Chapter 48: Divergent Paths [Ding! Punishment activated! Punishment activated—…

After venting all his passion, Gu Congxing fell into a dream.

It was a nightmare.

It was Xiao Wangyou, the so-called "protagonist", who caused the master's heart to be destroyed miserably and fall into the abyss.

It was also because of him that the junior brother became completely possessed by the devil and the eldest brother embarked on the path of sacrifice.

If it weren't for Xiao Wangyou, these tragedies would not have happened!

Kill him, kill him!

Even though he knew it happened in his previous life, Gu Congxing could hardly suppress the burning murderous intent in his heart.

When he woke up, he saw Xiao Wangyou.

Gu Congxing watched Xiao Wangyou leap up immediately after the formation's light column appeared, and followed closely behind him.

——If I miss this opportunity, how can I have the chance to kill Xiao Wangyou?!

So, when Xiao Wangyou stepped into the exit, Gu Congxing silently summoned the Whale-Slaying Sword.

Without hesitation, he stabbed Xiao Wangyou in the abdomen.

"you--!"

When seeing Xiao Wangyou's incredulous look, Gu Congxing's right hand trembled slightly, and at the same time, the Mingquan Yupo hairpin on his head emitted a deep blue light.

——If the owner is in an unstable mood and his mind is in chaos, this hairpin will automatically release spiritual power to restore the owner's mind to clarity.

Gu Congxing looked at the blood flowing out of Xiao Wangyou's mouth, his brows slightly furrowed, but the long sword in his hand could no longer be pushed forward an inch.

He didn't realize that the red in his eyes was gradually fading away. He only felt that the violent murderous intent in his mind seemed to be washed away by water vapor, dispersing a lot of it.

——Can killing Xiao Wangyou really save Master from tragedy?

"From the stars...?!"

Lan Jue's scream was heard from behind, Gu Congxing's eyes became fierce, and he immediately pushed Xiao Wangyou into the exit.

The space in front of him twisted and deformed, and the scene above Ganyang Sect was reflected in his field of vision. Gu Congxing was about to release him first, but he saw Xiao Wangyou throw out a mustard seed with golden light.

"you?!"

Gu Congxing glanced at Xiao Wangyou in surprise, who had a fierce look on his face, and the next moment he was brought into the mustard seed by him.

This mustard seed is a heavenly spiritual treasure that can accommodate a living person. Even the speed of time flowing inside it is much lower than that in the outside world. Even if it can only be used once before being scrapped, it is still an extremely rare secret treasure for cultivation.

When Gu Congxing's vision stabilized again, he was already in the mustard seed space. He and Xiao Wangyou were in a bamboo building.

Xiao Wangyou covered the wound on his abdomen, but there was no trace of pain in his dark eyes.

He just stared at Gu Congxing without blinking, as if he was looking at a stranger he had never met before.

"Xiao Wangyou, you..."

Gu Congxing looked at him and for some reason had the illusion that he was being treated as a prey. He just opened his mouth when he felt a constant buzzing sound in his head.

[Ding! Ding! Extreme host behavior detected—]

[Ding! The host attacks the protagonist "Xiao Wangyou". This behavior has been confirmed.]

[Ding! The protagonist's life status: alive.]

[Ding! Activate punishment! Activate punishment——]

A series of sounds suddenly rang out, and Gu Congxing felt that all the spiritual power in his body was being drained away, and even the strength in his limbs was gradually dissipating.

[Punishment Mode Confirmed: A-Level!]

As the system's words fell, Gu Congxing felt as if his whole body was struck by lightning!

“Ugh, cough…!”

Silent and invisible electric currents came from nowhere, striking Gu Congxing one after another, causing him to groan in pain.

Damn it…!

The system really wouldn't tolerate him killing the protagonist, and there was even such a punishment!

"Gu Congxing, what tricks are you playing?"

Xiao Wangyou had already taken the heavenly elixir at this time. His wound had not penetrated deep into his lungs and was now beginning to heal gradually.

Gu Congxing's pale and painful face was reflected in his dark eyes, but Xiao Wangyou still stood there motionless.

"cough……!"

At this moment, Gu Congxing only felt a burning pain all over his body, and even his arms began to twitch uncontrollably!

He half-knelt on the ground, unable to control himself from wanting to roar, but he bit his lower lip hard, refusing to show such an ugly appearance in front of Xiao Wangyou.

At this moment, his face was pale, his lips were pale, his forehead was covered in cold sweat, and even blue veins were faintly visible.

Xiao Wangyou narrowed his eyes and took a step forward.

Gu Congxing's eyes moved and his brows furrowed, but when he tried to move, he was struck by lightning again and fell to the ground completely.

His slender neck was raised, and a trace of blood seeped from his clenched lips.

"...Humph, could it be that your master, seeing that you failed in your mission, wants to kill you and silence you?"

