Leaving behind this cryptic remark, the Demon Lord, with great dignity, turned around and walked away without pausing for even a second.
Xi Zhu looked at that departing ink-colored back, then at Gu Qingyi, who was sleeping sweetly beside her. She raised a hand and scratched her head vigorously.
Upon returning to the Blood Flame Flowing Cloud Palace, Wu Youqi consulted the Three Realms Compass and deduced that it was currently night in the human realm: late night, just past the Hour of the Rat (11 PM – 1 AM).
He did not like to procrastinate and was always decisive; since he had doubts in his heart, he had to go and investigate them clearly right away.
There were too many mysteries surrounding Gu Qingyi: how could he wake up again after becoming a soul-less puppet, and how could he enter the forbidden area safely?
And furthermore, how could there still be “Dark Surges” in the world…
He concealed his presence and, without alerting the demon soldiers guarding the Gate of Non-existence, quickly arrived at Qingshao Mountain, the towering mountain located in the southwest corner of the continent.
Everything here was the same as yesterday, only the peak of the mountain, nestled deep within heavy clouds, was pitch black, devoid of the abundant golden spiritual light and orange lamp light of the past.
After a few leaps, Wu Youqi descended silently onto Qingshao Peak.
Qingyi’s residence on the peak was a cliffside pavilion hidden behind a water curtain; a plaque reading “White Stone Boils Rain” hung in the pavilion.
The water curtain supported a suspension of lake water in mid-air, known as the Flying Lake.
Qingshao Peak was the main peak, standing over a thousand feet high. It was inconvenient for ordinary laborers to enter and exit, so in the past, it was always kept clean and tidy by the Immortal Venerable Qingyi using his spiritual power.
Later, it was Wu Youqi who took on the work of sweeping and cleansing.
Now that the master and disciple were both gone… had left, this Qingshao Peak was covered in dust and fallen leaves.
Wu Youqi looked around. Although it couldn’t be called a ruin of collapsed walls, it was a place where people had left and the tea had gone cold—a scene of changing times.
He couldn’t help but sneer: Look at this, this is the attitude of the number one sect in the cultivation world.
When you were useful, they treasured and fawned over you, but you had been dead for only three years, and they treated you with such negligence.
A world like this…
Wu Youqi looked deeply toward the water curtain: Is it worth your life to trade for it?
He ground his back teeth, forcing himself not to let out a burst of demonic energy, and stopped looking at the Flying Lake and the shadowy “White Stone Boils Rain” within it. Instead, he turned his gaze to a green rock on the east side.
A seal was plastered on the green rock. After releasing his spiritual sense, he could see that it was covered in fine golden talismanic runes; the seal script and lines extended widely, covering almost the entire Qingshao Peak.
The giant rock pressed down upon a patch of scorched earth where not a blade of grass grew. Three years later, the land scorched by the bursting spiritual core still showed no sign of life.
Wu Youqi cautiously took a small step forward. Sure enough, because of his approach, several layers of cyan-colored seals emerged upon those golden talismans.
It seemed that the group of people at Qingshao Mountain were not entirely slothful; they were actually doing something productive, knowing to reinforce the seals and strengthen the guards.
At that time, Dark Surges erupted frequently. As cultivators investigated, they unexpectedly discovered that the source of the Dark Surges—the “Dark Origin”—had appeared on Qingshao Peak.
How and why it appeared, Wu Youqi did not know, because at that time he had just been rescued and taken to the Demon Realm, critically injured and with his consciousness unclear.
When he woke up again, he heard the news of Immortal Venerable Qingyi detonating his spiritual core.
Logically, with the Dark Origin sealed, there shouldn’t be any more Dark Surges in the human realm, but the Gu family claimed their young master had been eroded…
If the seal on the peak was flawless, then the problem must lie within the Gu family.
Wu Youqi turned and went down the mountain, turning into a ray of light, heading straight for Liuren City.
