After a night with Lian Yue as dreamlike as an illusion.
Gu Ze bathed in the morning light, planning to hurry back to Biluo Peak as quickly as possible.
Strange.
Marvelous.
In the early morning, the sea of clouds was nearly empty, with hardly a soul in sight, leaving a vast, open view.
Yet Gu Ze suddenly sensed something and glanced to his side.
An old man dressed in a red dragon-gold robe had, at some point, quietly appeared beside him. With kind brows and gentle eyes, it was none other than Sect Master Gong Lixing.
Gong Lixing floated in the air, hands clasped behind his back, as if motionless, just parallel with Gu Ze, who was flying at full speed.
“Greetings, Sect Master.” Gu Ze was a little surprised. The Xianxia was so vast, the chances of running into Gong Lixing by coincidence were almost zero.
Moreover, with the abilities of a Nascent Soul cultivator, he wouldn’t have noticed even if the man brushed right past him.
Clearly, the other party had come looking for him specifically.
“Gu Ze, I haven’t seen you in a few days, but your cultivation has improved rapidly. You’ve already entered the late Qi Refining stage.” Gong Lixing stroked his beard and clicked his tongue.
“It was just luck, encountering a few opportunities…” Gu Ze replied modestly.
“What cultivation is your junior sister at now?”
“Xunmiao just broke through to the fourth level of Qi Refining not long ago, she’s now in the middle stage.” Gu Ze reported Li Xunmiao’s fake cultivation.
Gong Lixing only smiled without comment. His vast divine sense swept past Biluo Peak—Li Xunmiao’s cultivation was indeed at the middle stage of Qi Refining.
“I’ve heard you’ve been in the sect for three years now. It seems your accomplishments have been the result of deep accumulation.”
Gu Ze felt a bit awkward. Calling it ‘deep accumulation’ was quite the exaggeration.
It would be more accurate to say he’d spent three years as a salted fish.
“It was only after meeting Xunmiao that I began to change, all thanks to the opportunities she brought me.” Gu Ze answered honestly.
Gong Lixing did not find it strange. After making a calculation, he found Gu Ze and Li Xunmiao’s fates were now deeply entwined, inseparable. Yet the fog veiling their destinies still had not dispersed.
“I always thought your fate was quite peculiar. Now, I finally see a hint of it. Gu Ze, you have a kind of fortune that far surpasses Li Xun—”
His words piqued Gu Ze’s interest.
Although he knew the future plot of the novel, Gu Ze knew nothing about his own fate.
If he could get some guidance from an expert, he might be able to seek advantages and avoid disasters in advance.
“Please enlighten me, Sect Master.”
Noticing Gu Ze’s eagerness, Gong Lixing only sighed helplessly.
“Your luck in love is extremely strong. Your threads of fate are countless, tangled and nearly impossible to calculate…”
Gu Ze couldn’t help but laugh: “Is that… a good thing?”
“I suppose so.”
The atmosphere fell silent.
Gu Ze saw Biluo Peak appearing in the distance and deliberately slowed his pace.
“Sect Master, since you came to find me, is there something else you need?” Gong Lixing wouldn’t have come all this way just to tell him about his luck in romance, right?
“Actually, this matter should have been entrusted to Qingquan, but since she isn’t here, as the acting peak master, you’ll handle it in her stead.”
“Although I worry your cultivation isn’t quite enough, since you’re already in the late stage of Qi Refining, this matter will help you seize a Foundation Establishment opportunity. You should give it your all.”
He smiled, producing a prepared letter and slipping it into Gu Ze’s sleeve in an instant.
Gong Lixing had looked after him many times before, even lending a hand in desperate situations. Gu Ze long understood he had gained the Sect Master’s attention.
Otherwise, a dignified Nascent Soul cultivator wouldn’t have discussed the Dao with a mere Qi Refiner like Gu Ze.
After that discussion, Gu Ze had proven his resolve, earning Gong Lixing’s favor and the token of peak master.
Thanks to that opportunity, Gu Ze had also received a precious system reward.
He didn’t know what this new test would be. If he could succeed, Gong Lixing surely wouldn’t be stingy with rewards.
Gu Ze didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity and accepted the task on the spot.
He didn’t open the envelope right away, but asked tentatively, “Does this task require me to cooperate with Junior Sister Li?”
“Her cultivation is still a bit immature—this task would be too dangerous for her.”
But merely dangerous did not mean impossible.
“I will protect Junior Sister Li.”
Gong Lixing smiled, “No wonder you’re doomed to romantic entanglements.”
“The old man should get going now. Oh, let me help you resolve a calamity of bloodshed before I go.” Saying this, he patted Gu Ze’s shoulder, as if dispersing a lingering aura clinging to him.
The old man’s figure vanished. Gu Ze scanned his surroundings with a solemn expression.
