Mu Zhe held Shen Gurong's body protectively in his arms. Only when he noticed Shen Gurong's body had stopped trembling from the excruciating pain did he silently breathe a sigh of relief. He raised his head, his eyes coldly fixed on the man within the formation.
Because of the demon cultivator's inner core and the phoenix feather, Li Genglan's body was reshaped. In less than a quarter of an hour, he had returned to human form, and the foul-smelling demonic aura on his body was gradually expelled, replaced by a cold and chilling ghostly energy.
He had refined himself into a true plague demon.
After the formation dissipated, Li Genglan's appearance returned to normal, his sinister eyes fixed intently on Shen Gurong lying in Mu Zhe's arms.
Mu Zhe gently placed Shen Gurong aside, his face expressionless as he gripped the Jiu Xi Sword.
Li Genglan met his gaze indifferently, then suddenly blurted out, "You really are lucky."
Mu Zhe, too lazy to waste a single word, charged forward with sword intent filling the sky.
The massive array across Xianzhou had begun to activate, draining the life force of countless demonic cultivators, leaving the entire city filled with wails of agony.
Heavenly Dao, Record of the Capital.
Within the Record of the Capital array, bamboo flutes transformed into bamboo slips, swirling incessantly around the closed-eyed Yu Xinghe.
Wen Liubing stared blankly, his face instantly turning deathly pale.
He had tried to stop the array's activation, even at the cost of his master, but now, he had botched it.
Yu Xinghe had no idea what was happening. He only felt himself standing there, countless memories rushing through his mind like flowing water, finally settling on his master, clad in snow-white robes.
The final bolt of heavenly lightning struck, and Shen Gurong lowered his head slightly, his eyes vacant, as if he had lost his soul.
His body was charred black, demonic energy rapidly reshaping it.
“Master…” Yu Xinghe gripped Shen Gurong’s hand, pleading more humbly than ever before: “Please look at me, what has Xinghe done to displease you?” On the verge of death, Shen Gurong’s fingers twitched slightly, his lips parted, uttering a murmured, dreamlike cry.
“If only you… had never existed.”
Yu Xinghe’s eyes widened abruptly, tears streaming down his face.
When he regained his senses, an unknown amount of time had passed; Shen Gurong’s body was now completely cold.
He had killed his master.
He had killed his master again.
Countless memories flooded his mind, and in an instant, Yu Xinghe understood something.
In Xianzhou City, the Jiu Xi Sword slashed down fiercely, its merciless sword intent capable of annihilating almost all the demons of the Three Realms, but when it met Li Genglan’s hand, it seemed to be neutralized by something.
Mu Zhe looked at him indifferently, then unleashed another powerful burst of spiritual energy.
A flash of blood appeared, and Li Genglan's hand was nearly severed.
He expressionlessly licked the bloodstain on the back of his hand, coldly saying, "The plague poison in your soul originates from the same source as mine."
A fierce red light flashed in Mu Zhe's eyes, his pupils dilating, and an overwhelming killing intent emanated from him.
Li Genglan looked at him and smiled: "Yes, the dilating pupils of a plague demon."
He gently raised his hand to touch his eyes, revealing the same plague demon dilating pupils as Mu Zhe: "Same as mine."
Mu Zhe felt so nauseous he almost vomited, wishing he could disperse his soul.
Li Genglan opened his arms and said calmly, "Record of the Capital has also entered the formation, very good."
Mu Zhe inadvertently turned his head and saw Shen Gurong, half-lying on the ground, enveloped in spiritual energy, his entire body undergoing changes.
Mu Zhe, terrified, turned deathly pale and immediately returned to Shen Gurong's side.
Shen Gurong's body appeared unchanged, but Mu Zhe, who knew him intimately, immediately noticed something amiss.
His master… seemed to have become younger.
Not in appearance, but rather the mature aura he had cultivated over countless years of suffering was gradually dissipating, and his white hair was slowly turning jet black from the tips, as if splashed with ink.
