Was slaying the Gu Diao AI-generated?

She paused, then said softly, "But I never wanted to make him mine. I just... wanted to see more of him. Even just watching him feels... pretty nice."

Li Li looked at her, an ache rising in her heart.

She thought of her own marriage, of the man who had once promised to love her forever but now wanted a divorce.

"Jingwen, do you think true love really exists?"

Cai Jingwen thought for a moment, then said softly, "I think so. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"It's just that some people are destined to be admired from afar, not to be yours."

Li Li fell silent.

After a long while, she gently took Cai Jingwen's hand. "Jingwen, no matter what, I'll be here for you."

Cai Jingwen clasped her hand in return, her eyes reddening slightly.

"Thank you, Li Li."

Outside the window, moonlight flowed like water.

The night in the Northern Frontier was quiet and profound.

Early the next morning, Chen Hao and his companions said goodbye to Hui Ming and continued their journey.

Accompanied by several young monks, Hui Ming saw them all the way to the temple gates. He pressed his palms together and bowed deeply. "Benefactor Chen, take care on your journey. Should you ever need us, all of Esoteric Buddhism will spare no effort to help."

Chen Hao nodded. "Take care, Master."

He turned and got into the car.

Following behind him, Cai Jingwen glanced back. Hui Ming stood in the morning light, the empty sleeve of his severed arm fluttering in the breeze, yet his face was filled with peace and gratitude.

She looked away and climbed into the car.

The car started and drove off into the distance.

Hui Ming remained where he was, watching it disappear into the morning mist. He did not leave for a long time.

Standing beside him, Hui Jing suddenly asked, "Khenpo, do you think we'll ever see him again?"

Hui Ming was silent for a moment before replying slowly, "If fate wills it, we will meet again."

He turned and walked back into the temple.

Morning sunlight spilled down, gilding the ancient temple in gold.

The prayer wheels turned with a faint sound, as though offering blessings to the departing travelers.

Sunlight streamed through the car windows as Chen Hao and his companions left Tashi Choling Monastery and continued north.

The car emerged from the valley and returned to the grassland highway. The scenery outside remained magnificent, with herds of cattle and sheep dotting the lush green meadows and distant snowcapped mountains gleaming gold in the morning light.

In the back seat, Yang Wanqing rubbed her still-sleepy eyes and instinctively took out her phone, tapping open the Doule livestreaming app.

"We finally have a signal!" Chen Siyao exclaimed excitedly, holding up her phone. "The signal at the temple was awful last night. The stream kept cutting out. Today, we've got to do a proper one!"

She opened her Doule livestream, and the moment she pointed the camera at the scenery outside, comments flooded in—

[I am the First Emperor: We're here! We're here! Finally live!]

[Yaoyao's Little Red Riding Hood: I waited all night! I thought big brother wasn't going to stream anymore!]

[Snow Blows at the East Gate: Good morning, Celestial Master Chen!]

[Cheers: Front-row seat to watch the legend.]

[Evening Breeze Meets the Woods: Wanqing, point the camera at Chen Hao! We want to see Celestial Master Chen!]

[Just here for the drama: I heard something huge happened yesterday? A Gu Diao? Walking on water? Is that for real?]

[Mr. Moneybags: I saw it in the trending topics and thought they were filming a movie.]

[This humble Taoist is starving mad]: Celestial Master Chen! You're finally live! I waited all night!

[Stop competing, I'm lying down first]: The whole internet's been looking for him! We found the real Celestial Master Chen! Hurry up and bow down!

[Milk tea without sugar]: I replayed that Kunlun clip eighteen times yesterday! The walking on water definitely wasn't special effects! Cutting down the Gu Diao with one strike was so cool!

[Future grad student]: Celestial Master Chen, are you taking disciples? I don't need a salary! Just room and board! I can serve tea, fetch water, and massage your legs!

[Genshin launcher]: Stop fighting over him! The Celestial Master is the teacher I was destined to have!

[Working is out of the question]: I suggest founding a Celestial Master sect right now! I'll be the first to join!

Trending topics?

Chen Siyao opened her phone.

