40. Behind the Legend

So that's why Zhu He gave him the Heart-Guarding Bracelet.

A hint of barely perceptible sympathy flickered in Qinglong's gaze as he looked at Tang Xihe. He quickly concealed his emotions and replied, "This poison is passed down through generations, becoming more and more toxic with each generation. The only way to cure it is to end the lineage."

In other words, there is no solution.

Tang Xi's expression turned serious.

He remembered something that had just flashed through his mind and he had almost forgotten.

"I would like to ask the two Star Emperors a question."

Qinglong slightly raised his chin, gesturing for Tangxi to speak.

“I know a teacher who was once a citizen of Fairyland. According to the legends of the origin of the eight great families that she knows, the person who went berserk and destroyed half of Fairyland was Beichenxing.”

"Just a legend."

Baihu corrected, "Moreover, he destroyed not only half of the fairyland, but also the secret world, which is this blessed land right beneath your feet."

Tang Xihe then asked, "What about Yan Youzu? Where did he go?"

In the original work, it was the one who stirred up trouble and ultimately guided Beichen Suixing, who had collected the power of the Seven Star Gods, and Guifang Wudi, who was adept at using poison, to create enmity and rift between the two sides. In the end, the one who reaped the benefits was 'Yanluo Qianmian', Yan Youzu.

I should have thought of that earlier.

To see who instigated the fight between the snipe and the clam, one only needs to see who the beneficiary, the "fisherman," is.

Why did he only think of this role now... Oh no, the current Yan Youzu is not just a character in the book, but also a person from the same world as Tang Xi.

Azure Dragon and White Tiger were both shocked, unable to hide their astonishment. White Tiger, in particular, blurted out, "Who are you? How do you know this name!"

The five elders of the Immortal Alliance made a big blunder? Who told them?

Bei Chen was unfamiliar with the name and looked around in confusion. Finally, he secretly poked Gui Fang, who seemed to be deep in thought. "What's going on? Do you know him? Among the Eight Great Families, there's no one with the surname Yan?"

"have no idea."

Gui Fang shook his head. "However, my teacher Qin once suspected that my strange...poison? might not be due to family karma because of the loopholes in the origin of the legend. She discussed the legend with Tang Xi about this."

Thinking about it this way, the teacher Tang Xihe mentioned must be Teacher Qin Xiuluo, who descended to the human world and has been out of contact ever since. It's unexpected that after so long, Tang Xihe still remembers this matter.

Gui Fang silently observed the expressions on Tang Xi's face as she spoke to Qinglong and Baihu. He hadn't deliberately lowered his voice when explaining to Beichen, and Qinglong and Baihu both looked at Gui Fang and Wu Di.

Qinglong asked curiously, "What family karma is this? Who were your ancestors? Could they be one of the Eight Great Families?"

"My surname is Guifang."

"ah!"

The white tiger cried out in surprise, its eyes widening as it looked at Tang Xihe. "No wonder your soul... So, it turns out, Qinglong and I still don't know the names of you three kids! Kid, you wouldn't happen to be surnamed Beichen, would you!"

“No,” Tangxi said, pulling the stunned Beichen Suixing in front of her. “This is Beichen. His name is Beichen Suixing, and like his first family head, he can summon the Star Lord at a young age.”

The Azure Dragon and the White Tiger exchanged a strange glance, their expressions becoming even more enigmatic.

Tang Xi, like a salesperson, gently pushed the stiff Bei Chen forward, "Some time ago, the Magic University was attacked. It was Bei Chen who accompanied the group and summoned the Martial Star Lord, who temporarily suppressed the evil spirit master with force."

"Along our way, we also encountered ambushes by evil spirit masters in blessed lands."

Bei Chen, still shaken, said, "Fortunately, we had the help of two Star Lords. The strength of that wave of evil spirit masters was no less than that during the school raid."

Neither of the two Star Emperors expected that the simpleton with such a clear soul was actually a descendant of Beichen Star, while this child with a chaotic soul... The gazes of the two Star Emperors falling on Beichen and Guifang gradually became somewhat complicated.

"What a tragic fate."

"What's your name?" Qinglong asked.

"...Tangxi and..."

"that……"

Having been unable to get a word in edgewise, Zhu Qianqian felt she had completed all the tasks Zhu He had assigned her. She hugged Pipi tightly and tried to slowly inch her way out of the cabin. "We don't understand what you're saying. Pipi and I will go out first?"

"Sit down."

As Baihu spoke, he glanced quickly at Pipi, who was staring blankly in Zhu Qianqian's arms. It was really hard to associate this little dumpling with Zhu He. He hesitated for a moment and then said, "You are a friend of two generations of Zhuque, so it won't hurt to listen. This is the truth that all the demons and monsters in your blessed land should know."

"That sudden change not only caught the Fairy Realm off guard, destroying most of its domain, but also affected your Secret Realm."

Azure Dragon slowly exhaled, "What I am about to tell you is not a legend, but the truth behind the sudden rampage of the North Star back then."

·

Let's turn back the clock eight hundred years.

