Just as the old patriarch forced me to my death, I achieved the unity of Dao and fruition.

Gu Changjin tallied his harvest in the desolate mountains, preparing for the next time he would descend upon the other.

Far off on the edge of the Central Plains, two streaks of light flew past the mountains.

The light flickered, and its speed was surprisingly slow.

Let alone a Nascent Soul cultivator, even an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator could probably catch up easily if they tried their best.

"Gu Qingxiao!"

"I told you a long time ago, that guy was weird!"

Gu Xiaolou's face was pale, and the flying sword beneath his feet wobbled. Even while flying, he didn't forget to turn his head and glare to the side.

"The way he looked at me was strange."

"We offended him before, and you actually dared to stay at the restaurant he recommended!"

"Is it better now?"

"Everyone in the town is in cahoots with him!"

Gu Qingxiao's face was also pale, his lips were turning black, and his spiritual energy seemed to be blocked by something. Every time he circulated his energy, his meridians would feel a sharp pain.

"Who would have thought that a restaurant under the prestigious Wanbao Chamber of Commerce would be bought off?"

"I even checked, and that restaurant is backed by a neutral chamber of commerce, and has nothing to do with the sect that guy belongs to."

"Now it seems that whether there's a relationship or not is completely unimportant."

"As long as people give enough, neutrality is all a lie."

At this point, Gu Qingxiao suddenly glanced at Gu Xiaolou.

"And another thing! Didn't you already discover there was a problem?"

"Didn't you enjoy that feast quite a bit after it was served?"

"I remember that plate of deer jerky, most of it ended up in your stomach, didn't it?"

Gu Xiaolou's expression froze.

"I……"

She scratched her head somewhat awkwardly.

"It's because they made it smell so good."

"And didn't you eat some too?"

"I was just testing the poison for you first."

"Pooh!"

"You clearly drank two more cups of nectar than I did!"

The brother and sister glared at each other, then turned their heads away at the same time, neither wanting to talk to the other.

However, the two streaks of light beneath their feet remained tightly pressed together, not separating even slightly.

They had traveled all the way from the Western Wilderness, and their cultivation had successively reached the Nascent Soul stage.

I originally thought that once I arrived in Zhongzhou, even if I couldn't be considered a top expert, I would at least have some ability to protect myself.

As a result, he was taught a harsh lesson as soon as he offended a disciple of a major sect.

The restaurants, shops, guards, and even a few strangers among the cultivators in the city were all secretly working for the other party.

They had only been in the restaurant for half a day when their food, wine, and incense were all poisoned.

If Gu Xiaolou hadn't noticed the problem with the spiritual energy flow beforehand, the two of them would probably have been trapped in their room that night.

Although they have escaped, the situation is not much better now.

The poison had already invaded their primordial spirits, and their Nascent Soul cultivation levels were sealed off layer by layer.

After flying thousands of miles, Gu Qingxiao's figure suddenly swayed, and the flying sword under his feet lost control and fell downwards.

Just as Gu Xiaolou was about to reach out and grab him, her spiritual energy was completely depleted.

"elder brother!"

The two fell from the sky, one after the other.

boom! boom! boom!

Branches and leaves broke, and pebbles flew everywhere.

Gu Qingxiao crashed heavily into a forest, breaking several ancient trees before finally coming to a stop.

Gu Xiaolou landed not far away, and a protective aura shone on her body. Although she fell in a mess, she was not actually injured.

The two quickly got up from the ground, but after this ordeal, the poison in their bodies worsened again.

His Nascent Soul cultivation was completely unusable; only his Golden Core level mana could be barely activated.

"There's someone there."

Gu Qingxiao suddenly looked up, and Gu Xiaolou looked at the woods in front of him at the same time.

There was an extremely subtle aura there. On the surface, it only had the cultivation level of Foundation Establishment, but it gave them an indescribable sense of danger.

A moment later, the shadows of the trees swayed gently.

A young man with a bronze complexion emerged from the woods.

He was wearing a faded short shirt and had a long knife wrapped in cloth strapped to his back. His face wasn't particularly handsome, but his eyes were surprisingly bright.

The young man was visibly taken aback when he saw the two of them.

Before the three of them could even speak...

A powerful aura suddenly emanated from the distant horizon.

The three of them looked up at the same time.

A streak of crimson light was following the trail they had left behind.

Late stage of Nascent Soul!

Moreover, the distance is not far.

"Follow me!"

Without asking the two men's identities, the bronze-skinned youth turned and ran into the depths of the forest.

Gu Qingxiao and Gu Xiaolou exchanged a glance, disregarding their doubts, and quickly followed.

