Chapter 97: Hongmeng Purple Lotus, One Year per Chaos
"Hall Master, Ji Ning, what brings you two here?"
Gu Qing opened the formation, invited the two into the Star-Gazing Tower to be seated, and asked in confusion.
"Ruyi and Ruyan have very good aptitudes. I have already accepted them as disciples. I'll have to trouble you to look after them a bit in the future."
As Jiang Yu's words fell, Gu Qing was stunned.
Accepting Liu Ruyan was one thing. After all, she was a child of destiny. Even if she were a mortal body, it wouldn't be strange to accept her as a disciple.
But Liu Ruyi was a sinister and ruthless lunatic, cold-blooded and bloodthirsty in nature.
How could Jiang Yu, whose heart was oriented toward the light, accept her?
Could it be that she didn't know Liu Ruyi's true character?
Thinking of this, Gu Qing quickly sent a voice transmission to Liu Ruyan. Getting the answer, Gu Qing became even more confused.
He couldn't understand what Jiang Yu was thinking.
Shaking his head secretly, Gu Qing did not pry further.
He took out Ye Hao's divine artifacts and sacred artifacts, various magic treasures, cultivation methods and divine abilities, as well as that Phoenix Immortal Divine Medicine.
These things were useless to him, so it was better to hand them over to the Star Temple.
As for the Phoenix Immortal Divine Medicine, he had already picked its fruits, and there were four left.
The next time it bore fruit would be tens of thousands of years from now.
To refine the entire divine medicine would be a violent waste of a heavenly treasure.
The Star Temple had shown him the grace of protecting his cultivation path, allowing him to pick almost any good thing he wanted. Gu Qing felt it wouldn't be right to only take benefits without contributing to the Star Temple.
Therefore, aside from the Red Clouds Sword, he handed over almost all of Ye Hao's treasures to Jiang Yu.
"You..."
Jiang Yu looked at the mountain of treasures and was speechless for a long time.
Ji Ning was beyond shocked.
Never mind the rest, but a divine medicine, divine artifacts, and sacred artifacts... someone in the Divine Fire Realm might not even have a single divine artifact. How did Gu Qing get so many?
Did he rob an immortal's treasury?
"You are a good child..." It's a pity he's not her disciple.
Jiang Yu put the items away, a look of regret appearing on her beautiful face.
What a good disciple.
To think he had actually become a disciple of that madwoman, Zhi Meng.
"A good child?" Gu Qing's facial skin twitched.
He had lived two lives and now had some accomplishments to his name, even having several dao companions. To be praised as a "good child"?
Was there some kind of mistake?
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
Jiang Yu said with a charming smile.
A pair of beautiful eyes, clear as autumn water, were as gentle as water, as if possessing the magic to melt steel.
"No, you didn't say anything wrong." Gu Qing shook his head.
Jiang Yu was over three thousand years old. No matter what, she was the one in the right.
"You've been gone for a few years. How is your cultivation? Are there any areas you don't understand?"
Jiang Yu asked.
"It's alright."
Gu Qing revealed a bit of his cultivation and dao methods. They were as deep as an abyss, as vast as a domain, his divine might majestic and boundless, like an ancient god.
The two instantly fell silent.
You call this "alright"?
Gu Qing's aura was profound and vast, carrying an innate, transcendent dao rhyme.
Anyone who didn't know better would absolutely mistake Gu Qing for an innate lifeform.
"Gu Qing, you are the most monstrous heaven's pride I have ever seen. If you can keep this up, you will surely achieve great things."
Jiang Yu said seriously.
I've already achieved great things... Gu Qing said this silently in his heart, but verbally, he thanked her modestly.
"???"
Jiang Yu frowned, blinking her curled eyelashes.
What did "already achieved great things" mean?
She felt it was different from her understanding of the term.
Shaking her head, perhaps she was just being too sensitive.
Gu Qing could indeed be considered successful and famous now. In the King Realm, he would be considered a strong expert anywhere in the world.
"So beautiful, these eyes are so full of deep feeling... they'd even look at a dog with deep affection." Gu Qing felt uncomfortable under her gaze.
Jiang Yu's eyes seemed to hold a magical power. Being watched by her, Gu Qing had the illusion of being watched by a gentle and virtuous wife from home, and couldn't help but want to sink into it.
"???"
What did he mean by being watched by a gentle and virtuous wife?
A faint blush instantly appeared on Jiang Yu's snow-white skin as she averted her gaze.
She felt immensely annoyed in her heart.
She had awakened an innate divine ability called "Heavenly Vision, Earthly Hearing."
This divine ability could be described as heaven-defying.
It was like the Eye of the Heavenly Dao, able to spy on all things.
As long as it was a treasure or a living being whose Heavenly Secrets were not shielded, she could see it with a single thought, no matter the distance.
It could also eavesdrop on the inner voices of all living spirits.
Furthermore, Heavenly Vision, Earthly Hearing possessed a power unfathomable to ghosts and gods, capable of erasing powerful enemies with a single thought.
It was just that she had only just awakened it and was not yet proficient, accidentally hearing the inner voices of the two.
[Detected that the Host's inner voice was being eavesdropped on by Jiang Yu, triggering Super Reflective Shield. Inner voice shielded. Counter-eavesdropping on Jiang Yu's inner voice.]
"???"
[Forget it, he's still a child and didn't mean any offense. I'll just pretend I didn't hear anything.] Jiang Yu thought to herself.
"???" Gu Qing looked at her in disbelief.
He never would have imagined that the noble and transcendent Goddess Jiang Yu would do something so sordid.
"System, show me her attributes."
[Name] Jiang Yu.
