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Translator: Fate
Proofreader: Silavin
That day, due to Gu Changge’s return, a stir erupted in Skyward Schloss. There were disciples at every peak on the divine island discussing the matter while many elders even decided to come out because of him as they felt the need to meditate before the situation got worse.
Many guessed that Jin Zhou wouldn’t let him go this easily and would avenge his little brother. After all, the hatred between him and Gu Changge ran deep, but no one expected that he would shut himself in the Solitary Peak for the next period of time without any news at all. As a Direct Disciple of Skyward Schloss, his every movement would draw the attention of a lot of people. Still, most were still shocked by his decision to enter retreat.
Jin Zhou, as another young prodigy, tried to suppress Gu Changge with his cultivation back then but was severely injured in the end. Now that Gu Changge’s cultivation had far surpassed his, many felt that he didn’t dare to challenge the latter, which was why he chose to enter retreat.
This instantly caused a huge uproar. If this happened to any young prodigy, they would be filled with arrogance and determination to not relent. Thus, Jin Zhou’s actions confused them. Even most of his followers were starting to feel anxious. Although they were confident in him, seeing that he chose to shut himself from the outside world in the face of such provocation, they couldn’t help but wonder whether he was actually afraid of Gu Changge.
Also, during this period, the Grand Elder, who had not been seen for many years, suddenly showed up once more with a young girl dressed in green next to him. Many disciples recognize who that young girl was because she was the one who caused Jin Yu to be slapped to dust by Gu Changge’s that day in front of the mountain gate. She seemed to be one of the Gu Family and Gu Changge’s little sister, but one could tell that there was conflict between the two cousins.
The Grand Elder’s sudden appearance drew the attention of many disciples in Skyward Schloss as they speculated that he was about to accept that young girl dressed in green as his disciple. One should know that the Grand Elder of Skyward Schloss was one of the most powerful individuals in the Beyond with unfathomable cultivation. The disciples that he accepted in the past were all now dominating forces in the outside world that held power in their hands. With just a stamp of his foot, he could cause a stir on all sides of the world. If the Grand Elder was to accept that young girl as his disciple, it was possible that another Direct Disciple would be added to Skyward Schloss. According to seniority, many ancient figures couldn’t even be in the same status as her.
As soon as news about this matter spread, it caused a huge uproar within Skyward Schloss. Instantly, the identity of the young girl dressed in green was found out by many cultivators. Her name was Gu Xianer and she was 17 years old. She had an extraordinary talent, and her cultivation had already broken through to the Honored Nobility Realm. As for her origins, not many people knew about it, but some heard that the Grand Elder had praised her as a nirvana supreme being and a darling of the Grand Path. She has a strong foundation which he had never seen before. Once the rumor was spread, it caused an even bigger uproar because when Gu Changge joined Skyward Schloss back then, the Grand Elder only gave him a simple praise. In that case, everyone couldn’t help but wonder if the young girl was more talented than Gu Changge himself.
This matter even attracted the attention of Chu Wunian—another Direct Disciple and the Prince of the Great Chu Celestial Dynasty. Many saw him leading his followers toward the Grand Elder’s place of seclusion, ready to pay him a visit.
…
Meanwhile, outside Skyward Schloss, there was the Skyward Ancient City, and inside an ancient yet magnificent hall, Gu Changge arrived while gently tasting the wine in front of him with a look of interest. At the moment, in front of him, there was a naturally seductive woman with a gorgeous face standing in awe and fear. The woman’s watery eyes were beautiful and almost seductive as she had a few snowy-white fox’s tails behind her that were crystal clear and shimmering with light.
If a warrior was here, he would certainly exclaim that she was a descendant of the powerful Nine-Tailed Fox Clan. Also, based on the fox’s tails behind the woman, one could tell that she belonged to the incomparably noble lineage of her clan. Of course, if a disciple of Skyward Schloss were to discover her here, he would definitely be in shock too because she was the Direct Disciple of Skyward Schloss as well as the Gifted Lady of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan—Yin Mei who was high above the rest and extremely mysterious.
“Master…” At the moment, she called out to Gu Changge with a delicate, fair face filled with fear. She had the puffy white fox’s tail of hers landed on his hand, causing her to almost lose her footing.
“This is the antidote to the Demonic Poison.” Gu Changge threw a strange-looking pill to her while playing with the puffy fox’s tail in his hand.
As soon as she received the pull, she immediately swallowed it without hesitation before breathing a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Master.”
Gu Changge nodded his head, revealing an expression on his face that made it difficult for anyone to guess his thoughts. When recalling his previous memories, he found out that Yin Mei was the most mysterious one out of the Five Greatest Direct Disciples and only a few disciples saw her on a regular basis. A few years ago, while cultivating at a secret place in Skyward Schloss, she encountered Gu Changge in an underground grotto. Unfortunately, she bumped into him while he was using Nommening to absorb the cultivation from other cultivators, which left her stunned as she didn’t expect Gu Changge, the Avatar of a True Immortal, to secretly be a Successor of the Demonic Arts.
