The Confounded Saint of Lingxiao

Xuanyangzi stared at the still-glowing treasures on the ground and the lingering traces beneath them, his pupils shrinking for a long while.

He finally exhaled slowly, his voice a bit stiff: "You acted... a bit too fast."

He raised a hand to rub his temples, not dwelling on why Gu Changge had suddenly struck. Instead, he immediately frowned, pacing back and forth a few steps, his fingertips unconsciously tapping his palm.

"We have a problem now. The Lingxiao Sacred Land lost a peak Saint Realm elder; they will definitely investigate. Although our Qingxuan Sect is stronger than before, compared to a sacred land with an eternal legacy, we are still far behind—if they send a Saint King Realm expert, we won't be able to stop them at all!"

The more he thought about it, the more worried he became. His eyes swept over the surrounding purple bamboo, his mind racing with calculations.

"We need to hurry and reinforce the sect's formations, and gather the core disciples near the forbidden area... Right, we also need to send people to other factions in Xuanzhou to investigate, to see if the Lingxiao Sacred Land has any spies in the Eastern Region. Changge, although you are powerful, a sacred land's Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon is no joke. If we really start fighting, we..."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw Gu Changge leaning against a bamboo chair, looking at him with a faint smile and a hint of gentle helplessness in his eyes.

Xuanyangzi finally realized how nervous he had been just now. His old face couldn't help but flush red, yet he still insisted, "It's not that I'm making a fuss over nothing, but the sacred land's foundation is simply too deep. We have to be on guard..."

"Senior Brother is indeed a competent sect master."

Gu Changge suddenly spoke, his tone carrying a bit of sincere praise.

"However, it's not that troublesome."

He stood up and patted Xuanyangzi's shoulder.

"Come with me."

Before Xuanyangzi could process what "not that troublesome" meant, his vision suddenly blurred. A gentle yet irresistible force enveloped him, and a dizzying sensation of the world spinning instantly hit him.

He didn't even have time to close his eyes before the sound of the wind in his ears changed from the elegant bamboo fragrance of the Purple Bamboo Peak to an unfamiliar wind carrying a dense spiritual aura.

In just a fleeting moment, the dizziness faded.

Xuanyangzi abruptly steadied his footing and instinctively circulated his spiritual energy to protect his body. He looked up, only to freeze in place instantly, his mouth opened wide enough to stuff in a spirit fruit.

Beneath his feet were rolling, magnificent buildings, palaces paved with white jade, and wind chimes hanging from the eaves radiating a faint holy pressure.

In the distance were mist-shrouded peaks, where one could vaguely see King Realm cultivators shuttling back and forth!

What shocked him even more was that deep within the sacred land, there were quite a few highly oppressive auras faintly appearing.

Those were the fluctuations of the Saint King Realm, or even the Great Saint Realm!

There was also an artifact slumbering deep within the palaces; although it had not awakened, it made him tremble from the depths of his soul.

"This, this is..."

Xuanyangzi's voice was trembling. After confirming it wasn't an illusion, he abruptly turned to look at the calm and composed Gu Changge beside him.

"Changge! Where exactly is this place?"

Gu Changge pointed at the white jade palace below. Above the palace doors, four gilded characters spelling "Lingxiao Sacred Land" were particularly dazzling in the sunlight.

His tone was as relaxed as if he were introducing his own backyard: "There, this is the Lingxiao Sacred Land."

Xuanyangzi followed his finger. The moment he clearly saw those four words, his brain buzzed as if struck by a heavy hammer.

He staggered half a step back, staring fixedly at Gu Changge, his eyes full of disbelief.

"You... you actually brought me directly into the sky above the Lingxiao Sacred Land?! This is a sacred land of the Central Region! It's billions of miles away from the Eastern Region! How did you..."

He couldn't even finish his sentence—teleporting billions of miles while silently bypassing the sacred land's formations and the perception of Great Saint Realm experts, such methods had long surpassed his understanding of "cultivation."

Xuanyangzi only felt his mouth go dry, looking at Gu Changge as if looking at a monster.

