Gu Changyuan Doesn't Care

Huh?

Hearing their master's punishment, Yun Tianhe and Ning Heling froze instantly, their faces full of astonishment, as if they had misheard.

How was this a severe punishment? It was practically no punishment at all, and felt more like their master was teasing them.

Yun Tianhe snapped his head up, his gaze crashing straight into his master's eyes.

Was there even a trace of seriousness in those eyes? They were brimming with amusement, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, and his eyebrows curved in a smile.

Ning Heling also raised her head. Tears still hung on her eyelashes, but a dazed expression of "did I hear that right?" appeared on her face.

She looked at Yun Tianhe, then at her grandmaster, her mouth moving a few times without making a sound.

Seeing the astonishment on their faces, Gu Changyuan's smile deepened, even taking on a slight hint of disdain.

He spread his hands, casually tossing away the heavy boulder weighing on their hearts.

"No, really, am I such an unreasonable person? What's there to hide about this kind of thing, acting as if you're facing death?

Isn't it just a master and disciple becoming Dao companions? It's not like this hasn't happened in the cultivation world before. Is there a need to be so nervous?

You make it seem like I'm going to tear you two apart."

"Thank you, Master!"

Yun Tianhe and Ning Heling thanked him in unison.

Gu Changyuan waved his hand and said:

"Get up, making a fuss over nothing."

The observing disciples also breathed a collective sigh of relief, relieved smiles appearing on their faces.

When they first saw their master's serious demeanor, they really thought something major was going to happen. They didn't expect it was just an act put on by their master.

Among them, the happiest were undoubtedly the three girls: Ye Qingxue, Bai Ling'er, and Yue Lingxi.

Gu Changyuan's attitude had clearly shown that he did not oppose a master and disciple becoming Dao companions.

Which meant they also had a chance.

Gu Changyuan watched the two kneeling before him stand up. Just as he was about to make a few more teasing remarks...

The words hadn't even left his lips when suddenly, he felt a life-saving secret art he had set up being activated.

In that instant, the amusement in Gu Changyuan's eyes receded like the tide, replaced by a killing intent so dense it was almost tangible.

Yun Tianhe and Ning Heling had just stood up when they were hit head-on by this killing intent, freezing them in their tracks.

Wait, Master?

Didn't you just say you didn't mind?

Why the sudden change in expression?

The killing intent was so intense that a layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on Yun Tianhe's back.

Gu Changyuan ignored their reactions.

He closed his eyes, his fingers twitching slightly. His divine sense acted like an invisible thread, instantly tracing the connection of the secret art back to its source.

One breath—found it.

It was Xiang Chenze.

His grand-disciple.

Xiang Chenze was Xiang Xuanyin's son. Although his father was a demon cultivator, he had inherited his mother's bloodline and was a human cultivator.

Upon coming of age, he was also brought to the Heavenly Human Holy Land to be nurtured.

Gu Changyuan's impression of him was: quiet, sensible, and a boy of few words, but every time they met, he would obediently call out "Grandmaster."

At this time, Xiang Chenze should be adventuring in the West Continent with those two girls, Zhuge Xueling and Zhuge Xuening.

The twin sisters of the Zhuge family had excellent talent and high cultivation, already reaching the peak of the Soul Formation realm.

Xiang Chenze's talent was slightly inferior to theirs, having just reached the early stage of the Soul Formation realm.

But he never complained about himself in front of his grandmaster. He just trained silently, working harder than anyone else.

As Gu Changyuan's grand-disciples and the offspring of core disciples, Gu Changyuan naturally planted life-saving secret arts on all three of them.

The moment they encountered fatal danger, the secret art would automatically activate and simultaneously transmit their location signal to him.

Now that the secret art had been activated, it meant the three of them were definitely in trouble, and in all likelihood, facing a lethal threat.

The killing intent in Gu Changyuan's eyes intensified. Taking a single step, his figure vanished, instantly appearing in the sky above the Falling Sword Sect in the central region of the West Continent.

Upon arriving above the Falling Sword Sect, Gu Changyuan made no effort to conceal his formidable aura. The elders of the Falling Sword Sect instantly felt this terrifying pressure and hurriedly came out to welcome him, their expressions respectful yet anxious.

But Gu Changyuan ignored them completely. Locking his divine sense onto the auras of his three grand-disciples, he headed straight toward the wilderness where the auras originated.

Today, the Falling Sword Sect of the West Continent had long since officially joined the banner of the Heavenly Human Holy Land.

Back when Gu Changyuan was on his way to the Azure Firmament Secret Realm, he had the idea of establishing a branch faction in the West Continent.

After all, having a core faction attached to them in every continent would make operations much more convenient.

The foundation and style of the Falling Sword Sect just happened to catch Gu Changyuan's eye.

In the current Nine Heavens Realm, all five major continents housed factions of the Heavenly Human Holy Land: the Central Continent had the Central Continent's Five Great Families, the South Continent had the Purple Dawn Dynasty, the main branch of the Heavenly Human Holy Land was in the East Continent, and the North Continent had the Myriad Treasure Pavilion supported by the Holy Land.

After Gu Changyuan's return, the Myriad Treasure Pavilion continuously expanded using the resources and cultivation methods he provided. Now, even without the Heavenly Human Holy Land intervening, the Myriad Treasure Pavilion could look down upon the vast majority of factions in the North Continent, becoming one of its top-tier powers.

There was also a reason why the Falling Sword Sect was willing to join the Heavenly Human Holy Land.

Gu Changyuan had learned that the Falling Sword Sect's upper realm main sect, the "Sunset Sword Sect," had long been targeted by the Imperial Court.

Taking advantage of this, Gu Changyuan brought people from the Central Continent's Five Families to visit the Falling Sword Sect, offering to protect them and promising that when the Immortal Path reopened in the future, he would intervene to preserve the Sunset Sword Sect.

After weighing the pros and cons repeatedly, the patriarch of the Falling Sword Sect decisively agreed to join the Heavenly Human Holy Land, submitting to the Holy Lord to seek shelter.

The secret art Gu Changyuan had cast on his three grand-disciples was purely defensive.

In addition, they also carried teleportation jade pendants personally carved by Gu Changyuan, which contained small-scale teleportation formations.

It was just that the teleportation distance they could handle was much shorter than that of a large-scale teleportation array.

As long as the three of them were still within the borders of the West Continent, the jade pendants would function normally, and Gu Changyuan could teleport to them through the pendants.

Gu Changyuan's sudden departure left the disciples within the Heavenly Human Holy Land looking astonished.

Everyone had clearly felt the undisguised killing intent radiating from their master just now. It was definitely not fake; clearly, something monumental had happened.

The disciples immediately gathered at Yun Tianhe's residence, each wearing a solemn expression with a hint of inquiry in their eyes.

Yun Tianhe shook his head helplessly, his tone carrying a bit of bewilderment:

"I don't know what happened either. I just saw the smile on Master's face suddenly vanish, instantly replaced by killing intent, and then he teleported away directly without leaving a single word."

Ye Qingxue nodded slightly, her expression serious as she slowly analyzed:

"It must be that a life-saving secret art Master placed on other disciples or grand-disciples was triggered. Otherwise, Master wouldn't have exuded such tremendous killing intent in an instant."

Although everyone had their guesses, they couldn't be certain. As for what exactly happened, they could only wait for Gu Changyuan to return to find out.

Everyone secretly prayed in their hearts, hoping that no one had suffered any casualties.