Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Gu Changge had almost guessed Gu Xian'er's background from the news Yan Ji brought back.
The trope she followed didn't seem to be all that different from his expectations.
After all, a transmigrator like him was more than familiar with the tropes of bone-digging, a mysterious village, and an ancient peach tree.
Now, he held no doubt about the fact that there was a mysterious, mighty figure behind Gu Xian'er.
What's more? Yan Ji described that the mysterious village was shrouded in a chaotic fog and frost, and she felt many strange auras from inside it. It went to show that the village had more than just a peach tree in its arsenal.
Gu Changge reached various conclusions after thinking about the matter for a while. Considering that the Land of Forsaken Immortals was a barren wasteland in the Upper Realm, then the presence of a mysterious village in such a wasteland might just mean that Gu Xian'er had some mighty masters with maimed limbs or something…
So what did the merging of these two tropes mean?
Well, Gu Changge wasn't all that worried about these matters. After all, Gu Xian'er was just a little girl, and he had many ways to deal with little girls.
Once he figured out Gu Xian'er's whereabouts and destination, he will be able to deal with her better. For now, he prepared to return to the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace.
Although he was the Young Master of the Ancient Immortal Gu Family now, the one who held all authority was still his father.
Furthermore, there wasn't much for him to do in the Gu Family, so it was better for him to return to the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace to plot further.
[Upper Realm, Inner Region, Immeasurable Heaven.]
As the most prosperous area closest to the Upper Realm's central region, the Immeasurable Heaven hid countless secret realms and opportunities. The number of talented geniuses born from this place — who could shock the geniuses of the past and the present — couldn't be estimated.
Since time immemorial, this region was the most prosperous region for all Races and Heritages that had existed since times forgotten. All Ancient Immortal Families, Ancient Immortal Sects, and Supreme Orthodoxies and Dynasties could trace their roots back to this place.
The Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace was a behemoth of the Immeasurable Heaven, with an extremely mysterious and long heritage. It had stood tall and Immortal through multiple epochs. Some cultivators even believed that the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace possessed real Immortal Scriptures and Inscriptions, and even held the method of achieving true Immortality in their hands.
There were countless such rumors floating around in the Upper Realm.
The composition of forces inside the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace was extremely complicated. Almost all the heritages of the Upper Realm had their shadow behind the people inside the Dao Palace. After all, the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace was open to people of all races and heritages.
[Right now, in front of the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace's magnificent gate.]
Droves of cultivators passed through this place. One could see creatures of all races here. There were those with wings on their backs, those with horns on top of their heads, those with red eyes and silver scales, and those with oppressive auras…
Many among them were disciples of the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace who rode atop pure-bred, mighty beasts as mounts. Right now, some were leaving the Palace while others were returning from outside.
At the foot of the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace's entrance was a huge square market. Right now, various lively voices resounded around the market.
"Does anyone want the pictures of the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace's top ten beauties? They are the ten most amazing women! Young heroes, don't you want to catch a glimpse of their sacred visage? All of them are peerless fairies waiting to meet you!"
"I have a Heaven-defying cultivation technique that fell from Heaven after an ancient Immortal lost it. Not only in this world, but even up there, it's invincible! This is an opportunity that might never come again, so don't miss it while it lasts!"
"I have the record left behind by the Divine Sun Sparrow! The highest bid can obtain it right away. Although it's an incomplete record, it can take you to the peak of the Fire Dao in one fell swoop! Get it to take a glimpse of the true Fire Dao, and step on the road to the pinnacle of the Fire Dao!"
"I have a Quasi-Supreme Herb. This ancient medicine has grown unhindered for eighty-thousand years, and it will soon turn into a Supreme Herb! Interested parties can compete and bid for it! It's a rare treasure herb!"
"Don't miss, don't miss! Take a look, take a look!"
...
A slender girl dressed in blue slightly frowned as she watched the scenes in her surroundings. A large, red bird rested on her shoulder.
The girl was none other than Gu Xian'er!
After many twists and turns, she traveled through innumerable Teleportation Formations, and finally arrived all the way to the Inner Region of the Upper Realm from the Outer Region of the Upper Realm.
Only when she arrived here did she realize what it meant to see a truly prosperous region where all races lived together.
She also saw for the first time just how vast the Upper Realm was!
On the way, she met many youths who claimed to be heavenly geniuses, but all of them were stomped on by her without even forcing her to bring out her full might.
"Are these things real or fake? Surely, no one would have the guts to sell fake stuff right at the gate of the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace, right?"
The more she listened to the cries of the peddlers, the more Gu Xian'er felt that she was missing out on great opportunities. She felt entangled in her heart, but couldn't do anything about it as she didn't possess much wealth.
The red bird on her shoulder couldn't help but roll its eyes as it listened to her grumbles. Usually, this girl would be the smartest of the lot, but her mind would shut down as soon as she came across 'Heavenly Treasures!'
Gu Xian'er walked throughout the market with furrowed brows.
She watched as people exchanged various treasures, listened to the sounds of people eating and drinking, and the endless chatter of those who were trying to sell their goods.
All the sounds made her head buzz. She wanted to buy a lot of stuff, but she was poor, so how could she afford anything?
She was extremely poor!
Her several masters back in the Peach Village had given her a lot of good things, but what none of them gave her was money! All of her travel expenses were gathered by swatting flies[1] along the way.
[1: read 'Young Geniuses.']
So now that she watched such a prosperous scenery in front of her, she couldn't contain her greed.
Other geniuses were followed by a large group of servants, while she only had one old servant accompanying her…neither of them had any money either. Gu Xian'er couldn't help but gnash her teeth, and decided to put this on her 'good' brother's tab as well. She now had more reasons to hate him.
