Yun Wan'er was sprayed mercilessly and relentlessly, causing her carefully painted face to instantly lose all color, turning as white as paper.
Gu Xuanchen's face turned ashen. He subconsciously activated his divine sense, trying to probe the depth of the green bamboo figure in front of him. However, his usually invincible divine sense swept over the area, only to find an unfathomable void.
Gu Xuanchen's heart sank suddenly.
In the cultivation world, an ironclad rule is that those one's divine sense can detect are either at the same cultivation level or at a lower level.
If the opponent's cultivation level is far higher than yours, then the area that your divine sense can reach is a chaotic mess, making it impossible to judge their realm.
The person in front of me has a cultivation level that is at least at the Nascent Soul stage!
But how could that be? A Nascent Soul cultivator could easily become a powerful elder or even found a sect in any top-tier sect in Lingzhou.
But Gu Xuanchen had never heard of this person before. What exactly was the background of Shen Zhaozhao's unknown new sect?!
A sense of unprecedented apprehension and disbelief instantly overwhelmed Gu Xuanchen's rage.
He gripped the sword tighter and tighter, his natal sword humming incessantly, but the tip of the sword ultimately failed to advance even an inch further.
A Nascent Soul cultivator is utterly superior to a Golden Core cultivator; to fight them head-on is tantamount to suicide.
Wan Qianqiu clearly had no patience to watch Gu Xuanchen struggle with his inner conflict: "Alright, alright, look at how frustrated you are, I'm not going to waste my breath on you guys anymore, it's boring."
He raised his hand, casually pointing his thumb backward, as if he were rushing to a party: "Let the younger generation handle their own affairs. Let's not meddle here."
"I know there's a wild lake behind Yunqi City. Let's go there and have a fight!"
Gu Xuanchen: "???"
Before he could even process the doubts and surprises he had about the Nascent Soul stage and the sect's background, he was completely stunned by this outrageous "challenge."
What is all this nonsense?!
However, before Gu Xuanchen could react, Wan Qianqiu grabbed his collar. The action was so practiced that it was clear she had a story behind it.
"What are you doing?!"
Gu Xuanchen felt an overwhelming force that he could not resist. As a Golden Core cultivator at the Great Perfection stage and the chief disciple of the Tianyan Sect, he was like a helpless chicken, lifted up by the other party!
"Let's go!"
With a soft shout, Wan Qianqiu grabbed the struggling Gu Xuanchen, and her emerald figure transformed into a streak of light, disappearing into the horizon with a "whoosh" amidst countless stunned gazes.
Only Gu Xuanchen's angry and shocked cry of "Let me go—" echoed in the air above the square for a few breaths before completely dissipating.
On the high platform, only Yun Wan'er, pale-faced and swaying, and a group of Tianyan Sect disciples who were completely dumbfounded and leaderless remained.
Without Gu Xuanchen, the only Golden Core cultivator at the Great Perfection stage, to hold things up, facing the various cultivators eyeing them menacingly in the plaza, and Pei Lang, the one with the highest cultivation level who was standing opposite with his arms crossed and a look of anticipation on his face...
The remaining disciples of the Tianyan Sect felt a chill inexplicably creep down their necks.
The leading disciple, clinging to the last vestiges of Tianyan Sect's pride, uttered two weak but forceful words in the direction of Shen Zhaozhao and Pei Lang: "Fine... you do have some skill! We'll remember this humiliation! Once our sect elders emerge from seclusion, we will... we will exact our revenge on your sect one by one!"
After saying that, they didn't care about anything else. The group practically dragged and pulled the distraught Yun Wan'er away in a disheveled and hasty retreat amidst countless scornful and mocking gazes.
The bustling square suddenly fell into an eerie silence.
Shen Zhaozhao and Pei Lang stood there a few steps apart, staring at each other.
Pei Lang was still reeling from the shock of his "fallen love," his expression somewhat blank.
Shen Zhaozhao blinked and broke the silence first.
Her movements were extremely natural and fluid, without the slightest bit of embarrassment, as she directly extended her hand to Pei Lang: "Give me the money."
Pei Lang snapped back to reality, his face a mixture of bewilderment and shock: "???"
What kind of money?
Why should I give you money?!
Shen Zhaozhao said confidently, "My senior brother has the appearance of an immortal and unfathomable cultivation. He specially put aside his important matters and traveled thousands of miles to save your elder’s life. Such a great favor, how can you not give him an appearance fee?"
Pei Lang: "..."
He looked at Shen Zhaozhao's face, which was filled with the message "Hurry up and pay, stop dawdling," and then thought back to the fierce way that "Immortal of Green Bamboo" had grabbed someone by the back of the neck, and that authentic Northeastern accent...
A deep sense of powerlessness welled up inside me.
Pei Lang sighed heavily, resignedly reaching for his flashy storage bag again, his movements as he pulled out spirit stones exuding a sense of utter despair: "...Your sect is full of lunatics."
...
That night, the news spread like wildfire throughout the teahouses and taverns of Yunqi City.
"Have you heard?! Gu Xuanchen from the Tianyan Sect, that arrogant guy who thinks he's on top of the world!"
What's wrong with him?
"Ugh! Don't even mention it, it was awful! I heard they dragged him to the wild lake behind the mountain, and that guy beat him up... tsk tsk tsk!"
"His clothes were tattered to shreds, his eyes were staring blankly, and he looked like he'd lost his soul. His contracted spirit beast's fur had been plucked out completely!"
"Really?! Gu Xuanchen? Isn't he the Golden Core Grand Perfection cultivator and the top disciple of the Tianyan Sect?!"
"How could it be false? Someone saw it with their own eyes. They said they were carried back to the sect overnight, and went into seclusion as soon as they got back. Those who know this know that they never fought anyone, but those who don't... would think that someone had done something to them!"
"Pfft—!" The cultivator drinking tea next to him spat out a mouthful of water.
The rumor spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of Yunqi City overnight, with each version becoming increasingly outrageous.
From the initial crushing defeat of Gu Xuanchen to the final horrific torture he suffered after his defeat, there are all sorts of versions, some that passed censorship and some that didn't.
Gu Xuanchen's invincible golden body was shattered into dust after this battle, and the face of the Tianyan Sect was also repeatedly rubbed into the ground.
With his downfall, the Tianyan Sect has completely lost its representative for this year's new talent competition.
After all, with the year-end campaign against evil cultivators underway, the elders were all lying in their caves recovering from their injuries, and Gu Xuanchen, the only one who could maintain appearances, had even broken himself from the effort.
However, Master Lingxiao is still the undisputed number one in the cultivation world, and his prestige remains.
After much deliberation, the City Lord's Mansion of Yunqi City ultimately dared not go too far, as it would offend him too much.
Thus, a jade slip granting exceptional permission was delivered to Yun Wan'er overnight.
However, this "favor" stands out particularly glaringly and ironically against the backdrop of the current uproar and heated discussions.
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