Chapter 87 Youthful Spring Robes (Thirty-Three)

The back mountain of Yanghua Sect was mostly flattened after the last battle, and Wei Feng almost didn't recognize it at first.

“It’s said that it was Lu Zhenyi, the chief disciple of the Linglong Sect, who did it,” Xuan Zhiyan said. “However, his Dao heart was destroyed by Jiang—your master—and he is currently recuperating at the Linglong Sect. I heard that the Linglong Sect and the Jiang family have a very tense relationship over this matter.”

"These two families didn't get along to begin with, but they're just using Master as an excuse." Wei Feng scoffed. "Lu Zhenyi deserves it for not being capable enough to fight back. What number genius of Pingze Continent? She's nothing but a defeated opponent of my Master. She doesn't have a single one who can fight her."

"..." Xuan Zhiyan's lips twitched slightly.

Wei Feng's bias was far too obvious. His words and actions clearly regarded Jiang Gu as the number one person in Pingze Continent. If others were to overhear this, who knows how many waves it would cause.

"But what exactly happened to you? They all say you were reduced to ashes." Xuan Zhiyan grabbed his arm and looked him over, only letting out a sigh of relief after confirming that he was really alright.

Wei Feng lowered his eyes guiltily, then grinned and said, "It was all a trick my master used."

Xuan Zhiyan didn't believe him and frowned, saying, "Last time you were hurt so badly by him... Wei Feng, tell me the truth, otherwise if you keep hiding things like this, our brotherhood is over!"

He was mild-mannered and rarely lost his temper. Wei Feng's smile faded, and he scratched his head in frustration. "I'm afraid that telling you will drag you into these troubles, and that will implicate you—"

Xuan Zhiyan raised his fist to punch him, but Wei Feng grabbed his fist and said, "Tsk, let me finish."

Xuan Zhiyan looked at him suspiciously.

"And moreover, you can't really help much," Wei Feng said sincerely.

"..." Xuan Zhiyan was silent for two seconds, then released him and turned to leave.

"Hey, hey, hey, Zhiyan, Xuan Zhiyan!" Wei Feng quickly grabbed him, "You told me to tell the truth! But you don't want to hear it anyway!"

"Damn it!" Xuan Zhiyan kicked him in annoyance.

Despite their playful banter, the two quickly exchanged the information they knew. Wei Feng briefly recounted what had happened after the chaotic battle at Yanghua Sect, omitting some unnecessary details, but it still took a considerable amount of time.

"...In short, that's how it is. I've become neither human nor ghost, and I'm also carrying half of a divine artifact. Moreover, I'm still useful to my master, so he won't kill me before he's finished using me." Wei Feng gave him a very firm look.

Xuan Zhiyan purred at Wu Tuo in his arms with a complicated expression, "What exactly are you so proud of?"

"Do you want to see my true form?" Wei Feng looked at him with shining eyes. "It's incredibly imposing!"

Xuan Zhiyan looked at him with a mixture of belief and doubt, "See...."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Feng in front of him suddenly exploded into a cloud of black mist. When the mist dissipated, countless ghostly patterns bared their fangs and claws, and a monster with a human body, a shark tail, and huge wings on its back appeared in front of Xuan Zhiyan. It was a size larger than Wei Feng's human form, and its jagged ram horns and empty white eyes were particularly eerie, not to mention its fangs and the ghostly patterns writhing all over its face.

Xuan Zhiyan slowly opened his eyes wide.

"How is it?" Wei Feng raised his arm, which was covered with shark scales and feathers, and the ghost patterns on his palm floated. He excitedly handed it to Xuan Zhiyan to see.

“This is…” Xuan Zhiyan paused, his surprise turning into excitement, “It’s so majestic! It’s much stronger than those ancient beasts in the picture books!!”

Wei Feng nodded frantically. He had almost lost all his confidence because of Jiang Gu's criticisms during this period. He crossed his arms and said smugly, "I can kill a Mahayana cultivator in my original form."

"!!!" Xuan Zhiyan looked at him in shock, curiously touched the writhing ghost patterns on his arm, and then tapped his sharp and long fangs. "Impressive! I'm relieved that you're like this. Jiang Gu definitely can't do anything to you."

“…Hmm, of course!” Wei Feng snorted, flicked his mermaid tail, showing it to him from every angle, then pulled a ghost pattern from his body and plucked a feather for him, “Here, play with these. I saw my master use these things to forge magical artifacts, you can try it too.”

Xuan Zhiyan took it with curiosity, paused, and frowned, saying, "Your master wouldn't be keeping you as a material for refining weapons, would he?"

"How could that be?" Wei Feng was a little guilty. He wasn't sure why Jiang Gu wanted to keep him around, but he said confidently, "I'm much more useful than refining materials—ooh!"

He jumped up suddenly, nearly swatting Xuan Zhiyan to death with a wing. He gasped and clutched his tail, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Let me pluck a fish scale to study it," Xuan Zhiyan said with a smile. "Does it hurt?"

