Did I really just guess that right

A few days later, Gu Changyuan returned from the Myriad Immortal Realm to the Nine Heavens Realm.

For other cultivators, returning from a higher realm to a lower one might be an ordeal.

The suppression of domain forces would cause immortal cultivators' cultivation levels to plummet.

But Gu Changyuan was different.

He simply adjusted his cultivation back to the Perfect Tribulation Crossing stage and returned to the Nine Heavens Realm without any adverse effects.

The moment he arrived in the Nine Heavens Realm, he used a teleportation array to go back to the Celestial Human Sacred Ground.

Gu Changyuan first toured the three major powers—the Celestial Human Sacred Ground, the Heavenly Demon Sect, and the Celestial Monster Pavilion—briefly inquired about the recent situation in the lower realms after the immortal path reopened, and confirmed that the three realms were stable, orderly, and free from major chaos, disturbances, or external threats. His heart was completely at ease.

Then he settled down at the Celestial Human Sacred Ground, planning to rest peacefully for a day in the lower realm.

The Imperial Court should still be dealing with the surprise attack by the Five Families of Central Continent, while simultaneously investigating the cause of the immortal path's premature unsealing and reopening.

Those Tianheng had likely already received the news, but their attention would be diverted—the attack from the Five Families of Central Continent was no trivial matter. The alliance of three families, though insufficient to shake the Imperial Court's foundations, would still cause them enough headaches to keep them busy.

The reason behind the immortal path's unsealing was an even bigger headache. The seal had been placed jointly by multiple Tianheng, and breaking it required several experts adept in different Daos to act simultaneously.

They would never imagine that only one person had broken the seal.

When it came to fighting, Gu Changyuan wasn't confident he could defeat the Imperial Court.

But when it came to detection and counter-detection, Gu Changyuan was exceptionally skilled.

In the early days of the Chaotic Ruins, he had relied on his top-tier counter-detection and tracking abilities to evade cultivators whose cultivation far exceeded his own.

Then he would constantly harass them with various tactics, taking advantage of his boundless spiritual energy to gradually wear them down until their deaths, after which he would plunder everything they had.

In the Nine Heavens Realm, the reason he could keep that Heavenly Guard undiscovered for decades was that his fabricated causal actions were so convincing that even the Immortal Emperor believed his own guard was genuinely carrying out missions in the lower realm.

And later, Zhen Yue thought he had truly eliminated Gu Changyuan and let down his guard.

In the Myriad Immortal Realm, while he couldn't claim to keep the Imperial Court from ever finding the Celestial Court's location, at least the Celestial Court would be safe for a year.

The Dao traces he released when he destroyed the seal—

He had guided each Dao's aura to a different location.

Even if the Imperial Court's Immortal Emperors tried to trace the unsealer's identity through those Dao auras, they would find the sources pointing to different directions.

How could they ever imagine that a mere lower-realm cultivator could master so many Daos at once?

In their view, unsealing the immortal path required dozens of experts proficient in different Daos working together.

How could a lower-realm cultivator, not even an immortal, possibly achieve such a feat?

As for the Lanyu Immortal Sect, it was just an insignificant sect among the countless immortal forces in the higher realms.

Suddenly destroyed, renamed, its mountain gate taken over—such trivial incidents happened every day in the immortal realm.

Today this sect perished, tomorrow that force was annexed, and the day after, a new name appeared in some corner.

Who would notice? Who would care?

Great powers were busy fighting over resources, small powers were busy protecting themselves, and wandering cultivators were busy with their training.

The Celestial Court's emergence in the immortal realm was like a pebble thrown into the ocean—it barely created a few ripples.

Gu Changyuan lay on the rocking chair, sunlight warming his face, feeling indescribably comfortable. He narrowed his eyes slightly, the corners of his mouth curling into a satisfied arc.

"Ah, this is the life~"

He let out a long breath.

"Finally have some time to really rest."

