MJWCATFPITWOC Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Dislike

Inside the wind sphere, Yan Quanye felt the impact from the outside. Before he even opened his eyes, he sensed a massive black shadow looming over him, enveloping his entire body. The expected intense pain didn’t arrive as scheduled; an eerie silence surrounded him.

Could it be… had he already died?

“Aren’t you already dead?” Shen Yucheng’s voice came from the side.

Yan Quanye abruptly opened his eyes, his vision instantly captivated by the enormous black shadow before him. A behemoth stood firmly in front of him, blocking most of his view.

Just as he was stunned, Shen Yucheng urged in a low voice, “Follow me.” Then, golden threads pierced into the giant beast’s body like sharp arrows. With a “whoosh—,” Shen Yucheng had already ascended.

Although he didn’t understand the current situation, Yan Quanye still followed. When he stood on the giant beast’s back, he finally saw what it was.

He exclaimed in shock, “Isn’t this hibernating? Why did you let it out?”

Shen Yucheng stood on the Canglin Lion’s back, gazing at its massive frame. He felt like it had been ages since he’d seen this fellow in its prime. Last time in the secret realm, he’d lost his senses and had no memory of it.

He reached out and gently stroked the lazy sleeping creature, and the Canglin Lion readily allowed him to touch it. Only then did Shen Yucheng notice a translucent halo around its body, which reminded him of the Shilin Beast he had defeated in the secret realm.

The inner core he obtained back then was absorbed by his Covenant Heart. Now it seemed, this fellow had eaten it. Absorbing a great demon’s core required spiritual power to digest, no wonder it needed to hibernate.

Even though the wind inside the wind sphere was still fierce, it was merely a gentle breeze ruffling the Canglin Lion’s mane. It stood firm as a mountain, completely unaffected.

The Canglin Lion stood in the very center of the wind sphere, looking down at the stone statue men below, which were only as tall as its shins. For it, destroying these tiny enemies was as simple as lifting a foot.

Bai Guchen floated in mid-air, gazing up at the Canglin Lion, a flicker of surprise crossing his face. He quickly recognized the giant beast from Hanji Peak: “So it followed you.”

He then revealed a faint smile: “I must say, even managing to take an ancient beast like this as your contract beast is indeed remarkable.”

Shen Yucheng paused slightly, his ears twitching. That sense of unease welled up in his heart again. He always felt that Bai Guchen knew too much about him, as if his every move, every secret, had already been discerned by the other party.

Seeing Shen Yucheng’s expression change, Bai Guchen’s smile deepened.

But the next second, the Canglin Lion suddenly raised its front paw and heavily stomped it down on the ground. The wind pressure brought about by the giant paw’s descent grazed Bai Guchen’s cheek, cutting a long, thin bloody mark.

Bai Guchen remained standing still, his eyes shifting slightly downward. He saw the Canglin Lion slowly retracting its paw. The stone statue men, who had been wreaking havoc just now, were now reduced to a pile of shattered powder, dissipating with the wind. No matter how capable Bai Guchen was, he couldn’t reassemble this powder into threatening stone statues.

Yan Quanye watched Bai Guchen looking utterly discomfited and clapped his hands in delight.

Standing on the Canglin Lion’s head, Shen Yucheng coldly looked down at Bai Guchen below, his tone grim: “You better not move around, you know this fellow might mistake small things like you flying around for flies, and accidentally swat you to death with one paw.”

Sure enough, Bai Guchen’s throat moved slightly, his eyes shifting upwards, and he stopped making any other movements.

“Now, I want to ask you a question.” Shen Yucheng’s voice was icy cold, “If you answer carelessly, you should know the consequences.”

Hearing this, Yan Quanye stamped his feet in anger, “What’s there to ask! Just kill him!”

Before he finished speaking, Shen Yucheng shot him a sharp glare.

Yan Quanye shut his mouth.

Although Bai Guchen didn’t move again, his gaze was fearless, as if he were waiting for Shen Yucheng’s question, without the slightest emotional fluctuation.

Shen Yucheng stared at him: “You are of the Puppet Dao.” This sentence was not a question, but a statement, as if he had already confirmed this fact.

Bai Guchen’s eyes remained as ever, his face showing no shock at all. He didn’t even show the slightest hint of abnormality when he heard the forbidden Dao, “Puppet Dao.”

This reaction undoubtedly confirmed Shen Yucheng’s conjecture.

“So what?” Bai Guchen retorted with a laugh, his tone laced with sarcasm.

The heavy stone in Shen Yucheng’s heart sank. This finally explained why he always felt a sense of unease when fighting Bai Guchen. Because the other party had never used any real spells or magical items, but had repeatedly manipulated abnormal plants and stone objects instead.

But if Bai Guchen was just an ordinary wood or stone cultivator, how could he cast such a massive wind manipulation spell? That would be too versatile. What’s more, it was rare for an ordinary person to dual cultivate in two Daos, but Bai Guchen’s large trees and stone statue men had obviously reached an extremely exquisite level of manipulation, which could not be achieved by initial stage cultivators.

