Chapter 8: The Decline of King Gong Sun

  "Huh? Old monk, why are you still here?" He Lianuo was startled by this sudden sentence, and after careful thought, wasn't this the voice of Gong Sunyan, whose soul was trapped in his own mind? To say that Gong Sunyan had almost never appeared since He Lianuo escaped from the Imperial City, causing He Lianuo's already somewhat dull nerves to almost forget about him. Now, suddenly hearing his voice made him remember that there was still this old guy who wouldn't leave or die, stuck in his head, making his heart tighten with vigilance, preparing for Gong Sunyan to play another trick on him. After all, this sly monk had nearly cost him his life before!

  "What do you mean by 'still'? To be honest with you, unless one day you cultivate to the supreme and unparalleled realm of no ancient people, or ruthlessly kill me in your mind, otherwise don't think about getting rid of me! Do you think I'm willing to stay here? If it weren't for leaving you, I wouldn't be able to keep my soul safe, so I wouldn't stick with you!" Gong Sunjian retorted indignantly, apparently he was sure that Helian No would not dare to kill him, so he dared to be so arrogant.

  Looking at Gong Sun's expression, which seemed to say "I've got you right where I want you", He Lian Nu couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. Indeed, he was fed up with Gong Sun, but he wasn't going to actually kill him. After all, putting aside his own feelings, Gong Sun's understanding of this continent was extremely helpful to him. Most importantly, right now he was still just a child who couldn't speak, and the only person he could talk to and alleviate his boredom was this despicable old man.

  Looking at Helian's embarrassed appearance, Gong Sunje smiled smugly, although he liked to tease this inexperienced young man, after all, he still had to rely on him for survival. Gong Sunje didn't dare go too far and changed the subject: "I say, kid, weren't you just looking for a qualified teacher to teach you about this world's abilities? If I were to say, what else would you look for? Isn't there a suitable candidate right in front of you?" After finishing speaking, he puffed out his chest with force and looked away with a deep gaze, but the corner of his eye was clearly filled with expectation as he glanced at Helian. His expression was clearly saying: "Look at me! Quickly look at me! Ask me to be your master!"

  "Ah, yes, you're absolutely right. He's indeed a most suitable candidate. Although he may seem unassuming on the surface, I know that he has extraordinary abilities and, most importantly, his courage is unwavering - even with a knife to his throat, he wouldn't bat an eyelid!"

  Gongsun Yan nodded in satisfaction, fully enjoying Helian Nuo's flattery.

  "He's a bit hard to read, I don't know if he'll accept me as his apprentice," Helianuo said, expressing her concern.

  Gongsun Yan thought to himself, "Nonsense, if I let you figure me out, how can I show off my mysterious and profound nature?" But he said aloud, "You don't have to worry, this expert you mentioned seems proud and hard to approach, but that's just the aura of a strong person! If you humbly ask for his help, he'll reluctantly accept."

  "It's still no good, I'll just have to wait another two years and then ask him again!", He Lianuo suddenly changed his tone.

  This made Gongsun Yan anxious, knowing that he was eager for Helian Luo to become powerful as soon as possible. After all, the current Helian Luo could be said to have no ability to protect himself at all. If one day he was unfortunately harmed by someone, he would completely disappear from this world along with him!

  "It's better to settle this matter as soon as possible, if you ask him now he will definitely agree!", Gong Sunjian was no longer concerned with pretending to be noble and anxiously persuaded He Lianuo.

  "Alas, I'd like to ask him now, but who lets me talk to him? It would be divine if he could understand the requests coming from this infantile body!", Helianuo sighed in his mind, looking at Helianjiang who was dozing off while holding him.

  "Who? Which one?", Gong Sunjan finally sensed something off in Helian Nuo's words, and asked doubtfully.

  "What's wrong with you!! Who did you think it was? Is there anyone else here besides him?" Hui Lian Nuo replied in confusion.

  "Emotions in your eyes didn't even treat me as a person!", Gong Sun thought to himself, his old face couldn't help but turn red, after making a fuss for half the day, He Lian Shao Ye actually wasn't talking about himself, good guy, he was still harmonizing with him!

  Forcing himself to calm down, Gong Sun hesitantly said: "That is, if you don't mind, I can temporarily guide you...", stuttering for half a day, Gong Sun still had the nerve to say his plan, after all, survival was the most important thing in this world.

