The Mysterious Peach Village, Searching for Those Surnamed Gu on the Young Master's Orders
The Mysterious Peach Village, Searching for Those Surnamed Gu on the Young Master’s Orders
There were actually many legends about the Land of Abandoned Celestials circulating in the Beyond.
The Land Abandoned by Celestials, the Cursed Land, the Barren Land...
In short, to the Beyond, the Land of Abandoned Celestials was an inauspicious place, and very few Cultivators were willing to go there.
Although at times great fortuitous opportunities would appear in the Land of Abandoned Celestials, with auspicious radiance soaring into the sky and illuminating all directions, the vast mountain ranges contained far more dangers.
Without cultivation at the Enlightened Noble Realm, it was extremely difficult to cross this region alone.
Compared to the other areas exuding terrifying auras, the small village sheltered by this towering Peach Tree appeared exceptionally peaceful, practically like a paradise on earth.
Of course, the village’s name was Peach Village.
There were many strange people in the village.
Gu Xianer now stood beneath this Peach Tree, dressed in green robes that made her appear extremely slender, her exquisite, flawless face carrying a heroic air.
She had come to bid farewell to this Peach Tree.
The Peach Tree was the village’s guardian spirit, and even her strange and mysterious shifus treated this Peach Tree with great respect.
However, Gu Xianer had a very good relationship with it. When she was young, frail and sickly, it was the Peach Tree that cured her with its essence.
To her, this Peach Tree was like both a teacher and an elder sister.
“Are you certain you want to leave? Your current cultivation is only at the Honoured Noble Realm, which isn’t actually considered very strong in the Beyond. The successors of those Supreme Dao Lineages and Cults of Immortality are all stronger than you.”
The Peach Tree’s leaves and branches swayed, and a gentle, pleasant female voice came from within, asking about Gu Xianer’s intentions.
Hearing this, Gu Xianer nodded and said resolutely, “Sister Tao Yao, I have to leave this place. I still need to find my grandfather, my parents, and the clansmen of my lineage...”
“After all these years, I don’t know how they’ve been living. They’ve probably been suppressed quite thoroughly by my eldest uncle, exiled abroad, never to regain their former glory.”
At this point, anger surfaced in her eyes.
Of course, she also understood clearly.
As members of a Longevity Family, even exiled abroad, they were by no means comparable to ordinary lineages and clans.
It was just that their lives were far worse than before, cut off from the center of power in the Beyond, no longer like when they were in the Gu Family, able to look down upon everything from on high.
So besides revenge, she had another goal.
To find her parents and grandfather, and restore the glory of their lineage.
And preferably, to let her eldest uncle’s lineage have a taste of the same.
“Of course... the main thing is still that dear older brother of mine from back then.”
The moment she thought of this, she felt a faint pain in her chest.
The scene of having her bone dug out all those years ago surfaced once more.
That brother of hers truly had such a ruthless heart!
She had been so little back then, and so attached to him, loving to follow behind him—only for him to mercilessly dig out her Daoist Bone.
Every time she remembered these things, Gu Xianer felt boundless hatred toward that godlike yet heartless brother of hers.
She would take this revenge.
“This grudge is a matter between you and him. You must rely on yourself.” Another voice came from within the Peach Tree.
Gu Xianer nodded. “I know, Sister Tao Yao. This is a private matter of my Gu Family. My shifus and you cannot interfere too much.”
“It’s good that you understand. But rest assured, although the Beyond has many experts, the truly powerful ones won’t dare to casually make a move against you.”
“Those shifus of yours may be eccentric, but there aren’t many who dare provoke them either,” the Peach Tree added, its voice incomparably gentle and pleasant.
Of course, it didn’t mention itself, since its own origins were even more ancient and mysterious than the others’.
“I know, Sister Tao Yao. My shifus have already been good enough to me. Over all these years, they’ve not only taught me so many things, but also helped me understand many truths. I’m very grateful to them.” As Gu Xianer said this, she couldn’t help but feel waves of warmth.
Compared to her cold and heartless brother, these shifus had shown her what warmth among people meant.
“I can’t help you much either. This is your Gu Family’s private affair. Even if your shifus wanted to help you, at most they could only block some big figures for you...”
The Peach Tree was more talkative today because Gu Xianer was leaving. Then, a peach blossom drifted down from its branches.
“Take it with you. At a critical moment, it can save you. If anyone still recognizes it, they presumably won’t make things difficult for me,” the Peach Tree said again.
“Thank you, Sister Tao Yao.” Gu Xianer was deeply moved as she accepted the peach blossom.
It had a full seven petals, each one as if carved from immortal jade, appearing radiant and flowing with light, mysterious and extraordinary, carrying a trace of Daoist charm.
Since Sister Tao Yao had said so, she naturally felt at ease.
Soon, she bid farewell to everyone one by one.
Looking toward the distant prosperous lands of the Beyond, her gaze held leisure and longing, as well as heroic spirit.
“Before leaving, my eldest shifu gave me a blade... saying that if I couldn’t beat that brother of mine, I should just use it directly...”
“My second shifu gave me a rope, saying it could bind anything. If I couldn’t beat that brother of mine, I should use this rope...”
“My third shifu...”
...
Before leaving, Gu Xianer kowtowed heavily toward the village entrance.
“Once I’ve settled my matters, I’ll come back to see you all.”
With that, she took along the old servant who had taken her away from the clan back then.
At the same time, she summoned a ferocious beast with a terrifying aura to carry her away from this place.
Only then did her group of mysterious and eccentric shifus appear at the entrance, watching her from afar.
Their appearances were all quite strange.