At that time, a big battle broke out directly between the two as Yin Mei’s was powerful enough to have many life-saving means up her sleeves. Without using Nommening, it wasn’t difficult for Gu Changge to defeat her, but killing her was a different matter altogether, so he used his last resort by revealing his true cultivation, leaving her in despair. She didn’t want to die, so she instantly chose to submit to him. However, since he couldn’t trust her, he used the Demonic Poison along with the Demonic Manipulation Urn to control her.
The Demonic Poison would come to effect every six months, and only the antidote provided by him could cure it. Otherwise, she would suffer from demons gnawing at her heart. As for the Demonic Manipulation Urn, it was just extra precaution to make sure nothing went wrong. However, he now no longer possessed any Demonic Poison because it would require multiple materials to refine it. Furthermore, the process was extremely complex, so he was considering asking Lin Qiuhan to refine some for him in the future. Of course, the most important process would still require him to do it himself since it involved the Demonic Arts.
Then, he came back to his senses and let go of the fox’s tail in his hand before asking flatly, “How’s the collection coming along?”
This feeling of jerking the fox’s tail reminded him of cuddling a cat in his previous life, but of course, he was the only person in this world who dared to stroke a member of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan like a cat. If anyone else touched their tails, they would absolutely blow up in rage and cut off the person’s hands.
“Master, I’ve collected a lot of talents with special physiques during the past 6 months. There seems to be nothing wrong with their background, so now, they are being held in the dungeon. Also, there are quite a few powerful ancient corpses from various tribes that have been stolen. I’ve preserved their essence and kept them for you, Master,” Yin Mei replied and did not dare to ask anything more. She knew Gu Changge better than anyone, which made her more afraid of him. Not only that, she knew that the reason why he decided to keep her alive was because of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan’s vast business connections across the Beyond. With that, not only could she help him look into a lot of information, she could also help him collect cultivation resources.
Indeed, the cultivation resources were the various physiques that needed to be absorbed by his Nommening. The number of cultivators and Life Spirits in the Beyond was countless, and those who possessed a special physique were the same too. Therefore, the reason why Gu Changge was able to reach halfway through the Enlightened Noble Realm with his Nommening was mainly due to Yin Mei. This was why she was seen as his trusted subordinate, but in all seriousness, she wasn’t. After all, she was only serving him out of fear.
“Well done.” He praised her before going down to the dungeon underneath the hall.
[With these resources, it won’t be long for my true cultivation to break through the Enlightened Noble Realm. Of course, I still need to use the cultivation from the Skyward Ascension to deceive everyone else.]
…
In the depths of the Skyward Schloss, there was a lonely mountain peak situated in the void, standing 100,000 feet high. It was filled with celestial flowers and had holy beasts roaming around, giving it a peaceful and transcendent atmosphere. Meanwhile, a kind-eyed and white-robed old man was fishing on the lonely peak with deep eyes that reflected an ancient heaven.
This man was the Grand Elder of Skyward Schloss. An ancient figure who had lived for a long unknown period of time. Next to him was a confused young girl dressed in green who was looking at him with curiosity. Then, the Grand Elder cast a hook straight down the rolling clouds below, but no one knew what he was fishing.
“Grand Elder, what are you fishing for?” Gu Xianer couldn’t help but ask. She originally prepared to join Skyward Schloss, and the Grand Elder intended to accept her as his disciple, but before all that, she needed to accomplish something first.
“I’m fishing for someone.” The Grand Elder chuckled. Listening to him, she secretly pouted her lips but was already used to these profound riddles. “You came here because you want to defeat your brother and take back what’s yours. Am I right?” he suddenly asked with eyes that looked like they had already gained insight into everything.
“I’ve already gotten a new bone, so I don’t need to take anything back.” She fell silent for a moment before answering him firmly, “But I’ll make him pay for the pain he caused me all these years.”
“Great. I see your ambition at such a young age! No wonder I accept you as my disciple.” The Grand Elder continued to chuckle and said, “Gu Changge’s demonic nature is too strong, and I sensed it the moment he joined us. Only someone from the Gu Family would come up with the idea of concealing his demonic nature using a Daoist Bone… The position of the heir of Skyward Schloss cannot be given to him. Xianer, I will accept you as my disciple without a doubt, but you must first prove to me that you can surpass Gu Changge.”
Hearing his words, she clenched her tiny fists and asked, “Grand Elder, how can I prove to you?”
“The Skyward Path. I only want you to surpass Gu Changge’s past record. Can you do it?” He answered with a hint of joy.
Gu Xianer was startled as she knew that the Skyward Path was rumored to be one of the most mysterious and difficult paths to take in the Beyond. To any young prodigy who joined the Skyward Schloss, taking a step in this path would be worthy of celebration and ecstasy because it would show that the person had the talent and recognition to make a name for themselves in the world.
Thinking about it, Gu Xianer suddenly revealed a determined look and said, “I can do it.”
The Grand Elder smiled. “Are you that confident? You should know that Gu Changge overpowered a group of his peers back then, beating the number one record in the Skyward Schloss that lasted for nearly 100,000 years. Eh, I caught someone!”
With that, he suddenly pulled the hook and a golden dragon enveloped in bright diving light emerged from the lingering clouds in front.
“Greetings, Grand Elder!”
The golden dragon landed and transformed into a heroic man with golden armor. He was another Direct Disciple of the Skyward Schloss—Chu Wunian.
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