Although moving stealthily was slower, he could gain a lot of knowledge, especially when he disguised himself as a mortal and walked in the mortal world.
Not only did the seven brothers learn a lot about humans, but Gu Zheng also learned a lot. He finally understood why Gokusen had to hide his identity and walk in the mortal world. During this period of time, Gu Zheng's culinary skills improved again.
The realm of culinary skills and techniques were different. Techniques could be improved with more practice, but the realm was not so easy. It was like cultivation. It was not difficult to accumulate immortal energy, but it was difficult to break through. If one could not break through, they could not improve their realm.
It was the same for culinary skills. Gu Zheng's culinary skills had not improved for a long time. This time, when he sneaked into the mortal world, his culinary skills improved again, and he understood many things that he did not understand before.
The improvement of his culinary skills sped up the cultivation of Gu Zheng's Gokusen Immortal Art. Gokusen's Immortal Art was based on culinary skills. The better the culinary skills, the faster the cultivation. During this half a month, Gu Zheng's Gokusen Immortal Art had improved a lot. Now, his realm was at the peak of the early Jin Xian realm, and he could enter the middle stage at any time.
This speed was much faster than he had expected.
"I broke through!"
Seven days later, in a valley, Gu Zheng let out a long breath. He felt the rich immortal energy in his body. His realm had finally improved again, reaching the middle stage of the Jin Xian realm.
The middle stage of the Jin Xian realm seemed to be only one realm higher than the early stage, but in terms of immortal energy and combat strength, it was much higher than the early stage. When Gu Zheng was in the early stage, he could fight against the late stage, and even defeat the late stage. After reaching the middle stage, the average late stage Jin Xian was not his match.
"Congratulations, Brother Gu!"
The seven Yan brothers came forward to congratulate him. When Gu Zheng broke through, they stood guard at the side and watched as Gu Zheng broke through.
They were happy that Gu Zheng could break through and increase his strength. After all, the key to their Chaos Tribulation depended on Gu Zheng. The stronger Gu Zheng was, the better it was for them.
"Thank you, seven big brothers!"
Gu Zheng also cupped his fists and thanked them. These days of getting along with each other had made their relationship better and more harmonious. People who didn't understand them would never guess that Gu Zheng was their 'hostage' and that these people were kidnappers.
"Brother Gu, you're too courteous. It seems like Brother Gu has been on the verge of a breakthrough for a long time. You've had a fortuitous encounter recently, so you've broken through!"
Yan Er smiled while Gu Zheng smiled without saying anything. He was not on the verge of breaking through previously. Instead, he had broken through because his cultivation had increased recently.
"Big Brother, I remember that it took us more than five hundred years to advance from the early Jin Xian stage to the middle stage. It was also after the middle stage that we gained sentience!"
Yan Six chuckled. Back then, they were both beasts without intelligence. However, they were very close and had always been together. Their cultivation speed was basically the same as well.
It was also because of their teamwork that they were able to survive in the dangerous desert until they accidentally entered the Yan Clan's Daluo Jinxian's cave. They obtained the inheritance and gained intelligence.
"That's right. It's been more than five hundred years. Back then, we didn't know anything. Time passed very quickly!"
Yan Da laughed loudly. For the Demon Clan, it was already very fast to go from the early stage of the Golden Immortal Realm to the middle stage of the Golden Immortal Realm in more than five hundred years. The Demon Clan's cultivation was naturally slower than that of humans.
Five hundred years was considered a genius among Goblins. They had more than one genius like this. There were seven of them.
"Brother Gu, how long did it take you to advance from the early stage to the middle stage?"
Yan Six asked casually. Before Gu Zheng could reply, Yan Five chuckled and said, "Given Brother Gu's talent, you definitely didn't need five hundred years. You might have reached it in three hundred years!"
"I think it was even shorter. Two hundred years. Brother Gu can advance from the early stage to the middle stage in two hundred years!" This time, it was Yan Da who spoke. Two hundred years. Reaching the middle stage of the Jin Xian stage in two hundred years was considered a genius among the human race.
"I think it's still too long. A hundred years. I think Brother Gu did it in about a hundred years!"
Yan Seven added. During this period of time, they had a deeper understanding of Gu Zheng. They also knew that Gu Zheng's abilities were higher than those of the same level. In addition, Gu Zheng was an important figure in Shushan. To Yan Seven, a hundred years was enough. More than that wouldn't show how different Gu Zheng was.
