After Becoming a High-Risk Master, I Flipped the Script Chapter 200

Mo Xuanli had changed his mind and come here on the spur of the moment, because when they infiltrated Lou Zihan’s courtyard, they happened to see the Valley Master and Lou Xuan come to see Lou Zihan.

He heard the Valley Master mention the alchemy room here, roughly meaning that after the wedding, everything over there would be moved away and dismantled.

Between the lines, it sounded as if they intended to destroy some kind of evidence.

This immediately put Mo Xuanli on guard. Moreover, tonight really was a good opportunity, so Mo Xuanli discussed it briefly with the other two and decided to split up. After all, infiltrating Lou Zihan’s side didn’t require so many people. He trusted Li Xiuran and Ji Chuling’s abilities, so he handed that side over to them.

The two of them, having heard those conversations, also felt that the alchemy room might be hiding something. When they heard Mo Xuanli was going to investigate, they naturally agreed.

So Mo Xuanli came here.

Last time, after he finally discovered the basement level, he had barely stepped inside before being forced by all kinds of formations and barriers to stay trapped on the staircase without seeing anything clearly. But this time, with experience, Mo Xuanli quickly and smoothly made his way in.

When he clearly saw everything before him, Mo Xuanli’s face was also filled with shock.

It wasn’t only the complexity of the barriers and formations here, but even more so the harmonious coexistence of spiritual energy and demonic energy before his eyes. This had been set up entirely for mixed-bloods, especially those unfinished half-products on the walls, this was…

At this moment, Gu Baiqing, hiding behind the bookshelves, was already dumbfounded. What should he do now? If he escaped using spiritual power, his identity would definitely be exposed. After all, it was still unclear whether Mo Xuanli actually knew who he was. But if he didn’t escape, how could he explain why he was here?

As Mo Xuanli broke through the barriers while drawing closer, Gu Baiqing felt an urgent pressure, like playing hide-and-seek and being about to be found very soon. In his panic, he could only use some spirit talismans like smoke bombs to divert attention, to see if he could rely on ordinary qinggong to run out. The chances were slim, but he couldn’t just sit and wait for death.

With that thought, Gu Baiqing seized the moment and struck instantly. A patch of harmless smoke spread throughout the entire room. Mo Xuanli, who had been drawn in by the scene here, hadn’t expected there to be another person inside. In the chaos, God Nine Transformations responded directly, transforming into a whip.

The moment the whip wrapped around the person, Mo Xuanli’s first reaction was to fling them toward the wall, to prevent the other party from triggering any formations.

But God Nine Transformations stiffened. Mo Xuanli immediately understood something and instinctively yanked it back. Very quickly, he found himself holding a familiar figure in his arms.

Although Gu Baiqing had long known this was very likely the outcome, when the smoke dispersed and he ended up staring wide-eyed at his disciple, it was still so awkward his toes could curl into the ground.

“Heh… I wandered in by mistake,” Gu Baiqing said dryly.

Mo Xuanli was actually a bit confused about why Gu Baiqing insisted on investigating this place. He wanted to ask, but didn’t dare to speak too plainly, so he could only somewhat awkwardly release Gu Baiqing.

A flash of inspiration struck Gu Baiqing, and he suddenly said, “Young Master Mo, we’re both here with our own purposes. I won’t ask what you came in for, and you don’t ask me either. How about we work together?”

Gu Baiqing could actually tell that with the formations and barriers here, it would be very difficult for one person to break in alone. But if someone assisted from the outside, it would be much easier. He thought that with this proposal, Mo Xuanli probably wouldn’t refuse.

Sure enough, Mo Xuanli only hesitated for a moment before nodding.

But this readiness instead made Gu Baiqing unconsciously bite his lip. Was this his disciple cooperating with him in putting on an act, or did he truly treat “Young Master Bai” very differently? He had casually made a forced suggestion, yet Mo Xuanli agreed to stop asking questions without any further probing or suspicion. That was truly suspicious. Could he really be so unconcerned just because of a bit of goodwill?

If a disciple truly fell in love with someone, would he be so utterly without principles?

Watching Mo Xuanli’s back as he turned around and earnestly dealt with the formations, Gu Baiqing inexplicably felt a sense of being abandoned. His chest felt sour and uncomfortably tight.

