Chapter 52 Yanghua Cloud Sea (Thirty-Nine)

The temple's steps stretched endlessly, seemingly reaching all the way to the sky when viewed from below. The dome, radiating white light, hung high, overflowing with spiritual energy. If one looked up at it for too long, one would be blinded by the dazzling white light.

'Ten thousand years ago, before the three continents were divided, the cultivation world and the divine realm were closely connected. Gods frequently appeared in the world, and fanatical cultivators built grand and extravagant palaces to worship them, hoping to quickly establish a connection with the world. However, this didn't last long. Soon, the ancient gods grew tired of the greedy races and stopped descending. Later, a great war broke out between humans, demons, and monsters, during which the continent split into three parts. Most of the numerous ancient temples sank to the bottom of the sea… Based on the timeline of the three-race war seventy thousand years ago, the period before that is known as the ancient era…'

Wei Feng stared intently at the scrolls floating on both sides of the long staircase, recalling the elders' narrations in the history of cultivation, and couldn't help but ask, "Master, is it true that in ancient times, divine beasts were everywhere and countless races existed, and there were many powerful beings at the Great Luo Dao Ancestor level among the human race, who could even contend with gods?"

He had just regained his senses and vaguely remembered what had happened. Now he felt like banging his head on the ground. Looking at Jiang Gu's cold back, he desperately wanted to find a topic to distract him.

Jiang Gu ignored him.

Wei Feng awkwardly touched his nose and followed closely beside him. As he gradually walked up the steps, the spot on his chest where the protective scale had been removed suddenly began to ache faintly.

He touched his back, winced in pain, but didn't dare tell Jiang Gu.

Master must be angry.

Jiang Gu wasn't angry; he was just surprised that things had gotten out of control. As people say, matters of love are indeed irrational and unpredictable.

Master-disciple relationships are not common in the cultivation world. After all, ethical principles are deeply rooted in people's hearts, and Wei Feng is still young and his heart has not yet been awakened to love. If they were to forcefully intervene, it would probably backfire.

It wouldn't be bad to raise him as an apprentice.

The bond between master and disciple, father and son, is also a bond, which saves him the trouble. If Heaven refuses to acknowledge it, he can simply arrange for them to become Daoist partners. After all, in his view, Heaven has many flaws.

Jiang Gu quickly found a solution, which freed up more of his time for cultivation, and he suddenly found Wei Feng much more agreeable.

Wei Feng was completely unaware of his plans and nervously followed beside him, reflecting on where he had gone wrong.

The steps finally came to an end, and in the distance stood a statue of a god in the vast palace. The statue was nearly a hundred feet tall, with calm and serene eyes, looking down with slightly lowered eyes.

Jiang Gu was slightly taken aback when he saw the face clearly.

Wei Feng was also stunned. He looked at the statue, then at Jiang Gu, swallowed hard, and said, "Master, this statue..."

It resembled Jiang Gu by at least six or seven points, but Wei Feng knew clearly that this was not Jiang Gu, because this statue was a goddess statue. The contours of her eyebrows and the lines of her face were much softer than Jiang Gu's. She seemed to have compassion for all living beings, and such an expression would never appear on Jiang Gu's face.

Jiang Gu looked at the statue without any emotion. "It might be an illusion. Be vigilant."

"Mm." Wei Feng nodded, and was also pleased that Jiang Gu was talking to him. "Master—"

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly felt a cool sensation on his face. He raised his hand in confusion and wiped his face, finding his hand covered in a pale green, viscous liquid. Immediately afterward, a burning pain shot through his face and palm. He slowly raised his head and looked up.

A colossal black and yellow beast hovered above their heads. This beast was over thirty feet long, with a fox-like face and goat horns, covered in scales, with white eyes and no nose. Its long, crimson tongue drooped down from its narrow mouth, stopping just above Wei Feng's head, and the green saliva dripping from it was about to fall onto Wei Feng's eyes.

Wei Feng had never seen such a strange and ugly beast. The moment he met its white eyes, he froze in horror, and the wings of a kite and the tail of a mermaid appeared uncontrollably.

The fox-faced ram-horned beast seemed to have smelled some extremely delicious prey; its red tongue suddenly swelled to tens of meters and charged straight at Wei Feng.

Jiang Gu, who was looking at the statue, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He turned around abruptly and saw Wei Feng frozen in place, with the long tongue about to pierce his eyes. Jiang Gu grabbed Wei Feng's wing and flung him backward. "Run!"