Near the square market was a huge ancient city called the Heavenly Dao Ancient City. Although it was said to be an ancient city, it was actually a union of multiple smaller cities without boundaries, since boundaries were kind of useless here.
Many small cities had joined together and created an ancient city that surpassed many other giant cities of the Upper Realm. The Heavenly Dao Ancient City covered an extremely vast territory.
Of course, the Heavenly Dao Ancient City had no walls or such either, and cultivators could come and go as they pleased. After all, the city was right next to the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace, so why would it need walls and defense?
Who would dare come to this place and run rampant? Only a brain-dead fool, or someone looking for death would do something like that.
"My Lady, how about we go to the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace and look for the Great Elder first?"
Gu Xian'er's servant felt distressed as he watched his Lady's greedy gaze, and couldn't help but try to shift her attention. He blamed himself for being useless and not accumulating much wealth in his life. His Lady wouldn't have suffered if he was more useful.
"Alright, Uncle Fu, let's find the Great Elder first."
Gu Xian'er noticed her old servant's expression, and immediately toned down her greed and agreed with him. The old servant called Uncle Fu had looked after her for more than a decade, so he was like a member of her own family to her; there was no way Gu Xian'er wouldn't consider his feelings.
Right then, the crowd in front of her showed a drastic change in their expressions, and everyone hurriedly stepped aside. At the same time, several men with arrogant expressions walked through.
In their midst walked a handsome man with a calm face, and a folding fan. The handsome man wore a golden long coat, and he had several horns on his head. His horns seemed to be carved from Immortal gold, and they gave off the charm of the Great Dao.
A flash of surprise passed through his eyes as he saw Gu Xian'er.
'Immortal Bones, Fairy-like beauty, and natural and pure temperament…although this girl is a little young, she will surely grow up to be a stunning beauty who could result in the downfall of nations with a single wink. I never thought the world still had girls like her!'
The eyes of the man in the golden long coat turned fiery as he immediately noticed Gu Xian'er's extraordinariness in the crowd. It was because of this that he walked over to her to have a closer look.
As soon as he took a closer look, he was stunned. He had a Mystical Eye Technique that allowed him to see through people. One glance was enough for him to tell about their talent, cultivation, and so on…
As soon as he used his Mystical Eye Technique to take a look at Gu Xian'er, he realized that the girl dressed in blue was an incredible specimen. Be it her talent, spirit, or aptitude, few could match her!
He watched her closely for a while, and realized that the girl didn't seem to be from a great background. From her simple and plain clothing, and the old and weak servant behind her, he concluded that she wasn't even from the Inner Region of the Upper Realm.
He could tell that she had traveled long and hard to reach this place.
Various thoughts went through the mind of the man in the golden long coat, and then he said to Gu Xian'er with a smile, "This one is Jin Yu, and I wonder what the Lady's name might be? I saw that the Lady seemed to be interested in some of the things just now, so I…"
As she heard his words, Gu Xian'er's calm expression turned cold, and she directly interrupted his speech, "No need, I am not interested in anything here, so Young Master doesn't need to bother with anything."
She had thought that something was wrong with this guy, and she was correct. Wasn't he the same as those bastards on the way who lusted after her body?
Overly courteous people often hid evil intentions!
This was what her Masters always told her.
As soon as the handsome man in the golden long coat heard her words, his face froze. He felt embarrassed, but more than that, he felt sullen and enraged. He lowered his face to speak to her, yet this b!7ch actually refused to appreciate his favor!
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"Little wench, do you know who I am?"
Jin Yu couldn't be bothered to pretend anymore, and directly revealed his true face, and questioned her with a lustful and frivolous expression.
The cultivators nearby were already scared when they saw the man in the golden long coat. Those who could come to the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace were all talented people with extraordinary backgrounds — ordinary cultivators didn't have the qualifications to step foot into this place.
What's more? There were Law Enforcement Disciples of the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace patrolling the surroundings and keeping everything in check, so no one dared cause any trouble on normal days.
Everyone had some background, so why would one be afraid of another?
It's just that this man named Jin Yu was somewhat different. Not only was his brother a True Disciple of the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace, but he also had a powerful Elder of the Palace backing them.
What's more? The Race that stood behind Jin Yu wasn't minor either — he was from the Ancient Immortal Golden Horn Race!
Many people knew him, so no one dared to provoke him.
"Who gives a damn about who you are? If you don't want something to happen to you, then you better not block my path!"
Gu Xian'er frowned and said with an unhappy expression. She wasn't afraid of this golden-horned man blocking her way. It's just that she didn't want to cause trouble right at the foot of the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace.
On the way here, she had warned herself multiple times to keep a low profile, so as to not be noticed by Gu Changge.
"Hehe, you refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! Little girl, it seems you haven't witnessed the reality of life, and don't know who you should and shouldn't provoke!"
Jin Yu's expression was as cold as a glacier's peak, and he waved towards the servants behind him to take down this ignorant girl to teach her a lesson!
Gu Xian'er wasn't afraid of him and his cronies, and her temperature also fell further. At the same time, terrifying golden runes condensed in the palm of her hand.
[ROAR!!!]
But suddenly, an earth-shattering roar of dragons resounded throughout the Heavens. Nine massive dragons that could cover the sun and shroud the earth flew towards the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace like behemoth mountains.
Behind the nine disastrous dragons was a snow-white, jade carriage that galloped through the Void. Driving the carriage was an old man with an uninterested expression on his face.
The word 'GU' was written on the carriage in bold and awe-inspiring calligraphy. As soon as the people outside the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace saw the dragon-led carriage, their expressions changed, and they couldn't help but ask with trembling voices, "That Young Master is back?"