Xiao Wangyou said this in a cold voice, pinching Gu Congxing's chin.

But at this moment, the invisible thunder and lightning suddenly died down and disappeared completely.

[Ding! Punishment completed. Host health status: alive.]

Gu Congxing's whole body trembled violently, and he felt limp all over, still in severe pain.

"Don't die like this."

Xiao Wangyou's cold snort came to his ears, and the next moment, Gu Congxing felt his jaw being pinched by a big hand, and a pill was stuffed into his mouth.

Gu Congxing's heart sank, and he immediately opened his mouth and bit down!

"hiss!"

Xiao Wangyou let out a cry of pain and immediately pulled out his finger, which had a bloody bite mark on it.

Gu Congxing immediately spat out the thing in his mouth and forced himself to sit up.

The ring on his wrist glowed with luster again. Gu Congxing felt the pain in his body gradually disappear and his lost strength gradually returned.

He stuck the whale-slaying sword into the ground and slowly stood up.

Xiao Wangyou watched his movements calmly and said coldly, "Can you recover on your own? It seems that Chen Mu is not really going to put you to death."

"If I use you as a hostage, I will definitely be able to lure Chen Mu out of seclusion..."

Gu Congxing was still weak at this moment, but his consciousness became clearer after experiencing some pain.

He took a deep breath and asked, "What do you mean?"

Xiao Wangyou turned his wrist and a sarcastic sneer appeared on his face.

"Why are you playing dumb? You came here on Chen Mu's orders to take my life. Now that you've failed your mission and are being punished, do you still want to continue working for him?"

"That's nonsense!" Gu Congxing said quickly, "I was the one who struck that sword earlier. What does it have to do with Master?"

Xiao Wangyou snorted coldly while holding the sword, obviously not taking it seriously.

When Gu Congxing saw him like this, a light bulb went off in his head, and he immediately understood why Xiao Wangyou had such a guess.

According to the "plot" he saw, Xiao Wangyou had already met his master, and because of the Phoenix Feather, he identified his master as the enemy who had destroyed his clan.

According to what Xiao Wangyou thought, his master was an evil person who wanted to kill him and take away his bones, so this sword of his was naturally instructed by his master.

Gu Congxing already understood and looked at Xiao Wangyou.

The red feather earrings swayed slightly, Xiao Wangyou's expression was cold and solemn, and he could not hide the strong hatred when he mentioned his master.

Gu Congxing clenched the Whale-Slaying Sword in his hand, his mind churning with thoughts.

This sword still contains the sword intent of the Spirit Transformation Stage given by my master. Even though I am weak now, I can still use it.

At that time, Xiao Wangyou was doomed. Even if the system took his life after that, it would be useless.

The long hairpin in her hair once again emanated clear spiritual power, and Gu Cong's mind became clearer and clearer.

...No, you can't act so extreme.

Gu Congxing tightened his grip, but eventually loosened it.

Since everything is caused by misunderstanding, let's resolve these misunderstandings first.

At least, Xiao Wangyou should know the truth first.

Gu Congxing's eyes flickered, and he looked at Xiao Wangyou with thoughts in his mind.

"Xiao Wangyou, why are you so sure that it was Master who wanted to take your life? Is there some kind of vendetta?"

"What does my relationship with him have to do with you?"

Gu Congxing had anticipated his response. He provoked, "Master is a Sword Master at the Spiritual Transformation Stage. If he really wanted to kill you, would you still be alive today?"

Xiao Wangyou's face turned red with rage, and he sternly said, "That fellow is extremely hypocritical. If I hadn't seen through his intentions in advance and joined the Ganyang Sect, he would have taken away my bones long ago!"

"Your remarks are pure slander, no one will believe them."

"Humph! Since you are so loyal, I might as well tell you the truth..."

Xiao Wangyou took a step closer and met Gu Congxing's eyes: "Chen Mu is the real culprit of the Kong family's massacre!"

Seeing Gu Congxing's disapproving look, he said in a deeper voice, "If you don't believe me, why not go and see Chen Mu's sword tassel! It's clearly the Kong family's secret treasure - the Phoenix Feather!"

He was already filled with anger when he said this. Gu Congxing finally let him say this, looked into his eyes filled with hatred, and summoned an item that had been sealed for a long time from the storage ring.

"Is this the sword tassel you're talking about?"

——It was the Phoenix Feather that he had given to Chen Mu before.

Xiao Wangyou's eyes suddenly widened, and he immediately pounced forward and held the sword tassel in his hand.

His voice trembled: "Why would you..."

"Because this is the gift I gave to my master."

Xiao Wangyou's eyes were like blades, shooting towards Gu Congxing in an instant.

"you?!"

Gu Congxing looked at him calmly, and actually had the thought that "it should have been done earlier".