The fox-faced ram-horned beast was enraged when its prey escaped. With a flick of its long tongue, it tightly bound Jiang Gu. Since only a wisp of his primordial spirit remained inside the puppet, its cultivation was naturally greatly weakened, and Jiang Gu was unable to break free for a time.

Wei Feng turned around in a panic, wanting to save him, "Master!"

"Go quickly!" Jiang Gu shouted at him sternly.

Wei Feng shuddered in fright and turned to swim away at top speed. Seeing this, the fox-faced ram-horned beast stretched out a long hoof and stomped towards Wei Feng.

The entire palace trembled violently.

It was too late to save them. Jiang Gu chanted an incantation, causing the puppet to shrink suddenly. The long tongue that was wrapped around him suddenly disappeared. The fox-faced ram-horned beast obviously didn't react in time and angrily turned its huge head, trying to search for Jiang Gu's whereabouts.

Jiang Gu quickly and accurately located Wei Feng's position amidst the rubble. Wei Feng was huddled in a gap between the collapsed rocks, the wings of the kite behind him crushed and mangled.

Jiang Gu manipulated the puppet to jump to Wei Feng's side, directly pulling Wei Feng and his soul into the puppet.

The empty hall fell silent instantly. The palm-sized wooden puppet lay silently among the rubble, without a trace of spiritual energy. The fox-faced ram-horned beast's white eyes scanned its surroundings sharply, its red tongue darting across the ground, trying to find its delicious prey.

Wei Feng leaned against the wood, panting. His mangled wings drooped to the side, and his cheeks and hands were corroded by the monster's saliva, exposing the white bone. He should have been in a lot of pain, but in his fear, he felt no pain at all. He just stared intently at Jiang Gu and asked in a trembling voice, "Master, what exactly is that thing?"

"I don't know." Jiang Gu looked out through the puppet's body. "Perhaps it's the guardian beast of that statue."

Wei Feng's hands trembled as he reached for the healing pills in his storage bag. His eyes were also burned by the saliva, making his vision blurry. He tried several times but couldn't find the pills.

“We’re out of pills,” Jiang Gu said coldly. “The puppet can isolate itself from spiritual energy fluctuations and heal itself.”

Wei Feng had no choice but to lower his hand. Having already recovered from his severe injuries, he had no spiritual energy left to heal. He looked up at Jiang Gu, but all he could see was a blurry white light. Then he caught a faint yet very familiar scent—

That was the scent he could always smell when he was in heat, because that old pervert Zhou Huaiming had stolen his protective skin, and that scent made him unable to resist.

"Master!" Wei Feng panicked immediately. "Zhou Huaiming is here too!"

Jiang Gu, who was on guard outside, was stunned for a moment, "Zhou Huaiming?"

"It's that old pervert who always tries to kill me! I can smell him!" Wei Feng's vision blurred, and the scent that always tempted him to arouse him became clearer. He instinctively wanted to seek protection from Jiang Gu. "Master, he must be here!"

Jiang Gu's eyes darkened. When he appeared in front of Wei Feng as 'Jiang Gu', he always concealed all his aura. But now, with a wisp of his primordial spirit squeezed into the small wooden puppet with Wei Feng, he had revealed a flaw in his haste, and it was obviously too late to cover it up.

“There is indeed someone there.” Jiang Gu continued, following his words calmly, “Can you smell where he is?”

Wei Feng examined the area carefully, but could only shake his head. "Here... his scent is everywhere, along with the scents of many pills, talismans, and magical artifacts. It must be from him!"

Jiang Gu glanced at his storage bag, paused slightly when he saw Wei Feng's white eyes, and waved his hand in front of him, "Wei Feng, can you see?"

Wei Feng hesitated and shook his head, his voice trembling with a hint of tears, "Master, I think I was splashed in the eyes by that monster's saliva just now."

"It's nothing." Jiang Gu smiled slightly. "That Zhou Huaiming is probably just nearby. There's no need to be nervous."

Wei Feng grabbed his hand, then awkwardly let go, looking completely lost. "Master, what should we do now?"

“Since the statue contains a strange beast, there must be a guardian artifact inside.” Jiang Gu narrowed his eyes and used some spiritual power to cover his injured wing. “I saw that monster hovering in the air just now and never landing. It must be sealed here.”

