13: Chapter 13 The Ring-Wearing Old Man

Xiao Chen scrambled and fled along with them.

The City Lord's Mansion guards threw down their weapons and scattered like startled birds.

Only the rustling sound of wind blowing over the snow remained on the street.

Inside and outside the Su Family's gates, hundreds of people froze in place.

Elder Master Su's hand holding his cane trembled violently, the wooden cane tapping out a chaotic rhythm on the stone slabs.

Gu Han turned around.

The members of the Su Family all took half a step back in unison.

"Sen... Senior." Elder Master Su bowed, his head nearly touching his knees.

His voice trembled, filled with extreme reverence.

"Thank you, Senior, for saving the Su Family from fire and water. All of us in the Su Family are willing to go through fire and water for you."

Gu Han ignored the old man.

A Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation at over a hundred years old held no investment value.

"Arrange a quiet courtyard for me," Gu Han uttered a few words. "Do not let anyone disturb me."

Elder Master Su nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, yes! Su Fu, quick, prepare the best Tingxue Pavilion on the back mountain!"

Gu Han stepped inside.

As she passed by Su Qianxue, she paused for a moment.

"In half an hour, come see me."

Su Qianxue knelt on one knee and cupped her fists.

"As you command."

Tingxue Pavilion.

There was no snow in the courtyard, and the bluestone slabs were swept clean.

Gu Han pushed open the door and sat down on a red sandalwood chair.

In the distant Eastern Desolation, at the Tianxuan Peak Hall.

Gu Sheng leaned against the main seat, pressing his fingers against his temples.

Controlling two bodies simultaneously while precisely managing spiritual power output was extremely taxing on the Divine Soul.

That "Severing Current" sword strike just now had drained a third of the spiritual power in the Clone's Qi Sea.

Qi Shan was at the Early Stage of the Golden Core.

The Ice Spirit Sect surely had Golden Core Late Stage experts, or even Nascent Soul Stage old monsters.

If the opponent came out in full force, this Clone with only a Qi Refining Great Perfection cultivation would definitely not be able to hold out.

It had to be settled quickly.

The System panel flickered on his retina.

[Ding.]

[Destined Daughter Su Qianxue has completely moved past the shadow of the broken engagement; her fate trajectory has undergone a significant shift.]

[destiny points +500.]

[Current Destiny Point balance: 1800 points.]

Enough to draw once from the destiny card pool.

Gu Sheng did not draw a card immediately.

He switched all his attention back to his Clone, Gu Han.

He needed to completely squeeze every bit of value out of Su Qianxue.

Not just destiny points, but also that old thing behind her.

Half an hour later.

Extremely light footsteps were heard from outside Tingxue Pavilion.

"Enter," Gu Han said.

The wooden door was pushed open.

Su Qianxue had changed into a clean set of azure practice robes, her hair held up by a wooden hairpin.

She walked to a spot three paces in front of Gu Han and stopped.

Her knees bent.

Her knees thudded heavily onto the bluestone floor.

A dull sound rang out.

Her upper body leaned forward, her forehead touching the cold ground.

"Disciple Su Qianxue pays respects to Revered Master!"

This was the most solemn apprenticeship ceremony in the cultivation world.

Gu Sheng twitched a facial muscle on his main body's side.

Accept a Disciple?

Tianxuan Peak was currently a powder keg that could explode at any moment.

Taking in a Destined Daughter who came with a trouble-attracting aura was like adding dry wood to a powder keg.

Besides, this Clone couldn't teach her anything at all.

"Get up." Gu Han's voice had no ups or downs.

Su Qianxue did not move.

"If Revered Master does not reject me, Qianxue is willing to serve by your side and will never betray you!"

"I said, get up." Gu Han tapped her finger on the tabletop.

An invisible force of Taiyin Spiritual Power supported Su Qianxue's knees, forcibly lifting her up.

Su Qianxue stood straight, her hands having nowhere to go.

