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

"Gu Changjin, the Immortal Official of Nanming... just who are you?"

Inside the hall, Gu Qingxiao and Gu Xiaolou were both taken aback.

Phoenix Fairy Ye Qingyao, a Mahayana Perfection genius on par with Xu Chang'an, ten years ago, during the great war that swept across all realms, she single-handedly guarded a broken realm gate and killed three alien Mahayana cultivators.

The brother and sister had naturally heard of such a person.

But they never had any interaction with Ye Qingyao.

Why did she come to our door so late at night, and even specifically ask about our ancestor?

Could it be that she has a past relationship with the ancestor?

The brother and sister exchanged a glance, but neither found the answer.

A moment later, the palace doors opened.

Gu Qingxiao invited Ye Qingyao into the hall, and after the three of them were seated, he cupped his hands and asked:

"What brings Lady Fengxian here so late at night?"

"Just now, the fairy mentioned my ancestor. Could it be that you knew him before?"

"acquaintance……"

Ye Qingyao paused for a moment, a bitter look appearing on her face.

"It could be considered to have some history, I suppose."

"It might sound absurd."

"My grandfather was also named Gu Changjin."

Gu Qingxiao: "＼(◎o◎)／!"

Gu Xiaolou: "＼(◎o◎)／!"

The hall suddenly fell silent.

The two siblings looked at each other again, their gazes even stranger than before.

Is this someone trying to establish a family connection?

But thinking about it carefully, it doesn't seem that bad.

Ye Qingyao is one of the most dazzling geniuses of this generation in the Immortal Palace. She has already reached the Great Ascension Perfection stage and has been invited multiple times by the Conquest Hall to be a candidate for Immortal Official.

Both in terms of cultivation and reputation, they far surpassed their siblings.

If they really wanted to build a relationship, they should be the ones trying to climb up to Ye Qingyao.

Gu Qingxiao coughed lightly twice.

"There are many people in the world with the same name. Perhaps the Gu Changjin that the fairy spoke of is just a coincidence that he shares the same name as my ancestor..."

Before she could finish speaking, a flash of inspiration appeared in Ye Qingyao's hand, and a scroll appeared on the table.

"This was drawn by my own hand when I was still at the Taiyi Sect in Xuandu."

The scroll slowly unfurled.

White hair, black clothes, and an aged face.

The person in the painting sits under a peach tree, holding a cup of hot tea in his hand, but his eyes are slightly narrowed, as if he is pondering something.

That face was exactly the same as Gu Changjin's!

Gu Xiaolou suddenly stood up.

"Ancestor?"

Gu Qingxiao was also stunned.

No mistake, this is the ancestor of the Gu family!

Even that seemingly kind expression, yet with something hidden in his eyes, was painted exactly the same.

The brother and sister looked at the portrait, then at Ye Qingyao, and a somewhat absurd thought popped into their minds at the same time.

Could it be that after the Ancestor left the Western Wilderness, he had a secret romantic affair in the Central Plains?

Later, another branch of the Ye family bloodline was preserved?

If that's the case, how should they address Ye Qingyao now?

Should I call her "senior," or follow the Gu family's seniority and address her as "great-aunt"?

Gu Xiaolou opened his mouth, and the look in his eyes when he looked at Ye Qingyao changed.

But as both sides gradually revealed what they knew, this nascent conjecture quickly became even stranger.

"You said you met the Ancestor in a fishing village in Baizhou, Zhongzhou?"

Gu Qingxiao frowned.

"And on that very day, the patriarch personally acknowledged that he was your grandfather, and then took you to the Xuandu Taiyi Sect?"

Ye Qingyao nodded.

"good."

Gu Xiaolou seemed to suddenly remember something and quickly asked:

"Was our ancestor just caught in a spatial turbulence back then, yet he didn't suffer many injuries?"

Ye Qingyao was slightly taken aback.

"When I found my grandfather on the beach, he was indeed unconscious. But when he woke up, he didn't have any injuries."

"That matches up."

Gu Qingxiao slowly exhaled.

"Back then, the Crimson Abyss Secret Realm suddenly collapsed, and the entire secret realm was torn apart by spatial turbulence."

"Xiao Lou and I were lucky enough to be swept back to the Western Wilderness, but the Ancestor did not come out with us and disappeared without a trace. We still don't know where he went."

"It seems that the Ancestor was swept to Baizhou in Zhongzhou by another spatial turbulence, and was rescued by you."

The collapse of that secret realm has finally come to a complete conclusion.

The three people's experiences also fit together seamlessly.

The person in the portrait is Gu Changjin, the patriarch of the Gu family.

