After the Record of the Capital formation was forcibly stopped, the illusion in Xianzhou vanished abruptly. However, Shen Gurong had been in the illusion for too long and remained dazed.
The Xianzhou formation continued, but it no longer drained the life force of the demonic cultivators.
Xi Guxing grabbed Shen Gurong and shook him, angrily shouting, "Shen Eleven! Let go!"
Shen Gurong completely mistook Xi Guxing for a villain trying to sell him to a brothel, struggling incessantly, finally biting Xi Guxing's wrist.
Xi Guxing was in excruciating pain, prying Shen Gurong's chin to make him release his grip.
"Ugh..." Shen Gurong sobbed, his face contorted with panic at being sold, "I want my brother to beat you!"
Xi Guxing: "..."
Xi Guxing almost couldn't resist using his meager spiritual power to knock out Shen Gurong's teeth. He restrained himself, forcibly grabbing Shen Gurong's chin to free his wrist, and said irritably, "With someone as difficult to raise as you, who would buy you? You'd be a complete rip-off."
Shen Gurong looked at him blankly, tears welling in his eyes, "But they all say I'm good-looking."
Xi Guxing glared at him, saying against his will, "You're just average, barely presentable."
Shen Gurong tilted his head, looking at him, and realizing he truly had no intention of selling him, he hugged his knees and squatted down, continuing to copy the book with a pitiful expression.
Xi Guxing glanced at him, hesitated for a long time, then reluctantly squatted down and asked, "What are you doing?"
Shen Gurong mumbled, "Copying books, waiting for Mu Zhe to pick me up."
Upon hearing Mu Zhe's name, Xi Guxing's face turned green.
Previously, Mu Zhe had harbored desires for Shen Gurong, and Xi Guxing had assumed that Shen Gurong, given his personality, would never let Mu Zhe succeed. But now…
Xi Guxing felt that his Shen Eleven was probably not far from being "the one who gets taken advantage of in the future."
Mu Zhe had already activated the formation. His overwhelming sword intent gradually devoured the original formation. Just as it was about to reach the formation's core, a sudden dragon's roar and phoenix's cry echoed outside the formation. Thunder struck, and torrential rain poured down, accompanied by the ever-burning phoenix fire.
As Mu Zhe unleashed his sword intent, the Phoenix Fire and the rootless water summoned by the dragon struck the original formation from a distance, creating cracks that resembled a tortoise shell.
A surge of blood welled up in Mu Zhe's throat; the shattered barrier seemed to have struck his very soul—this was likely the adventure Su Xiyan had spoken of, the barrier's backlash.
The dissipation of the Record of the Capital barrier eased Mu Zhe's burden considerably, but the cracks still appeared on his yuandan, slowly spreading like a spiderweb.
Mu Zhe remained unfazed, relentlessly channeling his sword intent and spiritual power into the barrier.
The cracks multiplied, finally exploding with a deafening roar.
The sound of shattering glass echoed in his ears as the barrier completely vanished.
Countless demonic cultivators whose lives had been absorbed by the formation were forcibly returned; the illusion shattered, and withered trees were reborn.
The formation was broken.
The demonic cultivators of Xianzhou City snapped back to reality. Some, unaware of their brush with death, scratched their heads in bewilderment. Their simple minds meant they didn't dwell on it, and they quickly went about their business.
Others, however, sensed the overwhelming pressure of the Mahayana stage cultivator in mid-air and stared in astonishment at the man standing against the wind.
When...did the Three Realms actually have a second Mahayana stage cultivator?!
Mu Zhe landed on the ground, his face ashen, but he stumbled, nearly losing his balance, and coughed up blood while clutching his chest.
Jiu Xi was startled and immediately transformed into human form: "Your yuandan?!"
Mu Zhe casually wiped the blood from his lips, not even pausing, and went straight to find Shen Gurong.
Jiu Xi Sword was frantic: "If your core is shattered, your cultivation will be ruined! Don't move! Heal your injuries first, okay?"
Mu Zhe ignored him, using the last of his spiritual energy to pull out the Dao Companion Contract, and quickly flew off with the spirit butterfly to find Shen Gurong.
