Gu Changge's words stunned Ye Langtian, but he soon understood something from Gu Changge's smile, so he decided to give face to Gu Changge and didn't attack Chi Ling anymore.
"Thank you for clearing the matter for me, Brother Gu."
Chi Ling never expected Gu Changge to stand up for her at this moment, so she gave him a grateful glance with a smile.
After that, Chi Ling didn't know what to say.
Still, she did develop a good impression of Gu Changge.
If Gu Changge hadn't stood up for her, then she reckoned that all the Young Supremes would have ganged up on her for a while.
[TL/N: Lega-Loli open gungbung when?]
After all, there were too many charges on Ye Ling's head and she couldn't wash them off all by herself.
Even if she didn't believe him to be the successor of the Taboo Inheritance, she couldn't change anything with her meager strength…unless she could discover the true identity of the Taboo Inheritance's successor.
Alas! That wasn't easy.
Chi Ling understood this well and sighed with feelings of helplessness.
The other Young Supremes also quietened down when they saw Gu Changge standing up for Chi Ling.
In their hearts, however, they felt even more and more sure that Ye Ling was the successor of the Taboo Inheritance.
Bai Lie, the Young Master of the White Tiger Family, was Ye Ling's sworn brother, but there arose some tension between the two back at the banquet on the night when Bai Lie got murdered.
Bai Lie died and Ye Ling disappeared.
The timing of the two events was too much of a coincidence.
Why didn't Ye Ling show up to prove his innocence if he wasn't the one who committed the murder?
This showed that he was hiding some evil in his heart.
The Young Supremes weren't dumb chicks who couldn't even figure out this much after thinking for a bit.
It's just that they felt Gu Changge was trying to defend Ye Ling — intentionally or unintentionally — and that's why they didn't say anything more.
Since they were in the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace right now, they couldn't offend Gu Changge over such a minor matter.
Perhaps, Gu Changge felt like he couldn't let them embarrass Chi Ling, the Holy Maiden of the Vermillion Bird Family, since he was their host.
All of them made this guess.
"Brother Gu, I will take my leave now."
Ye Langtian stood up and prepared to leave with his followers and Ye Liuli.
The fact that he took out the time to watch the ceremony already showed just how much importance he gave to Gu Changge; after all, he was under a lot of pressure during this time.
For good or for worse, Ye Ling was a member of their Ancient Immortal Ye Family, so not just the White Tiger Family, but even the other Dao Heritages were keeping a close eye on them.
If he couldn't handle the matter well, then the Ancient Immortal Ye Family might not be able to withstand the rage of the other Dao Heritages. Although they were an Ancient Immortal Family with unfathomable influence and roots, they couldn't cover the Heavens with one hand.
Ye Langtian had to deal with countless matters on a day-to-day basis, and the endless work almost burnt him out, and that's why he hated Ye Ling even more.
The rest of the Young Supremes also stood up and bid their farewells one after the other. To them, the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace opening the Ancient Immortal Continent held more importance.
What's more? They weren't afraid of encountering Ye Ling.
After all, the reason Bai Lie got killed with such ease was because he and Ye Ling were brothers, so he was caught off guard and lost his life.
Gu Changge showed a smile as he watched everyone take their leave, and said, "Everyone, watch your steps."
In any case, Ye Ling had already taken the blame for him — and the exchange all of them had just a moment ago also made it impossible for Ye Ling to turn his situation around even with the help of his acquaintances.
After all, that bunch of Young Supremes were the Young Masters and Holy Maidens of the various Dao Heritages, and their words, deeds, and thoughts were what influenced the behavior of the forces behind them.
Gu Changge felt relieved knowing this.
For a while, no one would find anything that could expose his status as the successor of the Taboo Inheritance, and he could use this period of time to grow stronger and stronger.
Heavenly God Realm…although he was outrageously overpowered when compared to his peers, there were still the God Kings, Sacred Realms, etc. beyond the Heavenly God Realm.
Theft is never good, try looking at [ pawread dot com ].
