Chapter 79

Gui BuGui chuckled, his eyes sweeping over everyone present before finally settling on Wu Mian. He said, "Actually, I only guessed a little bit, but it seems that my guess is pretty much spot on."

Saying this, Gui BuGui paused, turning his head to look at the direction of the henchmen and asked, "You said I got the general direction right, didn't you?"

After Gui BuGui finished speaking, almost everyone present was stunned. No one could figure out who Gui BuGui was talking to. At this moment, a sound of clapping suddenly came from the crowd, and a person walked out. It was the second-in-command, Qiu Biao.

At this moment, the brashness of Qiu Biao had completely disappeared. After walking out, he smiled at Gui BuGui and said, "I knew it couldn't be hidden forever. Most of what you guessed is right, but I'm still a bit curious. How did you figure it out? Where did I slip up and give it away?"

Just as Gui BuGui was about to answer, Wu Mian, who had been frowning all along, suddenly interjected, "Is it so interesting for you to play riddles with each other? Why don't you just tell us the answer and let us all be happy together?"

"Isn't that about to happen?" Gui BuGui bowed slightly to Qiu Biao with some respect, then said to Wu Mian, "Let me introduce you again. This is the first Great Master of our Fangshi sect, Yan Aihou... What, is it convenient to tell us your name?" As he said the last sentence, Gui BuGui's gaze had already settled on Qiu Biao.

Hearing that the brother who had been robbing and plundering with them for so many years was actually the first Great Master mentioned by Gui BuGui, the Gui brothers and their henchmen were stunned on the spot. The first Great Master, however, smiled indifferently and said to Gui BuGui, "No one has called me by my old name for so many years. I almost forgot it myself. Let me think..."

At this moment, Qiu Biao tilted his head and thought for a long time before saying, "My surname is Ji, and my given name is a single character. Yes, I remember now. My name is Ji Ai."

"That's Ji on top and Ai below, a great name, it sounds so grand..." Gui BuGui couldn't really find anything good about the name Ai, so he could only talk nonsense for a moment.

After saying his name, Yan Aihou Ji Ai smiled at Gui BuGui. After the old man finished praising his name, Ji Ai said, "Now that you know my name, can you tell me how you figured out I was Yan Aihou?"

Gui BuGui smiled and said, "To be honest, I thought you had already ascended to immortality. Not long ago, I saw a celestial corpse in Liaoxi County. At the time, I thought it was you. Later, I realized that it was just a decoy you set up to divert attention from here."

Saying this, Gui BuGui paused, turned back to look at Ren San, who had a不服不忿 (dissatisfied) look on his face, and continued, "To be specific, it was this little ginseng boy who helped me figure it out. When we first came down to catch him, you were the first to lead the charge, which made me feel a bit uneasy. After catching Ren San, you led us to the first exit he refused to take.

"Later, Wu Mian found you and the other four. If it weren't for your hints, he probably wouldn't have found you. When we met you and the others, I was a bit confused. If someone had captured you, why would they separate you? When Ren San came back on his own, I was surprised by his boldness. Later, I realized that the little guy knew he wouldn't be in trouble because the old man who named him was right there. As for the pool..."

Before Gui BuGui could finish, Ji Ai waved him off. Yan Aihou smiled faintly and said, "I didn't expect the Fangshi sect to produce someone as meticulous as you. Continue..."

The old man smiled and said, "None of the Great Masters of the Fangshi sect after you could have imagined that the first Great Master would ascend to immortality and then return to the world..."

After saying this, everyone's faces except Ji Ai's changed. Was Qiu Biao the legendary immortal?

Of course, there was one exception. Behind Gui BuGui, the white-haired Wu Mian suddenly "pfft" and laughed. In the quiet atmosphere, this somewhat mocking laugh sounded particularly jarring. After the laughter, Wu Mian continued in his unique, sarcastic tone, "Ascended to immortality and didn't dare to go anywhere, just guarding here like a grave-keeper. Is this a grave-keeper immortal?"

Who is this person? To dare offend an immortal... After hearing this, everyone's faces changed. The one whose face changed the most was Gui BuGui. He had already figured out Wu Mian's temperament and personality. Recently, his temper had calmed down a lot. Gui BuGui thought the white-haired man had finally understood some human relations. But he never expected Wu Mian to suddenly lose it and speak to an immortal he absolutely couldn't afford to offend.

By the time Gui BuGui tried to stop him, it was too late. Fortunately, Yan Aihou didn't get angry. He just looked at Wu Mian up and down and then said with a smile, "A few years ago, a boy named Xu Fu came here to find me. He said he wanted to find a person with a karmic connection to entrust a seed to. I didn't expect that in just a few years, I would meet this person with a karmic connection."

"Xu Fu came to see you? What did that old man want?" This was something Gui BuGui could never have guessed. He didn't even bother to give Wu Mian a warning look and asked Ji Ai in a daze.

Yan Aihou said, "It's quite amusing. He asked me to give up this palace, saying he wanted to make it part of a map. If my curiosity hadn't been worn out, I might have agreed in a moment of enthusiasm. But to be honest, that boy Xu Fu surprised me. He is one of the strongest among all the Great Masters."

"Strongest among all the Great Masters..." Wu Mian picked up on the flaw in Ji Ai's words and continued sarcastically, "I wonder if this includes you, the old immortal?"

"You take the word 'immortal' too seriously," the old immortal's temper was surprisingly good. He smiled at Wu Mian and said, "In the Fangshi sect, there are two paths of cultivation. One is like me, cultivating the way of immortality. The other is like you and Xu Fu, using external forces to achieve immortality."

Seeing that Wu Mian's sarcasm didn't bring any retribution, the Gui brothers also mustered up the courage to join in with a flattering tone. It was Gui Lai who spoke, "If there's a chance to ascend to immortality, who would care about mere immortality? Once you're an immortal, what's the point of being immortal or not?"

Perhaps because he had been Qiu Biao for so long, Ji Ai still had some affection for the brothers. Looking at the Gui brothers, he said, "You're wrong. Ascending to immortality is a shortcut, but once you become an immortal, there's no more room for growth. On the other hand, if a mortal body can achieve the extraordinary state of immortality, the potential is limitless. Surpassing immortals is not impossible."

Hearing this heretical theory for the first time, the Gui brothers widened their eyes and looked at each other, then closed their mouths. The henchmen behind them dared not speak anymore. The old man Gui BuGui just smiled at Ji Ai, as if he already knew everything and didn't need to ask anymore.

The one who didn't believe in this was Wu Mian. After looking at Gui BuGui, he turned to Ji Ai and said, "Can you now tell us what this underground palace is all about?"

Yan Aihou turned to look at Gui BuGui and said, "Since you've already guessed so much, keep guessing. Let me see how meticulous you are."