Mu Zhe: "Master! Master…"
"Back to a hundred years ago," Li Genglan murmured, his eyes filled with madness, "Back to a hundred years ago together. If I kill him, I can prove to Master… that ghost cultivators can also attain enlightenment and ascend."
"I will ascend with him, leaving the plague behind in the Three Realms."
He suddenly burst into maniacal laughter: "Didn't you say I was a plague demon? Then I'll become a plague demon and show you!"
Mu Zhe turned and gave him a cold look, suddenly understanding why Li Genglan had praised his good fortune earlier.
Li Genglan seemed to harbor similar feelings for his master, Li Nanyang.
Mu Zhe was indeed luckier; he received a response from Shen Gurong, while Li Genglan… was rejected, unable to attain immortality.
"How laughable," Mu Zhe thought expressionlessly. "To be so twisted by a lack of response, isn't that just pushing the one you love further away?"
In the short time it took to say those words, Shen Gurong's white hair had completely returned to its original black color, and even his appearance had become much more youthful. His already loose red robe hung loosely over his shoulders, revealing large expanses of fair skin.
Mu Zhe glanced at him and hurriedly and clumsily pulled the robe back up.
He wasn't imagining things; Shen Gurong had truly become younger.
Countless lanterns seemed to float by, casting dappled light on Shen Gurong's pale face.
Outside Xianzhou City, Lin Xia Chun manipulated a dagger transformed into needles, plunging them into Shen Gurong's battered meridians. Within a quarter of an hour, he finally found the mermaid's tear and crushed it without hesitation.
Shen Gurong, who had fainted four or five times from the pain, shuddered violently, his eyes glazing over. It took him a full ten breaths to finally regain consciousness, panting heavily.
Lin Xia Chun withdrew the needles and tossed them aside, muttering, "Is that enough? I'm so tired."
Shen Gurong was covered in blood, yet his face was stunningly beautiful. He smiled and said, "Alright, thank you."
Lin Xia Chun then continued to sit there, hugging his knees, lost in thought.
"If only I were that dagger."
"So tired, I want to go back to Sword Pavilion."
Mu Zhe was an exception, unbound by cause and effect. He was the only one unaffected by the formation. Li Genglan stood at the center of the formation, his long black robe intricate and beautiful.
He looked at Shen Gurong, now a young boy.
If he could kill Shen Gurong, and the last person in Huitang City, he could ascend to immortality as a plague demon.
Mu Zhe had already charged forward again, sword in hand.
Li Genglan still possessed Feng Yun's mermaid tears, so even though Mu Zhe's cultivation was at the Mahayana stage, he quickly recovered.
Mu Zhe, however, refused to believe it. He coldly thought: If I grind him to dust, let's see how he can resurrect.
Mu Zhe showed no mercy to anyone except Shen Gurong. Saying he would grind him to dust, he unleashed his full power, his sword intent soaring almost to the heavens, and without hesitation, slashed down, crashing into Li Genglan with a deafening roar.
Dust filled the air.
Mu Zhe sheathed his sword, but before he could take another step, he sensed the aura of a ghost cultivator reappear before him.
Li Genglan had withstood a direct hit from a Mahayana cultivator and was still alive?!
As the dust settled, Li Genglan stood unharmed, looking at Mu Zhe with a half-smile: "The formation hasn't returned to what it was a hundred years ago. As long as I'm still at the core of the formation, you can't kill me."
Mu Zhe smiled coldly: "Is that so?"
Li Genglan raised his sleeve to brush away the dust before him, about to speak, when he felt a sharp pain in his lower abdomen. He jerked his head up, and as the dust cleared, Mu Zhe's crimson, dilated pupils appeared before him.
Mu Zhe gripped the Jiu Xi Sword and plunged it into Li Genglan's body. Because he was an otherworldly being, the formation had almost no effect on him; if he dared to approach Li Genglan, he could easily kill him.
"I've heard that mermaid tears can grant you immortality?" Mu Zhe stared at him coldly, his eyes unfocused, enunciating each word clearly. "I don't believe it. Let me test it myself."