Suddenly, a person appeared in the fairyland, claiming that he had developed a cultivation method that allowed for extremely fast progress and wanted to make it public so that many ordinary people could also cultivate it.

This guy named Gui Fangfu openly claimed that he had glimpsed the secrets of heaven and found the "one" hidden by heaven and earth—the mental cultivation method that belongs only to human cultivators and is closer to the Great Dao, the Heavenly Evolution of Forty-Nine, the Human Escape of One.

Gui Fangfu would tell everyone he met, "Though the world is vast and its laws are strict, there is always a glimmer of hope for an indomitable will! My mental cultivation method is the key to grasping that 'glimmer'!"

Despite his formidable strength, which proved his words to be true, those who came seeking his guidance still left disappointed, some even hurling insults at him.

They simply couldn't understand what the mysterious "one line" that Gui Fangfu spoke of meant.

You use an axe, don't you? Where did you get the string?

Just when Gui Fangfu was disheartened and thought that his grand ambition of "everyone can cultivate" was about to be shattered, the Immortal Alliance actually took the initiative to extend an olive branch to him.

The Immortal Alliance stated that they were willing to select seven exceptionally talented disciples for him, and he only needed to focus on teaching them.

Just when Gui Fangfu thought the dawn had broken and was happily awaiting the arrival of the seven disciples carefully selected by the Immortal Alliance, the Immortal Alliance suddenly made another request:

While imparting the mental cultivation method, Gui Fangfu must also require all teachers and students practicing the Gui Fang mental cultivation method to take the Immortal Alliance's "Longevity Pill" to temper the disciples' "Longevity Physique".

If he does not agree, the sponsorship will be cancelled, the training ground will be taken back, and these seven disciples will be taken away immediately.

Immortality? What a joke! Humans can live to be a hundred years old, which is already long enough. Why be greedy for so many more years?

The Immortal Alliance's obsession with the "path to immortality" is an open secret. They even spend a fortune to collect the corpses of long-lived individuals for research, continuing their charade despite being condemned by the people.

but.

In order to realize his lifelong ideal, Gui Fangfu, after struggling, finally gritted his teeth and agreed to this bizarre condition.

To cultivate a longevity physique, one needs a massive amount of elixirs and miraculous medicines.

Gui Fangfu was not without suspicion. He specifically instructed Yan Youzu, the only disciple among his disciples with a medical background, to carefully inspect every batch of pills sent by the Immortal Alliance.

Yan Youzu always assured him, "Master, rest assured, there's absolutely no problem with the elixir!"

Time turned page after page, and the disciples' cultivation improved visibly. The things Gui Fangfu had worried about did not happen, and the Immortal Alliance kept its promise and made the cultivation method public.

Unfortunately, very few people could understand it, and the manuals that were printed and distributed were even used as table leg mats.

Over time, Gui Fangfu developed a strong sense of loneliness. It seemed that only he and his eight disciples could comprehend this extremely fast cultivation method.

Furthermore, after Yan Youzu's daily inspections of the "offering pills," Gui Fangfu gradually lowered his guard against the Immortal Alliance and focused on leading his disciples in cultivation.

Among the disciples, there was a young man named Beichenxing who was the most diligent. He was like a bull, didn't like to ask questions, cultivated the most diligently, and consumed the most pills.

One day, Bei Chenxing suddenly told his master, Gui Fangfu, about his unusual condition: he suspected that he was dependent on elixirs.

Based on Gui Fangfu's understanding of this disciple, Bei Chenxing must have hesitated and held back before speaking, as all his fellow disciples were present at the time.

Gui Fangfu was startled, his doubts already arising. Yan Youzu, however, immediately stood up, his face beaming, and loudly congratulated him: "Congratulations! Congratulations! Beichenxing, this is a sign that your spiritual veins are constantly breaking through their limits and that you are about to achieve immortality! You should increase the dosage of the pills!"

Upon hearing this, everyone agreed that it made sense and echoed their sentiments. Amidst the praise, Bei Chenxing and Gui Fangfu's doubts vanished.

Bei Chenxing then threw himself into cultivation with even greater fervor, while Gui Fangfu silently observed Bei Chenxing's state.

By the time Gui Fangfu finally realized that Beichenxing was not in a good state, it was too late.

One late night, Gui Fangfu suddenly decided to visit the training grounds of his disciples. He found that Bei Chenxing's training ground was still lit up. He immediately thought of the strange feeling that Bei Chenxing had mentioned not long ago. So Gui Fangfu quietly went there and was shocked to find that Bei Chenxing was taking a large amount of pills, with Yan Youzu standing next to him with a smile.

At that time, Bei Chenxing's condition could only be described as terrifying. His muscles bulged, veins stood out, his skin was congested, and his eyes were red. He was making a very mechanical movement: he took the medicine bottle, tilted his head back, and gulped it all down. He tossed the empty bottle aside, then took the medicine bottle handed to him by Yan Youzu again, gulped it down, tossed it aside, and took it again.

Beichenxing secretly took elixirs.

A dozen or so bottles of pills? You ate them all in one go?

