You Deliberately Got Close to Me Because of This?

Gu Clan—Imperial Daughter!

Hearing that title again,

everyone snapped out of their shock and looked at Gu Xun'er with fear and lingering dread.

All this time,

they had treated Gu Xun'er as an ordinary person, an ordinary junior of the family.

No one had expected

that Gu Xun'er came from another Ancient Emperor Clan,

and was even an Imperial Daughter!

At those words,

Xiao Zhan's entire body trembled. He recalled the scene from twelve years ago, when he had first met Gu Xun'er.

He had met the man who called himself the Gu Clan's patriarch.

He had kept this secret hidden for twelve years...

Xiao Zhan's reaction

naturally did not escape Qing Luo's notice.

Qing Luo looked at Xiao Zhan and said, "Clan Leader Xiao, you helped the Gu Clan raise their daughter and conceal this secret. It seems you don't know the real reason this Gu Clan Imperial Daughter hid her identity, do you?"

"This Gu Clan Imperial Daughter went to such lengths because she wanted to find the Tou She Ancient God Jade that once belonged to the Xiao Clan, and steal the opportunity that originally belonged to the Xiao Clan!"

"What?!"

"Clan Leader... you already knew that Xiao Xun'er came from the Gu Clan?"

"You hid this for so long. What exactly were your intentions?"

"Clan Leader, is this true?"

For a moment,

everyone in the hall turned their eyes toward Xiao Zhan.

Listening to the waves of questioning, Xiao Zhan looked completely dazed.

Even now, he was not sure

whether he had known back then.

Perhaps he had not known, or perhaps he had known and deliberately chosen to ignore it. He knew that neither he nor the Xiao Family could afford to offend them...

"Miss, run!"

Just as everyone's attention was focused on Xiao Zhan,

a shadow in the corner silently enveloped Gu Xun'er.

Along with an aged voice,

Gu Xun'er's body, along with Xiao Yan's, was swallowed by the shadows.

Qing Luo seemed to sense something.

He looked toward the shadow enveloping Gu Xun'er and Xiao Yan in the corner, a teasing glint flashing through his eyes.

Before Qing Luo could speak,

Mo Tian Xing's figure suddenly vanished from where he stood.

At the same time,

the vast Dou Qi of a Four-Star Dou Zong erupted, and a palm as heavy as a mountain descended through the air.

Black Emperor Heaven-Splitting Hand!

Boom—

As terrifying energy poured forth,

the shadows spreading through the hall and preparing to recede were instantly torn apart.

Ling Ying, hidden within, was merely at the Peak Dou Emperor level. He was utterly unable to contend against the power of a Four-Star Dou Zong.

One palm!

Just one palm,

and the Dou Qi around Ling Ying's body collapsed. He crashed heavily into one of the great pillars in the hall like a kite with its string cut.

As Ling Ying suffered severe injuries,

the shadows concealing Gu Xun'er and Xiao Yan instantly dispersed, and the two of them reappeared in the hall.

Seeing this,

Ling Ying forced himself to try to rise.

The next moment,

a mouthful of blood sprayed from his chest.

Only then did he realize how terrible his condition was. His chest had completely caved in, and his meridians had shattered inch by inch.

The only reason he had not died

was because a single breath still sustained him. Ling Ying collapsed back onto the floor and looked at Gu Xun'er with the weariness of one at death's door.

"Miss... the surrounding space has all been sealed... This old servant cannot contact the outside world..."

Blood continued to pour from Ling Ying's mouth.

His aura rapidly weakened, and he closed his eyes in despair.

Gu Xun'er's body trembled.

She stared at Ling Ying's corpse in disbelief.

It was not that she had never considered such a possibility, but everything had happened too suddenly,

leaving her at a loss as to how she should respond...

The hall instantly fell deathly silent.

They looked at the corpse on the ground, then at Gu Xun'er.

Besides shock,

their eyes now held even more vigilance and wariness.

Xiao Zhan stood frozen in place.

Looking at the Gu Clan shadow guard lying on the ground with his aura fading, the last trace of hope in his heart was utterly shattered.

