With round eyes and a lively smile, Yan Feixiu led the Xuanming Sect disciples to walk towards this side in big strides, looking very energetic: "I guessed you guys were coming, where is Chen Qian's donkey?"
"Senior Brother Chen and Junior Brother Bu have already gone inside," Chang Jinxin explained while looking at the middle-aged cultivator next to him, "Could this be the disciple of the head of Xiyuan Guard?"
The middle-aged monk bowed and smiled, "I dare not, I am Zhuang Jing."
Everyone then noticed that the group of people coming were not just Xuanming Sect disciples, but also Xiyuan Sect disciples. Xiyuan Sect was near the Misty Wilderness, and had been troubled by the monsters recently. They would naturally receive a big sect like Xuanming Sect to help, and Zhuang Jing was the eldest disciple of the sect leader Wei Nan.
The three of them were still being polite, but Gu Pinglin's eyes were fixed on the girl next to Yan Feixiu.
The girl was only twelve or thirteen years old and had gradually grown up. Compared with those stunning female cultivators around Duan Pinglin in his previous life, her eyebrows and eyes were not particularly stunning, but she looked very comfortable, especially the pair of shallow dimples when she smiled, which contained a gentleness like clear water, making people calm down unconsciously.
Perhaps extreme people like Duan Qingming love her tranquility.
Gu Pinglin sighed.
Qu Lin.
The name is just like the person. In the previous life, she died because of him, and she had deep feelings for Duan Qingming. Duan Qingming treated her differently in every way. Only her death could really make him angry, and even failed to be promoted. If it weren't for the god-level skill of Bu Tian Jue, even his qualifications would be damaged. He gave himself the cruelest revenge and destroyed his own Dao meridian. Even though he later obtained the Creation Jue and returned to the Dao, those few years of despair were really the pain of his life.
In fact, he hadn't expected that he liked Qu Lin to that extent.
After experiencing a lifetime, looking back, Gu Pinglin smiled bitterly.
Although she was competitive, she was more or less upright than Duan Qingming who had no principles. But who would have thought that she would be stimulated by Bu Shuihan's death and go to extremes, harming such an innocent girl. She really owed her.
Qu Lin is Yan Feixiu's cousin. She has just joined Xuanming Sect and is still a little shy. Seeing the young monk opposite her staring at her in a daze, she couldn't help but blush and lowered her head to retreat behind her cousin.
The familiar scene brought back memories, and Gu Pinglin withdrew his gaze.
There was vaguely such a scene in her previous life, but she was standing next to Duan Qingming at that time, and almost everyone's attention was on Duan Qingming, but she inexplicably noticed her, and then she hid behind Duan Qingming.
Qu Lin was indeed a likable girl. Even though Gu Pinglin did that in his previous life in order to take revenge on Duan Qingming, Gu Pinglin was by no means completely hostile to her. If she had not been so deeply in love with Duan Qingming and had not committed suicide, he would have even thought of marrying her as a Taoist partner. Perhaps things would have developed differently.
After Chang Jinxin and the other two were polite, they sat on the ground, and the disciples of the three sects followed suit. The Lingxin Sect was not as powerful as the Xuanming Sect, but it was also somewhat famous in the world of cultivation, and many Xiyuan disciples took the initiative to come over to chat and get to know them. People in the northwest are tall and strong, and the Xiyuan disciples are famous for their enthusiasm and boldness, which makes it easy for people to have a good impression. The disciples of the two sects talked happily with each other and soon became one.
People in the northwest love to drink, and many Xiyuan disciples brought wine gourds and meat with them. The wine was authentic Lingquan wine, and the meat was dried spiritual beast meat, a specialty of the northwest. When they were happy talking, they took out the wine and meat to entertain everyone, saying that it was the hospitality of the hosts. Everyone declined at first, and then they started to eat and drink together happily.
Chang Jinxin and Zhuang Jing were chatting casually, talking about the recent major events in the cultivation world, vaguely involving the "East China Sea" and "Penglai Island".
Gu Pinglin understood.