But then he thought again, wasn’t Young Master Bai still himself? If Mo Xuanli truly became emotionally invested, how was he supposed to respond? Just thinking about it made his heart panic. The more he thought, the more terrifying it felt, like treading on thin ice. The label of a scumbag who played with feelings would probably be slapped right onto his head.

“Young Master Bai…” Mo Xuanli’s voice suddenly broke into Gu Baiqing’s chaotic thoughts.

“Huh?”

“Help.”

Gu Baiqing hurriedly followed the instructions and stepped forward to help. Mo Xuanli broke the barriers and dismantled the formations; he himself didn’t need to use any magic power, he only had to stand in the proper positions and take the items he was supposed to take. Just as Gu Baiqing had expected, because the two of them cooperated, these obstacles were much easier to clear.

In less than an hour, the two of them had already reached the desk.

Mo Xuanli first carefully examined the formations, then lowered his head to look at the piles of materials on the desk. From among them, he pulled out two notebooks. As he read, Mo Xuanli’s expression changed.

Gu Baiqing’s expression also gradually grew grave, until in the end both of them couldn’t help but widen their eyes. The room was filled with an eerie silence. Neither of them spoke, as if both were trying to digest the shock before them.

Although Gu Baiqing couldn’t really understand the details, he could roughly grasp what this research was about.

One of the notebooks recorded Lou Zihan’s illness. Lou Zihan was indeed not long for this world. The notebook documented various methods for treating Lou Zihan. Most of them were crossed out, and only the last one recorded that the “Origin Bone of a mixed-blood” could be used as medicine, with several pages of annotations.

Although Gu Baiqing didn’t know what an Origin Bone was, it should refer to a type of bone that only mixed-bloods possessed. There was almost no record of this in the cultivation world, so Gu Baiqing didn’t know that such a thing could even be used as medicine.

The other notebook recorded how to nourish the Origin Bone, like cultivating a medicinal ingredient. It looked more like conditioning a person’s body, waiting for the Origin Bone to grow to a suitable stage. However, the suffering endured in the process was considerable. It recorded the adverse symptoms that appeared each time nourishment was carried out and the corresponding countermeasures. It required a long period of time, using spiritual energy and demonic energy together to assist in harmonization, in order to eliminate the negative effects when the Origin Bone was used as medicine. It also seemed that because of this prolonged harmonization, the mixed-blood’s aura was concealed, and it made it equally difficult for the mixed-blood to advance on the path of cultivation or to fall into demonic cultivation.

Putting these two notebooks together and linking things from beginning to end, Gu Baiqing was horrified. If his guess was correct, then Lou Xuan had adopted Lou Zixiao and protected her mixed-blood identity in order to cultivate medicine for Lou Zihan…was the purpose to wait until the Origin Bone was usable, then remove her bones to make medicine?

What would happen to Lou Zixiao after that? Would she die? Even if she didn’t die, the impact would certainly be enormous.

These books were so messily placed here, did that mean Lou Xuan had been frequently flipping through them these past few days? Was it… that the time was ripe? Was that why he was getting married?

Using his disciple’s life in exchange for his future wife’s health? Yet no matter how he looked at it, Lou Xuan didn’t seem like such a sanctimonious person. Could it be that appearances were truly deceiving, and he had misjudged him?

Gu Baiqing had previously been anxious and troubled over the relationship between this master and disciple. He had even thought that since Lou Xuan didn’t mind Lou Zixiao’s mixed-blood identity and was willing to teach her, it felt like a case of heroes cherishing heroes. But now, he felt so disgusted it was like swallowing a fly.

If this was the way of concealing a mixed-blood, then it would be better not to have it at all. Gu Baiqing suddenly grew worried about Mo Xuanli’s situation. He felt that Mo Xuanli had come here precisely because of this matter, and moreover, Mo Xuanli and Lou Zixiao were of the same kind. The sense of mutual sympathy between them would surely be stronger than with anyone else.

Gu Baiqing cautiously looked toward Mo Xuanli and saw that Mo Xuanli’s face was deathly pale, his eyes fixed straight on the notebook about removing bones for medicine, as if his soul had already left his body. This reaction caught Gu Baiqing completely off guard. Would seeing a fellow mixed-blood face such a fate really provoke such an intense response? He had thought that at most it would be furious rage.

It wasn’t until Gu Baiqing heard the system prompt that the demonization value was increasing that he realized something was wrong. He immediately reached out and slapped Mo Xuanli on the back, calling, “Young Master Mo!”