Three dedicated topics firmly occupied spots on Doule's trending list:

#Chen Hao, a celestial master in the modern world# Exploding

#Slaying the Gu Diao at Kunlun# Hot

#Walking on water# New

"Bro! Bro, look!"

She suddenly leaned toward the driver's seat, her voice trembling with uncontrollable excitement and delight. "You... you've gone completely viral! The whole internet is losing it!"

Chen Hao's hand remained rock-steady on the steering wheel, his calm gaze fixed on the winding road ahead. The corner of his mouth merely lifted slightly, and his voice was as placid as a lake. "Oh? I've gone viral?"

Yang Wanqing immediately leaned forward from the back seat as well. Their heads crowded together as they stared at Chen Siyao's phone screen, and a second later, both gasped.

The word "Exploding" beside the topic stood out in glaring red. The view count soared wildly by the minute, and in just one night, it had already surpassed a billion.

Chen Hao glanced at the wildly scrolling comments in the rearview mirror. With a light sweep of his spiritual sense, he took in the discussions across the entire internet, his expression remaining unruffled.

In this age of declining Dharma, ordinary mortals rarely witnessed true cultivation power. It was only natural that seeing feats capable of moving mountains and slaying demons would cause a sensation.

Chen Siyao cleared her throat, trying to steady her excited voice as she faced the camera. "Hello, everyone... We're continuing our road trip today. We only just went live, so we weren't expecting such an enthusiastic welcome."

She turned the camera toward the window. "Look at this scenery. Isn't it beautiful?"

The viewers were having none of it:

[I am the First Emperor: We don't want scenery! We want Celestial Master Chen!]

[Yaoyao's Little Red Riding Hood: We want to see big brother!]

[Not leaving till I see him: What's so great about scenery? I want to see the legend who slew a demon with one strike.]

[Wide awake asleep: Wanqing, have you gotten full of yourself? How dare you keep Chen Hao from us?]

Looking at the screen full of comments, Chen Siyao grinned smugly. "Don't worry, everyone. We're continuing our Northern Frontier road trip today. My brother's driving, so we can't distract him."

[Little cutie: Celestial Master Chen doesn't have to run the stream himself. Come on, show us!]

Chen Siyao rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. I'll show you."

She pointed the camera at the driver's seat. Chen Hao held the steering wheel with one hand, his other arm resting on the window. Sunlight fell across him from the side, outlining his sharply defined profile. The Wolf Cub lay on his lap, sound asleep.

The comments instantly erupted:

[Strawberry milkshake lover: Handsome! So handsome! That's my future master!]

[Yaoyao's Little Red Riding Hood: Big brother's profile is lethal! I'm dead!]

[Yifan: That presence is incredible.]

[Don't be such a goof: Even driving, the legend looks so cool.]

[Evening breeze: The Wolf Cub is adorable! I want to pet it!]

[Just here for the drama: This is the legend who slew a demon with one strike? He looks so young.]

Yang Wanqing smiled. "Everyone, you saw what happened yesterday, right? Brother Hao is amazing!"

[I am the First Emperor: We saw it! Walking on water! Slaying a demon with one strike! I dropped straight to my knees!]

[Yaoyao's Little Red Riding Hood: I recorded the stream! I've watched it over a dozen times! So cool!]

[Snow Blows at the East Gate: Even my grandpa said that sword light was impossible.]

[Drama watcher number two: Wait, is everything you're saying real? It wasn't special effects?]

[Yeah, right: I was wondering the same thing. Was this really a livestream? They weren't filming a TV show?]

[Just here for the drama: I'm skeptical too. What special effects can't people put into short videos these days?]

More and more skeptical comments appeared.

Yang Wanqing grew agitated. "What special effects? What TV show? We livestreamed the whole thing, okay? Go watch the replay yourselves!"

[Skipping dinner]: You can tamper with a replay too.

[Yeah, right]: Exactly. What can't AI generate these days?

[Just here for the drama: It's not that I don't believe you, but this is too much. Walking on water? Slaying a demon with one strike? That's more wuxia than a wuxia movie.]

Chen Siyao choked with anger. "You..."