After saying that, Jiang Minghuang stared at Gu Changqing without blinking.

In the Upper Realm he was a bit of a playful character and lacked other skills, but he had mastered the art of manipulating people, something he had learned well from his father.

However, he strangely found that his words didn’t even stir the slightest ripple in Gu Changqing’s gaze.

The latter merely smiled calmly, “The great sects of Jade Void Palace were all swept away by my hand and cultivators fell to the mortal world like rain. Who cares about the riches and glory you promise?”

Jiang Minghuang was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized this guy was bragging.

“You don’t believe me?” Jiang Minghuang asked earnestly.

But the other gave a cold smile, neither affirming nor denying.

He just lay in the woods, staring at the pitch-black starry sky.

Seeing this tactic didn’t work, Jiang Minghuang began to pester him relentlessly by shaking him again and again.

In truth, Gu Changqing now felt utterly confused inside.

His sister, who had once depended on him, had gone to the Immortal Realm. In this world he had only one thing he couldn’t let go.

That was the blood feud of years past.

But now that his dao foundation was destroyed, how could he possibly cultivate?

If he didn’t still have to wait for his sister to return, Gu Changqing would have found this world deeply boring.

Either way he had to wait for his sister, so he’d accompany this fellow for a while. After all, saving a life deserved gratitude—the boy only asked for a meal anyway, so he wouldn’t be stingy about repaying him.

A playful character from a top aristocratic family in the Upper Realm.

He met a tough boy with strong survival instincts from the Lower Realm, and life naturally began to go smoothly.

Since Gu Changqing appeared, Jiang Minghuang never worried about food or drinks again.

The two traveled together across landscapes—two aimless people drifting in the mortal world. Not everything went smoothly, but life was simple and joyful overall.

But people are never creatures that are easily satisfied.

Until one day, Jiang Minghuang suddenly came to a realization.

As the heir to the great Jiang family, if he traveled the Lower Realm but only managed to make sure he didn’t go hungry, he would return in shame.

At the very least, when the five years were up he had to show his old man he wasn’t a hopeless piece of trash.

At least he needed a place to live, wine to drink, a few maidservants following him—some semblance of the Jiang family’s young master’s status.

But.

Houses, maids, wine—none of them were free.

Gu Changqing cooked good stew, but relying on the little money from hunting—when would that ever be enough?

So Jiang Minghuang’s thoughts turned again to Jade Void Palace.

After all, it was a great sect of the Lower Realm with a ten-thousand-year lineage. If luck was on their side and they found a cultivation technique manual of sorts, it could be sold for a high price.

“Changqing, how about a trip to Jade Void Palace? Try your luck—this life of nothing to do but eat is getting boring.”

“Fine…”

Two years after the fall of Jade Void Palace, the two arrived at its Holy Land.

The former Holy Land had long been reduced to ruins after the clash between Gu Changqing and the white-robed Saint King.

Those ruins had been searched countless times by cultivators who’d never seen the world.

Never mind finding top-tier technique manuals—even the spirit-root herbs once planted by Jade Void Palace had all been dug up.

Cultivators, when it came to appetite, weren’t necessarily more refined than mortals.

Perhaps the Jiang family’s young master’s luck was extraordinary and he had been blessed by his ancestors. He really did find a cultivation technique manual.

The technique described was a secret art.

The young master, tears streaming, hugged Gu Changqing and nuzzled him wildly.

“Changqing, our hard days are over!!”

But…

Before he could even hold the manual long enough to warm it.

From the nine heavens above, immortals descended to the mortal realm.

There were four or five ethereal cultivators in white, both men and women—the men handsome, the women graceful.

The cultivators ignored Gu Changqing and Jiang Minghuang, fixing their gaze on the manual and reached out to take it.

Jiang Minghuang stomped in anger, but was helpless against the cultivators.

But he couldn’t contain his pride and could only use his words to fight.

“Oh, such beautiful young ladies—could you be celestial maidens descended from the sky?”

The three female cultivators were tickled by the little beggar’s words and giggled, fluttering like blossoms.

Jiang Minghuang was so handsome that even dressed as a beggar he looked extraordinary and peerlessly charming.

Gu Changqing had thought this fellow would use sweet words to try to get that ancient book back.

Unexpectedly, his next line was, “Such beautiful young ladies—how about becoming my maids? When I ascend one day, I’ll let you experience the wonders of the Upper Realm.”

Cultivators were extremely concerned with face.

Watching a little beggar tease their fellow cultivators stoked their anger.

The little beggar had basically insulted the ladies, so the two male cultivators certainly wouldn’t put up with it.

They immediately kicked him.

They kicked Jiang Minghuang flat out, blood streaming from his mouth and nose.

Gu Changqing found the scene both infuriating and amusing.

After two years together, he’d come to see that this guy had a somewhat shameless streak.

Even if he were beaten to death, his mouth would still be able to speak.

When he saw a pretty woman, he couldn’t resist speaking to her.

It wasn’t that he wanted to harass them, actually. But he always had to ask, “Would you be willing to be my maid?”

He was good-looking, true, but worldly women were all so status-conscious—who would agree to be a beggar’s maid?

If he merely offended mortals, he would just get beaten up but probably wouldn’t die.

But how could he still be so shameless to cultivators?

He had zero cultivation. Wasn’t he afraid of being beaten to death?

Sometimes Gu Changqing couldn’t understand—was the face and pride that Jiang Minghuang constantly wanted really that important?

However.

Gu Changqing, who always laughed uproariously whenever the guy got beaten, couldn’t laugh this time.

The two male cultivators beat up Jiang Minghuang quite badly already but still weren’t satisfied.

They actually pressed the sole of a shoe into Jiang Minghuang’s face and said, “Make amends and apologize—call us ‘grandpa’—and we won’t pursue it further.”

Gu Changqing knew.

This beaten-but-unyielding Young Master Jiang valued face more than his life.

Being trodden underfoot—what an insult!

“Enough.”

“Beating him is one thing. You’ve vented your anger and he’s taken the beating already. But further humiliating him is excessive.”

With his axe at his side, Gu Changqing spoke coldly to the male cultivators.