The sea of clouds was tranquil. Biluo Peak, too, was as calm as ever. The morning breeze was gentle, and there was no hint of anything ominous.
He was supposed to face a calamity of bloodshed? Although Gong Lixing claimed to have resolved it, Gu Ze still felt uneasy.
He flew over his own courtyard, where only the shadows of trees swayed in the wind—no one was there.
Gu Ze breathed a sigh of relief. His little tricks seemed to have worked; this time, Li Xunmiao hadn’t waited for him in the yard, sword in hand.
But just as he was about to open the door to his room, a chill ran down his neck.
From within the door, he felt a flash of sword intent.
The sensation was so familiar that, upon sensing it, Gu Ze actually felt at ease.
Wait, why did he feel at ease?! Could this be the calamity of bloodshed Gong Lixing spoke of?
Gently pushing open the door, Gu Ze peeked inside.
Li Xunmiao sat cross-legged on his bed, her beautiful eyes rimmed with faint traces of red, staring towards the entrance.
The Zangtian Sword lay flat across her knees, its blade vibrating with a low hum, as if thirsting for blood.
“Senior Brother, why didn’t you come home last night?” Li Xunmiao gripped the hilt, asking bluntly. Depending on his answer, she would decide whether to draw her sword.
Gu Ze knew well there was no point in hesitating, so he squared his shoulders and entered.
He decided to trust Gong Lixing. Today, he was determined to avoid this calamity unscathed.
“Xunmiao, I should be the one asking why you’re in my room.” Turning the tables, he sat down beside Li Xunmiao, his bold, fearless aura dispelling the sword intent gathering around her.
“I… I tossed and turned all night and couldn’t sleep. I figured it must be because I wasn’t used to you suddenly being gone, so I came in the middle of the night to bother you, wanting to have a late-night chat.” She explained in a small voice, then inched closer to Gu Ze.
She sniffed delicately, catching the scent on Gu Ze.
“No trace of that woman’s scent. I thought Senior Brother might have snuck off to meet her again last night.” She spoke as if offhandedly, but her words were laced with accusation.
What did she mean by ‘again’? Gu Ze counted on his fingers—there hadn’t even been that many times. She made it sound like he was always running off to Lian Yue.
Just then, the letter in his sleeve slipped out at the perfect moment. Li Xunmiao picked it up and glanced at the seal.
“This is… the Sect Master’s own letter? So that’s why the Sect Master summoned Senior Brother.” She immediately understood.
If it was the Sect Master’s order, it was only natural for Senior Brother to leave quietly in the night.
The chill faded from her demeanor.
Li Xunmiao flopped sideways, resting her head on Gu Ze’s lap, holding the letter as she sighed, “I knew it. After living together so long, how could Senior Brother still be thinking of other women?”
Gu Ze gently stroked her hair, the silky strands slipping through his fingers.
It seemed he’d gotten through safely. So his ‘calamity of bloodshed’ really was Li Xunmiao.
If she’d caught the scent of Lian Yue on him just now, the Zangtian Sword might have been feasting on his blood by now.
Zangtian Sword? More like a kitchen cleaver!
“Open the letter and take a look. This is the Sect Master’s task for us.” Looking into Li Xunmiao’s clear eyes, Gu Ze hesitated for a moment, feeling a twinge of guilt.
“This mission might be dangerous. Why don’t you wait for me at Biluo Peak? I’ll go alone.”
“No, either take me with you, or stay here with me.” Li Xunmiao instantly shot down the suggestion they separate.
Unfolding the letter, they saw a few hasty lines.
“The Xianxia’s land is vast and bountiful. The ancestors sectioned off many spiritual secret realms, and every so often, a great many natural treasures are produced.
Right now, in a secret realm dedicated to gathering fire-element materials, a Jindan-level Shenhuo is about to be born. You are to go and collect it.”
That was the gist of it.
Gu Ze’s mouth twitched.
A Jindan-level treasure? I’m to collect it?
Thinking back to what Gong Lixing said, this task was originally for Qingquan. For a peak Jindan to retrieve a Jindan treasure would hardly be a challenge.
But he was only in the late stage of Qi Refining! Was this truly an opportunity, or a death sentence?
Gu Ze didn’t believe Gong Lixing would go out of his way to hand him a hopeless mission just to see his troubled expression.
Perhaps collecting the Shenhuo wouldn’t require a Jindan’s methods.
At the bottom of the letter was a map, marking the location and the secret realm’s opening time—three days from now.
“Junior Sister, let’s gather some information first. We have three days—let’s plan our approach in advance.”
Li Xunmiao checked again to make sure she wasn’t mistaken—the letter indeed said ‘Jindan’.
“Alright, no matter how dangerous the road ahead, I’ll go with you.” She raised her hand to gently caress Gu Ze’s face, with no hint of hesitation in her eyes.