The Daoist Pact transformed into a spirit butterfly, crashing heavily against the wooden house's window frame.
Shen Gurong, dressed in red, was spotless, except for Lin Xia Chun in his hand, which was now covered in filthy blood. He paused, turning his head to look at the window frame.
Lin Xia Chun thought blankly, "If only I were the window."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong was different from forty years ago. Back then, his killing of Li Genglan was a one-sided, brutal massacre. This time, despite being provoked by Li Genglan, he hadn't gone mad and lost his mind, succumbing to demonic possession.
He didn't want a single drop of blood on himself, fearing it would soil him. His eyes, though bloodshot, remained clean, unaffected by the murderous intent that had robbed him of his reason.
Li Genglan lay on the ground, covered in blood, his eyes unfocused. His blood slowly spread throughout the wooden house, leaving only a clean patch at Shen Gurong's feet.
The array beneath his feet seemed to be activated by his blood; the more blood he lost, the stronger the array appeared to become.
Shen Gurong could still hear sounds outside the window, but by the time he finished settling accounts with Li Genglan, there was no sound at all.
He didn't know if the spirit butterfly had disappeared or if the array had become more robust.
Li Genglan was on the verge of death; he had almost lost all feeling of pain, his eyes blankly fixed on the pool of blood before him.
Shen Gurong raised his hand and channeled a stream of spiritual energy into Li Genglan's meridians, sustaining him on the verge of death. He said calmly, "Don't rush to die. Don't you still want to see the Heavenly Dao guide me back to the right path?"
Li Genglan coughed lightly, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He gave a hoarse, short laugh and said with difficulty, "The formation will activate soon. The lives of countless demonic cultivators in Xianzhou City are enough for the Heavenly Dao to reverse the fate of the Record of the Capital."
Shen Gurong simply said two words: "Ridiculous."
He reached out to grab Li Genglan's hair and lift him up, but glancing at the blood on his black hair, he frowned in disgust and looked at Lin Xia Chun.
Lin Xia Chun silently transformed into human form and lifted Li Genglan up for his master.
Li Genglan looked down at him, then suddenly sneered, "You think you've really killed me?"
Shen Gurong looked down at him, his eyes full of contempt, "Otherwise what? Am I holding a dog in my hand right now?"
Lin Xia Chun silently thought, 'I'm the one holding him. Oh well, I'm just a tool.'
'If only I were really just a tool.'
Li Genglan glanced away, waited a few moments, then smiled bitterly and said,
"The time has come."
Sensing that he seemed about to do something, Shen Gurong's pupils contracted. Before he could move, he grabbed Lin Xia Chun's hand and, with a resounding crash, plunged Lin Xia Chun, who had instantly transformed into a sword, into Li Genglan's throat.
Blood immediately gushed out.
Li Genglan's pupils contracted sharply for a moment, then gradually dilated.
Soon, he fell silent.
The formation beneath him activated completely, trapping Shen Gurong firmly in this corner.
Lin Xia Chun whispered, "Master, he's dead..."
Shen Gurong gripped the hilt of his sword, sneering, "You really think he stayed here just so I could kill him to vent my anger?"
Lin Xiachun, too lazy to process it, stammered, "Huh?"
"That was a divided spirit." Shen Gurong pulled the sword from the corpse, flicking his sleeve to send the bloodstains on Lin Xia Chun's body splashing into the pool of blood, creating a ripple. "But he probably used most of his divided spirit here to mislead my investigation, trying to trap me and buy time. Now that the divided spirit is dead, his main body should also be severely injured."
Lin Xiachun hadn't expected this, and stammered, "Master knew all along?"
Shen Gurong looked at him strangely, "You didn't know?"
Lin Xia Chun: "..." Sorry, I'm stupid.
Li Genglan using most of his divided spirit to trap Shen Gurong here, unable to escape even a step, is quite a skill in itself.
The pain and injuries suffered while distracted would also manifest in the main body. Shen Gurong, unsure of Li Genglan's intentions, decided to play along, hoping to take revenge as well.