Liuren City was located in the Central Plains; it was a city built in the shape of a Liuren compass, square on the outside and round on the inside. One could see the round dome of the inner city from high in the sky from a distance.
Even at midnight, the city was brightly lit, and one could still see many cultivators flying in the sky on swords.
Wu Youqi watched from the sky for a while and soon found the Gu residence in the northwestern ward of the outer city. Judging simply by the architecture, the Gu family had indeed declined:
The walls were not as high as others, and the glazed tiles on the roof were dusty and gray. A massive prestigious family, yet they could only afford to light the corridor lamps of one courtyard.
Wu Youqi raised an eyebrow and descended directly into the brightly lit main hall.
The hall was ablaze with light, and a Spirit-Gathering Eight Trigrams Array was drawn on the floor. Each eye of the array held a Gu family elder; spiritual light flowed over their bodies as they continuously channeled spiritual energy into the array.
Sitting upon the Taiji fish at the center of the formation was a youth in his twenties; his brows bore some resemblance to the Gu family head, Gu Nanfeng.
Standing to the left and right behind the youth were two medical cultivators—one hovering needles, the other clutching medicinal pills, feeding one to the youth from time to time.
Judging by this spectacle, it looked somewhat like a life-or-death situation.
He raised an eyebrow. Just as Wu Youqi was about to release his spiritual sense to carefully examine the young master of the Gu family, footsteps suddenly came from behind—
“Master,” the first to speak was a middle-aged woman, “that Demon Lord… did he really say he would come? Yuan’er… Yuan’er can’t hold on any longer!”
As she said this, she used a silk handkerchief to cover her face and wept again.
The head of the Gu family returned to his own territory, his demeanor and temperament completely different; his back was straight, his spirit high, and as he supported his wife, he was quite certain. “Rest assured.”
“And… also…” Madame Gu wiped her tears, her voice dropping. “We sought help from the Demon Clan; will it affect Yuan’er’s reputation in the future?”
“The shortsightedness of a woman,” the Gu family head scolded. “In the cultivation world, strength has always been respected. As long as Yuan’er can pass this hurdle, Liuren City will belong to my Gu family for the next hundred years. As the dignified master of Liuren City, why fear the words of others?”
“…That is true,” Madame Gu nodded, but still couldn’t help asking repeatedly, “Then is that Demon Lord coming to our house? What if the others see him? And what if his family tries to blackmail us by using this debt of gratitude later?”
These words were too scattered, the questions too dense. The Gu family head was silent for a while before choosing the simplest one to answer. “He won’t. Gu Qingyi’s family background is simple; his parents are both dead. It’s clean to use.”
“Dead and gone?” Madame Gu’s eyes brightened, her other hand twirling her prayer beads. “That’s wonderful, truly Amitabha; Yuan’er is saved!”
Hearing this, Wu Youqi couldn’t help but sneer in his heart:
The human realm is truly rotten in a thousand ways.
The arrogance and selfishness of these prestigious families are truly as ugly as always.
Too lazy to listen to the rest of the couple’s chatter, Wu Youqi concentrated again, but the result of his investigation only deepened his confusion:
The young master of the Gu family was indeed suffering from a Dark Surge, and in quite a significant amount. If not for this Spirit-Gathering Array, he would likely have been sucked into becoming a fool.
Thinking of the one in the Demon Palace who could get osmanthus cake all over his face even while eating it, both shared the surname Gu, yet their life circumstances were truly worlds apart.
At this thought, Wu Youqi was too lazy to hide. With a burst of demonic energy, he suddenly appeared before them. The eight Gu family elders were so terrified they almost suffered a cultivation deviation, causing the formation to backfire.
Madame Gu even let out a “Yao” and fell to the floor. “You, you, you… what kind of person are you?!”
Wu Youqi didn’t even look at her, flicking a wisp of demonic energy that stabilized the teetering formation.
