After a moment of silence, Mu Chen said suddenly, "Who taught you the devil cultivation?"
Gu Yunjue answered at once, "The devil cultivationis in my mind." It was true.Soul Devil Cultivation was too deeply imprinted in his spirit to be forgotten.
Mu Chen's eyes looked colder, "So it only took you a dozen years to reach the early Synthesis Stage?"
Gu Yunjue got choked by those words. Staring at Mu Chen's face, he hesitated how to explain.
"Funny. Every time one petal of the lotus on my chest disappears, your spirit veinsgets hurt. Now it's all gone, and you've reached the early Synthesis Stage!" Mu Chen smiled ruefully. There was some disappointment and grievance in his tone, but more repressed rage. He clutched the wrist at his waist so hard as if he was going to break Gu Yunjue's bones. Pulling Gu Yunjue towards himself, Mu Chen gazed at the youngster with a complicated look, "Gu Yunjue, when are you gonna stop lying to me?"
Mu Chen thought he had forgotten everything in the previous life, which was unexpectedly so clear in his mind however.
Mu Chen bit his lower lip, his eyes misting a little. Gu Yunjue had betrayed him, but finally went back to the Immortal Realm for this master, where there were a lot of enemies. He broke into the Spirit Suppression Pagoda alone with no fear of them. With his black robe drenched in blood, he was looking murderous and every step he took left a bloody footprint on the ground. But he gave Mu Chen a very sincere look.
To protect Mu Chen's divine soul, Gu Yunjue transferred all of his cultivation to Mu Chen without hesitation. Everybody knew that how Devil Lord, the target of the whole Immortal Realm, would end up if he lost his cultivation. But all he wanted was to save Mu Chen, without taking his own safety into consideration in the critical point.
Gu Yunjue was lucky to get reborn. But he should come back to Mu Chen again and still tried to protect him!
If he hadn't find out, would Gu Yunjue keep holding out on him?
"Master," Looking at Mu Chen's misty eyes, for a moment Gu Yunjue didn't know what to do. He touched the corners of Mu Chen's eyes, and his fingers were shaking slightly, as if they were seared by the heat. "I..." Throat tight, he uttered a word with a hoarse voice but didn't know what else to say.
Little Master knew Gu Yunjue was reborn, who implicated him and got him killed in the previous life. So what did this look mean? Regretting taking him again as an apprentice? Unable to face the truth after all those lies? Gu Yunjue's eyes darkened, when he was suddenly taken in Mu Chen's arms before the hidden danger in his eyes was revealed.
The joy of getting Gu Yunjue back took Mu Chen's mind off all that unpleasantness temporarily.
Gu Yunjue froze. He had guessed a lot about Mu Chen's reaction after knowing the truth, among which the most common one was that Mu Chen would turn on and break up with him.
He dared not dream of a situation like this.
Noticing that Mu Chen was trembling slightly, Gu Yunjue raised his arms to hold Mu Chen tightly while his eyes were deep like the ocean. He comforted Mu Chen, "I am here."
The words were not sweet, but they did bring comfort unexpectedly.
It was only when Mu Chen sighed at the irony of fate that he realized the man in front of him had been pretending for the last decade.
Eating, dressing, sleeping, walking, bathing, everything depended on him!
In the last decade or so, the guy was like stuck to his body. They even bathed together!
Mu Chen looked worse. With all those things in the past decade coming into mind, a flush of warm blood surged to his head. He blushed scarlet instantly, even his ear turning pink.
Bastard!
The atmosphere was good just now. It seemed that they would talk and ask a lot, and all regrets left in the previous life would be fixed in this warm and sweet hug. Looking at Mu Chen, who was obedient, Gu Yunjue touched his hair sweetly. Maybe things were not as worse as he had thought.
At this point, Mu Chen suddenly pushed Gu Yunjue away and punched him! Right in the face!
The blow in the face stunned Gu Yunjue. Why Mu Chen was fine just now but turned on him suddenly?
The look on Mu Chen's face told Gu Yunjue everything. He looked at Mu Chen earnestly with his hand partially over his face, "Master, you know, love makes people irrational."
Mu Chen gave Gu Yunjue a cold look, trapped in the awkwardness about how to describe his feelings. In the end, a thousand words turning into two words, "Fuck off!"
