Chapter 103
Gu Xiyu took the time to look at the risk value marked on the panel, the number now showed “60.”
Although the current value was equal to the starting one in other worlds, at least it was moving, which was probably the only consolation he had after the unrelenting ‘ravishment’.
Gu Xiyu gritted his teeth with anger. If that risk value had not dropped, he would have died with this guy on the spot.
“…… I’m sorry, I just saw a bug on Lu…Senior Brother Lu’s hand. I was so anxious that I used too much force.” Bu Tianhan recovered his senses and, worried that Gu Xiyu and Lu Cheng would get suspicious, he hurriedly explained his slap with a lowered head.
Lu Cheng was relatively pure-minded and did not question his words, picking up the small cloth bag that had fallen to the ground good-naturedly: “It’s okay, it doesn’t hurt that much. It’s just a bug, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
According to Bu Tianhan’s nature, he would have retorted when someone said that, but he was in the wrong this time and could only choose to be silent.
On the surface, the secret realm was one of the opportunities for Lu Cheng and Lin Qianyue, but in reality, it was the biggest turnaround for Bu Tianhan, a demon cultivator, and everything else was just a front. He had accepted the main inheritance, so this secret realm no longer had a reason to exist. Naturally, it had to collapse.
There was a buffer period before the collapse of such a large space, which left time for the crowd to evacuate.
Seeing that his two disciples were already in place, Gu Xiyu didn’t care whether the other disciples who had come with him were ready and directly led the two out.
After arriving at the gathering place one step ahead of the rest of the sect, Bu Tianhan, who was still trying to recall the details he had forgotten, heard the silent Gu Xiyu suddenly speak out, “Hand.”
There was a pause before Bu Tianhan realized that Gu Xiyu was talking to him.
Gu Xiyu was in a bad mood, and Bu Tianhan could feel the vaguely concealed anger, yet the other party was still concerned about him. “Your senior brother said that your hand was injured.”
He should be talking about the hand that was injured by Bu Mingfeng’s sneak attack. It was a superficial wound, but it wasn’t from an ordinary sword, so it would take longer to heal. He stretched out his right arm, and Gu Xiyu rolled up his sleeve for him. The wound underneath was hideous, and it looked like he hadn’t given It any treatment.
Gu Xiyu frowned for a moment but didn’t say anything and simply gave him medicine for a dressing.
The feeling of medicinal powder sprinkled on the wound was quite painful, but it seemed to be nothing to Bu Tianhan, who didn’t even blink an eye. Lu Cheng, who was looking at him, felt pain in his heart as he helped Gu Xiyu prepare his things. “What kind of person did you meet, junior brother? You’ve been hurt so badly.”
Bu Tianhan didn’t reply. Gu Xiyu was quite forceful when bandaging him, twisting his wound so tightly that he couldn’t help but draw in a cold breath and murmur, “It hurts a little.”
The words seemed to have touched Gu Xiyu’s sore point, and his cold gaze stabbed him like a dagger. He smiled coldly at him and asked, “Does it hurt? It’s good if it hurts; I want you to feel it hurt.”
Bu Tianhan: “……?”
Gu Xiyu withdrew his eyes before continuing, “So that you can learn a lesson.”
For a moment, Bu Tianhan’s scalp tingled as he wondered if Gu Xiyu had already seen through his identity. Otherwise, how could he have said this to him with such an attitude? But on second thought, Gu Xiyu had faced “Bu Tianhan” with a determined attitude of “either I die or you die today.” If he had really seen through him, he would not have treated him with the kind of patience a master could have for a disciple.
Lu Cheng didn’t see anything wrong with their conversation and continued, “You can just tell Master if it was someone from another sect; our Master is Lord Tai Ling, how can he allow others to bully you?”
Bu Tianhan moved his lips and was pondering what excuse to use when Bu Mingfeng, whom he had met with another identity a few days ago, suddenly appeared in their line of sight.
The large force of the Tiansu Immortal Sect had also safely left that secret realm and arrived at the gathering point.
Bu Tianhan went silent.
“Did you guys encounter some trouble in the secret realm?” Bu Mingfeng was quite attentive, he could see Gu Xiyu’s was different from usual, plus he saw that Bu Tianhan was injured, so he asked as if it were in passing.
Gu Xiyu glanced at Bu Tianhan and responded without changing his face, “Nothing, I’m just a little tired from running around.”
Lu Cheng laughed and raised an eyebrow at Bu Tianhan, saying, “It must have been from looking for Junior brother day and night.”
Bu Tianhan looked up and met Bu Mingfeng’s false smile, and then heard him say with regret, “I don’t know where that cunning demon has escaped to. I couldn’t take him down that day, and no one in this secret realm can do anything to him except Lord Tai Ling. After discussing with a few seniors, we all agreed that the secret realm is the land of the demons, so I hope that Bu Tianhan did not obtain anything good.”
At these words, Bu Tianhan sneered in his heart.
