Gu Baiqing hadn’t expected this Love Demon to be so persistent—after suffering a loss in his hands, they still dared to come seeking death. He immediately gathered spiritual power to strike them, but in that instant, it was as though all his spiritual power was locked away. He couldn’t release it.
Startled, Gu Baiqing finally realized—there was something wrong with this formation. And it wasn’t the initial suppression—it was complete sealing.
And perhaps it only targeted him, because Three Bean’s illusory attacks weren’t affected.
Seeing his master in danger, Three Bean immediately pounced, but the Love Demon swatted him aside with one palm. Three Bean’s illusions could catch people off guard, but his attack power was far too weak.
Gu Baiqing caught the falling cat and retreated at once. Ji Chuling stepped up to fight, and the formation clearly didn’t restrain her. Yet she was no match—the Love Demon’s red threads shot out like thorny vines from underground, instantly wrapping around her.
The web of passion instantly took effect. Before Ji Chuling could even struggle, she was pulled into the illusion and fainted.
Gu Baiqing hadn’t expected the Hidden Gods Clan—supposedly specialized in countering the demon race—to be this weak? Actually, it wasn’t Ji Chuling’s fault. If it had been any other demon, she could have held her own somewhat. But when it came to the Love Demon, for a young girl just awakening to feelings of love, it was a fatal enemy.
Gu Baiqing had no choice but to switch to talismans and other auxiliary methods, but before he could act—
“Don’t move. Don’t anger me, and I won’t hurt your disciple.” The Love Demon spoke slowly. At this moment, red threads already covered the bed, tightly binding Mo Xuanli. With just a flick from the Love Demon, Mo Xuanli would be affected and suffer backlash.
“Don’t touch him.” Gu Baiqing’s pupils shrank. In that instant, his chest tightened so hard he could barely breathe—as if the one bound by the red threads wasn’t Mo Xuanli, but his own heart.
Noticing the change in his expression, the Love Demon froze slightly, then suddenly muttered blankly: “It really is Gu Baiqing?”
Gu Baiqing was dumbfounded. What the h*ll was this demon playing at?
“Gu Baiqing… how could you possibly care about someone else like this, show an expression like that? You’re supposed to be cold, unshaken by others, never swayed. Even when threatened, you shouldn’t worry about others.”
Gu Baiqing didn’t know how to respond. He felt the other party really was a little unhinged.
Just as he was thinking, the Love Demon spoke again: “Do you still remember me?”
“I think it’s you who’s forgotten me. What, you think this formation can trap me? You escaped, only to come back here courting death?” Gu Baiqing put on an air of mystery, though inwardly he was confused. One thing was clear: the city lord’s manor’s formation had issues—it didn’t just suppress his spiritual power, it also kept the demon in front of him from leaking any demonic aura.
But that still didn’t explain what had happened earlier in the cave. Back then too, spiritual and demonic energies had suddenly shifted, almost tripping them up.
At the time there was no chance to think it through, but looking at the bigger picture now, this Love Demon was completely different from the demon race they had encountered in the Void Spirit Secret Realm.
Gu Baiqing thought of a possibility—fallen cultivators. That is, ordinary cultivators eroded by heart demons, who attract demonic energy and fall into the demon race.
Normally, once fallen, they appeared only as demons. But some, gifted ones, could switch between spiritual and demonic energy—like hybrids.
Clearly, this Love Demon before him was one of them. But maintaining a spiritual-energy form harmed them, so they likely only disguised themselves when necessary—just as in the cave.
Which meant, the immortalization-stage cultivation he had sensed then might have been this Love Demon’s original cultivation base.
Because of Gu Baiqing’s threat, the Love Demon paused, and her blood-red eyes suddenly turned pitiful. “You really don’t recognize me?”
Gu Baiqing’s heart gave a jolt. Wait—he knew her?!
“Gu Baiqing would never forget me. Impossible! Are you really Gu Baiqing?!” The Love Demon suddenly went mad. “If you’re not, then I’ll kill him, and then kill you!”
As her frenzy grew, the red threads binding Mo Xuanli tightened further.
“I am!” Gu Baiqing hurriedly stopped her.
The Love Demon froze, then gazed at him with resentful eyes. “Then how could you… forget me again?”
Seeing the sorrow in her gaze, Gu Baiqing’s pupils contracted, an ominous premonition forming in his chest. A guess took shape in his mind.
