Those who entered the “Dragon Island Secret Realm” this time, weren't they all from reputable righteous sects? As the saying goes, eliminating demons and safeguarding the Dao is everyone’s responsibility. As Gu Er, a former disciple of the esteemed Void Gate, he understood the mindset of these righteous defenders all too well.
Moreover…
"Sister, don't you know your own condition? How can you fight them? Let me handle it!"
Seeing that she was still not fully present, Gu Er was so anxious his throat felt parched.
He could understand. For someone like his sister, who appeared cool, detached, and always in control, such individuals were often imbued with an air of unparalleled authority. It couldn't be helped; when one stood too high, even their perception of being friendly and approachable appeared condescending to others.
It was likely she had never considered bearing children in her life. When she first became pregnant, her mind probably couldn't grasp how this responsibility fell upon her, rather than her partner.
This was simply the kind of person she was: she only had ambitions for conquest, never thoughts of being a wife or mother.
She was like a helmsman in turbulent waves, capable of weathering all storms and setbacks with the steadiest and fiercest mindset, able to bear all the twists of fate. But now… she had stumbled over such an unexpected little life.
Gu Er's little mind was abuzz with all sorts of fanciful thoughts and elaborate narratives. When people get lost in their own thoughts, the truth of reality fades away. He felt a surge of passion, believing he needed to demonstrate his resolve and actions to protect his sister, who was currently "confused" and "helpless," and to think through everything for her.
Gu Junshi's hardened heart was evident in all aspects of her being. However, due to the upbringing she received in a prominent, wealthy family, while a partner could be a matter of the flesh, offspring were paramount. Therefore, even though she was shamelessly amoral, she attempted to learn to be responsible for the life growing within her.
Her indifferent and cold eyes arched: "Aren't you afraid your brother-in-law will mistake you for an evil spirit and cleave you down with his sword again?"
These words were somewhat of a distancing tactic. Her mind was filled with intricate plans and strategies, yet not a single one involved revealing her identity for him. If he were to intervene and she didn't act, his current cultivation wouldn't withstand an onslaught from the reawakened Liu Jiang Fusheng. At that point, her desperate cries of "Sister, save me!" would be useless.
Gu Er, however, felt underestimated: "Sister, if I can't win, can't I still run?"
In short, he had to stand up for his sister, Gu Yi, and would not back down. His sense of mission was soaring. Such a significant event had happened to his sister, yet she hadn't even told her brother-in-law, confiding only in him. What did this signify?
His sister believed he was more trustworthy!
For this trust, he not only had to protect his sister well but also the child she carried, whether it be a nephew or a niece!
Gu Junshi was entirely oblivious to Gu Er's ambitions. Her capacity for empathy was inherently meager.
Therefore, she treated Gu Er's words as mere passing wind, letting him repeatedly call out "Sister, Sister, Sister" without any response.
In the past, Liu Jiang Fusheng might have let Gu Er out for a breath of fresh air as a rare act of "pampering." But not now. Even though Gu Junshi was confident she could handle Liu Jiang Fusheng, she had to admit… the current Liu Jiang Fusheng could be described in one sentence: the more abstract and complex knowledge becomes, the greater the danger of madness.
And he was now both "abstract and complex," as well as "mad and dangerous."
If Gu Er faced him, it would be like willingly giving away a brother.
This was not how business was done.
—
"When did Mochan He Temple's mere ordinary disciples become so troublesome? Just a bald donkey with Golden Core cultivation, and I still can't shake him!"
Qi Qi's jaw was taut, forming a right angle. His eye sockets were sunken, his eyeballs bulging outwards, showing mostly the whites. He glanced back at the solitary, drifting white monk behind him. The monk's body moved lightly, seemingly slow, yet with a swift, intense force.
Qi Qi was both shocked, angry, and anxious. His body, devoid of a heartbeat and sweat glands, could move and express emotions, but otherwise, it was as stubborn and resilient as a corpse thrown into an ice river.
Passing over the dense forest canopy, green shadows lashed out, and vines coiled and bound him. The whip-like shadows whipped through the air with a resonant hum, like silver snakes dancing, disorienting the eyes and creating a perilous situation.
In addition to this, there were disturbed birds and ferocious beasts, tree spirits, and spiritual plants. Flying over their heads meant they rushed forward like ants encountering honey. Traveling by air this time was hardly easier than traveling by land; in fact, it was more challenging.
Annoyed by the harassment, Qi Qi had intended to take a more concealed path, but a ghost cultivator being pursued had no extra options. He could only drag his pursuers, a collection of spiritual beasts, along with him. When he reached a suitable time and place, he suddenly braked hard, turned, and hurled four white pellets, the size of eyeballs, towards his pursuers with his fingers.
