Chapter 135: Master's Challenge

"I can't believe the Snow Ridge Twin Immortals are actually the Chang Gui! Who would have thought the Chang Gui weren't a single entity, but two people, and women at that!"

Gu Chuwinter remarked with emotion, "Brother, looking back, there were actually clues. The Snow Ridge Twin Immortals possessed profound internal energy, yet the injuries they sustained at Kongming Temple never healed, and they always carried a scent of blood. It seems they intentionally maintained this to mask the bloody odor generated daily from secretly refining the Calamity Heart Gu here."

Gu Mo nodded slightly. "However, if I hadn't detected traces of the Underworld Ephemeral Flower here, I wouldn't have suspected anything in that regard."

In truth, Gu Mo had initially never suspected the Chang Gui were among their company, much less the Snow Ridge Twin Immortals.

It was only after Gu Chuwinter discovered traces of the Underworld Ephemeral Flower in this location, using the flower stem given by Yan Sanniang, that Gu Mo became vigilant.

He had always been skeptical of coincidences.

He needed the Underworld Ephemeral Flower, and it coincidentally appeared right when he encountered his enemies in this very place. The sudden appearance of its traces indicated that the flower was not ownerless.

Therefore, he immediately concluded that someone was manipulating the appearance of the Underworld Ephemeral Flower. And when Ren Tianqi showed up, he even suspected it was a trap specifically designed for him.

When the heavenly lightning descended, he used his Cold Ice True Qi, combining it with the rainwater from above, to form ice and block the lightning. The impact of that heavenly lightning had no effect on him, thanks to his profound internal energy.

But he chose to turn their scheme against them.

He pulled Gu Chuwinter along and feigned severe injuries.

Then,

The Snow Ridge Twin Immortals revealed themselves.

"Brother, Ren Tianqi was truly unlucky," Gu Chuwinter said. "He believed he was allied with the Chang Gui, but it seems they had been manipulating him from start to finish. When they finally fled, they didn't even forget to take his heart before leaving. He probably never imagined his own companions would kill him, even in death."

Gu Mo shook his head slightly. "He had no other choice. If the Chang Gui had taken him, he might have had a chance to live; perhaps they weren't even scheming against him? But by remaining here, he was certainly doomed, with no hope of survival."

"That's true..."

Just then, a weak voice came from the ground: "Hero Gu, Heroine Gu, could you two... perhaps stop chatting? I think I... can still be saved..."

It was none other than the battered Sang Tugong who spoke.

Gu Mo quickly walked over, transferred a stream of True Qi to Sang Tugong, and said, "My apologies, Elder Sang... I completely forgot you were still alive!"

Sang Tugong was speechless.

Immediately afterward,

Gu Chuwinter and Gu Mo quickly checked on the other individuals present.

Those who were further away fared better; although most were severely injured, the vast majority had survived. However, among the numerous masters inside this grand hall, only Sang Tugong and Daoist Qingyun remained alive. Abbess Jingxian, Sikong Xuan, Daoist Yuan, Situ Heng, and many others had all perished.

At this moment,

Many martial arts practitioners from the town were rushing toward this location.

With his life sustained by a stream of Gu Mo's True Qi, Sang Tugong quickly urged, "Hero Gu, swiftly open that Five Elements Altar! If my estimations are correct, the Underworld Ephemeral Flower you seek is inside.

"Based on what I previously learned from ancient texts, the Calamity Heart Gu ultimately merges with the Five Elements Golden Gu. Only four types of natural treasures in the world can assist in the unification of the Five Elements Golden Gu, and one of them is the Underworld Ephemeral Flower."

Without hesitation,

Gu Mo immediately walked over. Following Sang Tugong's instructions, he located the various formation points of the Five Elements Altar. Finally, with a single palm strike, he sent the several-thousand-jin lid, crafted from red copper, flying off.

The internal structure of the altar was incredibly intricate. The surrounding walls were covered with peculiar runes and ancient patterns. These runes shimmered with a mysterious glow in the faint light, seemingly guarding this enigmatic space.

In the very center of the altar, a palm-sized copper jar held a translucent white flower, swaying gently. Its petals were as light as mist, appearing as if they could scatter with the slightest breeze at any moment.

This was none other than the legendary rootless Underworld Ephemeral Flower. Its petals shimmered with a faint luminescence, like the brightest stars in the night sky, continuously folding and unfolding. It emanated wisps of mist, seemingly resonating with the spiritual energy of the heavens and earth. With every subtle tremor, a faint, ethereal fragrance diffused outward, bringing a sense of serenity to the mind, yet somehow, through that tranquility, one could perceive boundless remoteness and profound depth.

