Chapter 1 The Beginning
In the first life, Gu Junshi, in order to ascend, used the "Yellow Springs Gate" as a medium to extract a massive amount of spiritual energy in a short period to open the "Heaven's Gate." Would she once again resort to the same method?
Cheng Hong stared blankly, his brows furrowed, his heart already a tangled mess.
Seeing that she was no longer concealing her actions, Liu Jiang Fusheng sternly admonished, "Gu Junshi! What exactly are you trying to do? This is Fengdu, and you are opening the Yellow Springs Gate here, infusing the entire ghost city with death qi, greatly amplifying the demon race's power and causing endless calamity. Do you wish to destroy the entire cultivation world?"
He did not believe Gu Junshi would obediently follow "Heaven's will" and open the "Underworld" to absorb the resentment created by vengeful spirits, especially given her clear stance before.
He, standing in the wind, was exceptionally handsome and refined.
Gu Junshi's expression was deep and lofty; she quietly observed him for a moment.
"Do you know? It has always been Heaven that is my enemy. I do not fear, I do not dread, I do not hide, nor do I evade. I only fight for a place. You were born fortunate; everything is arranged for you. You can turn misfortune into blessings when you encounter it, and all treasures of heaven and earth are kind to you. Your only tribulation in this life is me."
Liu Jiang Fusheng was stunned. His jade-like eyes were solemn as he told her, "Everything is predetermined, but all tribulations endured can allow one to grow."
"Indeed, hardship allows me to grow. But who says I should be overjoyed and grateful to those who bestow hardship upon me?" She raised an eyebrow, as if hearing a dismissive remark.
Liu Jiang Fusheng was instantly rendered speechless.
In truth, he agreed with her statement.
"But what about me? What about our child? You are so reckless, truly without a shred of hesitation?"
Gu Junshi's smile was profound. "So, I'll give you one chance. If you can kill me, you can appease your hatred and destroy the evil I have created. Can you do it?"
Liu Jiang Fusheng's expression tensed as he pointed his sword at her, "Do you think I cannot?"
She smiled, her eyes distant. "I bet you... cannot bring yourself to do it."
The moment her words fell, Gu Junshi shrunk the ground, arriving before Liu Jiang Fusheng.
He stood his ground, unmoving, yet a powerful gust of wind whipped his clothes and hair. In an instant, killing intent surged towards him.
Liu Jiang Fusheng reacted with incredible speed, concentrating all his strength into his arm as he swung his sword forward.
Clang—
Their swords collided. While it appeared to be a single strike, in that fleeting moment, it was a thousand, a hundred thousand strikes.
Moments later, centered on them, a deafening roar like a collapsing mountain shook the ground, which erupted as if struck by a tidal wave, leaving no part level or intact, all collapsing.
The blasts of qi raged outwards. Some cultivators, fearing being caught in the crossfire, quickly retreated behind their elders to observe.
Those without protection hurried away. This battle was terrifying; they couldn't even discern the figures of the two combatants, let alone appreciate the exquisite brilliance of their movements.
The dazzling spiritual lights that seemed to tear through the night sky, along with the moonlight, swept across the heavens. Even Fengdu seemed unable to withstand these unintentional attacks, bearing chaotic and hideous scars.
Gu Junshi's pupils began to shift to a dark blue, mysterious and dangerous, indicating that she was no longer playing with Liu Jiang Fusheng; she was serious.
"Haven't you always been acting with me?"
"A feigned surrender?"
"Enduring humiliation?"
"Is that how it's put?"
Her strength surged by several major realms in the blink of an eye, making it increasingly difficult for Liu Jiang Fusheng to cope.
His starlike eyes reflected frost, containing her, containing anger.
He replied to her.
"If you think so, then it is so."
Gu Junshi asked him again, "You've been waiting for this moment of revenge all along, waiting for me to fall for you. This way, your betrayal can truly make me understand your state of mind at the time, correct?"
