63: Handling the aftermath

Gu Chang quickly understood the cause and effect of the matter, but knowing all this only made him feel utterly speechless.

Simply put, the other party was indeed a Disciple of Cloud Firmament Palace, and also the Immortal guarding Qingzhou Prefecture.

When he learned of the ice lotus seed appearing in Taihu Lake, he immediately rushed over, because this kind of ice lotus seed was effective against Heart Demons and would be a waste on Mortals and Martial Artists; it was truly a good thing for Cultivators.

However, after he dealt with the Demonic Path expert, he did not find any trace of the ice lotus seed.

It just so happened that during this time, he heard news about Gu Chang, especially when he learned that Gu Chang, originally just an ordinary fisherman, had suddenly transformed into an Innate Expert, which made him speculate.

That is, Gu Chang most likely obtained a true Immortal Treasure in Taihu Lake; only then could it explain how he was able to become an Innate Expert in such a short period of time.

Because of the greed in his heart, he did not choose to report this conjecture to the Sect, but chose to act on his own.

At the same time, he was worried that if he actively sought out Gu Chang, Gu Chang might discover him and escape, or even use that unknown Immortal Treasure to ambush them, so he came up with the idea that instead of actively searching for the other party, it would be better to let the other party come to them.

So they ostentatiously withdrew from the Taihu Lake area, but secretly began to set up traps and Formations on the Island where Gu Chang had lived.

As long as the other party returned and stepped into the trap, it would be impossible to escape.

His entire plan was indeed meticulous; apart from him and a few Martial Forest experts under his command, no one else knew anything.

Gu Chang himself did indeed return to Taihu Lake alone, just as he had expected.

Everything went smoothly, but in the end, they calculated everything but failed to consider that Gu Chang's strength was so terrifying; even a Late Stage Qi Refining expert would likely not fare well against him.

After listening to his confession, Gu Chang really wanted to say that he truly did not have that so-called Immortal Treasure.

But on second thought, what about the Six Paths of Reincarnation in his mind?

"Kill me! Hahaha!"

"But even if I die, you are destined to be buried with me!"

After recounting the events, the now extremely disheveled Cultivator laughed maniacally.

"Kill you? Of course, I will kill you, but why should I do it myself?"

Seeing his reaction, Gu Chang immediately understood that this fellow probably had a hidden trick set by Cloud Firmament Palace on him, so he absolutely could not do it himself, and Gu Chang would not even want the things on him.

After a brief thought, Gu Chang directly knocked him out, then once again displayed Martial Dao Divine Paragon, and then carried this fellow directly away from Taihu Lake to the mountains and wilderness near Taihu Lake.

Subsequently, Gu Chang directly found a wild beast's den, cut his hands and feet, and then threw him in.

"Uh~ uh~"

The sudden appearance of a living person caused the hungry wild beasts in the den to growl incessantly.

Especially the smell of the other party's blood was extremely tempting to these wild beasts, and soon a wild beast could not hold back and pounced on him, tearing and biting.

"Ah!!!"

The intense pain woke him up, but now his hands and feet were crippled, his bones were broken all over, and the magical power in his body had been almost depleted in the previous battle, so at this moment, facing these wild beasts, he had no ability to resist except for screaming miserably.

Gu Chang waited not far away until the wild beasts had almost finished devouring him before leaving; in any case, this could not be considered him killing him. If the people from Cloud Firmament Palace could still trace it back to him, then Gu Chang would simply be unlucky.

Of course, the other party's death would certainly not end there; as long as they were willing to pay the price, it would probably still be traced back to him in the end.

So, he could no longer stay in Taihu Lake; next, he still needed to hide as far as possible.

Returning to Taihu Lake, Gu Chang quickly cleaned up the battlefield. All the items left behind by the other party were gathered by him and then thrown onto another Island in Taihu Lake.

If these things were not discovered in the future, they could be used, but definitely not now.

The bodies of the few Martial Forest experts were directly thrown into the lake by Gu Chang to feed the fish; they were not important figures anyway.