Jiu Xi Sword: "Mu Zhe! Mu Zhe!"
No one could stop him. Mu Zhe quickly followed the Dao Companion Contract, finally finding Shen Gurong groping along the wall under a bridge.
Mu Zhe's eyes lit up, and he quickly leaped off the bridge.
"Master."
Shen Gurong had recovered and was now groping along the wall, seemingly looking for him. Hearing this, he looked up and instinctively smiled.
Mu Zhe quickly went over and pulled Shen Gurong into his arms.
Shen Gurong hugged him back, smiling, "Well done, Master will reward you."
Mu Zhe took out the ice silk and gently bound it over Shen Gurong's eyes.
After Shen Gurong's vision returned, he met Mu Zhe's somewhat pale face, paused for a moment before smiling, and gently tugged at Mu Zhe's collar, saying softly, "Lower your head."
Mu Zhe lowered his head slightly, and Shen Gurong immediately kissed him.
Mu Zhe's pupils contracted, and he immediately reached out to hold his master's slender waist.
Shen Gurong rewarded him handsomely, hooking Mu Zhe's tongue and sending spiritual energy through the Daoist Pact, slowly healing Mu Zhe's almost shattered yuandan.
Xi Guxing, standing to the side, was practically blinded by the sight, coughing loudly to interrupt their intimacy.
Noticing that Mu Zhe's injuries had stabilized considerably, Shen Gurong released Mu Zhe, straightened his disheveled clothes, and blushed slightly. He coughed lightly before turning around, not daring to look at Xi Guxing's face, and whispered, "Senior Brother..."
Xi Guxing expressionlessly flicked his wrist, revealing bloody teeth marks, his face screaming, "Are you a dog?"
Shen Gurong felt a little guilty: "I'm sorry."
"Let's go," Xi Guxing said coldly, "The matter is settled, it's better not to stay here."
Some demonic cultivators had already sensed the anomaly and were rushing towards the array's core.
Li Genglan was dead, and Xianzhou was likely to descend into chaos again.
However, none of this concerned them anymore.
Shen Gurong had avenged his great enemy and didn't want to stay in this place filled with demonic energy any longer. He nodded, turned back to hold Mu Zhe's hand, and followed Xi Guxing out of Xianzhou.
The array outside Xianzhou City had completely dissipated, even the poisonous fog had vanished completely. As soon as Shen Gurong and the others left the city, a magnificent spirit boat floated down, lowering its wooden steps.
Jing Zhuchen leaned leisurely against the window frame at the top of the spirit boat, lazily glancing down: "I've come to pick you up."
Xi Guxing rushed up angrily: "What were you doing all this time?!"
Jing Zhuchen, pipe in hand, lazily puffed out smoke: "Doing it in bed..."
Xi Guxing immediately interrupted him: "Shut up, shut up, shut up! I don't want to hear it again!"
Jing Zhuchen chuckled and turned back.
The dragon's roar and phoenix's cry continued above Xianzhou City. Shen Gurong glanced back and saw that the formation had been dispelled, but Xue Manzhuang and Chao Jiuxiao were still fighting fiercely, each move drawing blood, seemingly intent on killing the other.
Shen Gurong silently turned his head, ignoring them.
Let them fight.
He was about to go up with Mu Zhe when he heard a call from behind.
"Master!"
"Brother!"
Shen Gurong turned around and saw Yu Xinghe and Shen Xiwu rushing towards him, each crying more pitifully than the last.
Shen Gurong: "..."
Yu Xinghe and Shen Xiwu threw themselves into Shen Gurong's arms, causing him to stumble back half a step, making him somewhat amused and exasperated.
Yu Xinghe wailed, "Master! Master, Xinghe almost didn't see you again! Master—"
Shen Xiwu tried to act pitiful, sobbing, "Brother, Xiwu was so worried about you! Are you alright?! Waaah."
Shen Gurong's sleeves were wet with tears, his lips twitched, and he instinctively wanted to sweep them away, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He sighed, patted their heads gently, and said softly, "Good good, I'm fine, aren't I?"
The two then started competing to see who could cry the most.