Gui Fangfu was filled with shock and anger. Whether it was due to the overwhelming impact or something else, he did not leap out in a rage. Instead, he returned to his dojo in a daze and remained in a daze for a long time until dawn broke. Gui Fangfu then secretly descended into the secret world with the pills provided by the Immortal Alliance every day to seek out other reclusive medical cultivators.

He sensed something was wrong, and when he asked, the truth struck him like a thunderbolt, leaving him utterly terrified—every bottle of pills contained an extremely well-hidden, slow-acting poison! Long-term use would cause the toxins to seep into the bone marrow and erode the inner core!

I've been scammed!

Gui Fangfu rushed back to the fairyland like a madman. After learning the answer, he seemed to be woken up by a slap on the head and flew back to the fairyland in a rage.

But instead of the smiling Yan Youzu, he was greeted by the taciturn Bei Chenxing, and he didn't see the other five disciples either.

The fairyland was already a sea of ​​fire. The North Star's poison had erupted and it was completely out of control. It was bleeding from its seven orifices, had lost its mind, and was roaring as it attacked indiscriminately.

When Gui Fangfu arrived, the Immortal Alliance had just invited the Five Star Emperors to join forces in suppressing Beichen Star.

"Perhaps because of Master's arrival, Bei Chenxing, who could single-handedly hold off many soldiers, suddenly regained a sliver of reason. Although blood was flowing continuously from Bei Chenxing's eyes and his pupils were no longer visible, I felt that he was looking at Gui Fangfu at that moment."

"Immediately afterwards, North Star completely collapsed."

"He screamed, clutched his head, and exploded to his death."

Qinglong's voice carried a kind of cold rationality. She paused, as if trying to recall the scene at the time, and continued, "The destructive power was accompanied by poison that had accumulated for hundreds of years. Once it self-destructed, it would spread. This was a contingency plan that none of us had expected—the poison would actually spread along with Beichenxing's self-destruction."

"In the blink of an eye, Gui Fangfu rushed forward and absorbed all the escaping deadly poison into his own body."

The "karma" that was said to have bound the bloodline of the Guifang family for six hundred years was actually the endless poison that the Guifang axe had absorbed to the very marrow of the bones.

However, he himself has been taking pills provided by the Immortal Alliance for a long time.

Gui Fang Wu Di understood, and continued Qing Long's words in a hoarse voice, "He didn't die, right? But he must have been cursed to death. That's why the people of the Fairy Realm hate Gui Fang Fu and made up this legend."

Gui Fangfu wasn't dead, but he was practically dead. The entire fairyland was filled with shouts and curses condemning Gui Fangfu.

When a wall falls, everyone pushes it down. Since ordinary people couldn't bring down the Immortal Alliance, they turned their resentment towards Gui Fangfu.

“He is indeed not dead. Beichenxing self-destructed, and the other six disciples either fled or scattered. Only Guifangfu was captured. I personally sent him to the Senluo Platform and into the Tianxian Court, watching his hair turn white overnight.”

Qinglong looked at Guifang Wudi and said slowly, "Beichenxing died by self-destruction, and half of the Immortal Realm was destroyed. There was no trace of life in the place where it was destroyed. Even I, who have the power of life, am powerless to save it."

"Only a small number of Immortal Alliance members who fled to the secret realm survived and testified in court as witnesses, confirming that what Gui Fangfu said was true..."

—Wait, the Immortal Alliance agent who escaped into the secret realm?

Qinglong suddenly paused in his speech.

Really?

The way Qinglong paused at the end of her sentence was a little strange. Tangxi subconsciously looked up at her and found that Qinglong's expression was not good, as if she had suddenly realized something strange.

Tang Xi frowned slightly, recalling what Qinglong had said earlier.

Gui Fang Wu Di chuckled self-deprecatingly, "So this is the origin of the story? They call this the legend of the origin of spiritual power, but in reality, they're making all cultivators consciously or unconsciously remember that Gui Fang Fu is a sinner for all time?"

"That's not entirely true."

Baihu offered a dry consolation, "Compared to the other six immortals, Guifangfu is quite responsible. I respect him as a true man."

"Moreover, I don't know if it was because he fled to avoid punishment, but Yan Youzu has been missing ever since most of the fairyland was destroyed."

After Baihu finished speaking, Qinglong's expression grew even more unpleasant.

Tang Xi, observing Qinglong's expression, understood immediately and voiced Qinglong's guess: "Is it possible that Yan Youzu has already cultivated the Longevity Physique and is now living a carefree life as a minor king in the secret realm?"

These words sent chills down everyone's spines.

"If...if that's really the case..."

Zhu Qianqian suddenly spoke softly, "If it's Yan Youzu, or the previous agent from the Immortal Realm... if it really was them who infiltrated the secret realm..."

"Such a cunning person might have been planning something all along."

"A plan! We have it! We have evidence!"

Bei Chen, who was traveling with him, suddenly had a flash of inspiration and shouted, "Golden Toad! Hey Tang Xi and I, do you two remember what the Golden Toad said?"

“…Nadan’s service.” Gui Fang Wu Di said with a sullen face.

"But what's the use of collecting demon cores?"