Gu Junshi asked him calmly.
Even though Liu Jiang Fusheng held a divine artifact, and despite his profound movement techniques and cultivation methods, he could not truly unleash them before her. No matter what move he made, it seemed to be foreseen by her, and he was constantly suppressed.
Liu Jiang Fusheng's face was cold, "Unfortunately, even if you have feelings for me, your heart is still terrifyingly hard."
"Perhaps you could try and see the outcome."
She said suddenly.
Liu Jiang Fusheng was astonished. As their eyes met, Gu Junshi suddenly reached back and grabbed his wrist.
Taken by surprise by her sudden move, his sweeping sword thrust faltered, becoming a direct stab. With her force guiding it, it pierced "plop" through her heart.
At that moment, Liu Jiang Fusheng's head felt as if struck a heavy blow, his expression dazed.
The viscous warmth on his hand soaked his palm.
This sword had directly penetrated her, pressing his tiger's mouth against her left ventricle.
"Happy?"
She asked him.
Like a calm madwoman.
But Liu Jiang Fusheng could hear nothing at this moment; he looked like an idiot, staring at his hand.
"This degree still won't kill me. You just need to pull out the sword, then chop off my head, and I will die instantly."
She continued to provoke him into killing her.
After a long while, Liu Jiang Fusheng finally found his voice.
"Gu Junshi..."
His voice was as hoarse as if he had suffered a severe illness, filled with the desolation of all hope extinguished.
"What exactly do you want?"
"As you wish."
Her words were like a knife that pierced the heart, instantly turning Liu Jiang Fusheng's eyes blood-red.
"As I wish! As I wish! As I wish!" His voice grew heavier with each repetition. "Do you truly not understand what I wish for?! You made it so I could neither love, nor hate, nor resent, nor beg! What else do you want me to do?!"
Gu Junshi lowered her eyelids. "I gave you a chance."
With that, the sword of chilling frost pierced decisively and resolutely through his dantian.
He looked at her with slightly widened eyes. The blood mist that pierced through his back seemed to transform into a pair of red wings capable of soaring through the sky.
In her eyes, there was a sea of blood-red.
In his eyes, there was the tranquil sky behind her.
She leaned close to his ear, one hand grasping his wrist, and pulled the divine artifact from her body.
"Kill me, or be killed by me."
This was her answer to his earlier question, "What exactly do you want?"
Hearing this, Liu Jiang Fusheng's expression became vacant for a moment, but then, he smiled.
Pale, like a butterfly with broken wings falling from the sky, silent and tragically beautiful.
He slowly closed his eyes, blood continuously gushing from his throat. "I, I just want to ask you one thing... You killed me once again. Before, I always asked you if you would regret it, and you always said no. But... but this time, will you, even slightly, feel sad for my death?"
Gu Junshi listened to his question quietly, the illusory sword body, as if embedded, freezing him in place.
His previous weakened, near-death appearances seemed blurry and distant to her.
But the him before her now had become incredibly vivid.
Every frame, every scene, became a silent image repeatedly playing before her eyes.
She had always watched with indifference.
But now, this scene felt piercingly bright.
He fell into her arms. She was no longer an ordinary mortal, so there was no blood from her wounds, but he, suffering the pain of her shattered soul, was bleeding profusely.
"Yes."
A very certain word.
"Not... slightly, nor even a little."
She tried to speak calmly as usual, but the moment she opened her mouth, her voice felt like gravel scraping her throat, tinged with a slight bloody, metallic taste.
He leaned weakly into her embrace, held by her. He had, in fact, long ago preset the outcome between them. No matter how he pretended to conceal it, the problems between them had always existed, so an unhappy ending might have been the only path.
But to let go, he could not. To forget the past, he also could not.
Therefore, the only way to find release was...
"That is enough. Since I cannot win against your obsession, then, I am willing to fulfill you..."