"Quick!"

Sang Tugong shouted from the side, "Close that copper jar! Don't let it escape."

Gu Mo immediately employed his Six Meridians Divine Sword to cut a copper piece from the red copper altar. He then rushed forward, pressed the Underworld Ephemeral Flower into the copper jar, and covered the jar's opening with the copper piece in his hand. With a light touch, the copper piece became as pliable as paper, completely sealing the jar's mouth.

Sang Tugong explained, "According to legend, this Underworld Ephemeral Flower has neither root nor stem. It traverses between life and death, moving back and forth between the real and illusory realms. Simply put, the Underworld Flower is generated from corpse qi, resentment qi, and the spiritual energy of the heavens and earth. It appears as a flower, but in essence, it is a mass of energy that will drift away if not carefully secured."

Not long after Gu Mo secured the Underworld Ephemeral Flower,

Martial arts practitioners from various parts of Cangshan Town began to arrive, one after another, and started to clean up the aftermath.

Gu Chuwinter still wanted to sever heads, but Gu Mo stopped him.

The Buer Villa had already dissolved, and Yan Sanniang had already left to wander the jianghu. For them, possessing the severed heads would only create unnecessary complications. Furthermore, and most importantly, the identity of the Chang Gui still required official verification through various channels. After all, the Snow Ridge Twin Immortals held unusual identities, making their verification quite troublesome.

However, Gu Mo naturally could not simply leave the matter unattended.

Therefore, Gu Mo directly handed the matter over to Sang Tugong, entrusting the Canglan Sword Sect to assist with its handling.

For the Canglan Sword Sect, taking on this matter was, naturally, an undeniable duty.

The Chang Gui were infamous figures of the evil path in both Qingzhou and Yunzhou. This time, the Canglan Sword Sect's participation in their siege, along with the demonic master Ren Tianqi, presented an exceptional opportunity to gain renown, one which the Canglan Sword Sect naturally would not miss.

Thus, while it was somewhat troublesome to assist Gu Mo through official channels, from the Canglan Sword Sect's perspective, they were quite willing, especially given the involvement of Ren Tianqi.

The previous great war between the righteous and demonic factions in Yunzhou had significantly impacted the Yunzhou martial world. Now, with Ren Tianqi vanquished, it could provide a fitting and satisfying conclusion to that conflict.

Once the numerous martial arts practitioners had arrived,

Gu Mo and Gu Chuwinter quietly departed.

"Brother, if Ye Lingsu and Ye Wanyue had simply fled just now, would you have been confident in stopping them?"

Gu Mo pondered for a moment. "That's hard to say," he replied. "Their stealth techniques are quite effective. If they were single-mindedly determined to escape, once they hid within the town, finding them would become very difficult. However, they certainly wouldn't have fled."

"Why?"

"Because they were unwilling to give up," Gu Mo stated. "From the very beginning, Ye Lingsu and Ye Wanyue regarded both Ren Tianqi and me as sacrifices, aiming to create a Calamity Heart Gu King unlike any before or after. If they missed this opportunity, they likely wouldn't be able to refine their desired Gu King in their entire lives. Therefore, from the outset, they never intended to escape. They merely wanted to paralyze me and seize the chance to kill me using the Five Elements Lightning Guiding Formation. In that situation, once I was dead, no one would be able to prevent them from refining the Gu King.

"If I'm not mistaken, there must be another true formation for refining the Gu King located somewhere else in this town. The Five Elements Lightning Guiding Formation here was, from the very start, merely prepared to incapacitate Ren Tianqi and kill me. Once they succeeded, they would immediately take the heart and depart from this place. Whether they were exposed or not would have been irrelevant to them at that point."

The atmosphere in Cangshan Town was noticeably somber and oppressive.

Martial arts practitioners from all sides were similarly enraged.

They had traveled a great distance to search for the Underworld Ephemeral Flower, only to ultimately discover that everything was a deception, resulting in numerous casualties. The disciples from several major sects, in particular, bore expressions of deep sorrow. While the overall casualties weren't horrific, the crucial point was that those who died were important figures from their respective martial sects.

Gu Mo also felt quite helpless; in that particular situation, he was unable to assist anyone else.