Wei Feng understood what he meant. "But Master, shouldn't we run for our lives now?"

"Since we're already here," Jiang Gu said, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes as he looked at the fox-faced, horned beast through the puppet's skin. "How can we leave empty-handed?"

Wei Feng couldn't see his expression, but hearing his words, he felt a chill run down his spine for no reason. His survival instinct made him speak again, "Master, Zhou Huaiming is also here, and I'm seriously injured."

Jiang Gu glanced at his wings, which were almost healed, reached out to support him, and said gently, "I have covered you with spiritual energy to heal your wounds. Try to see if you can still fly now."

His concerned voice brought a lump to Wei Feng's throat, and he gripped Jiang Gu's wrist tightly. "It should be fine."

"Although that beast is powerful, it is clumsy. Remember to fly close to the statue as much as possible; it dares not touch the statue," Jiang Gu carefully instructed him.

Wei Feng sensed something was wrong and hurriedly said, "Wait, Master, I—"

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Gu grabbed his wrist and threw him away.

"Master, I can't see! Ahhhhh!" Wei Feng cried out in mid-air as the gale hit his face.

Jiang Gu's voice rang close to his ear, "Follow my orders!"

Before Wei Feng could protest, the fox-faced ram-horned beast's long tongue seemed to have caught his scent and lunged at him. Jiang Gu grabbed his earring and said in a deep voice, "Left!"

Wei Feng suddenly flew to the left. Before he could catch his breath, Jiang Gu's next command followed immediately. The monster's tongue grazed past the two of them each time, but it dared not cause too much damage because it was afraid of the statue. It could only roar irritably.

Half an hour later, Wei Feng, panting heavily, hung upside down from the hairpin on the statue and said weakly, "Master, why...why did that monster suddenly...stop moving?"

Jiang Gu looked at the strange beast whose tongue was tied in a knot around the statue but dared not make a move. With a flick of his wrist, a Crimson Snow Sword appeared in his palm. He manipulated the puppet to grow into human form and said coldly, "Because it is too stupid."

The fox-faced ram-horned beast seemed to understand his words, angrily pawing at its hooves in mid-air. Jiang Gu poured all his spiritual power into the Crimson Snow Sword and thrust it fiercely at its white eyes.

In desperation, the beast roared, raised its hoof and crushed the tongue in its mouth to dodge Jiang Gu's attack, then lowered its head and angrily charged towards Jiang Gu.

Jiang Gu decisively abandoned the Crimson Snow Sword. All his spiritual power was in the sword. The strange beast had poor eyesight and relied entirely on its sense of smell, so it went straight for his natal sword. Jiang Gu took the opportunity to jump onto the top of the statue and grabbed Wei Feng, who was still hanging upside down on the hairpin.

boom--

The enormous ram's horn smashed into the statue's hard calf. Cracks spread rapidly from the joint between the horn and the statue. The spiritual power in the Crimson Snow Sword suddenly exploded, and the nearly 100-foot-tall statue trembled and began to tilt precariously to the side.

A blinding white light burst forth from the statue, and Jiang Gu immediately felt an extremely powerful and vast spiritual energy. Just as he was about to fly towards the center of the white light, several figures suddenly appeared from nowhere, one of them shouting loudly, "Grab the divine artifact first!"

Jiang Gu's expression hardened. He was at a disadvantage in terms of speed while inside the puppet, so he decisively grabbed Wei Feng's wing and poured all his spiritual power into it, then threw it towards the white light, shouting, "Wei Feng, grab the artifact!"

Still dazed, Wei Feng was overwhelmed by the powerful spiritual energy. His Foundation Establishment body couldn't withstand such a vast amount of spiritual energy, and his skin and flesh seemed to be falling off in a flurry. However, he could clearly hear Jiang Gu's voice. Several unfamiliar auras were approaching aggressively from all around. He hardened his heart and used all the power of his wings and tail to swim towards the white light. He stretched his arms forward with all his might. He could even feel the flesh on his palms and forearms melting at an extremely fast speed, but his bone claws touched something cold and soft. He gritted his teeth and grabbed it.

However, another hand followed closely behind, gripping him tightly from the opposite side, the immense force nearly causing him to lose his grip.

"Wei Feng! Hold on tight!" Jiang Gu's voice came from afar, accompanied by the sounds of fierce fighting.

