189: The Demon Child Arrives

The water's surface was rippleless.

Gu Changsheng had just stepped out of that stench-filled mudflat, the chaotic Qi on his body not yet fully dissipated, when a spine-chillingly sharp edge locked onto him.

It didn't come from the ancient demon at the bottom of the lake, but from the shore.

Before his newly established, crude Immortal Cave, the Restrictions had long since been forcibly torn apart. Shattered Formation Flags lay scattered across the ground, seemingly mocking the owner's incompetence in silence.

A slender figure stood with his back to the cave entrance, hands behind his back, positioned before the solitary stone table.

Ling Yunzhi.

This newly ascended Purple Mansion of the Wan Sha Hall had dismissed all his attendants. Even his ever-present myriad soul banner had its light restrained; he simply stood there alone.

Yet the Evil Qi emanating from him was more clamorous than a thousand-strong army.

The surrounding air seemed frozen; even the wind dared not blow into this small patch of ground.

Gu Changsheng’s footsteps paused briefly before he resumed his senile appearance, slowly shuffling inside.

“Fellow Daoist Ling certainly is in high spirits.”

Gu Changsheng stepped over the mess on the ground and walked straight toward the stone table.

He didn't ask why the formation was broken, nor did he show any anger or fear. It was as if he had seen a neighbor drop by and accidentally knock over a vase.

Ling Yunzhi slowly turned around.

Those blood-red eyes stared fixedly at Gu Changsheng’s face, which was shrouded behind a gray mist.

“Protracting Purity.”

Ling Yunzhi spoke, each word sounding as if squeezed through his teeth, accompanied by the harsh sound of metal grinding.

“You've returned later than I expected.”

He was testing him.

Although the commotion at the bottom of the Blood Lake just now had been concealed, his beast-like intuition told him things weren't that simple.

Gu Changsheng walked to the stone table and picked up a chipped ceramic kettle. As Wither and Flourish Qi circulated through his fingertips, the cold water in the kettle instantly began to boil.

“I'm getting old; my legs aren't as nimble as they used to be.”

Gu Changsheng poured himself a cup of hot tea, then found another dust-covered cup, filled it, and pushed it toward Ling Yunzhi.

“The roads in the Western Desolate Marsh are slippery and the mud is deep. I ended up taking a few extra steps.”

Ling Yunzhi didn't look at the tea.

He took a step forward, and the terrifying pressure of the Purple Mansion Realm poured out without reservation.

Boom!

The rock walls inside the Immortal Cave groaned under the strain, and gravel trickled down.

The stone table trembled violently under the pressure. Ripples formed on the surface of the tea, yet not a single drop was spilled.

This was because a withered palm was pressing down on the tabletop.

Immovable as a mountain.

“What is the meaning of this, Fellow Daoist Ling?”

Gu Changsheng picked up the teacup and gently blew away the foam, his movements as steady as if he were admiring flowers in his own backyard.

Ling Yunzhi narrowed his eyes, the blood-light deep within his pupils surging.

“You remind me of an old acquaintance.”

He leaned down, his young and wicked face drawing close to Gu Changsheng, the distance between them mere inches.

“An old acquaintance I very much wanted to kill, but failed to.”

“The same kind of back, the same kind of... composure.”

Ling Yunzhi reached out, his fingertips wreathed in black fiendish energy capable of corroding gold and stone, slowly extending toward the haze on Gu Changsheng’s face.

“Take it off.”

“Let me see what kind of monsters and demons are hidden beneath this face of yours.”

Killing intent was laid bare.

If Gu Changsheng showed the slightest resistance or flaw, that finger would instantly pierce his skull.

Gu Changsheng didn't dodge.

He simply lifted his eyelids, his cloudy old eyes reflecting Ling Yunzhi’s ferocious face.

“There are so many similar people in this world.”

Gu Changsheng took a sip of hot tea, allowing that finger to stop three inches from his brow.

“Fellow Daoist Ling has a demon in his heart; everyone looks like an enemy to you.”

“If you were to kill everyone who looks familiar, I'm afraid there wouldn't be enough Cultivators in the Southern Border for you to slaughter.”

Ling Yunzhi’s finger froze.

It wasn't because of the words, but because he felt an aura.

An aura of extreme, pure Death Qi.

It radiated from within Gu Changsheng, flowing upstream along his fingertip.

The sensation was as if he were touching a dried corpse that had been weathered for a thousand years—no vitality, no flaws, and not even... any fear.

This wasn't an act.

This was the true Great Dao of Wither and Flourish, a Realm of finding life after being placed in a death trap.

Could he have guessed wrong?

A flicker of doubt crossed Ling Yunzhi’s mind, but the murderous light in his eyes grew even stronger.

Better to kill by mistake than to let a threat go.

“Whether you are an enemy or not, I will know once I kill you.”

Ling Yunzhi sneered, the Evil Qi at his fingertip suddenly erupting.

At that critical moment.

Thud.

Gu Changsheng set down his teacup.

The bottom of the cup collided with the stone table, producing a crisp sound.

The sound wasn't loud, yet it possessed a strange rhythm, precisely striking a node in the circulation of spiritual power within Ling Yunzhi’s body.

“Fellow Daoist Ling.”