Li Genglan's pupils contracted, his instinctive urge to summon the Lian Gou darted back, but he realized in the next instant that Li Suo was still on Liren Peak.
He reacted swiftly, blocking Mu Zhe's Jiu Xi Sword with his bare hands. They exchanged several blows in an instant, but this time Mu Zhe didn't back down out of fear of the plague on his body. Instead, as if possessed, he pressed forward, refusing to retreat even with the plague on his body.
Li Genglan was nearly forced back from the formation's core by Mu Zhe's reckless fighting style. At the critical moment, he summoned a bolt of heavenly lightning, which struck between the two with a deafening roar.
After the lightning dissipated, Li Genglan was only momentarily stunned when Mu Zhe, seemingly enduring the lightning's force, pressed forward and shattered Li Genglan's newly reconstructed dantian with a single sword strike.
The malevolent spiritual energy he received didn't dissipate; instead, it spread along Li Genglan's meridians, churning his limbs and bones into a bloody mess.
Li Genglan's eyes widened suddenly.
Mu Zhe, expressionless, made Li Genglan personally experience the pain his master had suffered. Only when the array and the mermaid's tears reshaped his shattered body did Mu Zhe realize that perhaps he truly wouldn't die before the array stopped.
Mu Zhe suddenly understood why Shen Gurong had given up on killing him personally.
Neither of them were the type to derive pleasure from deliberately torturing others. Mu Zhe hesitated for a moment before drawing his Jiu Xi Sword.
The plague slowly crawled down Mu Zhe's hand. He stared expressionlessly at the reddening plague on his fingertips, letting out a cold, indifferent laugh.
A hundred years ago, he contracted an incurable plague; a hundred years later, it could be easily cured with just fruit.
The plague wasn't so terrifying after all.
In that short time, Shen Gurong had completely transformed back into his youthful appearance, nestled quietly in his loose robes, fast asleep.
Mu Zhe hurried back, and upon seeing Shen Gurong's slender figure, he was momentarily unable to recognize him.
He stared blankly for a long time before realizing that he had… seen Shen Gurong as a young boy in his dream.
Mu Zhe blushed inexplicably, gently lifting Shen Gurong to avoid him getting hurt on the ground.
But just as he held him, Shen Gurong suddenly opened his eyes.
Those youthful eyes were beautiful and pure; just one glance at Mu Zhe almost made him drown in their beauty.
Mu Zhe stammered, "Master…"
Shen Gurong smiled, his eyes crinkling, and said softly, "I'm back."
Mu Zhe quickly reached out to examine Shen Gurong's body, discovering that the injuries in his meridians had disappeared without a trace.
“We’ll talk about it later,” Shen Gurong said softly.
“The real show is about to begin.”
Mu Zhe was taken aback.
Shen Gurong stood up, his large robes bunching around his waist. His shoes were too big, making walking difficult, so he kicked them off and slowly walked towards Li Genglan.
After taking a couple of steps, Shen Gurong awkwardly realized his waistband was too loose. A few more steps and he'd be half-naked, so he stopped, tightened it, and continued towards Li Genglan.
Li Genglan: “…”
Li Genglan realized he'd held a grudge against Shen Gurong for so many years, while the culprit, Shen Gurong, hadn't even given him a second thought, even flirting with that scoundrel in front of him, and now he even had the nerve to fix his clothes.
Li Genglan was trembling with rage.
"Is this the formation you call the one that will steer the Heavenly Dao onto the right path?" Shen Gurong said indifferently. "I'm just over a hundred years younger, still as beautiful as a flower, nothing else has changed. You're still old and ugly, tsk..." He looked at Li Genglan with disdain and said, "And you were even beaten to the ground by my disciple."
Li Genglan: "..."
Li Genglan, unmoved by his provocation and wanting to avoid being driven mad, said coldly, "Once the formation is activated, what's recorded in the Record of the Capital will be the right path."
Shen Gurong said, "Oh."
Li Genglan: "..."
