He Xian leaped back into the Gu Clan's ancestral grounds, concealing his aura.
This time, he did not go to the valley where the Yin-Yang Furnace stood.
Instead, the Gu Clan's old Supreme led him to an open expanse.
Built against the mountain was a cluster of metal halls, wreathed in drifting immortal mist.
This was the true heart of the Gu Clan. Only honored guests and visiting Immortals were escorted here. He Xian was being treated with the utmost courtesy.
"This hall of ours has borne the footsteps of so many great figures. It is a place worthy of pilgrimage for the powerful of later generations. In the previous era, peerless figures such as Immortal King Wuzhong and the Reincarnation Immortal King visited it."
The Gu Clan expert spoke with a nostalgic smile.
"It truly is magnificent!" He Xian praised. The metal hall held all manner of profound Dao resonances, traces that only peerless figures could have left behind during their stays.
The Gu Clan had moved this metal hall over from the Nine Heavens. Before that, it had indeed been an important site where the clan received Immortal Kings.
"And congratulations, young friend, on breaking through your lightning tribulation and entering the Self-Severing Realm. You truly have the makings of an ancient ancestor!"
Gu Yi, the Gu Clan's old Supreme, spoke with a radiant smile, as though He Xian were a descendant of their own clan.
"You flatter me, Supreme. I would never presume to stand alongside the ancient ancestors," He Xian said, shaking his head slightly.
"Bring out the immortal wine!" Gu Yi then ordered the refreshments served.
It seemed they intended to entertain him properly for some time.
Yet a hint of hesitation appeared between He Xian's brows. He had only intended to come offer his thanks before leaving. He had accepted their kindness, and he knew the proper courtesies.
His return after the tribulation was his acknowledgment of the favor he owed the Gu Clan.
"He, my boy." Suddenly, a figure emerged from the depths of the Gu Clan's grounds, changing He Xian's mind.
Inside the golden hall, a vat of wine was soon carried in. Carved from jade, it gleamed with a crystalline luster and flowing light, while an immortal charm lay concealed within it, its splendor returning to simple purity.
"What a rich aroma!" Even He Xian could not help praising it.
He felt tipsy before taking a sip, unable to withstand that fragrance.
"It looks like your Gu Clan really has brought out something good," He Xian remarked.
"With our realm's foremost talent gracing us with his presence, how could the Gu Clan dare give offense?" The figure who had emerged laughed heartily. He was Gu Rong, the Gu Clan's great cultivator who had once fought He Xian.
He had returned against all odds, his imposing aura now restrained, as though he had been broken and then forged anew.
The World Tree had held their souls captive. Even dying would have been difficult for them.
He Xian respected the defiance and courage this man had shown in the face of death. He did not mind giving him the respect he deserved.
"Would you be willing to follow me?" He Xian suddenly asked.
"Hahaha! Drink! Drink me under the table first, and we can talk about the rest afterward!" Gu Rong's answer was equally unexpected.
"Very well!" Soon, only the two of them remained in the great hall.
He Xian accepted a cup of immortal wine and raised it. Looking at the thick, jellylike liquid, he boldly downed it in one gulp.
"Do you know? I really think highly of you!" He Xian immediately grew a little tipsy. Disregarding his mere few decades of cultivation, he spoke with the world-weary air of an elder.
He put on no airs and stood on no ceremony, simply following his heart.
Indeed, as the foremost member of the Foreign Realm's younger generation, He Xian ought to have stood high above others, supreme and unrivaled, maintaining an air of great majesty.
Not carried himself with the abandon of someone who drank today while wine remained, never letting a golden goblet face the moon empty.
"Hahaha!" He Xian's manner made Gu Rong burst into laughter as well, and he drank cup after cup of immortal wine.
... "Do you know? When you defeated me despite your lower realm, I truly couldn't accept it. To think that I, a great cultivator of an Emperor Clan, had been beaten senseless by some wet-behind-the-ears brat. How ridiculous! Hahaha..." Gu Rong was drunk too, slumped back-to-back with He Xian on the floor of the golden hall.
This wine had been brewed for Immortals. It was not something two minor cultivators like them could withstand.
"Isn't that only natural?! I am a child of destiny, one of the anomalies of this world. I should sweep aside every foe!" He Xian shouted, his ambition soaring. Yet a moment later, the blazing light in his eyes dimmed again.
"What a pity. In the end, I still can't truly sweep everything aside."
"My method? Where is my path?!"
After an unknown length of time, the great hall fell silent. Neither of them spoke again.
Gu Rong had passed out drunk.
He Xian, however, fought through his drunkenness and stood, then walked out of the hall. He had no particular purpose. He merely wanted to wander.
Night had fallen. The moon in the night sky was truly enormous, and the stars were immense as well. What a magnificent nightscape.
He could no longer remember how long it had been since he had simply enjoyed the night sky like this.
Perhaps he never had!
I don't want to die! I truly don't want to die!
But I really can't carve out a path. It's so hard! To conjure something from nothing.
Desolate Heaven Emperor!
"Are you grieving over the bloody upheaval of this era, young friend? Indeed, even the war in the era when our clan still lived in the Nine Heavens could only be considered a minor conflict."
Gu Yi came to stand beside He Xian, inexplicably growing sorrowful as well.
"A truly devastating war will unfold in this era! Darkness will shroud the earth, blood will splash across every realm, and all the heavens will fall. A true reckoning will come."
"Ah, to be born in this era leaves even an old man like me both terrified and excited. When will that day arrive, and what exactly will happen?"
Gu Yi sighed. Excitement filled his deeply wrinkled old face, along with a measure of fear.
"Heh, back then, our lineage was born in the Nine Heavens too. We could have had a king presiding over us, just like the True Dragons and Qilin. How tragic, how hateful, that our own people blocked our path! Even now, thinking of it makes me want to tear that filthy, feeble place apart at once."
The Gu Clan Supreme grew angrier as he spoke, even his gestures becoming exaggerated. This was the Gu Clan's blood grievance! It was impossible to forget.
He Xian acknowledged the Immortal Ancient Era.
Those years had been dazzling. Immortal Kings strode across the skies, Immortal Kings of the opposing realm roared in fury, and fierce battles raged. Even beings from still more ancient eras had emerged to join the bloody fighting, shaking the world and staining both realms with blood.
Yet this era would ultimately be even more terrifying than that one. An emperor would rise, quell everything, and attain glory and splendor.
Leaving behind a group of people who would shroud the heavens.
"That is why our clan is staking its hopes on you. If we have two kings in one clan, that will be enough to shelter our Gu Clan." This was why the Gu Clan treated He Xian so differently.
"Very well!" Emboldened by the wine, He Xian agreed.
Would the day truly come when he became an Immortal King of the opposing realm? Everything in the world changed too quickly. Even he could not be certain he would reach that level. That was an Immortal King!
Supreme above all, gazing down upon the long river of time, untouched by karma.
Though it looked so easy that even a dog tied there could ascend to that realm.
One had to remember-that was the Desolate Heaven Emperor's dog!
"If I ascend to the realm of kings, I will certainly shelter your clan!" He Xian proclaimed loudly. Many members of the Gu Clan heard him.
"Excellent! Hahaha!"
"Excellent!" Gu Yi laughed heartily and pursued the matter no further. "That promise from you is enough, young friend."