That night, the list of those selected for the "Newcomer Ranking" who would travel to the Twenty-Eight Heavens Void Gate was finalized. Elder Jiu Li, the sole member of the Great Evolution Sect proficient in external affairs, would escort and lead the team. Six elite disciples were chosen, with one spot inexplicably filled by an airborne disciple.
It was Zi Ying.
Due to the Ghost Infant's challenge to the "Newcomer Ranking" invitation, she had voluntarily relinquished her own spot. The Master of Nianhua Mountain, acknowledging her consideration for the greater good, was unwilling for her sect's disciples to miss this opportunity to broaden their horizons in the Twenty-Eight Heavens. Thus, he worked hard to secure a position for her.
Everyone participating in the "Newcomer Ranking" was undoubtedly a pampered, top-tier disciple from their respective sects. This was also the only special pathway that the Upper Twenty-Eight Heavens opened to disciples of lower cultivation. kanδん
A gathering of talent, poised for a meteoric rise. The Twenty-Eight Heavens, the destination all Jiuzhou cultivators yearned to reach, a grand spectacle that no one would want to miss.
However, in addition to these seven elite disciples, the Sect Leader had personally added one more person.
Someone who had taken everyone by surprise.
As evening approached, the distant mountain ranges took on distinct, clear outlines. The sky was cloudless, and a wisp of purple cloud, light as a feather, drifted in on the wind.
With graceful, well-jointed hands, he reached into the wind and took the floating cloud letter.
Activating his spiritual power, he found the letter contained a list from the Great Evolution Sect. His expression remained placid as he read to the last line, where only two characters appeared.
Gu Yi.
Liu Jiang Fusheng's gaze froze, for a moment unsure of how to react.
There was surprise.
There was doubt.
There was joy.
And there was also worry.
This journey, he had been feeling rather lost in thought. Ultimately, he had not been cultivating in the immortal world for very long, and had not yet attained the power to control everything.
Moreover, his senior brother Tan Ya, who had always harbored ill intentions towards him, would also be accompanying them.
However, this news, beyond being an unexpected surprise, was readily accepted by Gu Junshi.
At times, she truly couldn't comprehend the thought processes of Nine Tails. Yet, in every outcome, he had proven to be her lucky charm.
She had originally planned to accompany her beloved husband secretly in a different capacity if she couldn't go as family. But Nine Tails had silently, and without seeking reward, paved a clear and legitimate path for her.
Excellent!
She felt that in the future, if fate allowed, she might be more lenient with him.
For instance, if he were to have an episode again, she wouldn't cut his fur anymore, ensuring his coat remained entirely intact.
Speaking of which, the hair he had conjured with illusion techniques today was still somewhat artificial; anyone with higher cultivation could see through his disguise at a glance.
"Why did the Sect Leader want you to go to the Newcomer Ranking as well?" Liu Jiang Fusheng dispersed the cloud letter, puzzled.
Seeing the furrow in his brow, Gu Junshi asked, "You don't want me to go?"
The journey to the "Newcomer Ranking" was destined to be anything but peaceful.
This was the path to the rise of an Overlord, and without a bit of thrilling, unusual groundwork, how could the Heavenly Dao provide him with props and experience to help him ascend to the pinnacle?
However, she had noticed that because she, an unseemly cannon fodder ex-wife, or perhaps due to her interference in her past lives, her beloved husband's growth experiences in this life had deviated from the original plot.
While the main career storyline was still steadily progressing, the side quests had completely veered off course.
Romance threads two and three had not been initiated, the second and third female leads were merely bit players in front of him, and the face-slapping plot points within the Great Evolution Sect had not been connected.
She had always adhered to the principle of following the original plot, making the Heavenly Dao complacent, and ideally, it would even correct the course for him, re-establishing the destined romantic connections.
This was because the second female lead's family background would add luster to her beloved husband's career, and the third female lead was the guiding light during his every fortuitous encounter.