Lin Xia Chun, now in human form, squatted beside Li Genglan, poking a finger into the pool of blood on the ground, slowly absorbing the demonic cultivator's blood brimming with spiritual energy. He whispered, "Then what will Master do if we can't get out of this formation?"
Shen Gurong glanced at him.
Lin Xia Chun met his gaze, his heart skipped a beat, realizing he'd asked another stupid question, because his master's face seemed to say, "Are you really my sword? Or just something I picked up from outside?"
Lin Xia Chun: "..."
Lin Xia Chun stammered, "I'm sorry, I wish I couldn't speak."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. How come after all these years, Lin Xia Chun's aimless nature hadn't changed at all? It both amused and pained him.
“Go ahead and drink the blood,” Shen Gurong said helplessly. “Once this is over, I’ll send you back to the Sword Pavilion.”
Lin Xia Chun’s gray eyes lit up slightly upon hearing this, and he immediately obediently continued drinking blood.
Shen Gurong lifted his robes and sat down on the only clean spot, closing his eyes slightly. He said, “Now I am also a split spirit. Although my divine consciousness is small, it cannot be destroyed directly. It can only remain here. You stay here and guard it. I will come back to pick you up soon.”
Lin Xia Chun: “…”
Ah, is this what humans are like?
So cunning.
The cunning human abandoned control of this split spirit. Shen Gurong closed his eyes and sank into his divine consciousness. When he opened his eyes again, he had returned to his original body.
Shen Gurong’s original body was still in the spirit boat in Fengdu. As soon as he came to his senses, he felt someone moving around in his arms.
Shen Gurong opened his eyes and glanced down. Shen Wanglan was leaning against him, swinging his feet and reading a storybook.
Sensing Shen Gurong waking up, Shen Wanglan looked up happily, "Second Father, you're back!"
Shen Gurong smiled and stroked his head, saying, "Yes, but I have to leave again."
Shen Wanglan said "Ah," and obediently nodded his little head, "Okay, Wanglan will wait here for Second Father and Mother Mu to return."
"Good boy."
Shen Wanglan thought for a moment and said, "Oh, right, Wanglan seems to have said something wrong. Mother Mu's face was so ugly when he left."
He fiddled with his chubby fingers and said fearfully, "Does he not like Wanglan anymore?"
Shen Gurong recalled the strange emotions he had felt in the Daoist Pact earlier and asked, "What did you say wrong?"
Shen Wanglan parroted his conversation with Mu Zhe, line by line.
Shen Gurong paused, then suddenly seemed to realize something, vaguely understanding why Mu Zhe was unhappy.
When Shen Gurong lost his memory, he told Mu Zhe that he had possessed Shen Feng Xue's body. Now that Shen Wanglan had told Mu Zhe those words, he must know that he is Shen Feng Xue, and is probably blaming him for lying to him.
Shen Gurong was somewhat amused and exasperated. This was truly a misunderstanding, but he didn't know how to explain it to Mu Zhe. He could only wait until things settled down before explaining in detail.
Now, Mu Zhe had unexpectedly learned of his "lie," and was probably angry with him.
Shen Gurong rubbed his temples and said helplessly, "It's nothing, you didn't say anything wrong, I was the one who made the mistake."
Shen Wanglan blinked, not understanding the meaning of his words.
Shen Gurong didn't explain. He looked up, rubbed Shen Wanglan's forehead, gave him some instructions, and then continued through the Life Gate into Xianzhou.
He originally planned to go directly to Mu Zhe and quickly explain things to avoid him overthinking, but as soon as he arrived in Xianzhou City, he felt a familiar spiritual force rushing towards him.
Shen Gurong froze for a moment, then turned around to see a blue dragon carrying Xi Guxing galloping towards him, arriving in front of him in an instant.
Shen Gurong: "..."
He asked in surprise, "Senior Brother?"
Before Chao Jiuxiao had even stopped, Xi Guxing hurriedly jumped off the dragon's back: "Eleventh!"
He rushed to Shen Gurong, looked him up and down, and finding him unharmed, angrily shouted, "I couldn't sense your aura with my jade marrow anymore! I was almost scared to death! You bastard, what risks did you take this time? Huh?! Speak!"
