A wild, frenzied laughter suddenly echoed through the void.
Gu Qing and Zhi Meng turned toward the sound simultaneously.
They saw a burly young man with disheveled hair, a full beard, and a crazed expression, laughing maniacally toward the sky.
He took a step forward and stopped before their flying boat, looking at Zhi Meng and Gu Qing as he danced and waved his arms, tears of excitement streaming down his face.
"Madman."
The two of them gave the same judgment in perfect unison.
"Madman?"
"No, no, no, brother, I'm not a madman."
Shan Mao shook his head excitedly: "My name is Shan Mao, the Holy Son of the Changhe Dao Sect. What's your name, brother? And what's this immortal lady's name? I want to be your friends, you won't mind, right? You must want to be friends with me too..."
Gu Qing retracted the flying boat and sized him up from head to toe.
Heavenly God Realm peak, his blood qi like an ocean, with profound and extraordinary dao rhythms emanating from his being.
If he hadn't gone mad, Shan Mao would surely have been a heaven-defying prodigy.
It was a pity, now he was insane, his mind in chaos, all hope lost.
"What are you looking at? What kind of expression is that? I'm really not a madman, brother, you have to believe me."
"I'm just a little excited to see living people, I'm perfectly normal. I'm the Holy Son of the Changhe Dao Sect, how could I possibly be a madman? I'm not a madman."
"Wuwuwu, seeing you guys, I'm too excited, I'm so thrilled."
As Shan Mao spoke, he cried incoherently, dancing and waving his arms in excitement.
A tall young man nearly two meters high, tears rolling down his face as he cried like a dog—the scene was utterly ridiculous.
"Aoaaoaao, brother, don't look at me like that, I'm really not a madman, really, I'm not insane, I'm not crazy, aoaaoaao..."
Gu Qing and Zhi Meng looked at each other, then at Shan Mao who was crying like a dog.
Was he really not?
Not sure, let's take another look.
"Brother, immortal maiden, forgive my impertinence. You two dao friends, no, you two friends, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Shan Mao wiped away his tearful eyes, his gaze fixed on Gu Qing as he suppressed his excitement and said.
"Brother, let me tell you, don't look down on me. You have an immortal lady with you, someone to talk to. You're standing there talking without a care in the world, you simply don't understand me."
"Do you know I'm in trouble? Do you know how much I've suffered? Do you know how I've spent these past years? No, you don't."
"Let me tell you, I'm a cold and aloof sword cultivator who speaks little but is ruthless. Countless immortals have flirted with me right before my eyes, yet I wouldn't spare them a glance. Women to me are nothing but pink skeletons."
"But do you know? To temper my state of mind, I cut off all connections. I crushed my communication jade, destroyed my city coordinates, and came to the boundless void alone, burning my boats and breaking my ladles, vowing to forge a heart as still as water."
"But, year after year, I spent countless ages alone, facing the dead, boundless void all by myself... It's been so hard for me."
"Do you know what my greatest wish has been these past years? You don't? Let me tell you, my greatest wish is to see again that woman I once looked down upon with disdain. My second greatest wish is for someone to accompany me and say just one word, just one word is enough..."
Listening to Shan Mao's rapid-fire speech, Gu Qing looked at him with pity.
This was a heaven-defying prodigy with perseverance, courage, and talent, yet he had been driven mad by boundless loneliness.
Gu Qing felt immensely fortunate.
Fortunately, he had Zhi Meng's companionship and guidance, otherwise... the consequences would have been unthinkable.
"Cough!"
"Brother, Immortal Maiden, thank you for listening to my story. These two drops of Time Essence are my gift of gratitude. Please accept them."
Seeing their impatient expressions, Shan Mao suppressed his endless urge to confide in them and tossed out two jade bottles, saying gratefully with tears in his eyes.
He truly could no longer endure.
Countless times, he had considered self-detonation, thinking it would be fine to just die like that, with the earth as his bed and the sky as his blanket.
Fortunately, he met Gu Qing and Zhi Meng.
He could still be saved.
"You're not going to rob us?"
Taking the jade bottles, Gu Qing and Zhi Meng looked at each other in astonishment.
