Finally, Lin Qingyan spoke slowly:
"What do you want?"
No beating around the bush, no probing, just straight to the point.
Gu Chengyin smiled, his smile radiant:
"Little Aunt is as straightforward as ever."
"Rest assured, Little Aunt, I am definitely not someone who doesn't know what's good for him."
These words served to reassure Lin Qingyan first, indicating that he wouldn't make any excessive demands.
Then, Gu Chengyin revealed his true purpose:
"I mainly want to get some information from you, Little Aunt."
"For instance..."
"His Majesty's cultivation level."
Lin Qingyan stared straight at Gu Chengyin, as if trying to see right through him.
A faint, dense scent of ionization quietly circulated in the air, an outward manifestation of her fluctuating emotions.
After a long while, she slowly spoke:
"If I tell you, you will let me continue my comprehension?"
The question was direct, without the slightest concealment. Since this was a transaction, the terms needed to be clear.
Gu Chengyin thought for a moment, then tentatively extended his right index finger, making a gesture for one:
"Fifteen minutes?"
Before he could even finish his sentence, he saw the faint lightning flickering around Lin Qingyan suddenly become agitated!
Arcs of electricity crackled in the air, instantly weaving into a dense web of lightning.
Gu Chengyin immediately changed his tune, speaking rapidly:
"An hour! That is the absolute limit!"
"Little Aunt, comprehending the Immortal Dao requires a gradual process. Too long a time will easily deplete your mental energy, and the loss will outweigh the gain!"
Only then did the lightning around Lin Qingyan slowly dissipate, eventually vanishing into nothingness.
"It is the Golden Core realm, but it is incomplete."
Gu Chengyin raised an eyebrow.
What did that mean?
However, seeing that Lin Qingyan did not continue speaking and just looked at him quietly,
Gu Chengyin thought for a moment and understood. She was waiting for him to ask another question.
One question in exchange for an hour.
He had just asked a question, and Lin Qingyan had answered.
But if he wanted to know the reason, he had to ask again.
A very fair trade.
Gu Chengyin smiled and tactfully asked his second question:
"Why is it incomplete?"
Hearing Gu Chengyin take the initiative to ask, Lin Qingyan finally continued to answer:
"He was assassinated during his breakthrough, leaving his Golden Core flawed."
Gu Chengyin's pupils slightly contracted. That short sentence contained an astonishing amount of information.
No wonder every time he went to see Emperor Luo, the Emperor was always reviewing memorials and handling official business, never cultivating or in seclusion.
It turned out he wasn't so diligent that he forgot to eat and sleep; rather, his cultivation had already reached its peak.
A flawed Golden Core meant the path forward was severed.
No matter how much he cultivated or how hard he tried, he could not advance another step.
The early stage of the Golden Core realm was the end; it was impossible to ever improve.
For a cultivator, this was a torment worse than death.
Especially for an emperor, sitting on the resources of the entire Great Luo, yet unable to advance due to a flawed Golden Core, helplessly watching his lifespan slip away...
Just thinking about that feeling made Gu Chengyin feel suffocated.
At this point, a strange expression appeared on Lin Qingyan's face, and she offered unprompted:
"I will give you this one for free. It is said that the method to complete the Immortal Dao can mend a flawed Golden Core."
These words exploded like thunder in Gu Chengyin's mind.
In an instant, all the clues and doubts connected together.
Emperor Luo had a flawed Golden Core and his path forward was severed; this was the premise.
After learning that Gu Chengyin was the heir of the Qingyun Immortal Clan, he promoted him to the key position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites; this was the layout.
Then, the Azure Sword Sect took the initiative to invite Gu Chengyin to complete the inheritance and reconnect the Immortal Dao; this was the purpose.
Bringing the method back to mend the flawed Golden Core was the ultimate goal.
No wonder Emperor Luo didn't care at all, even knowing he was just an immortal clan alias found by the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion.
Instead, he even helped him solidify this identity.
Because in Emperor Luo's eyes, whether Gu Chengyin was a true immortal clan heir was unimportant.
What mattered was whether he could bring back the method to complete the Immortal Dao from the Qingyun Sect.
Gu Chengyin's eyes flickered unpredictably as he rapidly sorted through all of this.
Lin Qingyan didn't interrupt, just watching him quietly.
After a long time, Gu Chengyin raised his head and looked at Lin Qingyan.
He didn't ask anything more about Emperor Luo, but instead asked:
"Little Aunt, do you want His Majesty to complete his Golden Core?"
The moment this question was asked, it seemed to stir up something weighing on Lin Qingyan's mind.
The originally calm lightning around her began to agitate once more.
This time, it was more violent than any time before.
