The two people in front of the table were a middle-aged scholar with a long beard and extremely bright eyes, as if he could see through the deepest thoughts hidden in people’s hearts.

This person was none other than Xiu Yanqing’s grandfather—Xiu Daozhen.

Don’t be deceived by his outstanding appearance; in reality, he is ruthless in his actions. Ordinary cultivators offend him and die without knowing how.

As for the other person, he was heroic and tall, dressed in a black robe, with a pair of eyes that were sharp and invasive, as if they were hooks.

Moreover, this person’s appearance was somewhat similar to Zheng Changlong, whom Gu Yuan had seen before.

Obviously, this person was Zheng Xingkong!

Zheng Xingkong glanced indifferently at Gu Yuan and Blood Cry True Master, said nothing, and continued to savor the spirit tea.

As for Xiu Daozhen, he said, "Alright, just speak out if you have something to say."

"Well..."

Gu Yuan, portraying Xiu Yanqing with remarkable precision, hesitated as he looked at Xiu Daozhen, then at Zheng Xingkong, confirming that Xiu Daozhen did not intend for him to avoid Zheng Xingkong, and then spoke honestly:

"To be straight with you, Isle Master, this matter is something the disciple just recently learned about."

"A few days ago, someone under my command personally saw Yan Chunyuan appearing near our Little Iron Cloud Island. Afterward, I ordered an investigation and learned that Yan Chunyuan was searching for a treasure called the ’Qixuan Gourd.’"

At this point, the character Gu Yuan was portraying, Xiu Yanqing, revealed a suitably puzzled expression and said, "However, during a follow-up investigation, one of my subordinates happened to acquire a small earth-yellow gourd."

Upon hearing Yan Chunyuan came for the Qixuan Gourd, Xiu Daozhen raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.

Zheng Xingkong, especially upon hearing the words "Qixuan Gourd," put down his tea cup and turned his gaze sharply towards Gu Yuan.

And when they heard that Gu Yuan had obtained a small earth-yellow gourd, their expressions subtly changed, clearly shocked.

"Where is it? Let me see it."

Before Xiu Daozhen could say anything, Zheng Xingkong spoke directly.

Xiu Daozhen glanced at him, saying nothing, clearly acquiescing to Zheng Xingkong’s words.

However, both Gu Yuan and Blood Cry True Master felt noticeably surprised, apparently shocked by Xiu Daozhen’s attitude towards Zheng Xingkong.

Yet Xiu Daozhen and Zheng Xingkong offered no explanation, the former simply looking quietly at Gu Yuan.

Under the pressure of his gaze, Gu Yuan hurriedly retrieved a wooden box from his storage pouch and respectfully presented it with both hands.

With a gesture, Xiu Daozhen summoned the wooden box into his hand. Just as he was about to open it, Gu Yuan and Blood Cry True Master, acting in perfect sync, suddenly turned into escape lights and retreated swiftly and unexpectedly, as if crazed, leaving others to wonder what was in their gourd.

Seeing this, both Xiu Daozhen and Zheng Xingkong were stunned. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Yet they were not ordinary individuals and immediately sensed something was amiss. Without a word, they quickly attempted to escape.

But by then it was too late, as the wooden box in Xiu Daozhen’s hand suddenly erupted in enormous thunderous light and sound.

Massive waves of energy, thunder light, and fire light clashed, recklessly tearing apart everything tangible and intangible around them.

Everything it passed was reduced to dust by the supremely yin and poisonous Yin Thunder.

In the blink of an eye, the massive explosion wave extended for miles, obliterating Xiu Daozhen’s entire cave mansion, collapsing and shattering several nearby mountains in the process.

The cliff where Xiu Daozhen and Zheng Xingkong had been standing was long since reduced to dust.

As for the condition of Xiu Daozhen and Zheng Xingkong, Gu Yuan didn’t know, but he himself was not in good shape.

Although he retreated promptly, the wooden box contained over a hundred Yin Thunder Pearls he had placed, too many in number and too powerful.

Thus, even though he anticipated it, he still couldn’t avoid some impact, suffering serious injuries and looking quite miserable.

For instance, one of his arms was completely broken, his chest and waist bore several deep, bone-revealing wounds, from which blood constantly gushed.

He was flung out by the blast of light and thunder, crashing into a mountain with a loud thud, embedded deep within, his whole body wracked with pain, some bones shattered, even his internal organs severely damaged.

One must understand that with Gu Yuan’s physique strength, even top-grade magical artifacts would have difficulty harming him, yet he was now so heavily injured, indicating how terrifying the explosion had been.

About this, Gu Yuan was not surprised, for the Yin Thunder Pearls he crafted could easily kill a Celestial Human Realm Cultivator, or even an ordinary Golden Core Great Cultivator, with just one.

Ten together were enough to force even a First Grade Pill character to retreat.

And over a hundred had caused a qualitative change, not boasting, but even characters like Xiu Daozhen and Zheng Xingkong suffering such a devastating blast at close range wouldn’t escape unscathed, but with extreme, gruesome injuries!

But Gu Yuan wasn’t particularly concerned about his injuries, as with a mere thought, his bones instantly realigned with cracking sounds, blood flowed back, and his wounds began healing quickly.

In just a few breaths, he had mostly recovered, his injuries significantly healed, although some bloodstains still clung to his clothes and skin.

As for Blood Cry True Master, Gu Yuan clearly saw that his injuries were even worse, his body literally blasted into meat paste.

However, the meat paste flashed with a blood light, quickly reverting to Blood Cry True Master’s appearance.

This was clearly Blood Cry True Master’s Divine Demon!

This kind of Divine Demon often possesses some immortality, capable of effortlessly returning to its original form even when shattered into pieces.

It can be said to be immune to most physical and magic attacks.

Only a few top-grade divine techniques, or even great divine techniques, can harm such divine demons.

In Gu Yuan’s view, the divine demon belonging to Blood Cry True Master was crimson, with a faintly sweet cloying blood scent, presumably forged based on some astonishing blood-based divine technique.

Whether this was Blood Cry True Master’s true Lifebound Demon, Gu Yuan couldn’t be sure.

"Little friend, your physique is quite impressive."

Seeing Gu Yuan’s current state, Blood Cry True Master was quite surprised as well.

His own physique was strong, but ultimately not strong enough, and he was blown into meat paste by the residual wave from those Yin Thunder Pearls, nearly dying without a complete body. If not for sending his Blood Soul Divine Demon, the clone might have been completely annihilated just now.