Chapter 264 A Series of Obstacles (18)

With Chang Ping'an present, the group easily slipped into the Changning Temple.

Jiang Xiangyun smiled and held the knife to Wen Hanjiu's neck. No matter how unyielding Chang Ping'an was, he couldn't bear to watch his friend die.

Wen Hanjiu's eyes welled up with tears: "Ping An, thank you."

Chang Ping'an spoke slowly and deliberately: "Your death will affect the Vine Umbrella... and subsequently the entire cultivation world."

Wen Hanjiu was instantly unmoved: "Then I really thank you."

These damned mortals, always talking about the cultivation world and the human world, they'll lose their lives sooner or later.

Chang Ping'an remained noncommittal.

Chang Ping'an led them into a small side hall, the furthest from the main hall of the temple, which was also Chang Ping'an's residence. At this time, most of the disciples of Changning Temple had gone out with Ci Jun, while the elders mostly stayed in the main hall. The opening and closing of a single formation would not attract their attention.

This small side hall was filled with bookshelves, which contained many array formations and an endless number of books. Chang Ping'an and Wen Hanjiu were tied up in a corner of the room. Feng Wuyou and Jiang Xiangyun were checking the surrounding array formations. Canlin was so uncomfortable from being stuffed by the red crystal tower that he clutched his stomach and vomited up the small tower.

Wei Feng carried Jiang Gu and placed him on the couch.

After a moment, Jiang Gu slowly opened his eyes, his face frosty.

"Master, are you feeling any better?" Wei Feng knelt down in front of him, grasped his hand, and his slightly drooping eyes made him look pitiful.

If he hadn't been relentlessly suppressing Jiang Gu's primordial spirit within his sea of ​​consciousness, and instead been engaging in unbridled spiritual communion at the edge of the chaotic core, Jiang Gu would have believed it.

During the seven or eight-hour journey, he spent most of the time engaging in spiritual communion with Jiang Gu, and the rest of the time practicing dual cultivation while engaging in spiritual communion... which allowed Jiang Gu to witness the true Six Desires Path.

"Get lost." Jiang Gu said succinctly.

Even though Wei Feng diligently repaired most of the injuries to his primordial spirit, it could not undo his heinous acts.

The hand he was holding was pulled away, but Wei Feng relentlessly chased after him, grabbed Jiang Gu's wrist, gently rubbed it, and said softly, "Master, I was wrong, please don't be angry. The primordial spirit maintains human form because the dual cultivation technique requires the meridians to circulate spiritual energy. If you don't like it, we won't use it next time. It's just that you were really badly injured this time... Master, Master, please don't ignore me."

He was incredibly noisy, and his sense of touch was exceptionally sensitive after the spiritual dual cultivation. He gripped Jiang Gu's wrist, while his other hand was pressed on Jiang Gu's thigh. Jiang Gu's back stiffened, and he took a deep breath: "Stand still."

Wei Feng obediently stood up, his head bowed like a child who had done something wrong.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Jiang Xiangyun crossed her arms and came closer, asking Wei Feng with a smile, "Did you make your master angry again?"

Wei Feng ignored him and looked at Jiang Gu with red eyes.

Jiang Gu didn't want to scold him in front of others, so he said in a deep voice, "It's nothing. I'll trouble you and Fellow Daoist Feng to help build a magic array."

“No problem,” Jiang Xiangyun said, “but can your body handle it? This series of injuries is quite serious.”

"It's acceptable." Jiang Gu stood up.

Wei Feng wanted to help him up, but Jiang Gu gave him a cold look and said, "You should seal off all the remaining meridians, and remember not to get close to the Chaos Core."

"Yes." Wei Feng's hand, which was frozen in mid-air, was about to be lowered when Jiang Gu grabbed it and placed a porcelain white medicine bottle inside.

"Eat all of these," Jiang Gu said calmly.

