A few people chatted in conversation, and the atmosphere was quite good.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhou Yan also asked Gu Yan about the circumstances of his father in the past, and Gu Yan did not hold back, recounting many remarkable things about his father from years ago.
From Gu Yan's words, Zhou Yan learned that at the peak of his father's realm, he had reached the pinnacle of the Third Level of Sword Intent.
The Sword Intent Realm was quite a challenging realm to attain. Before reaching the Sword Intent Realm, no matter how quickly or how talentedly one cultivated, once reaching the Sword Intent Realm, the pace of cultivation would slow down considerably. Training a Qi Column to completion was not something that could be achieved in just a few short years.
This difficulty persisted even in great sects with substantial resources. This realm was one where even elixirs and crystal stones were hard to fill.
Similarly, more than ten years ago, Gu Yan was in the First Layer Heaven of Sword Intent realm, but later, his cultivation regressed, becoming a cultivator of the Sword Element Third Layer Heaven. Even to this day, he remained in the Sword Element Third Layer Heaven realm without much recovery.
A significant reason for this was that after reaching the Sword Intent Realm, regressing in cultivation made further progress as challenging as crossing another realm in the Sword Intent Realm.
Thus, Gu Yan had not been able to recover his realm.
Zhou Yan also recalled the words of the Bixue Palace Master, noting that in Canglan City, the strongest were at the Sword Intent Realm, and those slightly more powerful did not exist.
This point could also determine the difficulty and importance of this realm.
Having gone through so much, Zhou Yan became even more expectant of the Sword Intent Realm.
Moreover, he thought that with his formidable combat strength, once he reached the Sword Intent Realm, even if it was just the First Layer Heaven of Sword Intent, would he need to bow his head in Canglan City?
At that time, he could sweep everything before him!
As Gu Yan and Gu Xi talked, Zhou Yan was deep in thought, when suddenly, Zhou Yan's face darkened sharply, and his gaze, sharp as a sword, abruptly shot towards a dim corner!
Gu Yan and Gu Xi, engrossed in conversation and thought, didn't notice, until Zhou Yan's unusual behavior suddenly awakened them, prompting both to look towards the direction of Zhou Yan's gaze.
It was a short black-robed youth, not very old, with a face covered in stubbly green whiskers. Though his clothes were luxurious, he still appeared fierce-looking.
He hid in the shadows, seemingly confident that no one could discover him, especially since Zhou Yan and the others were so engrossed in drinking and talking, full of heartfelt thoughts, making it even less likely to notice him. But he did not expect that just as this thought emerged, someone discovered him—and that someone was the weakest among the three.
Faced with Zhou Yan's somewhat sword-like gaze, the young man's eyes flickered like a venomous snake, but he was shrewd enough not to attack. Instead, he turned to transform into Sword Light, shooting towards the distant sky, appearing to realize that his plan had failed!
But at that moment, before Zhou Yan could take action, Gu Xi, who had been standing gently to the side, suddenly unleashed a Sword Light with a wave of her hand. This Sword Light suddenly morphed into a massive mountain, covering the sky, expanding enormously, pressing towards the black-clad man.
Zhou Yan couldn't discern the man's strength, but from comparison, this person's realm was at least in the Sword Origin Realm.
However, Gu Xi was only in the Sword Energy Three Realms. Zhou Yan's intention moved almost immediately, and the Silver Snow Sword on his back flew out. He was worried that Gu Xi would not be able to withstand it and would be severely injured by this man.
But the next scene almost made Zhou Yan's eyes pop out in shock. He directly stared, for the first time, being shaken by a woman's methods.
At this moment, Gu Xi's long black hair cascaded like a waterfall, her body suddenly erupting with an endless divine radiance. Simultaneously, her alabaster hand clawed towards the void, and the mountain nearly pierced by the black-clad man transformed into endless ice and snow, not only sealing the man in ice but also breaking apart at the moment of sealing, causing the man to bleed profusely from all over his body.
Simultaneously, cracks appeared on his knees in an instant, threatening to collapse into ice shards and minced meat at any moment.
Such swift and ruthless methods, if not witnessed personally, Zhou Yan could not imagine that this gentle, coquettish, and adorable girl could have such a decisive killing side—although he had seen Gu Xi kill four burly men before, it was far less shocking than now.
"A strong practitioner of the Sword Intent Realm, just like that, got suppressed. Xi'er, you've become so powerful?"
Gu Yan's eyes were glued, as if he was seeing his precious daughter for the first time.
