Chapter 196 Misty Rain Pavilion (Twenty-Four)

Five days later, Jiang Gu was able to use his spiritual power. During that time, Wei Feng, relying on his newly formed ghost patterns and Wu Tuo, hunted and killed countless spirit beasts, and all of them were ones that caught Jiang Gu's eye. Clean and translucent inner cores were offered to Jiang Gu as if they were free.

Looking at his devoted demeanor, Jiang Gu felt a rare sense of satisfaction. It was clear that this disciple had not been raised in vain; no wonder some people always liked to take on disciples.

But this relief vanished when she saw Wei Feng emerge from the waters of Tianchi.

Although most of the external injuries had healed, some wounds were still deep enough to expose the bone and had fundamentally affected the body. The water from the Jiang family's Heavenly Pool could nourish the bones and roots, so as soon as Jiang Gu was able to use his spiritual power to retrieve objects, he immediately took out the Heavenly Pool water and prepared to take turns treating himself with Wei Feng.

Wei Feng readily agreed on the surface, but once Jiang Gu took off his outer garment and sank into the water, he emerged like a ghost and said confidently, "Master, it's too much of a waste of time to soak separately, let's soak together."

Jiang Gu said calmly, "Get out."

“I’ll just stay on the side and not move.” Wei Feng swam to the opposite side of him, his cheeks slightly flushed from the steam. “I promise I won’t move.”

He leaned against the pool and lazily yawned, and indeed did not move again. Even Guiwen obediently curled up behind him. Seeing this, Jiang Gu did not chase him away anymore.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw that Wei Feng was fast asleep. His head was hanging down, his long hair was loose and tangled with the ghost patterns behind him, and half of his chin was submerged in the pool water, barely reaching his nose. The gold pendant on his forehead was half-suspended, and could not be clearly seen in the swirling water vapor.

His primordial spirit had also suffered severe damage, and he had been hunting spirit beasts for the past few days, so he must have been exhausted. His brows were full of weariness, and the wound on his cheek was slowly healing, with some blood seeping out.

Jiang Gu stared at it for a long time.

Just as the water was about to cover Wei Feng's nose, the water rippled slightly, and a hand lifted his chin from the water, wiping away the bloodstains on his cheek.

Wei Feng opened his eyes groggily. The water vapor was thick, but Jiang Gu was nowhere to be seen in the pool.

"Master?" he called out, but there was no answer. He immediately climbed out of the pool and hurriedly went to look for him.

Jiang Gu was outside figuring out the location when Wu Tuo, perched on a tree branch, watched from a distance. When he saw Wei Feng arrive, he happily jumped down and was embraced by Wei Feng.

"Have you gotten a little heavier these past two days?" Wei Feng pinched its soft little ears, enjoying the warm, plush feel.

"It's because I ate a lot of spirit beast essence pills with you guys." Wu Tuo happily wagged his tail. "Brother, what is Master doing?"

“He is my master.” Wei Feng poked its forehead.

Utuo said sadly, "Then I don't know what to call it."

It really wanted to call him "master," but it was afraid that if it did, Jiang Gu would seal its memories again.

“Let’s call him Jiang Gu.” Wei Feng lowered his voice, but his gaze drifted to Jiang Gu, and his tone suddenly became gentle and tender. “Jiang Gu, how nice it sounds.”

Wu Tuo shook its fur. Wei Feng's expression reminded it of Qu Fengyu before. She always looked at Wu Hezhi in the same way, but now Wu Hezhi had personally sent her to a dead end. Although Wu Hezhi was incomparable to Jiang Gu, and both Wei Feng and Jiang Gu had been its masters, it still couldn't help but worry about Wei Feng.

Utuo gently reminded him, "He is your master."

Although it was a spirit beast demon cultivator and did not understand these ethical norms, it knew that in the hearts of most cultivators, the master-disciple relationship was a very important one and could not be taken lightly. Moreover, Jiang Gu cultivated the Path of Ruthlessness, and once he became tainted by love... it could not imagine what Jiang Gu would be like if he became tainted by love, but it could imagine how Jiang Gu would kill Wei Feng.

Wei Feng grinned. "I know."