But Mo Xuanli showed no reaction at all. He just stared blankly at the notebook, his entire body beginning to tremble uncontrollably.

At that moment, Gu Baiqing saw a cloud of black mist drifting over from the flowerbed in the center of the room, seemingly drawn toward Mo Xuanli.

Gu Baiqing’s expression changed. Was this about to turn into demonization?

Was this matter really so stimulating to Mo Xuanli?

“Young Master Mo, steady your mind. Something is wrong with you right now,” Gu Baiqing shouted urgently. But Mo Xuanli seemed to have fallen into a demonic obsession, no matter how Gu Baiqing called out to him, there was no response.

This sudden turn of events truly caught Gu Baiqing unprepared. Seeing the demonization value continuing to rise, and a hint of red gradually appearing in Mo Xuanli’s eyes, Gu Baiqing clenched his teeth and could only resort to using his powers.

But suddenly, a bolt of lightning spread out from Mo Xuanli’s chest and struck him squarely.

It directly blasted Mo Xuanli into a sitting position. The demonization value stopped increasing.

Only then did Gu Baiqing remember, it was the ring. Thankfully, he was wearing it. Gu Baiqing let out a breath of relief. Seeing the drifting black mist quickly disperse, he hurriedly reached out to help Mo Xuanli up.

Mo Xuanli, however, was like a drowning person who had suddenly been pulled out of the water and finally allowed to breathe. He gasped sharply, and when he came back to his senses, he was drenched in sweat, lifting his head in a daze to look at the hand Gu Baiqing had extended.

“Are you alright?” Gu Baiqing asked, his eyes full of concern.

Mo Xuanli looked at this face that was both unfamiliar and familiar, and suddenly felt a wave of grievance. It was as if he had just awakened from a nightmare, with the only person who would protect him standing by his side, never leaving. That sense of security could instantly make someone recklessly vulnerable.

He grabbed Gu Baiqing’s hand and stood up. Using the momentum of unsteady footing, he pulled Gu Baiqing into an embrace. Only when the cool fragrance of plum blossoms rushed into his nose did he feel as though he had been saved.

A faint, drifting voice seemed to come from a long time ago.

“It… hurts.”

Gu Baiqing froze. That hoarse voice, carrying grievance and a hint of spoiled pleading, made his ears go soft.

Did he mean it hurt from being struck by lightning? Shouldn’t Mo Xuanli have long been used to being struck? The power stored in the ring wasn’t even that great.

And besides… Gu Baiqing couldn’t help feeling conflicted. Who exactly was he saying this to?

His Master, or Young Master Bai?

Gu Baiqing couldn’t stop his thoughts from running wild. If it was Young Master Bai, wasn’t this far too intimate, especially while holding him like this… Could it be that he truly felt something for this Young Master Bai? So had he been mistaken about his feelings toward his Master?

Gu Baiqing felt as though his emotions were a tangled mess he couldn’t sort out at all. He didn’t even know how he had ended up in such a predicament.

He was the one who had wanted Mo Xuanli to sort out his feelings. He was the one who had inadvertently intruded into their circle. And in the end, he was the one who had put himself in this awkward, inescapable situation. It felt like he had burrowed into some absurd, self-inflicted dead end, as if all the trouble had been brought upon himself.

While Gu Baiqing was still vexed, he heard another voice say, “It really… hurts.”

Compared to before, it sounded even more aggrieved, as if it were saying that if you didn’t comfort him, it would just keep hurting.

Gu Baiqing felt that at this moment, Young Master Bai should be angrily embarrassed and push the other person away. Two grown men, what was there to comfort? Yet his hand moved against his will, gently patting Mo Xuanli on the back. In the end, he simply couldn’t bring himself to be cruel.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore. It’ll stop hurting in a little while.”

Mo Xuanli’s body seemed to shudder, then he let out an aggrieved “mm.”

And at that moment, another change occurred.

Mo Xuanli didn’t even have time to rein in his emotions. Reacting swiftly, he had already hugged Gu Baiqing and dodged an attack when the formation began to shift.

“What’s going on?”

“The demonic energy just now… broke the balance! The formation has turned into a killing formation!” Mo Xuanli frowned in self-reproach. If the situation here were exposed, it would be like startling the grass and alerting the snake, putting them in a very passive position… No, it had to be suppressed.

