Yu Fusheng’s heart stirred slightly, but before he could savor that momentary touch, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air. Five-colored fireworks, signaling an enemy attack, bloomed in the night sky.
The barrier covering Manyou Valley shattered. Howls like those of ghosts and wolves echoed throughout the valley. Looking from above, hordes of demon beasts poured into Manyou Valley, covering the land like a vast blanket.
Yu Fusheng’s expression changed. He gripped Fang Zhongqing’s shoulder and shook him vigorously: “Wake up, Fang Zhongqing! Fang Zhongqing!”
Since childhood, Fang Zhongqing had needed long sleep to replenish his strength after being injured. After being shaken for quite some time, he opened his eyes with a confused look and was pulled up in a daze.
He leaned against Yu Fusheng like someone drunk, barely able to stand.
Yu Fusheng sensed something was wrong and carried him on his back.
As the demon race attacked, fortunately, the two were in a relatively secluded location with no demon beasts in sight yet. Yu Fusheng ran quickly through the forest with Fang Zhongqing on his back, assessing the situation in Manyou Valley.
The demon race’s sudden attack had caught the cultivation world unprepared. Once they reacted, they might still have the strength to fight back, but at this moment, the sect masters were battling demon kings in mid-air, with no time to clear the demon beasts below.
The greatest threat to them would be the great demons, second only to the demon kings. As long as they didn’t encounter these, they could survive.
Just as Yu Fusheng finished this thought, he looked up and his face turned deathly pale.
Hanging upside down from the shrubs ahead was a mutilated corpse, with exposed white bones at the ankles and wrists, a horrifying sight.
Yu Fusheng’s gaze fell on the face-it was Chen Yin, completely dead.
A cold sweat trickled down Yu Fusheng’s temple. He changed direction, turning to flee toward the distance. Judging by the dense wounds covering Chen Yin’s body, he must have been attacked by a great demon-one with a violent nature that enjoyed consuming humans.
Yu Fusheng only hoped it had gone far away, otherwise…
A cry like that of an infant came from deep within the forest.
Yu Fusheng’s expression changed drastically. Through his extended spiritual sense, he saw a tall figure emerging in the dim light, with three grotesque bird heads growing from its neck. The knife-like beaks pecked at a cultivator, tearing their flesh to pieces.
It was the legendary great demon, the Gu Diao.
As if sensing his spiritual awareness, the Gu Diao turned its head, curling one corner of its mouth into a smile before suddenly giving chase.
A thunderous sound exploded in Yu Fusheng’s mind as he sensed the aura of death. Acting on instinct, he quickly fled backward, his spiritual sense detecting the rapidly approaching Gu Diao.
Moving at top speed, he placed the once-again sleeping Fang Zhongqing in tall grass, then stood in front of the thicket. He slashed his own arm hundreds of times, releasing a large amount of blood to confuse the demon beast’s sense of smell, preventing it from detecting Fang Zhongqing’s presence inside.
The Gu Diao, in human form, caught up in an instant. Its crimson tongue licked its lips, savoring the previous taste.
It stared at Yu Fusheng, its gaze sweeping over the bloody arm. As Yu Fusheng fled in another direction, it unhesitatingly pursued, pinning him to the ground.
The Gu Diao threw back its head and laughed, its colorful bird heads on its neck swaying. The three beaks opened wide, emitting infant-like laughter. It gripped Yu Fusheng’s throat, lowering its beaks to peck repeatedly, instantly tearing the youth’s skin and flesh.
Yu Fusheng’s face contorted with pain, blood seeping from all over his body.
Midway through feeding, the Gu Diao realized something was missing and paused: “Why aren’t you screaming?” It enjoyed hearing screams, watching people beg desperately before tearing their flesh apart until the moment of death.
The Gu Diao assumed Yu Fusheng was mute and lost interest. Its sharp claws reached for Yu Fusheng’s heart, intending to kill him directly.
At that moment, a slight movement came from the grass ahead.
The Gu Diao raised an eyebrow slightly, noticing Yu Fusheng’s drastic change in expression. Suddenly understanding, a playful smile appeared on its blood-stained lips: “There’s someone in there.”
Yu Fusheng’s face turned white.
The Gu Diao released him and stepped forward, but its legs were firmly grabbed by Yu Fusheng, who desperately held on.
The Gu Diao’s sharp laughter echoed through the forest, particularly cold: “What’s hiding in there? Let me think… it must be delicious.”
Growing excited, the Gu Diao casually struck the youth holding its legs. Yu Fusheng felt as if a massive rock had crashed onto his back, breaking his spine. Blood flowed unceasingly from his mouth, but even so, he didn’t loosen his grip on the Gu Diao.
The Gu Diao, violent by nature, found this behavior interesting and began playfully pecking at Yu Fusheng’s flesh with its three beaks.
