To ask what "Heavenly Dao" thought of Gu Junshi, it could only be a view far more cautious and rejecting than its view of "Heavenly Demon."
Caution stemmed from her uncertainty.
Rejection arose because Liu Jiangfusheng, having been seduced by her into a state of bewilderment, found his fate deeply intertwined with her, showing subtle signs of collapse.
An existence that was destined to be a mere grain of sand in the river of fate had, in the torrent of time, stirred up giant waves, even giving the impression of about to overturn the heavens and the earth.
"Heavenly Dao" had once wished to see through her origins and future, but she was always covered by a layer of luminous shadow, like the Buddha’s enlightenment, which even it could not penetrate. This cast an even more mysterious and dangerous aura upon Gu Junshi’s origins.
But this time, a series of rapidly flashing scenes suddenly appeared before its eyes, clearly events that would occur in the near future.
About her, and about Liu Jiangfusheng, and even more so about... At this moment, "Heavenly Dao's" chest felt like a hole had been torn in the sky, letting in icy cold air that rushed inward. Once filled, it turned into rustling frost and snow, covering the Cangshan cliff. To put it in simple terms, it was disheartened.
To ask what "Heavenly Dao" thought of Gu Junshi, it could only be a view far more cautious and rejecting than its view of "Heavenly Demon."
Caution stemmed from her uncertainty.
Rejection arose because Liu Jiangfusheng, having been seduced by her into a state of bewilderment, found his fate deeply intertwined with her, showing subtle signs of collapse.
An existence that was destined to be a mere grain of sand in the river of fate had, in the torrent of time, stirred up giant waves, even giving the impression of about to overturn the heavens and the earth.
"Heavenly Dao" had once wished to see through her origins and future, but she was always covered by a layer of luminous shadow, like the Buddha’s enlightenment, which even it could not penetrate. This cast an even more mysterious and dangerous aura upon Gu Junshi’s origins.
But this time, a series of rapidly flashing scenes suddenly appeared before its eyes, clearly events that would occur in the near future.
About her, and about Liu Jiangfusheng, and even more so about... At this moment, "Heavenly Dao's" chest felt like a hole had been torn in the sky, letting in icy cold air that rushed inward. Once filled, it turned into rustling frost and snow, covering the Cangshan cliff. To put it in simple terms, it was disheartened.
It was stunned for a long time. The silver eyes, which mirrored Liu Jiangfusheng's, flickered with a cold light. The vast universe and all living beings were reflected as a pale white.
"Impossible!"
Those scenes made "Heavenly Dao" incredulous. Although it was puzzled that it had previously been unable to discern Gu Junshi's life trajectory, it had remained calm. But now that it could finally see some things, its outwardly composed demeanor precisely illustrated its immense inner weight and shock.
It could tolerate her before, but now... it could not!
He slightly raised his chin, his gaze fixed directly on Gu Junshi above. Under the ice-white lightning, the flowing lines cast shadows that deepened in the high peaks of his eye sockets and the bridge of his nose, making him appear sharp and his demeanor cold.
He looked at the arrogant figure on the high ground, standing before a hellish demon that occupied half the sky. Yet, her presence was in no way diminished. Her world seemed separated from everything around it by two attitudes: one that roared with the power of the heavens and the Milky Way, with spring thunder rumbling over distant mountains, wind raging and thunder roaring, shocking heaven and earth.
The other was her freedom, her danger, her divinity, her movement.
The moment "Heavenly Dao" thought of what she had done, it felt she was far too arrogant!
"Heavenly Dao's" gaze was more unfathomable than the darkening, desolate sky. The thunder on the ground, the lightning in the sky, the surging thunder and lightning in its heart all converged into a sharp, luminous killing intent.
If one were to pick fault, it felt as though even her name was more arrogant than that of ordinary people.
Junshi.
In the mortal world, the Son of Heaven was generally addressed as Junshi. Yet she, a mere woman, dared to bear such a respected title, disregarding heavenly will and human ethics of hierarchy.
Lightning raged incessantly in the sky, with streaks of silver-white lightning following one after another. The angry god in the mortal world seemed to want to shatter the world's defilement and evil with the strict and majestic power of thunder.
The thunderclaps, which nearly tore the sky apart, shook the earth. If all the accumulated lightning within a hundred-mile radius were to strike down, the entire "Dragon Island Secret Realm" might be sunk, leaving no living soul.
"Heavenly Dao" would naturally not do such a thing. When it fought "Heavenly Demon," it had already set up a barrier to protect the surrounding area from being destroyed by their power that surpassed this realm's capacity.
