Chapter 43: This Is Your Junior Disciple

Jiuyou slowly withdrew his gaze, no longer paying attention to the movements of those two Nascent Soul cultivators from the Heaven and Earth Alliance.

He could faintly sense that several more gazes were still watching him from the shadows, carrying scrutiny and assessment. Some were hidden within the folds of void space, others concealed beneath the waves—all of them were old monsters who had escaped from the Heavenly Abyss Mountain secret realm.

Each of these people harbored their own thoughts. Some were secretly communicating via voice transmission, while others were calculating their next moves. Although the secret realm had ended, the storm surrounding the Ten-Thousand-Year Life-Extending Fruit was still raging. These old fellows refusing to leave were likely all after the fruit. This place was no longer safe to stay.

Jiuyou’s expression remained unchanged. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his Divine Sense silently sweeping across the surroundings, memorizing the positions of those prying eyes. Yet his face betrayed nothing.

Just then, a familiar streak of light came rushing from afar, accompanied by an urgent shout.

“Grand Ancestor! Grand Ancestor! Your grandson has finally found you!”

Canfeng’s figure grew closer from a distance. In his hand, he still carried that skull great hammer, its cyan flames still burning bright—clearly a sign that he had been on high alert the entire way. He landed beside Jiuyou, first respectfully bowing before letting out a sigh of relief.

But the moment he raised his eyes, he immediately spotted Gu Qing standing obediently behind Jiuyou.

Canfeng’s expression suddenly changed.

“Grand Ancestor! You’ve actually caught this little thief!”

His voice carried a mix of excitement and ecstasy, killing intent erupting from his eyes. The cyan flames on his skull great hammer surged violently. He remembered their first encounter at Heavenly Abyss Mountain—how he had used all his trump cards and still been beaten into a miserable state.

That debt, he had always remembered.

Canfeng stepped forward, his great hammer pointing straight at Gu Qing’s neck, poised to strike.

Gu Qing frowned, subtly retreating half a step behind Jiuyou. His expression remained calm, yet he showed no sign of fear.

Jiuyou let out a soft snort, unhurriedly reaching out his hand and pressing it against Canfeng’s great hammer.

Without any visible exertion, the blazing cyan flames on the hammer extinguished like fire meeting ice. He slowly pressed the hammer down. Although Canfeng strained with all his strength, he could not resist at all. He could only watch helplessly as his own Grand Ancestor pressed his magic artifact down.

“Canfeng, there’s no need for weapons. Get to know him. From today onward, this person is your junior disciple, named Gu Qing.”

Jiuyou’s tone was flat, but carried an undeniable authority.

“The two of you must get along well in the future. Don’t cause any more trouble.”

Canfeng’s smug excitement froze instantly.

He blinked, wondering if he had heard correctly. His gaze swept over Gu Qing repeatedly, his brows deeply furrowed. In the end, he dejectedly put away his skull great hammer.

When the Grand Ancestor spoke, he dared not disobey, nor did he dare ask further questions.

He stole a glance at Jiuyou’s expression, only to see his Grand Ancestor’s face slightly dark, his gaze cold and indifferent. There was no anger in those eyes, but it made his heart tighten even more than anger itself.

“Well...”

Canfeng hesitated, then gave a slight nod toward Gu Qing’s direction. His voice was filled with reluctance.

“Gu... Junior Disciple.”

“Mm... Can... Senior Disciple, good.”

Gu Qing, quick on the uptake, immediately cupped his hands toward Canfeng. Although his tone wasn’t particularly warm, it was still appropriate.

Jiuyou nodded slightly, withdrew his gaze, and turned toward the Blood Withered old monk beside him.

Blood Withered had no interest whatsoever in watching two Golden Core juniors get acquainted. His eyes constantly swept across the four directions of the sky, clearly searching for traces of his senior brother, Blood Sea True Person.

“Friend Blood Withered, the Heavenly Abyss Mountain trip is concluded. This old man still has important matters to attend to, so I won’t linger here.”

Jiuyou glanced around, his gaze casually drifting toward the directions of the other old monsters, then spoke slowly.

Blood Withered heard this, pressed his palms together, and nodded slightly toward Jiuyou.