A fallen cultivator. A woman. A veil. Si Chun. And that obsessive fixation on him…
Which meant, the person before him… could only be from Chuxue Pavilion…
“Fairy Ruiyao?”
Ruiyao slowly removed her veil, revealing a radiant, girlish smile. “I knew it. You wouldn’t forget me.”
It was Gu Baiqing’s first time truly seeing Ruiyao. She was indeed beautiful—a graceful widow’s peak, delicate and refined features, an ethereal aura, beauty that could topple nations. Yet between her brows lingered irrepressible hostility and gloom, and her blood-red eyes betrayed madness.
The Love Demon… Ruiyao… So it was because she had sought and been denied by his former self, that Fairy Ruiyao had ultimately fallen, becoming a fallen cultivator, even earning renown as a demon. That alone spoke of her standing in the demon realm.
Faced with such a demon, Gu Baiqing felt a surge of complicated emotions.
Suddenly, Ruiyao flung a glowing red thread before him. “I want you to come with me somewhere. As long as you don’t resist and follow me, I won’t hurt your disciple. More than that, I’ll even gift him something good to aid his core formation.”
Gu Baiqing stared at her in disbelief. But she only smiled faintly. At her feet, red threads spread outward, dragging the unconscious Si Chun inside and tossing her beside Mo Xuanli’s bed.
“To form a golden core, one must undergo the trial of the heart demon. My web of passion can enter a person’s sea of consciousness, so I can let Si Chun enter his heart demon to help him. Given their relationship, it should be of use, shouldn’t it?”
Hearing this, Gu Baiqing had to admit—it made sense. His doubts only deepened. “Where exactly do you want me to go?”
“You’ll know once we’re there.” Ruiyao’s voice was low. “You have no choice. Keep hesitating, and your disciple’s unformed golden core will shatter.”
Gu Baiqing still didn’t know her aim. But he bore a system, and had his secret talismans. He wasn’t about to fear a mere Love Demon, especially one chasing a love debt. It didn’t feel fatally dangerous. More importantly—he truly had no other choice. The system itself was warning him Mo Xuanli was in peril.
Slowly, Gu Baiqing reached out and grasped the red thread. In an instant, the scene before him changed.
At the same time, Mo Xuanli, deep in meditation, suddenly furrowed his brows, as though struggling in pain.
Now, in the room, only he and Si Chun remained, both bound in a web of countless red threads.
When Si Chun opened her eyes, she found herself in a world of clear skies and endless sunlight, mountains ablaze with red maples. She didn’t know where she was, but she could sense people nearby. She flew toward the buildings nestled in the forest.
Soon, she spotted two figures below.
One of them was Mo Xuanli. The other… although Si Chun had never directly encountered him, she knew who it was—the Elder of Luofeng, Gu Baiqing.
Si Chun didn’t know what was going on. Just as she was about to fly down to speak with the two, she was suddenly blocked by an invisible barrier, unable to enter that scene, forced only to watch and listen.
“Master, what will you teach me today?” Mo Xuanli’s tone was light, his expression relaxed, following closely behind Gu Baiqing.
But suddenly, Gu Baiqing stopped in his tracks.
Si Chun immediately shouted a warning, because she saw Gu Baiqing draw his sword and suddenly turn, stabbing fiercely behind him.
Fortunately, Mo Xuanli reacted quickly and dodged at once. “Master?”
That “Gu Baiqing’s” face was shrouded in mist, and the surrounding world turned gray and oppressive, suffocatingly dreadful.
Si Chun looked up, and in the sky hung a golden core growing ever larger. In that instant she understood—this was Mo Xuanli’s golden core heart-demon tribulation.
When she looked back down, the two were already fighting. Gu Baiqing struck with killing intent in every move, while Mo Xuanli only stumbled about dodging, urgently asking, “Master, what has this disciple done wrong?”
“Unworthy disciple! You deserve to die!”
“Master!” Mo Xuanli was utterly shocked. Si Chun could clearly see the turmoil on his face. If he was influenced like this, then the heart demon seed would take root—and even if he successfully formed a golden core, he would face trouble in every tribulation thereafter.
Si Chun shouted with all her might, hoping Mo Xuanli would wake up. But even when she used her spiritual power, she couldn’t affect that inner world in the slightest. It was as if she had been shut outside Mo Xuanli’s mind entirely.
“Master, whatever wrong this disciple has committed, I can change, I…”
“Don’t call me Master. You’ve already been expelled from my sect. Do you think you deserve to be my disciple? With that filthy bloodline of yours, you dared deceive me!”