"I do not take Disciples." Gu Han looked at her.

Su Qianxue's chest heaved, her fingers clenched, and her knuckles rubbed together.

"Does Senior think my Aptitude is dull?"

Gu Sheng quickly went through a set of rhetoric in his mind.

Dimensional reduction strike, narrowing the distance.

"Your Aptitude is not bad." Gu Han stood up and walked to the window. "But the Dao I cultivate is not one you can walk. Taking you as a Disciple would only cut off your path."

Su Qianxue froze in place.

"Then why did Senior..."

"You are pleasing to my eye." Gu Han turned around. "From now on, call me Sister."

Su Qianxue was completely dazed.

A mysterious powerhouse who casually crippled a Golden Core Stage Elder wouldn't take her as a Disciple, but wanted her to call her Sister?

The cultivation world had always respected strength above all; being treated as an equal like this was completely beyond her comprehension.

"This... this Junior does not dare." Su Qianxue lowered her head.

"In my, Gu Han's, way of doing things, I don't need to care whether you dare or not." Gu Han stepped closer. "Call me."

Su Qianxue's throat moved.

"Gu... Sister Gu."

[Ding.]

[Destined Daughter Su Qianxue has experienced strong 'emotional' fluctuations.]

[destiny points +200.]

Gu Sheng tapped the armrest with satisfaction on his main body's side.

Two hundred points for free.

Gu Han nodded.

"Since you've called me Sister, let's speak openly about some things."

Gu Han's gaze shifted down, stopping at Su Qianxue's chest.

A red string hung there, with an ancient-looking black ring tied to it.

Su Qianxue looked down, following Gu Han's gaze.

Her heart skipped a beat.

The ring was her greatest secret.

"Your cultivation regression and destroyed Meridians over these three years were not due to an illness." Gu Han uttered a few words. "You were sucked dry."

Su Qianxue looked up abruptly.

She had only confirmed this two days ago; the teacher inside the ring had admitted it himself.

How could this Sister Gu in front of her point it out so directly?

Gu Han ignored Su Qianxue's shock, her gaze firmly locked onto that black ring.

"Come out. Don't you find it shameful to linger on in a little girl's jewelry?"

The room was deathly silent.

Su Qianxue instinctively covered her chest and took half a step back.

The ring had no reaction.

Gu Sheng called up the circulation path of the "Cold Moon True Interpretation" in his mind.

The Clone, Gu Han, raised her right hand.

She pressed her index and middle fingers together, and a dazzling, ghostly blue light lit up at her fingertips.

The extremely cold Taiyin Spiritual Power instantly enveloped the entire room.

The teacup on the table instantly froze and cracked.

"If you don't come out, I'll freeze this ring into powder along with you." Gu Han pointed her fingertip forward, aimed right at Su Qianxue's chest.

"Aiyoyo! Don't do it! This old man will come out!"

An aged shout, tinged with a bit of exasperation, exploded in the room.

A faint grayish-white light shimmered on the black ring.

The light converged beside Su Qianxue.

It gradually condensed into the translucent figure of an old man with white hair and beard.

Danqingzi floated in mid-air, his hands protecting his chest, staring intently at Gu Han.

Su Qianxue gaped, looking at Danqingzi and then at Gu Han.

"Teacher... you..."

Danqingzi cleared his throat twice and straightened his illusory hem.

"Girl, this Fellow Daoist Gu has heaven-defying methods; it's only natural that this old man's meager concealment couldn't hide from her."

Danqingzi turned to Gu Han and cupped his hands.

"This old man is Danqingzi. In life, I was from the Central State..."

"I'm not interested in who you were when you were alive," Gu Han interrupted his self-introduction.

On his main body's side, Gu Sheng quickly analyzed the old man's reality.

Remnant soul state.

No Physical Body.

He relied entirely on absorbing Su Qianxue's spiritual power for nourishment.

In this state, even if he were a Great Emperor in his past life, he wouldn't be able to cause any waves now.