However, at this moment, he was vastly different from his past self. His Aperture was empty, not a single Gu worm remained, and even his cultivation had plummeted from Rank Five to Four-Turn Peak, severely reducing his strength to the point of almost losing the ability to resist. But even so, he would never let that Demonic Path scoundrel's scheme succeed; this was his final bottom line and his last shred of dignity.
"Your Excellency, since you are already awake, stop pretending to be unconscious. It's quite cold on the ground here." Liu Chen's voice suddenly came, clearly having seen through Tie Xueleng's pretense long ago.
Tie Xueleng's heart tightened. He knew his plan to feign death had been exposed. Now, he not only lacked the protection of Gu worms but his cultivation was also far inferior to his opponent's, making him less threatening than even a Three-Cycle Gu Master.
"You are not Gu Yue Yi Dai. You saved me. You are the mastermind who used the flying cranes to lead me here. The Tie Clan will never let your scheme succeed!" With this shout, Tie Xueleng, whose disguise had been exposed, finally stopped concealing himself.
Although Tie Xueleng had lost the ability to resist at this point, his eyes still burned with an unyielding flame. He stared intently at the young Gu Master in his prime, convinced that this person was the mastermind who had led him here to confront Gu Yue Yi Dai.
Facing Tie Xueleng's accusation, the young Gu Master Liu Chen merely smiled faintly and shook his head, not looking at the divine catch. His attention, however, was on the battlefield of Gu Yue Village in the distance, as if the fierce battle unfolding there was his true focus.
"It is said that Tie Xueleng, with his iron hand, made impartial judgments and solved cases like a god, yet to think he would view his savior in such a way is truly somewhat disappointing." Liu Chen sighed softly, seemingly feeling quite helpless about Tie Xueleng's reaction. However, there was not much blame in his tone; instead, it revealed a hint of playful mockery.
It turned out that before Liu Chen went to the Blood Lake graveyard to rescue Tie Xueleng, he had cleverly deployed a large number of various investigative Gu worms. These Gu worms, like his eyes and ears, formed an impeccable investigative killer move.
The power of this killer move lay in its ability to not only allow Liu Chen to observe scenes and sounds from thousands of miles away as if he were there, but also possessed an astonishing function—the ability to record footage!
It was precisely because of this that when he clashed with Gu Yue Yi Dai, with just a brief encounter, he was able to quickly grasp the situation and decisively retreat with Tie Xueleng's body. Among his considerations was also his reluctance to easily alter the plot's direction.
Of course, to avoid being detected by Gu Yue Yi Dai, he also used several Gu worms to conceal his Bloodline Qi, lest Gu Yue Yi Dai discover that Liu Chen was his Bloodline descendant. This also constrained Liu Chen during the battle.
At this moment, Gu Yue Yi Dai was fiercely entangled with Celestial Crane Elder, both sides clashing back and forth, unwilling to yield. A thrilling battle between flying cranes and Knife-Winged Blood Bats was also unfolding.
"I am just a C-grade... I can only prioritize myself, love myself more... that's why I became a demon..."
Gu Yue Yi Dai roared out his true feelings... "Old Ancestor Yi Dai is truly pathetic!" Liu Chen gazed at Gu Yue Yi Dai's confession, a surge of emotion welling up in his heart.
Gu Yue Yi Dai, after countless hardships and sufferings, all his efforts would ultimately benefit Fang Yuan, becoming his wedding dress.
Liu Chen sighed inwardly; even though Gu Yue Yi Dai had become a Demonic Path Gu Master, his heart was still not ruthless enough.
Five hundred years of long waiting, just for a descendant with the Gu Yue Yin wild style, just to preserve the foundation of Gu Yue Village. Liu Chen thought, if Gu Yue Yi Dai could have been more ruthless, he might have long ago unhesitatingly slaughtered those descendants to improve his Aperture Aptitude.
However, was there also a heavenly arrangement in this? Whether it was the Righteous Path's Twin Cranes or the Blood Sea True Inheritance, it all seemed to be specially prepared for Fang Yuan's rise. Liu Chen smiled bitterly and shook his head; all of this seemed to be fated, making it impossible to escape.
And now, Liu Chen himself had unknowingly become Fang Yuan's angel investor. The Flower Wine Inheritance he arranged, which he thought could have some influence on Fang Yuan, he found his methods were still too humble.
Gu Yue Village would still be destroyed, and even Qing Mao Mountain would likely still be frozen.
"I thank Your Excellency for saving my life!" Tie Xueleng said solemnly, his voice filled with gratitude towards his savior. "If Your Excellency is willing to return to the Tie Clan with me, my Tie Clan will surely offer a generous gift."
Tie Xueleng deeply understood that a life-saving grace was like a second creation, and he was determined to repay this benefactor well. He continued, "I know all the renowned Gu Masters in Southern Border, and you are definitely not one of them. I should have died once already, yet you saved me with such precious Gu worms." His gaze was fixed on the other party, as if he wanted to see through his appearance into his inner thoughts.
Tie Xueleng carefully observed the Gu Master before him, pondering inwardly. The aura of a Fifth Rank Gu Master emanating from the other party was undoubtedly genuine, and from his every gesture, one could see the unique mannerisms of Southern Border people. However, no matter how Tie Xueleng recalled, he could not remember which Fifth Rank Gu Master this person before him was.
Facing Tie Xueleng's inquiry, Liu Chen did not answer directly. Instead, the corners of his mouth curved into a faint smile. He leisurely said, "Tie Xueleng, since you are a divine catch, why don't you guess my purpose? If you guess correctly, I can bring your daughter over. After all, that battle over there is not something a mere Two-Cycle Gu Master can interfere with."
Liu Chen's words tightened Tie Xueleng's heart; he was naturally worried about his daughter. But at the same time, he also became highly suspicious of Liu Chen's purpose.
"Could Gu Yue Yi Dai actually possess a Blood Sea True Inheritance? Your Excellency, the Blood Sea True Inheritance is not sought by the Righteous Path." Tie Xueleng pondered inwardly, he couldn't help but wonder why a Fifth Rank Gu Master would go to such lengths to come to this remote Qing Mao Mountain.
In his mind, a terrifying thought flashed—the Blood Sea True Inheritance, which would poison all future generations! Only a Legacy of such a level could attract such covetousness from Fifth Rank Gu Masters.
"Spring Autumn Cicada is still too sinister; he should have already undergone Rebirth once now." However, facing Tie Xueleng's doubts, Liu Chen firmly shook his head, indicating that it was not so. His attention, however, remained on Gu Yue Village, observing Fang Yuan's actions, and he had already made his judgment.
At the same time, the situation on the Qing Mao Mountain battlefield had also reached its final critical moment. Gu Yue Yi Dai, in his fierce battle with Fang Yuan, gradually fell into a disadvantage, and was eventually thrown out of the range of the Blood Screen Sky Flower Gu by Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan then seized this opportunity to slaughter the Gu Yue Clan on a large scale, using the Blood Skull Gu to improve his Aperture Aptitude.
Just then, Celestial Crane Elder slowly returned, carrying Gu Yue Yi Dai's head.