No matter who came to talk to Gu Xiyu, they were bound to get a cold reception. Fortunately, Bu Mingfeng was mentally strong or had already gotten used to this, so he was not affected.
The air stagnated at his seemingly offhand remark, then it was broken by a chuckle.
The person chuckling was Bu Tianhan, whose hand was still being dressed. He smiled at Bu Mingfeng like an innocent teenager: “So that’s how it is.”
“I was looking for my master in the secret realm when a man dressed in black suddenly attacked me and, without saying a word, slashed me in the right arm. He said to blame the seniors of my sect, he was just collecting a debt.”
Bu Tianhan said vaguely: “He wanted to kill me, but in my desperation, I told him that my master was Lord Tai Ling of the Tiansu Immortal Sect and that if he killed me, he would have to pay for it! The man suddenly paused when he heard my master’s name and only told me that we would meet again.”
“I was just about to explain to Master, but I didn’t expect Senior to come just in time.” After saying that, he even showed a coy smile.
Gu Xiyu looked at his young disciple silently, his face filled with an “I see through everything” expression.
As for Bu Mingfeng, he was the one who made the first move, so he could only give an awkward yet polite smile to Bu Tianhan and say with the air of an elder, “You are lucky, that man is called Bu Tianhan. He is the biggest enemy of orthodox cultivators in the cultivation world. His methods are vicious and ruthless, so you should avoid him the next time you see him.”
Bu Tianhan smiled, “No need, I have my master here, I’m not afraid of him.”
Such naïve words made Bu Mingfeng less wary of him, and he smiled kindly. At the same time, Gu Xiyu also released his hand, the wound on which had been carefully dressed.
The matter was over for the time being. Gu Xiyu did not ask him about what had happened after he met Bu Tianhan, nor did he take the initiative to mention to anyone that he had met him in the secret realm and fought with him for many days.
Bu Tianhan was a little puzzled by this. Gu Xiyu must have known about his inheritance, shouldn’t he say something at this time to remind everyone to be more vigilant?
With a mind full of doubts, Bu Tianhan had a small health problem on the way back.
Gu Xiyu discovered this when the boy clutching his sleeve suddenly began to lose his concentration, and at one point, he almost fell off the flying sword. Fortunately, he was quick to catch him, and it was only when he touched Bu Tianhan’s skin that he was shocked to realize that the other person’s body was frighteningly hot.
The main system, which had been quiet for several days, was finally willing to resume a conversation with him: [[It’s normal, haven’t you ever read those books and stories before? Whether it’s the main protagonist or anyone else, it’s normal to have a long transition period when one receives energy stronger than one’s current self.]]
[[The previous rampage was very much in line with what the villain should go through, and although you managed to stop the risk value from rising and even got it down, that power wasn’t fully released after all. So his body will reverberate for a while. From the outside, he will have symptoms similar to a high fever.]]
After hesitating, and thinking of the fact that they had to fly for several days before they could return to the Tiansu Immortal Sect, he finally decided to take Bu Tianhan and break away from the procession.
“I don’t want him to suffer on the way, so I’m going to take him to rest for a few days.” Gu Xiyu calmly explained to Bu Mingfeng, “It just so happens that I haven’t moved around for a while, so a little understanding of the situation outside might help me in my cultivation.”
When Lu Cheng was with Lin Qianyue in the secret realm, the two of them mistakenly triggered a small trap left by those ancient great demons, and after breaking into it haphazardly and wandering around, they were lucky enough to obtain the secret manuals of that the great demons had once scavenged from other cultivators, among which was the long-lost sword technique. Gu Xiyu knew that he was excited to go back and study it, so he did not let him follow.
Bu Mingfeng was going to persuade Gu Xiyu otherwise, but he knew that this man was very stubborn and would not change his mind unless otherwise. Moreover, Gu Xiyu’s status within the Tiansu Immortal Sect was high, and the Immortal Sect did not impose that many restrictions on the inner disciples, so they naturally had no reason to stop Gu Xiyu from staying outside.
On the other hand, Lu Cheng looked at the dazed “Xie Xing” and couldn’t help but sigh in his heart. He had said that the master would favor the younger disciple just to tease Xie Xing and coax him to give up his bid for the position of senior brother, but he could see that his master cared for his junior brother.
When Bu Mingfeng saw Lu Cheng staring in the direction where Gu Xiyu and Xie Xing had gone, he smiled and teased, “I didn’t expect Lord Tai Ling to be so caring towards his young disciple. I once thought that with his cold and icy nature, it would be difficult for him to bring up his disciples well.”
“But don’t you feel unhappy or neglected when your master cares for your junior brother so much?”
It sounded like a casual question from an elder caring for a junior.
Lu Cheng looked at Bu Mingfeng and asked curiously, “Why should I be unhappy?”
He held the sword Gu Xiyu had personally forged for him some time ago, and looked in the direction the two had gone, saying with a smile, “Junior brother is young and should be given more attention. Not only from Master but also from me, as a senior brother, who should care for him more. There is nothing wrong with that.”
