Gu Quan finally stopped being coy, nodding with a smile, "Before my master achieved the Spiritual God realm, he once received a great favor from the Wood Ancestor. Therefore, when he cultivated to the Grand Venerable realm, he specifically sent down a wisp of spiritual thought to the Celestial Spirit Continent, sealing it and sending it to the Wood Ancestor. If that wisp of spiritual thought is unsealed one day, it means the Wood Ancestor needs my master's assistance. Regardless of the distance, my master will intervene."

After a pause, Gu Quan added another sentence, "Of course, the scope of assistance is limited to the Grand Venerable Spirit Realm. Due to the realm gate, even my master can, at most, allow a small portion of his soul to enter the Celestial Spirit Continent. Only here does my master have a chance to repay the Wood Ancestor’s kindness from back then."

"So that's how it is."

Nie Kong suddenly understood. It seemed the Wood Ancestor had infused the spiritual thought of the Seven-Colored Grand Venerable into the leaf when giving it to him back then. Opening the leaf outside Pan Yuan City today must have unsealed that spiritual thought, which the Seven-Colored Grand Venerable then sensed, immediately dispatching Gu Quan.

It was only then that Nie Kong truly grasped why the Wood Ancestor had said that as long as the danger he was facing did not come from a Grand Venerable powerhouse, that leaf could save his life.

The power released by that wisp of spiritual thought within the leaf could resist attacks below the Grand Venerable level, and the duration was enough to sustain until the Seven-Colored Grand Venerable himself, or someone he dispatched, arrived to render aid. Once the Seven-Colored Grand Venerable or a dispatched expert arrived, Nie Kong would be absolutely safe, even if the leaf failed.

Naturally, if someone targeting Nie Kong was a Grand Venerable, the situation would be quite different.

"Senior Gu Quan, did the Seven-Colored Grand Venerable also emerge from the Celestial Spirit Continent?" Yu Longyue suddenly seemed to recall something, her beautiful eyes widening.

"Impossible, surely?"

Only now did Nie Kong grasp the hidden implication in Gu Quan's words and couldn't help but be astonished, looking at Gu Quan with an expression full of disbelief.

In the past ten thousand years, Spiritual Gods emerging from the Celestial Spirit Continent were exceedingly rare; yet, there was such a supreme powerhouse among them, reaching the unparalleled Grand Venerable realm five thousand years ago? He wondered if the Seven-Colored Grand Venerable received the Wood Venerable's favor before or after the Illusionary Spirit Continent split.

"Indeed."

Gu Quan's eyes instantly revealed heartfelt reverence. "My master’s innate talent was unparalleled; he achieved the Spiritual God realm in only one hundred years. After entering the Grand Venerable Spirit Realm six thousand years ago, it took him only a thousand years to become the third Grand Venerable among the foreign Spiritual Gods in the Grand Venerable Spirit Realm."

A Grand Venerable truly originating from the Celestial Spirit Continent!

Nie Kong subconsciously took a deep breath. The Seven-Colored Grand Venerable was indeed blessed with extraordinary talent: a Spiritual God in a century, a Grand Venerable in a millennium… something others couldn't achieve in ten thousand years, he accomplished in just over a thousand. This cultivation speed was enough to make the Spiritual Gods in the Grand Venerable Spirit Realm ashamed enough to smash their heads against a wall.

In a flash of thought, Nie Kong's mind moved suddenly: "Senior, there is something called the 'Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf' on the Celestial Spirit Continent; I wonder if it has any connection to the Seven-Colored Grand Venerable?"

Gu Quan replied, "The Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf was my master's weapon back then; it contains the insights he gained upon achieving the Spiritual God realm. Nie Kong, your ability to have that little fellow Qing You follow you suggests you entered the cave dwelling where I cultivated back then. You must have seen that 'Red Leaf' too."

Nie Kong smiled, and a flash of green light suddenly appeared in his palm—it was the fused "Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf," its emerald green surface inlaid with fine red dots.