Mu Chen was furious with Gu Yunjue, the bastard, who had been pretending for the last decade, and more with himself for not figuring it out. Anyway, Mu Chen started to give Gu Yunjue a silent treatment with mixed feelings.
Gu Yunjue also knew that he had displeased Mu Chen very much this time, so no matter how hard he had tried, he couldn't get Mu Chen talk. They were so fast this time that it only took them over a month to go back to Lofty Cloudy Sect, during which Mu Chen was still giving Gu Yunjue a hard time.
Lofty Cloudy Sect looked the same as before they left half a year ago. Looking down in the air at the mountains, Mu Chen was somehow desperate to go home after this long journey.
It was just that he took away his favorite apprentice but brought back a black-hearted bastard in sheep's skin.
Things weren't what they used to be, to some degree.
Maybe it was getting Gu Yunjue back that clouded Mu Chen's mind. Though Mu Chen didn't say a word the whole way, Gu Yunjue could still feel it.
He told Gu Yunjue in a sudden, "I need to go into seclusion."
Gu Yunjue was prepared for that, smiling, "I'll wait you here, not going anywhere else."
Mu Chen looked at him worriedly, "You run away, and I'll break your legs." Mu Chen had been trying hard to prevent Gu Yunjue from being dark and twisty inside. Finally, he found that Gu Yunjue was still the same scheming man as in his previous life, who hadn't done twisty things however, which made Mu Chen even more worried. So it would be better to keep this bastard disciple around and watch him over all the time.
Mu Chen chose to enter seclusion in some place among the numerous mountains northwest of rather than inside Lofty Cloudy Sect.
Looking at the Yanyang Palace in front of his eyes, Mu Chen's eyes twinkled slightly. He didn't come back home but went into seclusion directly, without looking back, "I'll leave the rest matters to you. Don't bother me."
Mu Chen didn't know if Mu Qing left or not, so it would be better to hide away from him.
Gu Yunjue made some arrangement after he went back to Yanyang Palace alone and then assigned a man to the main peak to report Mu Qing's arrival. Thanks to Mu Qing's poor sense of direction, both Mu Qing and Yue Mingze weren't back yet.
Gu Yunjue curled the corners of his mouth with satisfaction. He found a handy sword and an axe from the Treasury House and then went to where Mu Chen was in seclusion.
He cut down trees to build a house and stayed there in case his sweetheart run away!
*
How time flew. Eight years just flashed by.
For an ordinary person, eight years would be enough to turn many things into a faded memory and to make a boastful man more down-to-earth. But for a cultivator, it was just time flying by, with flowers blooming and fading.
As Mu Chen was in seclusion, Mu Qing couldn't keep waiting for the time limit. Mu Chen's portrait had already told him that he was definitely the descendant of the Mu's. Mu Chen was almost the spitting image of his father, which anyone could discern. Desperate to tell his families about the good news, Mu Qing had no choice but to leave Lofty Cloudy Sect.
Mu Qing asked Gu Yunjue to pass three wooden dolls to Mu Chen before he left. A drop of blood on each of them would summon a puppet substitute of Mu Chen if there was any trouble.
In the past eight years, the Devil Realm was a mess. Two forces popped up to fight against the Devil Lord, forming a tripartite confrontation. One of the two forces was led by Gu Yunjin, who betrayed the Devil Palace; the other was mysterious, out of the public eye.
The Demon Realm also suffered a turbulent time. The Demon Sovereign was injured, whose throne was taken by the Crown Prince. The group led by Howling Moon Heaven Wolf finally found the heir to the throne, who shared the country with the Demon Sovereign.
There was also secret fighting in the Immortal Realm, as the undercurrents of the river moved swiftly below the serene surface.
But this had nothing to do with Mu Chen.
During the eight years in seclusion, he reached the late Demigod Stage directly from the early Demigod Stage, skipping the middle Demigod Stage due to elevation in his state of mind. But he was a stage lower than that of the previous life.
A group of white fire butterflies was flying around the boundary. They turned into white light and passed into his body as Mu Chen opened his eyes.
After absorbing all the spiritual air , Mu Chen stood up and adjusted his spotless white robe.
