As the morning sun shone down, Gu Yu awoke from his cultivation.
He was going to the southwest today. In fact, Shi Polu had already called him two days ago.
The Kunlun Yuanmen qualifying competition is about to begin. Participants need to gather in the southwest. They can choose to go directly to the Dragon Department, which will arrange transportation to the southwest. Alternatively, they can go to the southwest on their own. However, the gathering date is October 9th.
It's been almost half a year since he was reborn. In that time, he went from an ordinary person to the peak of the First Stage of Qi Refining, and even with the help of the system, he was able to reach the Battle General Realm. This cultivation speed is terrifying to the extreme. However, he is still no match for the Source Gate and is nothing at all.
With Ri Jiu and He Wen by their side, Gu Yu and his two companions boarded the plane.
"Southwest Source Gate, here I come." Gu Yu murmured as he got off the plane, walked out of the airport, looked at the bustling streets and the surrounding high-rise buildings.
In his past life, the Southwest Origin Gate was a nightmare for Gu Yu and his companions. Long Aotian, the Golden Origin Armor, and countless other comrades-in-arms of Gu Yu all died within the Southwest Origin Gate. In particular, the death of Long Aotian became a long-lasting pain in Gu Yu's heart, so Gu Yu had no good feelings towards the Southwest Origin Gate.
If he were to become a god tomorrow, the first thing he would probably do is raze the Southwest Source Sect to the ground.
"Brother Yu, what are you thinking about?" He Wen asked, looking at Gu Yu who had suddenly stopped and was standing there, radiating hatred.
As for Ri Jiu, ever since Gu Yu sent her flying yesterday, she has ignored him completely, and every time she sees him, her eyes are filled with resentment.
"It's nothing, I just remembered some things from the past and couldn't hold back my emotions," Gu Yu replied.
"Oh!" He Wen nodded.
"Brother Yu, where do we go next?" They didn't know anyone in the Southwest, and He Wen didn't know Lu Yun either.
“Let’s go to a village,” Gu Yu replied after thinking for a moment.
In his past life, Gu Yu remembered that year when he came to the southwest in order to break through his cultivation level. At that time, the southwest had basically fallen. This once prosperous city was now full of ruins, and there were alien races that would occasionally sweep away human survivors.
At that time, Gu Yu's cultivation level was only at the General Realm. He obtained a rare and precious treasure, but it was discovered by the alien race, and he was hunted down by dozens of General Realm cultivators and one Marshal Realm cultivator.
Gu Yu fled all the way, and by then he was on the verge of death. He thought he was going to die there, but he was rescued by a few human survivors. They took Gu Yu back to a village, which allowed him to escape the pursuit.
The village was called Ancient Banyan Village, nestled in a dense forest of ancient banyan trees, extremely secluded, and thus never discovered by the alien race.
The houses in the village were all built of rough wood, seemingly blending into the dense ancient banyan forest. The villagers were all emaciated, clearly because the invasion of the foreign tribe had brought a great crisis to their lives. The food shortage left them wondering where their next meal would come from.
When Gu Yu was brought back to the village, he was already unconscious. His clothes were torn, and his body was covered in wounds; he looked horribly injured. The villagers did not give up on him; instead, they used their most precious medicines and food to treat him, and thus Gu Yu was saved.
Later, after Gu Yu recovered from his injuries, he stayed in Gu Rong Village for a long time. He originally planned to take these survivors to a refuge base, but unfortunately there were too many alien races outside. They would sweep through the village from time to time, which forced Gu Yu to give up. After all, there were only two cultivators among the thirty-odd people in the entire Gu Rong Village. If they encountered alien races on the road, the consequences would be unimaginable. Moreover, the more people he took, the bigger the target would be.
So Gu Yu decided to first go to the refuge base and bring some strong people with him, so that even if they encountered alien races on the way, they would be safe.
But when Gu Yu returned with his comrades, Gu Rong Village had already been attacked by the alien race. All thirty-odd people died in Gu Rong Village; not a single one survived.
These people were all Gu Yu's saviors, but they all died tragically. This became a great pain in Gu Yu's heart and one of the reasons why he came to the Southwest ahead of time. He wanted to see the simple and honest villagers of Gu Rong Village again.
