A single trip through the sea of consciousness ended up draining far more spiritual power than expected — it was even more exhausting than fighting a hundred battles.
Before Gu Baiqing woke up, he saw that his spiritual power value had dropped to zero, and even part of his accumulated points had been consumed.
The only consolation was that after the dual cultivation ended, Mo Xuanli’s cultivation progress had reached 45% into the mid-Stage of Golden Core. Once he reached 66%, it would mean entering the late stage. This session of spiritual dual cultivation had been nearly as effective as the indecent, shameless kind of dual cultivation described in the original text.
“Xuanli, has your master still not woken up? Is he really all right?”
Jingzhan’s voice came from nearby.
Only then did Gu Baiqing realize he was lying on a bed — and that someone else was beside him.
Mo Xuanli replied, “Mm. This is an old ailment of my master’s. He’ll be fine once he wakes. As for Xie Qingrong’s side…”
The moment Gu Baiqing heard Mo Xuanli’s voice, he tensed up completely — not daring to open his eyes, pretending to sleep like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.
Everything that had happened inside the sea of consciousness — those ambiguous, inexplicable kisses — he had really kissed a man, his own disciple… Aaaah! No, no, don’t think about it!
What was he going to do later? How was he supposed to face his disciple? What if he had just turned his disciple crooked? He definitely wasn’t going to take responsibility for that!
“He still can’t move,” Jingzhan said. “I was going to try dual cultivation with him through the sea of consciousness too — since the results were so amazing for you, it should’ve helped him as well. But… I didn’t dare risk it.” He paused, then added with a teasing laugh, “Hey, did you really tell me the truth? Did you two do anything in there? Something that’s actually related to dual cultivation?”
Jingzhan wasn’t just guessing blindly. After all, when Mo Xuanli woke up, he had been so nervous around his master… That look — well, it was certainly not the kind of look one should give their Master.
Mo Xuanli had been staring blankly at Gu Baiqing. Hearing this, his eyes widened in shock as he turned to Jingzhan — completely missing how Gu Baiqing flinched in alarm beside him.
“Jingzhan! He’s my master, Elder Luofeng — don’t talk nonsense!” Mo Xuanli didn’t dare let anyone tarnish his master’s reputation, especially not in front of Jingzhan, whom he already knew to be an incorrigible blabbermouth.
Jingzhan gave him a half-smile, wearing an expression that all but said, ‘As if I don’t know what you’re really thinking.’
Under that look, Mo Xuanli’s heart faltered. Finally, he sighed and said helplessly, “Master suddenly appeared, and then we began dual cultivation through the sea of consciousness. Later I felt my strength failing, and I lost consciousness. When I woke up, Master was already gone. That’s all I know about what happened. If you really want to learn about dual cultivation of consciousness, you’ll have to ask him. But don’t you dare say anything improper in front of him — that’s a warning.”
What started as advice ended as a threat.
Jingzhan raised an eyebrow. It seemed Mo Xuanli really did revere his master deeply. The relationship between those two… was quite a strange one.
“All right,” he said with a smirk. “Honestly, once I found out he was your master, I didn’t dare mess around either.”
It wasn’t entirely unreasonable that Jingzhan had doubted them — why else would a master and disciple conceal their identities when traveling together, if not to escape those very titles and… indulge in something unconventional?
To say that the two were completely pure — even a playboy like him wouldn’t believe that, not for a second.
After chatting idly for a while, Jingzhan finally left.
Mo Xuanli began to check Gu Baiqing’s pulse again.
Seeing a good opportunity, Gu Baiqing let out a faint sigh and “woke up.”
“Xuanli?”
“Master, you’re awake? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?” Mo Xuanli asked in delight.
Gu Baiqing met his eyes directly. For that brief moment, Mo Xuanli’s expression was perfectly natural — not the slightest hint of awkwardness.
In truth, Gu Baiqing only dared to wake because of the conversation he’d overheard. If Mo Xuanli truly remembered what had happened afterward, he never would have told Jingzhan to ask him about the experience. Mo Xuanli would’ve buried it deep, never letting either of them mention it again — and he certainly wouldn’t risk embarrassing his master.
So Gu Baiqing concluded that Mo Xuanli must not remember what happened during that time.
Their eyes met again — and it was clear enough.
But still…
Gu Baiqing couldn’t help feeling uneasy about what Mo Xuanli had done in that moment of lost control. Whether it was due to the dual cultivation technique or not, the situation didn’t sit right with him.