One piece from the back of his neck, one from his arm, one from his back.
In an instant, numerous bloody holes appeared all over Yu Fusheng’s body. The pain of having his flesh gouged out was so intense that the blood vessels under his skin felt ready to burst.
The Gu Diao had never seen someone like this before. Though mangled and bloody, clearly on the verge of death, whenever it made the slightest move toward the grass thicket, the youth would stir again, his flayed hands gripping its ankle with desperate strength.
The Gu Diao looked down, taking a rare moment to truly observe a human.
It saw the youth’s eyes, seemingly mixed with blood, completely crimson. Looking closely, they appeared more sinister than those of demon beasts, his distorted face revealing a ferocious expression.
“Don’t touch him-”
The Gu Diao felt a momentary fear. Recovering, it abandoned its playful attitude and went berserk, its three beaks frantically tearing at Yu Fusheng’s flesh, not even bothering to chew before swallowing.
The youth’s body in the forest gradually grew still. The Gu Diao laughed coldly, about to pierce his heart.
Just then, the Qinglin Sect Master arrived, followed by the Sword Sect Master.
When Yu Fusheng was rescued, barely half a piece of intact flesh remained on his body. He no longer felt pain, his eyes half-open, his floating gaze struggling to focus on the grass thicket. Standing at death’s edge, he felt an unprecedented sense of liberation.
In that moment, the past twelve years flashed before his eyes like a revolving lantern. All those years of turbulence and wandering without direction turned to ashes.
He glimpsed the end of his life and found a path he could pursue tirelessly for the rest of his days.
***
When Yu Fusheng opened his eyes again, he was in the Sword Sect.
His usually quiet room had suddenly become lively, with many fellow disciples coming to visit him.
It turned out that several days ago, the two sect masters had arrived just in time to kill the Gu Diao, subsequently discovering Fang Zhongqing whom Yu Fusheng had hidden in the grass.
Seeing Fang Zhongqing unharmed, the Qinglin Sect Master’s anxious heart was put at ease. He praised Yu Fusheng endlessly for protecting Fang Zhongqing from the great demon. The Sword Sect Master nodded in agreement, saying Yu Fusheng embodied the spirit of a Sword Sect disciple-unyielding and righteous.
With the care of two great sect masters, who even personally came to visit, Yu Fusheng’s treatment in the Sword Sect underwent a dramatic change.
As his master, Elder Wu visited most frequently, feeling greatly gratified. With this one deed, Yu Fusheng’s future days in the sect would be much better. Upon his awakening, Elder Wu eagerly informed him of the sect’s rewards and the praise from all quarters.
His awakened disciple curved his lips slightly, smiling more than usual, patiently listening to everything with appropriately displayed joy.
Yet Elder Wu sensed something different, though he couldn’t pinpoint any flaw in Yu Fusheng. After much thought, he awkwardly found something to say: “That Qinglin disciple you saved is still in our Sword Sect.”
Just as he finished speaking, a smiling youthful voice came from outside the door: “Yu Fusheng, I heard you’re awake. I’ve brought Zhongqing to see you.”
Yu Fusheng’s narrow eyes narrowed further, his gaze moving from Xue Chuan at the front to the person behind him.
Fang Zhongqing still wore white robes, his dark hair unbound and cascading down his back. His face was fair and cold, the cinnabar mark between his brows dazzlingly bright.
These past few days, Xue Chuan had been following Fang Zhongqing around on his father’s orders, helping him become familiar with the Sword Sect.
Initially reluctant, Xue Chuan had been full of hostility toward this peer from Qinglin with exceptional talent. Later, he discovered that Fang Zhongqing was not aloof but surprisingly easy to get along with, with a better temperament than anyone he had ever met.
So Xue Chuan genuinely wanted to befriend him. Hearing that Fang Zhongqing wanted to visit Yu Fusheng, he had followed along. As for the Zheng beast incident in Manyou Valley, someone had smoothed it over for him, and he had almost completely forgotten about it.
Fang Zhongqing walked to the bedside and looked at the youth sitting up, pondering for a moment: “Does it hurt?”
Yu Fusheng asked: “What if it hurts, and what if it doesn’t?”
“If it hurts, I’ll give you medicine,” Fang Zhongqing took out a white jade bottle from his sleeve and placed it beside Yu Fusheng’s hand.
“If it doesn’t hurt,” he raised his hand to touch Yu Fusheng’s forehead, his tone serious, “you must be ill and talking nonsense.”
How could it not hurt when flesh had been torn away?
Yu Fusheng’s gaze changed slightly. He gripped Fang Zhongqing’s slender wrist, pulling the hand from his forehead and placing the jade bottle in his palm, his voice low and steady: “It hurts.”
“Fang Zhongqing, apply the medicine for me.”