Mo Xuanli’s face instantly turned pale, his body trembling as though plunged into an ice cave. He offered no resistance and fell directly to his knees. “Master, this disciple… this disciple did not mean to deceive you. I only…”
“Only what? Was it fun to watch me treat you sincerely, wholeheartedly? Mo Xuanli, you disgust me. Today I’ll kill you and cleanse my sect’s name!”
Mo Xuanli stared in disbelief at Gu Baiqing charging toward him, at the loathing expression on his master’s face, listening to the words dripping with regret and disgust. In that moment, Mo Xuanli’s heart shattered completely. Countless emotions seemed to magnify uncontrollably.
“Mo Xuanli, you were never meant to live. No one in this world loves you, no one wants you. You are all alone, with no bonds with anyone. So you should die.”
Gu Baiqing didn’t even need to lift his sword—for each word was already a sharpest blade, stabbing straight into Mo Xuanli’s heart.
Mo Xuanli glared at him with burning eyes. He was unwilling. Why should he have to die?
He was unwilling to be abandoned by everyone, even despised by his master.
He was unwilling—this person should have been good to him, should have loved him.
Why? Why was the world so unfair? Why!
If they wanted to discard him, then it would only be over his dead body!
Mo Xuanli’s eyes suddenly turned red. At the moment Gu Baiqing attacked, Mo Xuanli raised his sword and leapt forward.
Let’s die together.
As long as Gu Baiqing was with him, it was enough. With him there, even life and death would not be lonely.
Overtaken by madness, he struck. Just as his blade was about to pierce Gu Baiqing’s body—
Suddenly, a phrase flashed in Mo Xuanli’s mind: “Your master will die by your hand…” Mo Xuanli froze, and in a sudden burst, reversed his strike.
Two wet thuds rang out. Two swords pierced through Mo Xuanli’s body.
One was Gu Baiqing’s sword. The other—Mo Xuanli’s own.
Above, Si Chun knew it was all false, yet she still covered her mouth in horror, her eyes brimming with pained tears. Still, she could not break through. No matter how she rammed the barrier, no matter how many times she cried out, it was useless.
At that moment, Mo Xuanli and Gu Baiqing were almost face to face. Mo Xuanli looked down at the swords through his body, then raised his head to look at his cold, expressionless master so close before him.
Suddenly, he smiled faintly. Good. He hadn’t harmed his master. His master was still fine.
Mo Xuanli couldn’t help but reach out and touch Gu Baiqing’s emotionless face. “Master, I’m sorry, I was wrong. I never wanted that kind of birth. I didn’t dare tell you—not with any bad intentions. I was just afraid you would cast me aside. Master, this disciple is working hard. Once I reach the tribulation stage, I can be better, I can make you proud. I can… I don’t ask for anything, only that you don’t abandon me. I only have you, truly, only you.”
Mo Xuanli gazed foolishly at Gu Baiqing, but Gu Baiqing gave no response.
Yet above, Si Chun froze. It was as if she suddenly understood something, a sharp ache stabbing her chest. Those affectionate eyes looked upon the one trying to kill him with endless tenderness, endless pleading, as if weaving invisible threads to bind the other’s soul—yet the person opposite had no soul.
The way he looked at his master—did Gu Baiqing himself realize it?
She finally understood why, even though she had been drawn into Mo Xuanli’s heart demon by the web of passion, she was still shut out. Because in Mo Xuanli’s heart, apart from his master, there was no one else qualified to enter his world.
Such overwhelming emotion—she couldn’t describe it. But in that instant, even if she couldn’t be certain of the true nature of their relationship, she knew she would never again have any possibility with Mo Xuanli.
And yet, she still wanted to help him. If Mo Xuanli didn’t wake up, the consequences would be dire.
Just as Si Chun was fretting, suddenly below, Mo Xuanli froze. “No… this isn’t right…”
He slowly stepped back. The two swords pulled out from his body, yet no blood appeared.
“No… Master isn’t like this. Master could never treat me this way…”
Si Chun let out a long sigh of relief. It seemed that although Gu Baiqing had not spent much time with him, Mo Xuanli had still realized it.
“Master… would never let me touch his face.”
Si Chun froze, momentarily dazed, when she suddenly saw Mo Xuanli below lift his head and look up. He spotted Si Chun—and also saw that massive golden core.
As Mo Xuanli gradually regained clarity, everything around them began to fade away.
