High-Risk Master - Chapter 94: A Heaven-Sent Opportunity

He must have been killed by a plague demon in his past life…

The offense Shen Gurong spoke of certainly wasn't about recklessly letting Mu Zhe pin him down on the bed and do whatever he wanted. After having this bold idea, he stared intently at Mu Zhe's claws.

"I'll accidentally bump into him, letting him hold my hand, and then I'll use 'How dare you! How can you touch Master's hand so casually? Your senior brother wouldn't offend Master like that,' as my excuse."

Mu Zhe: "…"

How many romance novels had his master read? How could his mind be so quick and agile?

This almost childish trick, however, revealed just how naive Shen Gurong was. Even holding hands was considered an offense; last night must have been a devastating blow to him.

Mu Zhe sighed. He always knew his master had a cold exterior but a good temper, but he never expected it to be this good.

If anyone else had been treated like this, they would have already slapped the rebellious disciple to death. Shen Gurong, however, was only coaxed a few times by Mu Zhe and, in a daze, forgave him.

Mu Zhe… Mu Zhe became even more determined to obtain his master's favor. Otherwise, if the pure-hearted Shen Gurong were to fall prey to others with ill intentions in the future, who knows how much suffering he would endure.

The simple-minded Shen Gurong walked along the road, his eyes constantly scanning Mu Zhe's hand. Perhaps sensing the opportune moment, he suddenly tripped over his own feet, staggering slightly, and deliberately hooked his hand towards Mu Zhe's wrist, which hung limply to the side.

Just then, Mu Zhe suddenly raised his hand and pointed to a spot not far away, saying, "Master, that looks like Fifth Uncle."

Shen Gurong's finger brushed past Mu Zhe's fingertip, narrowly missing him.

Shen Gurong: "…"

Shen Gurong awkwardly steadied himself.

Mu Zhe then feigned surprise and looked at him, "What's wrong, Master?"

Shen Gurong was so embarrassed he wanted to stare at his toes until the sky collapsed. He barely managed to maintain his composure and said calmly, "Nothing."

He looked in the direction Mu Zhe pointed. In the lake not far away, a gigantic dragon was roaring and churning the water. With a roar, countless ferocious beasts swarmed over his body, almost devouring him down to his skeleton.

The lake water had been reduced by more than half, and beads of scarlet blood from his body mingled with the water, staining it a patchy red.

Upon seeing this, Shen Gurong immediately forgot his embarrassment and flew forward, hovering above the lake. He called out to Chao Jiuxiao, "Fifth Senior Brother?! Are you serving dinner?"

Chao Jiuxiao: "..."

Mu Zhe: "..."

Chao Jiuxiao roared, "Get out of here!"

He swept his tail, hurling one of the ferocious beasts at Shen Gurong in mid-air. Shen Gurong casually raised his hand and waved it away, a wisp of spiritual energy condensing at his fingertips and quickly transforming into the image of Lin Xia Chun.

He said, "Senior brother, I'm here to help you."

Chao Jiuxiao was now enraged: "Get lost! Shen Eleven! If you dare to make a move, do you believe I..."

Before he could finish his threat, Shen Gurong had already swept his sword away, banishing all the ferocious beasts from Chao Jiuxiao's body.

The pressure of the Mahayana stage cultivator remained undiminished; instead, it directly slammed the heavily wounded Chao Jiuxiao to the bottom of the lake, splashing up a wave that washed away the blood on the shore.

After Shen Gurong cleared away all the ferocious beasts, a dark blue ball of light slowly emerged from the center of the lake, flitting about. Shen Gurong raised an eyebrow, thinking this was probably an opportunity, and simply raised his hand to summon the ball of light into his palm.

Chao Jiuxiao, who had been "accidentally" injured by him, finally emerged from the lake, soaking wet, and transformed into human form. He looked furious; if he were still in his dragon form, he would probably be bulging with rage.

"Shen Eleven!" Chao Jiuxiao roared, "You're courting death!!!"

Shen Gurong said, "Senior Brother, I was helping you."

Chao Jiuxiao cursed, "Get lost! You deliberately stole my opportunity!"

Shen Gurong blinked innocently and said, "I didn't."

"You did!"

Shen Gurong: "I really didn't."

Chao Jiuxiao seemed determined to challenge him, angrily saying, "You did, you did!"

Mu Zhe, standing to the side: "..."

Chao Jiuxiao took a few breaths, then coldly said, "You clearly saw me deliberately suppressing my cultivation to lure those ferocious beasts to seize the opportunity, yet you still intervened. Shen Eleven, your hypocritical demeanor is as virtuous as ever."

