On the entirety of Fengxu Mountain, aside from Gu Qingfeng, every single person—whether dead, injured, unconscious, or paralyzed—was accounted for.
Tan Tong and the others lay in pools of blood, their condition unknown, whether alive or dead.
Old Master Fengxu and his people knelt on the ground, utterly terrified.
Even Fei Kui, who had been carefully attending to Gu Qingfeng all along, was now paralyzed with fear on the floor.
Liu Yue was no exception.
Her mind had been shattered by the shock.
Her body trembled uncontrollably.
She tried to summon her Nascent Soul Dharma Aspect, tried to unleash her own Creation.
But she couldn't.
Not that she was unable.
But she dared not.
The fear in her heart made her incapable of doing anything at this moment. She just lay paralyzed on the ground, her body trembling, her soul trembling along with it—as if she had fallen into an endless abyss, or lost in infinite darkness, enveloped by boundless, overwhelming terror.
What was this?
Aura?
What kind of aura?
What kind of aura could be so terrifying?
It was more horrifying than any aura she had ever encountered, more terrifying than even an Immortal's majesty.
Just who was this person?
She didn't know.
Liu Yue only knew that this person was terrifying, far more terrifying and dreadful than she could have ever imagined.
Forcing down the fear in her heart, Liu Yue slowly raised her head. She discovered that the white-robed man who had been impersonating the Monarch here seemed like a completely different person now.
The first time she saw him, Liu Yue thought he was an ignorant, arrogant fraud who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth.
Later, she felt this person wasn't as simple as he appeared on the surface, seeming unfathomably deep.
Then, after she personally witnessed the Earth Immortal Flying Ghost—who had possessed a new body—be reduced to ashes by this man's casual, offhand remark, Liu Yue felt this person was not only unfathomable but also a mysterious and bizarre existence.
And now.
At this very moment, Gu Qingfeng stood with his hands behind his back in the grand hall. His white robes fluttered fiercely, his black hair danced wildly in the air. On his cold, stern face, the expression held the solitary arrogance of one who looked down upon the world; between his brows surged a rolling, sky-filling killing intent; in his eyes was the domineering supremacy of one who acknowledged no equal. All of this shook Liu Yue's soul to its core. Especially that innate, domineering presence emanating from Gu Qingfeng's body—like a solitary peak standing between heaven and earth, as if not even Immortals, Demons, or the heavens and earth themselves could budge him an inch.
Awooo—
Thirty or forty Bloodsha Dragon-Elephants shook their heads, circling around Gu Qingfeng, letting out roars.
Those roars were not roars of anger, but of joy, excitement, and exhilaration.
It was truly so.
Whether it was Old Master Fengxu, Grand Elder Luo Yi, or the other Chixiao people, every one of them could clearly sense the excitement coming from the Bloodsha Dragon-Elephants. Even though Liu Yue's Bloodsha Dragon-Elephant was inherited, she could still feel it vividly.
At this moment.
In the hearts of everyone present was a question they desperately wanted to ask but dared not: Could this person really be the Monarch?
If not, why would the Bloodsha Dragon-Elephants be so docile before him? Why would they now be circling him, roaring with such excitement and exhilaration?
Under the vast heavens, only the Monarch alone could achieve this.
But.
Could it really be true?
Unclear.
None of them dared to voice the question.
An unknown amount of time passed.
No one knew how long.
They only knew that when the solitary arrogance faded from Gu Qingfeng's expression, when the killing intent vanished from between his brows, when the domineering supremacy left his eyes, that world-destroying, earth-shattering domineering presence enveloping everyone gradually dissipated.
However.
Fengxu, Liu Yue, and the others still knelt on the ground, not daring to move, not daring to raise their heads, not daring to speak, not daring to look directly.
Gu Qingfeng gazed at the Bloodsha Dragon-Elephants circling around him. He reached out and touched the head of one. When the Bloodsha Dragon-Elephant was touched by him, it became as docile and joyful as a child, letting out soft whimpers.
"They are not worthy of your protection."
"Go back."
"One day, I will find you. I swear it."
Awooo!
The Bloodsha Dragon-Elephants belonging to Tan Tong and the dozen or so other Chixiao people circled Gu Qingfeng nine times, then shot straight up into the sky. Shaking their heads, they roared, pierced through the clouds, charged into the highest heavens, soared through the void, and vanished into the horizon. Only the lingering sounds of dragon roars and elephant trumpets continued to echo in the air.
There were still over a dozen Bloodsha Dragon-Elephants circling around Gu Qingfeng. These belonged to Old Master Fengxu and the other Chixiao people.
"You go back too."
Gu Qingfeng waved his hand. The dozen or so Bloodsha Dragon-Elephants also circled him nine times before merging back into the bodies of Old Master Fengxu and the others.
Gu Qingfeng glanced at Fengxu and the others kneeling on the ground, shook his head, sighed, and said nothing. Instead, he turned, picked up the wine jug, and poured himself a cup of wine.
"Monarch!"
Old Master Fengxu's body was still trembling. Only now, the trembling wasn't from fear or terror, but from excitement. He finally raised his head, looking at Gu Qingfeng's back with immense excitement. He opened his mouth, as if choked with emotion, his eyes even turning slightly red. His voice grew hoarse as he said, "Monarch... is it...
Is it really you?"
"You...
You really...
Are you really the Monarch?"
"Monarch!
Have you really...
Have you really returned?"
Grand Elder Luo Yi, Heng San, and the dozen or so other Chixiao people in the hall all knelt on the ground. Their expressions grew more excited by the moment, their eyes redder one by the other. Their hearts were filled with indescribable complexity—so complex they didn't know whether to cry or laugh.
Ever since three hundred years ago, when the Chixiao Monarch Gu Tianlang was judged by the Immortal Dao and reduced to ashes.
All Chixiao people had been waiting for his return.
They refused to believe that the Monarch, who had been invincible under the heavens and dared to defy even the heavens themselves, could have been killed by the Immortal Dao's judgment. They had all been waiting for the day the Monarch would return.
But they waited year after year.
No news of the Monarch's return ever came.
They waited until the end of the Ancient Era, waited through theReincarnation Storm, waited until the Modern Era began. Many ancient great powers, figures from a thousand years ago, ten thousand years ago, even a hundred thousand years ago, even predecessors from the Primordial Era had reincarnated and returned. Only there was no news of the Monarch's reincarnation.
There were only countless false rumors everywhere, frauds impersonating the Monarch and swindling people all over the place.
Every time there was news about the Monarch, Old Master Fengxu and the others would rush over immediately, no matter how far the distance, even if it was at the ends of the earth. They would go without regard for anything, just to see for themselves.
Unfortunately.
Time and again, their hopes were met with disappointment.
Fake.
All fake.
Not a single one was real.
Until later, they grew numb. Deep in their hearts, they began to accept the fact that the Monarch would not return.
Perhaps there were still a dozen or so Monarchs in the world whose authenticity they couldn't determine. But by then, they had already lost heart and held no more hope.
But.
Today.
Right here, right now.
The flame of hope in their hearts, which had long been extinguished, reignited the moment the Bloodsha Dragon-Elephants burst forth from within them.