Free Web NovelChapter 313: Chapter 312: Flocking to Pay Homage
Li Qingshuang stayed at Daluo Palace for three days before leaving.
However, Gu Zhao soon found himself incredibly busy, as far too many people were coming to pay their respects.
Purple Cloud Monarch brought two stalks of Thousand-Year Spirit Medicine and jointly refined two batches of Spirit Pills with Taoist Ming Chong. Xu Jing and his wife introduced two or three minor powers from Qianshan Prefecture, who came to Daluo Palace to pay their respects and offer gifts. Lu Zhengtang, who lived by the Yongding River, also brought two friends.
These were all people he knew from before, and their Dao Practice was profound. Since Gu Zhao was on the mountain, he naturally had to receive them personally.
Besides them, many others with weaker Cultivation also came to pay their respects. Gu Zhao met with them at his discretion as well. After all, even though these individuals wouldn’t join Daluo Palace, they were all benevolent Spirit Monarch Ghost Gods. In the future, they could be considered peripheral allies of Daluo Palace.
For dozens of days, Cuiluo Mountain was a bustling, lively scene. Mortals could only see colorful streaks of light flashing across the sky as countless extraordinary individuals respectfully ascended the mountain to pay homage, finally grasping the true might of Daluo Palace.
This was not just some Mage Sect that protected a small patch of land, but a major Sect whose power awed a vast region!
As a result, the Daluo Temples in the three prefectures of Changping, Bai Shi, and Qianshan, as well as in Earth Boundary County Town, received a continuous stream of Incense. Even the ordinary Daluo Temple in the county town was able to form Fragrant Fire Star Soldiers to protect the area.
...
"Sect Leader Gu, these are two of my friends. They were previously in secluded cultivation at Wuya Ridge. This is Ye Ruyan, and this is Miaoyun Princess."
On this day, Bi Jingjing of Green Water Pool came up the mountain with two other women, under the pretext of visiting her younger sister.
Ye Ruyan wore a light pink dress of smoky gauze. She had a light and graceful figure, with skin as clear and lustrous as jade. Above her slender, curved brows, her eyes held a watery glint, exuding a subtle, almost intangible allure.
Miaoyun Princess was dressed in a plain white, phoenix-tail skirt embroidered with cloud patterns. Her jet-black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and her eyes were as gentle as tranquil water. She exuded an air of simple elegance, projecting a faint sense of distance without seeming aloof.
Gu Zhao didn’t know Ye Ruyan, but he had heard of this Miaoyun Princess.
He’d heard that she was the best friend of Lady White Bone from White Bone Cave. He hadn’t expected her to now be friends with Bi Jingjing as well.
Gu Zhao nodded. "Greetings, Miss Ye, Miaoyun Princess."
"Greetings, Sect Leader Gu. I have long heard of Daluo Palace’s great reputation, but unfortunately, with no one to introduce me, I didn’t dare visit unannounced." Ye Ruyan let out a clear, charming laugh. "Now that Sister Bi has brought me, I finally have the courage to come."
Ye Ruyan also carried a faint trace of Evil Qi, but it wasn’t dense—about the same as Huang Yuan’s back then. It was likely from dealing with fools who didn’t know their place, or from lashing out at others when she was in a bad mood.
Faced with this situation, Gu Zhao wasn’t such a moral purist. After all, no one was perfect. If he were to kill every last one of the Demons and Ghosts who carried Evil Qi, there wouldn’t be many people left in the world.
Daluo Palace had always targeted the kind of evildoers who harmed living beings for the sake of their own desires.
But in contrast to Ye Ruyan, who still carried a faint trace of Evil Qi, Miaoyun Princess—the one who was best friends with Lady White Bone—was completely clean, without a single shred of Evil Qi on her.
’How did those two become best friends?’
With Gu Zhao’s current status, position, and Dao Practice Magical Power, there was no need to keep his question to himself. Besides, Bi Jingjing had brought Miaoyun Princess here with the clear intention of mediating any potential conflict.
"We were best friends back when we were at Wuya Ridge," Miaoyun Princess explained. "Later, she married the White Bone God Monarch. We didn’t cut off contact, but I couldn’t stand the way White Bone Cave operated, so I never left my mountain. She would occasionally visit my residence instead."
At this, Miaoyun Princess sighed. "She wasn’t like this back then."