Wei Feng grinned maliciously through gritted teeth, "Then guess why I only gave you the ghost tattoo and the feather—"

The two, one human and one monster, instantly started fighting, startling a flock of birds in the forest. Wu Tuo calmly squatted on a treetop, licking his paws, too lazy to get involved with the two little brats.

The two were still shoving each other on their way to the treasure pavilion, exchanging punches and kicks back and forth, but they tacitly quieted down when they arrived outside the treasure pavilion.

“You first break the seal of the magic array, then I’ll go in and lure Ruan Keji here. You can take the opportunity to go to the dungeon and rescue Sect Leader Wu.” Xuan Zhiyan repeated their plan. “It would be even better if you could also go to Shuying Peak and rescue Qu Fengyu. She and Sect Leader Wu are in love, so why don’t we help them get together?”

Wei Feng stared at him blankly, "I am very capable, but not as capable as you imagine."

"Why not take advantage of it?" Xuan Zhiyan grinned and playfully punched him. "You can definitely do it!"

"..." Wei Feng used his wing to press him into the ground.

A quarter of an hour later, a raging fire broke out in the Yanghua Sect's treasure pavilion.

Ruan Keji, Qu Qing, and others who were discussing matters on the main peak hurriedly headed towards the direction of the treasure pavilion, while Shen Yuxin flew towards his own Shuying Peak.

Meanwhile, in the dungeon of the Yanghua Sect's Discipline Hall.

Wu Hezhi leaned against the wall, his face pale, when a cloud of black mist suddenly rose up close to the ground.

Wei Feng squatted down and poked his shoulder. "Hey, are you still alive?"

Wu Hezhi opened his eyes with difficulty, and was somewhat surprised to see it was him. "Wei Feng?"

"Can you still move?" Wei Feng grabbed a handful of pills and roughly stuffed them into his mouth, grinning as he said, "Don't be so moved yet. You and Qu Fengyu still owe my master a Spirit Realm cultivation level. You think you can get rid of us with a mere Marrow Cleansing Ganoderma? Dream on."

Wu Hezhi said with a wry smile, "It's my fault that she was implicated. If it weren't for me, she wouldn't have been captured by Shen Yuxin so easily."

Wei Feng helped him up, and seeing that he had great difficulty taking two steps, he followed Jiang Gu's example and decisively threw the man into the spirit pet bag. In the blink of an eye, he turned into black mist and crawled rapidly along the ground.

As he passed the adjacent dungeon, a hoarse female voice suddenly called out to him, "Wei Feng."

Wei Feng was startled. The writhing ghostly patterns pieced together a head from the black mist, and a pair of white eyes stared straight at the woman in the cell.

Despite her discomfort, Jie Fuxue gripped the cage bars and said to the head in the black mist, "If you can take me out, I can tell you my true origins."

Wei Feng glanced at her coldly, then turned to leave. Xie Fuxue hurriedly said, "Do you want to live your whole life in ignorance and controlled by others? What if Jiang Gu finds out what you are one day? Do you think he'll still keep you by his side?"

The ghostly patterns moving across the ground suddenly stopped.

Wei Feng slowly turned his head and gave the woman in the cell a bright and cheerful smile. "Vice Sect Leader Jie, explain in detail."

——

The ruins of Xiyuan Secret Realm.

Jiang Gu has now lost all his spiritual power and is almost no different from an ordinary person. However, this is not the first time he has encountered such a situation, and he has developed a relatively mature way of dealing with it. Traveling a thousand miles a day by flying boat is not difficult for him.

The Zhou family had clearly abandoned this secret realm. Only a few low-level cultivators were searching for the remaining magical treasures in the realm. He fastened the magical treasure that changed his appearance and figure and walked in the direction indicated by the black jade bracelet.

An hour later, he stopped at the entrance of the dilapidated ancient temple.

The half of the black jade bracelet hidden on his wrist was faintly warm, as if it was eagerly pulling him inside. Jiang Gu pondered for a moment, then slowly walked in.

The interior of the hall was quite different from when he first came. Half of the statue at the highest point had collapsed, the walls were broken and the pillars were leaning. There were also many fragments of abandoned magical artifacts scattered on the ground. Guided by the black jade bracelet, he walked to the foot of the statue.

The dilapidated statue looked down at him with eyes lowered, its gaze compassionate and gentle, inexplicably reminding him of Gu Qinghui on the eve of her demise.

Gu Qinghui's appearance had long become as blurry in his memory as this statue. Her bony hand gripped his arm tightly, and she struggled to utter words from her half-rotten throat, as if she were holding a dark stone in her mouth, or like the will-o'-the-wisp burning out outside a tomb.

'Ashi, you must return to the Jiang family…'

'...Ah Shi, never forget that you are a human being... Don't become their puppet... Never let yourself be controlled by anyone...'

'Ashi, live on.'

Jiang Gu stared at the statue with a blank expression.

The black jade hidden in his bones emitted a gentle warmth, spreading along his meridians into his dantian, and subtly entwining around his severely damaged primordial spirit. It patiently and meticulously used the black jade to gradually create new fragments of his primordial spirit, just as Gu Qinghui used the dark stone and his own flesh and blood to piece together the half of his body that had been devoured.

