From the eleventh day to the twenty-eighth, time flew by like a white steed. The turbulent spiritual energy violently buffeted their faces, causing dizziness and making it hard to breathe, like recklessly speeding at 180 mph. By the twenty-eighth day, they were all swaying precariously.
However, this discomfort of "dizzying formations" was brief. Soon, they felt the surrounding spiritual energy flowing more densely than ever, like swimming in an inexhaustible, vast ocean. Spiritual energy continuously poured into their bodies, making them want to sigh in contentment.
This was far more abundant in spiritual energy than the eleventh day, ten or even dozens of times more. Cultivating in such a spiritual realm was the dream of all cultivators.
It was a pity that not everyone could possess such good fortune.
Outside the teleportation array lay a realm of misty mountains and towering peaks. Ahead, a magnificent spectacle of cascading waterfalls transformed into wisps of smoke that drifted away through the forest, rippling and melting.
In front of the floating stone platform formation was a long stone bridge paved to lead the array. The stone bridge connected to a large stone mansion, a circular city mirror. Below the stone city gate was a circular mirror, tens of feet wide. Opening the circular city mirror would allow passage to another open area.
Elder Jiu Li was not visiting the Twenty-eighth Heaven for the first time, but it was the first time he arrived with such excited and moved emotions.
More importantly, after a recent perilous journey, he felt the preciousness of the present moment even more.
He suppressed the urge to grin, his face stern, and addressed them, "You shall first sit in meditation for a while and await the disciples of the Void Gate to guide us."
Beneath the vast sky and scattered clouds, their mere dozen or so individuals were infinitesimally small within the grand formation.
Upon hearing the elder's words, they all excitedly sat in meditation on the spot.
Gu Junshi, being a mortal, was unmoved by these changes. Ghost infants cultivated the ghost path, naturally differing from spiritual cultivators, but to avoid suspicion from others, she also sat down to cultivate.
Gu Junshi had long been accustomed to the sights of the Twenty-eighth Heaven and found nothing unusual. She put down her little pampered husband. Even in his unconscious state, his body was instinctively absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to cultivate. This was the wonder of the Heavenly Spiritual Root and the talent many envied and craved.
She sensed her own condition. It seemed her lost power had returned to her body.
But in the teleportation array just now, she had clearly felt an abnormality in her body. Yet, when she probed again, she found nothing.
Gu Junshi never believed she would experience any illusions. She was certain something was wrong with her body, but she couldn't find the reason now.
They didn't have to wait long. A few disciples of the Void Gate received the message and flew over from the circular mirror city on their artifacts to greet them.
Elder Jiu Li, back to his professional duties, felt like a fish in water. As long as he didn't have to fight with his old bones, he could handle everything else. He stepped forward to exchange pleasantries with the receiving disciples and, with a heavy and regretful expression, explained the matter of Chen Daoshan and his group.
Upon hearing that Senior Uncle Chen and others had met a tragic end at the hands of Gu Chuhao, who had turned into a flying zombie, these disciples were naturally shocked and enraged. However, they were merely ordinary disciples of the Void Gate and could not make any decisions. After escorting the people from the Grand Origin Sect back to the Void Gate, they quickly reported the matter to their superiors.
—
Awakening from a series of chaotic and bizarre dreams, Liu Jiang Fusheng found that he couldn't recall any of the dream content the moment he opened his eyes.
He felt an indescribable sense of loss, as if something newly acquired had been lost again, along with a suffocating sensation of drowning.
But he soon snapped back from his nightmare.
He found himself lying in an unfamiliar room. Peering out through the indigo tent, he saw no one in the room, but he could hear people talking outside.
"Junior Brother Fusheng hasn't woken up yet. Ao Yi, why don't you come with me for a stroll around the Void Gate?"
It was the hypocritical voice of Tan Ya.
Another calm voice replied, "Not interested."
He let out a seemingly sorrowful sigh, "Ever since he came out of seclusion, Ao Yi, you've become much more distant with me. I remember how I used to often accompany you in farming the spirit fields. When you were busy, I was busy with you. When you were free, I chatted and amused you. But now... you treat me like an outsider."
He spoke as if he had toiled diligently. It was just a matter of using some techniques, yet he was here sighing and seeking credit. Liu Jiang Fusheng's eyes, fixed blankly in one spot, were terrifyingly lifeless.
Before Gu Junshi could reply, Liu Jiang Fusheng got up from the bed. He coldly turned his eyes and, in one swift motion, knocked over the nearby washing stand, causing a clatter as it fell to the ground, making quite a racket.
The voices outside paused, then someone pushed the door open. Liu Jiang Fusheng was seen leaning against a pillar, his face pale and his body weak. The bandaged hand had begun to bleed through.
Hearing the door open, he floated like a water flower. His delicate eyebrows and eyes blossomed into a smile as he looked at Gu Junshi: "Ao Yi..."
How could Gu Junshi not see through his staged act? But she played along, asking, "Why did you get up?"
She stepped forward to check his hand injury. Seeing that it was not serious, she then helped him back to the bed.
He rested his head on her fragrant shoulder. His eyes were lowered, appearing gentle and weak, but his remaining intact hand intertwined with Gu Junshi's fingers, possessively claiming her.
"Where is this?" His gaze was fixed on the retreating corner of an outfit outside the door.
Gu Junshi told him this was the Twenty-eighth Heaven.
The place they were in was within the territory of the Void Gate – Misty City.
She added, "The spiritual energy in the Twenty-eighth Heaven is abundant. You were overexerted. A small competition for the newcomer rankings will be held in a month. It would be best if you could recover seventy to eighty percent."
The power of the "Karma Severing Sword Art" was indeed great, but at present, it also required him to push himself to his limits to unleash it.
From her words, he learned about the subsequent events after he had fainted. However, he found his memory to be fragmented. He remembered the memory of forming the Karma Severing Sword Art, but he had forgotten what happened before that.
He had forgotten if he had killed the flying zombie.
He had also forgotten how he had fainted.
His head began to ache again.
He couldn't think any further.
His face pale, he rubbed his cheek against her neck in discomfort and asked, "I'm fine, Ao Yi. Are you hurt?"
Gu Junshi gazed into his clear, deer-like eyes. The loyal gaze directed at her was as gentle as a galaxy stretching for ten thousand miles. She wondered if this little pampered husband would cease to exist if he regained his past memories.
One hand gently caressed his face. "I am not hurt. Why don't you ask me when I was possessed by the evil spirit? And how I fell into the hands of that flying zombie?"
Liu Jiang Fusheng's expression did not change, not even his gaze. He smiled softly, his voice low and languid, "No need to ask. Those things are not important. As long as Ao Yi is by my side, I can ask nothing."
"Is that so?"
He nodded, then asked expectantly, "Ao Yi, do you love me?"
Gu Junshi did not answer for a moment.
As Liu Jiang Fusheng waited in silence, the light in his eyes gradually extinguished like fireworks at the horizon, returning to the darkness of ashes.
"Ao Yi, you still don't love me..."