Recalling the many lives she had experienced, Gu Junshi’s memories of many things had been deliberately blurred. For matters she didn’t pay much attention to, her mind would automatically format them. Otherwise, with thousands of years of fragmented experiences piled up, there would simply be too much.
As for Wei Li, that little fox, although it had followed her day and night like a voyeur back then, its self-important unrequited love was practically a blatant plea for affection. Yet, she had never truly paid it any mind.
With its two tails severed, the Heavenly Fox was destined to have no connection with ascension for the rest of its life. It could neither become an immortal nor a pure Heavenly Fox, ultimately regressing into an ordinary fox demon, no longer special and naturally proud.
Gu Junshi, fully aware of its predicament, merely sighed indifferently in her heart, as if commenting on a rare flower or plant glimpsed by the roadside, before casting it from her thoughts.
Until one time, when she happened to be in a bad mood, and she dealt with the incoming riffraff a bit too ruthlessly. That day, even the falling rain was the color of blood.
It followed her, as it always did, diligently. The falling rain soaked its silver-white hair, which was brighter than the stars and moon, drenching and pitifully falling over its body. Its stunned, tearful appearance, with large tears rolling down from its eyes like pearls from a broken string scattering on the ground…
Never mind that Gu Junshi was perverse; but those eyes that looked at her with terror and despair, recalled now, left a deep impression on her.
Because they were too beautiful.
It gave the feeling of being severely bullied yet unable to resist.
And also because those were beastly eyes that understood human nature better than humans. She mused indifferently, “Look, how interesting. A demon… cultivating a human’s melancholic heart?”
Instead, how many people in this world had their humanity ruthlessly ground away, turning them into beasts in human form.
Like herself.
But at that point, she was no longer a beast in human form; she could be called a demon in human form.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
In this life, Wei Li had not yet shed his beastly nature. Due to the backlash from his bloodline, his temperament was somewhat vexed and unruly. However, even so, his worldview had not been distorted.
Although he had mentioned to her that he was a demon cultivator and that he didn’t care what unorthodox path she took, he had always obstructed her from approaching Liu Jiang Fusheng. He had always warned her of the fact that Liu Jiang Fusheng was married and had someone he loved. While he disdained the mortal "Gu Yi," he had still, in his own way, protected her marriage for "Gu Yi."
“You’ve always thought of me as someone who took the wrong path. You’ve helped me, and although it was a transaction, you gradually let down your guard towards me. You always thought of me in a positive light, believing I silently devoted myself to Liu Jiang Fusheng because I liked him?” Gu Junshi shook her head at him, cruelly, as if finding his innocent thought amusing.
“You don’t understand me. Everything I do is solely to achieve my goals. Whether I like it or not has never been the standard for my actions.”
It wasn’t like children playing house. If she truly liked someone, with her goal-oriented nature, it would probably only be through forceful acquisition.
For instance, "I fancy you, but I'm busy, so find a way to fall in love with me yourself…"
Wei Li was stunned by her casual, heartless attitude. He looked at her, momentarily unsure of what to say.
Gu Junshi seemed to see through his current shocked state. “You see, once you discover that I am inherently a cruel and unfeeling person, no matter what identity I have, you will never be willing to approach me again.”
Wei Li subconsciously retorted, “No—”
“Don’t embellish me, and don’t hold out hope for me. I am not the person you think I am at all. If anyone obstructs me, I might act more ruthlessly than demons.”
Gu Junshi had no intention of continuing this argument. The fact that she could patiently stand here and say these things to him was merely out of gratitude for Wei Li having previously helped her a few times, like a “lucky carp” sending good fortune. She decided to make things clear to him once and for all; anything more than that… was unlikely.
Speaking of her cunning, it was far superior to Wei Li’s. She knew what he was struggling with and what he was confused about, but she deliberately gave him no opportunity. When his feelings and thoughts about her were still muddled, she directly severed them with one decisive blow.
Without another word, she turned her back to him and left.
Wei Li’s feet felt heavy as lead. This time, it seemed he, like those others, had no strength left to chase her.
His arms hung limply, his long, flowing sleeves trailing to the ground. His thin, elegant figure cast a long shadow. His ear-length, fine strands of hair fluttered in the wind. He lowered his gaze, standing lost in thought.
