In the myriad realms of the heavens, there seemed to be a forbidden iron rule, a curse that no one could attain the Supreme Realm before the age of five hundred.
Even mighty Immortal Emperors had no such record.
Yao Xian asked, "Will he break that curse?"
Gu Changsheng was taken aback, then realized Yao Xian's question. He smiled and said, "The path he's walking is unprecedented. As you can see, he possesses the realm but doesn't know how to wield the Righteous Qi, otherwise his body wouldn't be aging. Whether he can break the curse depends on him."
"Perhaps he'll remain in this confused state, or perhaps he'll suddenly attain enlightenment and become an immortal on the spot."
"Become an immortal on the spot? Isn't that an exaggeration?" Yao Xian clicked her tongue.
"It's not an exaggeration," Gu Changsheng shook his head.
"Look at Little Phoenix, she was born in the Supreme Realm. Don't you think that's an exaggeration?" Gu Changsheng looked at the "sparrow" contentedly in its birdcage, with a bowl in front of it containing, what else but wine?
After three years at the Longevity Tavern, even the phoenix had become a wine-loving phoenix.
Seeing Gu Changsheng looking at her, Little Phoenix made a toasting gesture, very skillfully.
"But Little Phoenix is, after all, a phoenix, a celestial beast nurtured by the heavens for a long time. How can you compare her to him?" Yao Xian didn't think Ouyang Ji was comparable to a phoenix.
"Hehe, it's hard to explain in a few words. Why don't we watch together and see how far he can go?" Gu Changsheng smiled.
Yao Xian was very pleased to hear the word "we." She liked it when Gu Changsheng said "we together" or "us," because it made her feel comfortable that Gu Changsheng didn't treat her like an outsider.
"Okay, we'll watch together!" Yao Xian smiled radiantly.
Night fell, and they rested.
The next day, before dawn, after a short rest, Ouyang Ji led a team lightly equipped towards the northern front. Among the team was a handsome young man named Gu Li.
In the Southern Xiang Kingdom, besides Gu Changsheng, those with the surname Gu were naturally members of the royal family.
Gu Li was indeed a member of the royal family, and his identity was not simple. He was the fourth prince of the Southern Xiang Kingdom and the closed-door disciple of the Southern Xiang Kingdom's national teacher, an Awakening Realm cultivator.
The Southern Xiang Emperor had nine sons, but only Gu Li had the talent for cultivation and was accepted as a disciple by the national teacher. Although he was the fourth prince, this relationship elevated his status above the current crown prince, making the crown prince's faction feel that his position was in danger.
However, the current crown prince didn't mind at all, because he knew that his fourth brother's ambition was never worldly power but immortality.
A twenty-something Awakening Realm cultivator aspiring to become an immortal would be a laughingstock to the cultivation world, who would mock Gu Li for being ignorant and overestimating himself.
But it was unreasonable to expect someone born in the mortal world to have such a broad perspective.
Moreover, wasn't the Yao family's ancestor also from the mortal world?
Everything is possible, just very difficult.
Gu Li was sent to protect Ouyang Ji, although Ouyang Ji declined, the Southern Xiang Emperor was determined. Anyone who could sit on the throne was not stupid. He knew that this war was partly because of Ouyang Ji, but the Southern Xiang Emperor had no intention of blaming Ouyang Ji.
Regardless of how much Ouyang Ji had contributed to the Southern Xiang Kingdom, even without that, the Southern Xiang Emperor would not yield to the five countries.
Don't forget, the Southern Xiang Kingdom was a country built on military force. Two hundred years ago, the Southern Xiang Grand Ancestor rose from a commoner and forcibly destroyed two of the seven countries at the time. The territory of these two countries became the territory of the Southern Xiang Kingdom. With such a fierce Grand Ancestor, the Southern Xiang Emperor, as a descendant, naturally had the ambition to expand the territory. Although the five-nation alliance caught him off guard, he also saw great opportunities in this crisis.
If the Southern Xiang Kingdom defeated the five-nation alliance this time, it could even unify the world.
Unifying the world was the long-cherished wish of every Southern Xiang Emperor before their death.
Every emperor had worked hard for this goal. From the Southern Xiang Grand Ancestor, the Southern Xiang Kingdom had established strict laws to protect the interests of its people, because the Grand Ancestor came from the people and knew that the people were the foundation of the country.