Although Wei Feng's actions were despicable, they were ultimately for the purpose of healing Jiang Gu. He even sacrificed his own essence to replenish his spirit. If Jiang Gu's constitution weren't so special, he would have risked his life to do so, disregarding his own safety in the slightest, wishing he could give Jiang Gu everything useful he had...

But the memory of being controlled by Wei Feng in his sea of ​​consciousness, engaging in unrestrained dual cultivation under the cover of mist, still filled him with rage.

You rebellious fool.

Wei Feng took the medicine bottle, his eyes immediately lighting up.

He knew that although his master was angry, he still cared about him!

His master loves him!

Wei Feng was about to stuff the bottle into the storage bag in his chest when Jiang Gu interrupted him coldly: "Eat it now."

Wei Feng was reluctant to part with it, but Jiang Gu frowned and gave him a bottle of insignificant Concentration Pills, saying, "Put this in."

Wei Feng happily took it and placed it to his heart, then obediently went to eat the pills to replenish his essence.

Jiang Xiangyun watched in awe.

Placing the Chaos Core in Jiang Gu's sea of ​​consciousness is ultimately a temporary measure. Jiang Gu cannot absorb the turbid energy, and the power contained in this thing is extremely terrifying. If it continues for a long time, it will only cause Jiang Gu's soul to be scattered.

That's why Wei Feng was so anxious that he shed tears, disregarding everything else, he wanted to engage in spiritual communion and dual cultivation with him to protect his primordial spirit.

Fortunately, Jiang Gu did not intend to keep it in his sea of ​​consciousness for long.

Jiang Xiangyun and Feng Wuyou had already arranged the entire side hall to be airtight, preventing any trace of their presence from leaking out. Chan Lin was focused on shielding the aura of the Red Crystal Tower. Jiang Gu slowly took out one-fifth of the Chaos Core and placed it in the newly formed Concealment Formation. Then, Chan Lin placed the Red Crystal Tower above the Chaos Core. The moment it was placed there, countless tiny ghostly tentacles extended from the Chaos Core, connecting to the bottom of the Red Crystal Tower. The previously chaotic spiritual energy and turbid energy around them suddenly returned to balance.

Jiang Gu was about to step forward when he heard a familiar presence behind him. He turned around and saw Wei Feng looking at him expectantly: "Master, can I hug you now?"

"..." Jiang Gu was both angry and amused.

Seeing this, Wei Feng put the pill in his mouth and pressed it against him. Transparent ghost patterns wrapped around his body. He transmitted his voice and said, "Master, you go about your business. I will help you clear out the turbid energy in your body."

The turbid energy on the chaotic core was far more mixed than the turbid energy on his body. Although the taste was similar, he disliked the presence of any other aura besides his in Jiang Gu's sea of ​​consciousness.

Jiang Gu did not refuse, after all, he only absorbed spiritual energy, and so much turbid energy in his meridians and sea of ​​consciousness was really not pleasant.

“This is only one-fifth of the Chaos Core, yet it can still stabilize the surrounding spiritual energy,” Jiang Xiangyun said. “I think Xiao Dan dispersed the rest of the Chaos Cores at the time. If he were to collect the remaining Chaos Cores, he would definitely come to us to take back the Red Crystal Tower.”

"This thing is full of divine power, and its power is immense. We must not return it to him." Chanlin stood guard beside the red crystal tower. "This is a rare and superior divine artifact."

Feng Wuyou looked at Jiang Gu: "Brother Jiang, are you really planning to use the Heavenly Road built by Xiao Dan?"

Jiang Gu sent in a trace of spiritual energy to probe, and said, "For the Heavenly Path inside this tower to function, someone needs to continuously inject pure divine power into it. Only a true immortal can do this; it's probably not possible for you and me alone."

"So Xiao Dan used the Chaos Core to divide his people into two groups. One group injected turbid energy into the Chaos Core, and the other group injected spiritual energy. After the Chaos Core absorbed it, it would transform into pure spiritual power, which would then drive the Heavenly Path within the Red Crystal Tower," Wei Feng said. "But this requires the spiritual and turbid energies to be precisely pure, and it is difficult for the two groups to maintain a precise balance."