A knowing glint flashed in Jiang Gu's eyes.

It turns out that this black jade bracelet is not only capable of resisting lightning tribulations, but more precisely, it can protect the primordial spirit and even repair damaged primordial spirits in specific locations.

For a cultivator, this is more than just an extra life—Jiang Gu looked down at his wrist, but did not feel any joy.

There is a balance in the universe. This artifact is so powerful, so the corresponding cost must be high. However, he has no cultivation at the moment, so it is obviously not consuming spiritual energy. So what is it consuming?

After repairing the damaged primordial spirit, Jiang Gu forcibly stopped the black jade bracelet. The surrounding spiritual energy gradually flowed into his body. Jiang Gu looked up at the broken statue.

Although this artifact made him uneasy, he couldn't deny that it was a life-saving treasure, and he had to find a way to take the statue away.

Meanwhile, at Yanghua Sect, Shuying Peak.

Wei Feng had two spirit pet pouches hanging from his waist. He was untying the third spirit pet pouch and sincerely invited Qu Fengyu, whose meridians had been blocked, to come in. "Trust me, it's very safe in here, except for being a bit dark."

“If a cultivator enters the spirit pet bag, they will completely lose their sense of the outside world and will be unable to absorb spiritual energy. If the person holding the bag doesn't untie it, they will be trapped inside for life.” Qu Fengyu looked at him speechlessly. “You’re telling me it’s safe?”

"Huh?" Wei Feng looked shocked, clearly unaware of the situation.

If he weren't so afraid of the dark, he would be happy to stay in the spirit pet pouch and hang on Jiang Gu every day.

Qu Fengyu pointed to the two bags at his waist, "Don't tell me Wu Hezhi is in them."

“He’s sickly and can’t beat me,” Wei Feng said smugly. “Jie Fuxue is in there too.”

"Stop talking nonsense, let's get out of here first." Qu Fengyu grabbed him and tried to leave, but he grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back a step.

The sword flashed past Qu Fengyu's hair, leaving a deep crack in the ground.

In Wei Feng's memory, Shen Yuxin had always been gentle and refined. Now, he stood in the doorway with a gloomy expression, looking at Qu Fengyu with a half-smile, "Fengyu, where are you going?"

"Don't make another mistake!" Qu Fengyu suppressed his anger. "Stop now, and I can pretend none of this ever happened!"

"Stop deceiving yourself. What's done is done. If you truly had no feelings for me, why did you respond that night?" A ruthless glint flashed across Shen Yuxin's face. "Lu Zhenyi and you are only in name. Wu Hezhi is not far from death now. Does it not fall on my side?"

"Shen Yuxin!" Qu Fengyu's face turned red with anger.

Wei Feng stood behind her, shocked by the complicated relationship between them. He even had a slight urge to release Wu Hezhi from his spirit pet pouch to see who his cheap aunt would choose.

He listened with great interest and was about to nod in agreement with schadenfreude when he heard Shen Yu say, "If you have no love for me whatsoever, how could you kiss me so passionately?! I don't believe that Huanmengxiang can really control you to this extent!"

Click—

A flash of lightning tore through the sky.

Wei Feng's face suddenly went blank.

In the cool village, in the still darkness of the night, he slowly approached Jiang Gu, tentatively licking his master's soft, slightly cool lips despite the pain. He missed the wonderful sensation when he transferred his breath to Jiang Gu before, and greedily wanted to relive it.

At first, it was just a light and brief touch, but gradually he became more and more unsatisfied. He grabbed Jiang Gu's chin, forced his lips and teeth apart and went deep inside. In the pain and blurred flesh, he was entangled with his master, drawing air from his chest, and watching a faint blush appear on his master's pale and handsome face... Finally, he nestled contentedly into his master's arms, as if he had become even closer to his master.

No, that's not how it works.

He respected, admired, and loved his master, but he harbored absolutely no romantic feelings or disrespectful or intimate intentions. He simply wanted to be closer to his master, to have his master look at him more often and pay more attention to him. He was just...

Wei Feng clenched his fists, his face pale. Shen Yuxin's words struck his heart like a heavy hammer.

'I don't believe Huan Mengxiang could control you to this extent!'

Even his reasons for defending himself were completely denied.

No, that can't be! How could he develop feelings for Jiang Gu? Jiang Gu is his master!

In Wei Feng's logic, what he did to Jiang Gu was at most a bit too intimate with his master, and even if he was discovered, Jiang Gu could just beat him up—

'Then what were you planning to do by trapping Jiang Gu in Wei Mingzhou's Purple Mansion?'

Wei Feng heard a voice asking in his mind.

He just wanted to kiss Jiang Gu when he was awake, to be with Jiang Gu every day, and to have Jiang Gu only him in his eyes.

"You should love me!" Shen Yuxin's broken voice rang in his ears.

He wanted... Jiang Gu to love him too.

Boom!

Shen Yuxin's words were like a thunderclap from the sky, making Wei Feng's mind buzz.

Outside the palace gates, lightning flashed, thunder roared, and a fierce wind raged before the torrential rain finally poured down.