[Realm] Heavenly God Realm Ninth Layer Peak.
[Physique] Hongmeng Purple Lotus Dao Body.
[Talent] Born alongside the Great Dao, Heaven-Defying Comprehension, Unparalleled Talent.
[Destiny] Son of the Great Dao.
[Fate] Variable.
[Fortune] My fate is decided by me, not by heaven.
"???"
"System, did you make a mistake? If I remember correctly, once you surpass the Divine Fire Realm, you are repelled by the Heavenly Dao Laws and guided to ascend to the Upper Realm."
"And what the hell is 'My fate is decided by me, not by heaven'?"
Seeing Jiang Yu's attributes, Gu Qing's first reaction was to suspect he was seeing things.
His second reaction was to suspect the system had made a detection error.
[There is no mistake. Her original body is the Hongmeng Purple Lotus, the Son of the Great Dao who was born alongside three thousand great daos. She is one with the heaven, earth, and the myriad daos. She can ascend whenever she wishes. If she doesn't want to ascend, the rules of heaven and earth will not repel her.]
[And 'My fate is decided by me, not by heaven' means exactly what it says. She can control her own destiny.]
"..."
Gu Qing's heart pounded wildly. He never expected Jiang Yu's foundation to be so heaven-defying.
It was countless times higher than the status of a child of destiny; the two simply could not be compared.
But then again, Jiang Yu was hidden far too deep. What an old fox.
She had always publicly claimed to be at the Saint Realm Peak, yet her true realm was hidden by more than just a little.
Poor his master, Zhi Meng, was completely fooled by Jiang Yu, who was her peer among the two peerless talents.
Thinking this, Gu Qing asked, "System, what level of treasure is the Hongmeng Purple Lotus?"
[Chaos Supreme Treasure. It is strongly recommended that the Host not harbor any ill intentions toward her. She is the Incarnation of the Great Dao, a Supreme Dao Venerable, the Mother of Ten Thousand Daos, an existence that has transcended all and stands above the void.]
"You mean this isn't her original body?"
Gu Qing felt his scalp tingle. Even without the system's reminder, he wouldn't dare do anything to Jiang Yu.
Unless he wanted to die.
[It is her original body. She is seventeen years old this year.]
"???"
My dear system, behave yourself, stop joking around, okay?
[Who's joking with you?]
[One year per Chaos. She has experienced sixteen Great Chaos Annihilations. This is her seventeenth life. Is there a problem with saying she is seventeen years old?"
"..."
Forget it. If you say there's no problem, then there's no problem.
Gu Qing looked at her peerlessly beautiful face and suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to drop to his knees and hug her thigh. What was that about???
Damn, an existence that had experienced sixteen Great Chaos Annihilations and not died. Just how terrifying was Jiang Yu?
If he could hug her thigh, wouldn't he be able to roam freely throughout the heavens and myriad worlds, and even the boundless chaos in the future?
"He looks at her, she blushes. Next, will it be just like in those picture-story novels, where his tiger body trembles, her delicate body quivers, he gives a domineering kiss, and she..."
"Silence!"
Jiang Yu shouted angrily, her expression annoyed and also filled with shame and indignation.
What kind of nonsense was Ji Ning spouting? How could it be so vulgar and unbearable to the ear.
"..."
Ji Ning blinked. She didn't say anything. She hadn't said anything at all.
Could it be that Jiang Yu had a mind-reading divine ability?
Impossible.
Even if she had a mind-reading divine ability, they were both in the Saint Realm, their bodies forming their own small worlds. It was absolutely impossible for her inner voice to be overheard.
Could it be...
"That's right, she must not be talking about me. It must be that the two are communicating through voice transmission. Gu Qing angered Jiang Yu, and she couldn't hold back and shouted out in anger."
"Tsk, I never would have thought that the most brilliant pearl in the starry sky would secretly have a crush on a young man. If word got out, the entire heavens would probably weep."
"I've already brought the government officials here. Right now, immediately, this instant, register their marriage for me..."
On the surface, Ji Ning was as steady as an old ox, but inside she was incredibly excited. A live romance scene was much better to watch than a picture-story novel.
Not to mention this was the secret love between the Hall Master and her disciple. It was simply a picture-story novel brought to life.
Just as Ji Ning was wildly imagining sweet moments, Jiang Yu's face turned from red to white, then from white to red. She endured it again and again, her entire person on the verge of exploding.
"Ji Ning, this seat sees you wish to speak but hesitate. Do you have something to say?" Her face was like frost.
If she hadn't awakened Heavenly Vision, Earthly Hearing, she wouldn't have known to this day that Ji Ning was actually this kind of person.
"I have nothing to say."
Ji Ning was a bit stunned. She had a blank expression and was secretly imagining sweet moments. How was that hesitating to speak?
She always kept the truth in mind: speak less, err less; speak not, err not.
Ji Ning thought for a moment and instantly understood.
This was her being an eyesore, a rhythm to send her away.
"Sigh, to be unable to watch such a brilliant and spectacular romance scene is truly a pity."
"This is absolutely the greatest regret of my life."
Thinking this, she quietly and silently departed.
"???"
Jiang Yu's eyelashes trembled lightly, and her eyes, once gentle as water, were now tinged with anger.
=================================================================
Hey readers! Want to jump far ahead in the story? The moment you join our Patreon, you'll instantly unlock 30 advanced chapters — giving you a huge head start beyond the public releases.
And it doesn't stop there. Every month, you'll also get 60 brand-new chapters, released steadily at 14 per week, so there's always fresh content waiting for you.
Plus, there are even more fics updated at the same reliable pace, ready to explore. Come join now and keep the adventure flowing without pause!
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/JoyceCruize