“Amitabha. This humble monk still needs to wait here for my senior brother, so I won’t accompany you, friend. If fate allows, we shall meet again.”

Jiuyou nodded once, said no more, and flicked his sleeve. A surge of cyan mist rolled out, wrapping Canfeng and Gu Qing within it. The three figures transformed into a single dark cyan rainbow, tearing through the sky, racing toward Soul Wraith Island.

The sea wind howled. The streak of light moved like lightning, vanishing at the edge of the horizon in an instant.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the sea, outside the Heavenly Abyss Mountain secret realm’s periphery.

Two cultivators in white robes with golden-patterned masks hovered in the air. Their spiritual light was restrained—clearly the same two white-robed Nascent Soul cultivators from the Heaven and Earth Alliance from before.

The leader’s aura was deep as the abyss, his cultivation having reached Mid-Nascent Soul. He stood with his hands behind his back, occasionally scanning the sea surface below. His expression was indifferent, as if everything around him was under control.

Beside him, an Early Nascent Soul white-robed cultivator furrowed his brows. His gaze constantly swept across the four directions of the sky, his tone carrying a hint of urgency.

“Senior Brother, those old monsters are coming out one after another. This time, with such a major upheaval at Heavenly Abyss Mountain—especially the appearance of the Ten-Thousand-Year Life-Extending Fruit—the entire Abyssal Sea is likely about to undergo a massive transformation.”

He paused, lowering his voice.

“Shouldn’t we return earlier and report to the Grand Elder to make plans as soon as possible? Most importantly, we need to figure out who ended up with that Ten-Thousand-Year Life-Extending Fruit, or if it was teleported to some other unknown location.”

His concerns were not without reason.

The Ten-Thousand-Year Life-Extending Fruit had never appeared since the discovery of Heavenly Abyss Mountain. Such a supreme heavenly treasure, if it fell into the hands of the Righteous Path Alliance or the Demonic Path Alliance, could likely produce a Late Nascent Soul Grand Cultivator within a few hundred years, or extend the lifespan of an existing Late Nascent Soul Grand Cultivator by centuries.

Either outcome was something the Heaven and Earth Alliance did not wish to see.

However, that Mid-Nascent Soul white-robed cultivator was not flustered. He casually waved his hand.

“What’s the hurry?”

His tone was composed, his gaze still distant.

“Those Golden Core juniors are one thing, but those Nascent Soul old monsters—which one of them doesn’t have a few trump cards and some tricks up their sleeves? You don’t actually expect them to stand there obediently and let you search them one by one, do you?”

He withdrew his gaze and looked at his junior disciple, a faint sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.

“It won’t be long before the entire Abyssal Sea learns of what happened at Heavenly Abyss Mountain. All we need to do is wait and see. No need to rush.”

Upon hearing this, the Early Nascent Soul cultivator’s face grew even more anxious. He spread his hands and gestured frantically.

“Senior Brother, even if we can’t find the fruit, shouldn’t we at least continue with our original plan? That has consumed centuries of our efforts. Are we just going to abandon it halfway? If we don’t seize this opportunity to provoke a war between the righteous and demonic paths, when will we ever—“

Before he could finish, the Mid-Nascent Soul cultivator suddenly raised his hand, stopping him.

“No rush.”

His eyes narrowed, his voice low, carrying a meaningful undertone.

“Junior Brother, do you know what I saw during the great battle at the Heavenly Abyss Sacred Tree, right after the ancient great formation was triggered and everyone was teleported away?”

The Early Nascent Soul cultivator was startled, then pressed eagerly.

“Senior Brother, don’t keep me in suspense! I’m really anxious here. What exactly did you see?”

The Mid-Nascent Soul cultivator slowly raised the corners of his mouth but did not speak. Instead, his lips moved slightly as he delivered a single line through Divine Sense transmission.

At first, the Early Nascent Soul cultivator was full of impatience. But as the transmission entered his ears, his eyes grew wider and wider, his pupils constricting. His entire body trembled slightly, and his voice tightened.

“What—!”

The sea wind howled past, swallowing his exclamation into the vast ocean surface.

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