The green color reflects on the bamboo building, and there is a white shadow on the top of the building.
The man was wearing plain white clothes, with his slender fingers holding a plain wine glass. He was leaning on the railing in a very casual manner, looking down at him.
Gu Pinglin walked to the foot of the bamboo building, stopped, raised his head slightly, and looked at him.
The high and mighty attitude and innate pride vaguely resembled the shadow of his previous life when he looked down upon the world. His cold and sharp eyes showed the focus during the battle, but also revealed a bit of carelessness. The sky was filled with green, and the ground was covered with dead leaves... It was as if nothing in this world mattered to him.
Gu Pinglin said: "I'm here."
"It's a day later than I expected."
"Only by staying absolutely calm can you make the most correct decision."
"It's your decision," he said as a dead leaf floated down from the sky. He seemed to be trying to catch it, but when his fingertips were about to touch it, he withdrew his hand and said calmly, "Are you going to question me, or are you going to kill me?"
In an instant, the withered yellow bamboo leaves stopped in mid-air, with the tips of the leaves pointing upwards, like a small sword hanging vertically in the air.
As the sword intent swept through, the bamboo leaves on the ground rolled and rubbed against each other with a rustling sound, and then stood up one by one, ready to go.
Gu Pinglin looked down at the bamboo leaves and said, "Neither."
"oh?"
"I can't kill you, and you won't kill me."
Duan Qingming stared at him for a moment and chuckled, "You are indeed calm enough."
The wine glass was thrown into the air, and Gu Pinglin reached out to take it. Not a drop of wine was spilled in the glass: "It's Zhiyan wine."
The sword's power dissipated, and the dead leaves on the ground were still dead leaves on the ground. Duan Qingming stood up and said, "If you are not an enemy, you are a guest. Please come in."
Gu Pinglin walked up the bamboo stairs and saw a small bamboo table and two bamboo stools on the small platform beside the railing. There was a wine pot and two wine glasses on the table, and fresh fruits on the plates. It seemed that they had been waiting for him. Gu Pinglin casually put the wine on the table.
Duan Qingming still stood sideways by the railing, squinting his eyes: "Don't you want to drink?"
"I don't like drinking," Gu Pinglin said, "and I have doubts in my heart, so I don't have the mood to drink."
Duan Qingming asked back: "Don't you know the reason?"
Gu Pinglin was silent for a moment: "I have no ill intentions."
Duan Qingming said: "I don't have any bad intentions."
Gu Pinglin said, "I admit that I was the one who contacted the Duan family and told them about Gu Ying's swordsmanship. But even if you hand over your swordsmanship, they may not be able to learn it. Without the "Bu Tian Jue", no matter how strong Gu Ying's swordsmanship is, it will only be limited. This is not a big loss for you."
"The purpose is to get me back to the Duan family."
"You will be more valued if you return to the Duan family."
"It sounds like a good arrangement," Duan Qingming paused, "but why should I follow other people's arrangements?"
Gu Pinglin asked back: "Am I someone else?"
Duan Qingming was originally looking at the scenery outside the building. He was a little surprised when he heard this. He turned to look at him and laughed: "So forcing me to leave is also the so-called friendship between brothers?"
Gu Pinglin said: "I just hope you leave Lingxin Sect, I don't want to kill you."
Duan Qingming looked outside the building again and said leisurely, "So I am just offering you the skills. Yue Songting can choose to practice or not."
"This is not called a choice," Gu Pinglin said, "You are taking revenge."
"No, in a fair contest, I accept any possibility and never retaliate," Duan Qingming said, "I just helped you. You want to give the Creation Art to Yue Songting, what will you do if he really practices it? You will only be more distressed, worried about how to protect the Lingxin Sect's group of idiots..."
Gu Pinglin interrupted him: "This possibility does not exist."
"Nothing in the world is impossible," Duan Qingming said with a smile, "Can the human heart withstand temptation? Look, he can't wait to practice the "Heaven Repairing Art"."
Gu Pinglin said: "That's different."
Duan Qingming did not argue with him: "Instead of letting others choose and waiting for uncertain results, it is better to solve it once and for all. Yue Songting's absence is more beneficial to your plan. You don't have to worry about it anymore. Use the new swordsmanship and the "Creation Art" to strengthen the Lingxin Sect. Isn't this the result that you and he both want?"
