Chapter 115 This human fellow Daoist looks quite unfamiliar.

As Gu Heng spoke, he prepared to step down the stairs.

His foot hung in mid-air, an inch away from the first step, and stopped. After two breaths, he pulled his foot back.

"Taking the stairs is too slow."

He muttered to himself.

His tone carried a hint of disdain, annoyed by the steep mountain path and his own whim earlier that had led him to wander so far.

Lin Qingyue stood beside him, smoothing her sleeves, waiting for him to move.

Glancing sideways, she saw that Gu Heng wasn't looking at the path beneath his feet.

His gaze swept over the cliffs, the sea of clouds, the floating islands held up by Formations, and the dense crowd of the Dragon Clan in front of Longyuan Hall who were still kowtowing toward the altar, before finally settling on the air directly in front of them.

He didn't move.

But the mountain path beneath his feet began to recede.

It wasn't that the path was moving; it was the world itself that was shifting backward.

Lin Qingyue felt a bizarre illusion.

She was standing on solid ground with no sense of weightlessness, yet she saw the surrounding scenery racing backward. It was like sitting in a stationary boat and watching the river water and the green mountains on both banks flow upstream.

Mountains and rivers receded, and the sea of clouds rolled back. The eaves of Longyuan Hall in the distance, originally just a black dot, now seemed to be pushed by an invisible hand, silently sliding behind them.

The wind of the Dragon Domain continued to blow, but as soon as the grit approached within three zhang of the two of them, it split to both sides, carving out a clean passage in the wind.

Lin Qingyue's eyelashes trembled slightly.

She knew what was happening. This man found walking too troublesome, so he manipulated the space Law with a Divine Ability, making heaven and earth accommodate his pace.

She didn't want to ask, and she couldn't be bothered to ask anymore.

This man had nothing better to do, so he sat on the mountaintop all afternoon adjusting the sunset glow, wiping it away if the red was too piercing and deepening the orange if it wasn't warm enough. Now, finding the descent tiring, he changed his method to make the scenery walk itself—it seemed almost reasonable.

She stood quietly beside him.

Leveling her gaze, she watched the mountains on both sides turn into blurred flashes of light and shadow, like watching a shadow puppet play without a screen or actors.

Gu Heng put both hands behind his back, his expression calm, like a wealthy Young Master who had chartered an entire ferry, comfortably enjoying the scenery.

He even slightly closed his eyes and tilted his head back to feel the oncoming wind.

In fact, there was no wind blowing.

The place where they stood was stationary. It was only because the scenery was receding that the visual deception made him feel a breeze.

He quite enjoyed this illusion. It was like strolling through a flowing painting, letting the painting scroll itself and deliver the highlights to his eyes, while he only needed to keep them open.

"Descending the mountain this way is indeed not tiring."

A hint of self-satisfaction appeared on Gu Heng's face.

This shadow puppet play lasted for less than three breaths.

The distant Longyuan Hall solidified from a phantom, its architectural presence looming over them.

The voices on the plaza and the low growls of the Dragon Clan flooded into their ears again.

The scenery stopped.

The two of them were already standing at the edge of the Longyuan Hall plaza.

Looking back,

The mountain path still hung on the distant low Peak, half-hidden by clouds, showing no trace of having been stretched.

Gu Heng turned to look at Lin Qingyue, his tone relaxed. "See? I didn't even take a step, and we're here."

Lin Qingyue looked at him from the corner of her eye.

Her lips twitched as if she wanted to say something, but the words circled her mouth and turned into a simple shake of the head.

She said nothing and followed him into the plaza.

The members of the Dragon Clan on the plaza had long since become numb to the methods of this white-robed Senior.

He had just finished adjusting the sunset, and now he had made mountains and rivers flow backward.

Tomorrow, even if the whim struck him to pluck Longyuan Hall out of the ground and hang it in the sky as a lantern, these dragons would probably only be stunned for three breaths before turning in a different direction to continue kowtowing.

The ones truly making the edge of the plaza lively were those little dragon hatchlings who had only broken their shells a few years ago.

Half an hour ago, these little dragon hatchlings only dared to hide behind stone pillars to watch.

Now, seeing that Gu Heng hadn't lost his temper, they grew bolder. Using playfulness as an excuse, they unknowingly drew closer and closer.

A small black dragon, pitch-black all over with incomplete scales, squeezed out from the crowd at some point and scurried to Gu Heng's side.

It tilted its round head and reached out a claw still covered in soft membrane to grab the azure jade pendant hanging from Gu Heng's waist.

