Chapter 289 A Love Tribulation That's Hard to Overcome (Part Twelve)

Jiang Gu was somewhat puzzled.

He looked at his unruly little disciple and told himself to be more patient with him, explaining as he had done in the mortal realm: "The past is past, no need to dwell on it. You and I endured hardships in the mortal realm, and now we have finally ascended successfully. It's time to get everything back on track. My memories as Jiang Gu Shi haven't disappeared. If you can't accept it right away—"

He paused, somewhat awkwardly, and said, "I can give you some time to adjust. If you still insist on becoming my Daoist partner, that's fine too."

Upon hearing this, Wei Feng angrily retorted, "You wish!"

Jiang Gu was rarely rebuffed by him. He wanted to teach him a lesson, but he hesitated because he was not close to him at all now. He just said coldly, "Wei Feng, I know this is hard to accept, but Jiang Gu and I are indeed the same person. I have little experience in the lower realm and I was overly... spoiled by you. Therefore, many of my decisions were not appropriate. Simply separating my past from my present is a bit extreme. This is my own problem and has nothing to do with you. I will handle it properly."

"You're not allowed to speak ill of my master!" Wei Feng glared at him fiercely. "You're the one who's biased and inappropriate. My master is the smartest and gentlest person in the world. You can't even compare to a single hair on his head."

Jiang Gu fell silent.

He didn't think he was particularly gentle with Wei Feng when he was Jiang Gu. On the contrary, he sometimes thought that Jiang Gu's demands were a bit too harsh for a little filth, but Wei Feng seemed to have been taught to be obedient.

Jiang Gu couldn't help but feel somewhat dissatisfied when he recalled that he had forcibly sealed away some of his memories from the lower realm, and that he didn't even know how to unlock them.

His transformed apprentice only recognized Jiang Gu, not him. He was too clever for his own good and didn't even believe himself. Now he's reaping what he sowed.

No matter how he tried to coax his little apprentice, he couldn't get him back. His patience ran out, and he said indifferently, "Come back to the palace with me and have your immortal bones melted down."

Wei Feng sneered and slashed straight at him with the Mo Dao in his hand. Jiang Gu wanted to block it, but remembering that Wei Feng could not use his immortal power, he did not dodge. The fierce wind of the blade made the hem of his clothes flutter, but it did not touch him at all. He stood there with his hands behind his back, looking at Wei Feng calmly. He simply raised his hand and pointed, and Wei Feng and his blade were knocked back several steps by the impact.

Jiang Gu condensed his immortal power into a rope, which wrapped around Wei Feng's neck: "Stop making trouble, you—"

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly realized something was wrong. The rope around Wei Feng's neck suddenly loosened, and "Wei Feng" scattered into a flurry of brightly colored petals. His true form had already vanished without a trace.

It was a teleportation array that he had created in the lower realm and taught to Wei Feng. However, he no longer cared about using such a low-level array, but unexpectedly, Wei Feng had mastered it to perfection, and he hadn't even noticed it for a while.

Jiang Gu remained silent for a long time, gazing in the direction Wei Feng had left, without chasing after him.

Distracted, he paused slightly as he held the pen. Zi Guang teased, "Why didn't you bring back that little lump of mud of yours?"

“He thinks I’m not the same person I was in the lower realm,” Jiang Gu said calmly. “Even Jiang Gu thinks so, and he’s much more wary of me.”

Zi Guang gloated, "I told you that being too smart isn't a good thing, right? Other immortal lords never encounter this kind of problem. For them, washing their memories is as easy as washing clothes."

Jiang Gu lowered his eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

"Let's cut to the chase. Go to the Yuanyao Palace and erase your memories of the tribulation you underwent in the lower realm," Ziguang said.

"No need." Jiang Gu raised his hand, and in his palm was a small, dark ghost mark left by Wei Feng, which affectionately wrapped around his thumb and rubbed against it, leaving a little pale green saliva.

"Hiss." Zi Guang instantly straightened his back, ready to tear the entire palace apart.

