Boom, boom, boom!
Deafening explosions thundered through their ears. One mortal-path killer move after another rang out in rapid succession. Two figures split apart and clashed together again and again, fighting furiously.
One was Ye Fan, brimming with fortune. He had mastered the Transformation Path and the Light Path, received guidance from a Gu Immortal of the Shang Family, and even taken the mysterious Gu Immortal Lu Weiyin as his master. What was most remarkable was that he hadn't merely relied on his own luck—he had forged his own path in Gu cultivation.
The other was Tie Ruonan. Though she hailed from the great clan known as the Tie Family, her early years had been fraught with hardship. She had lost her mother in childhood and her father in her youth. Through sheer self-reliance and determination, she had risen to become one of the eight young masters of the Tie Family, governing with diligence and excelling in both scholarship and martial arts. Her growing reputation attracted a growing number of followers. Most notably, she had earned the personal mentorship of the Tie Family Gu Immortal Tiemianshen, becoming the inheritor of his direct lineage.
A clash between these two could only be described as a meeting of equals—a worthy general meeting worthy talent, a brilliant player finding a peer rival. The spectacle was staggering. The shockwaves of their battle carved out a vast expanse of empty ground. Any ordinary Gu Master who stepped into this zone and encountered even the residual aftershocks of their exchange would be injured by the slightest touch and killed by a direct hit, and so all gave them a wide berth.
The Gu Masters from all three families stood gaping, overwhelmed by the might on display.
"Miss, Young Master Ye is actually this strong? How come we never knew before?" Xiao Die, the handmaiden at Shang Xinci's side, spoke up.
Shang Xinci's beautiful eyes flickered a few times. After a moment's thought, she said, "Young Master Ye has probably stumbled upon some extraordinary opportunity that allowed his strength to surge dramatically. This is a good thing, but his opponent is no simple person either. I do hope Young Master Ye will be more careful."
Xiao Die clapped a hand over her mouth and giggled: "Young Master Ye really is a fine person—handsome and dashing. And his feelings for you, Miss, anyone with eyes can see. If he could hear how much you worry about him, he'd be absolutely thrilled."
Shang Xinci shook her head slightly, opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately said nothing.
Xiao Die had always been sharp-eyed and observant. She was Shang Xinci's most trusted confidante, the most loyal of the loyal—an old servant who had been with them even in the days of the Zhang Family, having followed the caravan all the way to Shang City together with Shang Xinci.
That was why everyone else addressed Shang Xinci as "Patriarch" or "City Lord," but only Xiao Die continued to call her "Miss," and Shang Xinci never asked her to change. It was a testament to the depth of their long bond.
At this moment, however, worry stirred in Xiao Die's heart. She thought to herself: "It seems like Miss still hasn't forgotten that Demonic Path Gu Master, Fang Yuan. Sigh—who knows what kind of karmic debt this is. That Fang Yuan only traveled with us for a stretch, escorting Miss to Shang City, and from that moment on he became the one who occupied her heart. I wonder where he is now? He's probably already dead. Sigh... if only he really were dead—if we could at least see a body, it would let Miss finally let go and move on."
Xiao Die possessed Grade B aptitude, but she was ultimately just an ordinary mortal Gu Master who hadn't reached the level where she could comprehend the affairs of Gu Immortals. She knew nothing of Fang Yuan's current situation and still believed him to be that same Demonic Path Gu Master.
Shang Xinci, having learned from the Shang Family Gu Immortal Shang Qingqing about Fang Yuan's current circumstances, saw no need to share such matters with Xiao Die.
"Indeed, with each generation, new talent emerges. I truly am getting old." The Hou Family Patriarch watched the clash between Ye Fan and Tie Ruonan, his heart shaken, a bitter taste growing in his chest.
The Tie Family Patriarch was far more surprised. He thought to himself: "I had believed that sending Ruonan would sweep away all obstacles and secure our victory. But now it seems the outcome is anyone's guess! I never expected that the Shang Family would harbor such a formidable powerhouse!"
Meanwhile, high above the battlefield—beyond the nine heavens, in a place utterly beyond the perception of mortal Gu Masters—three Southern Border Gu Immortals had also turned their gaze toward the battle between Tie Ruonan and Ye Fan.
They hailed from the Shang, Hou, and Tie Families respectively. The three immortals sat cross-legged upon white clouds, each beside the other. A round table lay between them, cups and saucers exuding the fragrance of fine tea.
The Gu Immortals sipped their tea with refined grace—yet behind this genteel facade, they had wagered the mortal cultivators of their respective families as stakes in a gamble to determine the ultimate ownership of the field of Misty Warm Jade.
This field was a first-class resource. Even a superpower would have to treat it seriously. Owning it would constitute a solid foundation, one that could generate profits for an entire family.
But using mortals as wagers while the Gu Immortals themselves abstained—wasn't that rather frivolous? Or perhaps, if one side ultimately lost, would the losing Gu Immortal refuse to honor the bet?
Conflicts between immortals, with mortals serving as stakes, were in truth far more complex than they appeared on the surface.
Among Gu Immortals, lone cultivators and those of the Demonic Path who roamed by themselves—that was one thing. But Righteous Path forces had to think about long-term continuity. They placed far greater emphasis on nurturing the next generation. The Shang Family, for instance, had a young master selection policy that tasked the various heirs with earning wealth, and they ran a martial arena to attract non-clan Gu Masters. The Tie Family had established eight young masters. Other great superpowers each had their own policies—all designed to sift through mortal juniors and discover those rare seeds who might one day become Gu Immortals!