Even if he were exceptionally gifted and talented, it would be too incomprehensible to control advanced wind manipulation spells at the same time. Anyway, so far in the entire cultivation world, a three-Dao Nascent Soul genius had not yet appeared.

However, when he linked all of this together, the only reasonable explanation was that he was a Puppet Dao cultivator.

It was important to know that a long time ago, before the Puppet Dao was listed as a forbidden Dao, there were two types of puppetry in the world. One was Crimson Puppets, which could only control inanimate objects, while True Puppets were born puppeteers, like Shen Yucheng.

Shen Yucheng had accidentally learned this information in the icy xue of Hanji Peak. And everything Bai Guchen displayed was the ability of Crimson Puppets.

No wonder he could cultivate in a way that violated common sense and control multiple forces alone.

The scene fell silent, and Yan Quanye was so frightened by the conversation between the two that he couldn’t speak.

Shen Yucheng pondered for a moment, then asked, “I want to know, Crimson Puppets are an ancient art, how did you learn this Dao?” After all, there were no longer any Puppet Dao classics in the cultivation world.

Hearing this, Bai Guchen suddenly laughed, looking at Shen Yucheng with amusement: “I cultivated it a long time ago.”

“What do you mean?” Shen Yucheng frowned.

“The literal meaning.”

After saying that, Bai Guchen chuckled softly.

Shen Yucheng felt a bit of chaos in his brain, his thoughts stirred together.

Bai Guchen was born a long time ago, when the Puppet Dao had not yet been listed as a forbidden Dao.

He was suspicious, although the lifespan of cultivators was longer than that of mortals, but thousands of years was too exaggerated.

“What? Can’t take it?”

Shen Yucheng suppressed his shock: “Then, did you attack me because you knew about my affairs?”

Bai Guchen answered quickly this time: “Not entirely. You broke into my barrier first.”

The barrier of Jitan Village was set up by Bai Guchen to seal off the tragedy of that event. Speaking of this, Shen Yucheng’s eyes turned cold, his tone fierce: “Why did you attack that village?”

Hearing this, Yan Quanye clenched his fists, and anger surged in his chest.

Bai Guchen was silent for a moment, and Shen Yucheng thought he would laugh casually and say something like, “I killed them if I wanted to.” However, after a long time, Bai Guchen slowly exhaled and said in a low voice, “They deserved to die.”

“What?” Yan Quanye’s eyes widened in anger, and he shouted, “You’re talking nonsense! I’ve lived in the village for so long, and the villagers have never offended anyone!”

Bai Guchen’s expression was still cold, his eyes deep as an ancient well: “Thousands of years ago, the people of this village killed someone who was extremely important to me.”

Yan Quanye was furious: “What does that have to do with my family?”

Bai Guchen suddenly raised his head, and in his eyes, there was a hint of tremor. In that instant, Shen Yucheng saw some deep-seated pain in his eyes.

Bai Guchen took a long time, his voice low, as if sinking into an abyss: “What did that have to do with him?”

A scene from his childhood suddenly flashed in Shen Yucheng’s mind. When he was a child looking for food on the street, he once saw a child poking a dying puppy with a branch, almost piercing its body.

What was he doing?

Shen Yucheng subconsciously stepped forward and asked.

The child’s reply was that his father had been bitten by a dog last night, and he wanted revenge when he saw a puppy on the street today.

Was it the same puppy?

The child said no, but now he hated dogs when he saw them, and he would beat them when he saw them.

Shen Yucheng didn’t understand at the time, and didn’t stop him.

“Is it the same villager?” Shen Yucheng’s voice rang out in the strong wind, but it was unusually clear, as if the wind had stopped for a moment.

Bai Guchen stared at him coldly, his eyes revealing helplessness, and sarcasm: “What’s the difference?”

For them, whether it was the same person or not didn’t matter. They were just venting the anger in their hearts caused by the loss of something important.

Yan Quanye looked at Bai Guchen’s face without remorse, and the anger rushed to the top of his head, his knuckles turning white from excessive force. He suddenly jumped up and rushed towards Bai Guchen, wanting to have a life-and-death battle with him regardless of the consequences.

Bai Guchen’s expression was indifferent, and he didn’t make the slightest movement. However, before Yan Quanye could get to Bai Guchen, his figure suddenly disappeared into the air, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Bai Guchen’s gaze swept across the open space on the Canglin Lion’s back. Shen Yucheng was still standing there, the faint red Covenant Heart in his palm gradually dissipating. Shen Yucheng said to Yan Quanye in a low voice, “Sorry, go back and rest for a while.”

Bai Guchen raised his eyebrows and smiled slightly: “What do you mean by this?”

Shen Yucheng responded indifferently: “I just don’t want him to become an ugly monster.” A spiritual monster polluted by anger.

Bai Guchen chuckled: “If we weren’t on opposite sides, I should like you quite a bit.”

Shen Yucheng looked down at him coldly, still icy: “That doesn’t mean I agree with you. I’ll ask you another question—did you kill Liu Mingzhen?”

