The lowest level of a banquet is merely an ordinary meal, requiring neither the presence of important sect elders nor a gathering of disciples. Naturally, there was no grand feast, no sumptuous delicacies.

There wasn’t even warmth at the table. The atmosphere was exceptionally cold and cheerless.

Gu Xiu sat alone in the seat that should have been the focal point. But beside him, there was no one! All the senior sisters sat far away, and the one closest to Gu Xiu was actually that junior brother, Jiang Xun. Yet even this closest distance was separated by several empty seats.

At the time, those present didn’t feel anything amiss. But now, seeing this scene reflected in the mirror, they couldn’t help but feel something was wrong.

“We… seem to have isolated Gu Xiu…”

Soon, this thought arose simultaneously in the minds of the three women.

Wasn’t it so? It should have been a lively welcoming banquet, yet there were no fine dishes, no good wine, and everyone deliberately sat far away from the guest of honor. At this moment, Gu Xiu seemed reduced to an isolated island.

Moreover, it wasn’t just isolation by seating. Everyone barely spoke to him. Midway through, Gu Xiu enthusiastically tried to engage with everyone, but without exception, he was brushed off with a few casual words.

This scene didn’t look like welcoming the return of an old friend with whom they once shared an extremely close bond. Instead… it seemed like they were deliberately avoiding a despised enemy.

But… Gu Xiu had just returned!

When Gu Xiu entered the forbidden land five hundred years ago, there were no conflicts among them! The senior sisters who once shared everything with Gu Xiu, upon seeing him again after five centuries, actually had nothing to say to him.

What they said to him was even less than what Jiang Xun said!

It wasn’t until the banquet was about to end that Nian Zhaoxi hurried back.

It was evident that the Nian Zhaoxi in the mirror was excited about Gu Xiu’s return. She gave him a tight hug right then and there, tears streaming down her face freely.

Even though five hundred years ago, Nian Zhaoxi’s relationship with Gu Xiu was probably the most distant among the senior sisters, at this very moment, she was the one who showed the most pleasant surprise and genuine emotion at his return!

This scene made the three women fall into silence. If not for cultivators having excellent memories, they might have shouted that all of this was fake.

But… this wasn’t fake! They truly had used their own actions to isolate Gu Xiu! Not just at this welcoming banquet; afterwards, all of them continued to isolate him!

Because after the banquet ended, Guan Xuelan began examining Gu Xiu’s physical condition, wanting to heal his injuries.

But by midnight—in just half a night—Guan Xuelan declared that Gu Xiu had completely become a cripple, with no possibility of cultivation ever again! Afterwards, she turned and left.

And in the following three days, Gu Xiu quietly stayed on Zhuo Peak.

Why Zhuo Peak? Because Yun Peak, where Gu Xiu used to reside, had already been given to Junior Brother Jiang Xun.

And during these three days… except for Nian Zhaoxi visiting Gu Xiu once more before leaving the sect again on external business… no one else went to see Gu Xiu even once!

Seeing this scene now, Nian Zhaoxi had already become tearful; she looked at her three junior sisters before her with disbelief. “You…”

“Why didn’t you go see Gu Xiu?”

No one answered this question.

The three women each lowered their heads in silence, finding the question difficult to answer.

Facing their silence, Nian Zhaoxi couldn’t suppress the anger rising in her heart. She suddenly raised her voice. “He’s back!”

“He is Gu Xiu!”

“Five hundred years ago, we wept tears of grief watching him bind himself and enter the forbidden land for the sect’s sake!”

“He has finally returned, so why… why are you treating him like this?”

“You wouldn’t even spare him a single glance… not even one extra look?”

“Now.”

“Tell me.”

“Has Gu Xiu changed, or have you changed!”

“That changed old friend you keep talking about…”

“Is it really Gu Xiu…”

“Or is it you?!!!”

…

In the Tianqi Mountain Range, within the Wanbao Pavilion caravan.

Moonlight flowed like water.

Gu Xiu, who had been immersed in cultivation, suddenly felt something stir within him. He looked up at the sky.

In a daze, he seemed to hear a woman’s hoarse, furious roar.

But after a moment, Gu Xiu shook his head and withdrew his gaze, closing his eyes again. He continued cultivating.

Letting go meant he had already truly let go. Letting go of the past, letting go of what once was, letting go of attachments, letting go of love and hate.

The highest goodness is like water!

In an instant, a vortex of spiritual energy appeared around Gu Xiu’s body; vast amounts of ambient spiritual energy began uncontrollably converging towards him.

Immediately after, a second vortex appeared, then a third, a fourth…

Nine spiritual energy vortices manifested in total, frantically absorbing the surrounding energy. And besides raw power, there was also an incredibly profound and mysterious force continuously entering Gu Xiu’s body, nourishing his soul!

This spectacle immediately attracted the attention of many fellow travelers, eliciting gasps of astonishment.

“Is this… Dao Enlightenment?”

“Hiss! It really is Dao Enlightenment! Isn’t he just a Qi Refining fourth-layer rogue cultivator? How can someone at that level achieve Dao Enlightenment?”

“This is a great serendipity that can be encountered but not sought! Only those close to Dao affinity and possessing great enlightenment can experience it!”

“A heaven-sent opportunity! Although Dao Enlightenment primarily concerns the Dao Heart, it greatly benefits not only the cultivation realm but also the mental state!”

“…”

Such a huge commotion stirred up the entire caravan. Some were envious, some sighed with emotion. Naturally, some harbored jealousy in their hearts, wanting to interfere somehow.

However, before these ill-intentioned individuals could react, Wanbao Pavilion responded fastest, immediately ordering the caravan to halt.

Soon after, several Foundation Establishment stewards appeared, each taking up positions guarding around Gu Xiu. As for those originally sharing the carriage with him, they were all quietly ordered to withdraw.

Manager Su’s order was clear:

Dao Enlightenment is a heaven-sent opportunity. No one may rashly interfere with someone experiencing it! Otherwise… It will be regarded as a provocation against Wanbao Pavilion!

No one objected to this command.

While they stabilized the situation, Su Rumei stepped forward, looking at the carriage with surprise.

“What powerful Dao Enlightenment!”

“Who is this person?”

She didn’t know who was experiencing Dao Enlightenment; the reason she ordered protection was merely Wanbao Pavilion’s longstanding customary practice.

For Wanbao Pavilion, forming good karma was always better than making enemies. Therefore, without affecting their own interests, Wanbao Pavilion had always treated others with exceptional friendliness.

“Reporting to Manager Su,” a subordinate replied. “It is said that a rogue cultivator named Feng Bugui is experiencing Dao Enlightenment.”

Feng Bugui?

Su Rumei was taken aback for a moment and couldn’t help but ask in surprise, “Isn’t he only at the fourth layer of Qi Refining?”

“Yes,” the subordinate nodded. “The cultivators sharing his carriage all confirm it’s him.”

Su Rumei nodded and dismissed her subordinate. But when she looked towards the carriage again, she couldn’t help but reveal a trace of astonishment in her gaze.

This ‘Feng Bugui’ was precisely Gu Xiu.

This was an alias chosen by Gu Xiu specifically to avoid being tracked by the Qingxuan Sacred Land.

Its meaning: In slanting wind and fine rain, there’s no need to return!