Guangping was rather knowledgeable about these crooked and heterodox things:
“This love gu is not some aphrodisiac like Hehuan Powder.”
“Before this gu, there is first the word ‘love.’”
“This was originally a gu planted by the demonic men and women of the Hehuan Sect into the one they loved. Has Miss Chao ever heard of the Hehuan Sect’s method of harvesting yin to supplement yang?”
—Naturally she had. In the past, the Hehuan Sect had been notorious for going everywhere to harvest cultivators’ primordial yin and primordial yang.
“This gu will urge the woman to absorb yang energy. Over time, she will be unable to leave this person, and will in turn develop deep feelings—this is called the love gu.”
Chao Jinsui’s heart sank.
She understood Su Liuyun somewhat. Back then, he had planted the love gu in her. If it were merely something like Hehuan Powder, why had he been so confident he could control her?
Su Liuyun was thorough in his actions, and it was not as if he knew nothing about her temperament.
—To think he could control her with mere chastity? That would be a dream.
To make her suffer a loss and swallow it down? Absolutely impossible.
So she had always been somewhat puzzled: he should have known that even if she needed him once every three months, it would not stop her from crippling him first.
Only now, after hearing Monk Guangping’s words, did the confusion in her heart clear.
What Su Liuyun wanted to obtain with the love gu was not a moment of pleasure, but a person’s feelings.
Once he obtained that person’s feelings, wouldn’t she be entirely at his mercy?
What a perfectly calculated scheme!
The demon opposite her also rubbed his teacup. The two of them almost simultaneously thought: this gu must be removed!
He noticed her gaze and immediately shot her a vicious glare.
The demon set down his teacup:
“The demon race is merely despicable; we are not as cunning and shameless as the human race.”
Guangping hesitated to speak: we demons are not only despicable, we are also quite shameless.
Chao Jinsui also wanted to refute this demon’s prejudice against the human race, but thinking of Su Liuyun, she fell silent.
This demon had an unruly arrogance of “I am number one under heaven,” extremely proud. Back when he was still a low-level little demon, he had already wanted to carry her away openly and aboveboard, never deigning to use petty, sneaky tricks.
Guangping looked with great curiosity at the suddenly very noble Demon Venerable and urged, “Your Excellency, this gu is a rare secret treasure. If used, it can bring mutual affection, tender intimacy.”
However, this description made both Chao Jinsui and Yan Xueyi think of the same pair at once: Chao Xiaotu and Su Liuyun.
The thing Chao Jinsui disliked most about Su Liuyun was that although he acted as though he were deeply devoted to her, in reality he never rejected Chao Xiaotu either.
Even this demon had personally witnessed the famous scene where Chao Xiaotu called out “Brother Liuyun,” hooked her arm around him and acted spoiled, twisting like a braid, while Su Liuyun affectionately scraped her nose.
Their gazes met, and in both their minds flashed scenes of “little fool” and “Brother Xueyi.” At once, both felt a chill run down their spines.
Demon: When she calls me that, it always feels like she wants to stab me to death.
Sui: When he calls me that, is he trying to assassinate me?
Guangping rather enjoyed watching the excitement and did not mind stirring up trouble. Seeing that his instigation was ineffective, he said with some regret:
“However, even if you two are willing, this gu must still be removed.”
His expression turned serious:
“Miss Chao, do you know that this kind of love gu is controlled behind the scenes by the Gu King. If you do not break free of its control, sooner or later, either you will suffer backlash from the gu, or—”
“drain His Excellency’s yang energy dry.”
Demon Venerable: “……”
Chao Jinsui: “……”
“In principle, this Gu King should only be in the hands of the Hehuan Sect, but the Hehuan Sect was wiped out once ten years ago, and the Gu King has long since gone missing. These love gus had already vanished without a trace. The one who planted the gu on Miss Chao, how exactly did he obtain it?”
Chao Jinsui hesitated, then said, “The Hehuan Sect was said to have been exterminated… wasn’t that your doing?”
Demon Venerable: ……
“Why would this seat go exterminate some insignificant Hehuan Sect?”
Did he have nothing better to do, running off to wipe out a Hehuan Sect just to purify the cultivation world’s moral atmosphere?
She presented her evidence: “After the Hehuan Sect was exterminated that year, demonic energy lingered for a long time.”
He snorted coldly: “Don’t think this seat doesn’t know—whenever your cultivation world does something bad, you pin it all on the demon race!”
“Just because demonic energy appears, does it mean I did it?”
She said softly, “But there are rumors that you were deceived in love by a demoness of the Hehuan Sect, and in a rage for a beauty, you acted in fury.”
He set the teacup down heavily on the table, met her gaze, and immediately cleared himself:
“This seat absolutely has no confidante of that sort.”
She tentatively chose to believe him.
Returning to the main topic—
Chao Jinsui: “Su Liuyun is merely a Golden Core disciple. How could he possibly possess a love gu left behind by the already-destroyed Hehuan Sect?”
Yan Xueyi set down his teacup. His long fingers lightly tapped the tea table, and a trace of contemplation flashed through his phoenix eyes.
“If you want to know where this gu came from, wouldn’t asking be enough?”
He did not say whom he would ask. He simply turned into a wisp of black mist and vanished from the spot.
✦ ─ ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ ─ ✦
In the underground of the demon palace, a thousand li away.
Su Liuyun’s remnant soul had already been burned down to only a faint thread of consciousness, almost unresponsive to the outside world.
The demon examined this trace of remnant soul.
Su Liuyun truly was one who schemed well.
Compared to his talent, his vicious mind was far superior.
Thinking of the love gu, he wished he could tear this person into pieces all over again to dispel the hatred in his heart.
