Chapter 41: Golden Sun True Flame

Although Gu Qing was extremely reluctant in his heart, he dared not delay for even a moment. He reached out a hand, and with a slight motion of his palm, a strand of crimson-golden flame shot out from his grasp. The blaze danced, and the surrounding air instantly grew several degrees hotter, as if even the atmosphere itself was about to melt.

“Truly a supreme yang spirit flame—it can even suppress a bit of that Nether Demon Qi cultivated by my grand-disciple.”

Jiuyou’s gaze burned as he stared at the cluster of golden flames, extending a hand as if caressing a rare treasure.

“Where did you obtain this flame? What is it called?”

“In reply, Master, this disciple also acquired it in that predecessor’s cave dwelling. It is called the ‘Golden Sun True Flame.’”

Hearing this, Jiuyou’s mind raced.

Golden Sun True Flame and Soul-Eating Insects—both passed down by the same person. Logically, with two such treasures in hand, that person should have some reputation. He, Jiuyou, had roamed the Tianyuan Sea for over eight hundred years and should not be unfamiliar with such a name. Yet he had never heard of any Mid-Nascent Soul cultivator in the Abyssal Sea who wielded both Soul-Eating Insects and this supreme yang flame.

That surnamed Gu kid didn’t have the guts or reason to deceive him. It couldn’t be that this person had just popped out of nowhere, could it?

Jiuyou’s gaze flickered faintly, suppressing the doubt in his heart while keeping his expression unchanged.

Gu Qing watched Jiuyou’s lowered head in thought, secretly swallowing a mouthful of saliva. Even the Golden Sun True Flame in his hand dimmed a few degrees. On the surface, he appeared calm, but inwardly he was silently groaning: This old bastard isn’t really going to kill me and seize the treasure, is he?

“Good disciple, when you found that cave dwelling and obtained these opportunities, did you know the original owner’s name? Which sect or clan did he come from?”

Jiuyou said this while pointing a finger at the Golden Sun True Flame in Gu Qing’s hand and then at the Soul-Eating Insects circling overhead.

As soon as his voice reached him, Gu Qing shuddered violently all over. After listening to the question clearly, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but his gaze still darted repeatedly toward Jiuyou’s face, watching his expression, afraid he might say something wrong.

“Reporting to Master, this disciple knows very little about that senior. I only know he called himself the Heavenly Sun Supreme One, and he seemed to come from the Azure Sun Sect? As for more, this disciple does not know. Oh, right—I also tried to search for that so-called Azure Sun Sect, but I could never find any trace of it.”

A glimmer of doubt flashed in Jiuyou’s eyes, and he fell into thought once more.

Heavenly Sun Supreme One? He had never heard of it. In the history of the Tianyuan Sea, there was no record of this person. If this Gu kid wasn’t lying, then… could it be that this person wasn’t a cultivator of the Tianyuan Sea at all?

As for the Azure Sun Sect, that name seemed familiar somewhere.

Where had he seen it?

“Hmm?”

Jiuyou’s brows furrowed slightly. A green light ignited in his hand, radiating a chilling cold, and he pressed it against the supreme yang flame in Gu Qing’s palm. The Golden Sun True Flame was easily suppressed and extinguished. Gu Qing only felt an icy chill spreading through his palm, piercing bone-cold creeping along his fingertips, and his entire hand gradually lost sensation.

“Master…!”

Gu Qing’s heart sank with despair. It was over—this old demon cultivator was going to kill him and seize the treasure after all!

But just as he wore a look of utter hopelessness, Jiuyou’s hand slowly withdrew.

Confusion arose in Gu Qing’s heart. He looked up and saw that his newly sworn Nascent Soul master was staring intently in a certain direction. He turned his head to look—there, at the edge of the sky in that direction, a faint bloody red was spreading, as if something was rushing over at great speed.

“Blood Withered.”

Jiuyou looked in that direction, his expression calm, but a trace of vigilance flickered in his eyes. He had long sensed the other’s presence, but Blood Withered’s Divine Sense was far inferior to his own, and it wasn’t until now, as he got closer, that he detected Jiuyou’s location and came this way.

At the same time, Jiuyou couldn’t help but cast a sidelong glance at Gu Qing. Not only could this supreme yang flame suppress his Nether Demon Qi, but it could also counter almost all demonic cultivation techniques.

Such a terrifying weapon, he naturally wanted to keep it firmly in his own hands. However, this surnamed Gu kid was still useful for the time being—he wouldn’t move against him yet. But only for the time being.

In the meantime, the existence of the Golden Sun True Flame must never be known to others.

The corners of Jiuyou’s mouth curled up slightly. He took a few large steps forward and gave a slight nod toward the direction of the blood-red light. At the same time, he swept his Divine Sense, confirming that only Blood Withered was behind the blood light, with no one else following.

“Blood Withered Dao-Friend, for us to meet here once more—truly a stroke of fate, isn’t it?”

The blood-red light stopped several zhang away from Jiuyou, and Blood Withered’s monk-like figure materialized from within.

“Amitabha, good and good. Jiuyou Dao-Friend, this humble monk greets you.”

He clasped his hands together, and a blood bead slowly spun between his palms. His gaze lingered on Jiuyou for a moment before seemingly being drawn to Gu Qing at his side.