Ever since Ye Qingxue and the others had come out of seclusion, he hadn't had a single moment of proper rest.

Luckily, he had come up with the excuse of inspecting the lower realm's situation to escape those girls.

Otherwise, he'd still be lying in the rear palace hall of the Celestial Palace—and not the kind of lying down that meant resting.

Gu Xing'er sat nearby, her hands propping her up as she gently swung her legs.

Her gaze rested on Gu Changyuan's face, observing his half-closed eyes and completely relaxed expression, a smile curling at her lips.

"Is it really that tiring?"

Her voice carried a hint of amusement, the tone rising slightly at the end.

"From what my senior sisters told me, after ascending and taking over the Lanyu Immortal Sect, you had all the disciples rest. You should have been lying around just like this, right?"

Gu Xing'er hadn't ascended yet—her cultivation hadn't reached the Perfect Tribulation Crossing stage.

But with the seal broken and the connection between upper and lower realms much smoother, she could keep in touch with her senior brothers and sisters through transmission arrays.

Gu Changyuan let out a light sigh, a sigh carrying the weariness of experience.

"You don't know those senior sisters of yours—each one is more relentless than the last."

His gaze traveled toward the distant horizon.

All dozens of his disciples knew about Gu Changyuan and Ye Qingxue's group.

No one had announced it publicly; everyone had simply figured it out.

Gu Xing'er had obviously figured it out too.

Her face formed a meaningful smile, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

"Brother, don't tell me you're—"

She paused, deliberately lowering her voice.

"Not up to it?"

"Hey."

Gu Changyuan propped himself up.

He sat up from the rocking chair, leaning forward slightly, raising his right hand to precisely pinch Gu Xing'er's nose between his two fingers.

Not too hard, not too soft—just enough for her to feel it, but not pain.

"You little girl, daring to tease your big brother?"

Gu Changyuan's voice held a helpless amusement.

"Your big brother here is a perpetual motion machine."

His tone was perfectly matter-of-fact, without a hint of embarrassment.

"But even I need some downtime now and then, right? Plowing the fields constantly is exhausting."

Her nose pinched, Gu Xing'er's voice came out a bit muffled, but her smile didn't diminish—in fact, it deepened.

"Oh?"

Her voice stretched the sound out.

"Then does that mean, brother, you could handle a few more?"

Gu Changyuan's brows lifted in amusement, the corner of his mouth curving into a playful grin.

His gaze fell on Gu Xing'er's face, catching the mischievous smile at the edge of her lips, and he joked,

"What, Xing'er thinking of joining in too?"

Gu Xing'er's ears suddenly turned red, the flush spreading from her earlobes to the outer edges.

Her smile stiffened for a moment, a flicker of panic flashing in her eyes before quickly returning to normal.

And then, she didn't refute him.

She only lowered her head slightly, her gaze shifting from Gu Changyuan's face to land on her own toes.

Gu Changyuan's heart skipped a beat.

Holy crap.

Did I actually hit the mark?

He watched Gu Xing'er's reddening ear tips, her slightly pressed lips, and her fingers nervously twisting the edge of her clothes.

Her reaction was remarkably similar to that of his seven previous disciples.

Unbeknownst to him, they had already developed feelings for him that went beyond the master-disciple bond.

Gu Changyuan looked at Gu Xing'er's profile, at her attitude of neither confirming nor denying, and a subtle premonition stirred in his heart. In the future, she might very well make a move on him.

He lay back down again.

The rocking chair swayed gently beneath him, letting out a soft "creak."

His hands rested one over the other on his stomach, his gaze drifting toward the clouds passing across the sky. His expression remained as calm as if nothing had ever happened.

Alright, we can deal with it later.

One more or one less—it really makes no difference in the end.

Seven is a bother, eight is a mess, and nine or ten aren't much different either.

When debts pile up, you stop worrying; when lice infest, you stop itching.

The difference between lice and disciples is that you can comb out lice with a fine-toothed comb, but you can't comb out disciples.