But perhaps the angrier he was, the calmer this demon became. Facing that muddled remnant soul, his gaze was indifferent to the point of near cruelty.
He suddenly asked: “Your Su family is a half-demon clan?”
This wisp of remnant soul had originally lost almost all consciousness, yet upon hearing the words “half-demon,” an immense fear suddenly arose almost instinctively.
As if something more important than his own life had been touched—some long-hidden secret—the muddle-headed remnant soul suddenly trembled in terror. “You… what do you want to do?”
Yan Xueyi looked at him quietly for a while, then smiled. “The Hehuan Sect—your Su family destroyed it, didn’t they?”
“Tell me, from whom did you obtain the love gu?”
“And who holds the Gu King?”
The remnant soul said nothing.
Yan Xueyi’s beautiful phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, yet his words seemed soaked in poison: “You know demons can devour each other, right?”
He said faintly, “The stronger the one devoured, the faster the power grows.”
His gaze was full of mockery. “Tell me, how about I take a trip to the Su family? That would surely be a grand feast, wouldn’t it?”
The remnant soul suddenly began to tremble violently!
A long while later, Yan Xueyi emerged from the underground palace.
Xiao Yanjing had thought the master would be angry, because the remnant soul had said nothing at all—its lips sealed tight.
But the Demon Venerable merely glanced at his foolish natal spirit pet.
Su Liuyun did not need to say anything; his reaction had already explained everything.
For a selfish and self-serving person like Su Liuyun, to say he cared deeply about his family would be pure nonsense.
Unless the person who held the love gu meant something extraordinarily important to him—so important that even someone as selfish as he would bite down and refuse to speak.
—That greatly narrowed the possibilities.
✦ ─ ˗ˋ ୨୧ ˊ˗ ─ ✦
After drinking the unknown medicinal decoction Guangping had given her, Chao Jinsui had the system keep watch over the love gu, while she calmed her mind, let her divine sense sink inward, entered her sea of consciousness, and opened that Kunlun Sword Manual.
Ever since she obtained the Kunlun Sword, one thing after another had happened, and she had not yet properly calmed down to study this sword manual.
Because her soul was unstable, she could not even ride a sword now—this reminded her of that period in the past when she had become a cripple.
Even though she knew that demon probably would not do anything to her now, she was unwilling to lie around doing nothing.
Even if only to suppress the love gu, she had to hasten her attunement with the Kunlun Sword.
—After all, the Kunlun Sword’s effect in suppressing evil was extremely strong.
She closed her eyes and opened the sword manual.
When she merely examined the sword manual within her sea of consciousness from the outside, the little figure inside would only move, able to demonstrate for her to watch.
But when her divine sense transformed into a small figure and entered her sea of consciousness, opening the Kunlun Sword Manual, she was almost pierced straight through by the Grandmaster’s sword!
Inside this sword manual, the Grandmaster’s trace of divine sense had taken form as a golden little figure. It could not only demonstrate, but also spar with her! Although the little golden figure would not explain the moves or communicate, being able to cross swords with a former Sword Saint was absolutely of immense benefit. Probably even the Grandmaster’s personal disciples back then did not receive such treatment.
So this was the benefit of being the successor?
Her eyes lit up. Without hesitation, she summoned the Kunlun Sword, blocked the golden little figure’s attack, and raised her sword to strike!
At this time, she was on the first page—the first level of the Kunlun Sword Manual, the Gale Realm.
Of all martial arts under heaven, none cannot be broken by speed. A sword like the gale—this is the first realm of the Kunlun Sword Manual.
The little golden figure’s sword was as fast as driving wind and sudden rain.
The clashing sounds rang out continuously, so fast that only two afterimages could almost be seen!
The sword spirit let out mocking laughter: “So slow!”
Sword spirit: “Your sword is like a snail! This is the Gale Realm? Might as well call it the Spasm Realm, haha!”
“Haha, someone actually dodges by rolling!”
“Beaten up so miserably!”
The Grandmaster’s little classroom—while being beaten, she was crazily ridiculed by the sword spirit.
She said angrily, “Sword spirit, shut up!”
The sword spirit finally fell silent.
Only when the headache she felt began to grow severe did she reluctantly withdraw from the sword manual.
—She deeply suspected her splitting headache was from the sword spirit’s endless nagging.
She opened her eyes and fell into thought:
She had originally already cultivated to the fifth level of the Kunlun Sword Manual, the Frost Realm. But clearly, the Grandmaster’s little classroom had extremely high standards—if she could not defeat the golden little figure left behind by the Grandmaster, she could not turn the page.
On her first attempt, she had not even managed to turn to the second page.
It was evident that in the Grandmaster’s eyes, her Gale Realm was still not fast enough.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up.
As long as she could defeat the little golden figure on the first page, she could turn to the second level of the Kunlun Sword Manual, the Suixin Realm!
—With a single thought, the sword moves with the will; this is called following one’s heart’s desire.
The Kunlun Sword Manual she had before was very crude. No matter how she practiced, the second level, the Suixin Realm, could only be used for sneak attacks.
But now it was different. In her hands was the true Kunlun Sword Manual, and she even had the Grandmaster teaching her one-on-one.
Her soul was unstable—she could barely fight using her body.
But what if she could achieve “human and sword as one, heart moving with intent”?
Even if she lay still and could not move, she could still let the Kunlun Sword slaughter the opponent until not a single piece of armor remained!
Unable to wait, once her headache eased slightly, she rushed back into the sword manual again.
For the rest of the day, her mind was filled with the sword spirit’s brilliant metaphors and sarcastic ridicule.
She thought faintly: This sword spirit hasn’t left the forbidden ground for ten thousand years—has it just been sitting there thinking up ways to mock people?
