The old man paused here.
Then he looked at Ying Chen and the others.
Ying Chen thought this old fellow would repeat his old trick, performing some trick like the Ten Thousand Ghosts Totem again.
To his surprise, the old man merely sighed softly and continued, "If it were the second possibility, then someone would be in for a terrible time. Because when the Life-Locking Gu is activated, and the sub-gu is planted in someone's body, the mother-gu, due to the bloodline connection, will become attached to the sub-gu and refuse to fly back!"
"Back then, our ancestors of the Chi You Banner created this Life-Locking Gu not to be used like common cabbage. Only those truly possessing heaven-defying value were worthy of us using this heaven-defying Gu. For example, that Han太子 during the Wu Gu Rebellion!"
Hearing the old man's words, Elder Guo and Master Gui exchanged glances.
Indeed, Master Gui's earlier speculation was correct. The Wu Gu Rebellion was a calamity manufactured by the Chi You Banner to replace the太子's fate!
"However, in this current era, it's unlike feudal society. The environment where one person holds absolute power and dictates everything is long gone. Therefore, there aren't many targets worthy of using the Life-Locking Gu to replace. And among the limited targets, security is stringent, making them difficult to approach."
"Most importantly, the Life-Locking Gu is not without its side effects. The most obvious side effect is backlash. The greater the target you wish to enspell, the higher their status and the more prominent their identity, the more intense the backlash will be."
"During the Wu Gu Rebellion, for our Chi You Banner to successfully plant the Life-Locking Gu in the Han太子, we lost four elders. This was done when the Han太子's power was not yet consolidated. If we had waited another two years, when the Han太子 was fully established and held great power, there would have been no opportunity to plant the Gu! The Gu would have been planted, and immediately after, it would have been counteracted by the dragon energy on the太子!"
"This is also why, despite the Life-Locking Gu being passed down to this day, I have never used it."
"In ancient times, with the dynastic system, you could choose from the emperor's offspring to enspell, and the chance of success was relatively high; but in today's situation, how would you choose? Would you grab a child from the roadside and directly plant the Life-Locking Gu on them, gambling that they would become a major leader in the future?"
"That would be worse than buying a lottery ticket!"
"In conclusion, I believe the possibility of the Life-Locking Gu being activated is not high. It's more likely that the other party used a magical artifact to suppress the mother-gu!"
The old man stated with certainty.
However, when he looked at Ying Chen, he saw a mocking expression.
He was instantly stunned.
After a long moment, he widened his eyes in disbelief and asked, "Could it be... could it be... the Life-Locking Gu has indeed been activated?"
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
"I refuse to believe that the other party possesses such divine power to accurately predict the birth of a major figure!"
After a long while, seeing Ying Chen's expression unchanged, the old man finally realized it was true.
He muttered, "Can you tell me who was enspelled? Which family's prodigy? Even if not a financial magnate, at least from a venerable family, right?"
"Besides those two types, I genuinely cannot think of anyone else worthy of using the Life-Locking Gu."
Ying Chen shook his head. "Unfortunately, neither."
"..." The old man was instantly dumbfounded.
Then, he became somewhat enraged and cursed, "Fool, wasting precious resources, what a waste!"
But when Ying Chen spoke again, the old man's curses abruptly stopped.
"However, their future achievements will be even greater and more limitless than the two types you mentioned."
The old man remained stunned for over a minute, unable to fathom who could be more limitless than those two types of people.
And Ying Chen naturally wouldn't tell the old man that the world would undergo drastic changes in the future, and Nannan's cultivation aptitude was the most precious.
Far surpassing so-called wealth and power.
"Alright, if the Life-Locking Gu can't be recalled, then tell me how to remove this kind of Gu!"
"If the method is feasible, I might consider sparing your life."
Ying Chen said indifferently.
The old man then realized that Ying Chen wasn't after the Life-Locking Gu at all!
The person enspelled was someone close to Ying Chen!
If he had known this earlier, why would he have gone to such lengths and lost an arm to stop Ying Chen?
They could have just sat down, brewed some tea, and talked it out.
The old man was filled with regret.
However, he dared not show his emotions and could only reply, "The method to remove the Life-Locking Gu is actually very simple: find the person who planted it, and then kill them."
"Once the person who planted the Gu dies, the mother-gu will also die, and the Life-Locking Gu will be removed without needing a specific cure."
Ying Chen glanced at the old man with a half-smile, "You know, I'm not looking for this kind of method."
If Ying Chen could find the enspeller, why would he have come to the old man?
Seeing Ying Chen's expression, the old man inexplicably shivered and said, "Then... then it can only be cleared by the infected person themselves. As long as the infected person cultivates to a certain level, they can also eliminate the Life-Locking Gu. Of course, this will take time."
Ying Chen chuckled, "It seems you truly have no attachment to this world and are intent on seeking death."
With that, Ying Chen once again pressed down on the old man's head!
The old man's soul scattered in terror.
It was true that he had no attachment to this world, but he didn't want to die!
However, the two methods he had just mentioned were all he could think of!
He genuinely didn't know any other way to remove the Life-Locking Gu.
"Spare... spare my life..."
"From its creation, the Life-Locking Gu was never designed to be removed. Let alone me, even if you summoned the ancestors of the Chi You Banner, they absolutely wouldn't come up with any other solution!"
"I'm truly not unwilling to cooperate, but I've already told you everything I know!"
"Immortal Master, with your magnanimity, spare my life. If that's not enough, I can help you find the person who stole the Life-Locking Gu ten years ago, can't I? Even if it wasn't him who ultimately activated the Life-Locking Gu, the person who activated it must be related to him!"
"As long as we find him, we will definitely find the enspeller! Then, with your divine might, it will be as easy as waving your hand to eliminate them, won't it?"
The old man begged for mercy repeatedly.
This was the only method the old man could think of.
However, he did not expect Ying Chen to show no sign of stopping, his five fingers still pressing down on his head with increasing force.
The old man's skull began to creak, as if it would explode at any moment.
At this moment, Elder Guo sighed sympathetically and said, "My friend, you'd better think of another way!"
"Ten years ago, that group of people managed to get their hands on numerous heavy firepower weapons and threatened to wipe the entire Miao Black Witch region off the map. Do you think, with their capabilities, they would let you track them down? Not to mention that ten years have passed, and all clues have been broken. "
"Moreover, if we were to investigate them, the High Priest also saw their faces. And the High Priest is intact and younger than you. Is it not better to track them with the High Priest than with a useless person like you?"
"So if you can't think of another way, then you are truly doomed."
The old man trembled and subconsciously looked at the High Priest.
In his eyes, besides fear, there was only one thought: I should have killed the High Priest just now!
Now, I've become an expendable substitute!