Seeing this, Gu Qing quickly bowed to Blood Withered in greeting, his manner respectful, not daring to show the slightest neglect.

“Jiuyou Dao-Friend, this young friend is…?”

“Heh heh, this is this old man’s newly beloved disciple, named Gu Qing. What do you think?”

Blood Withered old monk nodded slightly, asked no further questions, and didn’t even linger his gaze on Gu Qing for more than a moment. Inwardly, he shook his head. Becoming the disciple of an old demon like Jiuyou—he probably wouldn’t last many more years.

Gu Qing caught the meaningful look in Blood Withered’s eyes, and his heart sank once more, but he dared not show a hint of it. He simply stood with his hands at his sides behind Jiuyou, head bowed and eyes lowered.

“Ah, I wonder where Senior Brother and the other fellow cultivators have been teleported to.”

Blood Withered sighed, and the blood bead in his hand spun faster.

“This humble monk didn’t even manage to compete for a single Thousand-Year Life-Extending Fruit—truly shameful. And as for that ten-thousand-year one, I have no idea where it was teleported or who took it.”

Hearing this, Jiuyou’s face remained unchanged, but his eyes were filled with lament.

“Indeed. Who would have thought such a change would occur in the Heavenly Abyss Mountain? With a Ten-Thousand-Year Life-Extending Fruit appearing in the world, this Abyssal Sea is bound to stir up a bloody storm again.”

The two exchanged glances, each harboring their own schemes.

Suddenly, Blood Withered changed the subject, his gaze fixed on Jiuyou’s face with a faint, knowing smile.

“Jiuyou Dao-Friend has always been fortunate in luck. This trip into the secret realm—you must have reaped quite a bountiful harvest, I presume?”

This question was asked lightly, but how could Jiuyou fail to catch the probing intent behind it?

He let out a hearty laugh, unhurriedly stroked his beard, and spoke with a tone full of regret.

“Blood Withered Dao-Friend jests. This old man encountered nothing but seventh- and eighth-rank demon beasts along the way, or some ancient Prohibition Marks. All that fighting wasted a lot of energy. I did see a few Life-Extending Fruits, but they were all mere century-year ones, snatched up by those Golden Core juniors. This old man couldn’t be bothered to lower himself and squabble with them, so I returned empty-handed.”

His words were watertight—he neither claimed to have snatched any fruits nor denied it entirely, instead shifting the blame onto those Golden Core cultivators.

Blood Withered stared at Jiuyou for a moment, seeing that this old demon’s expression was as calm as ever, and his cloudy old eyes even carried a hint of genuine regret, he couldn’t help but sneer inwardly.

He certainly wouldn’t take Jiuyou’s nonsense lightly—especially that phrase “couldn’t be bothered to lower himself.” He didn’t believe a single word of it.

Still, he didn’t think Jiuyou really had the ability to snatch a Thousand-Year Life-Extending Fruit from the hands of so many Mid-Nascent Soul cultivators, so he didn’t pay it too much heed.

“Is that so? Then, did you happen to see my Senior Brother, Blood Sea? This humble monk lost contact with him and hasn’t seen him since.”

Jiuyou shook his head, his face showing concern.

“I haven’t seen him. But Blood Sea Dao-Friend has profound cultivation—I doubt anything will happen to him. Speaking of which, Blood Withered Dao-Friend, you are here all alone. Why not travel with this old man? With the two of us joining forces, we can look out for each other.”

Hearing this, surprise flashed in Blood Withered’s eyes, and he immediately clasped his hands together.

“Good and good. If Jiuyou Dao-Friend has such intentions, this humble monk could not ask for more.”

The two agreed readily and did not bring up the Life-Extending Fruits again. After all, Jiuyou’s cultivation and strength were plain to see. Blood Withered old monk knew he was no match for him and thus didn’t dare press the matter further.

Jiuyou turned to look at Gu Qing and commanded.

“Gu Qing, you follow behind this old man. Don’t wander off.”

“Yes, Master.”

Gu Qing quickly responded and obediently fell in line behind Jiuyou.

Jiuyou then looked at Blood Withered again and said in a low voice.

“This place is not suitable for staying long. The upheaval in Heavenly Abyss Mountain has already begun, and there will likely be more trouble. In this old man’s opinion, it’s best to find the teleportation array out of here and leave as soon as possible.”

Blood Withered nodded in agreement.

“Dao-Friend speaks wisely. This humble monk came this way and faintly sensed spatial fluctuations to the northwest—perhaps there is a teleportation array there.”

“In that case, we head northwest.”

Jiuyou made his decision on the spot. His figure blurred, transforming into a pitch-black streak of light that shot toward the northwest.

Blood Withered followed closely behind, his blood-red streak of light and the blue streak of light, one in front and one behind, slicing through the sky.

Gu Qing gritted his teeth and spurred his own streak of light, exerting all his strength to keep up, but he fell farther and farther behind.

Jiuyou glanced back, frowned slightly, and waved his sleeve. A mass of green mist wrapped around Gu Qing, carrying him along as they flew.

Gu Qing only felt himself lifted by a gentle yet irresistible force, wind roaring in his ears—their flying speed was more than four times faster than his own.

At the same time, his heart was filled with mixed emotions: This old bastard might be ruthless, but for now, he was at least treating him like a disciple. He could only hope it would stay that way…

Two streaks of light disappeared at the horizon, hurtling northwest.