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong leaned back, avoiding Xi Guxing's spittle, and said with difficulty, "Sect Leader, I'm not a child anymore, you..."
"Really look like my mother."
Xi Guxing, the Sect Leader, his mother: "..."
Xi Guxing's ears turned red, and he roared angrily, "What nonsense about your mother!"
Shen Gurong raised an eyebrow calmly and said, "Why are you here? Isn't it forbidden to enter Xianzhou easily?"
Xi Guxing said irritably, "After learning that the Demon Lord and Feng Yun had also arrived in Xianzhou, we were afraid something terrible would happen, so we followed them. It was Sanshui who gave us the formation to enter the Gate of Life."
Shen Gurong was silent for a moment before saying, "Is Sanshui your disciple or mine?"
Why does he tell Xi Guxing everything?
Xi Guxing snorted, "Anyway, it's no use stopping us this time. I came here to clean house for Liren Peak, not to compete with you for some demonic cultivator heads."
Shen Gurong stared at his reddened ears for a long time before sighing, "Okay, Senior Brother, no problem. But if your face wasn't red, that statement might be more convincing."
Xi Guxing: "..."
Chao Jiuxiao had already landed and transformed into human form, wrapped in a black robe. He raised an eyebrow and snorted coldly, saying, "I thought you were dead, and I came here happily to collect your corpse. I even picked out a coffin."
Shen Gurong glanced at him.
Back then, he had obsessively resented Li Nanyang for stopping him from killing Li Genglan, and even loathed Chao Jiuxiao, who admired Li Nanyang. But perhaps Shen Gurong had completely regained his composure, and looking at Chao Jiuxiao from a different perspective, he felt that Chao Jiuxiao was barely human, and not so annoying after all.
Furthermore, the opportunity Chao Jiuxiao gave him in the Gu Hong Secret Realm granted Shen Wanglan a human form, making Shen Gurong somewhat grateful to him, and he no longer constantly opposed him.
"Thank you, Fourth Senior Brother," Shen Gurong nodded slightly. "I think I'll really like the coffin."
Xi Guxing: "..."
Chao Jiuxiao: "..."
Chao Jiuxiao habitually wanted to annoy Shen Gurong, and was expecting him to retort, but he didn't expect him to be so calm and even thank him.
Chao Jiuxiao... Chao Jiuxiao was stunned, feeling like he was still dreaming.
The anger on Xi Guxing's face gradually dissipated. He looked at Shen Gurong with concern and said, "Eleventh, what triggered you again?"
Shen Gurong smiled and said, "It's nothing, I'm fine."
Xi Guxing... Xi Guxing suddenly felt a little scared, thinking that his junior brother seemed to have lost his mind again.
“He should still be breathing near midnight. I’m going to finish him off later. If you have nothing to do, you could check out the formation in Xianzhou City. Is there a way to break it?”
Xi Guxing paused for a moment, then frowned and said, “Finish him off later? Where are you going now? Do you have something more important to do?”
Shen Gurong nodded: “Yes, something very important, of paramount importance, concerning my entire life.”
Xi Guxing’s expression turned serious: “Then go quickly. Leave this to us.”
Shen Gurong said, “Okay.”
Chao Jiuxiao finally came to his senses. Shen Gurong wasn’t arguing with him anymore, but he felt a little uncomfortable and awkwardly tried to start a conversation: “What…what are you going to do? Is it dangerous? I mean, will the coffin be useful?”
Shen Gurong tilted his head and looked at him. Perhaps his prejudice against Chao Jiuxiao had disappeared, because he vaguely felt that he was concerned about him, but he still didn’t speak fluently.
"There's no danger," Shen Gurong said. "I can handle it myself."
His serious tone piqued Xi Guxing's curiosity. "What's so important?"
Could it be more important than killing Li Genglan?
Shen Gurong said solemnly, "To appease my disciple."
Xi Guxing: "???"
Shen Gurong: "Mu Zhe is angry with me."
Xi Guxing: "..." Get out of here!!!
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