Recalling their acquaintance, there had never been a single good thing that happened between them. Yet, she had repeatedly tried to distance herself from him. Now, they had come to this point, but he… damn it, he didn't want it to end like this.
What was so good about her? Besides bullying him, scolding him, and cutting his hair, she now looked down on him for not being on the same path as her. What was so good about her?
Wei Li turned his thoughts over and over, but he couldn't figure it out.
Yet, there was this one person. She seemed to have nothing good about her, being "wicked" all over, but somehow, it was impossible to easily let her go.
“After knowing you for so long, you’re stingy enough to not even reveal a name…”
In the empty, silent corridors, shadows intersected. His voice was low and deep, like raindrops pattering against a windowpane, leaving only faint traces of moistening and deepening bitterness from the slight impact.
—
Within White Tower City, each white tower was seamlessly embedded, with varying heights and undulating continuity. However, they lacked thick walls. They had no doors, no windows. Their aesthetic design and structure resembled a magnificent dragon palace submerged at the bottom of the sea, composed of gorgeous coral and exquisite, hollowed-out white stone. Chambers within chambers, connecting caves, a dim, ethereal ambiance, flickering light and shadow, in countless forms, bizarre and wondrous.
She paused before a secluded, narrow niche, resting one hand on the smooth, cool, delicate stone. Her upper body seemed to arch as if in discomfort.
“…Can you please stop all this fuss?”
Lang Ci’s intention seemed to be to cause distress. She felt as if her abdomen was churning like stormy seas. This violent sensation far surpassed its earlier actions of drawing her vital essence to survive.
She didn't know what to call the mass of flesh in her belly—tender, harsh, or unfamiliar. She had no memory of what others called it. Having lived so long, this was her first time being a mother. Gu Junshi tightened her fists. She could maintain a calm and composed demeanor in front of everyone.
Only in solitude would she reveal her bewildered uncertainty.
Her dark eyes gazed quietly at one spot, her lips pressed into a flat line, her expressionless.
However, to her unreasonable demands, the stirrings in her belly inexplicably stopped.
It seemed to have been very uncomfortable all along, but to make Gu Junshi happy, it chose to endure.
Gu Junshi: “…”
She sighed.
For the first time, Gu Junshi experienced what books referred to as a mother-child bond. Although it was only a few months old and still growing within her, she could feel its heart.
It wanted her to be happy…
Gu Junshi stiffly pulled out a smile, but it immediately felt less amusing, and her lips straightened again. She remained silent for a moment.
“Before… were you protecting me?”
She was referring to the nearly world-destroying lightning formation that had occurred earlier. She had already guessed that the one wanting to eliminate her was "Heaven's Will," or one of the millions of dispersed consciousnesses of Heaven's Will in the mortal realm.
It couldn’t understand. Everything it did was merely instinct.
Instinctual appeasement.
Instinctual protection.
Instinctual attachment.
It was very uncomfortable, but it couldn't vent or cause trouble freely because she would be uncomfortable. Therefore, it could only cry out, wronged and pitifully.
Mom…
It was closely connected to its maternal body, Gu Junshi. Occasionally, it could connect with her consciousness. Within her consciousness, it was her unborn child, and it should call her Mom.
“Mom” was a modern term.
Gu Junshi had no mother since childhood. She hadn't lost her mother; it was just that her father disliked her mother, so they divorced and moved out shortly after her birth.
Although her mother had given birth to her, she didn't love her.
Her father only wanted an heir and didn't love her either.
And Gu Junshi, from birth, inherited their cold-blooded genes, so she didn't love anyone. The expression of "affection" in her was more about responsibility and etiquette.
If Gu Junshi hadn't had a clear sense of its presence in her heart before, and if she genuinely thought about whether she wanted it to stay or not, upon hearing it call her Mom, Gu Junshi heard two distinct heartbeats.
One came from her.
One came from the little life she was carrying.
Her breathing gradually slowed, as if a clump of soft cotton had been gently stuffed into her heart.
She stroked her abdomen.
“Hold on a little longer. I’ve already found the True Dragon’s Eye.”
It was the same statement. She could afford it, and she could protect it. Since it was here, she would give birth to it.
