"Hmph." Ning Wan's face flushed slightly. He snorted softly, somewhat regretting his earlier lack of composure.
He refused to believe that the sect leader and Senior Uncle Zhu would believe such absurd statements from Gu Tang.
He's just a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator; he couldn't even do something like that...
"They're all level two potions..." Elder Zhu was still muttering to himself.
He frowned, his face full of disbelief.
There was also a trace of worry about Gu Tang.
“Not all of them are level two medicines,” Gu Tang said calmly.
Elder Zhu's expression had just relaxed a little when Gu Tang added, "One-third of it could still be a level three potion."
Elder Zhu: "..."
Ning Wan: "..."
“If the sect leader and elders don’t believe me, they can let me try,” Gu Tang added.
After he finished speaking, he turned his head to look at Qin Junche: "If Palace Master Feiyun is not in a hurry to leave, please be my witness."
Chapter 8 The Son's Father is the Demon Lord (8)
After Gu Tang finished speaking, he stared intently at Qin Junche.
He didn't just say that casually.
If the Palace Master of Feiyun Palace were to stand behind him, then the disciples of Danxin Pavilion would have to think twice before trying to bully him again.
This guy is, after all, an invincible existence in the cultivation world of this world.
Given my current status as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, having such a powerful backer is a no-brainer!
Gu Tang instantly grasped all the implications and didn't care what Qin Junche or others thought of him.
She remained silent and continued to watch Qin Junche.
The other party is, after all, Gu Nuo's other father, so... they shouldn't refuse, right?
To everyone's surprise, Qin Junche merely glanced at him indifferently.
Then, taking his disciples from Flying Cloud Palace with him, he simply turned and left.
Gu Tang really wanted to give him the middle finger.
It was just a small favor, why be so stingy?!
He watched Qin Junche's tall, receding figure as he walked away—
The aloofness emanating from him, the feeling of keeping strangers at bay, really does look more and more like his former icy Daoist partner.
Gu Tang didn't care much.
It would be best if Qin Junche was willing to help him, but if not, he could rely entirely on himself.
"Gu Tang." Dongfang Yu watched Qin Junche and his group leave the main hall, then turned his gaze to Gu Tang. "Elder Zhu will accompany you. If you can consistently produce level two potions using low-grade herbs, and if you can consistently produce more than one-fifth of them, then all the herbs in the outer sect will be under your control. You will only need to pay a certain amount of level two potions on a regular basis."
"Thank you, Sect Leader." Gu Tang bowed to Dongfang Yu. "Thank you, Elder Zhu."
"Let's go." Elder Zhu descended the steps. "Let's go now."
Gu Tang led Gu Nuo and returned to his small wooden house with Elder Zhu.
Although it was already noon, the light in the simple hut was still very dim.
Elder Zhu instructed someone to bring over a lot of low-grade medicinal herbs, which were neatly piled on the only table in the wooden house.
Gu Tang glanced casually at the herbs, then turned to Elder Zhu and said, "I need half an hour. Could you wait outside for me, Elder?"
"Why make Uncle-Master Zhu wait outside?" Ning Wan, who had been silent but insisted on coming along, spoke up again. "Is there something shady about your alchemy methods?"
He paused, then said, "Or is it that you simply can't make a level-two potion and are just trying to deceive your master, by fabricating a fake?"
Gu Tang stared at Ning Wan for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "Why do you think that is?"
"How would I know?!" Ning Wan frowned, almost gritting her teeth as she said, "Who knows what shady things you're planning to do this time? Just like back then, you lied to the sect leader and us, saying you were injured, but it turned out you were pregnant with another man's child, and shamelessly gave birth to this little bastard..."
"Senior Brother Ning Wan!" Seeing that Ning Wan's words were becoming increasingly sharp, Gu Tang quickly interrupted him loudly.
Ning Wan's face was extremely pale, but she still didn't say the last word.
Gu Tang glanced at him coldly, then looked down at Gu Nuo.
This child was bullied since childhood, so he is naturally somewhat sensitive.
Ning Wan didn't finish her sentence, but everyone could understand her meaning.
Gu Tang frowned and ruffled Gu Nuo's hair.
He thought for a moment, then looked up at Ning Wan calmly. When he spoke again, his voice was much colder than before: "Senior Brother Ning Wan, do you really not know why I asked Senior Uncle and you to leave?"
"I don't know," Ning Wan said through gritted teeth.