Before Wu Tuo could even catch his breath, he heard him say again, "Master is doing well. I will be his only disciple..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but his eyes held an intense, almost overwhelming desire. Fortunately, Wu Tuo was looking at Jiang Gu and didn't notice, otherwise he would have been worried sick.

After a short rest, Jiang Gu led Wei Feng and Wu Tuo on their way.

The previous tribulation lightning seemed like an ominous sign. As his spiritual power began to recover, Jiang Gu sensed the tribulation lightning approaching more and more clearly. He had always suppressed the time for his breakthrough, and now he had probably reached his limit. If he were to undergo the tribulation here, it would definitely attract the pursuers from the Eight Pavilions.

Wei Feng had clearly realized this problem, and these past few days he had been sticking to his side no matter what, refusing to leave his side even for a moment.

"The tribulation is about three days away." Jiang Gu decided to be frank with him. "I am still seriously injured and don't have many magical treasures with me. I'm afraid I can't hold on any longer."

Wei Feng was initially surprised that he brought this up, but then his expression became serious. "Then what should we do?"

"I don't know," Jiang Gu said calmly.

Wei Feng was stunned. He looked at Jiang Gu with some suspicion. He obviously didn't believe it. After all, even if it was a dead end, his master could always find a way to survive. How could he not be able to deal with the lightning tribulation?

But then he thought about his current situation. Just a few days ago, he and his master had to keep warm by a fire, and they had been accumulating spiritual power with beast cores. Heaven would not show mercy to anyone. If this situation happened to him, he would not be able to come up with a solution no matter how hard he tried.

After an awkward silence, Wei Feng carefully spoke, "Master, I can hide you in my primordial spirit, so that the tribulation lightning won't strike you."

"Chop you up?" Jiang Gu turned around and gave him a half-smile.

Wei Feng blushed slightly at his nonchalant attitude. "No, I have a way to make it undetectable by the Heavenly Dao."

Jiang Gu chuckled lightly, clearly not believing him.

"Really." Wei Feng quickened his pace to catch up with him. "Master, you have to believe me."

"What will you do?" Consultant Jiang asked.

Wei Feng opened his mouth, but did not continue to explain. He simply emphasized, "I really do have a way."

He wasn't completely stupid after all, but Jiang Gu already knew his plan, so he didn't press further and simply nodded, "Okay."

Wei Feng was prepared to be rejected, and when he saw him nod, he didn't even react, staring at him blankly, "Okay?"

“If it’s truly unavoidable, then use the method you suggested,” Jiang Gu said.

Wei Feng stared at him, his eyes gradually brightening. He looked at Jiang Gu with a mixture of surprise and delight, "Really?"

He never imagined that one day he could be trusted and relied upon by Jiang Gu, especially on such a crucial issue as transcending tribulation. His master actually agreed with his statement without even asking further questions. Did this mean that his master had completely accepted him?

Wei Feng thought excitedly, even trying to rationally dampen his enthusiasm—maybe his master was just teasing him casually—but in the end, excitement prevailed, and he wished he could wrap Jiang Gu in his primordial spirit right now and protect him completely!

"Master, slow down!" He hoisted Wutuo onto his shoulder and hurried after him. "Master!"

Jiang Gu slowed his pace, seemingly unintentionally. "How are your injuries now?"

“It’s much better now, Master.” Wei Feng was overjoyed. He flipped his palm over to show him the many more ghost patterns he had gained. “Look, it’s almost the same as before. Although the Dharma forms of those people from the Eight Pavilions are powerful, they are still a step ahead of the Shadow-Changing Formation you taught me, Master. It’s just that some ghost patterns have to be sacrificed. With the ghost patterns, I recover much faster than ordinary cultivators.”

He spoke casually, as if it hadn't been a big deal before. He even handed the ghostly markings to Jiang Gu, saying, "Master, don't be fooled by their current black color. Once I return to my real body, they will turn into a nearly transparent white, which will look much better. My white pupils will also have a lighter color, and my ram horns will look even better."

He praised himself enthusiastically, and when he saw Jiang Gu reach out and let the ghost patterns wrap around his fingers, he was so happy that he almost jumped for joy. However, he remained calm and moved closer to Jiang Gu, carefully controlling the fine ghost patterns to wrap around Jiang Gu's fingers and rub them affectionately.