Shen Gurong then realized that Chao Jiuxiao couldn't handle the ferocious beasts earlier because he wanted to increase the difficulty to seize the opportunity. He was speechless for a moment before casually tossing the opportunity in his hand over.

"Here you go."

Chao Jiuxiao angrily threw the opportunity away: "I don't want your fake kindness!"

Shen Gurong: "..." Childish.

Chao Jiuxiao, furious, turned and stormed off, probably to continue searching for other opportunities.

Shen Gurong muttered under his breath, retrieving the opportunity, and said, "Why so stubborn? Did you really think you could just let yourself get eaten away like that?"

Mu Zhe: "..." Sometimes he even wondered if Shen Gurong was really doing it on purpose.

Shen Gurong casually tossed the opportunity to Mu Zhe, saying, "Take it."

Mu Zhe caught it, but shook his head: "To break through to the Great Ascension stage, I can't use someone else's opportunity."

"Oh." Shen Gurong had no choice but to take back the opportunity. He thought for a moment and said, "Can you suppress your own cultivation to increase the difficulty of seizing the opportunity? Isn't that cheating?"

Mu Zhe nodded: "It's tacitly permitted by the Heavenly Dao."

Shen Gurong said: "Then can we do that too?"

Mu Zhe: "Yes."

If Shen Gurong and Mu Zhe were at their current cultivation levels, they could practically wipe out the entire Gu Hong Secret Realm. Opportunities come with risks, but the two of them faced no danger whatsoever, and the opportunities were even harder to obtain—the ferocious beasts faced far greater risks than they did.

A moment later, the two deliberately suppressed their cultivation to the Golden Core stage.

As a result, after only a few steps, hordes of ferocious beasts swarmed towards them.

Shen Gurong: "Ah—"

Mu Zhe didn't let his master intervene. He recalled the Jiu Xi Sword and swiftly advanced, slaughtering the ferocious beasts one by one amidst a flurry of sword flashes.

Amidst the swordplay, Mu Zhe, with a few bloodstains on his cheek, stood atop a pile of beast carcasses, slightly turned to look at Shen Gurong.

For a fleeting moment, Shen Gurong's pupils contracted, and his heart skipped a beat.

But that beat was so quick it seemed nonexistent. Shen Gurong clutched his chest, bewildered by his unruly heart pounding wildly.

He remained silent, clutching his chest, for the rest of the journey in a daze. Finally, deep within the forest, the two found a ferocious beast's lair.

A ferocious beast's lair meant even greater opportunities.

Shen Gurong took a half step back, standing beneath a towering tree hundreds of years old, and said, "Go."

Mu Zhe hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Doesn't Master want an opportunity?"

Of course Master wanted one, but he wasn't in such a hurry.

"Once you find the opportunity for the Great Ascension stage, I'll go find mine."

Mu Zhe's eyes widened slightly, staring at Shen Gurong for a long time before quickly stepping forward and embracing him tightly.

Shen Gurong: "..."

Shen Gurong was stunned by the hug. Only after Mu Zhe released him did he belatedly realize this was a perfect opportunity to lash out.

He was secretly delighted, quickly adopting an angry expression, about to utter his prepared words, but Mu Zhe was already prepared. Before he could finish, Mu Zhe said in a deep voice, "I'm going. Wait for me to come back."

Shen Gurong was speechless again. When he came to his senses, Mu Zhe had already entered the lair with his sword.

Shen Gurong: "..." Another precious opportunity lost!

And he was offended for nothing!

Shen Gurong was angry.

He tucked his hands into his sleeves, sulking expressionlessly. But when he heard the roars of what sounded like hundreds or even thousands of ferocious beasts roaring simultaneously from the lair, his anger quickly dissipated, replaced by worry.

Beast lairs were often the most dangerous places. Mu Zhe had suppressed his cultivation; could he... be in danger?

The moment this thought surfaced, Shen Gurong felt a strange pain in his heart.

Back when Mu Zhe went out to train, Shen Gurong only felt a tightness in his chest, but after a few days, he started learning the bamboo flute, and it was someone else's turn to feel a tightness in their chest.

But now, his heart felt like it was being sawed apart bit by bit by a dull knife, unbearably painful.

What would happen to Shen Feng Xue if something happened to his disciple?

Shen Gurong thought blankly.

What would he... do if something happened to Mu Zhe? The sounds from the nest continued, and Shen Gurong, instead of finding peace, turned pale with fright.