"So he came to you?" Jiang Gu asked.

“Hmm.” Wei Feng nodded. “Master, I think the plan for the Path to Heaven is unlikely to come to fruition. To put it simply, Heaven will never allow anyone to take shortcuts to ascend to immortality.”

“What Nephew Wei said makes sense.” Jiang Xiangyun paced back and forth in the hall with his arms crossed. “However, we just moved the Red Crystal Tower and the Chaos Core here, and then the Yaoyan Temple issued a divine decree. Both the Changning and Yaoyan Temples came to snatch this thing. It’s really possible that it’s related to ascension.”

“That’s right. Moreover, Brother Wei’s cultivation has increased dramatically through the Chaos Core. He is probably unmatched in the cultivation world now. Even if we hand over the Chaos Core, the Half-Immortal Clan will never let Brother Wei go.”

“The problem is that we don’t know how to use this Heavenly Path right now,” Jiang Xiangyun said. “That old thief Xiao Dan is indeed very shrewd. The Red Crystal Tower is in our hands, which has drawn the attention of the Half-Immortal Clan. They didn’t even try to steal it.”

Jiang Gu's gaze fell on Wen Hanjiu, who had been quiet all along.

Wen Hanjiu felt a chill run down her spine and leaned closer to Chang Ping'an.

Jiang Gu walked over, and the ghost patterns wrapped around his body moved with his movements. He hadn't felt anything before, but after a long period of dual cultivation and spiritual intercourse, the cool and sticky sensation seemed to have changed. With each step he took forward, he felt the skin touched by the ghost patterns getting hotter. The subtle stimulation and shivering made his movements a little stiff.

Wei Feng was focused on helping him absorb the turbid air when he noticed his unusual behavior and asked in a puzzled voice, "What's wrong, Master? Has your injury worsened again?"

"It's nothing." Jiang Gu remained expressionless. Clearing the turbid air was the priority, so he did not stop Wei Feng from increasing the ghost patterns. He directly severed his sense of touch and looked at Wen Hanjiu.

"Fellow Daoist Wen, why were you in Anliu City before?"

Wen Hanjiu said nervously, "I just happened to be passing by."

This lie is really low-class. Jiang Gu said calmly, "Since that's the case, then let's search the soul."

Feng Wuyou stepped forward: "I'm good at soul searching, Fellow Daoist Wen, don't worry, I will definitely not make you a fool."

Wen Hanjiu's expression was solemn. Just as Feng Wuyou was about to successfully complete the hand seal, Chang Ping'an suddenly spoke up: "There's no need to search the soul. I can explain."

Feng Wuyou paused, and everyone's eyes fell on Chang Ping'an. Wen Hanjiu shook her head at him imperceptibly, but Chang Ping'an remained unmoved and continued, "Although the Changning Temple did not issue a divine decree this time, I was able to glimpse some of the secrets of heaven. The Chaos Core is not something from the cultivation world. If it remains in the cultivation world for a long time, it will inevitably cause great chaos. So we are trying to find a way to make it disappear, and finally we found Xiao Dan's Path to Heaven."

His words were a mix of truth and falsehood, and Wen Hanjiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "That's right. If you really don't believe me, you can search our souls, but if you damage our souls, the cultivation world will really be doomed."

Most of the people present were shrewd and thoughtful, unable to distinguish between truth and falsehood, and fell silent for a moment. Wei Feng suddenly spoke up: "What does the end of the cultivation world have to do with us? I cultivate the Six Desires Path, not the Path of those mentally ill common people."

"..." Chang Ping'an, who cultivated the Way of All Living Beings, was scolded squarely, and his eyes became even more wooden.

Wen Hanjiu was speechless at his nonchalant attitude, her eyes reddening with anger: "How could you say that?!"

Wei Feng looked at him arrogantly. Wen Hanjiu looked at Jiang Gu, and Jiang Gu tacitly agreed with Wei Feng's words. Wen Hanjiu was almost brought to tears: "Fellow Daoist Jiang, the overall situation is more important. The Chaos Core must not be left in the cultivation world any longer. You must believe me."