But at this moment, "Heavenly Dao," realizing that Gu Junshi's anomaly had become too great, was forced to abandon its initial principles and rules.
Although it wore Liu Jiangfusheng's face and body, it had drastically changed Liu Jiangfusheng's temperament. "Heavenly Dao" was a deity; it possessed supreme divinity that shone like the sun and moon. It could ascend to the nine heavens and descend into the nine thousand layers of tribulations. Anyone who looked at it could feel the difference between Liu Jiangfusheng and it.
Gu Junshi flicked the ghost infant to the side, placing it into her consciousness space. She straightened her back, lowering her dark, deep eyes. Her moon-pale skin made her expression appear listless and blank.
She clearly knew that the "Liu Jiangfusheng" before her was not her Liu Jiangfusheng. She did not know what had happened to "him," but the thought of his occupied body made Gu Junshi's eyes sharp as a drawn blade, a dark crimson hue tinging the corners of her eyes.
But the other party was clearly more enraged. The extremely narrow and constricting streaks of thick purple lightning directly struck into the "Dragon Island Secret Realm." More precisely, they were like righteous beams of light striking down at Gu Junshi. The demon behind her tilted its head upwards, meeting the attack. It crouched lower inch by inch, and was annihilated bit by bit. With a helpless and indignant roar, it turned into dust scattered across the sky.
Gu Junshi's eyes widened slightly, thinking with shocked awe, this power actually far exceeds this realm's capacity?
Who was this person who had invaded Liu Jiangfusheng’s body?
Suddenly, an answer that was about to be revealed made Gu Junshi's eyes change.
This was the second time she had encountered such a thorny situation. The first was during her ascension, and the second was now. Just as she was considering whether she had to expose the "Gate of the Yellow Springs," she saw the purple lightning, which had cleared the cold miasma and left the sky clear, split and branch out—
Within a radius of several miles centered on Gu Junshi, there was a vacuum. The heavenly lightning, which could even turn an immortal into dust, had not touched her in the slightest, not even a corner of her clothes.
This time, let alone "Heavenly Dao," even Gu Junshi couldn't help but be a little stunned.
The onslaught was ferocious, earth-shattering and ghost-crying, but it ended so casually, as if it were a prank of "Haha, I'm just here to scare you."
Gu Junshi frowned slightly, her expression becoming even more blank. She uncomfortably placed a hand on her abdomen.
Just now... there seemed to be movement in her belly. But at that time, she was too focused on dealing with the threat of the purple lightning and chose to ignore it. Now, however, she was receiving a resentful protest from this little one.
The bulging pain, persistent like needle pricks, was nothing to Gu Junshi. She was only concerned whether what had happened earlier had frightened or harmed it.
Seeing the heavenly lightning subside around Gu Junshi, the sky grew darker, mirroring "Heavenly Dao's" gloomy expression. "His" gaze stiffened and moved, somewhat unnaturally, towards Gu Junshi's abdomen.
He was unwilling to believe such a future, but—
"He, is, protecting, you—"
Every word of "Heavenly Dao" was like spitting blood, gritted out with immense difficulty.
Everything was in chaos! Everything was completely chaotic—
"Heavenly Dao" wanted to try again, but unfortunately, it had no more time. It had violated the "rules," crossed the boundary, and overstepped its bounds. Finally, this consciousness it had sent into the cultivation world would dissipate due to the exhaustion of its power.
It could not kill Gu Junshi. Everything seemed to be destined by fate.
Even "Heavenly Dao," even it, could not defy it.
"Heavenly Dao" seemed extremely weary and cold. Forced to close its eyes, it returned the body to Liu Jiangfusheng. He regained consciousness, and the consciousness belonging to "Heavenly Dao" was gradually withdrawing.
He only heard "Heavenly Dao's" last words before it dissipated.
"Deep affection is laughable. Forget it! Forget it!"
This sentence, heavy and deep, dissolved a person's fundamental consciousness, forcefully striking into Liu Jiangfusheng's mind. He was stunned and blank for a moment. Then, those shimmering, dark eyes, like ethereal butterflies, flapped their wings and soared, leaving behind a trail of crystal powder and phosphorescence.
With glazed pupils now containing light, he had truly woken up.
For a moment, he was a little dazed about where he was and what he was doing. But his body's instincts immediately awakened its functions. He heard a gust of wind, and felt a shiver of coldness coming from above—
Suddenly looking up, his snow-white robes fluttered, his frosty aura as unblemished as the moon of the ninth heaven. His handsome yet cold and proud face met Gu Junshi, who stood against the dark, heavy sky of cold clouds.
Her dark cloak was like ink smeared by the high wind in the dark night, a thick stroke painted on the blue sky, amidst misty cold smoke.