Blind, deaf, missing legs, missing arms—at their profound level of cultivation, regrowing a severed leg could be said to be effortless.
Yet they hadn’t done so, clearly for other reasons.
Either they were unwilling, or they were unable.
But there was no denying that this group’s origins were earth-shattering. If they truly appeared in the prosperous lands of the Beyond, they would absolutely set off monstrous waves.
If Gu Changge were here and saw all this, he would definitely curse inwardly at the damned author—sure enough, the tropes never lie.
Clearly, the origins of this Peach Village were extremely terrifying.
At this moment, they were also discussing among themselves.
“The girl we raised for over a decade has run off just like that. Who knows how long it’ll be before she comes back next time...”
“This is a grudge between her and that boy. We actually can’t interfere. It’s just that Xianer’s personality is too kind and innocent, and she’s a girl besides. I feel she’ll suffer a lot of losses. I can’t figure out how a bunch of people like us managed to raise a disciple with such a personality...”
“Personality doesn’t matter. Besides, I think Xianer’s personality is wonderful.” An old woman with a withered countenance immediately retorted upon hearing this, glaring at the rest of them.
“She was born a favored child of the Great Dao, destined to enjoy all manner of doting love, yet she ended up bearing such hatred. That brother of hers is quite the character—so young, yet already so cold and heartless.”
“To think the Gu Family has had a good reputation for generations. How did this generation produce such affairs?”
These people chatted at the village entrance, still quite worried about Gu Xianer.
The feeling was like raising a daughter for over a decade, only for her to suddenly leave home one day, not knowing when she’d return.
That kind of worry felt by old fathers and old mothers.
“I’m just afraid that when she comes back, she’ll have a man by her side... I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop myself from cutting that man down.”
“Let this old man do a quick divination... this matter really isn’t certain...”
The blind one among them suddenly felt a pain in his balls.
...
The prosperous lands of the Beyond were incomparably vast.
All in all, they could be divided into the Inner Domain, the Middle Domain, and the Outer Domain.
This division was as strict as a pyramid.
The Inner Domain was boundless, with countless resources, lineages standing in great numbers, incomparably prosperous—and it was also where the Cults of Immortality, Supreme Dao Lineages, and other powers stood firm.
Though the Middle Domain couldn’t compare to the Inner Domain, it likewise possessed endless territory and abundant resources.
As for the Outer Domain, though it couldn’t compare to the Inner Domain or Middle Domain, it was still an extremely prosperous and rich region of the Beyond, with numerous lineages and powers and extremely complex relationships.
And at the edges of the Outer Domain lay mostly the borderlands with various Overworlds, incomparably remote. Most of the time, ascenders from the Overworlds would appear here.
This was also the place the major powers loved most. After all, they could capture free labor—whether for mining or whatever else, they were prime candidates.
Moreover, among the Cultivators ascending from the Overworlds, if any had decent talent, they could be taken into the clans for cultivation.
Apart from the few great Life Forbidden Areas, where vitality had withered for ages and no living being dared approach, the other regions all actually had many traces of Cultivators.
At this moment, in Xiling State of the Outer Domain.
The high sky blurred, and Ming Lao’s figure manifested there.
“According to the Young Master’s decree, the Gu lineage exiled here back then should have arrived in Xiling State...”
As Ming Lao spoke, he quickly searched through this region.
The Outer Domain customarily divided its territory into states, each state spanning millions or even tens of millions of li.
An Enlightened Noble could already hold dominion over a region here—within an entire state, no match for them could be found. As for Enlightened Kings, they rarely showed themselves in the Outer Domain anymore.
He did not conceal his current aura.
Boom!
The terrifying pressure of the Enlightened King Realm instantly unfurled, like a god looking down from on high, immediately alarming the supreme experts within many ancient cities.
The countless Cultivators in those great cities trembled in their hearts, shuddering without end.
“An Enlightened King expert—why would one appear here? This is too frightening...”
“What origins does this person have?” Countless Cultivators were shocked and terrified.
Enlightened Nobles already stood high above, able to look down upon everything—let alone an even more powerful Enlightened King.
An existence of this level could erase a great city with a single thought!
Soon, a group of Enlightened Noble Realm experts appeared in the high sky, incomparably respectful and reverent.
Enlightened Kings rarely appeared in the Outer Domain. Since one had appeared, there was surely a purpose.
“May we ask, Your Excellency, what matter brings you here?”
They asked respectfully.
“By order of my Young Master, I have come to search for people surnamed Gu. Do you know where in Xiling State there are people surnamed Gu?”
Ming Lao said indifferently.
“People surnamed Gu...”
Within an enormous city, Gu Xianer, who had left the Land of Abandoned Celestials, heard these words and her body instantly tensed.
She had just come to search for her exiled lineage’s clansmen—she hadn’t expected to run into something like this.
Young Master?
People surnamed Gu?
It really is my dear older brother!
Gu Xianer bit down hard on the word “dear.”
“Xiaojie...” The old servant behind her also changed expression.
“How is it that the moment I leave the Land of Abandoned Celestials, someone comes searching?” Gu Xianer remained composed, her delicate brows furrowed tightly.
She glanced at the red little bird sleeping on her shoulder. This was the powerful ferocious beast she had brought along from the Land of Abandoned Celestials, used for traveling.
Its strength was considerable.
But facing an Enlightened King Realm existence, she didn’t know if it could match him.
And her old servant’s strength was only at the Partial-Enlightened Realm.
Could it be that so soon, she would have to use the things her shifus had given her?
Gu Xianer decided to hold her position and first see what he was up to.