Jiang Gu's gaze towards him was ambiguous.

“If you don’t believe me, I can take you to a place where you can see for yourself.” Chang Ping’an struggled to get up. “It’s in the main hall of the Changning Temple.”

Jiang Gu and Wei Feng exchanged a glance.

“Fellow Daoist Chanlin and I will stay here to watch over the Chaos Core. Fellow Daoist Wen will stay with us,” Jiang Xiangyun said. “Seventh Brother, you take Wei Feng and Fellow Daoist Feng with you.”

This arrangement was indeed more prudent. Jiang Gu nodded and followed Chang Ping'an with Wei Feng and Chang Ping'an. The red mark on his wrist flashed before Wei Feng's eyes, making him pause for a moment.

As soon as he stepped out of the palace gate, Wei Feng grabbed his wrist: "Master."

Jiang Gu turned her head to look at him, puzzled, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Wei Feng rolled up his sleeves, revealing his arms covered in mottled marks, a mottled mix of blue and purple, and his skin was burning hot. The marks extended upwards, making it easy to imagine what lay beneath his tightly concealed collar. Among these marks, the areas entwined with ghost patterns were the most heavily marked.

Wei Feng asked in surprise, "Why didn't you say you weren't feeling well?"

It was his oversight that he forgot the saliva on his ghost mark could heal wounds, but it could also aphrodisiac. He was only focused on helping Jiang Gu absorb the turbid energy in his body to heal his primordial spirit, and he never thought that it had this effect. If it were in the past, if Jiang Gu had been even slightly unwell, his ghost mark would have been shaken off long ago, and he might have even been kicked.

"It's alright. I've temporarily severed my sense of touch. I'll just continue clearing away the turbid energy." Jiang Gu didn't take it seriously; this minor injury was nothing to him.

Wei Feng hesitated, watching him pull his hand back and lower his sleeve.

But these are all aphrodisiac poisons, and once they take effect, they cannot be relieved by simple spiritual intercourse.

Reason told him he should immediately withdraw the ghost mark and let Jiang Gu use his spiritual power to quickly clear the poison, but the turbid energy in Jiang Gu's body was still surging endlessly, and his injuries continued to worsen after stopping the spiritual communion. If he were to use his spiritual power to clear the poison again, it might backfire and cause a adverse effect...

Wei Feng followed closely behind, hesitated for a long time, and then honestly confessed: "Master, this is not an injury, but a love poison from my Ghost Pattern Saliva. It's very potent, do you remember?"

"Hmm." Jiang Gu naturally remembered, but most of his attention was focused on Chang Ping'an, and he also had to be wary of the divine senses that might appear around him at any time, so he replied perfunctorily, "Very powerful."

Wei Feng was extremely anxious and earnestly said, "This isn't about how powerful it is. If you continue to use the Ghost Pattern to clear the turbid air, these poisons will accumulate. Once you regain your sense of touch, you will feel extremely uncomfortable. Even spiritual communication won't be able to relieve the discomfort. However, since the turbid air in your body is too heavy right now, you can't rashly use your spiritual power to detoxify, otherwise the situation will be worse. Let's find a place, and I'll use my spiritual power to help you clear these poisons, okay?"

Jiang Gu sensed several probing divine senses. While Chang Ping'an used his divine sense to deflect them, he set up a concealment array and was still communicating with Feng Wuyou to arrange a backup plan. He overheard Wei Feng's words and calmly said, "Once you clear your turbid qi, I will naturally be able to use my spiritual power to detoxify you. There is no need to worry."

However, the prolonged absence of his sense of touch will not have a significant impact on him.

Seeing his calm demeanor, Wei Feng was skeptical. In addition, the residual turbid energy in Jiang Gu's chaotic core was truly ferocious, so he had no choice but to follow Jiang Gu's method.

But feeling Jiang Gu's increasingly hot body temperature, a huge sense of unease welled up in his heart.