Too many things had happened lately, leaving him less cautious than he used to be.
Looking back now, he realized how many things he never should’ve allowed to happen at all — he must have been possessed. He needed to stay on guard from now on.
“I’m fine. What about you?” Gu Baiqing asked evenly.
Mo Xuanli smiled. “Master, did you see in my sea of consciousness? My cultivation has already reached the middle stage of Golden Core. It’s all thanks to you — otherwise, I really don’t know…” He trailed off awkwardly, then scratched his head. “Master, I followed your instructions perfectly. You’re not mad at me, right?”
The boy really knew how to dig his own grave — Gu Baiqing had almost forgotten about it.
“Forget it. Things turned out well enough this time, so I won’t hold it against you. But you should remember — I’m your master. You’re supposed to listen to me.”
“I do, I do!” Mo Xuanli said quickly.
“Tell me how things stand now,” Gu Baiqing said as he sat up.
From the time they began their dual cultivation until now, three days had already passed. After Mo Xuanli woke first, they followed Zhu Jian back to the Zhu family estate to rest temporarily.
Zhu Jian had been running errands to resolve the matters in Linxun Town.
They had tried to spread word that the calamity had been a natural disaster, though most people believed it was divine punishment from angered immortals.
At least, things had now settled down somewhat.
But apparently, when they left, they had drawn plenty of glares — especially from the Wu family. The Wus hadn’t known that Wu Hongxi was already dead; they only knew she had been with them all along, and now that their daughter was suddenly gone, of course they’d want to blame the outsiders.
Fortunately, Zhu Jian had close ties with the town chief and the officials of Tianxian Prefecture, so they were spared further trouble.
There wasn’t much they could do about it anyway — after all, the Wu Hongxi they had met at the start had already been Luo Yi in disguise.
As for the Wen family, who had interacted with them the most, their attitude had changed drastically too. Their son had died together with his enemy in the fire — their ashes mixed and inseparable, buried side by side. The only remaining daughter-in-law had taken poison.
Everything had ended in a scene of utter tragedy.
You could say there were hardly any people in Linxun Town who were actually grateful to them.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Xie Qingrong naturally didn’t meet anyone and simply left town by carriage.
But Jingzhan didn’t have such a good temper. After working himself to exhaustion to save everyone, he wasn’t about to put up with their attitude—and besides, he couldn’t stand the thought of Xie Qingrong’s statue of the jade immortal still being admired by the townsfolk. So, on the second night after they left, he went back and destroyed the statue.
Mo Xuanli, however, was completely different from how he was in the original story. From beginning to end, he didn’t care what outsiders said; he only stayed by his master’s side.
In the original version, Mo Xuanli had it much worse. Even though the situation was eventually resolved, because Hua En was already gone, the townspeople who had been controlled by the soul curse continued to deteriorate. In the end, when no remedy could reverse it, those who had turned into puppets died one after another.
At that time, Mo Xuanli had already done everything he could—he tried every possible way—but still couldn’t change the outcome. Though he had explained the truth clearly to the townspeople, many had already lost loved ones and couldn’t think rationally. So, in their eyes, the Mo Xuanli who had smashed the statue of the immortal was the culprit who caused their suffering—and naturally, they hated him.
When the master and disciple finally left town, people threw stones, cursed at them, and splashed them with filthy water. The already demonized Mo Xuanli naturally grew resentful, believing these people were heartless and undeserving of rescue.
Perhaps it was because of many small incidents like this that the demonized Mo Xuanli’s heart grew more and more ruthless.
Fortunately, the current Mo Xuanli was no longer like that.
After finishing their discussion, Gu Baiqing went out to greet Zhu Jian.
Faced with such a celestial master, Zhu Jian was understandably nervous. Even at his age, he looked like a flustered student, which made Gu Baiqing feel a little awkward himself. He gave Zhu Jian some items that would help with his cultivation—not enough to let him break through, but useful for longevity—and also handed him a few life-preserving talismans. Zhu Jian was so moved he could hardly speak. As expected of an elder-level cultivator—so generous with his gifts. These were worth dozens of times more than what he could ever earn guarding a sect.
Zhu Jian quickly offered his thanks, but Gu Baiqing felt that compared to the fact Zhu Jian had nearly lost his life, this was nothing.
The four of them—and one cat—rested at Zhu Jian’s place for another two days. During that time, the four gathered to review everything that had happened.
Xie Qingrong and Jingzhan both looked a little tense when they saw Gu Baiqing.
