"What about Chief Qiao?"
Gu Hui said regretfully, "He died!
Ever since his two wives passed away, my elder brother had burdens weighing on his heart. And with no path to the innate realm, he could only explore it on his own.
My elder brother should have lived to be one hundred and fifty or sixty. Having lived so long, he had come to see through many things, even more so life and death.
In the end, his lifespan ran out, and he passed away peacefully while seated in meditation!
I wasn't there when he passed. I only heard it from others.
At the time, I had gained some insight in the Western Regions and was in secluded cultivation deep within the Kunlun Mountains."
Hong Qigong's expression darkened at those words.
"So that's how it was.
Sigh, this junior also wishes to break through. But throughout the ages, how many have managed to break through to the pinnacle of the innate realm? Calling them as rare as phoenix feathers would not be an exaggeration.
Though this junior is confident that my aptitude is decent, compared with Huang Shang, who created the Nine Yin Manual, Hero Wang Chongyang, Heroine Lin Chaoying, and Dugu Qiubai, whom you mentioned, Senior, I still fall short.
Even they failed. How could this junior possibly succeed?"
Gu Hui asked, "Wang Chongyang failed?"
"Yes. A few years ago, he failed while attempting to break through to the innate realm. His meridians shattered, he suffered a qi deviation, and he passed away.
Not long after his death, Heroine Lin too became despondent. Lovesickness made her ill, and she followed him into death."
Gu Hui frowned and muttered to himself, "They all died? Then didn't I save them for nothing? Even if I had saved them, they would only