"Brother Yu, do you have any acquaintances in the Southwest?" He Wen asked.
“They can’t be considered acquaintances,” Gu Yu replied after thinking for a moment. In his previous life, they would have been acquaintances, but now, the villagers didn’t recognize him at all.
"Oh!" He Wen was a little confused by Gu Yu's words.
The group took a taxi and traveled for more than a day before finally arriving at the edge of an ancient banyan tree grove.
Looking at the ancient banyan tree from his memory, Gu Yu's body trembled slightly, and tears welled up in his eyes.
He moved swiftly towards the depths of the ancient banyan forest, and Ri Jiu and He Wen exchanged a glance before following him immediately.
When a village appeared, Gu Yu stopped and slowly walked into it.
It's the same as I remember, yet different. The ancient banyan village in my memory wasn't as vibrant as it is now. There weren't as many villagers back then, and their eyes were filled with despair, unlike the energetic village they are now.
"Are you here for tourism?" At this moment, a burly young man with bronze skin saw Gu Yu and his two companions and asked.
"Mu Jie?" Gu Yu looked at the young man in front of him and couldn't help but exclaim. In his previous life, it was this Mu Jie and another Mu Xu who brought him back to the village. Mu Jie and Mu Xu were also the only two cultivators in Gu Rong Village at that time. They went out to find food and happened to encounter Gu Yu, who was on the verge of death.
"Huh?" Mu Jie was taken aback. "How do you know my name?"
Mu Jie sized up Gu Yu, seemingly wondering when he had seen Gu Yu before, which he had completely forgotten. Otherwise, how would the other party know his name?
“I…” Gu Yu suddenly came to his senses when he heard Mu Jie’s question. “I had a dream that I was here before and I even saw you. I never thought your name was really Mu Jie.”
"Huh!" Not only Mu Jie, but also Ri Jiu and He Wen, who were following behind Gu Yu, were taken aback.
A dream? Is it really that magical? They've never had a dream like this before. But looking at Gu Yu's serious expression, it didn't seem like he was just talking nonsense. And considering that Gu Yu came to Gu Rong Village as soon as he got off the plane, without even knowing the exact location, Ri Jiu and He Wen were actually starting to believe it.
"Could it be fate?" Mu Jie said at this moment.
"Yes! It must be fate." Gu Yu nodded.
"Since we're destined to meet, I must treat you well," Mu Jie said.
“Great! I was just thinking of staying here for a few days.” Gu Yu smiled, but he noticed a strange look in Mu Jie’s eyes, though Gu Yu didn’t pay it any mind.
Mu Jie is still a cultivator, but his cultivation level is hard to describe. He has filled about thirty blood apertures, making him only a mid-level martial artist.
The ancient banyan village is quiet and peaceful at night, and sleeping in a treehouse is even more refreshing, as if you have become one with nature.
“Gu Yu, I feel something is strange.” Ri Jiu, who had been ignoring Gu Yu, leaned close to Gu Yu’s ear and said, “The way these villagers are looking at us is strange. Although they seem warm on the surface, they are full of vigilance and hostility towards us.”
"Hmm!" Gu Yu nodded. He had also noticed this, which puzzled him. The villagers of Gu Rong Village in his memory were simple and kind, and they were willing to help him, a complete stranger, without reservation. They couldn't possibly be vicious criminals.
After all, looking at the villagers now, if you think about it carefully, they seem to be somewhat similar to the people in the legendary black shop. However, Gu Yu's intuition tells him that these people in front of him have not changed and are still the simple and kind people he remembers.
"Brother Gu, dinner's ready." Mu Jie's voice came from that moment.
“Okay, we’ll be right there.” Gu Yu replied, then led Ri Jiu and He Wen over.
At this moment, there were many delicious dishes on the wooden table in Mu Jie's house.
Gu Yu didn't stand on ceremony; he sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and started eating.
Seeing Gu Yu start eating right away, Ri Jiu and He Wen exchanged a meaningful glance. However, Gu Yu ignored them and continued eating with great relish, which made the two men frown.
