Chapter 61 Holy crap?! Old man, when did you become like this?! ...
"Squeak—"
The door opened, and Jiang Zhihe was standing outside with a strange expression on his face... Gu Xiaozhu looked him over and finally realized that this emotion was more like unease?
What is he worried about?
"Um...I..." the boy in front of him began, stammering and unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.
His eyes quickly scanned Gu Xiaozhu from head to toe. His Adam's apple bobbed, and a hint of frustration flashed in his eyes. Finally, he said, "It's nothing... Xiaozhu, you should get some rest too. The temporary formation that Zhu Songyun set up will be usable tomorrow. I—I'll be going now."
After saying that, he turned and left, leaving Gu Xiaozhu standing in front of the door, completely bewildered.
After standing there for a while, she took a step back and closed the door.
[Host, he just secretly used his spiritual power to check your physical condition.]
Gu Xiaozhu paused for a moment, but quickly relaxed. She turned and walked towards the bedside: "Then he probably didn't find anything, otherwise he definitely wouldn't have left like that."
Of course! I noticed in time and blocked some of the spiritual energy, preventing him from detecting the condition on your arm.
[Host, as you know, my power cannot directly affect you, so if you don't want the crack on your arm to be noticed, you'd better cover it up well.]
Gu Xiaozhu nodded: "I will..."
Before she could finish speaking, a sharp pain shot through her mind, and her vision went black. She staggered and almost fell to the ground.
She covered her head, hunched over, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead. Moisture seemed to overflow from the corners of her eyes and trickled down her cheeks, causing a slight itch.
Fortunately, the stinging pain didn't last long; in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the sudden pain began to subside and eventually disappeared. Only then did she stand up again, looking up to wipe the cold sweat from her forehead and the undried tear stains on her face.
But when he lowered his hand, what met his eyes was a bloody red.
【Host……】
The system spoke softly, its voice tinged with caution.
Then He mobilized His power, and ripples suddenly appeared in front of the girl. One white ripple after another spread out in the air, eventually forming an oval-shaped water mirror that clearly reflected Gu Xiaozhu's face.
The girl in the mirror looked pale. Her once fair face was now stained with a smear of blood that had been wiped away, while the other side, which had not been wiped away, clearly reflected the bloody tear stain.
It turns out that what had just flowed from the corner of my eye wasn't a tear.
It's blood.
Most importantly, a golden crack appeared somewhere between the collarbone and chin, and it seemed to be spreading upwards.
[Host, your body is really about to give out. At the current rate, this body will completely disintegrate within a month.]
The system's voice carried a hint of anxiety.
[If your body disintegrates, your soul will have no vessel and will perish completely within a day!]
Gu Xiaozhu stared intently at the water mirror in front of her, at the crack on her collarbone reflected in it. After a moment, she lowered her eyes and pulled her collar up to cover the glaring crack.
"It's alright, don't worry, I know what I'm doing..."
The water mirror dissipated, and she slowly walked to the bedside, finally getting into bed and lying down.
She closed her eyes and murmured, "I won't die before the final outcome."
"call--"
A gust of wind blew in from outside the window, extinguishing the oil lamp inside the room.
[...]
Goodnight, host.
… …
"Oh? Instead of being the Demon Lord in your Demon Realm, you're going to follow us to the Boundless Sea?" Zhu Songyun raised an eyebrow, looking at Teng Shao who was walking with them.
The four of them had already left the city and were on their way to the temporary teleportation array.
The teleportation array was able to be set up because the Demon Realm was not far from where the Thousand Machines Pavilion was located, and Zhu Songyun himself was highly skilled in array formations and very familiar with the location of his own territory, which enabled him to set it up.
Beside him, the black-clad youth remained indifferent. His gaze swept over the back of the almond-haired girl in front of him before he finally spoke: "That's right, I'm willing to condescend to be with you. You should be very grateful."
The words were spoken in a very arrogant tone, but the entire sentence was delivered in the same monotone without any inflection, making it sound more like a sarcastic or mocking tone.
Zhu Songyun shrugged. She was almost used to Teng Shao's sarcastic tone from time to time, and she didn't mind it much.
...After all, she herself is no less impressive.
“The Boundless Sea is sealed off. Only the successive leaders of the Thousand Machines Pavilion can open the passage to the Boundless Sea, so we’ll have to go find my master first,” Zhu Songyun said, addressing Teng Shao and the two people in front of him.
"I remember when I left Qianji Pavilion, my master said he was going into seclusion. Several years have passed, and I don't know if he has come out of seclusion yet," Zhu Songyun murmured.
Jiang Zhihe couldn't help but ask, "If we arrive and your master hasn't come out of seclusion yet, are we just supposed to wait?"
Upon hearing this, even Gu Xiaozhu, who had been silent all along, raised her head and looked at Zhu Songyun.
"How is that possible?" Zhu Songyun's eyes widened, and he immediately said, "Why should we wait for him? If he hasn't come out of seclusion, then we'll activate Plan Two!"
"What's Option Two?" Gu Xiaozhu asked curiously.
Zhu Songyun's lips curled up, a sly glint in his eyes: "Let's go straight to the Treasure Pavilion. I remember there's a pass to the Boundless Sea on the underground floor. With the pass, we can enter the Boundless Sea. If he hasn't come out of seclusion yet, we'll go get that."