Mo Xuanli rapidly made his judgment. Generally, formations and barriers had a driving source of spiritual power. On this island, they mostly relied on the divine tree or the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. But this place was different. Perhaps to maintain balance, it was sealed off from the outside, so the formations here were driven entirely by the spirit crystals placed in the center of the room. If one absorbed the spiritual energy from the spirit crystals, it would not only restrain the formation but also allow the spiritual and demonic energies to reach balance again. He had never done this before and didn’t know whether he could do it perfectly. He could only try his best.

Mo Xuanli pushed Gu Baiqing to a spot not affected by the formation, then immediately flew toward the spirit crystals.

Watching Mo Xuanli’s actions, Gu Baiqing believed that he must have already thought through a countermeasure.

It was just that forcing him to switch gears after such intense emotional upheaval was also asking a lot of him.

Actually, even if something went wrong, they could always fight their way out. But afterward, searching for the fragments would become troublesome, not to mention completing the mission and there was also Lou Zixiao’s situation to consider.

At this moment, Gu Baiqing couldn’t help but fall into deep thought. What about Lou Zixiao? He couldn’t just watch this innocent girl be harmed. Mo Xuanli probably wouldn’t stand by either. But if they completely fell out with the Immortal Medicine Valley, would Lou Zixiao’s identity be exposed? The world was vast, but where would there be a place for mixed-bloods like them to live? Even he himself had needed to endure humiliation when Mo Xuanli was under suspicion, let alone such a young, helpless girl. Moreover, even if they had a way to silence those in the Immortal Medicine Valley who knew the truth, once she left Lou Xuan’s method of conditioning, could her mixed-blood lineage really remain hidden?

What puzzled Gu Baiqing the most was the original text’s description of Lou Zixiao. She was clearly portrayed as a normal woman who single-mindedly stayed by the male lead’s side.

Because the later events diverged so drastically, Gu Baiqing had repeatedly suspected that it was just some fanfiction he had read making things up. But was that really the case? Deep down, Gu Baiqing couldn’t shake a faint sense of unease.

Gu Baiqing frowned slightly. As he was thinking, he suddenly felt a surge of spiritual power fluctuate around them. The killing array in the room disappeared, and spiritual energy and demonic energy reached a balance. But when he looked up, he saw that Mo Xuanli seemed to have absorbed too much spiritual power. His entire body had fallen beside the enormous spirit crystal and was forced into meditation, clearly having reached his limit.

That spirit crystal was originally a level rarely seen, even more formidable than the ones they had encountered before. In order to balance the energies here, Mo Xuanli continuously absorbed and converted them, and in the end he still went too far.

Gu Baiqing quickly checked the system. Sure enough, the values shot up in an instant. He immediately cursed inwardly. This meant he was about to break through. Mo Xuanli tried to open his eyes to keep himself conscious, suppress his cultivation, and even wanted to stand up, but it was all very difficult. He was certainly unwilling to break through in such a dangerous place, but right now he could not even use the Void Spirit Space.

However, if he forcibly suppressed it, it was very likely to lead to a deviation and demonic backlash. That was what Gu Baiqing least wanted to see.

Gu Baiqing immediately stepped forward and said to Mo Xuanli, “Don’t worry, enter meditation. Leave this place to me.”

A breakthrough within the same cultivation realm would not take too long. With good luck, it could be completed before Lou Xuan and the others returned.

And at worst, it would just be as Gu Baiqing had thought earlier: expose his identity and fight their way out.

Mo Xuanli probably thought of this as well, so after giving Gu Baiqing a look, he slowly stabilized his mind and entered the state of breakthrough.

After Mo Xuanli entered meditation, Gu Baiqing immediately cast a spell to set up a barrier to protect him, preventing him from continuing to be disturbed by the surrounding spiritual and demonic energies, and also preventing the fluctuations of spiritual power during the breakthrough from being noticed outside.

For the remaining time, all he could do was wait.

With nothing else to do, Gu Baiqing continued to examine the items in the room.

He finally discovered a piece of information that could be considered useful. One of the books recorded Lou Xuan’s past research in the medical path. He could be considered a genius. He had actually attempted to bring all mortals of the world onto the path of cultivation, sharing longevity and avoiding the sufferings of the human world. This kind of idea that went against the heavens drove him to constant research and innovation. But that attempt failed, causing a massive disaster. His senior brother and senior sister-in-law died in that catastrophe while protecting the people of Immortal Medicine Valley. Lou Zihan’s body was damaged in that incident as well, and Lou Xuan himself was naturally gravely injured. After that, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to researching how to save Lou Zihan, which led to the two subsequent handwritten journals.

