholeheartedly. Back in the day, there was no personal grudge between the Chixiao Sect and the Immortal Dynasty. Everyone fought and killed each other merely for survival, nothing more."
"To say that joining the Immortal Dynasty is a betrayal of Chixiao... that label is indeed a bit too heavy."
Gu Qingfeng then looked at Elder Fengxu and said, "What Tan Tong said earlier is correct. The Chixiao Sect ceased to exist long ago, so there's no talk of betrayal or not. You really should listen to Tan Tong's words. Much of what he said earlier makes a lot of sense. One must look forward, not live in the past. Moreover, everything you have now, you fought for yourselves. It wasn't bought with Gu Tianlang's life."
Gu Qingfeng's sudden words broke the deadlock in the hall, easing the tense, sword-drawn atmosphere considerably.
However, neither Elder Fengxu and his group nor Tan Tong and his entourage understood why this person sat here so fearlessly, or why he was uttering these seemingly random remarks.
Ignoring their reactions, Gu Qingfeng continued, "When Gu Tianlang led you all to carve out your domain, he was naturally responsible for your lives. When the Immortal Dao passed down its judgment, who else but him, the one who started the trouble, should have stepped forward? That was his duty, his responsibility."
"You did not wrong Gu Tianlang."
Gu Qingfeng turned his gaze to Tan Tong. "What you wronged were the Chixiao brothers who died back then, and the Great Hidden Dragon-Elephant who died protecting you. Although I also believe there was no personal enmity between Chixiao and the Immortal Dynasty, the fact remains that those Chixiao brothers and the Great Hidden Dragon-Elephant died at the hands of the Immortal Dynasty. Your Bloodsha Aura was forged from the blood of all the Chixiao brothers. Your Dragon-Elephant Spirit was born from the blood essence of the Great Hidden Dragon-Elephant..."
"Now, with the Bloodsha flowing in your veins and the Dragon-Elephant Spirit on your shoulders, you've joined the Immortal Dynasty. Isn't that a bit too lacking in righteousness? Joining the Immortal Dynasty isn't wrong. Pursuing wealth and glory is even less wrong. But you could at least shed the brothers' Bloodsha and release the Dragon-Elephant Spirit. Doing so would not betray the Great Hidden Dragon-Elephant's sacrifice to protect you, and it would give some closure to those fallen Chixiao brothers."
"However, what I really can't understand is this: even if you lack righteousness and disregard sentiment, even if you swallow your conscience, keep the Bloodsha flowing, carry the Dragon-Elephant Spirit, join the Immortal Dynasty, and chase wealth and glory... why must you come here and force Fengxu and the others to join the Immortal Dynasty as well?"
Beside him, Fei Kui bowed his head and continued to pour wine. Gu Qingfeng picked up his cup and drank continuously.
"They refuse, and you actually want to kill them? Can you tell me why? If they refuse, you can just go pursue your goals yourselves. Why think of killing them? To my knowledge, they haven't hindered your pursuit of so-called wealth and glory, nor have they stopped you from joining the Immortal Dynasty, right?"
"Moreover, I've heard that nearly fifty branch divisions in Yanluo Kingdom have already followed Zhou Taihe and joined the Immortal Dynasty. You have numbers and strength. If that's the case, why still kill Fengxu and these people?"
He raised his eyes, looked at Tan Tong, and raised an eyebrow slightly. "Hmm? Go on, let's just chat. From the look of you, you seem to have them completely cornered this time. Since that's the case, a little more time won't hurt. Let's talk. What do you say?"
Tan Tong narrowed his eyes, his face darkening as he stared fixedly at Gu Qingfeng, as if trying to see through him. He said coldly, "What does Tan's business have to do with you?"
"I was once a Chixiao person. How could it have nothing to do with me?"
A Chixiao person?
Impossible!
All Chixiao People have Bloodsha flowing within them, and that Bloodsha was forged from the blood essence of all the Chixiao brothers back then. Furthermore, their Dragon-Elephant Spirits were all born from the blood essence of the Great Hidden Dragon-Elephant. One could say Chixiao People are all connected by blood. If he were a Chixiao person, whether Tan Tong or the other Chixiao People from the Mingyu Branch would recognize him at a glance.
But this person had neither Bloodsha nor Dragon-Elephant Spirit.
Wait.
He said 'once before.'
Could he be a reincarnated person? A Chixiao person in a past life?
Tan Tong looked again and found this person had no turbid aura whatsoever. In other words, he was not a reincarnated person, nor even a body-snatching reborn person.
But why did he call himself a Chixiao person?
That wasn't important.
What was important was that Tan Tong simply couldn't see what this seemingly ordinary, weak young man before him relied on to be so fearless in his presence. What was his backing?
"Just who are you?"
"You just said I owe you a life, a life of wealth and glory, and complained that I didn't give you what you wanted. How is it that now, with me sitting right in front of you, you can't even recognize me?"
Owe a life?
A life of wealth and glory?
Complained he didn't give what was wanted?
When?
Tan Tong searched his memories carefully, and his heart suddenly jolted. He realized he had indeed said earlier that there was a person who owed him a life of wealth and glory, and he had complained. But that person was...
At this thought, Tan Tong's mind suddenly grew somewhat flustered. His previously narrowed eyes abruptly widened, his gaze turning sharp and cold. He spoke word by word, "Don't tell me... you are the Monarch Chixiao."
"I don't know who this 'Monarch Chixiao' in your mouth is," Gu Qingfeng said lightly. Then, shifting his tone, he added, "However, three hundred years ago, when I was still mixing in this world, my name was indeed Gu Tianlang. And, quite coincidentally, my Daoist title back then was also Chixiao."
What!
Tan Tong was instantly greatly shocked. The other Chixiao People from the Mingyu Branch were also badly frightened. The expressions of the Ancient Earth Immortals who had come with them also changed repeatedly.
The fright was only momentary.
Their fear stemmed entirely from the name 'Monarch Chixiao.'
As for the person...
There were so many Monarch Chixiaos in the world; which one was real?
Moreover, this person had nothing—neither a body-snatcher nor a reincarnated soul, let alone the Monarch Chixiao.
Thinking this, their startled minds began to recover.
Compared to them, the Fated Prodigies led by Lian Hao seemed unmoved, thinking it was no big deal. Each of them was arrogant and proud of their talents, not taking the so-called Monarch Chixiao seriously at all, and utterly unconcerned whether it was true or false. Even if it were real, they still wouldn't give him a second glance.