  He Lian Nu finally understood Gong Sun's intentions and couldn't help but feel a sense of joy, thinking that he had finally made this old man swallow his pride: "So, you're willing to teach me, but there's one thing I don't understand. Last time, didn't you say you were one of the five great masters of the You Yue? How could someone with such strength be forced to flee to our world in such a sorry state? This needs to be clarified beforehand, or how would I know if you're just trying to deceive me, and whether you're qualified to be my teacher?"

  "This, this..." For some reason, Gong Sun Zhan, who was usually very talkative, was somewhat hesitant and tongue-tied at this moment. After a long time, he finally sighed and continued to say: "Little one, I'll tell you the truth, I am indeed one of the five great masters of Yao Yue, but in fact, for thousands of years, our Gong Sun family has always occupied a place among the top five masters on the mainland, which has almost become an unwritten rule. However, only four great masters are truly recognized by the world, and we Gong Sun will never be revered like those other four people. And I can only teach you some basic martial arts knowledge because... I am a spatial soul!" At this moment, Gong Sun Zhan's expression was somewhat melancholy, it was clear that being one of the top five masters but not truly recognized by the world was a shameful thing.

  "What's a 'Soul of Space'?", Hurenno clearly didn't understand this strange new term from another world.

  "Alright, before explaining the Space Soul, let me introduce this world to you, a traveler from another realm. You already know that this continent is called the Demon Moon Continent. As for why it's called Demon Moon, just look up at the sky and you'll understand." Looking at Helian Nuo's perplexed expression, Gong Sun Jian said with a sigh. He then pretended to be mysterious, turned his back, clasped his hands behind him, and looked away, no longer paying attention to him. Many years later, when Helian Nuo became more astute, he finally understood that whenever the old monk made this gesture, it meant he was preparing to deceive himself.

  Although Helian was somewhat puzzled, he still followed the words and lifted his head to look through the dense leaves towards the sky. It turned out that unknowingly, the outside sky had already darkened. Speaking of which, this was actually his first time seeing the night sky in another world. He saw that the sky was dotted with a few stars, like diamonds on a huge black curtain, shining brightly. Turning his head to survey the past, Helian suddenly discovered that among the sparse stars on the eastern mountain, there was a fist-sized, punch-shaped object emitting soft light like the moonlight of his previous life. However, the shape of the fist was somewhat ferocious, as if it wanted to crush something, completely destroying the beauty of the light.

  "Could it be that the fist-shaped thing is actually this world's moon?" A strange thought suddenly popped into Helian's mind, but in his heart, he really couldn't connect this violent image with the soft and beautiful moon of his previous life. The only reason he even considered it was because the light emitted by this object was just too similar to moonlight. Helian turned his head to look at Gong Sunyan in his mind, hoping that he would deny his absurd idea. After all, the round or curved beautiful moon of his previous life was much more beautiful and normal than this fist-shaped thing.

  "Huh, you think that's a fist? That means you truly are desperate for power!" Gong Sunjian ruthlessly crushed Helian Nuo's hopes.

  "What? You're saying that...that's really the Moon Demon?", He Lian War was still unable to accept this absurd fact.

  "That's right, that's the common faith of billions of living beings on the Youyue Continent, the Youyue that gives us strength and hope. I'm sure you think this Youyue is not as beautiful as you imagined? Haha, let me tell you, actually, the reason why Youyue has a 'you' character in its name is because it presents different shapes to different people, each person can see what they most desire in their heart at that moment on the Youyue. So, even for the same person, the shape of the Youyue they see may be completely different at different times. We believe this is the Youyue warning us not to indulge our desires too much, and telling us what each person cares about most in their heart. We also believe it's the light of the Youyue that gives us strength, even in the bright daylight, the Youyue will quietly guard this land. Actually, the legendary true shape of the Youyue on the continent is a curved one, I think maybe it's like the crescent moon in your world. For thousands of years, there has been a prophecy circulating on the continent that when a person's power becomes strong enough to control their desires, they can see the true face of the Youyue, and at that time, they can receive guidance from the Youyue, climb up to the Youyue via the Lianyuelou tower in the center of Luoshui Lake. This is the common dream of all soul masters on the continent!"

  He Lianuo was about to habitually express his disdain for the old monk, but he saw that Gong Sunjian's originally somewhat despicable face now had a radiant glow, and he couldn't help but shut his mouth. It was clear that You Yue was indeed this man's unparalleled faith in his heart, He Lianuo didn't doubt at all that Gong Sunjian would fight to the death for You Yue with anyone, even if it meant going against himself, who could control his life. This, was the terrifying aspect of faith?