"No," Shen Gurong suddenly resolved, "I have to go in and find him. Even if I have to forgo the opportunity, I can't let Mu Zhe die inside."

Just as he was about to release the restriction suppressing his cultivation, a vine suddenly reached out from behind him without warning, coiled around his wrist, and pulled him backward.

Caught off guard, Shen Gurong stumbled backward, one wrist being pulled high and tightly bound to a massive branch behind him, unable to move.

Shen Gurong looked up in astonishment and saw a human face vaguely visible on the towering tree.

Shen Gurong: "..."

Goosebumps rose all over his body.

The tree with the human face looked down at him and slowly said, "You're here again."

Shen Gurong remained expressionless.

"Aaaaaah! It can talk!!!" Although he was used to everything in this world taking human form, he had never seen a tree with a human face that could talk. Shen Gurong was completely terrified by this terrifying scene.

Without thinking, he raised his free hand and struck the tree behind him hard. The tree took the blow, but only trembled and shed a few withered leaves.

Shen Gurong then realized that he had placed a restriction on himself. Just as he was about to release the restriction, he heard the human-faced tree say, "If you go in, the opportunity will dissipate."

Shen Gurong paused.

The human-faced tree said, "The opportunity inside can allow him to leap to the Great Ascension stage."

Shen Gurong stood frozen in place for a long time before looking up. Realizing that the tree seemed to have good intentions, he no longer found the face so terrifying. He asked doubtfully, "You recognize me?"

The human-faced tree hesitated for a moment before nodding.

It nodded, and leaves rustled down, covering Shen Gurong with withered yellow leaves.

The Human-Faced Tree had existed in the Gu Hong Secret Realm for thousands of years. Unlike ferocious beasts, it wasn't hunted by human cultivators, quietly standing in place, witnessing everything that had happened over the years.

Over time, it developed sentience.

Forty years ago, in the Gu Hong Secret Realm, Shen Feng Xue, alone with his sword, charged into the realm, slaughtering all the ferocious beasts and ultimately obtaining the opportunity the Human-Faced Tree spoke of.

It said that a Heavenly Dao opportunity could bring the dead back to life.

Shen Feng Xue sealed the evil cultivator Li Genglan, who had committed many evils, beneath the Burial Mound—a blessing bestowed by Heaven.

“Bring the dead back to life?” Shen Gurong paused, then realized that Lin Shuhe had likely survived only because of the opportunity Shen Feng Xue obtained from the Gu Hong Secret Realm.

Realizing he was still bound, Shen Gurong frowned and said, "Let me go first, I won't go in."

The roars of the ferocious beasts inside continued, though much weaker than before. Given Mu Zhe's cultivation level, he shouldn't be in any danger.

The Human-Faced Tree hesitated for a long time before slowly releasing its vines.

Shen Gurong rubbed his wrist, frowning. Even just being bound by the vines made his wrist look like it had been severely constricted; a ring of bruises was particularly noticeable.

Perhaps to express its apology, the Human-Faced Tree extended another vine, bearing a cluster of bright red berries.

"Here, here."

Shen Gurong didn't stand on ceremony and picked one, placing it aside to eat with Mu Zhe after he came out.

The Human-Faced Tree was very gentle. Although its appearance was terrifying, its voice was always soft and melodious. Its slightest movement caused its leaves to fall like rain.

"This can cure the plague."

Shen Gurong glanced at the fruit, not paying much attention. No one else was infected, so it was perfect for quenching thirst.

The Human-Faced Tree paused for a moment before saying dryly, "It can also cure the plague in your disciple's body."

Shen Gurong was sitting cross-legged on the ground waiting for Mu Zhe to come out. Hearing this, he casually replied, "My disciple isn't infected."

"Ah?" the Human-Faced Tree said, "But I wasn't wrong. Although the plague in his body was suppressed by his forced cultivation, it will take his life sooner or later."

Shen Gurong initially thought it was nonsense, but then he thought again. This Human-Faced Tree didn't seem to intend to harm him; otherwise, it wouldn't have released him so easily.

He turned and looked at the Human-Faced Tree, hesitating for a moment before asking, "When did he get the plague?"

Seeing that he believed it, the Human-Faced Tree's eyes lit up, almost dancing with joy. Its leaves fluttered down, nearly burying Shen Gurong. “He had it since birth,” the human-faced tree said. “He was probably killed by a plague demon in his previous life, and his soul was filled with resentment, so he brought the plague with him when he was reborn.”

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