Who has guests over for a meal and a huge crowd gathers outside to watch? Moreover, although these people concealed their knives very well, they could not escape the perception of a Cone Realm cultivator's primordial spirit. They absolutely did not believe that Gu Yu had not noticed this.
"Gentlemen, these are all local specialties. You can't usually find them anywhere else. They're very delicious," Mu Jie said when he saw that Ri Jiu and He Wen hadn't started eating.
"Oh?" Rijiu nodded, then her gaze fell on a plate of wild vegetables. "This vegetable seems to be poisonous!"
Upon hearing Ri Jiu's words, Mu Jie's expression immediately changed, and even the people surrounding the house outside stiffened.
“Girl, it’s not poisonous. We eat this dish all the time. If it were poisonous, our entire village of dozens of people would have been poisoned to death long ago,” Mu Jie explained instantly.
"Really?" Rijiu looked at Mujie with a teasing gaze that made Mujie pause for a moment, his eyes filled with infatuation. "Then come and have a bite, let me see."
"Okay." Mu Jie's eyes were glazed over. He picked up his chopsticks, took a bite of wild vegetables, and put them in his mouth.
"Alright, stop fooling around." At this moment, Gu Yu suddenly shouted coldly, and a faint energy ripple swept out. Mu Jie's dazed eyes immediately cleared. He looked at the wild vegetables he picked up, somewhat confused. When he looked into Ri Jiu's eyes, he had already fallen under Ri Jiu's charm. Gu Yu's cold shout just now directly broke the charm she had cast on Mu Jie.
"What do you mean?" Ri Jiu suddenly looked at Gu Yu with some indignation. It was obvious that the dish was poisoned, but Gu Yu hadn't noticed.
"Eat it. The poison in this dish won't work on someone at the Cone Realm." Gu Yu transmitted his voice to Ri Jiu and He Wen.
"Hmm?" Ri Jiu was a little puzzled. She didn't understand why Gu Yu had discovered the poison so early on, yet still ate it with such relish. Given Gu Yu's personality, how could he do that? The poison would have already taken effect.
"Don't worry about it. I'll pretend to faint in a bit, and you guys will faint too," Gu Yu transmitted his voice.
Rijiu and Hewen still didn't understand what Gu Yu was thinking when they heard what Gu Yu said, but Hewen didn't hesitate and picked up his chopsticks to eat.
Seeing He Wen start eating, Ri Jiu hesitated for a moment and then started eating as well. Since it was useless against the Cone Realm, she might as well eat it. She wanted to see what Gu Yu was up to.
The three of them ate for about five or six minutes when Gu Yu suddenly slumped onto the table and fell asleep. He Wen saw this and followed suit.
At this moment, Ri Jiu looked at Mu Jie, who quickly turned his head away, not daring to meet her gaze.
"Poisoned? You actually poisoned me." As she spoke, Ri Jiu stood up shakily, pointed a trembling finger at Mu Jie, and the next second, she collapsed to the ground. "I... I will not let you get away with this." Then she pretended to faint.
"How was it? My acting was pretty good, right?" Ri Jiu transmitted her voice to Gu Yu.
Gu Yu ignored Ri Jiu, which left him speechless.
Upon seeing that all three had fainted, the people outside rushed in.
"Chieftain, they've all been drugged and knocked unconscious. Should we kill them?" one of them asked Mu Jie.
"Tie them up first, and remember to tie them up several times, make sure they're tightly bound. These people are not simple," Mu Jie said after a moment's thought.
"Yes, clan leader." The group took out ropes and tied Gu Yu and the other two up tightly, three times inside and three times outside.
"Gu Yu, what are you up to?" Ri Jiu asked Gu Yu again via telepathy. They had been tied up, but Gu Yu remained unmoved.
"I don't know why, but I always feel like they didn't come for our divine artifact," Mu Jie said, frowning.
“Clan chief, our place is very secluded, and few cultivators come here. Those three must have been sent by the Hundred Wood Sect, and their goal is our divine artifact,” a middle-aged man said. “During this period, the Hundred Wood Sect has been constantly testing us. If it weren’t for the fact that the old clan chief can communicate with the divine artifact and protect us, I’m afraid all of our hundred-member village would have died at the hands of the Hundred Wood Sect.”