This jade pendant was the life-saving pendant that the Qingxuan Old Ancestor had forced upon him back at the Qingyun Sect in the Lower Realm.

It seemed to be called the "azure dragon heart-protecting jade."

With Gu Heng's current cultivation, even if the jade pendant exploded, it wouldn't hurt him. He wore it purely because the words "Azure Dragon" sounded impressive and the carving was decent.

Now, the use of this jade pendant was that it would make a tinkling sound as it swayed with his steps.

This kind of sound had a fatal attraction for little dragon hatchlings.

The little black dragon's claw hadn't even touched the jade pendant yet.

In the dragon crowd not far away, the Black Dragon Immortal Emperor, who had just had his ears twisted by his wife for blindly worshipping grass, was rubbing his reddened earlobes.

A quick glance from the corner of his eye made his entire face turn pale instantly.

"You little brat—"

The Black Dragon Immortal Emperor didn't care about his Immortal Emperor's poise; he took three steps in two and charged over like a black afterimage.

The moment before the little black dragon's claw touched the jade pendant, the Black Dragon Immortal Emperor grabbed the scruff of its neck, scooped it up from beside Gu Heng's leg, and tucked it under his arm.

Immediately following that,

This Dragon Domain Immortal Emperor gave Gu Heng a ninety-degree bow.

"Senior, please forgive us!"

Cold sweat dripped from the Black Dragon Immortal Emperor's forehead. "This boy just hatched and doesn't know the heights of heaven or the depths of the earth, disturbing Senior's presence! When we return, I will definitely hang him up and whip him, disciplining him strictly!"

The little black dragon tucked under his arm didn't realize its father was having a breakdown.

Its four short claws flailed in mid-air as it looked longingly at the jade pendant, muttering, "Jade pendant... Azure Dragon..."

The Black Dragon Immortal Emperor's shout also jolted the parents of several other little dragon hatchlings nearby.

A group of normally high-and-mighty Immortal Emperors all lost their composure.

They rushed over with pale faces, grabbing back their own peeping hatchlings.

"Kneel! Kowtow to Senior!"

Scolding and slapping sounds, mixed with the wails of the little dragon hatchlings after being hit, erupted in this area.

This open space at the edge of the plaza was filled with pleas for "Senior's forgiveness." It was more than twice as lively as when the group of little brats had been fighting over territory earlier.

Gu Heng stopped his pace.

He looked down at the little black dragon still trying to stretch its neck to reach the jade pendant while tucked under an arm, then at the Black Dragon Immortal Emperor's terrified face of "family misfortune."

He couldn't help but let out a short laugh.

In the Black Dragon Immortal Emperor's ears, this laughter was no different from a death knell, making his legs go weak again.

Gu Heng reached out his right hand.

The Black Dragon Immortal Emperor closed his eyes in tension, thinking this Senior was going to swat his son into a bloody mist with a single palm.

An index finger lightly landed on the little black dragon's forehead.

*Boing.*

He gave it a gentle flick.

The force was so light that it didn't even ruffle half a hair on the little black dragon's forehead.

The little black dragon gave an "ow" and covered its forehead with its two front claws.

Although it didn't hurt, it knew it had been disciplined, and it finally quieted down, no longer flailing.

"No matter."

Gu Heng withdrew his hand and put both hands behind his back.

He looked at the stiff Black Dragon Immortal Emperor and spoke casually, "It's a good thing for hatchlings to have vitality. What are you in such a hurry for?"

The Black Dragon Immortal Emperor froze on the spot, his eyes wide.

After half a breath,

He finally reacted, nodding his head like a pestle.

"Yes, yes, yes! Senior's lecture is correct! Senior's magnanimity is vast; this Junior could never repay it even in ten thousand deaths!"

While he agreed verbally, his hand didn't relax, and he secretly pinched the little black dragon's butt, cursing under his breath, "Still crying! When we get back, I'll break your legs!"

Gu Heng saw all of this.

He knew that in the Black Dragon Immortal Emperor's mind, which was accustomed to the Law of the jungle, the phrase "it's a good thing to have vitality" had already been translated as—"Senior is warning me for my poor discipline; he's sparing our lives this time, but there will be no mercy if it happens again."

Explaining was useless. Explaining to these people would only make things more misunderstood.

Gu Heng couldn't be bothered to waste his breath.

He straightened up and brushed off a few wrinkles on his hem that had been rubbed by the little dragon's claws.

Then, he turned to look at Lin Qingyue.

"Let's go, let's head back."

Gu Heng set off, walking along the edge of the plaza toward the exit.

His gaze swept across the center of the plaza.