This feeling was completely different from when he had forcibly clung to Jiang Gu before. Wei Feng felt as if he were immersed in a jar full of honey, with sweetness spreading from his limbs and bones.

Master! He took the initiative! He touched his ghost mark!!!

Master has already touched the ghost mark, so next he can touch the shark's tail and wings, and then the majestic ram's horns. In that case, Master will soon be willing to become his Daoist partner and spend the night together!

The usually cold and sticky ghost patterns were faintly warm. Jiang Gu glanced at Wei Feng, "Feeling uncomfortable?"

Wei Feng shook his head halfway, then forced himself to nod, looking at him pitifully, "I suddenly have no strength left, Master, please take me with you."

Jiang Gu seized the opportunity to grab his wrist.

Wei Feng gritted his teeth to keep his breathing from getting out of control. He was so excited that he was trembling all over. He even wondered if he had entered some kind of mind-controlling illusion. Otherwise, why would his master take his hand so willingly? But Jiang Gu's expression remained as indifferent as ever, as if this was just an ordinary thing.

He carefully sniffed the faint scent in the air and was certain that it was Jiang Gu.

“Master, why don’t you hide in my—” He was about to press his advantage when Jiang Gu suddenly released his hand, stopping him midway. “What’s wrong?”

"It looks like Jiang Xiangyun and his group up ahead." Jiang Gu frowned slightly. "I'll go check it out."

Wei Feng sniffed, but couldn't smell Jiang Xiangyun and the others. Just as he was about to release his divine sense, he was enveloped by Jiang Gu's barrier. "Don't expose yourself rashly."

Wei Feng nodded and obediently withdrew his divine sense.

Jiang Gu drew a sound-communication array, and the Vermilion Bird Talisman of the Jiang family ignited in front of him. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Lu Liyu is about to die."

Wei Feng said gloatingly, "This is truly gratifying."

“Jiang Xiangyun values ​​him highly, so he probably won’t let him die so easily.” Jiang Gu said, “I’ll go check on him. You stay here and be ready to provide backup at any time.”

Wei Feng was not very agreeable. "Master, I will go with you."

“Lu Liyu is cunning and may have left himself an escape route. If he escapes, it’s not too late for you to make your move.” A cold killing intent flashed in Jiang Gu’s eyes.

Wei Feng hesitated.

Jiang Gu lowered his head and carefully tied one end of the Fire-Leaving Rope to his wrist, while connecting the other end to his own wrist. Then he transformed the black jade bracelet into a belt and fastened it around his waist. "Don't run around."

Wei Feng was relieved and said, "Okay."

Jiang Gu looked up at him, then turned and disappeared in a streak of light.

Wu Tuo perched on Wei Feng's shoulder and asked疑惑地问道, "Don't you think Jiang Gu is a bit strange?"

"Really?" Wei Feng couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth. "Lu Liyu and I are sworn enemies. Master must have a foolproof way to take revenge. Just you wait and see. Lu Liyu will definitely come crawling over here in a moment. I'll kill him then."

“That’s true. He even left you the divine artifact; he wouldn’t just leave you here,” Wu Tuo said.

Wei Feng crossed his arms and said smugly, "Of course, did you see that? Just now, Master even touched my ghost mark and held my hand."

Utuo snorted unhappily, "I didn't see it."

Wei Feng's smile grew even brighter. "Master must also have feelings for me. I have a feeling that we might become Daoist partners soon."

Utuo raised his two paws and pushed hard on his head.

"What are you doing?" Wei Feng picked it up and put it in his arms.

"Shake the mush in your head." Wu Tuo bit his furry little paw in exasperation, muttering, "That's not right..."

Wei Feng was still immersed in the joy of a beautiful dream, but as time passed, Jiang Gu's aura gradually faded in the air, and he vaguely realized that something was wrong.

Utuo tugged at his fingers, gesturing for him to look.

Wei Feng looked down and saw some pinkish-purple powder shimmering with tiny lights, with a faint, unfamiliar fragrance lingering on it.

"What is this?" Wu Tuo sniffed it curiously. "It smells so good, and I feel a little dizzy."

Wei Feng's expression suddenly turned extremely grim, and he said in a deep voice, "This is—"

"The alluring fragrance of the fox clan."