The man outside the door seemed to know that Mu Chen would come out of seclusion this day, standing by the door and waiting. All moods including excitement and dissatisfaction disappeared after all these years. Mu Chen's cold look came back, which seemed cannot be changed by anything.
After canceling the magical formation, Mu Chen opened the door. Looking at the young man in front of him, he froze for an instant out of surprise.
The young boy had grown up into a tall man, even a little bit taller than Mu Chen. He retained the handsome look, but his amorous eyes were more piercing than before. He used to be gentle and courteous, but he was tougher now, a bit alike with the man of the previous life, yet less wicked.
The education wasn't in vain. Thinking that with relief, Mu Chen said lightly, "You've grown up."
"Finally I grow up," Gu Yunjue smiled. The smile was as gentle and passionate as before yet with a look full of implications to figure out.
Mu Chen didn't get what Gu Yunjue meant. He went to the main hall of Yanyang Palace in a flash, which was almost the same as before except for the new attendants.
Mu Chen had got used to it. The attendants would be replaced every twenty years, because not everyone could stay youthful-looking as them. But Guan Shan still looked the same.
"Greetings to Palace Master!" The attendants led by Guan Shan all got down on their knees. Mu Chen sat near the white jade table out of habit, stepping on the golden bamboo leaves with a light glance at all the submissive servants. He took the tea from Gu Yunjue and said slightly, "Good work."
Gu Yunjue smiled obediently, behaving exactly like an apprentice. As Mu Chen just came out of seclusion, Gu Yunjue didn't want to do anything improper to upset this master. They had a long way to go after all. As long as Mu Chen didn't kick him out, he would surely be the winner.
Seeing Gu Yunjue no longer talk nonsense but become a little mature than before, Mu Chen drunk the tea satisfactorily and planned to have a bath.
A white jade box popped out before Mu Chen's eyes all of a sudden. Gu Yunjue smiled, "Master, I made a white magic robe in my spare time. It's your favorite color. How about trying it on to see if it fits well?"
"You made it?" Mu Chen took the robe, feeling surprised at Gu Yunjue's talent. Although pills concocting and tool refining had the same origin, how could he refine something soft, like clothes, without decades of experience?
"Third Senior Brother was annoyed that I always took his things, so he taught me some stuff," Gu Yunjue still smiled but didn't say a word about how Mo Jinyang agreed to teach him. Mu Chen took the robe undoubtedly from this filial disciple and turned around with a warning, "Don't follow me!"
Gu Yunjue nodded without hesitation.
Mu Chen suddenly stopped after a few steps, turned around and reached out his hand, "Give me your mirror which could be used to snoop on others!"
Gu Yunjue had no choice but to take it out, wiped off his divine sense, and put it in Mu Chen's hand.
Mu Chen gave Gu Yunjue a warning glare before leaving with the mirror.
Gu Yunjue looked after Mu Chen infatuatedly. His willful little Master was still so adorable and tempting!
Also, growing taller than his little master felt good.
The bath taking a lot of pressure off Mu Chen, he put on the robe refined by Gu Yunjue. It was white with wide sleeves, soft and graceful. The white magnolia denudate flowers were embroidered on the cuffs and lappets with silver threads covering golden threads inside. He couldn't tell the material of the golden threads, but he didn't waste time on it. He was always careless in his dress but just simply chose the clothes that he could wear.
He saw Yue Mingze waiting for him when he went back to the front hall of Yanyang Palace. Yue Mingze was more sedate than before without previous childishness.
Mu Chen recalled Gu Yunjue's identity again, frowning slightly. He must never get Lofty Cloudy Sect in any trouble this time. There was no guarantee that nobody saw him using the magic in the last fight. He should think about where they were going, just in case.
Yue Mingze stood up obediently, "Greetings to Martial Uncle!"
Mu Chen waved his hand, "Have a seat."
After Mu Chen was seated, Yue Mingze sat opposite to him and took out a box from the space ring.
Mu Chen took the box and opened it up. Suddenly, his face froze stiff.
The Author has something to say: An irresponsible little drama—Divorce Scene! Gu Yunjue: "Finally I grow up. So I can…ha ha ha…"
Mu Chen: "Have some candy."
Gu Yunjue: "Yummy-Yum."
Mu Chen: "I invented a medicine that can make people smaller. Then go back to five forever."