Everyone wore stupefied expressions as strength qi ceaselessly impacted the gigantic eagle, shredding through its feathers, meat, bones, and organs. A tiny hole from the impact disintegrated the eagle's beak before expanding wildly with mad rotation from within until a mist of blood covered few of the eerie grey orbs while splintered bones rained down on other shocked disciples.
The elder was healed again, his face pale and his naked body shivering before he fell to his death.
*Splat*
*Fwip*
Shu Zhe heard something landing softly behind her before the elder from Heavenly Lotus Sect impacted the ground with a gory noise.
She turned around. The barrier was under Spirit Affinity House disciple's control. Of course, those with the sect's token could enter it.
"I'm Gu Yue Lo Jik."
She heard him speak, her eyes roaming her consort's true appearance. Unlike Bai Shou, Gu Yue Lo Jik's gaze was slightly more distant. The look in his eyes didn't match his warm and fickle smile. Suppressing a sigh of disappointment, Shu Zhe nodded her head in acknowledgment, leaving Lo Jik confused.
"Disappointed?" he asked, looking down on himself. "I didn't get time to groom my appearance, Zhe'er."
"This is what you wanted?" Shu Zhe asked, revealing a gu worm. Their interactions were not hidden and the unknown gu worm attracted slight attention after a few disciples realized Lo Jik's identity.
'That's… Master Bai?' Ju Lin watched from afar, secretly shocked.
Meanwhile, Lo Jik glanced at the rank 5 gu worm before turning his attention on Shu Zhe after storing the gu worm.
"Here's my experience in using it," she continued and handed over an information path gu worm.
Despite their close bond, Shu Zhe was never the sort to lose her head in a relationship. Lo Jik understood that and realized something about his current appearance, or rather, his current situation, left his wife feeling slightly disappointed.
But what?
He couldn't focus on her as he sent his will into the information path gu worm, learning about Shu Zhe's use of the gu worm. He couldn't experiment with this gu worm because he was busy understanding his own changes.
"I'll make good use of it."
Lo Jik promised before he looked past Shu Zhe, his gaze focusing on the four-sect alliance's recuperating disciples. Of course, he wanted to attack the enemy supply camp. But these camps were in four different directions and were protected by formations. By the time he attacked them, the four elders would have destroyed Blue Saint Fog Camp's last barrier.
Shu Zhe merely nodded at his words, reasonably unwilling to distract Lo Jik from the current predicament with her need to understand her husband again. To others, Lo Jik's appearance and incomprehensible battle strength oozed untamed confidence. However, Shu Zhe was someone capable of seeing beyond the mask of the mighty—which she also wore to a great extent—and saw a brittle construct one push from shattering into an ugly mess.
In hindsight, Bai Shou was better at concealing herself. She felt pressured from all sides and realized the need to hide.
Meanwhile, Lo Jik, after attaining Great Strength True Martial Physique, was like a tiger bestowed a pair of wings—wild and unrestrained. He didn't feel the need to hide, especially from Shu Zhe.
She watched him step down the walls as the surrounding disciples opened the way for him.
The white token on his belt appeared conspicuous.
Lo Jik suddenly stopped and looked to his side.
"Hmm. You did well." He reached out, rubbing Ju Lin's head with extreme familiarity before moving ahead.
Shu Zhe couldn't help but observe everything. Worry and excitement bubbled in her gut for some strange reason. She almost stopped herself from touching her abdomen to inspect the source of this cocktail of emotions.
<<<>>>
"Gu Yue Lo Jik…"
Qin Juan repeated as she heard the name. Her body began to rapidly heat as her cheeks flushed. What started as short breathing turned laborious and loud, her rough pants alerting Feng Jin Huang and Sun Yao as they both glanced at Qin Juan before letting out cries of shock.
"Senior Sister Juan!"
"Juan'er! What's going on?" They both watched Qin Juan break down into sweat. Her skin reddened slightly, an indication of heightened blood flow. Worst of all, a stream of tears flowed from the corner of Qin Juan's eyes as she cried loudly.
"It hurts, Senior Sister!" Qin Juan gripped Feng Jin Huang's arms, her expression desperate as she buckled. "Ahhh! I can't stand it! What is going on?! It's all a mess! But I cannot stop it!"
The duo paled as Qin Juan began to laugh like a madwoman.
"I don't want to!" She howled, glaring at the ceiling. "Do you hear me?! Nothing works! How should I stop? Tell me! TELL ME!"
"Senior Sister Qin!" Sun Yao squeaked, looking horrified as Qin Juan's eyes turned bloodshot. The corner of her eyes also warmed. "You're scaring me."
"I…"
Qin Juan snapped out of her crazed bout, eyes still wet and her nose sore.
She looked at Feng Jin Huang before hugging her tightly.
"I don't know what's going on, Senior Sister Feng. I don't know why I said all those things." She bawled, extremely confused and frightened by the sudden change.
"It's alright."
Feng Jin Huang consoled, hugging Qin Juan gently.
"Tell us what is going on, Juan'er."
"I… I don't know," Qin Juan stammered. "When I looked at Brother Lo Jik… I felt this rush of emotions. I don't know what took me over. I'm afraid!"
"Afraid of what?" Feng Jin Huang questioned softly, stroking the shaking girl's head to no avail. What usually comforted Qin Juan didn't work today. She continued to shiver.
