Gu Junshi smiled wryly, "You have two choices now. One, I kill this flying zombie and extract your soul, then send you to reincarnate. Two, I let you completely possess this flying zombie's body and then melt the Nirvana Pearl to refine it. From then on, you will become an existence that is neither alive nor dead, neither born nor destroyed."
Gu Er froze upon hearing this.
It wasn't that he was shocked by her condescending tone, but rather that he hadn't expected that from what he thought was a dead end, his sister could casually offer him two impressive new paths forward.
Yet, his heart was still heavy with a thousand worries. He looked down at his dark, claw-like hands, then gazed at the sky for a long time. Finally, he turned his head and asked her, "Sister, I don't want to reincarnate. You said I could live again, but would I still be Gu Er?"
Gu Junshi met his expectant yet world-weary gaze, paused for a moment, and then said, "Perhaps you would be Gu San."
Gu Er: "..." Hey, he was being serious, why was she telling him a bad joke!
Under his indignant glare, Gu Junshi returned to the original topic, "So, you don't want to reincarnate?"
Gu Er ruffled his messy hair and mumbled, "I haven't figured out my life yet. It feels a bit unwilling to just go and reincarnate like this..."
As he spoke, as if wanting to prevent her from probing further, he preempted her, "Sister, aren't you in the mortal realm? When did you come to the cultivation world? Did you have some fortunate encounter to become so powerful?"
In fact, Gu Junshi was not surprised by his choice at all.
If Gu Er were truly as guileless as he appeared now, he wouldn't have been called a "prodigy" in the village, nor would he have taken charge at seven or eight and looked after the lazy and gluttonous "Gu Yi" until he grew up safely.
How could he be such a simpleton who was so badly schemed against and died so miserably, yet forget it all so quickly?
She said calmly, "After starving to death in the village, I returned to the cultivation world. In a way, my situation is not much different from yours."
This, this was some horrifying ghost talk!
Starved to death!
Had his worst nightmare come true?
Gu Er froze, then forced a smile that looked more like a cry and whispered, "Sister, you're joking, right?"
Gu Junshi's deep, narrow eyes stared at him for a while, her lips curving into a knowing smile.
She raised her arm, and Gu Er was lifted into the air by an unseen force.
He stared at her blankly, making no other movement.
"This body is without its seven souls and Yang soul. After fusing with the Nirvana Pearl, it will completely become a zombie. From now on, you will be an outcast, an entity of ultimate Yin and extreme evil."
She did not hesitate to tell him his future position and predicament in the most straightforward terms.
The "Nirvana Pearl" within him was forcibly summoned from his abdomen by Gu Junshi.
She flicked a mass of dark blue flames in her hand, engulfing and burning it. The pearl began to melt, turning into liquid and dripping bit by bit into the Baihui acupoint of the flying zombie. Suddenly remembering something, she also transferred a ball of faint golden light to him from her body.
What was the point of merit points? They were useless to her, so she might as well pack them up and give them all to Gu Er.
Heaven's gifts often had miraculous effects on those destined to be cannon fodder like Gu Er.
"Sis, sis, I think I can feel something!"
Gu Er exclaimed in surprise. His stiff body, which had difficulty bending, gradually softened as the "Nirvana Pearl" integrated. A strange, comfortable warm current began to flow through his icy, sluggish meridians and marrow.
Of course, he couldn't see it, but his lips were no longer a dark black, and his black hair was no longer dry and frizzy. His red eyes had returned to their normal dark brown, though a circle of golden light now surrounded his pupils.
Although his complexion was still pale, at least people wouldn't immediately identify him as a monstrous fiend at first glance.
"Once you cultivate into a Hanba, you will essentially be indistinguishable from a human."
After completely refining the "Nirvana Pearl" to nourish Gu Er, she finally set him down.
He quickly spread his hands, looking with excited surprise as the sharp black nails retracted. Although his fingernails remained black, he was far more satisfied than with his previous monstrous appearance.
Indistinguishable from a human?
That would be great.
"Then how do I cultivate to become a Hanba?" Gu Er looked bewildered.
The prospect was good, but he couldn't just rely on empty promises.
He didn't know how flying zombies cultivated, but he was sure it couldn't be by absorbing spiritual energy from heaven and earth like cultivators.
Gu Junshi, having been reborn so many times, enjoyed collecting various rare cultivation techniques when she was bored. She seemed to have a collection of those kinds of techniques. Finally, after searching her sea of consciousness, she found a secret manual that looked like a scorched iron scroll and directly transmitted it into his mind.
"Figure it out and practice it yourself."
A scroll titled "The Art of the Zombie Ghoul" suddenly appeared in Gu Er's mind. He read it at lightning speed. The content was concise, generally describing how a zombie evolved step by step into the legendary Ba, a being of demon king status, possessing all seven souls and both Yin and Yang souls, with unfathomable magical powers and endless strength.
This was exactly what he needed!
His sister was truly a treasure trove!
As soon as he looked up, he saw Gu Junshi about to leave. Gu Chuhao floated over anxiously, as flying zombies couldn't walk like humans.
"Sister, where are you going?"
Gu Junshi was now just a "mortal," and she couldn't have a flying zombie with the stench of death trailing her.
"You raised me for ten years, and I've repaid you. Our debts are settled. You don't need to follow me anymore." She waved her hand dismissively.
Gu Er felt like crying, "If I don't follow you, where will I go? What debts are settled? I don't hold grudges, but you still do? Who wronged whom in the first place? We share the same blood, can we really be so easily separated?"
"We share different blood now," Gu Junshi reminded him.
This body of his belonged to Tian Yi.
"Even if our bloodlines are different, you are still my sister, and I am still your brother!" Gu Chuhao, seeing her unmoved, had a flash of inspiration. He recalled her extravagant habits and said, "I am very useful! You can't abandon me. Without me, who will cook, wash dishes, do laundry, and boil water for you from now on..."
Gu Junshi suddenly looked at him, her gaze fixed on him for a brief moment.
Gu Er was somewhat bewildered.
Sometimes, a person might suddenly recall someone's existence at a certain time or through a certain phrase.
She thought of her little husband and said to him, "I am married. The things you mentioned, he does them for me now. Moreover, he can do things that you cannot."
Like washing her feet and warming her bed, for example.
Gu Er was stunned. He felt flustered and panicked, and then he started speaking without thinking.
"You, you're married? Who was blind and muddle-headed enough to marry you?"
Gu Junshi gazed at him calmly until Gu Chuhao regained his composure, breaking out in a cold sweat. She then said in a tone devoid of emotion, "Are you seeking death?"
Gu Er trembled with fear but retorted defiantly, "You're lying to me, aren't you? Where is he? If he's not by your side, where has he gone?"
"He's leveling up to fight..."
A monster?
Gu Junshi suddenly fell into thought, remembering something.
She recalled... in the original plot, there was a very powerful red-eyed creature in the Crossing Life Temple. He had killed countless lives, his bloody aura reaching the heavens, and was eventually eradicated by the protagonist, Long Aotian, who emerged from Lai Shan Stream, for the good of the people.
Gu Junshi: "..."
So, was Gu Er the first villain boss to provide experience for her little husband's leveling up?