If a Jin Xian could advance from the early stage to the middle stage in a hundred years, he would definitely be a genius among geniuses. All the sects would want to protect him. Such a person would definitely advance to the Daluo Jinxian stage in the future.
"Brother Gu, how long did it take for you to break through?"
Yan Three asked quickly when he saw that Gu Zheng was smiling without replying. The others also looked at Gu Zheng curiously. They wanted to know the exact answer from Gu Zheng.
"Well, about a year!"
Gu Zheng hesitated for a while. In the end, he decided to tell them the truth. Gu Zheng came from the Lower Domain. He had only been in the Eldritch World for about a year. Most of his time was spent traveling.
When they reached Shushan in the future, they would naturally find out. There was no need to lie and hide it now.
"Indeed, one …"
Yan Seven smiled and nodded. However, he stopped mid-sentence. The seven brothers all looked at Gu Zheng as though they were looking at a monster.
"Brother Gu, how long did you say you took?"
Swallowing his saliva, Yan Qi asked again. The other six people's expressions were not much different from his. They were all staring at Gu Zheng.
"One year!"
Gu Zheng replied helplessly. One year. In one year, Jin Xian advanced from the early stage to the middle stage. To Gu Zheng, this was neither fast nor slow. After all, he had only been cultivating for a few years.
"One year!"
Yan Seven swallowed his saliva again and extended a finger. He exchanged glances with the other six brothers. In one year, Jin Xian had broken through one level. This was not the Celestial Immortal Realm, nor the Qi Transformation Realm. This was Jin Xian.
Not to mention Golden Immortals, it was already very good to be able to break through a small level in a year in the Qi Transformation Realm. But at the Void Return Realm, basically no one could do it so quickly, let alone Golden Immortals.
"Brother Gu is indeed worthy!"
After a long while, Yan Seven sighed. At the same time, he was even more determined to stay with Gu Zheng. Gu Zheng was the key to them passing the Chaos Tribulation.
If Jin Xian advanced from the early stage to the middle stage in one year, how long would it take to advance from the middle stage to the late stage? Five years or ten years?
What about from the late stage to the Daluo Jinxian? A hundred years?
With this speed, it was not impossible for him to break through to the Sage-to-be or even the Sage Realm in the future. Thinking of this, Yan Seven shuddered violently and looked at Gu Zheng with even more fervor.
"I'll go and stabilize my realm first!"
Gu Zheng felt uncomfortable being stared at by them. He hurriedly said goodbye and fled. The seven brothers consciously guarded Gu Zheng. The better Gu Zheng performed, the more confidence they had. Now, even if they tried to chase them away, they would not be able to drive them away from Gu Zheng.
…
"So, the person who killed the demons in Feng State City was not He Zu Dao?"
On a mountain, Ziyun Sage was meditating in a Taoist temple. This was just an ordinary Taoist temple in the mortal world. Now, it had become the temporary residence of Mount Shu.
The Heavenly Court was investigating, so was Mount Shu. They also had their own information channels.
They had noticed the letter that Gu Zheng had left for them. Knowing that Gu Zheng was safe, they were relieved. However, they did not stop chasing. In any case, they had to rescue Gu Zheng from the seven Ominous Beasts.
This was not only because Gu Zheng was their elder, but also because it concerned the reputation of the entire Mount Shu.
"That's right. He Zu Dao was injured by the Devil on Myriad Valley Peak. He has only recovered recently. Kunlun did not let him out!"
The disciple who came to report nodded. They had inquired more clearly.
"If it was not He Zu Dao, then who was it that day?" Ziyun Sage seemed to be asking, but also seemed to be talking to himself.
"We are also wondering who pretended to be He Zu Dao to kill the demons, and why?" The disciple who came to report asked again.
"You are right. There is no need for him to pretend to be He Zu Dao. Killing demons is not a bad thing. Since he pretended to be He Zu Dao, he had to hide his identity. He must have known He Zu Dao or at least seen him!"
Ziyun Sage nodded slowly, his eyes flashing.
"We are also wondering if this person is Martial Granduncle," the disciple who came to report suddenly said.
