Halfway there, Shen Gurong focused his divine sense on the divine clone outside Xianzhou City, shattering Li Genglan's barrier with a single palm strike.
Lin Xia Chun, who was almost asleep from waiting, looked at him and asked blankly, "Master, you were attacked again?"
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong glanced at him, pulled him out of the hut, and walked towards the city gates, wading through the water.
Lin Xia Chun asked suspiciously, "The formation actually shattered directly?"
He regretted asking as soon as he finished. He didn't care how it shattered; as long as he got out, that was enough.
Shen Gurong knew his aversion to trouble, so his explanation was concise: "Li Genglan is dead, the formation is uncontrolled, and besides..."
Besides, it seems someone shattered half of the formation; otherwise, Shen Gurong wouldn't have broken it so easily.
As for who that person was, the first thing that came to Shen Gurong's mind was Li Nanyang's annoying face.
Shen Gurong's face was ashen. Not wanting to think further, he led Lin Xia Chun to the outskirts of Huitang City. He gently picked up the sleeping Shen Wanglan and said, "Take Wanglan to Liren Peak. Once Mu Zhe and I are settled, we'll bring him back."
Lin Xia Chun frowned, but didn't ask further, directly addressing his most pressing question: "If I send him back to Liren Peak, can he return to the Sword Pavilion?"
Shen Gurong nodded.
Lin Xia Chun immediately took Shen Wanglan, a little nervous for the first time, and said, "I...I will definitely take him there."
Shen Gurong raised his hand and stroked Shen Wanglan's fair face, smiled, and then dispersed his clone, returning to his true form.
In that short time, Mu Zhe had already brought him to the Great Swamp of Taozhou.
The vast Taozhou Marshland stretched endlessly, even more expansive than the endless ice plains. Within a hundred miles of the marshland where Mu Zhe resided, only swamps and rainforests existed; otherwise, it was desolate and uninhabited.
Mu Zhe's cave dwelling, where he had lived for the past four years, was located in the very center of the marshland. It was an exquisitely crafted pavilion, seemingly ancient, its age unknown—whether it had always been there or had been moved from somewhere else was unclear.
White mist rose from the marshland's lakes, obscuring half of the pavilion, creating a scene resembling a fairyland.
Mu Zhe lightly landed before the pavilion and set Shen Gurong down.
Shen Gurong adjusted his sleeves, his gaze sweeping over the pavilion, even more elegant than Fanjiang Residence. At the very front of the pavilion was a pond enclosed by bluestone, filled with verdant lotus blossoms.
At first glance, the pavilion seemed to be just the tip of the iceberg; the center of the marshland was as large as a village.
Shen Gurong looked at Mu Zhe in surprise and said, "So big? Just the two of us?"
Mu Zhe nodded.
Shen Gurong coughed lightly but didn't say anything more.
Mu Zhe seemed to read his mind, took his hand, and led him into the pavilion, saying calmly, "Master, don't worry about getting lost. Wherever you want to go, I'll accompany you."
Shen Gurong didn't understand the implication in his words: "Cough, I... I'm fine. I won't get lost. No need for such trouble."
Mu Zhe didn't speak and pushed open the door to enter.
Shen Gurong casually glanced at the pavilion's furnishings. It seemed every corner was arranged according to his preferences, perfectly pleasing to his eye. He explored each floor, finally reaching the top floor. Leaning against the railing, he gazed at the boundless, misty marshland, finding it a delightful sight.
'This is where I should spend my remaining years,' Shen Gurong thought.
He strolled around a few times in a cheerful mood, then slowly descended the wooden steps. Just as he was about to reach a fork in the road, Mu Zhe's voice came from the spirit butterfly that had been perched on his shoulder.
"Master, don't go south. Go down the steps to get downstairs."
Shen Gurong: "..."
For some reason, Shen Gurong felt a sense of shame at being treated like a child. His toes, which had been pausing, immediately stopped upon hearing this. He forced himself to remain calm and said, "I... I was just wandering around aimlessly, I wasn't planning on going downstairs."
Mu Zhe in the spirit butterfly seemed to chuckle softly.
Shen Gurong blushed at the laughter and almost defiantly continued walking south.
A moment later, he said to the spirit butterfly with a face full of shame, "I... I can't find my way back."
Mu Zhe: "..."
Soon, in less than a breath, Mu Zhe appeared at the corner of the covered walkway, a spirit butterfly perched on his finger, looking at him with a gentle, reproachful smile.
Shen Gurong coughed lightly and said, "I'm tired from walking around, I want to take a bath."
Mu Zhe walked over, took his hand, and said, "I'll take you there."