There are no two people with the same name, and there are no two Gu Changjin.

But this only makes the biggest problem more obvious.

Why did Ye Qingyao become Gu Changjin's granddaughter?

"See that?"

Deep within Ye Qingyao's sea of ​​consciousness, Feng Xi's voice rang out.

"I told you long ago that the guy's origins are unknown, and he must have ulterior motives for getting close to you."

"While the spatial turbulence match up, it only proves that you know the same person."

"He didn't produce anything to prove that you are truly his bloodline."

"Their bloodline is right here, and I've sensed it; there's no blood connection between you at all."

Ye Qingyao did not refute, but looked at the old man in the painting and asked softly:

"But what is his purpose?"

Feng Xi was speechless for a moment.

Yes, why would someone so powerful, who has now become a true immortal and holds a high position in the immortal palace, go to such lengths to deceive Ye Qingyao, who was just a mortal at the time?

He knew Ye Wudi, Ye Qingyao's past experiences, and even many things that Ye Qingyao herself didn't know.

If it was just for his own purposes, then why did he stand in front of Ye Qingyao and forcibly push her out of that collapsing world when the True Immortal War broke out in the Xuandu Taiyi Sect?

Ye Qingyao still remembers that day.

As celestial light descended, mountains and rivers collapsed. The white-haired old man, with his back to her, only managed to say "Go" before leaving her with the only way to survive.

Under such power, Gu Changjin at that time would have had absolutely no chance of survival!

But later, Gu Changjin's name appeared again.

He not only did not die, but instead became the Immortal Official in charge of suppressing flames in the Celestial Palace.

"Has the Southern Bright Immortal Official summoned you since his promotion?"

Ye Qingyao suddenly asked.

Gu Qingxiao and Gu Xiaolou shook their heads simultaneously.

"No, today only the decree from the Southern Heavenly Palace was issued. As for the Ancestor himself, we haven't truly seen him for over three hundred years."

More than three hundred years?

Ye Qingyao's expression changed slightly.

"Grandma, how much do you know about the Celestial Palace?"

Feng Xi remained silent for a long time this time.

"When the Gate of Immortal Leap opened, the True Immortals of the Upper Realm severed their cultivation and descended to this Realm. Later, they gradually recovered to the True Immortal Realm."

"At that time, a palace master of the Celestial Palace made a ruthless move."

"But the power that person unleashed was nothing like that of a true immortal."

"I suspected at the time that these so-called palace masters of the Immortal Palace possessed another kind of power. Their presence in this realm was certainly not for the purpose of protecting the human race."

"The higher-ups at Asgard have probably been plotting something all along."

Ye Qingyao seemed to be deep in thought.

Next, she asked the brother and sister many more questions.

How long did they actually spend with Gu Changjin?

After arriving at the Immortal Palace, has Gu Changjin ever mentioned anything about the Gu family?

When they later entered the Immortal Palace, was it because Gu Changjin personally summoned them, or was it by a twist of fate that they reunited in the Immortal Palace?

In the past three hundred years, how many times has Gu Changjin taken the initiative to meet with them?

One problem after another.

Gu Qingxiao and Gu Xiaolou's replies became increasingly slow.

They suddenly realized.

Although he always addressed Gu Changjin as "Ancestor," the actual time he spent with this ancestor was not as long as he had imagined.

Upon entering the Celestial Palace, it was not because the Ancestor sent someone to summon and search for him.

However, during the process of guiding them, the two unexpectedly reunited.

As for the past three hundred years... apart from today's decree which contained not a single word of private discussion, Gu Changjin has almost never taken the initiative to contact them.

Seeing the increasingly unpleasant expressions on their faces, Ye Qingyao finally voiced her suspicion.

"What you've confirmed is only his appearance, his body, and the Gu family bloodline."

"But have you ever thought about this?"

"The person inside that body might not be the ancestor you know anymore?"

Gu Xiaolou's face turned slightly pale.

"you mean……"

"Possession".

Ye Qingyao slowly uttered two words.

"My grandfather covered my escape during the battle between the two immortals; there was absolutely no chance of me surviving."

"But he later suddenly became a celestial official in the celestial palace, and took the opportunity to leave the two of you in the celestial palace."

"Now, more than three hundred years have passed, and he has always ignored you. Yet, as if he suddenly remembered you, he used the decree of the Southern Heavenly Palace to promote you to the position of Southern Bright Immortal Official and even gave you your old positions."

Ye Qingyao raised her head, her gaze passing over the main hall and looking towards the celestial palace high above the sea of ​​clouds.

"Don't you guys think all of this is too strange?"

"Is he trying to salvage the situation... or is he simply caught in a bind?"