Beside this book, there were also many volumes about replacing spiritual roots. He probably wanted to replace Lou Zihan’s spiritual root as well, since her current one was also damaged. Truly an imaginative genius. Since ancient times, it was not that no one had tried to replace spiritual roots, but none had succeeded. The reason was simple: rejection. A spiritual root is like a person’s bones and blood. How could it possibly accept another’s so easily? So regarding this aspect, Lou Xuan seemed not to have organized it into a journal, likely because he knew it would not work.

After guarding Mo Xuanli like this for two hours, even Gu Baiqing began to feel anxious. Suddenly, a different kind of fluctuation struck the barrier Gu Baiqing had set up. The late Nascent Soul stage breakthrough succeeded, and its power was even fiercer than imagined. In the end, it directly shattered the barrier Gu Baiqing had set.

But this was also good. When Mo Xuanli woke up and did not see the barrier, Gu Baiqing himself would not be exposed either.

As he was thinking this, the black flower field beside the spirit crystal suddenly became restless. Black smoke, almost tangible, actively drifted toward Mo Xuanli.

The demonization value in his mind once again underwent a familiar change.

Gu Baiqing cursed inwardly. This was bad. This sudden breakthrough really had caused Mo Xuanli to develop a brief demonic aftereffect. Perhaps because it had been a long time since the last interval, Gu Baiqing did not react in time, until the lightning on the ring once again struck toward Mo Xuanli, who was slowly opening his eyes.

But this time, the lightning no longer had the domineering force it had just now. It was as if it merely gave someone a painless little lash.

The lightning continued, but that someone was already impatient. He grabbed the annoying little thing hidden in his clothes, yanked off the chain, and seized it in his hand, looking as if he wanted to crush it directly.

Gu Baiqing’s heart jolted in panic, and he hurriedly shouted, “Don’t!” Taking advantage of the moment when the other froze, he acted smoothly, shooting out like lightning and snatching the ring away.

When he felt that cold texture in his hand and was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a powerful force surged directly from behind.

At almost lightning-fast speed, leaving Gu Baiqing no way to dodge, a figure flashed. Gu Baiqing’s waist was already wrapped in someone’s arms, and in the blink of an eye he was slammed into the densely arranged bookshelves. If the shelves had not been made of dark iron, they would certainly have been knocked down into pieces.

Gu Baiqing’s back was pressed against the bookshelf, tightly held and pinned down by the demon in front of him.

When he lifted his eyes, a pair of dark red pupils stared straight at him. The gradually emerging desire hidden within instantly ignited Gu Baiqing’s memories.

This again…

Until the demon’s hands began to roam without restraint, and below, shamelessly displayed its sense of presence.

Gu Baiqing was both ashamed and furious, but what could not be ignored, nor escaped, was the overwhelming sense of loss rushing at him.

It was as if his heart had been struck hard.

Was this demon like this with anyone? If so, then there was nothing special about him.

Or was it because he was Young Master Bai in his subconscious that he was like this?

Either guess was like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, chilling Gu Baiqing’s heart to the bone, yet his body was in chaos, about to burn up.

Gu Baiqing was alarmed. What was wrong with him? It was clearly not the first time he had been treated this way by a demonized disciple, so why… why did it feel completely different?

His body instinctively softened, but his heart felt as if it were about to split open, as though it had been hurt.

What on earth was he thinking?

Suddenly, his chin was grabbed, and that familiar aura drew close. In that instant, Gu Baiqing felt nothing but intense rejection.

He immediately reached up and covered Mo Xuanli’s mouth.

No longer letting him act shamelessly like the previous times.

Because it was different now… his mind buzzed loudly. It was not that he disliked this kiss, but rather…

Before, he could keep his mind free of distractions, thinking it was saving his disciple, helping his disciple, a last resort. Afterward, he could even comfort himself that he had not bent that way.

But now, as his disciple’s aura drew closer, Gu Baiqing could deeply feel that it was truly completely different from before.

Different… so it can’t just be like this, muddle-headed and then…

A trace of determination flashed through Gu Baiqing’s eyes. Lightning was about to light up from his body when, at the same time, the sound of mechanisms turning came from upstairs.

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