Gu Niancang Part 1

When it came to his sister, the expression on Wu Zuyao's face softened. He said, "My sister's name is Wu Ningyu, and she looks about seventy to eighty percent similar to me."

Zhang Jingmo said, "You're here to find her? Do you know where she is?"

Wu Zuyao shook his head and said, "I only know that she married someone near the Kun Sea, but I don't know who she married."

A brother not knowing who his sister married was quite a novel situation. If it were someone else, they would probably ask a few more questions, but Zhang Jingmo didn't. He said, "I'm also new to this place and can't be of much help to you."

Wu Zuyao smiled and said, "No worries."

Zhang Jingmo's fingers lightly tapped on the wooden table. If Lu Guijiu had seen it, he would know that his master was troubled again.

The wine Wu Zuyao brought was indeed good. After a few cups, a red flush appeared on Zhang Jingmo's face, but his eyes remained very clear. He said, "Brother Wu, I'm afraid I can't drink much more."

Wu Zuyao nodded with a smile and said, "No need to force yourself." His alcohol tolerance was much better than Zhang Jingmo's, and most of the spiritual wine had gone into his stomach. But as the saying goes, wine enters the sorrowful intestines, and it was ultimately somewhat intoxicating. Wu Zuyao's eyes were no longer as clear as before, appearing a bit hazy.

The young servant standing to the side was quite dutiful and said, "Young Master, you've had enough to drink. Don't get drunk."

Wu Zuyao lazily said, "You little thing, always watching me do this and that all day long."

The young servant muttered, "I wouldn't dare to manage the Young Master."

Zhang Jingmo naturally also noticed the young servant's unfriendly gaze. After all, in the young servant's eyes, Zhang Jingmo, this passerby who had appeared so suddenly, was not a good person at all.

Zhang Jingmo didn't make any excuses. Seeing that it was getting late, he stood up to take his leave.

Wu Zuyao said, "May I boldly ask, Brother Chen, what brings you to the Kun Sea?"

Zhang Jingmo said, "To find something."

Wu Zuyao smiled and said, "Then what a coincidence for us."

Zhang Jingmo didn't say what he was looking for, and Wu Zuyao didn't seem to want to ask. The two met and parted with a tacit understanding.

Zhang Jingmo returned to his room alone. At this time, a sparrow flew in through the window and landed on Zhang Jingmo's shoulder. It was Zhu Yan returning from foraging.

Zhang Jingmo stroked Zhu Yan's yellow beak and muttered to himself, "What do you say, should I help or not?"

Wu Zuyao had indeed come to find his sister this time, and his sister had indeed married someone near the Kun Sea. It's just that the person she married was the Sea God.

The Kun Sea coast had always had a tradition of sacrificing people to the Sea God. Back then, Wu Zuyao had also searched for his sister for a long time, only to find out that his sister, who was in the Qi Refining stage, had long been drowned in the sea.

Because of this matter, it was the first time Zhang Jingmo saw Wu Zuyao's angry expression. Afterwards, Wu Zuyao took his sword and went to seek revenge alone. With his Golden Core stage cultivation, he actually challenged several sects on the Kun Sea coast in succession without being defeated.

If it were the Zhang Jingmo of the previous lives, he probably wouldn't have considered changing the trajectory of this matter, because it was his sister's death that stimulated Wu Zuyao to work hard and become stronger. But the stronger he became, the more pain he felt, because the person he cared about the most was no longer there.

In this life, however, Zhang Jingmo wanted to make a different choice.

As he thought about this, the graceful figure of a woman appeared in front of him. This woman had some resemblance to Wu Zuyao, with a charming demeanor, and was smiling sweetly at him.

Then, Zhang Jingmo took out a multi-layered flower from his Sumeru Ring—this flower was the Wanxiang Flower that Lu Guijiu had sent him together with the Giant Deer Horn. This flower was very small, but its petals were layered and had as many as a hundred layers. The Wanxiang Flower was a good material for alchemy, but as its name suggests, it had another use, which was to turn illusions into real objects. Of course, not all illusions could be turned into real objects. With Zhang Jingmo's current cultivation level, he could at most create an ordinary person.

As the petals of the Wanxiang Flower fell, the woman's demeanor became more and more lifelike. She sometimes laughed coquettishly, sometimes cried, and every action and expression was no different from a human's.

Even the aura emanating from her body was that of a Qi Refining stage cultivator, but this kind of aura was just an illusion.

Perhaps because the woman in front of him was so real, Zhang Jingmo's decision that he had already made began to waver. He said softly, "Tell me, am I right or wrong?"

In the end, should one live in the happiness of illusion or taste the pain of reality?

Zhu Yan couldn't answer Zhang Jingmo's question. It tilted its head, flew over to the woman, and then chirped.

Zhang Jingmo was silent for a long time, but then said, "If I'm wrong, then so be it."

After Wu Zuyao and he came out of the secret realm, Wu Zuyao learned the news of his sister's death, and from then on, he lived the second half of his life in revenge and pain.

Zhang Jingmo even sometimes wondered if, compared to this outcome, Wu Zuyao might have preferred to die in the secret realm and never know the truth.

Zhang Jingmo said, "This is the first time I've meddled in other people's business."

Zhu Yan pecked at the woman's long hair a couple of times.

Zhang Jingmo sighed, "It may also be... the last time." If he was really wrong, then so be it.