The Gu family head, who recognized him, first struck his wife, then after whispering “This is the Demon Lord,” hurriedly bowed. “I did not know the Lord would grace us with his presence. I have failed to welcome you; I truly deserve to die!”
Madame Gu was stunned. She had been somewhat suspicious of why the Demon Lord looked so young, like a pretty boy, but seeing Wu Youqi controlling the spiritual formation with only one hand, she hurriedly kowtowed as well. “Pay, paying respects to the Lord.”
Wu Youqi swept a glance at them, spiritual light flickering at his fingertips, scaring the couple until their faces turned deathly pale, their eyes fixed on his hand: “Lo, Lord…”
“Tell me about it?” Wu Youqi said with a smile that wasn’t a smile. “Where did your precious son pick this thing up? Time, place, causes, process, and results.”
The couple looked at each other before the Gu family head spoke first: “Replying to you, Lord, Yuan’er met with this accident a year ago in the Iron Vein Mountains in the extreme north.”
The Iron Vein Mountains were in the northeast of the continent and under the jurisdiction of the Shuangyan Sect.
There were many ruins of powerful beings on that mountain, and the mineral deposits were relatively rich, so every few years, the Shuangyan Sect would sell spirit keys to the public, allowing people to enter the mountain for training and mining.
“We followed the young master into the mountain. The first half of the journey was very smooth, but when we were descending, a heavy fog rose, so we could only find a nearby cave to take temporary shelter. As soon as we walked in, we encountered a Dark Surge.” One of the elders supplemented.
“It was too dark in the cave, and we were unprepared. The brothers in front were swallowed instantly. The young master was lucky to only get a little bit on him, but the situation was also very dangerous, so as soon as the wind died down a little, we hurriedly returned.”
Listening, Wu Youqi recited the name “Iron Vein Mountains” in his heart. “And then? Besides you Gu family members, did anyone else know about this?”
The two elders who had spoken looked at each other, and then one of them shouted strangely, “Are you suspecting that we conspired to lie?! By what right do you…”
“This matter concerns the Dark Surge,” the Gu family head interrupted in time. “Afraid of blowing this out of proportion, I wrote a letter to the Shuangyan Sect Master, and the Sect Master replied, telling us to keep it a secret and that they would seal the cave.”
Wu Youqi raised an eyebrow and let out an “Oh?”, not caring at all about the glaring of those elders. “Then, bring me the reply letter so I can take a look.”
The Gu family head then ordered someone to retrieve the archived letter.
After checking that there were no traces of forgery on the letter, Wu Youqi sneered. With a flick of his palm, he sent all eight elders sprawling to the ground.
Madame Gu let out a scream of “Yuan’er” and rushed forward, intending to fight Wu Youqi to the death, but she was stopped by her husband after only a step.
The Gu family head’s face was twisted in ecstasy, and he pulled his wife to kowtow again on the spot, his head banging against the floor loudly: “Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!”
He didn’t know what method Wu Youqi had used, but the black energy that had been brooding on the young master of the Gu family retreated like the tide.
The viscous, churning Dark Surge slowly left his body, turning into balls of steaming water vapor in mid-air, and then all of it flowed into Wu Youqi’s palm.
Those strange powers that made the entire continent terrified were as docile as a ball of yarn at his fingertips, allowing him to be kneaded and played with at will.
Madame Gu was stunned, as were the eight elders; especially the one who had just wanted to argue with Wu Youqi, whose forehead was damp with sweat.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the young master of the Gu family finally collapsed from exhaustion, and Wu Youqi withdrew his hand with a light hum, “There, it’s done.”
After the Gu family members surrounded him, he rubbed his slightly sore wrist. “I keep my word. If you don’t believe it, you can check for yourselves.”
The Gu family couple didn’t care about those empty courtesies this time, joining the many elders in surrounding their son and having the medical cultivators examine him.
While the two medical cultivators were checking, the others also released their spiritual senses to carefully inspect him many times.