Shen Gurong nodded.
Although his body wasn't stained with much blood, his clone, trapped in the barrier, was covered in blood. After returning to his main body, he felt sticky and extremely uncomfortable.
Beside the camphor tree grove in the backyard of the pavilion, there was an underground hot spring pool. Mu Zhe led the way, making Shen Gurong, who already had a poor sense of direction, even more dizzy and unable to remember where he was.
Seeing his distress, Mu Zhe held out new clothes and coaxed him softly, "Master, if you can't remember, you don't have to. With me here, you don't need to worry about getting lost."
Shen Gurong gave up. He had previously tried to save face for his master, not wanting others to know he couldn't find his way, but after Mu Zhe had exposed him so many times, he had no strength left to hide it.
"Do whatever you want, I don't care anymore."
He nodded, took off his clothes, and touched the water's surface with his toes. His jade-like toes lightly touched the clear spring water, creating ripples that spread outwards.
Mu Zhe's gaze darkened slightly.
Shen Gurong tested the temperature before slowly sinking into the water.
Mu Zhe placed his clothes in a jade basin beside him, knelt on one knee, and gently lifted Shen Gurong's white hair that hung by the bank, wetting it with water. He whispered, "I'll wash Master's hair."
Shen Gurong was enjoying himself immensely, and mumbled, "No need."
Mu Zhe's hand froze. Before he could think further, he saw Shen Gurong raise his hand and grasp his wrist, lazily saying, "You come along too."
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe paused for a moment before silently taking off his clothes and entering the hot spring.
Shen Gurong's eyes weren't fully healed yet, and the ice silk was uncomfortable to wear, so he took it off and set it aside, casually saying, "Let's go to Xianyun City in a few days and have Sixth Senior Brother take a look at my eyes."
Mu Zhe leaned closer, raising his hand to cover Shen Gurong's eyes, covering them with spiritual energy, gently nourishing his sore eyes.
Mu Zhe was tall and imposing, and his close proximity created a strange sense of pressure on Shen Gurong. He instinctively took a half-step back, awkwardly pushing Mu Zhe's hand away, and whispered, "It's a little hot."
Mu Zhe pretended not to notice his reddened ears, saying, "Master has only been affected by spiritual barriers for many years. He'll be able to see again soon with the daily nourishment of spiritual energy. There's no need to trouble Sixth Senior Uncle with such a small matter."
Shen Gurong tilted his head and thought about it. It seemed true. Besides, wearing the ice silk while blind wasn't uncomfortable at all. He'd worn it for a hundred years; taking it off suddenly felt quite strange.
Thinking of this, he nodded and said, "Oh, right, and Wanglan too. I had Lin Xia Chun send him to Liren Peak. Bring him here in a while."
Mu Zhe frowned, but knowing Shen Wanglan's identity, he didn't refuse.
Anyway, once Shen Wanglan arrived, he could stay at the furthest point, so no one would disturb them.
Shen Gurong lazily soaked in the hot spring, half-asleep, he felt the water ripple around him, as if Mu Zhe had gone up.
He struggled to open his eyes, asking blankly, "Are you alright?"
Mu Zhe's face was somewhat pale. He hurriedly nodded, leaving behind the spirit butterfly of the Daoist Companion Pact, and quickly turned and left.
Shen Gurong then became more awake. He tilted his head, looking at the somewhat listless spirit butterfly, wondering what was wrong with Mu Zhe.
Could it be that his injuries haven't fully healed?
Shen Gurong pondered for a long time, the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. He got up, hastily wiped the water droplets off his body, and, wearing a loose robe, followed the butterfly to find Mu Zhe.
The butterfly flew towards the bedroom. Shen Gurong didn't stand on ceremony with his disciple, treating it as his own home, and unceremoniously pushed open the door. Just as he was about to speak, he caught a glimpse of the blood still lingering on Mu Zhe's lips.
Shen Gurong froze, his expression immediately changing. He quickly stepped forward, grabbing Mu Zhe's hand as he tried to hide it behind his back. His gaze fell on the blood-soaked fingers, his pupils trembling violently.
Mu Zhe tried to pull his hand back in a disheveled state, but Shen Gurong held it tightly.
He called out softly, "Master."
Shen Gurong remained expressionless, his usual ease vanished. He coldly asked, "What happened?"
Back in Xianzhou City, Shen Gurong remembered clearly healing the nearly shattered yuandan, and Mu Zhe's spiritual meridians were perfectly fine.
But now, Mu Zhe's face was deathly pale, and the yuandan was radiating intermittent spiritual energy, looking as if it might shatter at any moment.