Gu Baiqing’s curiosity was directed at Xie Qingrong. “Your eyes—they’re completely healed?”
That single question immediately brought back the familiar feeling of “Elder Brother Mo.” Though Gu Baiqing was colder now, he was still easy to talk to. Xie Qingrong nodded. “I don’t know what Luo Yi did, but… I can see again.”
“I’ve checked Brother Xie myself,” Mo Xuanli said. “They’re indeed fully healed.”
Xie Qingrong touched his eyes and sighed.
Jingzhan clapped him on the shoulder. “This time, he almost cost you your life. It’s only right that he repaid you with a pair of eyes.”
“He died saving me in the end. I really… can’t make sense of him.” Xie Qingrong had always thought Luo Yi was too wicked—cruel even to himself—and believed that in a critical moment, he’d never show mercy. Yet in the end, Luo Yi had willingly sacrificed himself to save him. Every time Xie Qingrong thought about it, the pain in his heart was unbearable—an endless mix of regret and sorrow. But even looking back, he didn’t know what he could have done differently; the sense of helplessness was indescribable.
Seeing Xie Qingrong like this, Mo Xuanli couldn’t help thinking of Gu Baiqing. If one day he failed—if he too fell into darkness—would his master be as heartbroken as Xie Qingrong was now?
Xie Qingrong, deeply ashamed, stood up and bowed solemnly in the formal salute of the cultivation world. “I apologize to all of you. It was our Rufeng Sect’s disciple—my junior brother Luo Yi—who brought you such trouble and caused you harm. I’m truly sorry.”
Jingzhan quickly helped him up. “He became a demon. That’s no longer your sect’s responsibility. The demon race is the enemy of all cultivators—whenever we find one, we destroy it.”
The Tianyuan Sect, where Jingzhan came from, despised the demons the most. The reason wasn’t even clear—it was simply their tradition. Since childhood, they had been taught to see exterminating demons as their duty, just like Qian Yue’s Wuxiang Temple.
Hearing that, Gu Baiqing’s heart gave a small jolt. Though he didn’t look at Mo Xuanli, he could imagine how his disciple—who counted Jingzhan as a friend—must feel at that moment.
After thinking a bit, Gu Baiqing tossed the cat, Three Bean, from his arms into Mo Xuanli’s.
Mo Xuanli was momentarily startled, thinking his master had simply gotten tired of holding it, and naturally began to stroke its fur. Three Bean rubbed against his hand, and his mood eased a little.
“Actually,” Xie Qingrong said, “there’s one more thing that worries me. Luo Yi mentioned some kind of ‘mission’ before. I don’t think setting up the Spirit-Gathering Formation here was his own idea. For a puppet master like him, that kind of array is completely useless—it’s unnecessary. I think there’s a larger plan behind it.”
Despite his grief, Xie Qingrong’s mind remained clear.
Mo Xuanli added, “And he tried to control us and send us back to our sects. If it were only his own matter, he wouldn’t have needed to take such risks.”
“Right,” Jingzhan said. “If he defected from Rufeng Sect, he should’ve been hiding and focusing on cultivation. A plan, then? You mean from the demon clan?”
“There’s more,” Xie Qingrong continued. “Back in the Void Spirit Secret Realm, Luo Yi attacked us alongside a group of demons. So he must’ve already joined their forces.”
“The sudden attack last time—there was an investigation,” Jingzhan said. “Since the Demon Lord died, the demon realm has splintered into countless factions. But lately, there’s been a trend of reunification. I don’t know whether this started earlier, or if the attack on the Void Spirit Secret Realm was meant to rally the scattered ones together.”
The group continued analyzing for a while.
Gu Baiqing, however, felt completely lost. It wasn’t that he wasn’t smart enough to keep up—it was just that from this point on, everything felt like a totally different world from the novel he had once dubbed. All the pieces of information tangled together, leaving him with a pounding headache.
In the original story, there was never any mention of such things as “plans” or “factions.” It had always been about Mo Xuanli alone—his personal journey, his gradual descent into demonic corruption, how he was pushed by the righteous sects until he became the new Demon Lord who ultimately unified the demon realm.
But as Gu Baiqing kept listening, he began to piece something together.
If Luo Yi had been willing to sacrifice himself for Xie Qingrong, that showed that deep down, he clearly understood how important Xie Qingrong was to him.
So, in the original text, when Xie Qingrong appeared under mind control to fight against Mo Xuanli, there must have been some reason behind it—revenge, most likely.