"Since you know I am the Gu Clan's Imperial Daughter, you still dare attack me? Aren't you afraid of the Gu Clan's retaliation?"

Gu Xun'er released Xiao Yan's hand.

The bearing of a Gu Clan Imperial Daughter spread outward as she stared at Qing Luo with icy eyes and questioned him.

"Heh..."

Qing Luo seemed to have heard something amusing.

"You plotted against the Xiao Clan's Tou She Ancient God Jade. If word of this reaches the other Emperor Clans, what do you think the consequences will be?"

"The Gu Clan would be desperate to keep this matter covered up. Do you think the Gu Clan would offend me over a Peak Dou Emperor?!"

Qing Luo spoke with complete ease,

showing no concern whatsoever about offending the Gu Clan.

Because the Gu Clan had already offended him. What he was doing now was taking revenge!

"You're talking nonsense! The Gu Clan has never plotted against the Xiao Clan's Tou She Ancient God Jade, and I have never taken anything from the Xiao Clan. You, on the other hand, came to the Xiao Clan for their Tou She Ancient God Jade, didn't you?"

Gu Xun'er clenched her teeth and retorted.

"Don't make yourself sound so noble!"

"If it wasn't for the Tou She Ancient God Jade, why hide your identity? Why not remind the Xiao Clan to protect this jade properly?"

"The reason you did not make a move was because you had not found it yet."

At this point,

a smile appeared on Qing Luo's face as he continued,

"But I am different. I will not take the Xiao Clan's jade. Not only that, I will help the Xiao Clan protect it and let the Xiao Clan become one of the Ancient Emperor Clans again!"

"Want to know why? Because I was once acquainted with the Xiao Clan's ancestor, Xiao Chen!"

Sure enough,

after hearing Qing Luo's words,

the Xiao Clan members in the hall all revealed excited expressions.

They knew it.

This senior's arrival at the Xiao Family had to be connected to the Xiao Family somehow.

"Who exactly are you?"

Gu Xun'er found the young man before her increasingly impossible to fathom.

Among the Ancient Families,

she had never heard of anyone like him. Other than the Ancient Families, who else could have discovered the Xiao Clan's whereabouts?!

"Do you know why you could not find the Xiao Clan's Tou She Ancient God Jade?"

Qing Luo did not answer Gu Xun'er. Instead, he continued on his own,

"That is because you did not take the Gu Clan's jade."

As he spoke,

Qing Luo took out a piece of jade.

When Xiao Yan saw the jade in Qing Luo's hand, his heart jolted.

He found that jade extremely familiar. It looked very similar to the jade his father had given him...

"This is the Stone Clan's jade,"

Qing Luo continued unhurriedly. "The Tou She Ancient God Jades resonate with one another, and the Xiao Clan's jade is right beside you—on Xiao Yan."

What...

Hearing Qing Luo's words,

Gu Xun'er instinctively looked at Xiao Yan beside her.

At the head of the hall,

Xiao Zhan's entire body trembled. He had not expected that the other party would know where the Xiao Family's jade was as soon as he arrived.

Before Qing Luo,

it seemed that the entire Xiao Family had no secrets at all.

Noticing Gu Xun'er's gaze,

Xiao Yan took out the jade hanging at his chest. "Is this what you were looking for?"

"No..."

Seeing Xiao Yan's cold gaze, Gu Xun'er instinctively denied it.

Noticing the panic in Gu Xun'er's eyes,

a trace of self-mockery appeared in Xiao Yan's gaze. "So you hid in the Xiao Family for so long and deliberately got close to me because of this?"

"No,"

"Father told me to find the jade, but I..."

Gu Xun'er had just wanted to explain

when Qing Luo directly interrupted, "Gu Xun'er, your Xiao Clan conspiracy has already been exposed. How long do you intend to keep making excuses?"

"I'm not making excuses. I never intended to take the Xiao Clan's jade..."

"It's you! What exactly are you plotting?!"

Gu Xun'er's eyes locked firmly onto Qing Luo.

"Still trying to talk tough..."

Qing Luo's eyes gradually turned cold as he took a step toward Gu Xun'er.

Buzz—

The terrifying pressure of a One-Star Dou Saint bore down upon Gu Xun'er.