  "On this continent, we believe that our power comes from the souls that have been baptized by the moonlight. Therefore, those of us who are fortunate enough to cultivate the soul arts are called Soul Practitioners, and the act of obtaining power is called Soul Refining. Although everyone can refine their souls, there are natural differences in achievement due to individual talent. Those with good innate abilities can quickly enter the first stage of soul refining: Soul Awakening.

  Soul Practitioners in the Soul Awakening stage are divided into three levels: Soul Disciples, Soul Masters, and Great Soul Masters. Next is the second stage: Soul Movement. Soul Movement is also divided into three levels: Soul Attendants, Soul Guards, and Soul Administrators. In the history of the Moonlight Continent, more than 90% of Soul Practitioners spend their entire lives unable to break through the Soul Movement stage.

  Only a tiny minority can enter the third stage of Soul Practitioners: Soul Breakthrough. The three levels of Soul Breakthrough are Soul Sects, Soul Venerables, and the legendary Soul Saints. In the history of the Moonlight Continent, only a few dozen people have entered the level of Soul Venerable, and currently, there are only five people known to the world who have achieved this level - the famous Five Great Venerables.

  And I am one of them... perhaps also the most undeserving one." Gong Sunjian smiled self-deprecatingly.

  "Does the name not match the reality?" Helian asked in puzzlement.

  "Yes, a name that doesn't live up to reality! Mentioning this matter, Gong Sun Jian's face revealed a hint of embarrassment. "Soul cultivators can theoretically cultivate any type of soul core, but some soul cores are extremely rare and difficult to capture, such as space. To be precise, only direct descendants of the Gong Sun family on this entire continent have the innate talent to capture space soul cores. Space souls are incredibly powerful, their attacks often come unexpectedly and are hard to defend against, and their ability to flee is unmatched in the world. No strong cultivator wants to make an enemy of a space soul cultivator, because no one knows how they will exact revenge in an unpredictable way.

  Therefore, on this continent, there has been an unspoken rule for thousands of years: every fifty years, during the high-level cultivator competition, Gong Sun family descendants do not need to participate and automatically occupy one of the top five positions. This is also a kind of supreme respect for space soul cultivators. As a result, the Gong Sun family has always been in a position of power in the world of soul cultivators, but You Yue would never allow any power to become too strong and disrupt the balance.

  Our Gong Sun family's descendants may have powerful abilities, but our numbers are extremely thin, and each generation is physically weak. By my generation, there was only one descendant left - me. I naturally became one of the top five high-level cultivators in You Yue without much effort. However, what people don't know is that due to a secret struggle for power within the family, the Gong Sun clan lost almost all of its space attack soul techniques over a hundred years ago.

  Many strong cultivators who had cultivated these techniques died in that struggle, and many precious techniques were not passed down. In other words, the current Gong Sun clan has long since become weak and can only flee without being able to counterattack. We rely solely on the lingering prestige of our ancestors to barely maintain a foothold on this continent.

  The Gong Sun family has never interfered in the conflicts of this continent and rarely takes action in front of others, so naturally, we have no prestige. This is why I say that I am the only one among the top five high-level cultivators who doesn't live up to my name."

  "So that's how it is!", after hearing the old monk's words, He Lianuo couldn't help but feel a bit disheartened. Originally, he thought that as one of the five great masters, Gong Sun would have countless powerful techniques and moves to pass on to him, but who would have thought that the Gong Sun family was no longer what it used to be? The title of "one of the five great masters" was indeed too watered down.

  "I indeed cannot pass on to you powerful soul techniques, nor do I have a suitable cultivation method for you. The cultivation methods and soul techniques of the Demon Moon Continent are divided into four levels: Sacred, Heavenly, Earthly, and Human. What I possess now is only the Spatial Sacred Level cultivation method 'Ride the Void' and a few defensive soul techniques at the Heavenly level. However, the Gong Sun family has always been known for its vast knowledge on this continent. I can guide you to do the right thing at the right time and place, so that you can avoid taking countless detours in your soul cultivation journey. With the power of the mysterious thunder flowing within your body, it will take no more than fifteen years for you to make a name for yourself on this continent!"

  "Fifteen years? Haha!", He Lianuo looked around at the dense ancient vines and old trees, and couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh. "Don't even mention whether I can really become stronger step by step as you said, just talking about now, there are pursuers behind me, and in front of me is the so-called deadly Youyue Forest. My life and death are still uncertain, what's the point of talking about making a name for myself?"