"But the price is not what I want."
"To die for the Lingxin Sect is a worthy death for him. Moreover, if he enters reincarnation earlier, he can return to the path of Tao sooner. He has not lost anything."
"He could have lived another decade."
"If you can hear the truth in the morning, you can die in the evening. Isn't it worth more than ten years of life to be able to see the "Heaven Repairing Art"?"
In the past, Gu Pinglin would have thought that he was mocking him, but now, after hearing these words, Gu Pinglin felt mixed emotions.
He really thought so and even thought he was doing himself a favor.
The wind blows, the bamboo sways, and ethereal sounds fill the air.
Gu Pinglin paced a few steps and stopped by the railing, looking at the bamboo leaves falling outside the railing. "Duan Qingming, you know, without Lingxin Sect and my master, I would not be able to embark on the path of Taoism smoothly, let alone become the Gu Pinglin standing in front of you."
"Talking about favors?" Duan Qingming brushed away the fallen leaves that were about to touch him disapprovingly. "He is looking for a disciple for the Lingxin Sect, and you just happen to meet the requirements. If you had very poor qualifications, would he still be interested in you?"
"Whether the master will take a fancy to me is still unknown," Gu Pinglin paused, "but you will definitely not take a fancy to me."
Duan Qingming heard this and turned to look at him.
Eyes met.
"Didn't you take a fancy to me first?" Duan Qingming smiled and lowered his head slightly. "Who took the initiative to find me, saying that he was my opponent and attracted my attention? Eh, you don't admit it?"
Gu Pinglin turned to the outside of the building: "If possible, I don't want to provoke you."
"Because in the previous life," Duan Qingming said, "I once destroyed your Dao meridians. Is this your obsession?"
Gu Pinglin did not correct his misunderstanding: "So what? Will you let me destroy your Dao Meridian for revenge?"
"If I let you, will you be able to break your obsession?"
"No," Gu Pinglin avoided the topic, "The previous life is the previous life, and this life is this life. Although I want to break the obsession, I am not so obsessed with the hatred of the previous life, and I don't want to destroy your Taoism. There is no point in saying more."
Duan Qingming stopped talking as he was told: "Let's get back to the previous topic. If you have very poor aptitude and don't join the Lingxin Sect, do you really think you will stay in the Gu family forever and be unknown?"
"of course not."
"So, even without Yue Songting, I would still be here and would still be interested in you."
Gu Pinglin stopped talking.
"Are you regretting testing me again and again, or are you blaming yourself for Yue Songting? You are disturbed by these ridiculous emotions, so you are not strong enough," Duan Qingming put his hand on his shoulder, "The fact is, if you follow me, you will have a better path."
"I am troubled by my emotions, aren't you?" Gu Pinglin suddenly grabbed his hand and looked up at him.
Duan Qingming seemed a little surprised.
Gu Pinglin looked straight at him, his tone a little sharp: "You have no feelings, would you care about my path?"
Duan Qingming looked at their hands and chuckled, "Really? You've always said that I'm heartless and ungrateful."
Gu Pinglin said: "It's up to you. I can barely accept your reasons and not care about this matter, but I must be the head of the Lingxin Sect."
"Interesting conditions," Duan Qingming said, still looking at his hand, and returned to his nonchalant tone, "Why should I agree to you?"
Gu Pinglin said: "I want to be one."
Duan Qingming finally raised his eyes, his narrow pupils half hidden in the shadow of his black eyelashes, not much emotion could be seen, except that his gaze was slightly cold.
On the opposite side, Ying's eyes were bright and sharp, without any guilt or embarrassment.
His eyes moved down again, falling back on the two folded hands. Duan Qingming raised his finger and said with a smile: "Such a reason..."
"This is my last concession, if there is still a trace of brotherhood between you and me." Noticing the movement of his palm, Gu Pinglin frowned and threw the hand away from his shoulder, retracted his gaze, and looked outside the building again.
Duan Qingming neither agreed nor refused, and mentioned another matter: "I heard that the method to break the Shadow Breaking Heaven Formation has spread."