“Master, Madame,” the medical cultivators were agitated, “It’s good! It’s truly good, the young master is healed! It’s gone, the Dark Surge is gone!”
The Gu family couple wept with joy, and the several elders also let out long sighs of relief.
In the end, it was the Gu family head who came to his senses first, leading the group in kowtowing in thanks again, his mouth still repeating that same “at your command” rhetoric from before.
Wu Youqi listened and let it pass; he didn’t take it too seriously.
Alliances between righteous cultivators had instances of reneging and falling out, let alone with him, this “notorious” devil.
Human hearts are easily changed; who doesn’t know how to flatter?
He waved his hand, but couldn’t help taking another look at Madame Gu as he turned. “Madame, in the future, rather than chanting ‘Amitabha’, you had better pray to the heavens for me to live a few more years.”
Madame Gu was stunned, and the Gu family head’s expression changed several times after he realized the implications—Wu Youqi had arrived long ago and had overheard their previous conversation.
He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, but still smiled obsequiously: “Yes, we, we will certainly pray day and night for you to live for a thousand years.”
Seeing that he understood the warning in his words, Wu Youqi snorted and turned back into a ray of light to leave.
After the Gu family had tidied up the main hall and settled the young master to rest, Madame Gu asked her husband with lingering fear, “I don’t understand, why was he completely unharmed?”
The Gu family head thought for a while. “That has to be told from when he was born…”
Twenty-two years ago, a Dark Surge erupted at Ying Lake, and the Wu family suffered heavy casualties, yet the newborn child miraculously survived the disaster.
The Dark Surge erupted suddenly from the center of the lake, and the Wu family had built more than half of their residence over the water, so many servants who couldn’t dodge in time died on the spot.
At that time, the whole courtyard was in chaos, and the head of the Wu family happened to be away. When they hurriedly rushed back, the few surviving servants discovered that the little young master hadn’t been carried out.
The Wu couple had given up hope, but when they went back to their room to search, they unexpectedly discovered that Wu Youqi was still alive, sleeping quietly in his cradle.
“Without a scratch?!”
“Yes, it is said that the couple checked him many times, and there was nothing unusual in his body. They were worried, so they specifically sought help from Qingshao Mountain.”
“And then?”
“Qingshao Mountain naturally sent Immortal Venerable Qingyi to check.”
“Then what did Immortal Venerable Qingyi say? Was he really a demon star descending to the world?”
The Gu family head tucked the blanket in for his son and pulled his wife to sit at a table nearby, pouring two cups of hot water one after the other:
“After Immortal Venerable Qingyi looked at him, he only said… only said that the child’s destiny was special, and after leaving a peace talisman, he told him that when he grew up, he could go to Qingshao Mountain to practice swordplay and seek immortality if he had the opportunity.”
“…That’s it?” Madame Gu was very puzzled. “He didn’t say anything else? He didn’t explain why he was completely unharmed?”
The Gu family head shook his head. “However, if one wants to join Qingshao Mountain, one has to pass the heart-testing platform at the entrance. He had tested it at that time and there was no issue. Later, several times, the heart-testing platform also detected nothing, so he must not be of the Demon Clan.”
Madame Gu thought about it, but couldn’t figure it out and stopped thinking. “Forget it, as long as he can save our son, demon star or not, there’s still that crowd at Qingshao Mountain to hold the line.”
“Yes,” the Gu family head also nodded. “Right now, the most important thing is our son’s recovery and the inner-city competition.”
At the same time, the Demon Realm.
The three realms had different times; it was midnight in the human realm, but it was a sunny day in the Demon Realm.
The little fool Gu Qingyi didn’t harbor worries, waking up just as cheerful and happy as ever. Seeing Xi Zhu, he called her “sister” as crisply as always.
He put on the new clothes she gave him, washed his face when told to, and ate when called.
