Bring Them Back to the Zhuge Family

The Celestial Holy Land...

The two nodded subconsciously. In the next second, their bodies stiffened abruptly, their pupils shrinking.

"What?! The Celestial Holy Land?!"

They cried out involuntarily, looking at Gu Changyuan as if they had seen a ghost, while monstrous waves of shock crashed in their hearts.

With wide eyes and mouths agape enough to fit an egg, their gazes toward Gu Changyuan were filled with sheer disbelief.

Although they were merely disciples of a weak sect in the Western Region, they still knew of the most supreme factions.

And the Celestial Holy Land was the most legendary and impartial among them—a supreme immortal sect that valued solely talent over background.

When they sneaked out this time, they had harbored a faint, desperate hope.

They wanted to try their luck at the Celestial Holy Land. Even if they failed the entrance examination, they would live without regrets.

Yet now... without even taking a test, they had somehow been accepted as direct disciples by someone from the Holy Land?

Jun Anshi took a deep breath, trying hard to calm herself, but her voice still trembled slightly:

"Um... Master, may I ask, what rank of elder are you in the Holy Land?"

She felt that their Master had an easygoing temperament and probably wouldn't get angry.

She was simply too curious.

Gu Changyuan looked at his newly accepted little disciple, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

Then, he glanced at Ye Qingxue and Yue Lingxi beside him and spoke slowly:

"Your two senior sisters here are the First Ancestor and Fourth Ancestor of the Holy Land."

He paused, the corners of his lips curling up slightly:

"What rank do you think I am?"

As his words fell, Jun Mukong and Jun Anshi were utterly petrified by the shock.

First... First Ancestor? Fourth Ancestor?

No wonder those two names felt so familiar.

They had indeed heard of them.

In their sect, they held low status and were often ostracized. They could only eavesdrop on the core disciples discussing various matters.

The names of the Celestial Holy Land's First Ancestor Ye Qingxue and Fourth Ancestor Yue Lingxi were exactly what they had inadvertently heard back then.

It was said that they were top-tier powerhouses renowned throughout the entire Nine Heavens Realm.

And the man before them...

Someone who could make the First and Fourth Ancestors stand behind him so respectfully—

Wouldn't that be the Founding Holy Ancestor of the Celestial Holy Land?!

Had they just... inexplicably become the disciples of the Holy Ancestor?

Jun Mukong and Jun Anshi exchanged a glance, both seeing the same blank astonishment in each other's eyes.

At this moment, their minds went completely blank, unable to articulate the endless words swirling inside them.

The thought of ascending to the heavens in a single bound by directly becoming the Holy Ancestor's disciples, potentially possessing the same rights and privileges as the Holy Land's ancestors...

It made their heads buzz, feeling as if they were in a dream.

Looking at their dumbfounded expressions, Gu Changyuan couldn't help but chuckle.

He said nothing more, merely waving his right hand—

A flash of light enveloped the four of them.

In the next instant, their figures vanished from the spot.

...

Jun Mukong and Jun Anshi only felt their vision blur. In the very next moment, their surroundings completely changed.

It was no longer the riverbed and canyon, but a vast and majestic plaza.

Before they could recover from this sudden spatial shift, they felt a powerful aura radiating from their Master in front of them.

A second later, figures flew in from all directions, landing before Gu Changyuan to bow respectfully.

The siblings widened their eyes, somewhat dazed by this grand reception.

Where... is this?

Gu Changyuan seemed to notice their confusion and casually said without turning his head:

"The Central Continent, the Zhuge family."

The Zhuge family of the Central Continent?!

Their hearts gave a violent jolt.

Of course they knew of the Zhuge family—one of the Five Great Immortal Families of the Central Continent. With profound foundations and a legacy spanning tens of thousands of years, it was a top-tier aristocratic family recognized across the entire continent.

But the problem was... weren't they just in the Western Region?

How did they arrive in the Central Continent in the blink of an eye?

How many tens of thousands of miles had they crossed?

Jun Mukong and Jun Anshi exchanged another glance, seeing the same profound shock in each other's eyes.

Their Master's strength... was simply too terrifying.

But on second thought, the number and magnitude of shocks they had experienced today nearly matched the total of their entire past year.

It seemed that no matter how shocking things got, they were already getting used to it.

The two took a deep breath, trying hard to make their expressions look somewhat normal.

Gu Changyuan took two steps forward to greet Zhuge Jinglong, Xu Mengyao, and the others who came to welcome him.

He swept his gaze around and noticed that it wasn't just the Zhuge family present.

The heads of the Gongsun, Dugu, Shangguan, and Xuanyuan families—all five family heads were actually still here.

Furthermore, beside the heads of the Shangguan and Xuanyuan families stood a young cultivator each.

Both youths stood tall and straight with composed expressions, exuding extraordinary fluctuations of spiritual energy. Clearly, they were prodigies meticulously nurtured by their respective families.

Ever since learning that Gongsun Yanguang had decisively sent his family's once-in-a-millennium genius, Gongsun Qingling, to join the Celestial Holy Land as Gu Changyuan's grand-disciple, Shangguan Yihe and Xuanyuan Yunting could no longer sit still.

They knew very well that forming a connection with a supreme entity like Gu Changyuan was crucial to their families' futures.

After some discussion, the two finally decided to take their families' most outstanding disciples—

—the core prodigies they had brought to the Zhuge family to gain experience and see the world—and send them into the Celestial Holy Land, solely to secure this relationship.

The current situation of the Five Great Immortal Families in the Immortal Realm was far from ideal. They all wanted to seize this sudden, unpredictable opportunity.

Gu Changyuan exchanged a few simple pleasantries with the crowd and briefly mentioned the situation over at the Shuyu Sect.

As they spoke, Shangguan Yihe, the head of the Shangguan family, and Xuanyuan Yunting, the head of the Xuanyuan family, exchanged a look. They stepped forward and bowed with cupped hands simultaneously:

"Senior, this junior has a favor to ask."

Gu Changyuan looked at them.

"It is like this,"

Shangguan Yihe began.

"In this generation of my Shangguan family, there is a disciple with decent aptitude named Shangguan Zhuohua.

I entreat Senior to allow him to join the Celestial Holy Land and cultivate alongside the Holy Ancestor's disciples."

Saying so, he stepped aside, gesturing for the young man behind him to come forward.

The young man had a tall and straight posture, a handsome face, and a heroic spirit between his brows.

He stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Gu Changyuan:

"Shangguan Zhuoye pays his respects to Senior."

Xuanyuan Yunting also spoke up:

"My Xuanyuan family also has a disciple named Xuanyuan Lanfeng. I similarly entreat Senior to accept him."

Gu Changyuan's gaze swept over the two of them.

One possessed a rare fire-attribute physique, and the other a rare wind-attribute physique. Moreover, both had ninth-grade talent.

They were both exceptionally rare talents.

He nodded slightly:

"Alright."

Free top-tier seedlings delivered right to his door—it would be a waste to refuse.

Anyway, the Celestial Holy Land now had plenty of space and abundant resources.

Besides, they were both male with talent leaning toward the upper ninth-grade. They would be perfect to hand over to his two disciples, Xiao Yi and Han Feng, to train.

Hearing this, Shangguan Yihe and Xuanyuan Yunting's faces instantly lit up with pleasant surprise, and they hastily offered their thanks:

"Thank you, Senior!"

"Thank you, Senior, for fulfilling our request!"