"It's me," Gu Pinglin said, "This formation is too powerful. The method to break it shouldn't be in the hands of just one person, and no one else would allow this to happen."
"In this case, the Shadow Breaking Heaven Formation will be completely useless. Are you willing to do that?"
"A sword formation is just a sword formation after all," Gu Pinglin said, "but you, Xin Ji has great ambitions. You are taking a risk if you try to control him."
"Haven't you always wanted to kill me?"
"I can't kill you, and I don't want you to die at the hands of others."
"You want me to leave?"
"I broke our agreement this time. Sorry," Gu Pinglin said bluntly, but also a little curious, "How did you reject Duan?"
"It's just luck. Yan Sen killed a patriarch." Duan Qingming walked to the side of the small table and took the glass of wine that Gu Pinglin had put down. "It's more important to find Yan Sen and take revenge than me. This is related to the reputation of the first family in the South Realm."
Ordinary people dare not easily touch the Duan family. Even though Yan Sen was angry and rampant, he was not someone who liked to cause trouble. At this time, he must be miserable and probably hid away. Gu Pinglin took a deep breath and said, "The elders treat you well."
Duan Qingming raised his cup and drank it all: "If I wasn't so talented, they wouldn't even give me a second glance. You are being overly sentimental again."
Gu Pinglin nodded and regained his composure: "That's right. Being disturbed by ridiculous emotions can turn a strong person into a weak one. I hope that you, Duan Qingming, will not be like this."
The "Creation Art" was not handed in after all. First, there was no need to do so, and second, Duan Qingming had already offered the "Heaven Repair Art". If it was handed in at this time, it would be suspected that the brothers were secretly competing with each other, which would make Yue Songting uneasy, so Gu Pinglin did not take any action.
In the following days, Yue Songting really put all his energy on Duan Qingming, often taking him around to give him instructions, and letting him handle the affairs of the sect alone. These small matters did not bother Duan Qingming at all. He seemed not to want to agree to Gu Pinglin's request, and was really ready to be the next head of the sect. His words and deeds were impeccable. Seeing this, Gu Pinglin did not look for him again. Everyone in the sect saw the change in their status, and some felt sorry for Gu Pinglin, but Duan Qingming was best at winning people's hearts, and his popularity was always very good. No one disobeyed him. Everyone was just worried about Gu Pinglin. Even Chen Qian, who always supported Duan Qingming, couldn't help but comfort him. Later, seeing that he was doing things as usual and not embarrassed, everyone was relieved.
By the deep winter, Yue Songting's health had gradually deteriorated. It happened that the Xuanming Sect was celebrating its 5,000th anniversary, and the sect leader Zhan Renjie sent out invitations to all Taoist friends to attend. The Xuanming Sect was a well-known sect in the cultivation world, and various sects and families sent gifts. Yue Songting felt that he could not bear it, so he simply handed the matter over to Duan Qingming.
Duan Qingming thought for a moment and said, "It's not appropriate for me to go alone. Why don't I ask Senior Brother Chen to go with me? If there's anything I don't understand, he can give me some pointers."
Compared with the status of Xuanming Sect, even if Yue Songting did not go in person, he should have sent his direct disciples to participate in the ceremony. Duan Qingming is not the sect leader yet, nor is he the sect leader's direct disciple. Going like this would seem to be disrespectful to the other party. Chen Qian is Yue Songting's eldest disciple, so it is indeed more appropriate for him to come forward.
The disciples of Lingxin Sect were often bullied by Xuanming Sect. Yue Songting was a kind person and did not take it to heart. However, Chen Qian could not stand the people of Xuanming Sect and found an excuse to refuse: "I have to go into seclusion recently."
Yue Songting knew his disciple's temper, and was about to scold him, but Gu Pinglin stepped forward and said, "I'll go on behalf of the master."
Gu Pinglin's reputation as the "future sect leader" had long spread outside, and he was indeed the most suitable candidate. He was willing to help proactively, and Yue Songting was very satisfied. He repeatedly reminded the two of them not to act on impulse when they arrived at the Xuanming Sect. The two agreed one by one, and went about their business after leaving the hall.
In a blink of an eye, it was the day of the Xuanming Sect's grand ceremony.