"Sigh! Now we can only wait for them to wake up and interrogate them," Mu Jie said. "If they weren't sent by the Hundred Wood Sect and were just passing by, wouldn't we have wrongly killed innocent people?"
“Alright!” The middle-aged man nodded.
Just then, a young man walked in, looking somewhat flustered.
"Go quickly and inform the old clan chief that the people from the Hundred Wood Sect have come again."
"Here we go again?" Mu Jie frowned, then hurriedly walked out of the house and headed deeper into the banyan forest at the back of the village.
At this moment, five figures entered the Ancient Banyan Village. However, after entering the village, they became cautious, as if they were wary of something.
"Senior Brother Wan, I don't seem to feel that powerful pressure this time?" a young man said timidly, looking around.
“My father said that the pressure has been getting weaker and weaker over the years, as if the divine object has exhausted its power. The previous times I came, I felt that the pressure was getting weaker and weaker. This time it seems to have almost disappeared,” said the middle-aged man known as Senior Brother Wan.
"Wan Hai, what are you doing here? Aren't you afraid of angering the divine beings and having them annihilate you?" An old man stepped forward and pointed at Wan Hai.
"Mu Chuan, don't try to scare me. I've been here many times, and I haven't seen the divine object kill me. Besides, that divine object originally belonged to my Hundred Wood Sect. It's your Gu Clan that's breaking the rules and taking the divine object for themselves," Wan Hai said.
"Nonsense! You've completely turned black into white! Back then, your Hundred Wood Sect Master, Wan Jin Kui, was seriously injured. The old patriarch couldn't bear to see him die, so he used a divine artifact to save his life. After he recovered, instead of being grateful for the old patriarch's kindness, he even had the idea of seizing the divine artifact. This is simply repaying kindness with enmity!" Mu Chuan said indignantly.
"Hmph! You're the one spouting nonsense and twisting the truth. It was clearly your old patriarch who took advantage of our sect leader's serious injuries and life-threatening condition to steal the divine artifact and claim it as his own. And you shamelessly call him our sect leader's savior. Bah, shameless!" Wan Hai said.
"You..." Upon hearing this, Mu Chuan trembled with anger.
"Grandpa, don't be angry. You can't argue with such a shameless person," a young man stepped forward to help Mu Chuan up and comfort him.
"The pressure hasn't increased, and it has no power to attack us. It seems that the divine object has truly exhausted its power," Wan Hai said, looking around.
“It seems so. When I came here before, I would feel extremely painful even after just a few breaths, let alone stay for this long. But now I’m perfectly fine,” said a young man next to Wan Hai.
"Qu Sheng, go and try killing one of them," Wan Hai said to the young man who had spoken.
"Senior Brother Wan, I..." Upon hearing Wan Hai order him to kill someone, Qu Sheng shuddered and stammered.
"Useless trash, you don't even dare to do this." Wan Hai cursed. To be honest, he didn't dare either. There had been times when the pressure weakened before, and they thought it was because the divine object's power had been exhausted. But when they killed people, they were directly killed by the divine object and instantly turned into ashes, leaving nothing behind.
At this moment, Wan Hai was caught in a dilemma. The best way to test whether the divine object still possessed power was to slaughter everyone here. However, if the divine object still possessed power, then those who had slaughtered in the past would be reduced to ashes, their deaths gruesome and tragic.
Normally, if he asked these people to do something, they would do it respectfully, but not now, because it concerned their lives.
At this moment, Wan Hai's eyes were darting around as he tried to think of a solution. His gaze fell on Qu Sheng beside him, and the next second, he suddenly reached out and grabbed Qu Sheng's shoulder.
"Senior Brother Wan, what are you doing?" Qu Sheng's expression changed drastically. He tried to break free from Wan Hai's grasp, but to no avail.
"Qu Sheng, if you don't go forward and kill someone, I'll kill you right now. I mean what I say," Wan Hai said with a sinister expression.
At this moment, Qu Sheng's face turned even uglier than a chrysanthemum; he was doomed either way! The other three who had come with Wan Hai also changed their expressions upon seeing Wan Hai's actions.
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