They exploded mid-air with several "boom boom boom" sounds, and bright white "mushroom clouds" bloomed in the sky, obscuring Cheng Hong's vision.
He looked straight ahead. These dispersed clouds contained unknown toxins. While the toxins had little effect on Cheng Hong's Buddha-body, especially since he was a highly skilled medical Buddhist cultivator.
He stood with his hands clasped in front of his chest, like a spring mountain, like a passerby of the void. Holding a string of prayer beads, he chanted a few words, and with a wave of his sleeve, a crisp sandalwood breeze dispersed the white mist that obscured vision. When Qi Qi looked again, the ghost cultivator had vanished.
With a contemplative gaze, Cheng Hong's mind was set. He decided to continue towards the central area.
He himself intended to head directly there. While cultivating Buddhism would temper aggression and control one's temperament, at his age, he was still in a phase of youthful vigor. Even if his sharp edges were smoothed down, his persistent and spirited heart remained.
The ghost cultivator had gone to such lengths to enter the "Dragon Island Secret Realm" not for the dragon crystals, spiritual beasts, or plants in the outer regions. The most likely reason was the burial ground of the True Dragon in the central area, the mysterious and eerie White Pagoda City.
When participating in the "Newcomer Rankings," the presiding abbot had cautioned Cheng Hong about the taboos of the "Dragon Island Secret Realm." That pagoda city, which appeared out of nowhere, was located at the True Dragon's reverse scale. Anyone who dared to trespass would be met with a full-force attack, a place that someone of his current realm couldn't approach.
Everyone knew where treasures lay, but they always returned empty-handed. One could imagine the difficulty involved.
But how to put it, those who managed to enter the top ten of the "Newcomer Rankings" were all individuals who considered themselves extraordinary. Thus, many gazes were fixed on a corner of the white city that jutted out from the ten-zhang-red sea in the central area, like white lotuses blooming amidst rugged cliffs and infernal fires.
However, personalities differed. Some were cautious and dared not touch taboos, while others were naturally wild and loved adventure, compelled to tread through fire and ice before giving up in disappointment.
Especially the disciples of this "Newcomer Rankings" were as proud as swans, particularly ambitious, none willing to explore the outer regions of the "Dragon Island Secret Realm." All of them, with eyes glinting green, swarmed towards the White Pagoda City.
It was dangerous, but risk and reward were always proportional, weren't they?
Birds of a feather flock together, and this journey was filled with the youthful spirit of the proud and arrogant.
—
The Heavenly Demon projected onto "Ghost Infant," and the Heavenly Dao projected onto "Liu Jiang Fusheng." The two consciousnesses were forces that this realm could not withstand. Their eruption could directly destroy a secret realm that was a separate, divided domain.
But fortunately, the master of this secret realm was the True Dragon God. A starving camel was still bigger than a horse. Even though it was dead, the secret realm forged from its divine body was extraordinarily sturdy.
The black shadow and the white shadow battled in the Heavenly Realm shrouded in cold mist. The leaked power from their clashes agitated the underground lava and dark red magma. It flowed like tsunamis, carrying black mist and fire pillars that erupted outwards.
The rumbling waves of immense sound pressed outwards, burning red rocks shattered into debris, burning and imbued with red, pushed high into the sky then plummeted down. In the mist-shrouded air, sparks rained down like falling stars. Smoke, cold mist, bright fire, scorching heat, the two figures almost overturned the entire crimson sea.
This battle, which was fought with restrained power, continued for an unknown duration. The sky above the White Pagoda City was torn open, and the calm accumulation of heavy, leaden thunder and lightning vanished, along with the faint glimmer. Zero-degree night descended.
"Ghost Infant's" red pupils elongated into slits. Its "arms" spread wide, like a pair of ugly, fierce fleshy wings, veins bulging: "No matter how you calculate fate, you cannot stop me!"
"Liu Jiang Fusheng" said, "Don't forget, this is the Spirit Realm. You cannot win."
Thick, leaden lightning snakes writhed across the sky. Streaks of golden light slashed through the sky, followed by a descent of purplish-gold heavenly lightning. Vast cliffs, sleeves filled with wind, the black and white shadows high in the sky became incredibly small specks.
"Liu Jiang Fusheng," with a divine presence overlooking all beings, his illuminated and projected silhouette casting upon his gaunt, sculpted, and exquisite face. A vast, overlapping shadow surged from the horizon—
Over ten thick heavenly lightning bolts, like pythons, struck "Ghost Infant" simultaneously. "It" fell from a height like shrapnel onto the vertebral bridge, kicking up dust and debris for several zhang. It didn't rise for a long time.