How come he hadn't noticed before that Shen Gurong was so good at provoking people?
Shen Gurong's body had reverted to that of a sixteen-year-old, and the last plague demon from back then had transformed from the teacher into Li Genglan.
Everything seemed exactly the same as a hundred years ago.
Shen Gurong initially didn't care about the legendary formation, but soon, a bustling crowd seemed to appear around him, and countless lanterns shone on his face.
Shen Gurong shuddered violently, only realizing it was an illusion when he came to his senses.
But he seemed to have anticipated something, and his face suddenly darkened.
It seemed the formation was indeed effective, but he didn't know whether what it brought was real or an illusion.
Shen Gurong knew the horror of being immersed in an illusion, so he loathed it even more.
He stepped forward barefoot, unafraid that Li Genglan would kill him, grabbed Li Genglan's sleeve, and whispered, "Didn't you want to correct the Heavenly Dao? Then I'll grant your wish."
He stared intently into Li Genglan's eyes and coldly said, "Kill me, and you can become a plague demon and ascend."
Li Genglan saw that he had opened all his defenses to him, but for some reason, he suddenly couldn't bring himself to do it. He frowned deeply: "What are you planning?"
"Heh." Shen Gurong sneered, "Kill me, and you'll find out."
Li Genglan looked at him with deep eyes. For some reason, an illusion slowly appeared around him, as if countless people were wailing and crying, with blood filling the sky.
Li Genglan's eyes hardened, and he struck Shen Gurong's chest with a palm strike.
Shen Gurong's eyes widened abruptly, his youthful face filled with deathly despair. He gripped Li Genglan's hand tightly, slowly collapsing to the ground.
Li Genglan seemed surprised by how easily he had killed Shen Gurong. He stared blankly for a long time, watching the boy's body grow cold, a void seemingly in his heart.
No, this isn't right.
Shen Gurong shouldn't have been killed so easily.
He had spent so many years trying to kill Shen Gurong; it shouldn't end so easily.
Li Genglan suddenly felt a pang of unease. What… what was his initial purpose?
Just then, a hand gently touched his shoulder. Li Genglan turned and saw Shen Gurong's beautiful face.
Li Genglan froze.
Before him was Shen Gurong's corpse, and behind him… who was that person?
An illusion? Shen Gurong, supporting Li Genglan's shoulders, tiptoed close to his ear and chuckled, "Senior brother, do you know why Master went back to Huitang City back then?"
Li Genglan's face turned deathly pale, as if he had just realized something.
"An opportunity for ascension, senior brother," Shen Gurong said. "Back then, if he had killed me, who had become a plague demon, he could have ascended completely. And now you've entered the plague demon formation, completely replacing me."
Li Genglan's face was more ashen than ever before, an expression he hadn't even shown when Shen Gurong had torn him to pieces.
"You want my closest relatives to kill me, and then the cycle of karma begins again." Shen Gurong's voice grew softer, yet it struck Li Genglan's heart like a hammer blow. "The formation did indeed correct the events of a hundred years ago in the Record of the Capital, and you..."
Shen Gurong lightly took a half-step back, the jade shard in his hand, which could transmit messages to Li Nanyang, swaying slightly. He smiled, appearing harmless like a truly innocent young man.
"And as Record of the Capital said, you will die at Li Nanyang's hands."
"Didn't you value him the most?"
"Didn't you say you would ascend with him even if you became a plague demon?"
"But Senior Brother..."
The spiritual veil in Shen Gurong's eyes slowly faded, "Now you have achieved your wish of becoming a plague demon, but you are merely a stepping stone for Li Nanyang's ascension."
"How does this feel?"
Li Genglan's eyes were bloodshot, struggling to lunge forward and truly kill him, but when his hand was half an inch away from Shen Gurong's face, a familiar sword intent suddenly pierced his heart, accurately pulverizing the mermaid tears that had just escaped to his heart.
Li Genglan's movements slowly froze, and he lowered his head to look at the shimmering sword tip.
His pupils contracted sharply, and in a daze, he recognized it.