Unusually, her calm and indifferent voice, amidst the dim, overly bright interlude, conveyed a hint of resolute, comforting tenderness.
—
The buildings within White Tower City looked similar and densely packed. Viewed from above, it resembled a labyrinth with no exit. Gu Junshi followed the "divine hidden" existence, which seemed to guide her, passing through corridor after corridor, tower after connected tower.
Finally, entering an unknown white tower, she found herself on a white stone staircase spiraling from the top to the bottom. It had no handrails, like a white snake coiled around the central part of the tower. A beam of light shot down from the top to the bottom, over forty or fifty zhang high, with crystalline dust floating, creating an atmosphere that was quiet yet eerily unsettling.
Gu Junshi descended along the white stone staircase, circling round and round, from the top to the ground level. During this process, no unusual events or anomalies occurred. The ground of the white tower was paved with smooth, glossy white stone. As far as the eye could see, everything was pure white—tall, dragon-carved stone pillars, white stairs, white light. All of this combined gave the feeling of enduring a cold, cruel torture.
There was ample white space within this white tower. It resembled a deep, empty altar, or perhaps an isolated, abyssal pool. In the center of the six dragon-carved stone pillars, beneath that beam of white light, a clustered ball of light floated quietly.
This "ball of light" held Gu Junshi’s gaze for a long time.
At this moment, within the chaos, it was as if an invisible, immense hand tore open this faint white light. Immediately after, a molten gold light surged straight to the top of the tower, and a phantom suddenly radiated and enlarged—
What was that?!
It stirred the clouds and waters of the four seas. When it rose, it soared between the universe; when it hid, it submerged within the waves. It was so colossal and powerfully built that the power of human eyes could barely encompass its form. One could only perceive it through subtle signs.
At this moment, "it" stared at her with eyes as bright and piercing as lanterns.
"It" might have been merely a wisp of shadow left by the True Dragon, or perhaps a scattered stream of light it had shed. In any case, its consciousness was chaotic, carrying only the majesty of the True Dragon God, but lacking its oppressive power.
However, Gu Junshi’s aura was no less than its own.
She raised her head and said directly, “True Dragon God, I need to borrow your eyes.”
Its gaze circled her once.
As if measuring, as if contemplating, but it itself lacked much intelligence.
But one thing it knew: it would not hand over the True Dragon’s Eye to her.
However, it knew that the person before it was not easy to deal with. Thus, it met her eyes, and frames of images appeared before Gu Junshi.
She remained silent for a moment. “What, you plan to give me what I want and then send me away?”
At this moment, the ghost cultivator Qi Qi, who had been lurking in the shadows, emerged from somewhere. He stared at the faint light, and a shadowy figure rushed forward, intending to snatch it. However, he was met by Gu Junshi, who had been waiting, and was pressed to the ground with a single palm.
He was unable to move. At this moment, he suddenly heard the commotion, his expression changing. Angrily and urgently, he said, “You don’t intend to hoard it all yourself, do you? We entered together. I just want to snatch the True Dragon’s Eye for you. I won’t compete with you.”
Upon hearing this, Gu Junshi suddenly found it amusing. These people, one after another, spewed lies so easily. Did they really think she was a soft persimmon to be manipulated?
At this time, Liu Jiang Fusheng and the others, who had come searching due to the previous commotion, had also arrived.
Upon hearing the ghost cultivator’s words, their expressions darkened, and they were all certain that they were allied.
Qi Qi thought she would argue, but to his surprise, Gu Junshi immediately incinerated him to ashes with Netherworld Fire.
Witnessing her ferocity once again, they all remained silent for a long time.
She turned around, only to hear a voice say, “Leave the item behind.”
Gu Junshi turned back. It was Liu Jiang Fusheng.
“What item?”
“The True Dragon’s Eye.”
“There is no True Dragon’s Eye.”
“You’re lying. That ghost cultivator just said so,” Ru Lan said.
Gu Junshi remained silent.
Liu Jiang Fusheng said, “I am determined to obtain the True Dragon’s Eye.”
Cheng Hong said, “If you are truly a demon, then the True Dragon’s Eye must not be in your hands.”
Dan Ya suddenly said, “Ghost Infant, have you seen him?”