However, Jiang Gu only frowned slightly, forcefully suppressing the discomfort in his heart, and said, "As far as I am concerned, he has also changed a lot. We both need some time."

Zi Guang, seemingly unperturbed, tossed aside the scroll in his hand and leaned closer with a smile, saying, "Do you know why so many of the young immortals undergoing their love tribulations go to the Yuan Yao Palace to have their memories cleansed?"

Jiang Gu looked up at him.

He gloated: "Because in the lower realm, they love passionately and intensely without any restraint. Even if they let go, they can't forget or give up. So Yuan Yao came up with this wicked idea."

Jiang Gu looked at him expressionlessly: "It was my suggestion to Yuan Yao."

Because several people in his palace had gone down to undergo a love tribulation and returned listless, and that part of the official business was very important, he simply suggested that they have their memories erased. Their efficiency instantly doubled, meeting his requirements.

Zi Guang's expression shifted unpredictably: "So it turns out that the minor immortals of the Upper Heavens have been cursing the wrong person all these tens of thousands of years."

Jiang Gu twitched the corner of his mouth.

He had long disliked those good-for-nothings who only ate and did no work.

Zi Guang, who had gone to Yuan Yao Palace to wash away his memories of tribulation, couldn't swallow this insult and sneered, "But your little disciple refuses to wash away his memories no matter what, and you can't do anything about it."

“Once he refines his immortal bones, he will understand everything,” Jiang Gu said.

Zi Guang continued to mock him: "It's a pity you can't catch him and you can't bear to beat him up. Admit it, Yao Yan, you must have fallen for him in the lower realm. I saw it clearly at the bottom of the River of Forgetfulness. With your rotten nature, you were willing to not drive all the Soul-Binding Nails in in order to save him and restore his memories. You only picked the three smallest ones, wrapped with immortal spirit, and lightly covered the surface. The Chaos Core probably wasn't even scratched."

"Oh, or did you already anticipate that you would fall for him and not want to regain your memories, so you simply set up a trap for yourself in advance?" Zi Guang felt more and more that she had touched on the truth, and laughed at him while lying on the table, "Yao Yan, you didn't have feelings for that little lump of mud back in the Upper Realm, did you?"

"No," Jiang Gu denied coldly.

Zi Guang laughed and said, "I don't believe it."

Jiang Gu found him quite noisy and said slowly, "When I descended to the mortal realm to undergo my tribulation, a spiritual cloud happened to drift by the Heavenly Gate."

Zi Guang looked at him with a puzzled expression, a vague sense of foreboding creeping into her heart.

"It looks a lot like the flower that formed when you went to the Yuanyao Palace to cleanse your memories. There's still a piece of your primordial spirit left on it." Jiang Gu smiled slightly at him. "It must have been blown out by some playful wind child from the Yuanyao Palace. I just casually pointed it out and took it to the lower realm."

Zi Guang's smile vanished instantly. He straightened up and stared at Jiang Gu: "Tell me this is fake."

Jiang Gu smiled and said, "Back when Wei Feng was exiled to the mortal realm, I vaguely remember that you also helped him."

Zi Guang pointed at him, both surprised and furious: "I knew you were still holding a grudge!"

“If there is a primordial spirit in the Memory Cloud, it means that the karmic ties are not yet severed. If the Heavenly Dao discovers this one day, you will inevitably have to go down to the lower realm again. I am helping you.” Jiang Gu said unhurriedly, “If you don’t want to thank me, then forget it.”

“You’re just getting angry out of embarrassment,” Ziguang said. “You’ve got your eye on that mud and you won’t let anyone say it.”

Jiang Gu remained unfazed: "Aren't you going to see who your love tribulation is? I heard you even dug out your Yuan Dan to save him."

"It wasn't me who saved him, it was a piece of my primordial spirit!" Zi Guang got up and hurriedly left the room, but returned a moment later, pointing at him and cursing, "Jiang Gu is much kinder than you. This time I'm siding with Wei Feng, so don't even think about taking your little disciple back from him!"

"..." Jiang Gu's face darkened.

Deep in the Demon Forest.