He was actually quite handsome, but his face was flushed red as he glared at Gu Tang with a hateful expression that was rather ferocious.
Gu Tang chuckled and said lazily, "If I could truly and consistently produce level two potions, or even higher level three potions, from level one herbs, any sect would be eager to acquire such a method. Why would I show it to others for free?"
Ning Wan was stunned; he truly hadn't expected this reason.
"The sect leader and elders at least didn't expel me from the sect and gave me a safe haven. In return, I prioritized doing this deal with the sect. But..." Gu Tang looked into Ning Wan's eyes, his gaze sharpening, "it's just a deal, not a donation!"
"You?!" Ning Wan opened her mouth, "How could you do this?!"
"What about me?" Gu Tang asked calmly. "Senior Brother Ning Wan wouldn't be so late as to want to talk about feelings with me now, would he?"
He smiled slightly as he spoke, a hint of mockery appearing on his pale, thin face.
Even though Gu Tang is only a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Ning Wan only needs one hand to make him wish he were dead.
But when he stood there with his back straight, holding Gu Nuo's hand, looking at her with clear eyes, Ning Wan felt as if he had become the top genius cultivator in the inner sect again.
Ning Wan opened her mouth again, but no sound came out.
"Elder Zhu, Senior Brother Ning Wan, please." Gu Tang waved his hand and turned to close the door.
The light was still dim in the narrow, dark wooden cabin.
A fire was lit in the simple earthen stove.
Gu Nuo sat on a small wooden stool, her hands supporting her chin, her big eyes sparkling as she looked at Gu Tang.
He had never realized his father was so handsome!
Even Uncle Ning and Uncle Zheng, who were always fierce, suffered a loss.
"Nuo'er," Gu Tang asked as he tossed herbs into a dusty earthenware pot, "Don't take what Ning Wan said earlier to heart."
"Mmm-hmm." Gu Nuo nodded vigorously.
He wouldn't care.
and……
Gu Nuo blinked. He was neither a bastard nor a little bastard.
He clearly found another father.
That dad was very tall, handsome, and looked incredibly capable!
"Father..." Gu Nuo thought for a moment, then cautiously asked, "That person just now... was he really my other father?"
That was the aloof and high-ranking Palace Master Feiyun, whom everyone was somewhat afraid of.
He just hugged me and called me "Nuo'er".
"Hmm..." Gu Tang casually drew the talisman array, turning to look at Gu Nuo, "You hope he is, right?"
"Hmm..." Gu Nuo was unusually shy, her little face flushed, but she still nodded slowly.
"Then let's say he is," Gu Tang said nonchalantly. "But none of that matters. What matters is... Nuo'er, did you understand what Father and Ning Wan were saying just now?"
"Yes." Gu Nuo nodded vigorously.
Although I still don't understand, the tall, handsome, and seemingly powerful Palace Master Feiyun can be considered another father to me.
But Father would never lie to me.
"So it doesn't matter who your other father is. What matters is that if you don't want to be bullied by others, the most reliable thing is to become stronger yourself!" Gu Tang added.
"Mmm." Gu Nuo nodded vigorously again.
“Starting today, your father will teach you cultivation techniques. Nuo’er…” Gu Tang poured out a small bowl of medicine and handed it to Gu Nuo.
He bent down and pinched Gu Nuo's rosy cheeks: "When you become powerful enough, you can not only have whoever you want be your father, but also..."
Gu Tang smiled gently, looking at Gu Nuo with sincere eyes: "You can still let others call you father when the time comes."
Gu Nuo: "..."
"Alright." Gu Tang straightened up. "Let's begin now."
Inside the wooden house, the aroma of herbs wafted through the air, accompanied by the calm sound of Gu Tang's well and Gu Nuo's focused gaze.
Outside the wooden house, Elder Zhu and Ning Wan waited quietly.
In a magnificent manor thousands of miles away, Qin Junche stood silently before a pool of water.
Amidst the shimmering waves, Gu Tang's voice came from within, sounding so clear: "Then let's say he is... You can have whoever you want as your father, and let that person be your other father..."
The expression of the Palace Master of Feiyun Palace was colder than the snow that never melts on the distant mountains.
Now it's like the biting cold wind of midwinter, its indifference tinged with a hint of sharpness.
It was as if something was churning beneath those layers of icebergs, about to burst forth with a roar.
Chapter 9 The Son's Father is the Demon Lord (9)
The two disciples standing below Qin Junche lowered their heads silently, and the area in front of the pool fell silent.