Each emperor continuously improved the laws of the Southern Xiang Kingdom. Until today, the Southern Xiang Kingdom had gone through six emperors, and now it was the prime of the seventh emperor.
The Southern Xiang Kingdom's peace and prosperity were the result of the joint efforts of these seven emperors.
The current emperor was named Gu Wanshi, a name personally changed for him by the previous emperor before his death.
The old emperor hoped that he could build a dynasty that would last for ten thousand generations, a very high expectation.
Gu Li, as the emperor's fourth son, also knew the wishes of his father and the past emperors, so when he learned that he was to protect Ouyang Ji, he did not hesitate at all. He even made a military pledge that even if he died, he would not let Ouyang Ji be harmed in the slightest.
At such a solemn moment, Ouyang Ji said, 'How can you protect me from getting hurt if you're dead?'
The national teacher and the emperor were present at the time. Originally, they were gratified that Gu Li had such awareness, but after hearing Ouyang Ji's mood-killing words, they felt nothing.
Gu Li, riding a steed, slightly lagged behind Ouyang Ji. He looked at Ouyang Ji and saw that he had no pre-battle jitters, and couldn't help but sigh that he was indeed a literary sage. Even with his own strength to face a thousand, he would still be nervous at this time.
"Nervous?"
Ouyang Ji suddenly turned to look at Gu Li.
Gu Li was stunned, wanting to explain, but Ouyang Ji didn't give him a chance to speak.
"It's normal to be nervous for your first time on the battlefield."
"Was the teacher nervous when he first led troops to kill sea bandits?" Gu Li asked.
"Of course I was nervous. So many brothers were following me, and their lives were in my hands. If my orders had any mistakes, hundreds or even thousands of people would die. And behind me was Tianrao City. Who knew if those sea bandits would massacre the city if I failed? Naturally, I was nervous in that situation."
Ouyang Ji said.
"Didn't the teacher feel nervous because he was about to face danger?" Gu Li asked again.
"Afraid!" Ouyang Ji said faintly.
Gu Li raised his eyebrows. Ouyang Ji's answer surprised him. He thought Ouyang Ji would say something magnificent like "A true man stands between heaven and earth, how can he fear death."
"Are you surprised that I would say that?" Ouyang Ji asked.
Gu Li nodded.
Ouyang Ji smiled, "Please, I'm also a human. Who isn't afraid of death? It's just that I can face it calmly."
Gu Li was thoughtful.
The convoy moved quickly. By noon, they had left Tianrao City three hundred miles behind and were five hundred miles away from the front line.
Here, the convoy slowly slowed down, preparing to find a place to rest and replenish supplies while also being vigilant about the surroundings.
Having reached this point, they were almost at the northern border. If someone were to assassinate Ouyang Ji in secret, it would be along this stretch of road.
Although Ouyang Ji's appointment as commander of the northern front was a top secret, there was no wall that didn't leak wind. All countries had spies and informants planted in each other, so it was possible that someone had received the news and come to assassinate him.
If they could successfully assassinate Ouyang Ji, it would be a great victory for the five-nation alliance, because Ouyang Ji's reputation was too great.
The people of the various countries might not know who their current emperor was, but they would definitely know Ouyang Ji. Whether it was hatred or admiration, Ouyang Ji's name was not limited to one country, but the entire world.
That was the Literary Sage!
Anyone who could come here through the border to assassinate him must be a cultivator, which was why the Southern Xiang Emperor sent Gu Li to protect Ouyang Ji.
If the Southern Xiang Kingdom didn't only have the national teacher and Gu Li as cultivators, and the national teacher needed to be in the capital to protect the emperor, the Southern Xiang Emperor would have liked to send them all to protect Ouyang Ji.
Besides Ouyang Ji being important, the current emperor was also a fan of Ouyang Ji, and a very enthusiastic one at that, otherwise he wouldn't often use his privileges to summon Ouyang Ji to the capital.
"Be careful and guard the surroundings."
Gu Li ordered.
"Is being careful useful?"
At this moment, a sinister voice came from the nearby forest. Immediately afterwards, five figures appeared, surrounding Ouyang Ji and his group.
Gu Li's face darkened. All five of them were cultivators. One was equal in cultivation to him, and the other four were slightly weaker than him.
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
…