Gu Changge looked at Xuanyangzi's almost jumping expression, the corners of his mouth curling up, and didn't explain further.

He simply raised his right hand and made a light grasping motion towards the Lingxiao Sacred Land below—the movement was as casual as picking up a stone by the roadside.

Before Xuanyangzi could see clearly how he moved, he saw a faint layer of light suddenly appear in Gu Changge's palm. The light pierced through the clouds and plummeted straight into the core palace of the sacred land below.

The next second, the light wrapped around a figure and shot up rapidly, landing in front of the two in the blink of an eye.

Xuanyangzi focused his eyes and was instantly dumbfounded—

The person was wearing silk pajamas embroidered with gold thread, with messy hair and a dazed look of having just woken up. There was even a bit of un-wiped drool at the corner of his mouth, looking exactly like a child forcefully dragged out of bed.

"Who is disturbing my sweet dreams..."

The person rubbed his eyes, his voice laced with drowsiness and the lazy arrogance typical of a person in power. But as soon as he lowered his hand and clearly saw the scene before him, his entire body instantly stiffened like a sculpture.

He first blinked in bewilderment, then looked down at his pajamas, and then looked up to sweep his gaze over the empty high sky and the Lingxiao Sacred Land below, his brain completely shutting down.

"Who... who are you?"

He pointed at Gu Changge, his voice floating, and then suddenly touched his own face.

"Who am I again? Oh right, I am Sacred Lord Lingxiao... Wait, wasn't I sleeping?!"

The more he spoke, the more confused he got. He even raised a hand and pinched his own thigh, grimacing in pain, but he instantly sobered up—

It wasn't a dream!

The biting cold wind of the high altitude scraped against his face, the familiar palaces of the Lingxiao Sacred Land below, and the faint pressure emanating from the two strange cultivators in front of him all told him: he had been kidnapped!

Who was this person? To be able to silently bypass the sacred land's formations and the patriarch's perception, and directly snatch him away.

Sacred Lord Lingxiao took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the stormy waves in his heart, and straightened his back. Even though he was wearing wrinkled pajamas, he tried hard to squeeze out the majesty of a sacred land's master.

"Who are you two gentlemen? Why have you abducted me here? Do you know that I am Sacred Lord Lingxiao, and by doing this, you are trying to make an enemy of the entire Lingxiao Sacred Land?"

He was tough with his words, but his fingertips quietly gathered spiritual energy within his sleeves—on one hand, attempting to activate the communication jade talisman hidden in the secret pocket of his pajamas to notify the sacred land's patriarch to come to the rescue.

On the other hand, he secretly urged his divine soul connection with the sacred land's Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon, wanting to awaken the slumbering Emperor Weapon. Even if he could only trigger a trace of Emperor pressure, it would be enough to deter the other party.

But in the next second, he found that his spiritual energy was like a stone sinking into the sea. The communication jade talisman had no reaction, and his divine soul connection with the Emperor Weapon was cut off by an invisible barrier, without even the slightest sensation.

Sacred Lord Lingxiao's expression drastically changed. He abruptly looked up at Gu Changge, only to see the other party looking at his cuffs with a faint smile, his fingertips carelessly twirling a wisp of azure light.

"The Sacred Lord is quite calm. Even after being caught here, you're still thinking about sending a message and awakening the Emperor Weapon?"

As his voice fell, Gu Changge lightly flicked his finger, and that wisp of azure light landed on Sacred Lord Lingxiao.

The Sacred Lord only felt his entire body go numb. The spiritual energy in his body was instantly sealed, and he couldn't even move a single finger. He could only watch helplessly as Gu Changge fetched the object through the air, pinched the communication jade talisman from his pajama's secret pocket in his hand, and casually crushed it.

"You..."

Sacred Lord Lingxiao was both shocked and angry, but he could only force himself not to show panic.

"What exactly is it that you want? If you seek resources and treasures, the Lingxiao Sacred Land can provide them; if this is about a past grievance, then speak plainly!"