The sword embedded in his body was Li Nanyang's.
This sword had once been held by Li Nanyang, who personally taught him the sword techniques of Li Renfeng;
This sword had slain the fire spirit beast that nearly swallowed him whole, saving him from hell;
This sword… Two tears suddenly streamed down Li Genglan's face.
This sword… how could it have ended up piercing his own body?
Shen Gurong looked at him with cold, emotionless eyes, his gaze finally settling on the icy Li Nanyang.
Li Nanyang expressionlessly pulled out the sword, his gaze on Li Genglan devoid of any emotion.
Li Genglan slowly turned around, and upon seeing Li Nanyang's face, he suddenly laughed.
His laughter grew increasingly manic, until finally, his face streaked with tears, he cried out, "How could you have killed me?"
If he had known this would happen, he should have let himself die at Shen Gurong's hands long ago.
Li Nanyang looked at him indifferently, as if looking at a stone, utterly devoid of emotion.
Li Genglan…
Genglan was all too familiar with that look. He laughed and cried at the same time, struggling to throw himself onto Li Nanyang, clutching his clothes tightly, his eyes bloodshot as he murmured, "How could it be you? How could it be you?"
How could it be Li Nanyang?
How could it be the person he had risked his life to stand shoulder to shoulder with?
Li Nanyang seemed to see right through him, coldly saying, "You're not doing this for me, you're just finding a grand excuse for your twisted desires."
Li Genglan's eyes suddenly glazed over.
Li Nanyang said, "I've never looked down on demons or ghosts. The only person I've ever truly despised is you."
Li Nanyang's eyes were filled with utter disappointment: "I saved you, I taught you, I never wanted anything in return."
"You wanted too much."
Li Genglan was too greedy. He wanted everything—revenge against those who had banished him as a plague demon, to prove himself to Li Nanyang, to… to ascend, even if it meant using the most insidious methods.
But all of this was what Li Nanyang loathed most.
Li Genglan clutched his clothes, choking back sobs, "I don't want to hear this, I don't like hearing this. You're my master, you raised me from childhood, you wouldn't be so cruel to me, right, Nanyang, master?"
His heart was slowly turning to skeletal remains, flesh and blood turning to dust and falling away. This should have been incredibly painful, but Li Genglan seemed oblivious, still clinging tightly to Li Nanyang, desperately trying to get the answer he wanted to hear.
"Master...please, I just don't want...to be separated from you."
Li Nanyang said that was just an excuse.
Li Genglan was almost insane, finally blurting out incoherently, "Master, I'm about to die, you...even just comfort me, okay?"
"You don't hate me."
He looked at Li Nanyang with the greatest expectation of his life, but only received a cold, indifferent gaze.
Just one look, and it gave him the answer.
Li Genglan's face finally turned ashen with despair. His lips trembled as he stared at Li Nanyang in disbelief.
"Impossible..."
"Impossible! You were so fond of me when we were young. Even all of Xi Guxing and the others combined couldn't compare to me..."
"I was clearly your favorite..."
He couldn't even believe his own words. Finally, under Li Nanyang's increasingly cold gaze, he broke down and let out a cry.
The next instant, his entire body turned to dust, falling softly into a pile of bones.
Li Nanyang gently closed his eyes.
Shen Gurong chuckled. His spiritual barrier had broken. He reached out and removed the ice silk, only to find his vision still blurry. Perhaps he had been blind for too long and was momentarily disoriented. He had no choice but to put the ice silk back on.
Without looking at Li Nanyang, he grabbed the long hem of his robe and ran towards Mu Zhe.
The boy's body was very delicate. He threw himself into Mu Zhe's arms, who immediately grabbed him by the waist. Mu Zhe was momentarily stunned after the embrace, fearing he might break the slender waist he was holding.
Shen Gurong smiled, his eyes crinkling, and wrapped his arms around Mu Zhe's neck, saying, "The rest is up to you."
Mu Zhe was captivated by his smile, stunned for a moment before asking blankly, "What?"