Even if Shan Mao looked down on their assets, he shouldn't have looked down on Zhi Meng.
Besides, what was with giving them the extremely precious Time Essence?
"Why would I rob you?"
Shan Mao paused, asking in confusion.
He was just too lonely, not corrupted.
He had his own principles and bottom line.
Besides, those who kill are often killed in return.
If he were to attack and plunder whenever he wanted something sooner or later, he would eventually kick an iron plate.
Who knows how many prodigies and monstrous talents in the Immortal Realm, and from immortal families and lineages, ultimately died because of greed.
Therefore, robbery is not the great path and ultimately cannot last long.
"Alright, I misjudged you, brother."
"I'm Gu Qing, and this is my Senior Sister Zhi Meng."
Gu Qing introduced himself and also threw a light orb to Shan Mao.
"Brother, this contains the coordinates for three thousand Heshan Immortal Cities. I have other matters, so farewell."
"Good, brother take care. Wait, brother, give me a way to contact you. Let's keep in touch when we have time."
Shan Mao took the light orb as if it were a priceless treasure, ecstatic, and shouted toward Gu Qing's flying vessel.
Whoosh!
A streak of light flew over, and Shan Mao raised his hand to catch it in his palm.
This was the mark of a communication jade.
Shan Mao put it away carefully, his gaze filled with gratitude as he watched Gu Qing's flying vessel until it disappeared from sight before he finally looked away.
After glancing at the light orb's coordinates, he rode his sword and flew away with the wind.
"Such a treasure, obtained without any effort at all."
Zhi Meng happily played with the jade bottle.
The previous drop of Time Essence had been consumed by her. Her cultivation realm hadn't broken through, but it had cleansed and organized her Dao methods and aptitude.
It caused her foundation to rise to another level, and her strength was more than double what it was before.
After all, she had broken through too quickly previously. Even with several thousand years of accumulation, breakthroughs in succession within ten years had still caused an unstable foundation.
The Time Essence had perfectly compensated for her deficiencies.
"Mm!"
Gu Qing made a sound, his expression thoughtful.
To be honest, it was beyond his expectations that Shan Mao hadn't robbed him.
He had been prepared, and if Shan Mao had shown any killing intent, he would have immediately cursed him and then summoned the Profound Fire Treasure Mirror.
However, Shan Mao had given him Time Essence without any provocation, which left him completely baffled.
Additionally, Shan Mao's actions served as a warning to him.
The waters of the Immortal Realm were deep; robbery was not a sustainable strategy. Walk too many dark paths, and sooner or later, you'll encounter ghosts.
Who knows if an ordinary-looking cultivator has a soul-protecting jade pendant bestowed upon them by their sect's elders?
If you offend the descendants or disciples of an Immortal King, you won't even know how you died.
Thinking of this, Gu Qing said seriously, "Master, you shouldn't rob people anymore in the future."
"..."
Zhi Meng smiled, affectionately patting Gu Qing's head: "Rest assured, your master understands the intricacies better than you do."
After a pause, she added: "If there was a choice, who wouldn't want to be a good person?"
"You're right, Master," Gu Qing said, leaning back to avoid Zhi Meng's hand.
Hearing Zhi Meng's words, Gu Qing was puzzled.
From Zhi Meng's tone, it sounded as if she wanted to be a good person?
Perhaps.
The human heart is treacherous, and the world is difficult. Everything is done for survival, to live better.
"Master, a flying ship from Tianbao Merchant Tower just passed by. Should we go catch a ride?" Gu Qing changed the subject without a trace.
At the same time, he sent a message to Li Yuzheng to inquire about the flying ship and whether it could stop to give him a ride.
"Go ahead!"
Seeing Gu Qing avoid her affectionate gesture and no longer looking at her with strange eyes, Zhi Meng smiled with satisfaction.
It seemed Gu Qing's character had truly undergone a complete transformation.
Compared to before, Gu Qing possessed an additional calmness and composure, a powerful aura emanating naturally from him.
With Gu Qing having achieved such progress, it was time to find a place to properly cultivate his strength.
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