"How's the Underworld Palace doing lately? Any news about the Underworld Palace Master?"
Gu Xun'er's exquisite face was utterly cold, her beautiful eyes flickering with fire, radiating a blinding light. A terrifying aura subtly emanated from her graceful body, making Yao Tianhuo dare not meet her gaze. He lowered his head and replied,
"In the past year, the Underworld Palace has seen a continuous influx of powerful individuals due to the presence of the eight-star Dou Zong deputy palace master and the unfathomable Dou Zun palace master, who only appeared once at the opening ceremony. Furthermore, its deep ties with Canaan Academy have led to an extremely rapid development, making it unparalleled in the Black Corner Region and even the entire Northwest Continent.
However, the palace master has never appeared. And the Underworld Palace has been rampant this past year..." The expansion of the Underworld Palace, its constant annexation of territory and encroachment on resources, has greatly displeased some Dou Zun forces in the Northwest Continent, who also harbor doubts about the strength of the Palace Master who has yet to appear.
Recently, numerous spies have poured into the Black Corner Region from various places, all investigating the Underworld Palace. They are likely to send people to test the waters soon, and even the leaders of those Dou Zun forces may come personally. If all these people arrive, the Underworld Palace's eight-star Dou Zong deputy Palace Master will be unable to withstand them; the Palace Master will likely have to personally intervene."
Yao Tianhuo reported the recent events of the Underworld Palace to Gu Xun'er in detail. Hearing Yao Tianhuo's words, a charming smile involuntarily appeared on Gu Xun'er's face.
A sudden, knowing smile appeared on Gu Xun'er's exquisitely beautiful face, as if sculpted by a celestial being. For a moment, the entire world seemed to lose its color, leaving only her captivating smile. Gu Xun'er couldn't help but murmur softly,
"So unrestrained, huh? That's really your style."
Then, she waved to Yao Tianhuo, the coldness on her face fading considerably, and said to him with a hint of pleasure,
"I understand. You can go now. Notify me when those forces head to the Underworld Palace, and we'll join in the fun."
"Yes, Miss."
Yao Tianhuo felt a sense of relief upon hearing Gu Xun'er's words and quickly withdrew. The aura emanating from Gu Xun'er now even made him feel a faint sense of threat, making him feel considerable pressure in her presence. He didn't dare to breathe too loudly, and at the same time, he felt a pang of sympathy for the Lord of the Underworld Palace. Being targeted by such a terrifying being, his fate probably wouldn't be good.
After Yao Tianhuo withdrew, Gu Xun'er, who felt she would soon see Hun Changqing, was in the best mood of the year, a smile lingering on her lips.
However, just as Gu Xun'er was about to leave the hall, spatial fluctuations appeared in the sky, and Gu Ming appeared before her.
"Miss Xun'er,"
Gu Ming greeted her respectfully with a bow. Gu
Xun'er looked at Gu Ming with some confusion. He rarely came to her unless she gave the order. Could something have come from the clan? Gu Xun'er asked Gu Ming with a hint of curiosity.
"What is it, Elder Gu Ming?" "
Miss, the clan has received news about the strange fire you requested."
"Oh?"
Upon hearing Gu Ming's words, Gu Xun'er's eyes blazed with excitement, and her aura surged. She then gestured for Gu Ming to continue.
After sensing the vastly different aura emanating from Gu Xun'er compared to a year ago, Gu Ming couldn't help but gasp in astonishment. Although Gu Xun'er's current strength was still insufficient for him,
such a cultivation speed was terrifying even among the legendary geniuses recorded throughout the ages of the Gu Clan. To possess such cultivation at such a young age even surpassed some of the young Dou Di figures previously recorded by the Gu Clan. Gu Ming secretly rejoiced, thinking how fortunate he was to have made the decision to leave the clan and follow his young lady. He then quickly replied to Gu Xun'er,
"Besides the strange fires from the other six clans, there are two more strange fires remaining in Zhongzhou: the Nine Dragons Thunder Flame, ranked thirteenth, belonging to the Burning Flame Valley (one of the Three Valleys), and the Three Thousand Burning Flames, ranked ninth, belonging to the Pill Tower."
