"Don’t stir up trouble for nothing, let’s go around."

"We’re already here, let’s take a look!"

Without giving him a choice, Ling Xiao grabbed Gu Sheng by the arm and dragged him toward the crowd.

"Might turn out to be something good!"

Gu Sheng was helpless and could only let himself be pulled and squeezed into the crowd.

The surrounding Disciples were all discussing in low voices, their faces full of excitement.

"I heard the Holy Daughter is going to pass by here!"

"Really? Senior Sister Su hasn’t appeared on Xuanming Divine Mountain for half a year!"

"They say she’s here this time to look for some kind of Spiritual Medicine..."

When Gu Sheng heard the words Holy Daughter, his heart suddenly gave a violent thump.

He instinctively wanted to retreat, but the packed crowd blocked his way.

Just then, the crowd suddenly fell silent. In the distance, a white figure walked over at an unhurried pace.

It was a woman, dressed in snow-white robes, her black hair like a waterfall, simply pinned up with a single Jade hairpin.

Her brows and eyes were as if painted, yet she carried a kind of aloof chill that brooked no profanation, like a Nine Heavens Profound Lady descending to the mortal world, untouched by worldly dust.

"Senior Sister Su!" 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Holy Daughter!"

The surrounding Disciples all bowed, their eyes filled with admiration.

Gu Sheng, however, was struck as if by lightning, frozen in place.

He recognized that face—Su Muxue, Holy Daughter of Qinghe Holy Land, the woman he had met once on the Northern Territory wasteland three years ago.

"I’m done for..."

Gu Sheng cried out inwardly that things were bad, instinctively lowering his head, hoping not to be recognized.

Ling Xiao was also stunned, muttering to himself.

"So this is the Holy Daughter of Qinghe Holy Land? She really lives up to her name..."

Su Muxue walked forward at a measured pace, and wherever she passed, the Disciples automatically opened up a path.

Her gaze did not waver to either side, as if everything around her had nothing to do with her.

Just as Gu Sheng was secretly rejoicing, Su Muxue suddenly stopped in front of him.

Time seemed to freeze.

Gu Sheng could feel a cold, clear gaze fall on him, making the hair on his back stand on end.

"Junior Brother, have we met before?"

Su Muxue spoke, her voice like clear spring striking stone, pleasant yet carrying a sense of distance.

Gu Sheng’s heart lurched violently, but he forced himself to raise his head calmly, squeezing out a smile.

"Holy Daughter must have mistaken me for someone else. I am but an ordinary Disciple, how could I possibly have had the fortune to know the Holy Daughter?"

All eyes focused on Gu Sheng, some surprised, some jealous, but mostly puzzled.

Why would the lofty Holy Daughter take the initiative to speak to an obscure, nameless Disciple?

Su Muxue’s brows knit slightly, those eyes that seemed able to see through the human heart staring straight at Gu Sheng.

"What is your name?"

Gu Sheng’s heart was pounding like a drum, his mind racing for a countermeasure.

He couldn’t give his real name, but if he made one up on the spot, he feared it would give him away.

"I am... Qing Feng."

"Qing Feng..."

Su Muxue repeated softly, as if searching her memory for this name.

Gu Sheng could feel his palms already slick with sweat, but he didn’t dare show the slightest abnormality.

"Does the Holy Daughter have any instruction?"

He spoke again, trying to break this suffocating silence.

Su Muxue did not answer. She only looked deeply at him, that gaze as if it could pierce through his disguise and reach the depths of his soul.

The surrounding Disciples began whispering among themselves.

"Who is that kid? How come I’ve never seen him before?"

"He actually dares to talk to the Holy Daughter like that!"

"Why is the Holy Daughter paying so much attention to him?"

Gu Sheng felt countless hostile gazes shoot toward him, prickling against his back.

He knew he had unintentionally become the target of everyone’s animosity.

"Hey! Brat!"

A tall, burly Disciple suddenly stepped forward, his face full of menace.

"The Holy Daughter is talking to you—what kind of attitude is that?"

"Exactly!"

Another Disciple chimed in.

"A mere Outer Disciple like you is worthy of making the Holy Daughter stop in her tracks?"

Gu Sheng inwardly cursed that this was bad, but outwardly he still kept his calm.

"I mean no offense. I was merely curious as to why the Holy Daughter stopped."

"You dare talk back?"

The tall Disciple glared, eyes wide.

"Do you know who is standing in front of you? Su Muxue, Holy Daughter of Qinghe Holy Land! Do you know how many Core Disciples find it harder than ascending to the heavens just to say a word to the Holy Daughter? What the hell are you?"

Seeing this, Ling Xiao hurriedly stepped in front of Gu Sheng.

"Please, Senior Brothers, calm down. My friend has just arrived and doesn’t understand the rules yet, I beg your forgiveness."

"Get out of my way!"

The tall Disciple shoved Ling Xiao aside with one push.

"This is none of your damn business!"

There was anger in Gu Sheng’s eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.

He supported the staggering Ling Xiao and said in a low voice,

"Let’s go."

"You want to leave?"

A few Disciples had already surrounded them.

"You offended the Holy Daughter and think you can just walk away?"

Su Muxue still stood where she was, quietly watching this scene, neither speaking to stop it nor showing any intention of leaving.

Gu Sheng knew that things would most likely not end peacefully today.

He quietly began circulating the Spiritual Power in his body, ready to respond to any possible conflict at any time.

Su Muxue withdrew her gaze and once again looked at Gu Sheng.

"Qing Feng... I hope that the next time we meet, you can give me a satisfactory answer."

With that, she drifted away, her white robes fluttering in the wind, soon disappearing into the mist.

The clouds and mist halfway up Xuanming Divine Mountain were suddenly parted by a gust of clear wind, revealing that white figure in the distance, going further and further away.

In the direction Su Muxue had left, dozens of Core Disciples were still standing where they were, gazes obsessed as they stared in the direction in which she had vanished.

"The Holy Daughter actually took the initiative to speak to someone..."

One Disciple muttered to himself, his face full of disbelief.

"What’s the background of that brat called Qing Feng?"

Another gnashed his teeth.

"I’ve cultivated in the Holy Land for five years and haven’t even gotten a clear look at the Holy Daughter’s face!"

The discussions rose and fell, and everyone’s attention was fixed on the already departed Gu Sheng.

No one noticed that, on the edge of the crowd, a Disciple with a sinister face quietly crushed the Communication Jade Scroll in his hand.