This time, she intended to personally elevate him to the divine altar, as she was uncertain if the world would be reset again if she were to perish before his destined moment arrived. She detested a life of one-click restarts.
She wanted to know if, after he completed his destined mission, the Overlord protagonist's immortality loophole could finally be broken.
Liu Jiang Fusheng frowned, his gaze fixed on the air. "I thought that by cultivating non-stop for the past three years, I would be unafraid of what lay ahead, but it's clearly not enough. If I go to the Twenty-Eight Heavens with you, what kind of world will it be there? How many impossibly strong individuals will there be? Can I protect you completely?"
Gu Junshi was taken aback. It was the first time someone's worry about her perceived "weakness" had made them lack confidence. This feeling… was rather novel.
She wanted to sigh, "I am not that fragile."
But her beloved husband clearly did not believe her.
Her heart might be strong, but that did not change the fact that she was the weakest in the entire cultivation world. Even the residual fluctuations from others' fights could injure her if they weren't careful. Did this not prove the point?
Suddenly, he remembered an even more serious and solemn problem.
"Ah Yi, please stop getting close to Senior Brother Tan Ya. If you are grateful for his care over the past three years, I will repay his kindness for you." Fearing these words were not enough to allay her concerns, her beloved husband gritted his teeth and began to speak nonsense with utmost seriousness. "You don't know, he's usually quite fickle. Sister Chang E is devoted to him, yet he abandoned her cruelly. Every woman he approaches has ill intentions; he first gives without seeking return, then acts like a famished ghost demanding repayment. You must absolutely not take him seriously."
As for blackening the reputation of a love rival, even though it was her beloved husband's first attempt, he surprisingly found it to be effortless and natural.
Gu Junshi: "..."
For a moment, she didn't know how to respond.
Seeing her silence, he leaned closer, his face as beautiful as spring mountains, radiating pure innocence. He asked with trepidation, "You don't believe me?"
She understood the answer to this question.
At such a time, one naturally had to say…
Gu Junshi smiled faintly and said, "Of course, I believe you. If I travel with him, I will absolutely not approach him proactively."
Hearing her choose to believe him without any objection, and recalling her previous praises, he couldn't help but smile. The red mark on his forehead glowed like pure lotus karmic fire, illuminating the illusory mist.
In this life, she was exactly as he had imagined and fantasized about his wife in his mind, perfectly fitting his naive expectations.
But precisely because she was too perfect and beautiful, he could often detach himself from his infatuation and coldly observe his own foolish obsession.
Fake.
It was all fake.
He moved closer, his fingertips caressing her smooth, fair cheek. His eyes were deep and dark, his voice sensual and clear. "Ah Yi, I miss you so much…"
Three years confined in the cave dwelling.
Three years of silent solitude.
Three years of repeatedly "relishing" her past abandonment and cruel indifference in the darkness, he was consumed by hatred.
But when he actually faced her, his darkness seemed like a humble, timid shadow, afraid to touch the light in her eyes, retreating three feet on its own.
Gu Junshi rarely thought of him.
Perhaps, before she had time to miss him, he had already returned and stood before her.
As his face came close, she smelled a faint scent of blood and stopped his movement. "Your wound hasn't been bandaged yet. Let's apply medicine first."
She took out a medicine bottle. Its material and the bottle itself were identical to the one belonging to Fang Rui.
This was a high-grade healing medicine exclusively supplied to inner disciples of the Great Evolution Sect, requiring a considerable amount of sect contribution points to exchange for a single bottle.
The moves of the Ghost Nether Annihilation technique all carried a corrosive, yin-tainted miasma that gnawed at bone. Ghost cultivators' techniques were never righteous, making the healing of spiritual medicine slow. She still needed to extract the yin miasma from him.
"You apply it?"
"Naturally."
With a clear mind, she uncorked the medicine bottle to apply the medicine. But as she looked up…
She saw that he hadn't rolled up his sleeves. Instead, he was slowly shedding his clothes, piece by piece, in front of her… This time, applying the medicine took a considerable amount of time, as it was slightly more thorough and deep.