Once everything was tidied up, Xi Zhu sent the bowls and chopsticks out to the little maid at the door—she had been terrified by yesterday’s events, so she dared not take care of Gu Qingyi alone anymore, instead getting two more people from the management office to help out.
With her serving by Gu Qingyi’s side, the probability of causing trouble was much smaller.
After such a ruckus yesterday, Gu Qingyi was quiet today after eating. Xi Zhu found it refreshing, so she couldn’t help but ask on her own initiative:
“Today, young master is not looking for the ‘beautiful big brother’?”
Gu Qingyi giggled and actually opened his mouth to say Xi Zhu was stupid, “Brother isn’t home, so even if I look, I won’t find him.”
Not home?
Xi Zhu raised an eyebrow. “How do you know?”
Gu Qingyi shook his head, raising a hand to cover his mouth and laugh muffledly. He wouldn’t tell Xi Zhu that he could see the bright light on “beautiful big brother.”
But, brother had been out for so long; when would he finally return?
“By the way,” Gu Qingyi turned his head, “Sister, can I still go to that big garden? It’s so beautiful inside!”
“Garden?”
“Mm-hmm, the one I went to yesterday.”
Xi Zhu was stunned. “Is it… a garden inside?”
So it wasn’t the “White Stone Boils Rain” of Qingshao Peak? Did the High Priestess guess wrong?
Her heart thumped twice. She casually fished for information, and when mentioning the “garden,” the little fool didn’t hold back, explaining everything clearly.
Xi Zhu noted it down silently in her heart, then explained in a way to soothe a child, “That garden belongs to the Demon Lord. You can only go there when he is there.”
Gu Qingyi said “Oh,” his mood somewhat downcast.
But soon, he perked up again, grabbing the hem of Xi Zhu’s skirt and whispering to ask where there were flowers nearby.
Xi Zhu thought about it and remembered there was a patch of lawn halfway up Mount Fuyu, where there were many unnamed wild flowers.
After bringing Gu Qingyi there, the little fellow jumped and skipped about, and in no time, he had picked a large handful, clumsily turning them into several crooked floral crowns.
Xi Zhu found it amusing and was just about to compliment him to coax him when Gu Qingyi suddenly stood up. “Brother is back! I’m going to give these to him!”
“Eh…?” Xi Zhu was caught off guard again, and could only lift her skirt to chase after him.
After Wu Youqi returned, he went straight to the Demon Harmony Spring on the summit of Mount Fuyu.
He could control the Dark Surges, and he could digest and absorb this strange power, but if the quantity was too large, it would still cause vibrations in his spiritual platform.
In his early years, he followed Qingyi to learn swordplay, learning the orthodox path of breathing and absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, so clear qi gathered within his spiritual platform.
Later, after experiencing many incidents, he consciously or unconsciously absorbed Dark Surges, and another (gust) of turbid qi lay hidden within his spiritual platform.
Since Pangu opened heaven and earth, clear and turbid qi had been on different paths.
It was fine as long as the two were balanced within his spiritual platform, but if the quantity of either side increased drastically, he would be prone to qi deviation, or even explode and die.
Coincidentally, the Sacred Fire of the Demon Realm was in danger and also needed this energy, so every time Wu Youqi felt his spiritual platform was unstable, he would soak in the Demon Harmony Spring.
However, he was human, not a demon, and the spring water of the Demon Realm repelled him intensely; every time, he had to endure a cleansing of his meridians and bones, feeling like he was being burned by intense flames.
But he had gotten used to it; suffering a bit was always better than dying.
Wu Youqi was lying in the hot spring thinking about things, when suddenly, a flower butterfly appeared in his vacant line of sight.
Gu Qingyi had been dressed in a pink silk shirt today, with a purple cowl draped over the outside.
“…” Wu Youqi closed his eyes deeply, feeling his eyes were being bothered.
Before he could knit his brows and sit up, Gu Qingyi came running down from the mountain, smiling and placing a flower crown on his head.
“Beautiful big brother! Welcome back.”