"Yes, I found this item deep in the Gu family secret realm. Later, when I became his disciple, I gave it to my master."

"I refined and transformed it, but then I was worried that it would bring harm to Master, so I asked for it back."

"Xiao Wangyou, Master has absolutely nothing to do with the Kong family's massacre from the beginning to the end."

When Xiao Wangyou heard him say these words, his expression changed from shock to anger, and then to blankness.

He took a few steps back and murmured, "How is it possible? Gu's, how could it be Gu's..."

Gu Congxing took a step forward and was about to say something else when a sword was pressed against his chest.

Xiao Wangyou's eyes were cold, and he gritted his teeth and said:

"The Gu family is a well-known and reputable clan. Furthermore, as the youngest of the Gu family, how could you possibly reveal all this? How can I believe your words?"

Gu Congxing's face was still pale and had not recovered yet, but his eyes were sharp and his expression was calm.

"If you don't believe me, I can swear an oath to my inner demon."

The inner demon oath is the most stringent oath taken by a cultivator. If one breaks the oath, he will be trapped by the inner demon for eternity and his cultivation will never improve again.

Xiao Wangyou's eyes moved.

"I'm revealing this matter not only to clear my master's name, but also for..." Gu Congxing lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then raised them and said, "The truth. The truth behind the Kong family's massacre."

At this moment, Gu Congxing looked at Xiao Wangyou, and in a trance he seemed to have returned to several years ago.

At that time, he had not yet been assigned a mission by the system. He went to investigate the Kong family tragedy with great enthusiasm, but before he could find out the truth, he heard about the death of his master.

After his rebirth, he did not investigate the Kong family case again.

Is it because you are busy with system tasks or because you are afraid of making the same mistake again?

Gu Congxing closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, golden light surged in his Liuli eyes.

"If the Gu family is truly involved in this murder, as a member of the Gu family, I must find out who is responsible."

"Xiao Wangyou, Master and I are not your enemies."

Xiao Wangyou still held the sword and pointed it at Gu Congxing, his eyes sharp.

The two looked at each other in silence for a long time. Xiao Wangyou snorted coldly and sheathed his sword.

"I don't believe you just yet." He carefully placed the Phoenix Feather in his arms and said, "I will continue to investigate this matter. If I find that you are deceiving me—"

"Well, when the time comes, whether you want to kill me or cut me up, just come at me."

Xiao Wangyou was silent for a moment, stroking the Phoenix Feather in his hand, and suddenly said, "Do you know why this Phoenix Feather is so precious?"

"I don't know. I just heard that it is extremely beneficial to improving one's cultivation level."

"...Gu Congxing, do you know the bloodline of the ancient mythical beast?"

Gu Congxing shook his head.

"I guess you don't know either." Xiao Wangyou stopped looking at him and just spoke to himself, "The Kong clan has the bloodline of the ancient phoenix, so this phoenix feather is also transformed by the spiritual power of the Kong clan members."

"Every member of the Kong clan can only create one Phoenix Feather in their lifetime. For them, this Phoenix Feather will only be given to the one and only love of their life."

Gu Congxing was shocked when he heard this.

No wonder Xiao Wangyou was so angry when he saw the sword tassel...

Gu Congxing was thinking about how to respond, but saw Xiao Wangyou suddenly wake up and shook his head.

"Why am I telling you this?" He channeled his spiritual energy, his expression returning to solemnity. "It's time to go."

Spiritual power surged in the mustard seed space. When Gu Congxing was about to leave, he heard Xiao Wangyou send a sentence.

"The bloodline of the ancient mythical beast may contain more than just the Phoenix."

Gu Congxing's mind moved, and he immediately said: "What..."

However, the next moment, he had completely left the mustard seed space and returned to the Ganyang Sect.

The scene in front of him suddenly changed. Everywhere he looked, he could see monsters roaring and fighting wildly, the spiritual power of the monks surging, and the white jade bricks in the Jiuxiao Martial Arts Arena were dyed bright red.

Gu Congxing blinked, and for a moment he thought he was still in the bipolar magic realm.

"What are you standing there for?"

A curse suddenly rang out, and Gu Congxing immediately looked up, only to see a long black sword flying towards him!

Gu Congxing's heart sank, and he immediately summoned the Whale-Slaying Sword and made a sword move!

However, the long sword brushed past his shoulder and headed straight for the object behind him!

"roar--"

A monster close to Gu Congxing had a pierced chest and fell to the ground with a roar.

Gu Congxing looked at the purple-clothed figure that flew out with a long sword, and his eyes gradually brightened.

"Gu Mingting? You..."

However, the next moment, a cultivator behind Gu Mingting suddenly approached him. The man's eyes were red, and he had silently raised his sword towards his back!

“Brother—!”

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The author has something to say: I'm so sorry for being late!