Regarding his own inferior cultural attainment, Yan Tianjiao had always been ashamed but not embarrassed, which was also related to his upbringing.
His father was True Person Jue Zhou of the Twenty-Eight Heavens Flowing Bright Sect, a man of profound knowledge and great wit, cultivated over long years, and thus he had many confidantes. Of course, Yan Tianjiao's mother was not one of his romantic entanglements.
Yan Tianjiao's mother was a physical cultivator and a famous one. On the martial power peak rankings of the Thirty-Six Sects, Seventy-Two Gates, One Prefecture, and One Cave, she was listed despite possessing the most challenging physical cultivation aptitude.
The Martial Power Peak Ranking was also known as the Peerless Heavenly Being Ranking. Those whose names appeared on it were essentially revered powers in the entire cultivation world, whose slightest tremor could shake the Twenty-Eight Heavens. Among them was Tai Xuan, the sect leader of the Void Gate, though not ranked highly, which showed how difficult it was to even get listed on this Peerless Heavenly Being Ranking.
Although True Person Jue Zhou was of a greater age and generation, he could not even secure a ranking in terms of combat power. Thus, when Yan Tianjiao's mother, a person of upright and resolute character, took a fancy to the poetic and elegant True Person Jue Zhou, he was unable to escape her martial coercion. To preserve his good looks, he had no choice but to reluctantly comply.
However, even after becoming Dao companions with Yan Tianjiao's mother, his philandering nature did not change over time. He still harbored a desire to secretly linger in "flower bushes." Of course, for the sake of his own safety, he left himself an escape route, not daring to truly cross the line. He merely enjoyed flirtatious banter with beautiful women, basically being the same as Lu Ziyin today.
As one can imagine, with one using martial force to compel and the other harboring unyielding lustful thoughts, their life as Dao companions was basically a daily scene of chaos.
It was only after giving birth to Yan Tianjiao that Yan Tianjiao's mother gradually saw through worldly romantic love. Moreover, due to Yan Tianjiao's father, she particularly disliked men who were knowledgeable and glib with their words.
Therefore, she educated her son with an overbearing and dictatorial hand, absolutely forbidding him from learning those flashy poems, songs, and calligraphy. Yan Tianjiao was educated by his mother to only learn basic character recognition, with no need to delve into other matters. If he dared to read even a few more miscellaneous books, he would be chased and beaten by his mother.
Thus, a naturally gifted talent was transformed by his mother into an academically challenged individual through acquired circumstances.
However, it must be said that Yan Tianjiao, having half of his bloodline from his naturally refined father, developed a stronger self-awareness as he grew. This led to an obsession with learning. The reason for this obsession was also understandable; teenage rebellion meant that the more his mother disliked him doing something, the more he wanted to try it. But due to the strong and strict suppression from his mother's side, he could not resist at all, and ultimately could only reluctantly choose to obey.
Thus, he grew up with such a twisted personality, becoming a semi-illiterate person who loved to throw in idioms but actually couldn't articulate himself properly.
"Squeak squeak~"
Gu Junshi deeply understood the principle of managing subordinates. To make a horse run, one must feed it some "hope." Unwavering dominance would only lead to a counterproductive outcome.
She had seen many people who cared for small animals; everyone had a soft and tender side. When this emotion temporarily had no outlet, they would unconsciously seek an emotional anchor.
She was unsure if Yan Tianjiao belonged to this category, but seeing his "love at first sight" with the treasure-hunting rat, he must have wanted to get closer. As for whether he would become a qualified pet owner in the future, that would depend on the "training" of his "master cat."
She once again swept her fluffy and soft tail across the back of his hand, and then the slightly shorter fur on her neck gently brushed his fingertip. This small act of condescending intimacy made Yan Tianjiao feel as if his blood surged to that thin layer of skin.
How could the sensation, magnified tenfold, be described? It was as if a deer was joyfully leaping in his heart, or as if flowers were blooming on the green grass of his soul...
In short, it was very wonderful, very novel, making Yan Tianjiao momentarily unsure how to process this strange and exciting emotion.
He had not grown up in a sound and healthy family. At least, he detested his father's cowardice and escapism, and his mother's assertiveness and interference. When a person's emotions are suppressed to a certain extent, they rebound. Coupled with some past unpleasant experiences, this had shaped the current Yan Tianjiao.
In the past, due to his inherent sinister and harsh demeanor, few spiritual pets liked to approach him. They either feared or resisted him, and he had seen this look many times.
But this treasure-hunting rat was different. From the moment their eyes met, it had always looked at him with a calm and serene gaze, like autumn water, like cold stars, like precious pearls, gathering into a strong and inextinguishable light. This was the first time he had seen such a look.