The lightning instantly surged, turning into countless streaks of golden thunder that leaped and intertwined madly around her!
Gu Chengyin only felt a terrifying aura rush towards his face, as if he were in the center of a thunderstorm.
There was a scorched smell in the air, and a stinging, numbing sensation transmitted across his skin.
But he didn't retreat, nor did he even circulate his spiritual energy to resist.
Gu Chengyin just sat there quietly, letting the golden thunder leap and flash around him, his eyes staring unblinkingly into Lin Qingyan's eyes.
The golden thunder lasted for about three breaths of time before abruptly stopping.
A smile slowly appeared on Lin Qingyan's face, very beautiful.
Like a blooming snow lotus, yet carrying a chilling intent that made one's heart palpitate.
She didn't directly answer Gu Chengyin's question, but instead asked in return:
"Can you ensure that Zhao'er ascends the throne?"
The question was abrupt, seemingly entirely unrelated to the previous topic.
But Gu Chengyin understood.
Lin Qingyan was asking about his stance: are you on Emperor Luo's side, or on Luo Zhao's side?
If Emperor Luo completed his Golden Core and took his cultivation a step further, his throne would be even more secure, and his lifespan would be greatly extended.
When that time came, would Luo Zhao still be able to ascend the throne smoothly?
When would an emperor at the Golden Core realm, who might even attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul realm, ever abdicate?
I'm afraid it would be in the unforeseeable future.
Therefore, Emperor Luo completing his Golden Core might not be a good thing for Luo Zhao.
Gu Chengyin also smiled, open and sincere:
"Her Highness ascending the throne is my lifelong wish."
These words were spoken with complete candor, without the slightest hint of falsehood.
Lin Qingyan just quietly locked eyes with Gu Chengyin, her gaze flowing with profound meaning.
"Why?"
"With your abilities, wouldn't pledging direct loyalty to His Majesty offer much better prospects than pledging loyalty to Zhao'er?"
Speaking of this, a faint trace of murderous intent revealed itself in Lin Qingyan's eyes:
"Or could it be that you are after Zhao'er's body?"
However, the smile on Gu Chengyin's face slowly faded.
He sat up straight, his expression turning serious, his eyes clear and resolute:
"Her Highness is indeed peerless in her elegance, with beauty that could topple the world."
"But I have no such intentions. When all is said and done, this matter boils down to a single word: destiny."
"Her Highness and I share a fated destiny, an unbreakable bond."
"But His Majesty is the ruler, and I am the subject."
"He promoted me to use me."
"I obey his orders because I am forced by the circumstances."
"Therefore, Little Aunt, compared to His Majesty, in my capacity as the Junior Preceptor to the Crown Heir,"
"I naturally hope more for Her Highness to ascend the throne."
Lin Qingyan looked at Gu Chengyin indifferently, not continuing the topic.
Instead, she asked straightforwardly:
"Do you have any other questions?"
and couldn't return to the real world. Finally, I gave up and decided to go with the flow, only to discover that writing a diary could make me stronger. Since no one could read it, Su Luo wrote freely, daring to pen anything and everything. Female Lead #1: "Not bad. This diary helped me steal all the protagonist's opportunities. I just want to get stronger." Female Lead #2: "I don’t care about reaching the peak of the cultivation world. Right now, I just want to enjoy the chaos." Female Lead #3: "What? Everyone around me is a spy? I’m the Joker Demon Lord?" ... It’s so strange. Why is the plot completely off track, yet the ending remains the same? Are you all just messing with me?!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
y came from. The chests contained supplies, currency, class-change scrolls, skills, talents… and even godhood! The laws of the world were completely rewritten. This became a world where everyone gambled with their fate! Some people, despite having nothing, opened a divine artifact and rose to the top, eventually ruling the world. Others went bankrupt, opened nothing but worthless junk, and leaped from skyscrapers in despair. Lin Ye arrived in this world from another reality, utterly bewildered. “What is going on? Why is everyone a gambling addict?!” “Opening chests? No way. I refuse to gamble. I’ll start with myself!” Until— On his first chest, he obtained a Mythic Talent: Void Incarnation! He could become completely intangible, pass through all things, and reduce everything to nothingness! … On his fiftieth chest, he obtained a Mythic Weapon: Blade of Karma! With a single slash, karma shattered, twisting the universe and overturning the myriad phenomena of creation! … On his ninety-ninth chest, he obtained a Mythic Divine Treasure: Primordial Purple Energy! It could split open the heavens and earth, create all things, and evolve countless worlds with a single thought! Lin Ye: “Now that I think about it… shouldn’t someone have told me that every chest is guaranteed to contain something Mythic?!”
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
