Chapter 177 Misty Rain Pavilion (Part 5)

Wei Feng was kicked back into the room. The magic circle closed, blocking the onlookers from seeing what was going on.

With the Crimson Snow Sword hovering about an inch from his neck, Jiang Gu raised his hand, sheathing the long sword. The chilling sword energy tore through his front, revealing most of his shoulder, with a red mark on his fair skin where he had been drawn.

Although it was just a puppet's body, Wei Feng still habitually reached out and tugged at it. As soon as he touched the clothes, he triggered more sword energy. The originally intact clothes instantly became tattered and hung messily on his body, looking like he was trying to cover himself up but couldn't.

"..." Wei Feng was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly scrambled to his feet to prove his innocence, "Master, I don't have... these clothes—"

Before he could finish speaking, someone grabbed his neck and pinned him against the wall. The subtle fragrance emanating from Jiang Gu came from all directions, enveloping him completely. He widened his eyes slightly, his gaze reflecting Jiang Gu's cold, handsome face. Jiang Gu was extremely close to him, so close that Jiang Gu could kiss him if he leaned in just a little.

Wei Feng's breathing became uncontrollably rapid. His Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and he instinctively reached out to put his arm around Jiang Gu's waist, but then froze in mid-air, not daring to be presumptuous. As their breaths mingled, Jiang Gu's gaze slid from the bridge of his nose to his lips, and then he looked up to meet Wei Feng's somewhat dazed eyes, saying calmly, "Do you really want to know?"

Even though this body had no heart, Wei Feng vaguely heard the sound of a heart beating violently. He opened his mouth, about to answer, when he heard Jiang Gu say, "Whatever you feel, that's what I feel."

Wei Feng stared intently at him, her face flushed red to the roots of her ears. "I—"

"You'll feel the same way no matter who you communicate with in spirit." Jiang Gu interrupted him coldly, his face expressionless. "Our previous spiritual connection was a mistake, something I had no intention of having with you. Wei Linming, you'd better think clearly about what you really want to do. If you can figure it out, our master-disciple relationship will still exist. If you can't, I won't keep you here any longer."

Jiang Gu's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Wei Feng's head, and Wei Feng saw his own ugly expression reflected in Jiang Gu's eyes.

With a slight tightening of the hand gripping his neck, the hand penetrated the puppet's body and completely eradicated the remnants of his brilliant golden primordial spirit, which he had carefully concealed using illusion techniques, leaving only a slight chill.

Even after Jiang Gu left, Wei Feng remained standing still, his mind filled with only Jiang Gu's words—

I have no feelings for you.

All those playful intimacy, the coquettish clinginess, the kisses and hugs—whether accidental or deliberate—and even the incredibly intimate and inseparable spiritual communion, were, in Jiang Gu's eyes, nothing more than wishful thinking.

No, how could it be wishful thinking?

If it were truly just his wishful thinking, his master probably wouldn't even let him touch the hem of his robe. He had done so many outrageous things, yet his master couldn't even bring himself to kill him.

Wei Feng slowly clenched his fist. If it were really just wishful thinking on his part, then Jiang Gu wouldn't have entered the Song Sui Illusionary Realm to find him time and time again, let alone risk his life to save him from the Trial Realm. He was just saying that to scare him away. Wei Feng gritted his teeth.

Given his master's composure and shrewdness, if he were to be intimidated and take a step back, he would never have a chance to turn things around. Jiang Gu could use the master-disciple relationship to keep him firmly under control.

Don't even think about it.

He wanted Jiang Gu to be his master and his Daoist partner. He didn't care about the Heavenly Dao or tribulations. He only knew that he wanted Jiang Gu and that Jiang Gu cared about him. So he should cling to him relentlessly. He would live as long as he could and every extra spiritual connection he could have was a bonus.

Anyway, Jiang Gu is his.

——

After Jiang Gu and Jiang Xiangyun finished discussing matters related to the ancient temple, they stepped out of the room and saw Wei Feng standing in the courtyard waiting for them.

Jiang Gu's eyebrows twitched slightly, somewhat surprised.

He had already spoken so directly, and I thought this bastard would quiet down for a while, or give up the idea to preserve the master-disciple relationship. In any case, he shouldn't be so... energetic now.

Wei Feng stared intently at him, his gaze even more fervent than before. "Master, shall we go back?"

Even Yao Li, who usually doesn't meddle in other people's business, noticed that something was wrong with him. Thinking about his master-disciple relationship with Jiang Gu, he frowned slightly.

Jiang Gu glanced at Wei Feng and returned to the courtyard. The damaged courtyard had been repaired. As soon as he entered, Wei Feng followed him in, without even giving him time to activate the magic array.

“Master, I’ve made up my mind.” Wei Feng lifted his robe and knelt down in front of him with a thud. His expression was solemn as he said, “I was out of my mind before and dared to have inappropriate thoughts about you. Since you have no feelings for me, I, as your disciple, should not persist in pursuing you. From now on, I will put away those filthy thoughts, respect you, and abide by my duty. I will never overstep my bounds again.”

"I swear to Heaven that if I ever break this oath, may I be struck by lightning, my soul be scattered, and I die a horrible death!"

Jiang Gu lowered his eyes, his expression unreadable, and unconsciously rubbed his hands behind his back a couple of times.

After Wei Feng finished speaking, he kowtowed to him, then got up and left nimbly, going to the next room.

For once, a hint of doubt appeared in Jiang Gu's eyes, yet he couldn't quite figure out Wei Feng's intentions.