On impulse, he realized he wanted it.
Even after calming down completely, he found that he still wanted it.
Even if it was so weak that it was a burden, something he had detested in the past, as long as he liked it, he would activate his eighty-fold filter. He thought he could protect it, as long as it never changed the way it looked at him.
"Six Jiang Fusheng calls you Xiao Yi, is your name Xiao Yi?"
Yan Tianjiao, seeing it willing to approach him proactively, his youthful phoenix eyes, like a young painter's, settled with too much emotion. He was, after all, a little happy.
Gu Junshi thought that the treasure-hunting rat had successfully become the pet of the young groom. Since he had named it "Gu Xiao Yi," it would be called Gu Xiao Yi, so she nodded her head.
"You... you don't dislike me anymore, do you?"
Yan Tianjiao asked, coaxing.
Gu Junshi understood what he was hinting at. She wanted to see what this young man was planning, so she continued to nod.
"Then are you willing to follow me from now on?" Yan Tianjiao held it up, staring into its eyes, his gaze clear and serene, saying earnestly, "Whatever you want, I will give you."
This question... was a bit dangerous.
It had already formed a pact with Liu Jiang Fusheng. Was he trying to kill the master and forcefully break the pact, or did he believe that there was enough incentive to make Liu Jiang Fusheng let go?
Regardless of the reason, Gu Junshi could not agree.
Therefore, she shook her head.
Yan Tianjiao's thin, reddish lips pursed, and his expression turned sullen with displeasure.
However, his handsome and heroic face, even when sinister and dangerous, remained so beautiful that one couldn't look away.
Their conversation had gone on for quite some time. At this moment, a change occurred between the two rocks. Like flowing water crossing the surface of coarse gray stone, a peculiar ripple, as if liquid water encountering ripples, appeared. Before Yan Tianjiao could react, a fine, bright iron blade emerged straight out of the shimmering light.
His expression tightened, and he quickly hugged the treasure-hunting rat and dodged. The hem of his clothes, lifted by his movement, was struck by the iron blade, tearing with a "swish."
It was conceivable that if he had been a step slower, he might have been pierced through right there.
He looked back; the fabric of the latter half of his hem was cut into pieces by the iron blade.
It seemed that the Third Realm, Blade Peak, was truly unsafe anywhere. Even if one could avoid the knives that appeared from the sky and the ground from time to time, one had to guard against blades that materialized out of nowhere.
This was like being forced to constantly move forward, unable to stop for a moment, lest one be met with a shower of blades.
Although these swords and blades were merely ordinary weapons and not a significant threat to cultivators like them, they could be dispelled and blocked with spiritual energy.
However, the problem was that these knives were produced continuously. How much spiritual energy could a cultivator store within their body? No matter how high their cultivation, there was a fixed amount to expend, and there was no such thing as inexhaustible supply.
And in this perilous Blade Peak, there was an implicit rule: one could not stop moving for an extended period. This meant that if spiritual energy was depleted too much, there would be no time to stop and meditate to recover it.
Over time, as spiritual energy ran out, one would eventually become no different from an ordinary person. At that point, if faced with blades falling from the sky, even missing one avoidance would be a life-or-death crisis.
Yan Tianjiao had also figured out the rules of Blade Peak. Thus, he began to search for clues to pass with the treasure-hunting rat, which possessed Gu Junshi's consciousness. He saw that the surrounding mountain walls were layered and folded, like layered clouds and jade. The peak shape resembled a screen, obstructing their vision, and they did not know the path ahead, so they could only proceed by feel.
However, if they continued walking like this, when would it end? In the meantime, they had to deal with the knives that fell like a sudden shower, and their spiritual energy was being cut like chives, generation after generation.
Gu Junshi wondered where the clue to passing Blade Peak would be hidden.
As Yan Tianjiao was also contemplating this question, at a corner of the mountain wall, they did not encounter Liu Jiang Fusheng, whom Gu Junshi was looking for. Instead, they saw Gu Ru, who was alone.
When Gu Ru saw Yan Tianjiao, her body stiffened, and her expression changed.
If one does not have absolute strength, one should never provoke an opponent they cannot defeat, otherwise, the outcome would be like Gu Ru's.
The next second, she turned with lightning speed and swiftly drilled into a crevice in the rock, intending to escape the opponent through the narrow passage.
This was because she saw the look in Yan Tianjiao's eyes.
It was bone-chillingly cold and filled with inhuman malevolence.
Although Yan Tianjiao was very popular on the newcomer rankings due to his exceptionally good looks, truth be told, not many people dared to approach him.
