Even If the Flesh Rots, the Mouth Won't Yield

After saying that, Jiang Minghuang stared unblinkingly at Gu Changqing's expression.

In the upper realm, he might have been something of a dandy. He had no other talents to speak of, but when it came to controlling people's hearts, he had learned the craft to perfection from his old man.

Yet he strangely discovered that those words had not stirred even the slightest ripple in Gu Changqing's eyes.

The latter merely smiled calmly. "A colossal sect like Jade Void Palace was wiped out by my hand alone, cultivators falling into the mortal world like rain. Let alone the glory and wealth you're promising."

Jiang Minghuang froze for a moment, but quickly realized that this fellow was boasting.

"You don't believe me?"

Jiang Minghuang asked earnestly. The other merely gave an indifferent smile, neither saying he believed him nor that he did not.

He simply lay among the trees, gazing at the pitch-black starry sky by himself.

Seeing that this tactic was useless, Jiang Minghuang began pestering him relentlessly again.

The jostling made the wound in Gu Changqing's chest ache fiercely. Unable to endure it, he agreed that he would go hunting for him in the future.

In truth, Gu Changqing's heart was utterly lost at present.

His younger sister, with whom he had once depended on each other for survival, had now gone to the Immortal Realm. In this world, there was only one thing he could not let go of.

That was the Blood Feud from all those years ago.

But now that his Dao foundation had been destroyed, how could he possibly cultivate again?

If he were not still waiting for his sister to return, Gu Changqing would even have found this world unbearably dull.

Since he had to wait for his sister's return anyway, he might as well keep this fellow company for a while. After all, the man had saved his life and had generously asked for nothing more than a meal. He himself could not be stingy.

A dandy from one of the upper realm's foremost noble houses.

Meeting a cockroach that had maxed out survival in the Lower Realm, their days naturally began to go smoothly.

Ever since Gu Changqing appeared, Jiang Minghuang had never again worried about food or drink.

The two traveled together through mountains and rivers. Two people without any destination drifted through the human world like this. Though not everything went their way, life was ultimately simple and joyful.

But people were creatures who could never be satisfied.

Until one day, Jiang Minghuang suddenly came to his senses.

He was the heir of the ancient Jiang Family, traveling through the Lower Realm, yet all he had managed was keeping his belly full. When he returned to the upper realm, he would not have enough face left to lose.

At the very least, when the five-year term ended, he had to show his old man that he was not a useless wastrel so hopelessly debauched.

At the very least, he needed a house to live in, wine to drink, several maids following at his side—something with the proper grandeur of the Jiang Family's young master.

Only...

Houses, maids, wine—none of them came free.

The fellow surnamed Gu might make delicious stewed meat, but with the little money they earned from hunting, how long would it take to make enough?

Thus, Jiang Minghuang set his sights on Jade Void Palace again.

After all, it had been a major Lower Realm sect with a legacy spanning tens of thousands of years. If they got lucky and found a cultivation technique or something, it would surely fetch a good price.

"Changqing, how about we make a trip to Jade Void Palace? Try our luck. These days of eating our fill every day and having nothing else to do are getting a little tiresome."

"Let's scram..."

Exactly two years after Jade Void Palace's destruction, the two arrived at this sacred land.

The sacred land of old had long since become ruins because of the battle between Gu Changqing and the White-robed Saint King.

And these ruins had been searched who knew how many times by that bunch of cultivators who had never seen the world.

Forget top-tier cultivation techniques—even the spirit roots and immortal herbs once planted by Jade Void Palace had all been dug away.

Cultivators did not necessarily have prettier table manners than mortals.

Yet perhaps the Jiang Family's young master possessed heaven-drowning luck, with smoke rising from his ancestors' graves, because he truly did find a cultivation technique.

What the technique recorded was a secret art.

The Jiang Family's young master burst into tears, threw his arms around Gu Changqing, and showered him with kisses.

"Changqing, our hard days are finally over!!"

Only...

Before he could even warm the cultivation technique in his hands—

Immortals descended to the mortal world from the Nine Heavens Above.

There were four or five cultivators in spotless white robes, men and women alike. The men were handsome, the women beautiful.

The cultivators treated Gu Changqing and the other as if they did not exist, their gazes fixed only on that cultivation technique. With a raised hand, they drew it away.

Jiang Minghuang jumped with rage, but faced with cultivators, there was nothing he could do.

Unable to swallow the anger in his heart, he could only talk trash.

"What a handsome little lady. Could you three be celestial maidens descended from the heavens?"