Fang Zhongqing was stunned. After a moment, his expression turned somewhat innocent: “…I don’t know how.”
Yu Fusheng laughed lightly: “I’ll teach you.”
Fang Zhongqing blinked, about to nod, when Xue Chuan behind him frowned and stepped forward, pulling him away from the bedside: “Your medicine has already been applied properly. Stop trying to deceive people. You still want Zhongqing to apply medicine for you? Look at yourself, are you even wor-”
Xue Chuan remembered Elder Wu was still present and swallowed the rest of his disparaging comment. Instead, he glared at Yu Fusheng, silently warning him before leading Fang Zhongqing away: “Zhongqing, how do you learn spells so quickly? Teach me too, so my father won’t scold me every day.”
“Look at scrolls,” Fang Zhongqing looked back at Yu Fusheng, saying seriously, “I’m not good at teaching others.”
Xue Chuan replied: “You haven’t even tried. Come on, practice with me for a while. You’re returning to Qinglin Sect tomorrow, and who knows when we’ll meet again.”
Their conversation grew fainter as they walked away. Yu Fusheng withdrew his gaze, his slender fingers playing with the jade bottle, his expression revealing neither joy nor anger.
In the East Wilderness battle, the cultivation world ultimately achieved a bitter victory. Yu Fusheng benefited greatly from this campaign, becoming a model among Sword Sect disciples. Stories of his diligent practice spread, and after discussions between the sect master and elders, he was even allowed to enter an ancient secret realm.
This secret realm was a treasure of the Sword Sect. Since its founding, only the top ten disciples of each generation were permitted to enter. Making an exception for Yu Fusheng was a special reward.
Before entering the secret realm, Yu Fusheng stood with ten other outstanding talents on a high platform under everyone’s gaze. Many below envied him but weren’t jealous, believing that with his aptitude, he wouldn’t gain much beyond broadening his horizons.
Yu Fusheng took in everyone’s expressions, his eyes showing no ripples of emotion, until he saw Xue Chuan take out a jade slip inscribed with the character “Qing.” His gaze locked onto it. Others noticed too, and someone close to Xue Chuan asked: “Whose is that? Look at how pleased you are.”
Xue Chuan smiled proudly: “Qinglin Sect, Fang Zhongqing.”
The person’s mouth fell open: “Fang Zhongqing? He doesn’t seem approachable. When did you two become so close? He even gave you a jade slip.”
Xue Chuan thought to himself that it was because Zhongqing was kind-hearted. When he had asked for the jade slip, he hadn’t held much hope, but unexpectedly, after he showed a disappointed expression, Fang Zhongqing had actually given it to him.
Xue Chuan had never met someone like Fang Zhongqing before. Though appearing cold and aloof, he was actually incredibly soft-hearted, making people want to get close to him. Like children asking for candy, people sought a bit of sweetness from him, and when satisfied, nothing could be more delightful.
Xue Chuan turned the jade slip in his hand, unable to suppress a smile.
He wanted to tell his friend how well Fang Zhongqing treated others, not to be deceived by appearances. But on second thought, the fewer people who knew this, the better. Otherwise, everyone would be hovering around Zhongqing. So instead, he boasted: “To you, Zhongqing might seem unapproachable, but I’m different to him. Don’t lump me in with the rest of you.”
His friend exclaimed in admiration, begging Xue Chuan to bring him along when he next invited Fang Zhongqing, wanting to get acquainted.
Xue Chuan patted his chest: “When we return from the secret realm, I’ll take care of it.”
However, he never emerged from the secret realm.
The ancient secret realm suddenly collapsed, and Xue Chuan unfortunately perished within. Upon hearing the tragic news, the Sword Sect Master was devastated, waiting at the exit only to receive a corpse.
According to other disciples who had entered the realm, this corpse was recovered through Yu Fusheng’s desperate efforts; otherwise, Xue Chuan’s remains would have been lost forever.
“This disciple was incompetent and failed to save the Young Sect Master,” Yu Fusheng said, his face pale, his sleeves stained with blood, his arms bearing injuries sustained while searching for Xue Chuan’s body.
The Sword Sect Master, grief-stricken to the extreme, could only sigh deeply. He nodded to Yu Fusheng, took out a bottle of medicine and handed it over, his lips trembling as he said: “Apply some medicine to your wounds. You’ve done well to bring back Chuan’er’s body.”
Yu Fusheng lowered his long eyelashes: “My condolences, Sect Master.”
The Sword Sect Master patted his shoulder, forcing a smile and speaking kindly: “Go and rest.”
Yu Fusheng nodded, turning away with an indifferent look in his eyes. Back in his room, he played with the jade slip inscribed with “Qing” in his hand.
After a while, his lips curved slightly, his fingers tightening around the jade slip as he smiled and crushed it to pieces.
##
Ruthless!
Thank You for the new chapter (ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