After obtaining the half-piece of the green leaf from Nie Shen Gong in Jiyang City, the red leaf and the green leaf had merged into this appearance. Afterward, when Nie Kong had free time, he would often take it out to fiddle with, but he could never absorb the divine power contained within the leaf. Later on, he had almost forgotten about this leaf.

"This is the merged Red Leaf and Green Leaf?"

Gu Quan was greatly surprised. Previously, Gu Quan hadn't sensed any aura of the "Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf" on Nie Kong and didn't know where he had taken it out from. However, his surprise didn't seem to be due to this, but rather that Nie Kong had actually possessed two pieces of the "Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf."

Nie Kong nodded, feeling a bit regretful. "I only found the green leaf and the red leaf on the Celestial Spirit Continent; that red leaf was obtained from Senior's cave dwelling. It's a pity I couldn't find the other five spirit leaves; otherwise, I could have assembled the complete 'Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf.'"

Gu Quan raised an eyebrow and laughed heartily, "Nie Kong, even if you turned the Celestial Spirit Continent upside down, you wouldn't find the other five leaves."

"Oh?"

Nie Kong exchanged a look of surprise with Yu Longyue and Tai Yan.

Seeing this, Gu Quan's face broke into a strange smile. "Back then, before my master was sucked into the realm gate, although he split the Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf into seven pieces, he only threw the Red Leaf and the Green Leaf in two different locations on the Celestial Spirit Continent; the remaining five leaves were all brought to the Grand Venerable Spirit Realm."

"It's like that?"

Nie Kong and the others were left momentarily speechless, then felt a wave of wry amusement wash over them. Rumors really were the death of people; they never expected the truth to be this way. For these thousands of years, hoping for a sliver of chance to achieve the Spiritual God realm, countless Spirit Masters had searched the Celestial Spirit Continent for the "Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf."

Gu Quan sighed with emotion. "Back then, I exhausted all my efforts and only managed to obtain one Red Leaf. I never expected you to find the second, the Green Leaf; your luck is truly extraordinary. Nie Kong, you might not know this, but the reason I was accepted as my master's disciple was because of that Red Leaf."

After a slight pause, Gu Quan smiled, "Perhaps in the future, I should change my address and call you Junior Brother."

"Junior Brother?"

Nie Kong paused dumbfounded. "The Seven-Colored Grand Venerable would take me as a disciple because of these two leaves?"

Hearing this, unconcealed joy spread across the faces of Tai Yan and the others. If Nie Kong could truly be accepted as a disciple by the Seven-Colored Grand Venerable, he would be able to move freely in the Grand Venerable Spirit Realm. Not only would the Pill Immortal Sect and the Sea Clan not dare to cause further trouble, but even the Primordial Heaven Palace would have to think twice before targeting Nie Kong.

"The chances are very high; otherwise, why would I say your luck is so good?"

Gu Quan looked at Nie Kong with some envy. "When my master accepted me as a disciple, he once said he would take two disciples. The Spiritual God who first obtained the Red Leaf would be the Eldest Disciple, and the Spiritual God who first obtained the Green Leaf would be the Second Disciple. Every Spiritual God who has possessed a spirit leaf will carry a faint aura of the spirit leaf within their body. As soon as they arrive in the central domain of the Grand Venerable Spirit Realm, my master will notice." He paused, then added, "It's a pity you ascended to the Spiritual God realm in the Divine Void Realm and came out from the northern domain. Otherwise, even without that leaf, my master would have immediately sensed your arrival."

Saying this, Gu Quan’s gaze shifted slightly, and he exclaimed in realization, "No wonder! No wonder... At first, my master only told me to help you resolve the immediate crisis, but he quickly changed his instructions and told me to bring you to the 'Seven-Colored Divine Realm.' It must be that my master sensed the spirit leaf aura within you."

"Nie Kong, congratulations!"

"..."