This was because his temperament was by no means that of a benevolent person. He had no habit of not killing female cultivators. If he was angered, he would not let even heavenly kings and earthly lords off.
Gu Junshi, upon seeing Gu Ru, also recalled the "landmine talisman" trap incident in the Second Realm. She did not know what grievance this female cultivator named Gu Ru had with Yan Tianjiao, but her act of disregarding its life or death due to a personal vendetta clearly indicated that she was a selfish individual.
Gu Ru's heart was pounding, her eyelashes fluttering rapidly. She knew she couldn't defeat Yan Tianjiao and only hoped to find her senior sister, Ru Lan.
She hadn't expected to encounter Yan Tianjiao so coincidentally in the Third Realm. Although she had turned love into hatred and wanted to badly defeat Yan Tianjiao once, she hadn't imagined he would be completely unharmed. She had no opportunity, nor any means, to do anything to him anymore.
"You think you can escape?"
It was unclear what method Yan Tianjiao used, but even though he could not fly, he was already catching up.
The ice beneath Gu Ru's feet froze, and she couldn't lift her feet. She turned back and threw a stack of talismans.
Gu Ru was a talisman cultivator, and her attack methods were basically talisman attacks.
There were five categories: gold, silver, purple, blue, and yellow.
This move of hers contained yellow and blue colors. At her level, she could only draw yellow; blue was already a matter of luck.
The previous "landmine talisman" was yellow, a low-level version she had drawn herself. A "landmine talisman" of an upper-grade spirit stone would be at least yellow, or higher. Ru Lan thought her junior sister was using a blue talisman, but in reality, Gu Ru had no intention of truly killing Yan Tianjiao. She merely wanted him to see her, so even if she hit him, he would at most be heavily injured.
Heavily injured?
If Yan Tianjiao knew Gu Ru's thoughts, he would probably choose to dismember her alive.
But his thoughts were similar now.
He harbored no hatred for Gu Ru, or rather, he had no superfluous emotions towards unrelated individuals. If they were an eyesore, they would be eliminated.
Clearly, Gu Ru bumping into him at this time was equivalent to being targeted by him as fertilizer for flowers.
The stack of talismans in the air glowed, with yellow light mixed with some blue light, bursting forth instantly. Among them were wind blade talismans, flame talismans, consumption talismans, and so on.
A杂七杂八 (zázăbā - miscellaneous and jumbled) mix of attacks, chaotic but able to win by quantity, blocking Yan Tianjiao's path.
He grinned sinisterly. Under that barrage of attacks, an ice-blue halo spread out in an instant, dissolving everything.
He stared cruelly and coldly at Gu Ru's fleeing back, like a little mouse... no, she didn't deserve the cute title of a little mouse.
She was merely a common insect.
He spread his arms, and an ice wall blocked Gu Ru's path. Her face turned pale.
"Run ah~"
A mocking voice came from behind.
Gu Ru turned her head, her delicate little face pulling into a smile: "Yan Tianjiao, do you know I like you?"
Her sudden confession made Yan Tianjiao frown.
He didn't know.
And he didn't want to know.
He detested love and romance to the extreme.
He had no intention of ever experiencing it in this life.
"Ice Shatter—"
Looking at his heartless and unfeeling face, Gu Ru smiled and took out a purple talisman.
The attack of the purple talisman was far beyond what the Golden Core stage Yan Tianjiao could resist, especially since he was carrying a small burden.
Gu Junshi: "..." Are you polite?
"This was originally my last resort, but who asked you to push me too hard."
Gu Ru said faintly.
The next second, a giant thunderbolt struck from the sky. Although it did not reach the level of heavenly lightning, its power was not insignificant.
Yan Tianjiao dodged immediately, but with over ten lightning strikes, no matter where he dodged, he was likely to be hit.
He withstood a blow with his spiritual energy, but was then struck by another lightning bolt.
He stooped down, protecting it firmly below him. A bolt of lightning struck his back, and with a "puff," he spat out a mouthful of blood.
The flesh and blood on his back was torn open and charred black.
Gu Junshi saw another bolt of lightning about to strike. She thought that if he took one more hit, he might as well return to the nine heavens.
But at this moment, Yan Tianjiao timely took out a string of wind chimes and threw them upwards. The two collided, instantly resolving this crisis.
The energy of the purple talisman dissipated, and everything finally returned to peace.
However, Yan Tianjiao collapsed due to the previous lightning strike. If he continued to stay there, he would be stabbed into a bloody hole by a blade in the next second.
There was no other way. Gu Ru, who had only just recovered some spiritual energy, could only transform and enlarge herself slightly, and carry him away.