Shen Gurong raised his hand and removed the ice silk, his vision blurring. He said, "My body has returned to its youthful state, with no spiritual power left. And the Record of the Capital's formation hasn't stopped. If it doesn't, I'll probably be trapped in an illusion."
Mu Zhe was stunned: "An illusion?"
"Yes," Shen Gurong said nonchalantly, "The illusion from a hundred years ago when I returned to Huitang City. Oh, and I saw the lanterns again, I'm doomed."
When he said "I'm doomed," the smile on his face was impossible to hide, as if he were playing something amusing. Combined with his sixteen-year-old face, Mu Zhe felt no sense of urgency whatsoever.
Upon hearing this, Li Nanyang said softly, "Eleven, perhaps I can help..."
Shen Gurong turned away before he could finish, saying in a muffled voice,
"I don't need your help."
Li Nanyang: "..."
This body is too tender; even when rejecting someone he dislikes, it sounds like he's being coquettish.
Shen Gurong didn't like it.
Li Nanyang didn't say anything, pursed his lips slightly, and was about to turn and leave when Shen Gurong threw the jade marrow he was holding back to him.
"Here you go."
Li Nanyang was stunned.
Shen Gurong said, "Just like we agreed back then, after I killed Li Genglan, I will no longer be a member of Liren Peak."
Li Nanyang held the jade marrow for a long time before saying, "Where can you go after leaving Liren Peak?"
Shen Gurong said casually, "I'll marry into my disciple's family."
Li Nanyang: "..."
Mu Zhe: "..."
Li Nanyang left, angered by him.
Shen Gurong used him and then discarded him, showing Li Nanyang absolutely no respect.
He wasn't wearing shoes, and the gravel on the ground hurt his feet, so he could only snuggle into Mu Zhe's arms, his feet resting on the hem of his long robe, one arm around Mu Zhe's neck, the other reaching out dazedly for the non-existent, illusory lantern.
Mu Zhe asked, "Was that formation just an illusion?"
Shen Gurong nodded: "It's truly laughable. They schemed so much, and in the end, all they got was an illusion."
Actually, calling it an illusion wasn't quite right, since within the formation, Shen Gurong's body had reverted to its appearance from a hundred years ago, incredibly youthful.
Mu Zhe thought for a moment and asked, "Can it destroy the Record of the Capital?"
Shen Gurong shook his head: "The Record of the Capital is a divine artifact. If it's destroyed, Heaven will surely punish us."
Mu Zhe frowned.
Shen Gurong, still groggy, sighed, "Hurry up, my brother's trying to drag me home. I refused, and he gave me a good scolding. It was terrifying, I was scared to death!"
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe had no choice but to carry Shen Gurong horizontally in his arms. Shen Gurong's body was very slender, and he felt almost weightless in his arms.
He planned to search for the formation in the Record of the Capital to see if there was any way to break through it.
Shen Gurong leaned lazily against him, his slender legs swinging back and forth, still murmuring about the illusion he had seen.
"So many riddles! Hey, I saw one, can you guess what it is?"
"Go up the west tower without making a sound..."
"Oh no! The teacher discovered I secretly ran out to play! He's coming! Run!"
Shen Gurong said, terrified, kicking his long legs as if chased by a wolf, almost falling out of Mu Zhe's arms.
Mu Zhe hugged him tightly, whispering, "We'll find it soon, Master."
"Hurry up!" Shen Gurong's voice was trembling with tears, "The master is punishing me by making me copy books, I don't want to copy, I don't want to..."
Mu Zhe: "..."
Shen Gurong seemed lost in thought, his voice trembling. He murmured, "Mu Zhe, you just wait. I'll copy it five times, you'll copy it fifty times, five hundred times... Don't even think about stopping until I'm happy."
Mu Zhe looked down and saw that Shen Gurong's slender white fingers were moving slightly. It seemed he really was copying books in the illusion.
Mu Zhe: "..." How adorable.
Author's Note:
The burly Yu Xinghe is about to rise up (not really).
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