After all, when Mo Xuanli destroyed the statue of the immortal to awaken the townspeople, it had indirectly shattered half of Xie Qingrong’s soul. When Luo Yi discovered that his senior brother had become a living corpse, of course he wouldn’t let the culprit go. Maybe it was recklessness, maybe he had underestimated the difference in power, but in the end, Xie Qingrong’s puppet form was captured and sent back to Rufeng Sect.
The Spirit-Gathering Array was also destroyed.
What came after was the massacre of Rufeng Sect, the slander against Mo Xuanli, and then Xie Qingrong’s return to Mo Xuanli’s side—only to later betray him at the end. All of that was probably Luo Yi’s doing.
Wait—if Rufeng Sect was massacred, could it be that Luo Yi had restarted the Spirit-Gathering Array? After all, when Xie Qingrong had first returned to the sect, he hadn’t killed anyone—it wasn’t until several years later that the disaster struck. That means it might have been like what happened here: the array had been quietly set up in advance, and when Xie Qingrong destroyed the sect years later, it was just the final step.
A thought suddenly struck Gu Baiqing, and his eyes widened. A Spirit-Gathering Array… that required many deaths… and in the original story, three or four years later, an entire city—Star-Stepping City—was wiped out. Could that have been another Spirit-Gathering Array too?
The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. The demon clan wouldn’t just slaughter an entire city for no reason—they must have been trying to accomplish something.
Compared to Linxun Town, which had only one puppet master slowly feeding the array through soul control—something subtle but extremely slow—Rufeng Sect had been a sect of cultivators. To avoid discovery, they couldn’t use overt soul-control methods; instead, they could gradually weaken everyone from within. Luo Yi, being one of their own and able to control Xie Qingrong, would have had no trouble secretly setting up a Spirit-Gathering Array.
So if it were Star-Stepping City next, someone would have to deceive Lord Zhuo, the city master, into dismantling the city’s protective array. Only then could the Spirit-Gathering Array be installed. That would take time. And when the moment came, they would activate it—slaughtering civilians en masse to fuel it quickly. Even if they were discovered, it wouldn’t matter. Perhaps Star-Stepping City was meant to be their final Spirit-Gathering Array.
But then, what did the demon clan want with so many Spirit-Gathering Arrays?
At first, Gu Baiqing had thought all these “coincidences” were just the author’s way of writing a convenient plot to push the male lead’s rise to power. But now, the more he thought about it, the more terrifying it seemed. What was really behind all this?
The deeper he thought, the tighter his brows furrowed. After all, only he knew what would happen to Rufeng Sect and Star-Stepping City in the original story. He couldn’t discuss it with anyone; he could only listen to the others debate what purpose the demon clan might have for creating the Spirit-Gathering Arrays.
And what was their goal in infiltrating the sects? It couldn’t simply be to disgust or provoke them.
“In any case,” Xie Qingrong said, “we’ll set out tomorrow. I’ll report everything clearly to my sect. Tianyuan Sect and Zixiao Sect should also be informed, just in case.”
“Understood. I’ll send a message right away,” Mo Xuanli replied.
“I’ll escort you first,” Jingzhan said, “then go back and inform my brother. When it comes to fighting demons, he’ll definitely be interested.”
“I just hope there isn’t some greater conspiracy behind this,” Xie Qingrong sighed. “It took so long to achieve peace in this world—let’s not see it fall into chaos again. By the way, Senior, Brother Xuanli—will you two continue your sect’s trial missions after this?”
“Yes,” Mo Xuanli said. “There are still tasks left unfinished.”
“Where to?” Jingzhan asked curiously.
“Following this route, we should reach the Eastern Sea coast,” Mo Xuanli replied.
Suddenly, the cat Three Bean in his arms shuddered, fur standing on end.
“The Eastern Sea coast, huh?” Jingzhan grinned. “That’s the mixed realm of mortals and cultivators—not purely human, which makes it easier to move about. But that area’s full of spirit beasts, and it’s home to the most powerful race of all—the merfolk. I’ve always wanted to see them; they say every single one of them is stunningly beautiful.”
“The more mixed the region, the more likely demons are hiding there,” Xie Qingrong warned. “You must be careful along the way.”
Mo Xuanli nodded. He understood that well enough. They had already run into two demons since setting out—it was starting to feel a little too coincidental.
The demon clan had hunted him before too… could this all somehow be connected to him?
