Chapter 924: The Death of Gu Qi

Inside the Blade Emperor City, Dongbo Xueying was still instructing the talented cultivators who came seeking guidance.

“The Unity Realm, as the name suggests, is about unifying everything into ‘one.’ This ‘one’ represents the ultimate extreme—like a singularity, a source! What you need to do now, to put it simply, is to go to extremes!” Dongbo Xueying looked at the female cultivator with a scaled tail before him and smiled. “Don’t think about ‘transcending the extreme.’ Your current realm is still too low—don’t aim too high.”

“First, pursue the extreme. Only after reaching at least the fifth level of the Star Tower’s strength will you have the qualifications to explore beyond it.” As Dongbo Xueying spoke, he casually demonstrated. “Look, your techniques can be pushed to a far more extreme expression, like this…”

The female genius cultivator watched with gleaming eyes.

During the preliminary selection, she had ranked within the top hundred but had never sought Dongbo Xueying’s advice, thinking a Unity Realm cultivator wasn’t worth consulting. However, after witnessing Xinghuo Xunyi’s performance, she had come seeking guidance—only to discover that Dongbo Xueying’s teachings on ‘slaughter,’ though simple, struck at the very essence. The more profound the master, the more concise and direct the instruction.

“Dongbo, come out at once.” A voice suddenly echoed in Dongbo Xueying’s ears.

Dongbo Xueying froze.

The Hall Master of the Inquiry Hall?

“We’ll stop here for now. I have something urgent to attend to.” Dongbo Xueying stood up.

“Understood.” The female genius cultivator dared not say more and obediently complied.

Dongbo Xueying immediately strode out of his abode.

Outside the main entrance of his residence, he spotted the Hall Master of the Inquiry Hall, who transmitted a message: “Come. The Ancestor has ordered you to return to the Sky Void Palace immediately. I’ll take you there now.”

“So urgently?” Dongbo Xueying was startled.

The Star Conference was still ongoing!

“Let’s go.” Though puzzled, Dongbo Xueying obediently followed. His schedule for mentoring the genius cultivators was flexible—after all, only two hundred had passed the preliminary selection, and it might be a long while before another sought his guidance.

…

The two left the Blade Emperor City, and under the Hall Master’s guidance, they teleported across vast distances, arriving directly at the Sky Void Palace.

**Sky Void Palace.**

At the dwelling of Ancestor Tianyu, Dongbo Xueying was summoned alone.

“How strange. The Star Conference hasn’t even ended—why recall me now?” Dongbo Xueying wondered as he walked through the courtyards of Ancestor Tianyu’s residence. None of the attendants barred his way, and soon he arrived beside a towering ancient tree, where the hunchbacked Ancestor Tianyu sat cross-legged beneath its shade.

“Ancestor.” Dongbo Xueying bowed respectfully.

Ancestor Tianyu gazed at him silently for a moment before speaking. “There is something you must know. Your master, Gu Qi, has perished.”

Dongbo Xueying froze, standing motionless.

His mind roared with shock.

Master Gu Qi… dead?

“How… how…” Dongbo Xueying stammered, unable to form coherent words.

“Slain by the Sacred Master. Soon, this news will spread among the upper echelons of all major sacred factions,” Ancestor Tianyu said.

Countless thoughts surged through Dongbo Xueying’s mind.

In terms of emotional attachment, the pain he had felt when his father, mother, younger brother, Uncle Zong, and Uncle Tong had all passed away had been far more devastating. When his wife Jing Qiu’s soul had teetered on the brink of collapse, the world itself had seemed colorless. Comparatively, his bond with this master—whom he had never truly met or conversed with—was far weaker.

Yet he still revered this master deeply.

Strictly speaking, the only time he had truly spoken with Master Gu Qi was during the inheritance ceremony in his home universe, where his master’s avatar had remained.

Back then, the colossal avatar of the Cosmic Deity had rambled on endlessly.

*”I never thought I, Gu Qi, would ever have a disciple.”*

*”Having a disciple feels… strange.”*

*”This is my first time taking a disciple. I don’t even know how to teach one properly.”*

*”You haven’t even called me ‘Master’ yet, have you? Though I haven’t taught you much, and the ‘Wanderer’s Hidden Scripture’ wasn’t my creation, I still bestowed upon you the treasures to safeguard your path. That counts as passing on the Dao, doesn’t it?”*

The massive Cosmic Deity avatar had gazed at him then.

*”Disciple Dongbo Xueying pays respects to Master.”* Dongbo Xueying had bowed in acknowledgment.

The Cosmic Deity avatar had smiled.

And so…

Among the many masters in his cultivation journey, Dongbo Xueying had gained another—Gu Qi. A master whose true form he had never even seen.

And Gu Qi, for the first time, had gained a disciple—his one and only.

The last time he had clashed with Lei Yan, his fame had spread across the Five Sacred Worlds. Master Gu Qi had learned of it and, through the battle’s recordings, had discerned that Dongbo Xueying was also cultivating the Balong and Zhu Yan legacies. He had even sent the external resources needed for those two paths.

Back then, only a recorded message had been left.

*”Hahaha! My one and only disciple is already this impressive? I’d love to brag to those old fogies, but alas, our master-disciple relationship must remain hidden for now. It’s not yet safe for me to meet you. Once this trouble passes, we’ll share a drink and talk properly. Keep cultivating—don’t slack off! Enough said.”*

The message had been brief.

Dongbo Xueying had once imagined that when he grew stronger, when the time came that his status as Gu Qi’s disciple no longer needed to be concealed, he would seek out his master and share a long, heartfelt conversation over wine.

…

Now, standing there, Dongbo Xueying felt a deep ache in his heart. He could sense that Master Gu Qi had genuinely cared for him, even going so far as to keep their relationship a secret to shield him from danger.

In this vast, boundless world, how many truly cherished him as family?

And now, one of them was gone.

“Alas.”

Ancestor Tianyu sighed as well.

From the Primordial Ancient Sacred World to the present, the number of Cosmic Deities born had always been limited. Though some had perished, the fall of each was a cataclysmic event. Though Ancestor Tianyu was slightly stronger than Gu Qi, both were only at the third level. Over the long eons, they had been friends. Now, with Gu Qi’s death, he too felt a profound sorrow.

*”Hum.”*

Ancestor Tianyu flipped his hand, revealing a golden square seal.

“Dongbo Xueying,” he said solemnly. “Your master knew he had provoked the Sacred Master beyond reconciliation. Given the Sacred Master’s temperament, he would never relent. Though Gu Qi tried every means to survive, even the Mad Sacred Master’s fury would be hard to escape. So, he entrusted his accumulated treasures to his own master, the Void Primogenitor. Even in death, he refused to let the Sacred Master benefit.”

“After taking you as his sole disciple, he left instructions: if he perished, all his possessions would pass to you.”

“The Void Primogenitor has delivered it.”

“Now, it is yours.”

Dongbo Xueying stared at the golden seal in Ancestor Tianyu’s hand, his heart aching even more. For his master to leave his treasures to him—Gu Qi had truly regarded him as family.

“This shouldn’t have happened.”

Dongbo Xueying shook his head. “It shouldn’t have. Back when Master was fleeing alone through the Chaos Void, without even the Witch Ancestor’s protection, he survived for ages. The Sacred Master couldn’t kill him then! How could he die now, with the Witch Ancestor’s aid?”