The young man parted a clump of hanging vines, revealing an extremely narrow crevice hidden behind it.

The three of them squeezed in sideways, only to find a completely different world inside.

A dimly lit stone path leads downwards, eventually leading to a natural grotto.

The young man raised his hand and pressed it against a spot on the cave wall.

An ancient pattern glowed faintly.

The three of them were instantly and completely isolated.

A few breaths later, the Nascent Soul cultivators outside repeatedly scanned the forest, but still found nothing unusual.

Only when that aura completely disappeared did the three of them breathe a sigh of relief.

.........

As night fell, a bonfire was lit deep inside the grotto.

A freshly hunted blue-horned goat was roasting over the fire.

The grease dripped onto the firewood, making a sizzling sound.

After spending half a day together, the three of them had become quite familiar with each other.

The bronze-colored youth was named Ye Chen, and he came from Linhai City.

"Linhai City?"

Gu Xiaolou tore off a small piece of roasted meat, nodding as she ate.

Ye Chen lowered his head and poked at the campfire.

"It used to be a city for ordinary people."

"Being close to the East China Sea, most of the people in the city make a living by fishing at sea."

"I'm a fisherman too."

"That year, we went to sea with the fleet and encountered a storm, and were stranded on a deserted island for more than two months."

"Wait for me to come back..."

He paused for a moment, the firelight illuminating his young face.

"The city is gone; the docks, houses, and city walls have all been reduced to ruins."

"My parents, and all the people I grew up with, we haven't found any of them."

The roasted meat in Gu Xiaolou's hands suddenly didn't smell so good anymore.

"Who did it?"

Ye Chenzhou shook his head.

"Nobody told me."

"The guards of several nearby cultivation cities won't let me in."

"Some cultivators say that it's possible that the battle between high-level cultivators accidentally affected Linhai City."

"Some say that it is a secret technique practiced by a great figure that requires a large amount of mortal blood essence."

"I don't know which one it is."

He spoke calmly, but the calmer he was, the more you could hear the pressure weighing on his heart.

"I stayed in the ruins for a long time afterward."

"I stumbled upon a cave dwelling left behind by a reclusive cultivator who had passed away, and that's how I embarked on the path of cultivation."

Gu Qingxiao sized up Ye Chen.

The time it took the other party to cultivate from an ordinary person to the Foundation Establishment stage was obviously not long.

Its foundation is extremely stable, and with each breath, spiritual energy will automatically circulate along some mysterious path.

This opportunity is probably not as simple as he makes it out to be.

"So where are you planning to go next?"

Gu Qingxiao asked.

Ye Chen raised his head.

"The Celestial Palace".

"I'm going to complain to the deity."

Gu Xiaolou was stunned.

"Complaint to Immortal?"

Ye Chen nodded.

"I want to ask the Celestial Palace."

Are immortals and mortals not the same kind of people from birth?

"Does having high cultivation mean you can destroy a city at will, kill hundreds of thousands of people, and then not even have to give an explanation?"

"If no one can control those cultivators."

"Then what is the purpose of the celestial palace's existence?"

The cave became quiet.

Gu Xiaolou opened her mouth.

She really wanted to say that the Celestial Palace was not an ordinary government office.

As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, you probably can't even reach the location of the Immortal Palace.

But looking into Ye Chen's eyes, she ultimately didn't say anything.

"you're right."

Gu Xiaolou said in a low voice:

"Someone has to give an explanation."

Gu Qingxiao did not respond.

He hid his fingers in his sleeve and secretly made a hand seal.

Over the years, the brother and sister have traveled extensively and have had many opportunities, including an unexpected acquisition of a fragmented Qi-observation technique.

It's not particularly profound, but it can at least give a rough idea of ​​a person's recent fortune changes.

Gu Qingxiao looked at Ye Chen again.

A wisp of pale golden aura rose from the top of the young man's head, and deep within the aura, there seemed to be a sharp edge that was slowly awakening.

But above that golden hue, a dark, dead star was shrouded.

It was deathly still, almost completely obscuring any sign of life.

Gu Qingxiao's eyes narrowed slightly.

They went to the celestial palace to lodge a complaint with the immortals.

It seems he's going to offend a big shot far beyond Ye Chen's imagination.

This trip is most likely a one-way street to certain death.

He glanced at Gu Xiaolou, who was listening intently to Ye Chen, but ultimately did not reveal the result he had foreseen.

They simply added one more piece of firewood to the campfire.

The firelight flickered gently.

The shadows of the three were cast onto the dark stone wall.