There, hundreds of Dragon Clan elites still maintained their pious postures, kowtowing loudly toward the "Lietian Grass" on the altar.

Seeing this absurd scene, the corners of Gu Heng's mouth curled up again.

Lin Qingyue followed half a step behind him. She was just about to ask where they were going when Gu Heng ahead of her suddenly stopped.

"Hmm?"

Lin Qingyue followed his gaze.

Her eyes fell on a corner at the edge of the plaza.

There,

Stood an old Loose Cultivator in a gray robe.

Amidst the group of Dragon Clan elites clad in heavy armor and of burly stature, this thin, slightly hunched Human Race Loose Cultivator seemed out of place and inconspicuous.

He craned his withered neck and stood on tiptoe, peering toward the altar. His cloudy eyes were filled with curiosity.

Lin Qingyue's Divine Sense swept over him, and she felt that this old man's aura was ordinary, with a cultivation around the Immortal King Realm.

In the Lower Realm, he would be a regional hegemon, but in the core of the Dragon Domain where God Lords and Divine Venerables were everywhere, he was not worth mentioning.

Gu Heng, however, narrowed his eyes.

His current cultivation, thanks to those few unlucky fellows, had already reached the Divine Venerable Realm.

With this one look, he didn't even need to activate his Divine Sense.

The layers upon layers of disguise on that gray-robed old man were like a sheet of paper that could be poked through with one touch in Gu Heng's vision.

Beneath the gray cloth robe were hidden dark golden dragon scales.

Inside that seemingly ordinary Immortal King aura was a compressed mass of violent destruction Law. Even what flowed within every one of his bones was pure Dragon Clan Bloodline.

Peak God Lord Realm.

This was a pure-blooded old dragon only one step away from Divine Venerable.

At this moment when the Dragon Clan was collectively mourning and worshipping the War God, a Peak God Lord old dragon didn't show his true form to kowtow before the altar, but instead disguised himself as a Human Race Loose Cultivator to watch the show from a corner?

"Interesting."

A glint of interest flashed in Gu Heng's eyes.

Without explaining to Lin Qingyue, he directly changed direction and stepped toward that gray-robed old Loose Cultivator.

At this time, Ao Lie was watching with great interest.

Relying on his Peak God Lord cultivation and the Breath-Concealing Secret Technique he had obtained from an ancient ruin, he was confident that even if the Dragon Ancestor himself came, as long as he didn't search deliberately, he wouldn't see through his disguise.

He mingled at the outermost edge, watching those normally high-and-mighty Dragon Emperors kowtowing to a piece of grass with their whole families, tears and snot flowing. He was holding back his laughter so much that his abdominal muscles were about to cramp.

"God-Venerable Lietian, oh God-Venerable Lietian, even an old fellow like you has a day like this."

Ao Lie laughed wildly in his heart, feeling that this detour was simply not in vain.

He planned to take a few more looks and then leave to complete the task of refining the Original Realm.

A hand,

Reached out from the side without any warning.

*Pat.*

With a sound that was neither heavy nor light, it landed on Ao Lie's right shoulder.

"This Fellow Daoist of the Human Race looks quite unfamiliar."

[part:gemini-2.5-flash]

The voice came from behind him, its tone as flat as if encountering an acquaintance at a roadside noodle stall and casually greeting them.

It was this flat sound, coupled with the touch on his shoulder.

Ao Lie froze completely.

His mind boomed.

When did this person arrive?

He was at the Peak of the God Lord Realm. Even if he suppressed his cultivation to disguise himself, the alert Divine Sense he had honed through countless life-and-death battles was not shut off.

Let alone getting within three steps of him, even if a God Lord of the same Realm scanned him from ten thousand miles away, his Divine Soul would be alerted.

But just now,

Until that hand patted his shoulder, he hadn't detected even a trace of Qi movement.

The air hadn't been displaced, and the Laws hadn't been disturbed.

It was as if, a moment ago, there was nothing behind his right side, and the next moment, someone appeared from nothingness and extended a hand.

Driven by primal fear, Ao Lie's back tensed like a hard bow.

He didn't counterattack, because acting rashly before understanding the opponent's background usually led to the quickest death.

He swallowed, his heart pounding violently, and turned his head inch by inch.

What met his eyes was a handsome young face.

Clad in white robes.

The Youth in White had a slight smile on his lips, tilting his head slightly as he observed him.

Who?

Who was this person?

Ao Lie's pupils constricted and then dilated.

His Sea of Consciousness frantically spun at that instant, sifting through millions of years of memories.

Those old immortals from the Divine Court? Unlikely.