Soon, the four arrived at the temporary teleportation array and stepped into it. Zhu Songyun raised his hand and channeled his spiritual power into the array.
"By the way, Qianji Pavilion is still the territory of righteous cultivators, so be discreet when you get there and don't give yourself away," Zhu Songyun reminded him when he had a moment.
Teng Shao knew without a doubt that the words were directed at him, and he nodded: "I don't need you to remind me."
Then a white light shone, enveloping the four people.
This time, the teleportation didn't have the dizzying feeling of before; all that remained was silence. But precisely because of this, Gu Xiaozhu clearly felt a stinging pain in her collarbone and left arm, as well as a barely audible cracking sound.
Her eyes darkened slightly.
The crack has widened again.
Fortunately, she was wearing a high-necked top today, which completely covered her neck and collarbone area.
However, she soon noticed another thing that was wrong:
Was this teleportation... a little too long?
After waiting a while, the white light in front of her finally dissipated. When she could see what was in front of her, she was shocked by the sky full of magical artifacts and talismans and the Qianji Pavilion disciples who were standing guard all around her.
Gu Xiaozhu: "???"
She slowly turned her gaze to Zhu Songyun beside her and found that the expression on her face was exactly the same one of shock.
Gu Xiaozhu: "..."
Well, it seems she doesn't know what happened either.
However, someone quickly answered her question.
"Zhu Songyun! You have been colluding with the Demon Clan, and now you even dare to bring Demons into the Thousand Machine Pavilion! Do you admit to this crime of treason?!"
The leading disciple had a serious expression, his hands behind his back, and several high-grade talismans appeared in front of him. It seemed that as soon as the person opposite him made the slightest move, these talismans would instantly attack them!
Upon hearing this, Zhu Songyun's eyes widened immediately. She put her hands on her hips, looking indignant: "Which eye of yours saw me colluding with the demons? And which eye of yours saw me bringing demons in?"
"Open your dog eyes and take a good look! These are all my friends. Where did these demons come from?"
She crossed her arms again, lowered her brows, and looked at the righteous-looking young man opposite her: "You wouldn't be jealous that I became the young master, so you're deliberately looking for an excuse to pull me down from my position?"
The young man opposite her—Yun Ning—was also a disciple of their master, her senior brother, though not as talented as her. Since becoming their master's disciple, her cultivation had quickly surpassed his, and even her divination skills were better. At first, he could feign compliance, but after their master passed the position of young sect leader to her, Yun Ning became even more furious.
He would always sabotage her behind her back, constantly opposing her, always trying to find fault with her and bring her down from her position, but he never succeeded.
Upon hearing this, the young man's expression changed slightly, but then he seemed to remember something, and his slightly guilty expression immediately turned into one of righteous indignation, even with a hint of smugness: "Heh, you've wronged me."
"It was the Pavilion Master who predicted you would appear here and ordered us to arrest you!"
"Impossible!" Zhu Songyun immediately retorted, "Master, he..."
"You wicked disciple!!!"
A deep, angry voice came from afar, its spiritual energy fluctuations approaching the Tribulation Transcending stage. The oppressive aura emanating from it made Zhu Songyun's chest tremble, and a metallic taste surged in her throat. Her brows furrowed, and she forced herself to swallow the metallic taste despite the oppressive aura.
Beside her, Jiang Zhihe and Teng Shao were also affected. Their faces turned pale and blood trickled from the corners of their mouths. It seemed that the pressure they were under was much greater than that on Zhu Songyun.
Since leaving the Demon Realm, all three of them have reached the Nascent Soul stage. This breakthrough speed is already abnormal, but when all three of them are so abnormal, they tacitly avoid asking others about it.
Even at the Nascent Soul stage, it is still difficult to withstand the pressure of tribulation.
Gu Xiaozhu was the only one of the four who was unaffected.
Of course, it wasn't that she herself could withstand the pressure, but rather that the system secretly exerted its power to block it for her.
Gu Xiaozhu: "Can't you block it for the three of them too?"
[...]
The system remained silent for a while, and finally, as if reluctantly, dispersed a wisp of power around the other three people, making them feel instantly lighter.
Jiang Zhihe glanced at Gu Xiaozhu, then moved a few steps to the side, blocking the girl's view.
[Host, be careful. Although the laws had to leave last time due to too much interference, they will definitely cause trouble again.]
I need to conserve some of my strength for unforeseen circumstances.
Gu Xiaozhu remained silent.
So, you can use your power to help her transform into a water mirror and blow out the lamp?
In the end, she didn't pursue the matter further; after all, if someone didn't want to, she couldn't force them.
"Um?"
The deep voice let out a soft "hmm," and finally slowly revealed its form in everyone's sight.
It was a man with black hair that reached his waist, his long hair neatly combed back, his white clothes fluttering silently in the air, and a purple gourd hanging from his waist.
The man had his hands behind his back, his cold face expressionless, and his phoenix eyes slightly lowered as he looked down at the four people below.
Zhu Songyun's eyes widened, her face showing undisguised shock. She had even forgotten to question why he had used his power to intimidate her earlier; now, only one thought filled her mind:
"Holy crap?! Old man, when did you become like this?!"
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