Shen Gurong pressed his tongue tightly against his palate, struggling to suppress the urge to lash out, and said coldly, "Speak, Mu Zhe. Why won't you tell me?"
Mu Zhe had thought he had Shen Gurong under his control, but seeing Shen Gurong's somber expression, he instinctively felt a chill.
Mu Zhe hesitated for a moment. Shen Gurong grew impatient, pushing him onto the couch and placing his hand on his abdomen, his face grim as he examined his yuandan.
Mu Zhe, having entered the Dao with a mortal body, hadn't suffered as much as Shen Gurong. Even his cultivation only barely reached the Dao level thanks to Shen Gurong giving half of his yuandan. If he weren't an otherworldly being, his yuandan would have shattered into dust.
Shen Gurong, seeing the almost completely destroyed yuandan, gasped in heartache, but still managed to maintain his composure, continuously channeling spiritual energy into Mu Zhe's dantian to rapidly heal it.
Shen Gurong's expression was cold. After a moment, when he reached into Mu Zhe's dantian again, he discovered that the yuandan, which had almost completely healed, was beginning to crack again.
Shen Gurong remained silent for a moment, then said coldly, "Speak."
Mu Zhe hesitated for a moment before whispering, "It's a backlash from the barrier; I won't die."
Shen Gurong: "A backlash from the barrier?"
Mu Zhe nodded. Although Chao Jiuxiao and Xue Manzhuang had helped, the array created with the lives of thousands wouldn't be so easily broken. If it were anyone else, they might have lost their lives. Mu Zhe was already lucky.
Shen Gurong stared at the crumbling yuandan for a long while before grabbing him and saying in a deep voice, "Let's go find Lin Shuhe."
Mu Zhe grabbed his arm in return, frowning, "I'm fine."
Shen Gurong looked at him indifferently: "Do you want a beating, or do you want to copy books?"
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe felt a sudden chill, paused for a moment, and then whispered, "I mean, there's no need to go there specifically. Isn't Mu Xi with Master?"
Shen Gurong was frantic with worry, and only after Mu Zhe's reminder did he realize that Mu Xi was still there.
He quickly took out the wooden puppet and transformed it into a tall, human-shaped figure of Mu Xi.
Soon, Lin Shuhe's sleepy voice came from inside: "Eleven? Where have you been? Third Senior Brother has been looking for you like crazy."
Shen Gurong didn't have time for pleasantries, grabbing his wooden hand and saying, "Quickly check on Mu Zhe, he's been hit by the backlash from the barrier."
Lin Shuhe clicked his tongue. Seeing Shen Gurong's anxiety, he didn't have time for banter and examined Mu Zhe's spiritual veins.
After a moment, Shen Gurong couldn't help but urge, "What's wrong?! Say something!"
Lin Shuhe withdrew his hand, looking at Mu Zhe strangely: "Just a backlash, nothing serious."
A few days of nurturing with spiritual energy will be enough to heal him. Anyway, his yuandan won't shatter; he'll just look a little pitiful. Besides, Mu Zhe is at the Great Ascension stage, he'll definitely recover faster.
Lin Shuhe said, "Do you still consider him a mortal? For a cultivator, this is just a minor injury; he won't die."
Mu Zhe: "Cough cough cough!"
Mu Zhe's face turned deathly pale, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Lin Shuhe: "???"
Lin Shuhe was completely bewildered. Had his diagnosis been wrong?
Impossible.
Soon, Lin Shuhe, having figured it out, looked at Mu Zhe with a very complicated expression, like watching a seasoned veteran actor on stage.
Shen Gurong grabbed Mu Zhe and anxiously said, "What do you mean by 'minor injury'?! Look at him, he's spitting blood like this, and you say it's nothing serious?! Do you even know how to treat illnesses?!"
Shen Gurong looked at him as if he were a quack.
Lin Shuhe: "..."
Lin Shuhe said softly, "I, the number one divine physician in the Three Realms, thank you."
Having lived so long, Lin Shuhe had never had his medical skills questioned before. Hearing this, anger rose in his heart, and he said expressionlessly, "Since you don't believe me, go ask Fourth Senior Brother."
Shen Gurong frowned: "Fourth Senior Brother? Does he also know medicine?"
Why did he remember Jing Zhuchen being obsessed with dual cultivation?
Lin Shuhe pursed his lips and said in a very strange tone, "He does."
After speaking with Lin Shuhe, Shen Gurong fell into deep thought.
Mu Zhe looked at him hesitantly and said, "Master?"
Shen Gurong looked at him blankly and said, "You mean... your Sixth Senior Uncle is implying that dual cultivation can heal your injuries?"
Mu Zhe: "..."
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