Gravekeeper Forbidden Ground, Land That Never Withers.
Of the designated seven-day training period, the fourth day had arrived.
All the Everlasting Grass within the Land That Never Withers had been cut down. Not a single stalk remained.
And the “culprit” behind all this, Shen Ruochu, continued to swing the Azure Spirit Sword at the side.
A flourish of the blade swept through the air. Its rhythm was both agile and violent.
A strange aura flowed within the sword.
Gu Chengxing understood it clearly.
The trace of agility came from the Azure Spirit Sword itself.
The trace of violence was the killing intent condensed by Shen Ruochu.
At this moment, she was already attempting to fuse her killing intent into her sword moves.
Clearly, within four days, the heaven-defying Shen Ruochu had not only discovered the weakness of the Everlasting Grass and cut them down one by one, but in the process had also grasped the Sword Intent that sword cultivators longed for.
And now, she was attempting to merge her killing intent into her Sword Intent, forming a Killing Sword Intent unique to herself.
Gu Chengxing felt his eyelids twitch.
A seven-year-old girl who had barely touched a sword had, in less than half a month, easily mastered killing intent and Sword Intent, and was now fusing them into a Killing Sword Intent.
The key point was that up to now, Gu Chengxing had not even taught her a single sword technique.
“Damn,” Gu Chengxing cursed inwardly.
This was absurd.
Most importantly, her Heavenly Demon Physique had been sealed, her talent suppressed by the remnant soul Ji Liang within her Soul Sea. She had not even undergone the baptism of heaven-defying treasures yet.
“At this rate, won’t she destroy me before the plotline even officially begins?”
“And if she grows up later and doesn’t kill me but decides to torture me instead? Lock me in a dark room? Whip me? Drain my blood? Press cigarette burns into my skin? Breed me? Skin me alive?”
Gu Chengxing’s thoughts spiraled further and further off track until he suddenly shuddered and forcefully cast aside the chaotic ideas.
Of course, it was too early to say.
He was merely imagining things.
For Shen Ruochu to surpass him within ten years was unlikely.
As he watched Shen Ruochu, who had already nearly reached minor success in her Killing Sword Intent, he suddenly spoke.
“Stop.”
Shen Ruochu’s expression shifted as she was forced to halt. She looked at him with hostility.
From that gaze, it was clear she had already formed killing intent.
Gu Chengxing pretended not to notice.
With a wave of his hand, he tossed a medicinal herb toward her.
“Soul-Hidden Flower. A heaven-tier herb that nourishes the Divine Soul.”
“Use it here.”
“I will watch you use it.”
“After all, the remnant soul in your Soul Sea must be dealt with.”
“If we let her remain in your mind, it will not be friendly to either you or me.”
So he knows.
She reached out and took the Soul-Hidden Flower, which emitted a mysterious glow. Her emotions were subtle.
Yet she did not appear depressed, angry, or broken.
She accepted it calmly.
Her mentality was steady.
Or perhaps, even if Gu Chengxing erased that last hope of revenge, she would not show much emotion.
To be honest, she was somewhat numb.
Gu Chengxing instructed her to sit cross-legged and personally guided her with his spiritual power to use the Soul-Hidden Flower.
The Soul-Hidden Flower floated above her head, dissolving slowly from its roots, transforming into specks of light that gradually merged into Shen Ruochu’s body.
The moment the light touched her, her head buzzed as she began frantically absorbing the essence.
Her soul seemed to have been starving for over a decade. Now, faced with this long-awaited nourishment, it devoured it greedily.
At the same time, as Shen Ruochu’s Divine Soul underwent the baptism of the Soul-Hidden Flower, a distinct and extremely weak remnant soul attached to her Divine Soul gradually stirred.
After regaining awareness, that remnant soul began slowly absorbing, even devouring, the incoming essence of the Soul-Hidden Flower.
Gu Chengxing’s brows lifted slightly, and a faint smile curved his lips.
Found you.
Immediately, his figure subtly expanded as demonic aura surged outward.
Heavenly Demon Physique, activate.
Heavenly Demon Fatal Art, 1st stage Fatal Realm, activate.
Demonic Tide: demonic aura surges and devours.
The Heavenly Demon Physique was a natural furnace of demonic aura. It could easily contaminate spiritual Qi into demonic aura, and of extremely high quality at that, a supreme tonic for Demonic Sect cultivators.
But to those not of the Demonic Sect, it was a fatal poison everyone avoided.
Especially once the Heavenly Demon Fatal Art reached the 1st stage Fatal Realm and activated Demonic Tide.
Once tainted, one would lose a layer of skin at best. At worst, they could be corrupted, giving rise to inner demons and falling into demonic descent.
Gu Chengxing had cultivated the first stage of the Heavenly Demon Fatal Art in just three days.
He was not far from the second stage.
The Heavenly Demon Fatal Art possessed another terrifying effect: Fatality.
“Fatal” meant severing.
“Life” meant shared life.
The reason its stages were called 1st stage Fatal Realm, 2nd stage Fatal Realm, and so on, was because each breakthrough granted one additional Fatal Seed.
At this moment, Gu Chengxing had one Fatal Seed within his body.
Left within the Heavenly Demon Physique, the Fatal Seed had no effect.
Whoever bore the Fatal Seed would have everything controlled by Gu Chengxing.
Life and death would no longer belong to them.
Even more terrifying, if Gu Chengxing were to fall accidentally, he could choose to resurrect through any Fatal Seed.
By sacrificing the host’s life, he could reclaim his own.
This was what made the Heavenly Demon Physique so troublesome.
Even if killed, once cultivated to a high level, it could return again before long.
“I’m truly terrifying,” Gu Chengxing mocked himself inwardly.
Meanwhile, the remnant soul attached to Shen Ruochu’s Divine Soul finally awakened.
“Mm…”
“I’m awake? Little one, has three years already passed?”
Ji Liang’s memory remained at her last awakening.
At that time, she had told Shen Ruochu to sleep with a Soul-Nourishing Stone. After three years, she would awaken and help her take revenge.
Gu Chengxing narrowed his eyes. His aura surged again in that instant.
Demonic aura rolled and flowed around Shen Ruochu with exquisite control.
Boom.
A silent tremor erupted within Gu Chengxing’s Soul Sea.
The Fatal Seed condensed in his Soul Sea streaked across like a shooting star and rushed into Shen Ruochu’s body.
With a sharp snap, it forcibly embedded itself into Ji Liang’s remnant soul.
“Wait?!” Ji Liang cried out.
Gu Chengxing paid no attention.
He forcefully manipulated the Fatal Seed.
Crimson threads spread from the pitch-black Fatal Seed, expanding rapidly and instantly imprisoning Ji Liang’s remnant soul.
Black Curse Patterns covered her remnant soul.
“Fatal Seed?! Stop—”
Ji Liang screamed. She clearly recognized it.
Her tone was filled with shock and terror.
In a single hum, the Fatal Seed completed its coverage, gradually infiltrating Ji Liang’s remnant soul and completely taking control.
Gu Chengxing felt the domineering connection formed between himself and Ji Liang. A trace of delight surfaced in his heart.
It worked.
So this is the Fatal Seed.
After a while, Ji Liang seemed to come to her senses.
An indignant yet cold voice transmitted directly into Gu Chengxing’s mind.
“You—”
Gu Chengxing did not respond immediately. He glanced at Shen Ruochu, who remained seated cross-legged, still absorbing the Soul-Hidden Flower. His thoughts stirred.
“You… are actually the Heavenly Demon Physique…” Ji Liang’s voice was filled with shock.