Mu Zhe watched coldly from the side, wishing he could throw them to the ends of the earth.
Wen Liubing arrived shortly after, saying solemnly, "I beg Master's punishment."
Shen Gurong, having just calmed the two children and boarded the spirit boat, raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, asking, "What punishment?"
Wen Liubing said, "You asked me to stop the formation from activating, but I failed."
Shen Gurong, seeing his expression, knew he was getting stuck on something again. He raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "Fine, I'll punish you."
Wen Liubing breathed a sigh of relief and solemnly said, "No matter how Master punishes me, Sanshui will have no complaints."
"Very good," Shen Gurong said, "Go back and copy the Pure Tranquility Sutra one hundred times. Hand it in to me in three days."
Wen Liubing: "..."
Wen Liubing immediately said, "Master, this disciple has complaints."
Shen Gurong: "..." Is that all the grit he has?
Mu Zhe frowned more and more, feeling that his master was always surrounded by so many irrelevant people, one after another, seemingly without end.
Soon, Su Xiyan returned with a visibly frustrated Chao Jiuxiao, smiling as she asked, "Eleven, are you alright?"
Shen Gurong nodded, looking at Chao Jiuxiao curiously, "Senior Brother... did you lose again?"
Chao Jiuxiao, already frustrated, exploded upon hearing this, roaring like a dragon, "What do you mean by 'again'? What do you mean 'again'?! I didn't even use my full strength! That fire-breathing kid is definitely no match for me! Otherwise, if Senior Sister had stopped me, I would have plucked all his feathers!"
Earlier, perhaps because Su Xiyan had asked him to help Mu Zhe, Shen Gurong wasn't as hostile towards him as before. He smiled and said, "Alright, alright, you didn't lose."
Chao Jiuxiao angrily boarded the spirit boat.
Mu Zhe watched Shen Gurong talking to Su Xiyan, his expression growing increasingly grim.
Soon, Su Xiyan boarded the spirit boat as well. Shen Gurong then turned to look at Mu Zhe, extended his hand, and smiled, "Let's go." Mu Zhe walked over with a somber expression and grabbed Shen Gurong's wrist.
Shen Gurong felt something was amiss and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
Mu Zhe looked down at Shen Gurong's bare feet. His skin was too delicate; his toes had already turned red after just a few steps.
Mu Zhe silently swept Shen Gurong into his arms.
His robes fluttered, and Shen Gurong gasped, hugging Mu Zhe's neck, looking at him with surprise.
Mu Zhe asked, "Does your foot hurt?"
Shen Gurong wiggled his toes and casually replied, "It's alright."
Mu Zhe nodded, then turned and left, carrying him, with no intention of boarding Jing Zhuchen's spirit boat.
Shen Gurong was taken aback, quickly grabbing his shoulder and asking, "What's wrong? Shouldn't we take a spirit boat?"
Mu Zhe said, "No."
Shen Gurong thought for a moment, realizing that he had already essentially betrayed Liren Peak, and Jing Zhuchen's spirit boat might be returning to Li Ren Peak anyway, so it wouldn't be convenient for him to take it.
Shen Gurong's earlier comment to Li Nanyang about "marrying into his disciple's family" wasn't just a joke to annoy Li Nanyang; he genuinely intended to wander the world with his disciple.
Moreover, the two of them were the only two Mahayana cultivators in the Three Realms, so they weren't worried about not finding a suitable cave dwelling.
Seeing that Mu Zhe seemed to already have a place to go, Shen Gurong simply surrendered himself to him completely, smiling and saying, "Alright, where shall we go?"
Mu Zhe glanced down at him, then suddenly smiled gently.
“Let’s go somewhere where there’s no one else.” Mu Zhe said, “…and lock you up.”
Shen Gurong blinked, thinking he was being sweet-talking. He wiggled his toes, which were curled up in pleasure, and nodded carelessly, his ears red. “I think so too,” he said. “Master, I’m quite popular. Lock me up quickly, or someone will snatch me away sooner or later.”
Mu Zhe smiled, ignoring Xi Guxing’s furious outburst on the spirit boat, and carried Shen Gurong away on the wind.
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