With Zhang Jingmo's words, the woman slowly bowed to him and said, "Wu Ningyu pays her respects."

Zhang Jingmo said indifferently, "Go. You have moved away from the Kun Sea coast. Hearing that your brother was searching everywhere, you returned to this place. Your husband is also an ordinary cultivator and has gone out traveling, leaving only you at home."

Wu Ningyu spoke and laughed gently. She said okay and slowly walked out of the room.

Only then did Zhang Jingmo slowly close his eyes.

A few days later, news came that Wu Zuyao had found his sister.

After finding his sister, Wu Zuyao got very drunk. While drunk, he choked up and said that he missed her, and seeing that she was doing well, he felt at ease.

Wu Ningyu still had a faint smile on her face. She said, "Brother, I'm the same as you. If you're doing well, I'll be at ease."

Wu Zuyao said that when he left without saying goodbye that day, it wasn't because he was angry with her, but because he wanted to become stronger so that he could protect this family. But after he left, he felt that he couldn't return home without making a name for himself, and so he delayed, and hundreds of years passed.

Wu Ningyu simply said, "Brother, I don't blame you."

Wu Zuyao talked about many things from their past. He said that their parents passed away early, and the siblings relied on each other to survive. He said that it had been difficult for them as siblings to pursue immortality and that she had taken a wrong turn. He also said that fortunately she realized her mistake and returned...

Zhang Jingmo didn't continue listening to the rest. Visions from the Wanxiang Flower's creation were transmitted to him. He saw a completely different Wu Zuyao in front of him.

But Zhang Jingmo didn't feel happy.

The snow was getting heavier. Zhang Jingmo stood by the window in the house, looking out at the vast sea. He wondered if Yu Fen in the sect had started drinking again, how his senior brother and disciples were getting along, and if Lu Guijiu... Lu Guijiu... was cultivating properly.

Zhu Yan rubbed Zhang Jingmo's cheek with its head, as if it felt that his cheek was too cold. It spat out a ball of flame from its mouth, suspending it beside Zhang Jingmo to warm him.

Zhang Jingmo laughed, "Little one, you know how to read the situation." As he spoke, he took out another elixir pill and fed it to Zhu Yan.

Zhu Yan was even happier after eating the elixir. It flapped its wings, flying up and down around Zhang Jingmo.

Zhang Jingmo looked up at the dark sky and said softly, "The weather is about to change."

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

The Giant Devourer's auction was about to begin.

During this month, Zhang Jingmo rarely went out, almost always cultivating in his room.

Three days before the auction, Giant Devourer sent someone to deliver an invitation to Zhang Jingmo. The invitation had the specific time and place of the auction, as well as a list of some of the auction items.

The Fusion Sea Essence was on it.

However, Zhang Jingmo didn't pay much attention to this list. He only glanced at it and then casually threw it aside.

On the day of the auction, Zhang Jingmo got up early. He went downstairs, found a table and started eating breakfast.

Just then, Wu Zuyao came down from upstairs. Seeing Zhang Jingmo, he greeted him with a smile, and then went out... presumably to find his sister.

Zhang Jingmo slowly finished the last mouthful of porridge in the bowl.

The Giant Devourer's auction was held at sea. Although not far from the mainland, the location still took half an hour to reach by flight.

When Zhang Jingmo arrived, the auction was just about to begin.

The attendant standing at the door took the jade token and invitation from Zhang Jingmo, then handed him a mask and had another person lead Zhang Jingmo into the room.

The person brought Zhang Jingmo to his seat and prepared tea and snacks for him, then said softly, "If there is something you fancy, just raise your sign."

Zhang Jingmo nodded casually, then sat down and tossed a spirit stone to the guide.

The person caught the spirit stone, his expression didn't change much, and he just said, "Thank you for the tip, sir."

Zhang Jingmo nodded slightly.

Seeing that Zhang Jingmo was seated, the person slowly retreated and pulled the curtain of the private room for Zhang Jingmo.

At the Giant Devourer's auction, each buyer had a separate private room. Zhang Jingmo's room was not in a prominent position. It seemed he was not considered an honored guest here. He didn't touch the tea or snacks, but instead fixed his gaze on the auction stage, which was still empty at the moment.

Not daring to keep the guests waiting too long, the auction started on time.

"This item is called Chaoxi. It only blooms once in a thousand years..." The auctioneer was a masked man with an extraordinary bearing and a magnetic voice. He introduced the auction items on the stage, perfectly controlling the rhythm.

Zhang Jingmo had no interest in these things, so he just watched quietly.

The guests in this room were all either rich or noble, and spending thousands of gold in one go was always the norm.

A drop of Fusion Sea Essence required ten thousand spirit stones, which was also Giant Devourer's finale item. There were indeed ten thousand high-grade spirit stones in Zhang Jingmo's Sumeru Ring, but he did not plan to use these spirit stones to obtain a drop of Fusion Sea Essence.

In fact, he came here for another purpose.

Halfway through the auction, there was a half-hour break. During this time, someone came in to pour tea. Seeing that Zhang Jingmo hadn't touched anything on the table, the person wasn't surprised. He just silently replaced the tea with a hot one and also replaced the cold snacks with hot ones.

The second half of the auction started very quickly.

In terms of value, the auction in the first half could only be described as a teaser, because the starting price of the items auctioned in the second half was a thousand high-grade spirit stones.