He couldn't help but be momentarily lost in thought. His pale throat bobbed, his voice unusually low, but he asked with irrefutable authority, "Who are you?"
The barrier that "Heavenly Dao" and "Heavenly Demon" had erected during their battle gradually became mottled and perforated, disappearing. The sounds, voices, and atmosphere from the outside world rushed back in. Wei Li, who had been isolated and could only see the grand battle between "Heavenly Dao" and "Heavenly Demon" but could not clearly see who they were, now had the blurred screen before his eyes lifted.
He leaped onto a rough cliff face scorched by lava. With a glance up, he saw Gu Junshi floating above a bridge of white bones.
To this day, he still did not know her true identity.
But now, the familiar black cloak attire was too familiar in his eyes.
She had dressed like this and spent three years with him. Therefore, even from a distance, Wei Li recognized her at a first glance.
Wei Li had not expected to see her in the "Dragon Island Secret Realm," but he quickly thought of the "reason" for her appearance there.
He truly hadn't expected her to chase Liu Jiangfusheng all the way here!
Moreover, in the past, her love was a silent devotion. But now, she appeared before Liu Jiangfusheng without any hesitation. What did she intend to do?
Wei Li considered a possibility.
Could it be that she had finally become impatient and intended to confront Liu Jiangfusheng directly, or perhaps to force him into marriage?!
Did she not know that Liu Jiangfusheng's heart was solely set on Gu Yi... Thinking of Gu Yi, Wei Li felt a flicker of annoyance.
More so than seeing this damned woman.
In any case, he would definitely stop her. He absolutely could not let this damned woman achieve her wish!
—
Gu Junshi waited until the discomfort in her abdomen subsided slightly before she reined in her intent to unleash her trump card as if preparing for a gamble.
She had almost been turned into dust by the heavenly lightning just now.
Others might not have felt the power of those hundreds of heavenly lightning strikes, but she, a cultivator in the late Tribulation stage, a quasi-immortal who was one step away from ascension, could not be mistaken. If it had not held back and unleashed its full power, it could have destroyed even the twenty-eight heavens, let alone her.
But what had happened in the end?
She remembered its gaze seemed to fall on her abdomen.
She slowly descended from the height to the ground, facing Liu Jiangfusheng.
She was completely covered, and he could neither see through nor discern her.
Therefore, he had not recognized her.
Gu Junshi nodded understandingly, then casually grabbed at the air. Wu Xiang materialized in her fair palm, and in the next second, it transformed into a supple, slender black whip.
She whipped it fiercely next to him, raising dust. Her voice was calm as she asked, "You want to kill me."
Liu Jiangfusheng was a little stunned by her words. He looked around, seeing the devastation, not a single place intact.
"...I don't remember." he said.
Just then, a dark figure desperately tried to rush towards White Tower City, but was fiercely repelled by a golden light. Above, Cheng Hong and Yan Tianjiao appeared consecutively. To the east, and then turning his head, Lu Ziyin and Ru Lan also arrived in a hurry, as if chased by dogs. Dan Ya came from the west, and among them was a disciple from the top ten of the "Newcomer Rankings."
Looking at this, the sky above Gu Junshi and Liu Jiangfusheng was soon filled with people.
In the midst of the chaotic environment, the disciple ranked tenth on the "Newcomer Rankings" suddenly pointed at Gu Junshi, exclaiming in shock and outrage, "It's her! The one who infiltrated the Dragon Island Secret Realm using someone else's face earlier is her! I remember her dressed like this. She's a demon!"
Demon?
Dan Ya, who had arrived later, heard this and his gaze sharpened as he looked at Gu Junshi.
The person standing with Liu Jiangfusheng below was the one who had been with the ghost infant earlier, the one who had removed the demonic energy for him. But he had always thought she was Gu Junshi. However, Gu Junshi could not possibly be a demon; he was certain of this.
Could it be that he had mistaken someone?
"Demon?"
Upon hearing the word "demon," Lu Ziyin and Ru Lan became completely agitated.
There was no need for them to be surprised. A demon that could come and go freely within the "Dragon Island Secret Realm" could not possibly be an ordinary demon clan, no matter how one thought about it.
Gu Junshi suddenly turned to look at that disciple. She had not expected someone with whom she had no grudge to slander her so readily. It seemed the other party was deliberately targeting her.
Who could see through her disguise at a glance?
Who had such ability?
Perhaps, the words "no grudge" should not be concluded so early.
She didn't recognize the person, but the aura was somewhat familiar.
Gu Junshi carefully compared it with someone she had seen before, and she quickly identified the suspect.
— "Lang Ci."