Ye Ruyan gave a scornful laugh. "She knew what kind of person he was before she married the White Bone God Monarch. You can only say that’s her true nature, and she just never showed it back at Wuya Ridge."
Miaoyun Princess fell silent.
Just then, Bi Yingying and Chen Zhi arrived.
Upon seeing Bi Yingying, Bi Jingjing’s eyes lit up. "You’re about to have a breakthrough?"
Although Bi Jingjing and Bi Yingying were sisters, Bi Jingjing, as the elder, had a deeper foundation and greater natural talent. She had broken through to five hundred years of Dao Practice long ago and had only grown stronger since.
Bi Yingying’s talent, however, was slightly inferior. She was fond of miscellaneous pursuits like the four arts, and with her older sister to shelter her from all harm, her Dao Practice had stagnated. She had thought she would never break through the five-hundred-year limit in this lifetime.
But she had only just joined Daluo Palace, and already her aura was touching the ceiling, showing faint signs of an impending breakthrough.
’Is this due to the Harmony, or is Daluo Palace’s Dharma Gate just that incredible?’
At this thought, Bi Jingjing glanced subtly at Gu Zhao, feeling a pang of regret that she hadn’t gone to bed with him sooner to see if they could achieve Harmony.
Gu Zhao didn’t notice Bi Jingjing’s gaze and was also looking at Bi Yingying.
Bi Yingying nodded. "Martial Uncle Qingyuan explained the Tai Chi Dao to me. It inspired some insights, and I think I might be on the verge of a breakthrough."
Bi Jingjing had a moment of realization. It really was the Supreme Dharma Gate of Daluo Palace. She had heard some of it before, but since she wasn’t one of the Daluo Palace disciples, the content she heard was limited. While it had been helpful, the effect wasn’t nearly as obvious as it was for Bi Yingying.
Ye Ruyan took Bi Yingying’s hand. "Good girl. Once you break through, you must come and visit your big sister more often."
"Of course!" Bi Yingying agreed with a smile. Ye Ruyan was an old friend of Bi Jingjing’s, so Bi Yingying knew her as well.
After that, Bi Yingying and Chen Zhi took Ye Ruyan and Miaoyun Princess on a tour, while Bi Jingjing got down to business with Gu Zhao. "Sect Leader Gu, are you planning to make a move against the Ink Flood Dragon?"
Gu Zhao raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask, Palace Master Bi?"
Bi Jingjing shook her head. "Everyone in Daluo Palace, from top to bottom, despises evil. Dozens of your Elders roam the world, doing good and punishing wickedness. In just one short year, your reputation has crossed Wuya Ridge and spread all the way to Yazhou.
The Ink Flood Dragon may live in seclusion in Mo Lake most of the time, but he emerges every few years to devour tens of thousands of people. He and Daluo Palace are natural enemies. Furthermore, he is in Pingjiang Prefecture, and you are in Changping Prefecture. The two prefectures are right next to each other—how could you possibly coexist peacefully?
Before, people might have thought Daluo Palace was no match for the Ink Flood Dragon. But now that Sect Leader Gu has annihilated the Nether Fire Sect in a single battle, no one dares to predict who would win or lose in a fight between you two."
Gu Zhao pondered for a moment, then asked, "Hasn’t anyone tipped off the Ink Flood Dragon?"
Hearing this, Bi Jingjing laughed. "That Ink Flood Dragon has a vicious and cruel temperament. He lives in seclusion in Pingjiang Prefecture, wreaks havoc across southern Jiangzhou, and shows respect to no one. What kind of friends would he have to tip him off?"
Gu Zhao nodded. "Then I can rest easy."
Bi Jingjing couldn’t help but cover her mouth with a light laugh, equally curious. "Aren’t you afraid that if the Ink Flood Dragon gets word, he’ll come and attack Daluo Palace?"
Gu Zhao waved his hand dismissively. "If the Ink Flood Dragon comes, I’ll only be too happy."
...
Bi Jingjing and the other two women stayed at Daluo Palace for two days. During that time, Gu Zhao learned that Ye Ruyan was a spirit python who had gained sentience, while Miaoyun Princess was a Cloud-Piercing Flying Swallow.
Two days later, the three women left. Gu Zhao was finally free and could return to the modern world for a while.