Meanwhile, "Liu Jiang Fusheng" was thrown by the overlapping shadow-parts. With one wing, it crashed into the branching bones, shattering over a dozen stone pillars before losing strength and sliding to the ground. It waved away the dust and mist, hovering above the sea of fire, barely holding on with its last bit of strength, shaking slightly but not falling.
This heavy blow momentarily severed the Heavenly Demon's consciousness. A腥 red taste filled "Ghost Infant's" throat, and it spat out a mouthful of blood. It shook its dazed, swelling head, but its scarlet eyes invaded its consciousness once more.
"Ghost Infant" sneered and spat out bloody foam: "Is that all?"
As soon as the words left its mouth, "Ghost Infant" was seized by a force at its throat. "It" felt no pain or suffocation, but its Adam's apple was blocked, and its voice was suppressed. It unleashed its most malicious curse, as if signaling to all the gods and Buddhas in the heavens, each word filled with fierce malice: "You all wait. This twenty-eight-day Spirit Cultivation Realm will soon become a land of hopeless purgatory, with depleted spiritual energy, constant warfare, ravaged lives, and souls without refuge! Hahahaha—"
The Heavenly Demon's curse was no ordinary curse; it was both a curse and the origin of disaster for all beings.
The Heavenly Dao's eyes, silver and brilliant like the primordial universe, instantly turned extremely cold. Heaven and earth froze, appearing and disappearing. Now, its eyes no longer contained the entire world; instead, the entire world had become its gaze.
Though it should have been Liu Jiang Fusheng's voice speaking, it became an indelible belief that could be passed down into the human soul: "Everything will have a turning point, it's not up to you!"
Both "Heavenly Demon" and "Heavenly Dao" expended their remaining strength on "curse" and "heavenly decree" with their respective abilities. However, in the Spirit Realm, "Heavenly Dao" had the greater advantage. Ghost Infant's eyes returned to a dull, gray blindness.
It didn't know what had happened before, only feeling as if its entire body was being twisted and squeezed by an oppressive force, as if it would be crushed into a pulp at any moment.
Its face turned a dark purple, its eyeballs bloodshot. Ghost Infant, like a bare tree trunk with its branches shaved off, was suspended in mid-air.
"Ugh—"
Heavenly Dao knew the Heavenly Demon had disappeared. It also knew that this half-human, half-ghost youth knew nothing. However, "Ghost Infant, you were not born… innocent. Rather than keeping you to continue aiding evil—"
Ghost Infant didn't know that blood was flowing from its orifices, and its ears felt as if water had entered, muffled by a membrane, making everything unclear. Though it was blind, at this moment it met a pair of judgment-filled silver eyes that could not be looked at directly, nor could they be offended.
It didn't know what it had done wrong, but sweat broke out all over its body, and its limbs turned cold as withered bones. Its dry, numb eyes remained fixed, and it genuinely felt guilty.
The moment of soul-shattering destruction was imminent. Ghost Infant clearly felt the aura of death, but at this moment, a voice, as if capable of tearing through darkness and despair, filled with fearless power, boomed in its ears.
"Ghost Infant—"
Yes, it was as if a force had been injected into its world of despair and darkness. Ghost Infant trembled, and its previously dull, gray eyes became tinged with a layer of water. It suddenly looked up, tilting its ear to listen carefully—
"Ghost Infant—"
It was real!
She had arrived!
The chaos, confusion, and sinking coldness in Ghost Infant's mind receded. It shivered violently, as if suddenly waking from a state of hypnosis and drowning.
It felt its back being pulled backward by a force. Heavenly Dao looked up, its black hair disheveled by the wind. A massive fist swung from the side, but it was blocked by a thin golden light. This fist, larger than a house, was mere inches from Heavenly Dao's face—
It remained indifferent until Ghost Infant was taken away before its eyes.
Heavenly Dao looked up at the sky. After meeting the gaze of a black figure wearing a hooded cloak, she stood tall and unshakeable. Behind her stood a colossal black creature that obscured the sky and sun. Half of its body was skeletal, with sparse patches of thin skin and red flesh hanging from it. Its wings of darkness soared, spreading enormous membranous wings.
Compared to it, Heavenly Dao, condescendingly contained within a human cultivator's skin, appeared so small and weak.
After the newcomer appeared, even though she employed an illusionary technique, Heavenly Dao still saw through her identity at a glance.
Gu, Jun, Shi.