Wei Feng felt increasingly excited as he felt the chaotic energy within his body. He signaled Feng Wuyou to slow down and then enveloped the two of them in several concealment arrays.

"Will this thing work?" Feng Wuyou asked with some doubt. "The demons and immortals in the upper realm all possess great magical power."

"It's precisely because their magical power is so high that they wouldn't notice such a low-level magic array," Wei Feng said in a low voice. "Do you pay attention to the ants next to you when you walk?"

“Of course not.” Feng Wuyou suddenly realized. “That’s great, Wei Feng.”

“I learned it from Jiang Gu.” Wei Feng slung the Mo Dao behind his back. “I feel like there’s something nearby that’s connected to the Chaos Core, but something seems off.”

“There’s someone here.” Feng Wuyou was a properly appointed immortal, and his reaction to immortal spirits was more acute than his.

The two of them held their breath instantly, hiding behind the ancient tree and peering through the concealment array.

“That person looks familiar.” Wei Feng’s gaze settled. “It’s that ugly guy with only half a face.”

"Immortal Lord Kongxuan?" Feng Wuyou asked in confusion, "Isn't he an immortal from the Palace of Fate? How come he's in the Demon Forest?"

Wei Feng shook his head and maliciously guessed, "He's definitely planning something bad."

Of all the immortals he encountered in the Upper Realm, he disliked Kong Xuan the most, followed by Yong An. He suspected that he had a grudge against these two when he was in the Upper Realm.

Opposite Kong Xuan was an immortal dressed as a general in armor, with sharp features, sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and a fierce aura emanating from him.

Yun Guang looked impatiently at the uneven, black rocks on the ground and asked Kong Xuan, "Is this the good stuff you were talking about?"

“Exactly,” Kong Xuan said. “This is the place where the Chaos Core was suppressed. These black stones are the foundation of the Chaos Core. If you dig out any one of them, the amount of chaotic energy inside is immeasurable.”

Yun Guang looked at him with suspicion: "Such a good thing, would you in the Upper Heaven be willing to leave it in the Demon Forest?"

“Has Lord Yun Guang forgotten that the Upper Heaven is closest to the Divine Gate, and most immortals can only absorb immortal spirits to cultivate? The turbid energy in this chaotic energy is not only useless to us, but once we are tainted, our immortal bones will be easily devoured,” Kong Xuan said. “Otherwise, when His Highness Yao Shuo took the Chaos Core back and imprisoned it, no one in the Upper Heaven dared to speak up. It was a hot potato, and if it got out of control, it wouldn’t be as simple as just the death of one immortal.”

Yun Guang laughed and said, "It's as if our Demon Realm can accommodate it. Don't forget, we demons also have immortal bones inside our bodies."

“But ultimately, it’s not as fragile as our Upper Heaven,” Kong Xuan said. “Right now, Chao Su and Wu Fang are locked in a fierce battle. No matter which side wins, the next one to fall will be Yun Guang Realm. Your Majesty, rather than waiting to be killed, it’s better to strike first.”

Yun Guang remained cautious: "I heard that Yao Yan has been appointed to the Sixteenth Heaven. No matter how fiercely we fight, in the end we will still have to bow down to him."

“Yao Yan is exceptionally talented, but he is still young. Even if Heaven favors him, what then? When the Three Realms and Nine Provinces are in chaos, the Upper Heaven will not be at peace either.” Kong Xuan smiled slightly. “The position of the Lord of the Upper Realm is not so easy to hold. Last time, when that person fell, everyone benefited, and this time will be no exception.”

Upon hearing this, Yun Guang narrowed his eyes and looked at Kong Xuan: "Just you?"

“Of course I won’t be the only one,” Kong Xuan said. “In the sixteenth level of the Upper Heaven, who would willingly be subordinate to someone else? Right now, the more chaotic things are, the better.”

"Who says this seat can only be occupied by Yao Yan?"

In the shadows, Wei Feng and Feng Wuyou exchanged a glance.

"What should we do?" Feng Wuyou asked. "Should we tell Jiang Gu?"

Wei Feng nodded, then gently shook his head, and said calmly, "No rush, let's take another look."