——

A few days later, Xiao Qingyan returned to the Heaven and Earth Pavilion. At the same time, Jiang Xiangyun successfully persuaded the other party and obtained an opportunity to explore the ruins of the ancient temple.

"The Fuquan Ancient Temple Ruins are the latest temple to be discovered. The magical artifacts have detected the possible remnants of ancient deities within. If we have the opportunity to subdue these remnants, it will be more useful than obtaining the artifacts themselves. This time, the eight pavilions have sent a total of forty-two cultivators, four from each pavilion. I can only offer two slots."

Xiao Qingyan looked at Jiang Gu and Jiang Xiangyun, "On this trip, you don't need to be obsessed with the divine artifacts and remnants of spirits. Your priority is to save your lives, so be careful in everything you do."

Jiang Xiangyun smiled and said, "Don't worry, Young Master Xiao."

The two boarded the flying boat, accompanied by two mid-stage Golden Immortal cultivators from the Heaven and Earth Pavilion. The two were twin brothers named Wu Ren and Wu Yi, who looked alike with thick eyebrows and high noses and an imposing presence. They looked down on cultivators like Jiang Xiangyun and Jiang Gu who had entered through connections. Jiang Xiangyun greeted them with a smile, but was met with disdain.

Jiang Xiangyun wasn't annoyed. She smiled, gathered her sleeves, and turned back to continue talking to Jiang Gu.

Each of the eight pavilions has a special magic array for reaching the ancient temple ruins. In less than two hours, thirty-two cultivators gathered at the entrance of the Fuquan Ancient Temple Ruins. Among them were experts with cultivation levels as high as the Great Perfection of Golden Immortal, as well as newly enrolled disciples who were only at the True Immortal level and had come to learn from their seniors.

"The Yin-Yang Tower trial went wrong a while ago, but the Eight Pavilions are short of manpower right now. Those trial disciples really hit the jackpot, and most of them were recruited by the Eight Pavilions," a cultivator whispered.

"I heard there are quite a few cultivators from Pingze who were specifically named; they got off easy." Some made no attempt to hide their hostility.

Among the thirty-two people, Jiang Gu also saw a few familiar faces. Lin Feibai met his gaze, nodded politely, and then looked away. Hu Jingchen, who was not far away, saw him and his expression changed inscrutable. In the end, he silently moved away and hid himself in the crowd.

The leader of this exploration of the ancient temple ruins was an elderly man who looked quite old. He had gray hair, loose skin, and a beard that seemed to drag on the ground. He was leaning on a cane that was much taller than him, with a skull of a spirit beast embedded at the top, emitting a faint green light.

"The ruins of the Floating Spring Ancient Temple are located in a dense forest three thousand miles ahead, teeming with countless spirit beasts and demonic creatures. This time, you will not only encounter the guardian spirit beasts, but you may also encounter the remnant spirits that guard the temple. Remember, these remnant spirits are the residual consciousness of ancient gods. Even if they only inherited one ten-thousandth of the ancient gods' divine power, they are still beyond your ability to deal with. Once you discover the remnant spirits, immediately contact your fellow cultivators nearby using the jade tokens on your bodies." The old man, though hunched over, had a sharp glint in his eyes. "You thirty-two people will be divided into four teams of eight, heading towards the ancient temple from the four directions: east, south, west, and north. You have a quarter of an hour to form your teams."

Even if they are from the same family, their relationship may not be good, and the group stirred up a little excitement for a moment.

The Golden Pavilion and the Water Pavilion are closely related, forming a team of eight. The four members of the Fire Pavilion split into two factions, while the Earth Pavilion, Thunder Pavilion, and others split into different factions...

As for the Heaven and Earth Pavilion, where Jiang Gu and his group belonged, it was generally considered to be a drag on the team, and no one wanted to team up with them. In the end, Jiang Xiangyun took the initiative to invite a few people who had been ostracized by the other pavilions. As expected, Lin Feibai and Hu Jingchen were among them. In addition to them, there was also Feng Yisanjiu from the Wind Pavilion and Lei Jiusan from the Thunder Pavilion.

"Each team will be temporarily issued a divine artifact as an aid, to be wielded by the person with the highest cultivation level in the team." The old man raised his hand, and four divine artifacts appeared in front of him, which were then distributed to the four people.

In Jiang Gu's team, the one with the highest cultivation level was Wu Yi, one of the twins, and a claw-like artifact fell into his hands.

“We can just hand out divine artifacts whenever we want,” Lin Feibai said, standing next to Jiang Xiangyun.

Jiang Xiangyun smiled. "Rich and powerful."

Hu Jingchen, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but look at Jiang Gu, only to find that he didn't seem to care about the artifact, but was looking down at his wrist.

A ghostly pattern, enveloped in a faint black mist, loosely coiled around his wrist. As if to confirm its previous vow, neither the ghostly pattern nor the mist touched Jiang Gu's skin, nor did it shamelessly wrap around his arms and neck as before, showing extreme restraint.

But even when he tried to restrain himself, he wouldn't stay quietly inside the jade bracelet space; he just had to pop out and let Jiang Gu see him.

Jiang Gu frowned slightly and raised his hand to press it back into the black jade bracelet. However, the ghostly pattern seemed to be facing a formidable enemy. Before he could even touch it, it trembled violently, causing the surrounding black mist to retreat as if trying to avoid it, as if it wanted to speak up and prove its innocence.

"..." Jiang Gu glanced at it coldly, then simply flicked his sleeve to block it.

Out of sight, out of mind.