'There must be a lot of ancient corpses inside the Ancient Immortal Continent! I might even chance upon the corpses of those fabled immortals from the Ancient Immortal Era…'
'Such a corpse would be an indescribable opportunity for me if I could stumble across one of them. There's also the Immortal Spirit that's about to appear in the world! I have spent a long time planning for it, too.'
Various thoughts flashed through Gu Changge's mind.
Moreover, he guessed that Ye Ling hadn't left the Heavenly Dao Ancient City. The Favored Children of Heaven held countless means to disguise themselves, or they wouldn't be able to play the pig to eat the tiger.[1]
[1: pretending to be weak to obliterate the strong in one go.]
Ye Ling must have some means to disguise his appearance and change his aura.
Once the Ancient Immortal Continent opened up, Ye Ling will find a way to get inside, and that's when Gu Changge will throw even more trouble towards him.
It wouldn't be good if Ye Ling didn't make it inside somehow.
Right then, a cold and crisp voice sounded from behind Gu Changge and brought him out of his thoughts.
"This is my first time coming to your territory, Daoist Brother Changge, so do you mind showing me around? The Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace is far too vast and mysterious, and it's countless immortal mountains and islands fascinate me."
Chi Ling said with some expectation on her delicate, snow-white face. What's more? She didn't appear as cold and arrogant as before.
Although she looked petite and small, she was actually the same age as Gu Changge.
Her mind was the same as well, and not many among their peers could match her sharp wit.
The reason she struck up a conversation with Gu Changge and wanted him to show her around wasn't that she developed some thoughts about him, but because she wanted to chat with Gu Changge and see if she could receive some help from him.
After all, judging from Gu Changge's words, it was clear that he also suspected that Ye Ling wasn't the true successor of the Taboo Inheritance, and this gave Chi Ling the feeling of coming across an old friend.
"Since it's a request from Lady Chi Ling, this Gu is happy to comply."
Gu Changge glanced at Chi Ling and responded with a smile, but in his heart, he praised her for her courage.
She was an interesting one.
Still, Chi Ling taking the initiative to come to him saved him a lot of effort.
"Pardon me for imposing on you, Brother Changge."
Chi Ling responded to Gu Changge with a smile and left the place with him.
The two conversed as they walked.
Chi Ling had a petite frame that gave her the appearance of a little girl, so she looked more like a little sister than Gu Xian'er when she walked beside Gu Changge.
The scene didn't escape Gu Xian'er's gaze, who was keeping an eye on Gu Changge from a distance, and she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.
An expression of struggle showed on her cold and prideful face, and then she turned into a brilliant ray of light and returned to the mountain where she cultivated.
[TL/N: Gu Xian'er gnashing her teeth and swearing she won't let Gu Changge have any other little sister beside her in this life.]
She decided to cultivate harder to break through to the Conferred King Realm as soon as possible, so she could defeat Gu Changge in front of everyone and make him regret despising and bullying her!
The grievance between them wasn't something that could end so easily!
...
"Brother Changge, do you happen to have some understanding of the Taboo Inheritance? I am asking because you sounded quite learned when speaking about the matter before."
Chi Ling couldn't help but present her doubt to him.
[TL/N: btw, isn't Chi Ling too fast at calling him Brother Changge when they just met? Why not call him Brother Gu like other strangers?]
Back when she was inside the secret realm, Ye Ling helped her a lot, and the two even joined forces to get their hands on a Fortune Fruit, so she didn't want Ye Ling to end up in dire straits — she wanted to help Ye Ling get rid of the false title of the Taboo Inheritance's successor.
"I understand a little bit, but I only know about it from some scraps left in ancient books. I understand the terror and harm the Taboo Inheritance can bring forth on our world of cultivation, so I dare not take it lightly. You must also understand what the Taboo Inheritance represents, considering everyone in the world rushes to slaughter its successor as soon as one appears."
Gu Changge said with a smile laced with a hint of playfulness.
"Is that so? Turns out that Daoist Brother Changge is a warm-hearted person [who can't watch an innocent get wronged and also keeps an eye on threats that can destroy the world]."
Chi Ling said with a smile after listening to his answer.
After conversing with Gu Changge for such a long time, she felt that Gu Changge's worry about the appearance of the Taboo Inheritance was beyond words.