Since the Jitan Village incident, Shen Yucheng had thought about tracking down the whereabouts of the Liu doctor who had come to the village back then, and finally found him dead in the secret realm.

“Yes.” Bai Guchen answered without hesitation, his tone resolute.

After saying that, the Canglin Lion suddenly waved its giant claws, sweeping over Bai Guchen’s head. The wind in the wind sphere instantly became chaotic, and the entire field was distorted by the agitation of the wind, as if it would collapse at any moment.

Shen Yucheng’s voice rang out again: “If you lie again, the next strike won’t be above your head.”

Bai Guchen’s smile gradually faded, cold: “People are already dead, does it matter whether I did it or not?”

In the secret realm, Shen Yucheng saw Liu Mingzhen’s body placed in a coffin. If Bai Guchen really killed him, how could he have placed him in such a way? It was already merciful not to tear him to pieces.

Shen Yucheng continued to ask: “Then, who exactly is Baili?”

This question was what Shen Yucheng wanted to know most. In the ice xue, there was a second coffin with this name engraved on it. And it was because of that tombstone that Shen Yucheng learned of the existence of the Puppet Dao. He intuitively felt that Bai Guchen knew the origin of this name.

However, when this question came out, Bai Guchen’s expression suddenly turned gloomy, his face darkened as he looked at him with empty, turbid eyes, lifeless.

Suddenly, the originally calm wind flow accelerated instantly, and the strong wind turned into sharp needles again, stabbing towards the Canglin Lion. Although Shen Yucheng was in a [Penetration] state and was not affected, he still felt a sharp chill penetrate his body.

With a “poof—” sound, the cold wind pierced his heart like a cone, and [Penetration] was inexplicably lifted. The strong wind blew his eyes open, and his five senses perceived something rushing past behind him in that instant. Then, a sharp pain came from his arm. Looking down, the robe on the side of his arm had been stained red with blood.

Bai Guchen held a sharp sword in his hand, silver light flickering, with an extraordinary temperament, and there was still blood on the blade. His tongue gently slid across the sword body, licking away that touch of bright red.

Shen Yucheng endured the severe pain, covered the wound, and thought about how many tricks Bai Guchen had hidden.

His head was dizzy, he had previously been wounded by the wind, and then fought with the big trees and stone statue men. At this time, the spiritual power in his body had been exhausted, and blood was constantly pouring out of the wound, accompanied by dizziness. He stood firm, staring at Bai Guchen raising the sword to his lips, revealing a strange smile.

The Canglin Lion launched a fierce attack, and Bai Guchen deftly dodged, and no move could hit him.

Bai Guchen floated in the air, looking at Shen Yucheng, smiling slightly: “Put away your questions. Ask them when we meet next time, provided you can live until then.”

In the center of the wind sphere, a faint light shone, illuminating Shen Yucheng’s scarred face. He felt the wind gradually slowing down, and the wind screen was gradually dissipating. Bai Guchen was facing away from the sunlight, his figure gradually blurring.

Shen Yucheng stared at the place where Bai Guchen disappeared, just now Bai Guchen easily came to the height to look at him directly, which meant that the other party had been holding back from beginning to end?

Before the wind screen completely disappeared, Shen Yucheng let the Canglin Lion retreat first, and he stood alone in the center of the stage.

He dragged his scarred body and was about to turn around and step down when he took a step, his body lost strength, his eyes went black, and his limbs could no longer move.

Suddenly, a thought flashed in his mind—Mo Yifeng was still waiting for him under the stage, but would Shi Huan be standing next to him? With this thought, he suddenly stabilized his right foot and used his last bit of strength to stand firm.

At least, he couldn’t fall down here.

Just then, a broad, warm embrace suddenly supported him from behind. This familiar feeling made him unconsciously let down his guard. The other party didn’t say a word, silently accompanying him step by step down the stage.

Although the buzzing in his ears almost made him lose his hearing, he still clearly heard a sentence—

“Brother Yucheng, you’ve worked hard.”

The two walked down the steps step by step, and everyone’s eyes converged on them. Shen Yucheng’s body was faltering, and Mo Yifeng always held him tightly. Shi Huan stood beside him, but Mo Yifeng’s eyes were focused, and nothing in this world could distract him, except for the person in front of him.

When passing by Shi Huan, although Shen Yucheng’s eyes were blurred, he vaguely saw a look of satisfaction on Shi Huan’s face that was rare for him.

At this moment, a scene suddenly flashed in his mind, Yan Quanye had told him in the wind sphere that the puzzling illness last night was actually because he was unhappy.

After walking a few steps, Shen Yucheng suddenly whispered, “Mo Yifeng.”

Mo Yifeng turned his face when he heard the sound.

Shen Yucheng: “In the future, don’t let me see you talking to Shi Huan again, I don’t like it.”

After saying that, he didn’t look at Mo Yifeng’s reaction, he only felt the other party’s body stiffen slightly.

…Did he say something wrong?

In an instant, a soft chuckle came from his side, and he responded softly, “Okay, I’ll listen to you.”