The three female cultivators burst into giggles at the little beggar's words, swaying like flowers trembling in the wind.

Jiang Minghuang was strikingly handsome. Even dressed as a beggar, he remained extraordinary, peerlessly dashing.

Gu Changqing had originally thought that this fellow intended to sweet-talk them into returning that ancient book.

But to his surprise, the fellow's next words were, "Such pretty little ladies—how about becoming this young master's maids? When this young master ascends someday, I'll let you experience the wonders of the Upper Realm too."

Cultivators cared deeply about their dignity.

A little beggar teasing their junior and senior sisters had already filled them with pent-up anger.

Now that the little beggar had insulted them outright, those two male cultivators naturally had no reason to indulge him.

They immediately sent a kick flying his way.

It knocked the Jiang Family's young master sprawling, blood spilling from his nose and mouth.

Gu Changqing found the sight both infuriating and amusing.

After nearly two years together, he had come to realize that this fellow had a touch of shamelessness in him.

His flesh could rot, but his mouth never would.

Whenever he saw a pretty woman, he could no longer move his legs.

It was not that he truly wanted to take advantage of them; he simply always had to step forward and ask: Would you be willing to become this young master's maid?

Handsome though he was, the women of this world were all terribly snobbish. Who would be willing to serve as a beggar's maid?

It would have been one thing if they were ordinary people. A beating would have been enough.

But why did this fellow still dare to act so shamelessly when facing cultivators?

With no cultivation at all, was he not afraid of being beaten to death?

At times, even Gu Changqing found it hard to understand. Was the dignity this fellow pursued with his mouth truly so important?

But.

Gu Changqing, who laughed uproariously every time this fellow got beaten, could not laugh at all this time.

The two male cultivators beat Jiang Minghuang up, yet still refused to let it go.

They actually ground their shoe soles against the Jiang Family young master's face and said, "Offer compensation, apologize, and call us Grandfather once. Then we won't hold it against you any longer."

Gu Changqing knew.

This Jiang Family young master, whose flesh could rot but whose mouth never would, was someone who valued his pride more dearly than his life.

To be trampled beneath someone's feet—what humiliation!

"That's enough."

"A beating is one thing. You've vented your anger, and he's taken his blows. To humiliate him further would be going too far."

After dissolving Cao Yuwei's attack this time, Mei Gongzi did not rush to counterattack. She merely stood where she was.

Cao Yuwei's brows furrowed slightly. Was this little girl's perception truly so keen? After he had formed armor from flames, he still had other means at his disposal. If Mei Gongzi had pressed forward with an attack, he was confident he could use that method to restrain her. Yet Mei Gongzi did not advance, forcing the ability he had been building up to interrupt.

The battle saber slashed out again. Its formidable saber intent was even stronger than before. Cao Yuwei moved with the blade, man and saber becoming one as he charged straight toward Mei Gongzi.

The Heavenly Secret Plume in Mei Gongzi's hand formed the Heavenly Mysterious Circle once more, and with an instantaneous teleportation, she shifted her position. Even as she dissolved her opponent's attack, she also broke his lock-on. In the next instant, she was already on the other side. A golden-red flash flickered across Cao Yuwei's body; had she not evaded so swiftly, another ability would undoubtedly have descended upon her.

A battle of attrition! It seemed she intended to compete with Cao Yuwei in endurance.

Yet no one doubted the origin of this ability. After all, the Peacock Demon Race's greatest innate gift was Stellar Transposition. Her technique bore the same marvelous resemblance to Stellar Transposition.

After dissolving Cao Yuwei's attack this time, Mei Gongzi did not rush to counterattack. She merely stood where she was.

Cao Yuwei's brows furrowed slightly. Was this little girl's perception truly so keen? After he had formed armor from flames, he still had other means at his disposal. If Mei Gongzi had pressed forward with an attack, he was confident he could use that method to restrain her. Yet Mei Gongzi did not advance, forcing the ability he had been building up to interrupt.

The battle saber slashed out again. Its formidable saber intent was even stronger than before. Cao Yuwei moved with the blade, man and saber becoming one as he charged straight toward Mei Gongzi.

The Heavenly Secret Plume in Mei Gongzi's hand formed the Heavenly Mysterious Circle once more, and with an instantaneous teleportation, she shifted her position. Even as she dissolved her opponent's attack, she also broke his lock-on. In the next instant, she was already on the other side. A golden-red flash flickered across Cao Yuwei's body; had she not evaded so swiftly, another ability would undoubtedly have descended upon her.

A battle of attrition! It seemed she intended to compete with Cao Yuwei in endurance.