Gu Changsheng suddenly spoke, his tone becoming somewhat eerie—no longer old, but carrying a hint of compassionate lamentation.

“Killing is easy.”

“But after the killing is done, those voices... can you make them shut up?”

Ling Yunzhi’s movements stiffened.

“What are you saying?”

Gu Changsheng pointed at Ling Yunzhi’s back.

It was empty; he wasn't carrying the myriad soul banner.

But in Gu Changsheng’s eyes, two masses of ink-black resentment were perched there, biting down hard on Ling Yunzhi’s spine.

“Your grandfather, Ling Weiyuan; your master, Vulture.”

With every name Gu Changsheng uttered, Ling Yunzhi’s face grew a shade paler.

“The two of them must be arguing inside your Sea of Consciousness right now, aren't they?”

“One shouting 'rebellious grandson,' the other cursing 'wicked disciple.'”

“In the dead of night, can you hear their wails and curses clearly, Fellow Daoist?”

Boom!

An explosion went off in Ling Yunzhi’s head.

He jerked back three steps, crashing against the rock wall, eyes wide as he stared at Gu Changsheng in sheer horror.

“You...?!”

This was currently his greatest hidden danger.

Forcing a Breakthrough to the Purple Mansion had left his Foundation unstable. Coupled with the backlash from the two resentful souls of his closest kin, he was on the verge of collapse every single moment.

Ordinarily, he used secret methods to suppress it, so outsiders couldn't see any clues.

How could this old thing... see through it at a single glance?

Gu Changsheng didn't answer.

He just watched Ling Yunzhi quietly, those eyes seemingly able to pierce through the flesh and look directly at the rot in the deepest part of a person's heart.

[Deduction Successful]

[Target's psychological defenses have loosened. Fear value rising.]

Gu Changsheng’s heart steadied, though he maintained an unfathomable expression on the surface.

“The Dao of Wither and Flourish emphasizes life and death Reincarnation.”

“Though my strength is meager, these eyes of mine can see the dead and hear the wailing of ghosts.”

He picked up the teapot again and refilled the empty cup.

The sound of splashing water was exceptionally clear in the deathly silent Immortal Cave.

“Fellow Daoist Ling, your current Realm is like this cup.”

Gu Changsheng pointed at the crack-covered teacup.

“When the water is too full, it overflows easily.”

“If you don't cultivate your character and resolve your hostility, I'm afraid those two old acquaintances... will drag you down to Hell with them before I even have to lift a finger.”

Every word struck his heart.

Ling Yunzhi’s breathing became rapid, and fine beads of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

The Evil Qi within him began to surge uncontrollably. Deep in his Sea of Consciousness, those two distorted faces seemed to be stimulated by something and began to roar maniacally.

“Shut up! All of you, shut up!”

Ling Yunzhi growled, clutching his head as his nails dug deep into his scalp.

The look he gave Gu Changsheng changed from initial killing intent to deep wariness and suspicion.

Who exactly was this old fellow?

Seeing through his true state at a glance and exposing his Heart Demon with a single word.

Could he really be some old monster living in seclusion?

If he struck now and failed to kill him, it might instead trigger the hidden dangers in his body... the risk was too great.

Ling Yunzhi gritted his teeth, forcibly suppressing the restless demonic blood in his body.

He took a deep look at the old man sitting and drinking tea, as if wanting to carve the man's image into his bones.

“Good.”

“Quite the Immortal Master Protracting Purity.”

Ling Yunzhi straightened up and smoothed his messy robes, striving to maintain the dignity of a Purple Mansion True Person.

“I shall remember today's teachings.”

He didn't touch the tea.

With a sweep of his sleeve, he turned and left.

Although his back was still straight, he lacked the arrogance he had arrived with and appeared somewhat disheveled.

Upon reaching the cave entrance, Ling Yunzhi paused slightly.

“Our days ahead are long.”

With that, his body transformed into a streak of blood-light, soaring into the sky and instantly vanishing into the vast blood mist.

Gu Changsheng sat at the stone table until he was certain that aura had completely receded before he slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Crack.

The moment he set it down, the teacup in his hand shattered into a pile of powder.

He had won the gamble.

If Ling Yunzhi had truly gone mad and attacked just now, Gu Changsheng wouldn't have been able to block him in his current state without using his trump cards.

And once he used his trump cards, his identity would surely be exposed.

At that point, facing the encirclement of four Purple Mansions, he would have no choice but to flee.

“That was close.”

Gu Changsheng looked at the gradually cooling tea on the table, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

“Ling Yunzhi.”

“We will settle this debt slowly.”

With a wave of his sleeve, he cleared away the mess on the ground.

He reset the Restrictions, this time employing every means at his disposal.

Having finished all this, Gu Changsheng sat cross-legged back on the stone bed.

From the depths of his Storage Pouch, he took out the jade box covered in Spirit Sealing Talismans.

He peeled off the Talismans.

A section of finger bone, crystal clear and emitting a faint golden light, lay quietly in the box.

That touch of immortal golden essence served as a guiding lamp toward the Great Dao in the dim Immortal Cave.

“It is also time... to contend for that position.”

Gu Changsheng closed his eyes.

Within his palm, Wither and Flourish Qi circulated, carefully enveloping the finger bone.

Devour.

Refine.