After tidying up these things, Gu Chang then steered the Ship away from the Island, then changed direction and headed towards another water system, until he was completely away from the Taihu Lake area, only then did Gu Chang gradually slow down.

"I wonder if what I've done can mislead those who are investigating, but I suppose my original identity can no longer be used."

"This Ship will also have to be abandoned later. Fortunately, I still have a Storage Pouch on me; I only need to take the valuable things."

"One day I will return, and by then, no one will dare to force me to leave again!"

Before leaving, Gu Chang's gaze seemed to pierce through the layers of darkness, looking towards the vast Taihu Lake.

It was clearly wide enough there, but he had no choice but to leave again; one could only say that life was full of uncertainties.

That night, Gu Chang packed his luggage, completely changed his appearance, scuttled the Ship where he had lived for a period, and disguised as a Jianghu person, disappeared into the night.

The next morning, in Taihe City, Ningzhou, Gu Chang traveled all night and finally stopped, entering this ancient-looking city with the morning light.

"Porridge for sale! Porridge for sale! Buns! Steamed buns!"

"Fried dough sticks! Freshly fried dough sticks!"

"Flatbreads! Big, round flatbreads!"

"Cooked cakes! Eat cooked cakes!"

"..."

Various vendors in the city were busy early, with hot stoves in every shop and steam rising from the pots, and shouts rising and falling amidst the bustling crowd.

Gu Chang felt a bit hungry seeing these breakfast items, so he directly found a breakfast stall and started eating.

At this time, there were not many diners in the shop; after all, in this era, ordinary families basically cooked their own meals.

Those who had spare money to eat out were either merchants or Jianghu people; truly wealthy aristocratic families would not look down on such street-side eateries.

Gu Chang ate while listening to the conversations of the people around him, but unfortunately, these people were all talking about trivial family matters.

After eating his fill, Gu Chang continued to wander around the city, while pondering where he should go next.

Currently, he actually only had three choices before him.

First, blend into a certain social stratum and Cultivate diligently, striving to quickly Cultivate the Mixed Origin Skill to the sixth level of Qi Refining.

The advantage of this choice was that it was like 'great hermits hide in the city', making it convenient to purchase daily necessities, facilitating his daily life and gathering information about the Jianghu.

Second, directly retreat into a deep mountain forest somewhere and Cultivate silently until he reached the sixth level of Qi Refining.

The advantage of this choice was greater secrecy; since he would not interact with outsiders, there would naturally be no problem of exposing his identity.

Third, directly go to Qingling Mountain, where the Cultivator market was located, and then Cultivate, live, and obtain more Cultivation resources there.

This choice was relatively more risky, but it would certainly greatly accelerate his Cultivation speed, and at the same time, he could obtain other Cultivation resources and broaden his horizons, preventing him from remaining vague about the world of Cultivators, like looking at flowers through a fog.

The three choices each had their pros and cons. The first two would definitely result in extremely slow Cultivation speeds; by the time he Cultivated to the sixth level of Qi Refining, he would probably already be fifty or sixty years old.

The third choice would undoubtedly be much faster, but it might lead to more dangerous situations.

So, Gu Chang was temporarily in a dilemma about how to choose.

"Get out of the way! Everyone get out of the way!"

"Iron Crane Sect is doing business; all idlers move back, or don't blame us for being impolite!"

"Everyone move aside! Whoever blocks the way dies!"

"..."

Just as Gu Chang was strolling down the street, pondering his future, a sudden commotion made him snap back to reality.

He saw a group of Jianghu people carrying weapons appearing ahead. Several strong thugs cleared the way through the crowd, followed by a few young male and female heroes, full of Divine Qi, behind an old man.

The surrounding common people scattered upon seeing this, not daring to block the way, making the originally crowded street suddenly become spacious, leaving only Gu Chang standing there somewhat dazed.

"Are you deaf?! I'm talking to you!"

The few thugs responsible for clearing the way saw that Gu Chang had not moved aside and immediately became furious, directly coming to push him.

"Hmm?"

However, it was clear that with the other party's strength, it was absolutely impossible to push Gu Chang.