Hearing the rankings of these two strange fires from Gu Ming, Gu Xun'er's eyes showed satisfaction, and she smiled.
"Not bad, not bad. So, have you obtained these two strange fires? Has the clan mentioned when they will be delivered?" "Uh..."
Upon hearing Gu Xun'er's question, Gu Ming hesitated, his speech becoming less fluent, unsure how to begin.
Gu Xun'er's brows furrowed slightly at Gu Ming's hesitant words, and the excitement in her beautiful eyes dimmed slightly.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem with these two strange flames? These two forces are indeed renowned in Zhongzhou, but they don't seem to pose any obstacle to the clan, do they?"
Gu Ming hesitated for a moment after hearing Gu Xun'er's words before finally speaking. "Miss, these two forces are indeed nothing to the clan, but the Burning Flame Valley was on good terms with that person from the Xiao Clan a thousand years ago, and your father, the clan leader, is also on good terms with that person... So the clan leader can't directly take action. The clan leader's idea is that after you advance to Dou Zun, he will send a Dou Sheng elder to suppress the only remaining Dou Sheng ancestor of the Burning Flame Valley. The rest will depend on you."
Gu Xun'er nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this. She had indeed heard that the Xiao Clan leader had a close relationship with the Burning Flame Valley, so it was understandable that her father couldn't take action. It wouldn't be a problem for her to take action later, since it was just a strange flame ranked thirteenth. Then Gu Xun'er asked again.
"What about the Pill Tower? They've never interfered in the affairs of ancient races like us. Surely they don't have any connections with the ancient clans?"
Gu Ming shook his head and said, "No, that's not it. The clan also intends to obtain this fire so that Miss can advance to Dou Zun. However, the Pill Tower is, after all, the holy land for alchemy in the hearts of those rogue cultivators in Zhongzhou and even the entire Dou Qi Continent. If the ancient clans forcibly seize it, it will inevitably give rise to gossip. Therefore, the elders of the clan have come up with a compromise.
In a year, when the Pill Tower holds its alchemy competition, they will allow the top ten in the competition to attempt to go to the Pill Tower's star field to subdue the Three Thousand Burning Flames." "The clan will send a qualified alchemist to help Miss obtain this qualification.
Furthermore, several Dou Sheng experts will secretly go; if Miss fails to gain the so-called approval of the Three Thousand Burning Flames, they will forcibly seize the flame and then force Miss to refine it."
Upon hearing this, Gu Xun'er's expression hardened. After a moment's thought, she couldn't object to the clan's decision. This method was indeed the safest and would minimize the impact. Gu Xun'er nodded and said,
"Then send a message back. I will return when the Alchemy Conference begins."
"Uh, Miss, you probably need to return soon,"
Gu Ming said with a slight smirk.
"Hmm?"
Gu Xun'er immediately looked at Gu Ming.
"What's going on?"
Gu Ming felt a chill run down his spine under Gu Xun'er's gaze and quickly said,
"Miss, the elders in the clan are already quite dissatisfied with your long absence. No one with a divine bloodline has ever been away from the clan for so long, especially considering you used a vast amount of resources to obtain those strange flames.
However, the elders are completely unaware of the specific strength increase you achieved from expending so many resources. Therefore, they are almost all appealing to the clan leader, wanting you to return to the clan soon, and also to prepare for seizing the Three Thousand Burning Flames and advancing to the Dou Zun level a year from now."
Gu Ming spoke truthfully. Upon hearing this, Gu Xun'er's face instantly darkened, her beautiful eyes flashing with uncertain light, a cold and sharp glint constantly flickering within them. She then took a deep breath and said to Gu Ming,
"Send a message back, saying that I will return to the clan after I finish dealing with things here."
Then, Gu Xun'er's flames surged, and she vanished from the hall in a flash.
Gu Ming, having watched Gu Xun'er disappear and heard her reply, breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the cold sweat from his brow, and then vanished in a flash to send a message back to his clan.