What’s more, Xie Xing’s cultivation path was different from his, and his master has never been biased in terms of resources and teaching. Rather, he was quite strict and frequent in guiding him (Lu Cheng), so he was worried that Xie Xing, who had to copy various scriptures as punishment, would be unhappy.
What Bu Mingfeng said was not unreasonable. When he returned, he would find time to talk to his master about his junior brother and see if they could bring Xie Xing’s cultivation progress up to date.
Gu Xiyu took the hot Bu Tianhan with him and found an inn in the nearest city. Many cultivators were walking around the city, and he had deliberately suppressed his cultivation level, so he didn’t attract attention.
Bu Tianhan’s transition would take several days, and he was also worried that if he returned to the Tiansu Immortal Sect in this condition, he might fail to control himself and release demonic qi. Outside was more convenient; he could use his spiritual power to set up an exclusive spiritual domain around the perimeter of the room, so that even if there was any unusual condition in the room, people outside would not be able to sense it. If it was in the territory of the Tianu Immortal Sect, a large sect, he would not be allowed to set up such a spiritual domain at will.
Although Bu Tianhan had fallen into a daze, his deep consciousness was still awake. He could perceive what had happened to his body, where he was, and who had been tending to him for days.
As he thought about this, he suddenly felt a little sour.
A long time ago, when he had a family, he had never been ill. Later, when his mother died and his father abandoned him in a small courtyard, he often fell ill because of the difficult living conditions. Each time, he was left to fend for himself, so no one had ever taken care of him like this.
When he grew up, he became a great demon because of the demon seed inside him, and he could never feel comfortable having someone by his side. This was because demon cultivators, including those in his demon palace, are likely to have murderous intentions toward him.
Gu Xiyu was the greatest threat to him on this continent, so he should have been warier of him. But he didn’t understand why, after the fight at the stone pagoda, he gradually stopped rejecting his breath and even felt a greater sense of peace and relaxation with him by his side.
Inexplicably, he began to trust and rely on him more.
Bu Tianhan was quite disturbed by this. It meant that he had a weakness that someone could use against him, but even so, he didn’t feel like pushing away Gu Xiyu, who was now sitting on the edge of his bed. Instead, he grabbed his hand amid the confusion.
The warmth from Gu Xiyu’s hand reached his, and the feeling was comforting, as if something important had finally returned to him.
He closed his eyes and panted through the pain. The person on the edge of the bed didn’t let him hold on for too long, gently pulling his hand away after a while. He was a little upset inside, but his body was so exhausted that he could only listen to the sound of the door to his room opening and closing shortly afterward.
Bu Tianhan opened his eyes slightly, staring at the empty room blankly. The bottles and jars Gu Xiyu had brought with him were still on the table, and the teacups that had shown signs of use were still resting there – It was clear that Gu Xiyu was just stepping out for a short time.
Over the days, he gradually fused the new power in his body with the demonic seed within his dantian. Passing through this calamity peacefully would be tantamount to another rebirth, and his power would be even higher.
Currently, Gu Xiyu’s spiritual power is much weaker than when they first met. In a short while, Gu Xiyu won’t be able to suppress him any longer.
This was a good thing for him.
After sitting up from the bed, Bu Tianhan spread his hand slightly, and a book suddenly appeared on it.
This was something he had found by accident just before he entered the stone pagoda and stumbled upon the inheritance. He had flipped through it and almost thrown it away when he saw its contents, but later, probably because he thought it was a waste not to take it, he brought it out anyway.
In the book was a dual-cultivation technique that seemed to be contrary to the Dao, and was more in line with the theory of the balance of yin and yang.
It was a demon technique, but the demon cultivator could use an immortal Daoist whose physique was extremely suitable for use as his censer and force him to practice with him. Although both sides could gain benefits, it was undoubtedly the demon cultivator who would benefit more.
He clenched his hand, and the old cover was wrinkled with his grip.
The most suitable censer for this technique was, of course, a cultivator of the emotionless dao. Their auras were complete opposites, which could bring out the greatest benefits.
He sat on the bed in a daze, vaguely recalling his initial vows, and the light in his eyes became darker.
He once thought that after successfully gaining control of Gu Xiyu, he would throw him into the biggest brothel in the demon realm and leave him to be played with, which was the best way to humiliate him. But when he thought of this again, a feeling of irritability rose in his heart.
He had touched Gu Xiyu’s body and knew how tempting it was.
His mind conjured up even more terrifying thoughts and desires to go deeper, and different fantasies flashed through his mind.
It was good to maintain a harmonious master-disciple relationship with Gu Xiyu now, but sooner or later, things would be exposed, and Gu Xiyu would be angry and throw him out. When the time came, perhaps he could force him to make a choice.
With this in mind, Bu Tianhan murmured, “Instead of subjecting you to the humiliation from thousands of people, why not ……”
Why not just cry and beg under him alone?