That strike of five thunders,

If Gu Mo hadn't utilized his Cold Ice True Qi to form ice and resist, even he would not have fared well beneath that lightning. Furthermore, that heavenly lightning struck very suddenly, and he could only manage to protect Gu Chuwinter. As for everyone else, they were left to their own fate.

At that time, among those who had entered the grand hall, only Sang Tugong and Daoist Qingyun survived, apart from the brother and sister. However, among the martial arts practitioners in the courtyard outside the hall who hadn't managed to rush inside, there were many injured but relatively few fatalities.

Overall, however, the scene was utterly grim.

Gu Mo could already foresee that Snow Ridge Villa would likely follow in the footsteps of the Four Directions Sword Sect and would inevitably be besieged by various factions. After all, the Chang Gui had committed numerous heinous crimes over the years, accumulating no small number of enemies. What's more, this time they had mortally offended major sects such as the Shennong Gang, Qiushan Sword Arena, Yanxing Gate, and Tongniu Sect, among many others.

Although the Snow Ridge Twin Immortals had been vanquished,

Snow Ridge Villa would undoubtedly not escape its reckoning.

However, these matters no longer held any bearing on Gu Mo.

After resting for a day in Cangshan Town, he made preparations to depart.

His sole purpose for coming to Cangshan Town was the Underworld Ephemeral Flower. Now that he had acquired it, he naturally needed to leave swiftly to find Qi Miaoxuan and have his eyes treated.

Before leaving, however, he still needed to bid farewell to Sang Tugong.

"Hero Gu, you're heading to Qingzhou City, aren't you?"

Inside the room, Sang Tugong lay on the bed, his entire body wrapped in bandages, with only his head visible.

Gu Chuwinter asked, puzzled, "Elder Sang, how did you know that?"

Sang Tugong smiled and said, "This is no secret. Everyone in the martial world knows that Hero Gu lost his sight due to an accident. And Hero Gu came seeking the Underworld Ephemeral Flower precisely to find Qi Miaoxuan to treat his eyes, as this flower is a natural treasure Qi Miaoxuan has explicitly expressed interest in. Since Qi Miaoxuan is currently in Qingzhou City, where else would Hero Gu go?"

Gu Mo asked, "Elder Sang, are you acquainted with Qi Miaoxuan?"

Sang Tugong replied, "Few in the martial world are unfamiliar with Qi Miaoxuan. Within the Qian Kingdom's jianghu, there are two revered medical masters: the Southern Medicine Sage, Qi Miaoxuan, and the Northern Medical God, Wei Wuwei. One exclusively treats those of the righteous path, while the other only treats those of the demonic path.

"However, this Qi Miaoxuan has a peculiar temperament and is difficult to deal with. The most critical issue is that he might accept payment but then refuse to provide treatment. So, Hero Gu, you must exercise extra caution."

Gu Mo nodded slightly.

He wasn't sure what approach Yan Sanniang had taken to persuade Qi Miaoxuan to agree to treat his eyes, but he trusted that Yan Sanniang would not deceive him.

"It's one or two thousand *li* from here to Qingzhou City," Sang Tugong said. "Neither of you are from Qingzhou, so you're unfamiliar with the route and might easily get lost, which would lead to unknown delays.

"The crucial point is that Qi Miaoxuan's whereabouts are highly unpredictable. Recently, he has been staying as a guest in Zangfeng Valley outside Qingzhou City, but in a short while, he might wander off to who knows where. Therefore, it's essential to go as quickly as possible.

"I'll send someone to inquire in town shortly. Many martial arts practitioners are currently in Cangshan Town, and now that the truth about the Underworld Ephemeral Flower has been revealed, most will be departing in the next day or two. And soon, there will be a significant event in Qingzhou City, so there will certainly be many people heading there."

"Then I'll trouble you, Elder Sang," Gu Mo said, cupping his hands in a respectful gesture.

Sang Tugong waved his hands dismissively. "Hero Gu, please don't be so polite. In fact, it is I who should be offering my thanks. If Hero Gu hadn't been here, I fear I would not have kept my meager life."

Gu Chuwinter asked from the side, "Elder Sang, you just mentioned there would be a significant event in Qingzhou City. What kind of event is it?"

Sang Tugong slowly replied, "The Nine Rivers Dragon King, ranked second on Qingzhou's Heavenly Ranking, and the Blade Emperor, ranked third, have agreed to a decisive battle on the sixth day of the sixth month, at Soul Severing Cliff!"