Gu Changge's words made her feel that Gu Changge was full of doubt when it came to Ye Ling having the Taboo Inheritance.
Gu Changge raised a lot of doubts and points that she hadn't even thought about, and those words from him only strengthened Chi Ling's thoughts.
Ye Ling was wronged without doubt.
Ye Ling might be able to clear up his name with Gu Changge's help.
What's more? They might even be able to capture the true successor of the Taboo Inheritance at that time.
After all, Gu Changge wasn't just the Heir of the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace, he was also the Young Master of the Ancient Immortal Gu Family.
Unlike others, his words carried a lot of weight and conviction.
"I don't know if I am warm-hearted or not, but I do know that I don't want the world to fall into chaos and endless war and slaughter. All-in-all, the Taboo Inheritance is far too terrifying! Once it appears in the world, it will cause a bloody storm and we can't even imagine the consequences of capturing the wrong person."
"How can we, the cultivators, just sit back and watch when something like that is standing at our heads?"
Gu Changge showed a hint of worry on his face and then shook his head and continued with a smile, "I hope I am worrying too much! After all, how many catastrophes were squashed by the combined might of the various Dao Heritages since time immemorial? It's just a wildfire that won't burn for long."
"Although there were some grudges between Daoist Bai Lie and I, seeing him end up like that saddens me."
"Brother Changge, Chi Ling can't help but admire your righteous heart."
Chi Ling was deeply shocked by Gu Changge's remarks, and couldn't help but sigh.
An expression of deep admiration for Gu Changge covered her little face.
Just how many in the younger generation could be like Gu Changge, who cared about the survival and stable lives of the cultivators and common people of the world?
"Don't laugh at my words, Lady Chi Ling, but I also suspected Ye Ling to be the successor of the Taboo Inheritance at first."
"But then I thought about it carefully and realized that the matter wasn't the way I thought it to be. Since Ye Ling dared to challenge me, then he must have an indomitable heart and great self-confidence, so how could someone like him be the successor of the Taboo Inheritance?"
Gu Changge continued and analyzed Ye Ling in detail. At the same time, the expression deep in his eyes showed even more interest and delight.
Alas! Chi Ling couldn't notice the change in his eyes and kept on nodding at his words.
Although she felt that Gu Changge's words sounded somewhat exaggerated, she didn't doubt his intentions.
Chi Ling had already developed a great impression of Gu Changge when he stood up to help her out from the attacks of the all the Young Supremes a while ago, so Gu Changge's words sounded right and natural to her now.
Ye Ling was indeed a confident and brave man.
"To be honest, Ye Ling's behavior is indeed similar to what Brother Changge described, so I also can't believe him to be the successor of the Taboo Inheritance."
Chi Ling said with shifting emotions, and continued, "If Daoist Brother Changge helps me, it won't be difficult for Ye Ling to get rid of the false title of the Taboo Inheritance's successor."
"You two might even be able to develop a friendship at that time."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Gu Changge showed an expression of interest in response to her words.
"Brother Changge, you are a man with a warm heart and a caring personality, so anyone can become friends with you as long as they don't have something wrong with their brain."
Chi Ling pursed her lips and showed a rare smile on her cold and prideful visage.
Gu Changge said nothing to her in response, but sneered in his heart.
Gu Changge didn't know if Ye Ling was a confident and brave man, but he did know that Chi Ling was trying her best to clear Ye Ling of all suspicions in front of him.
According to what Chi Ling described, she got to know Ye Ling through a strong plot device.
If matters went on like this, it won't be impossible for Chi Ling to end up in Ye Ling's harem or something in the future.
Gu Changge was all too familiar with such plot devices.
As for playing tricks on her?
Gu Changge naturally loved to play tricks on little girls, and he could trick people many times better than the plot could.
Didn't Chi Ling ask for his help because she believed that he was a steady and reliable person who could cooperate with her and help Ye Ling wash away the name of the Taboo Inheritance's successor from his head?
Good, then Gu Changge will make sure to become like that for her.
Was it wrong for him to have a warm heart of righteousness that cared for the well-being of the entire world, and desired to help the innocent?