Ziyun Sage immediately turned around. His eyes flashed as he looked straight at the disciple.
"First of all, Martial Granduncle has the strength. Although he is only at the initial stage of Jin Xian Realm, ordinary Jin Xian Realm cultivators are no match for him. This has been proven during the Ranking Assembly!"
The disciple who came to report quickly lowered his head and spoke quickly after being stared at by Ziyun Sage.
"Go on!" Ziyun Sage did not interrupt him and allowed him to continue.
"Second of all, since Martial Granduncle was able to send us a letter before, it proves that he is on good terms with the seven ferocious beasts. At least, they did not harm him. If Martial Granduncle encountered a demon and could not reveal his true identity, it would be understandable if he pretended to be He Zu Dao and attacked!"
"You are just guessing. The seven ferocious beasts are all very powerful. It would be the same if they attacked."
Su Ming, who was standing next to Ziyun Sage, could not help but speak up. Su Ming was also there. He was the one who had to save Gu Zheng. Gu Zheng was snatched from his hands, which could be said to be the greatest shame in his life.
"We are also wondering why the ferocious beasts did not attack but agreed to let Martial Granduncle do it instead of stopping him. After thinking about it for a long time, we finally came to a conclusion!"
"What conclusion?" Ziyun Sage asked again.
"Martial Granduncle has already established a good relationship with the seven ferocious beasts, which is why he has a certain degree of freedom in his actions. Martial Granduncle did not want to expose himself, so he pretended to be He Zu Dao to get rid of the demons!"
The disciple who came to report gritted his teeth and spoke slowly. He had mustered up his courage to speak. After all, their speculations were too outrageous.
The kidnapped Martial Granduncle was with the demons and even helped them hide it. No matter how he thought about it, it did not seem possible.
"But these reasons are not enough to prove it!" Ziyun Sage shook his head slowly. The disciple who came to report raised his head and said again, "Sect Leader, we actually came up with these theories after we made some deductions. We were trying to figure out who pretended to be He Zu Dao!"
"He Zu Dao is an outstanding disciple of Kunlun. He also came from the Lower Realm. He has only been in the Untainted Land for five hundred years, so he does not know many people. We inquired about all the people who knew He Zu Dao from Kunlun, and even those who had seen him before. Then, we eliminated those who were not strong enough. In the end, only about thirty people were left.
"Only seven out of thirty people were qualified to do it. We inquired about all seven of them. None of them were in Feng State City at the time, and none of them had the motive to do so. In this way, pretending to be He Zu Dao to get rid of the demons became an unsolved case. After that, we pushed the blame to Martial Granduncle!"
"Martial Granduncle also came from the Lower Realm, so he knows even fewer people. Besides us from Shushan and the East Arrival Pavilion, only the people from Three Immortals Cave and He Zu Dao are in Jin Xian's realm. With Martial Granduncle's personality, he definitely would not have pretended to be those people from Three Immortals Cave. If he wanted to hide himself, then the only one left was He Zu Dao!"
"Only after we gathered all the information together did we come to this conclusion!"
The disciple finished speaking in one breath, then looked at the Reverend of the Purple Cloud nervously.
The Reverend of the Purple Cloud did not reply. He turned his head around to look at Su Ming, who remained silent.
Su Ming was thinking about the possibility of this happening. It might be hard to believe, but it had to be said that there was a possibility. These disciples had done a good job. It was a very small matter and a very small clue, but they had managed to investigate so many things. It was truly not easy.
"If it was really your martial granduncle's doing, then how far do you think his relationship with the ferocious beasts has developed?"
Su Ming asked the disciple. The disciple lifted his head and answered without hesitation, "He's a good friend, and he might even be more than that!"
"More than that?"
"That's right. We suspect that he might even be helping the ferocious beasts escape. Otherwise, those seven ferocious beasts would not have been able to hide for so long without being discovered by us. We're not the only ones chasing after them. It's very strange that even Heaven couldn't catch up to them!"
"Tell me, if it's really as you guessed, then what should we do next?"
This time, the person who spoke was the Reverend of the Purple Cloud. Clearly, the disciple's words had moved both him and Su Ming, or else they would not have asked this question separately.