With the passing of his heart-demon tribulation, the golden core slowly took form. This was a core that had absorbed the rare dual-element spirit crystal, and on its surface wind and fire elements were gradually appearing in both color and embossed patterns.
Si Chun had seen many people’s golden cores, but never anything like this.
In an instant, spiritual energy surged out like tidal waves, its force tremendous. The wind fanned the flames into a towering fiery tornado, as though the golden core itself was declaring its birth to the world. This display of terror was proof of its power.
Si Chun was still in shock when Mo Xuanli suddenly shot up and clamped his hand around her throat.
“What are you doing here? Why can’t I get out?”
The guarded ferocity in his eyes made Si Chun’s heart lurch—because she realized his memories were still stuck back at the cave incident. Right now, his heart was filled only with urgency, desperate to find his master.
At this point his cultivation had broken through, entering the early Core Formation stage, yet he discovered he still couldn’t escape the meditative state.
Because of their contact, the entangling “net of passion” that bound them suddenly activated.
The next moment, the two of them tumbled onto a swaying flower boat. Si Chun crashed onto the deck, while Mo Xuanli, though also falling awkwardly, braced himself against the side like a gecko, keeping from pressing down on her and avoiding physical contact.
But all around them… fluttering gauze, the rocking boat, crimson lanterns, lilting music, an atmosphere that seemed designed to nurture intimacy.
Mo Xuanli’s face abruptly darkened. Si Chun, whose mind had been briefly clouded by the net’s effect, snapped awake when she saw his expression.
As if slapped awake, she awkwardly scrambled to her feet. The two barely managed to stand on the boat when Si Chun quickly said: “I’m not an enemy, nor an illusion. I was dragged in here by the love demon’s net. You should have just broken through to Core Formation, right? Then focus—let’s get out of here quickly.”
Mo Xuanli had been pondering the situation, but at her words he suddenly asked: “Where is my master? Did the Love Demon attack my master?”
Seeing the tension on his face, Si Chun felt a sour ache in her chest. So it really was his master accompanying him on this training trial… They had already left the spiritual vein, but afterward the Love Demon took advantage of his meditative state to target them. I was already unconscious by then, so I don’t know clearly what happened next.
“The Love Demon… is your master? Fairy Ruiyao?” Mo Xuanli’s tone suddenly sank.
Panic spread across Si Chun’s face. She hadn’t expected him to guess so quickly.
Though she didn’t answer, he read the truth in her expression. In an instant, killing intent surged off him, no different from when he was under the heart-devil’s influence.
Si Chun was about to speak when she saw Mo Xuanli already sit down cross-legged, eyes closed, trying to break free of the passion net.
Just then, a voice called from outside: “Xuanli? What are you doing? Come over here.”
Mo Xuanli’s eyes flew open, looking toward the other boat. His master stood there in thin white sleepwear, holding a plum branch. His hair hung loosely over his shoulders, bathed in moonlight—like a celestial immortal under the moon, breathtaking to behold. Mo Xuanli went slack-eyed.
“M-Master…”
Si Chun also stared dumbfounded. This was no longer Mo Xuanli’s sea of consciousness, but the illusion woven by the passion net.
So…
Si Chun’s heart died over and over again. She suddenly kicked the flower boat hard.
The whole boat rocked, startling Mo Xuanli.
“Idiot, it’s all illusions! Hurry and get us out. Don’t you want to save your master?”
Mo Xuanli snapped out of it and quickly shut his eyes, though Gu Baiqing’s voice still sounded unceasingly in his ears: “Xuanli… come here. Xuanli, won’t you listen to your master? Xuanli…”
After all, Gu Baiqing had almost never called him like this—with such soft, faintly sweet tones. He usually called him by full name, or simply “disciple.” To hear him speak this way… Mo Xuanli couldn’t describe it; it felt like ants burrowing into his very bones.
“What are you calling for! His real master is outside! Shut up already!” Si Chun roared, furious.
That shout finally steadied Mo Xuanli’s mind.
The passion net’s illusion—if even one person indulged in it, neither of them could escape.
Si Chun refused to endure humiliation; naturally she wanted out. Mo Xuanli’s heart was fixed on his master’s safety; he too had to escape.
Very soon, both their consciousnesses returned to their real bodies.
When Mo Xuanli awoke, he found himself lying on a bed. Suddenly, Three Bean’s voice rang out beside him: “Xuanli, wake up! Master’s been taken!”
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