Things are still developing in the direction of the previous life. Something unexpected happened on Penglai Island in the East China Sea. A major cleansing will be carried out on the island, and Nanzhu should be brought back to the island soon.
Qu Lin sat with several senior sisters, speaking very little. She carefully used a knife to cut dried meat for everyone. When she found Gu Pinglin was still looking at her, she couldn't help but glance at him quickly, turned her face away, and smiled.
Gu Pinglin was a little absent-minded.
A hand was stretched out in front of him, holding a silver cup filled with liquor.
Even these things are carried with him, who would have thought that this elegant person actually has a demon inside. Gu Pinglin pushed away the wine glass: "Thank you, I don't drink."
Gu Pinglin was born thin, but his alcohol tolerance was not bad. In his previous life, he often drank with Bu Shuihan for several days in a row, and Bu Shuihan was always the one who got drunk in the end. However, after the incident with Qu Lin, he rarely touched alcohol again, and even if he occasionally touched it, he never got drunk.
If it weren't for that drunkenness, he would never have harmed Qu Lin and the Lingxin Sect. Probably no one expected it to come to that. At first, he and Duan Qingming were at most secretly competing with each other, a normal rivalry. It was Qu Lin's death that caused everything to go wrong.
"Oh?" Duan Qingming took back the wine glass and drank it. "Don't tell me, you don't know how to drink."
He was famous for his good alcohol tolerance, but Gu Pinglin always believed that his alcohol tolerance was not necessarily worse than his. Facing the provocation, Gu Pinglin snorted: "Drinking too much will cause trouble, there is nothing to praise."
"Did you miss seeing a woman?"
"Hmm?" Gu Pinglin did not intend to hide his concern for Qu Lin. Instead, he was a little curious. Duan Qingming was not in Xuanming Sect in this life. Would he still fall in love with Qu Lin? So Gu Pinglin tried, "What do you think of her?"
Duan Qingming didn't even look at it, but poured another glass of wine and drank it, then curled his lips after a while: "Gu Xiaojiu, your vision is really disappointing."
Gu Pinglin never expected that his evaluation would be like this and was stunned.
"The path does not allow for distraction," Duan Qingming said casually, "If you want to defeat me, you'd better focus."
Gu Pinglin looked at him with mixed feelings and said nothing.
In the early morning, the fog in the wilderness was thicker, and it was all white. You couldn't see anyone at all ten steps away.
The disciples of the three sects each acted according to their plan. Every disciple of the Lingxin Sect received a distress talisman. Under such circumstances, the golden eagle could not go on the mission. Chang Jinxin repeatedly told everyone that they must return here within the agreed time.
Before departure, the number of people in each team was basically fixed. Gu Pinglin's team had a total of seven people. He was the master's direct disciple and had the highest cultivation level, so he was naturally elected as the leader. Gu Pinglin did not refuse and decided the formation and everyone's responsibilities in just a few words.
Duan Qingming did not form a team with anyone, and stood alone under the short tree. Just one night later, he had already changed into a clean white robe, a white pleated silk belt, and small white patterns embroidered on the red sleeves.
This mysophobia is enough. Gu Pinglin shook his head and laughed.
In his previous life, he took the same southwest route as me, and that route was very smooth. But now I am not sure which way he will go. Who can see through Duan Qingming
Gu Pinglin paid special attention to the movements of the Xuanming Sect and found that the team Qu Lin was in was also going northwest. He was immediately surprised because in his previous life, all the disciples of the Xuanming Sect took the southwest route.
Gu Pinglin understood after a brief thought.
The Xuanming Sect has always respected the strong. In his previous life, Duan Qingming was in the Xuanming Sect, and proud people like him were extremely popular. It is estimated that everyone followed the southwest line because of his influence. Now that Duan Qingming is gone, it is not surprising that they would change their route.
When Qu Lin and the others announced their departure, Gu Pinglin immediately ordered the team to set off. He strode ahead, passed by Qu Lin, and whispered something to him.
Qu Lin was completely confused. When he looked up again, he saw only white fog. The figure of the handsome young man had disappeared in the depths of the fog.
The fog concealed the secret, and no one seemed to have noticed this episode.