"Think of a way to send a message to our martial granduncle secretly and ask him about the truth. If our martial granduncle was the one behind what happened in Feng Province City, then they won't be too far away while they're hiding. At most, they'll be within a circular area of one hundred thousand lis. Within this one hundred thousand lis, we'll search for some important regions and leave behind a signal unique to Shu Mountain!"
"And within this one hundred thousand lis, we'll focus on the western side. We'll leave more messages there. As long as our martial granduncle sees it, he'll definitely send us another message!"
"Why is the western side our focus?" the Reverend of the Purple Cloud asked again.
"Because we're guessing that our martial granduncle's destination might be Aparagodānīya State. That's why we'll continue heading west!"
Once the disciple finished speaking, the Reverend of the Purple Cloud and Su Ming did not speak. They closed their eyes and did not speak, as if they were digesting the disciple's words.
"We'll do as you say. If there's a reply, inform me immediately!"
Just as the disciple was feeling nervous, the Reverend of the Purple Cloud finally spoke. A purple flush appeared on the disciple's face, and he immediately agreed to leave and do these things.
There were quite a number of disciples in Shu Mountain who were searching for Gu Zheng's whereabouts. Even Daluo Jinxian had been mobilized, but there was still no news of him.
This disciple was just a normal Jin Xian searching disciple. There were only a few dozen people in his group, and all of them were Jin Xian. There was not a single Daluo Jinxian among them, but he had managed to analyze so much, which surprised the Reverend of the Purple Cloud.
Even though the Reverend of the Purple Cloud did not completely believe in his speculations, there was no problem in letting them try. It did not matter whether they were right or not, they would not lose anything by trying. Besides, they did not have any other good ideas at the moment.
Five days later, in a mortal city, Gu Zheng and his group stayed in an inn.
In the city, the Yan brothers no longer asked to go to restaurants. When they were outside, Gu Zheng had made some delicious food. Once they tasted the food made by Gu Zheng, they decisively abandoned all the food in the mortal world's restaurants. Compared to the food made by Gu Zheng, the food was practically trash.
No, it was worse than trash.
In such a short period of time, the seven brothers' appetites had been raised by Gu Zheng, and they began to be picky with their food.
In the inn, Gu Zheng separated from the seven Yan brothers, but he remained silent. Once he entered the city, he found the secret records left behind by Shu Mountain and read the contents of the records.
Every sect had its own secret records. Understanding the secret records of the sect was a compulsory course for every disciple. Gu Zheng already had some understanding of this when he was at Myriad Valley Peak. For a Jin Xian, memorizing the meaning of these secret records was only a day's work. It was very simple.
The secret records were for him. They asked him about his current situation and his relationship with the ferocious beasts. Finally, they asked him if he was the one who killed the demon in Feng Province.
Feng Province City was the city where they had passed by and killed the demon pig on the way.
Since they asked such questions, it proved that they had already guessed or suspected him. Gu Zheng did not want to hide it. After hesitating, he secretly left a secret record and explained his situation.
First of all, there was no problem with his safety. The seven brothers trusted him very much. Secondly, his real purpose was to bring the seven brothers back to Shu Mountain. The seven brothers were not bad in nature, or rather, they were very pure. They just did not trust the Heavenly Court. His previous persuasion had failed, so he thought of a way to bring them back to Dong Sheng Divine Prefecture from Aparagodānīya Continent and then back to Shu Mountain.
Gu Zheng originally wanted to return to Dong Sheng Divine Prefecture and then contact the Shu Mountain disciples. Since Shu Mountain had already contacted him in advance, he might as well tell them the situation first.
In the end, he also said that as long as he brought the seven brothers back, he was confident that he could make them stay. He also hoped that Shu Mountain would accept them.
After leaving the secret record, Gu Zheng left again. Not long after, the secret record he left was checked by the Shu Mountain disciples. The content of the secret record was quickly sent back to the Purple Cloud Sage.
"It's really like this?"
Looking at Gu Zheng's reply, the Purple Cloud Sage's eyes widened in disbelief.
The disciples who reported to him nodded excitedly. Their previous speculation was too crazy. In fact, even they themselves were doubting it. However, there was no other way, so they wanted to try. They did not expect to succeed in one try. They really contacted Gu Zheng.
Although they did not know where Gu Zheng was, at least they knew their general direction and Gu Zheng's purpose. More importantly, they knew that Gu Zheng was not in danger at all. This made them feel very relieved.
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