Old Ancestors from other reclusive great clans? Also not right.

He had always been too lazy to look at the wanted posters from Xuantian Hall.

As for the vague residual images of the “White-robed God Emperor” brought back by the Myriad Races Geniuses, he just dismissed them as exaggerations from inexperienced Juniors of the Lower Realm, not bothering to put them in his mind at all.

His search yielded no results; there was no such person in his memory.

Yet, this Youth in White, whom he didn't recognize, stood casually before him now, without even a starting stance, but caused Ao Lie's hidden dark-gold Dragon scales to rise one by one.

It wasn't because the other party exuded terrifying pressure.

On the contrary.

Ao Lie concentrated his Divine Sense to the extreme, locking onto the Youth in White before him.

This Youth in White stood here, integrated into this world, or rather, he himself was a part of this world.

In the cultivation world, there were only two situations where a God Lord Peak could feel nothing.

Either the other party was truly a Mortal.

Or, the other party's Realm was so high that he didn't even have the qualifications to look up to it.

Could a Mortal silently penetrate his perception net and pat his shoulder?

Ao Lie slapped himself mentally, extinguishing that thought.

“No, no, stay calm.”

Ao Lie thought to himself, “I am now an Immortal King Realm Human Race Loose Cultivator. My appearance is ordinary, my aura is ordinary, and I have no connection to the Dragon Clan. This person might just be an expert working in Longyuan Hall, and seeing me as a new face, is simply greeting and questioning me.”

He forced a smile, his face contorting into a fawning expression.

“Haha... it, it really is rare.”

Ao Lie rubbed his hands, his voice dry, “I didn't expect to encounter a second Human Race Fellow Daoist besides myself in a remote place like the Dragon Domain... Fate, truly fate.”

As he spoke, he shifted his weight to his left leg.

His stiff right shoulder, using the movement of speaking, sank half an inch, trying to slip away from that deadly hand.

He had only half-caught his breath.

“Pat.”

Gu Heng raised his hand, then let it fall again.

The same position, the same force as before.

Ao Lie nearly jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

He sharply turned his head, meeting Gu Heng's smiling face.

“Human Race Loose Cultivators are not common in this Dragon Domain.”

Gu Heng casually rested his hand on his shoulder, “Fellow Daoist, did you come all this way to sightsee?”

Sightseeing?

Ao Lie's mind raced.

Although this excuse was absurd, in this situation, it was a life-saving step.

“Yes, yes, sightseeing!”

Ao Lie nodded repeatedly, “I am but a carefree wanderer, and hearing of the beautiful scenery in the Dragon Domain, I specially came to tour it. Just now, I was watching the excitement by the altar.”

As he spoke,

He moved half a step to the side again.

Half his body was almost twisted, just to get his shoulder away from that deadly hand.

“Touring is good. I like people with leisure and elegance.”

Gu Heng took a step forward, his wrist flipping again.

“Pat.”

The third pat landed.

This time, the force was heavier.

With this one pat, Ao Lie discovered that the Law of Destruction within him, compressed to its extreme, was struck as if by divine iron, shrinking into the deepest part of his Divine Soul, unable to squeeze out even a spark.

His shoulder sank, and he almost knelt on the ground.

“I'm familiar with this Dragon Domain.”

Gu Heng seemed oblivious to his abnormality, his smile deepening, “Fellow Daoist is new here. Wherever you want to go, I'll lead the way. I guarantee you'll see all the wonders of the Dragon Domain.”

Lead the way?

Ao Lie roared internally. I am a Dragon Clan Divine Venerable; do I need you to lead the way?

But he didn't dare to shout it out. The dead silence of the Laws within him made him realize a fact—this smiling Youth in White before him could crush him into dust with just a flick of his finger.

“No, no need to trouble Fellow Daoist!”

Ao Lie's veins bulged on his forehead. Enduring the severe pain of his Divine Soul being crushed, he still forced a grateful fake smile, “I just remembered that I haven't collected the Medicinal Pills in my Immortal Cave, so I'm preparing to return now. The mountains are high and the waters long; we shall meet again!”

Before his words finished,

Ao Lie could no longer bother with his disguise.

He gritted his teeth, and space distorted beneath his feet, profound spatial teleportation Formation patterns flashing with dark-gold light.

In just half a breath, he could teleport hundreds of millions of miles away.

However,

The Formation patterns had only just begun to light up.

Gu Heng lifted his foot and took a step forward.

This step, perfectly, landed on the core array eye of that dark-gold Formation pattern.

“Crack.”

A crisp sound.

The spatial Formation pattern, capable of spanning Realms, instantly extinguished. The sensation of spatial distortion vanished.