"Father, Brother Zhou Yan, this is just a secret treasure from the sect that can be triggered a few times, not Xi'er's own ability. This man looked sneaky, probably with some background, so I did not hesitate to use the secret treasure to capture him."
Gu Xi spoke lightly, but such a trump card could be drawn out at this critical moment, showing how much boldness she had!
This aspect made Zhou Yan couldn't help but admire her, adding a few more praises to his gentle affection toward this little girl.
"So that's the case, otherwise, father would indeed be frightened. I didn't expect that my daughter Gu Yan would be so magnificent now. Yan'er, you have good fortune!"
Gu Yan spoke, unable to restrain his hearty laughter.
"Father, you're also teasing your daughter!" Gu Xi said coquettishly.
As she did, her shiny, watery eyes lovingly looked at Zhou Yan. Zhou Yan, a bit itchy at heart, just awkwardly touched his nose, pretending to know nothing.
If he showed any joy now, with Gu Yan's nature, he might immediately insist on him and Gu Xi consummating their relationship—Zhou Yan naturally wanted to, but not yet sixteen, the Bixue Palace's Bishui Sword Heart Method clearly stated that before sixteen, regardless of gender, one should not easily lose their virginity. Otherwise, there would be many hindrances.
The Yin Yang Dao of Heaven and Earth had many intricacies in this regard.
Therefore, Zhou Yan said nothing, but he began to play dumb.
Gu Xi, being a smart girl, blushed slightly with a simple wink, feeling beautiful inside, but deliberately changed the topic, addressing the man she had controlled, "Though I don't think you're anything nice, I also don't want to kill the innocent. Why did you come here?"
"Miss Gu, I was just passing by, truly only passing through… Of course, I was also curious about whether the Gu Family Master's health had improved, purely out of curiosity, with no other intentions. Otherwise, without knowing Miss's capabilities, why would I retreat?"
During his speech, the young man had already restrained his viciousness, speaking with apparent sincerity.
Gu Xi nodded her head, agreeing, "If that's the case, let's just forget it. But even if my Gu family is declining, it's not for anyone to casually come and see. Are you remorseful?"
The young man seemed somewhat helpless, "Miss Gu, now that I'm severely injured by you, my lower body has lost all sensation. As a Sword Array Cultivator in the First Layer Heaven of Sword Intent, falling into your hands is indeed shameful... So, I have some cultivation resources here. If you, Miss Gu, find them acceptable, you can take them as my apology."
The young man seemed to know how to adapt, immediately willing to compensate.
Gu Xi's face remained as cold as an iceberg, but upon hearing this, her murderous aura dissipated. She said firmly, "I can't undo your seal right now, could you throw over the ring resources first, to see your sincerity?"
The young man's face grew uncertain, but seeing Gu Xi appearing harmless, he hesitated but agreed.
Moving his somewhat numb hand, he struggled to remove a ring from his hand and tossed it to Gu Xi.
Gu Xi swept it up with an icy Sword Intent, and it landed in her hand.
She turned around, her cold expression vanished, replaced with a playful and cute proudness. Biting her lip, she placed the ring gently in Zhou Yan's hand, "Brother Zhou Yan, check his sincerity for me."
"Hmm."
Zhou Yan, at a loss for words, reached out and pinched Gu Xi's soft, smooth, and elastic cheek lovingly, accepting the ring intimately.
Witnessing this scene, a trace of venomous hatred flashed across the young man's face, but it quickly disappeared as he hid his emotions—however, Zhou Yan still sensed it.
With such genuine animosity and a killing intent, how could his abnormally strong sensing power not detect it?
But he showed no reaction, knowing that Gu Xi probably had her own methods. This girl was not as fragile as she appeared; if underestimated, even Zhou Yan could suffer.
"Hmm, good things, there are quite a few Mid-grade Spirit Crystals, eighteen pieces, and a High Grade Spiritual Crystal, not bad."
Zhou Yan assessed momentarily, already aware of the ring's contents. Although the Qiankun Ring couldn't ordinarily be sensed, once the carrier nullified the Spiritual Imprint, anyone could sense it.
Presently, having deliberately tossed it over, the Spiritual Imprint on the Qiankun Ring was naturally nullified by him.
"It seems you indeed have sincerity, so I won't renege on my word. But how can I be sure that if I release you and undo your seal, you won't turn against me? Or reclaim everything you handed over? After all, my secret treasure can only be used once."
Gu Xi spoke softly, her brows furrowing slightly, looking somewhat inexplicably conflicted.