Wei Feng turned his head in a panic, his eyes, now completely white, instantly transforming into the vertical pupils of a kite. Through the blinding white light, he precisely captured Jiang Gu's figure, who was being besieged by five or six cultivators. Before Wei Feng could even shout "Be careful!", Jiang Gu's head was pierced by a long sword that fell from the sky, and his entire body instantly shattered into dust.

"Master!!!" Wei Feng roared in horror, his eyes wide.

The cultivator opposite him who had seized the divine artifact suddenly struck out with his palm, the heel of his palm carrying piercing spiritual power, slamming heavily into Wei Feng's forehead. Wei Feng could even clearly hear the sound of his skull shattering.

Blood splattered from his hawk-like vertical pupils, but was quickly covered by white eyes. Scales and feathers rapidly covered his entire face, and his sharp fangs suddenly grew larger. Wei Feng gripped the divine weapon tightly and roared out a mournful cry, which shook the entire hall.

"You killed my master!!!"

Opposite him, Lu Zhenyi also clung tightly to the artifact. He stared in astonishment at Wei Feng, who was still alive, but the other man no longer resembled a human. Wei Feng's strength was so great that he almost lost his grip. He shouted sharply, "Wan Haomiao, come and help me!"

Wan Haomiao, who had just killed Jiang Gu, suddenly appeared beside him and poured all his spiritual power into Lu Zhenyi's body, "Quickly make the artifact recognize you as its master!"

The other cultivators were locked in a fierce battle with the berserk fox-faced ram-horned beast. Their cultivation levels were all at least at the Void Refinement stage, yet they were no match for the monster. Someone shouted, "Senior Brother Lu, hurry! We're about to collapse!"

"Don't even think about it—this belongs to my master—" Wei Feng said with a ferocious expression, grabbing the cold object with his other hand and refusing to let go.

"Cut off his hand!" Lu Zhenyi shouted.

Wan Haomiao withdrew her spiritual power and raised her sword to slash at Wei Feng's skeletal forearm. However, the next second, a red rope pierced her heart. The red rope coiled around her natal sword like a venomous snake, shredding the sharp blade to pieces.

Wei Feng was blind, but his sense of smell was unusually sharp. He smelled a rich fragrance, and his surprise was mixed with a hint of joy. "Zhou Huaiming!?"

Jiang Gu, who was about to speak, suddenly fell silent. He had clearly concealed his scent, but Wei Feng still managed to smell it.

"You're courting death!" Although Wan Haomiao's heart was pierced, her primordial spirit was unharmed. Enraged that her natal sword had been shattered, she grabbed the Fire Rope and poured spiritual power into it. Her cultivation was higher than Jiang Gu's, and she easily seized control of the Fire Rope, intending to kill Jiang Gu's primordial spirit.

To everyone's surprise, the fire rope sank into Jiang Gu's flesh and blood without causing any movement.

Jiang Gu twitched the corner of his mouth. There was only a wisp of primordial spirit in this puppet, which he could withdraw at any time. What Wan Haomiao was currently entangled with was just an empty puppet shell.

"Wei Feng! Acknowledge your master!" Jiang Gu simply switched to Zhou Huaiming's voice to give the order.

Under the intense white light, Wei Feng's scales and feathers gradually began to melt, revealing half of his face as white bone. He gritted his teeth and shouted, "How—how—can—you—recognize—it!?"

Jiang Gu's primordial spirit silently landed behind Wan Haomiao. As she manipulated the Fire Rope to shred the empty shell, she slammed the Gouchen Hairpin in her hand into Wan Haomiao's Baihui acupoint, causing the other party to let out a shrill scream.

"Wan Haomiao!" Lu Zhenyi, who was vying for the divine artifact, suddenly turned her head, only to have her face splattered with blood.

Jiang Gu slowly raised his head from Wan Haomiao's corpse, his blood-stained primordial spirit suddenly burrowing into the divine artifact, his hoarse voice carrying a hint of mockery.

"Of course we'll use our primordial spirit, you idiot."

Wei Feng and Lu Zhenyi were both startled.

"You scoundrel! This belongs to my master!" Wei Feng was furious and, disregarding everything, directly manipulated all his primordial spirits to follow him into the artifact.

Lu Zhenyi stared in horror at the two madmen, gritted her teeth, and decisively sent half of her primordial spirit into them.

This divine artifact is extremely rare in the world; he must obtain it!