Ao Lie felt his Qi and blood surge in his chest, a mouthful of dark-gold blood rushing to his throat. He gritted his teeth, not spitting out this mouthful of Dragon blood, and swallowed it back down.

“What's the hurry?”

Gu Heng withdrew his hand, “Since you've already come, rushing off would be such a killjoy.”

He turned,

And gestured with his chin towards the surrounded altar in the center of the plaza.

“Since Fellow Daoist is here for sightseeing, you absolutely must see the Dragon Domain's most famous attraction. Miss this, and your trip will have been in vain.”

Gu Heng didn't give Ao Lie a chance to refuse, extending his hand in a gesture of invitation, “Come on, let's go to the very front and get a clear look.”

Ao Lie's legs felt like they were filled with lead.

He didn't want to go.

Watching the spectacle from the sidelines earlier was one thing; being forced to “visit” while being controlled was another.

But he had no choice.

Although the surrounding space had returned to calm, he could feel that if he dared to utter a single “no,” his Physical Body and Divine Soul would be annihilated.

He could only stiffly move his feet, following beside Gu Heng.

Lin Qingyue watched this scene, her eyes subtly moving.

The two walked one after another towards the altar.

Ahead, the crowd was dense, all kneeling Dragon Clan elites.

But as Gu Heng approached, those kneeling Dragon Clan members were pushed aside by an invisible force.

Without words, the crowd automatically parted, forming a path directly to the altar.

Those Dragon Clan members who were pushed aside did not get angry; instead, they buried their heads even lower, not daring to even breathe heavily.

Ao Lie walked down this path, looking at the arrogant and untamed members of his clan on both sides, now prostrate on the ground like quails, the absurdity in his heart almost driving him mad.

He finally realized why this Youth in White dared to be so arrogant in the Dragon Domain.

Because these Dragons feared him. Feared him to their very bones.

They reached the edge of the altar and stopped.

Ahead was the freshly tilled soil flowerbed.

The dark-green Lietian Grass stood straight in the wind, its leaf edges glinting with a metallic luster.

Black Dragon Immortal Emperor and the others, seeing Gu Heng return, were so frightened they retreated to the side.

“Fellow Daoist, look.”

Gu Heng extended a finger, pointing at the Lietian Grass, “This is the Dragon Domain's current sacred object. It is said to be the Reincarnation of their War God, God-Venerable Lietian.”

Ao Lie followed Gu Heng's finger, his eyelids twitching.

Of course he knew this was God-Venerable Lietian. He had detoured precisely to see this joke.

But now, this joke wasn't funny at all.

“Fellow Daoist, what do you think of this grass?”

Gu Heng turned to stare at Ao Lie's pale face.

Ao Lie painstakingly squeezed out a few words, “It's... very green. And it grows... very straight.”

“Indeed, very straight.”

Gu Heng nodded, “This grass has a very strong backbone. Even with such strong winds earlier, it didn't even bend.”

“But tell me, if this grass were to be uprooted one day, or trampled flat, could the Dragon Clan's War God reincarnate again?”

“Boom—”

Ao Lie felt the last string in his mind snap.

He abruptly turned to look at Gu Heng, fear showing in his clouded eyes.

This person actually dared to casually discuss uprooting the Lietian Grass in front of so many Dragon Clan members?

Ao Lie's breathing became heavy.

He had previously mocked God-Venerable Lietian turning into grass as retribution, but now he only felt that if he stayed any longer, his fate might be even more tragic than God-Venerable Lietian's.

“Se... Senior...”

Ao Lie finally couldn't hold on. He prepared to kneel, kowtow, and beg for mercy, as long as he could save his life.

Gu Heng, however, reached out and supported his elbow, stopping his kneeling motion.

“Fellow Daoist, don't be so polite. I said we're sightseeing, why perform such a grandpresent?”

“I noticed a very special spatial coordinate aura on Fellow Daoist just now.”

“It's like a Lower Realm that's about to collapse... If I'm not mistaken, that place is called the Original Realm, right?”

Ao Lie was struck by lightning, frozen in place.

His secret mission was known only to the Ancestor and a few core high-ranking members; he hadn't even had time to set off for the Original Realm.

This person had stripped away all his secrets with just one glance.

Gu Heng patted his stiff shoulder, his voice echoing in his Sea of Consciousness, his eyes gradually turning cold,

“A Divine Venerable... what are you doing in the Original Realm?”

“Coincidentally, I love a good crowd. Since Fellow Daoist is going to the Original Realm, why don't we... team up and go take a look together?”