Gu Pinglin led everyone to the northwest, and successively killed more than 20 low-level and mid-level monsters. Several times, some disciples were in danger due to lack of experience. Fortunately, Gu Pinglin responded quickly and finally escaped danger. Later, everyone encountered a high-level monster. Gu Pinglin calmly directed everyone to deal with it. The high-level monster was not a fierce beast. The seven people spent half a day to kill it. Except for one disciple who was slightly injured because of being too nervous, the rest were safe and sound.
Half a month passed in a blink of an eye. Everyone counted and found that they had a good harvest. All the bags were filled with many materials for alchemy and medicine, including a low-grade demon pill, which should be able to record a lot of merit points. It was still early before the agreed time, and everyone was happy to agree to continue moving forward.
The people who died in Luoyan Swamp in the previous life were Wang Yu and Liu Taixue from the team. Gu Pinglin was thinking about this matter, and when he saw that they were approaching Luoyan Swamp, he asked everyone to stop and rest for a while. However, before they could settle down, they met another group of people.
There were five people on the other side, three men and two women, and the leader was a woman.
Wang Yu and others were still confused, but Gu Pinglin recognized her immediately and pursed his lips.
The woman was none other than Zhang Lian from the Six Paths Sect, who had brought her disciples to the Spiritual Heart Sect to practice in the Dark Cave. It turned out that the Six Paths Sect had also come this time, half a month earlier than the Spiritual Heart Sect. This team was led by Zhang Lian, and it seemed that they had gained a lot and were preparing to return home.
Upon discovering Gu Pinglin and the others, Zhang Lian immediately waved his hand, signaling the disciples behind him to stop, and his eyes fell directly on Gu Pinglin. The young man's steadiness and majesty that went beyond his age easily attracted attention.
She actually still had an impression of Gu Pinglin: "Could that be Mr. Duan Liu's junior fellow apprentice?"
Chang Jinxin was not there, so Gu Pinglin, as the head disciple, should have stepped forward to respond. He took two steps forward calmly and responded with a bow, "So you are the senior sister from the Six Paths Sect. Lingxin Sect's Gu Pinglin and all the junior brothers are here."
"It's the Lingxin Sect." The disciples of the Liudao Sect were overjoyed and came over to greet them with a bow.
The two sects have always had a good relationship. Zhang Lian naturally knew about Yue Songting's decision to accept a closed disciple. Upon hearing this, her surprise flashed across her face and she smiled sweetly, "So you are Junior Brother Gu. You are indeed a young talent."
She was very good at talking, and Gu Pinglin politely replied "I dare not" and gave her a few appropriate compliments.
Zhang Lian asked, "Where is Master Duan Liu?"
She was thinking about Duan Qingming, but it was clear that Duan Qingming had no interest in her. Gu Pinglin shook his head and replied, "I parted with Senior Brother Duan the day before yesterday, and even I don't know where he is now."
Zhang Lian showed a little disappointment. After all, she was a young girl, so it was not appropriate to ask too much about Duan Qingming. She changed the subject wisely. Gu Pinglin was the head of the sect in his previous life, so he was naturally well-mannered. There was no need to be too polite between the two sects. Seeing that it was getting late, Zhang Lian simply asked the disciples of the Six Paths Sect to rest on the spot, and everyone sat down and talked around the fire.
When they got to the lively place, a disciple joked, "Strange, have you noticed that Junior Brother Gu and Senior Sister Zhang have some similarities in their eyebrows and eyes?"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at the two of them carefully and couldn't help but applaud and laugh.
"Sure enough! I felt that Senior Sister Zhang looked familiar when I saw her just now."
"Sister Zhang, do you have a lost brother?"
"Really?" Zhang Lian touched her face, looking quite charming. "No wonder Junior Brother Gu and I hit it off right away. Although we are not siblings, we are better than siblings. If I disguise myself as Junior Brother Gu to meet Young Master Duan Liu, I wonder if he will make a mistake?"
Gu Pinglin smiled, but he clenched his left hand into a fist and punched the ground lightly.
Duan Qingming, is really despicable!