"I felt something bad… something terrible. I don't know why… but I felt Brother Lo Jik won't make it."
Feng Jin Huang smiled calmly.
"Nothing will happen to that incorrigible bastard, Juan'er. Other supreme elders won't let anything happen to him. He is too important to them." She chuckled, momentarily letting go of her competitive fire against Lo Jik to soothe Qin Juan, who shook her head.
"Not them…" Qin Juan's whisper muffled as she buried her head into Feng Jin Huang's chest. "When I felt that rush of emotion, I felt someone trying to take me away from Brother Lo Jik. It's him." Her tears flowed anew. "He won't survive himself."
Her cryptic words left Feng Jin Huang and Sun Yao confused. They could only glance at each other helplessly as Qin Juan continued sobbing.
<<<>>>
'This sensation…'
Shu Zhe could barely contain her need to howl. It was her experience with emotions that managed to suppress this urge as her gaze remained glued onto Lo Jik.
'Why do I feel like this?'
She gritted her teeth.
This itch felt more primal and dangerous than anything Shu Zhe ever confronted. But within this intense emotion she'd grown familiar with was a foreboding intent. She felt fractured and whole at the same time, only that the former wasn't something she experienced until Lo Jik's arrival. There was deep confusion, like a quicksand, trying to pull her consciousness and replace it with that of a madwoman. But it didn't last for long.
Clarity returned to Shu Zhe the moment Lo Jik stepped out of the camp. Her eyes briefly widened when that pool of ominous foreboding let out a glimmer of truth. There were no clues. There were no other contexts. Lo Jik's back was broad, and his might was unquestionable. However, Shu Zhe found her voice next to useless since she couldn't talk. It was no different from experiencing a great torture or someone's malicious mischief since she realized Lo Jik…
Lo Jik will not return.
And she couldn't do anything.
When Shu Zhe mobilized her gu worms, a faint pressure nullified her efforts.
When she tried screaming, her voice was lost in the air.
When she gave in and destroyed her mask of indifference to let others notice how she'd become someone else's plaything, Shu Zhe instead maintained her usual calmness and rigidity.
She was a puppet to another's whims.
It was a cruel trick, but from within Shu Zhe felt a deep sense of satisfaction that didn't quite origin from her mind and heart.
Who? Who is it?!
Shu Zhe could only watch Lo Jik leave further into the darkness, scenes of future flashing in her eyes. She was exposed to cruel truths, that Lo Jik was fated to suffer, alongside his demise.
His fate.
Why?
'Even if he is confused…' Shu Zhe pleaded internally. 'Why do that to him? I just found him!'
Only more amusement and delight met her pleas. Fate and love were cruel indeed.
<<<>>>
First Supreme Elder observed how the strange rock on top of a mountain peak trembled continuously. She kept an eye on almost everyone. Unlike others, she was aware of many secrets unknown even to the likes of Second Supreme Elder and Feng Jiu Ge. With her scrutiny and methods, she was the only one who noticed the change within Shu Zhe. It gave her enough clue to eventually locate Qin Juan after spending some effort. Her methods also existed within Dang Hun Mountain. Using them to investigate this strange issue with Feng Jin Huang's companion was effortless for the rank 8 gu immortal.
'Sigh. They too became its plaything.'
First Supreme Elder shook her head, pitying those two.
'But they are only mortals. They didn't experience the full extent of its mischief. The same wouldn't be true for Xu Hao, Feng Jiu Ge, and others had they kept meddling.'
First Supreme Elder wasn't protecting Gu Yue Lo Jik. She considered him half-dead the second she sensed the tremor from this particular rock. It also made sense why their sect succeeded in recruiting an otherworldly demon. It was all part of this fickle entity's grand show.
It often craved entertainment and would turn to poke into the lives of several mortal disciples. Lo Jik was no different.
Be it his potential in human path, the strange connection with dream path, and more. None of it mattered to First Supreme Elder when she noticed the attention Lo Jik garnered.
Sacrificing her other gu immortal level elders was not possible for First Supreme Elder, prompting her to let Lo Jik enjoy more freedom… for as long as he could.
From a certain point of view, the show was indeed exciting.
But even a mighty rank 8 gu immortal like her felt a chill in her heart.
'To attract love's attention in Spirit Affinity House can either be one's greatest fortune or their last achievement. Never has love recognized its playthings. And never will love play with its fated gu masters.'
There would be strange incidences in the lives of a mortal disciple every few years.
First Supreme Elder observed Shu Zhe, feeling true pity.
'Your parents were toyed by love as they met a tragic fate. And now, your lover is the same. You truly bring others great misfortune, Elder Shu Zhe.'
<<<>>>
Lo Jik felt his stamina return. The earlier attacks were merely the effects of the combined use of Rank 5 Heaven Strength and Rank 4 Strength Qi Gu worms. However, the effect was no worse than a devastating killer move capable of rendering a decent rank 5 gu master helpless.
He was more than satisfied with the effects of his Great Strength True Martial Physique. Of course, the boost from this extreme aptitude on his strength path gu set wasn't limitless. A rank 4 gu master might be able to use rank 4 gu worms to go toe-to-toe with a rank 5 gu master with an extreme physique, but that wasn't true for a rank 5 gu master fighting an established gu immortal.
Lo Jik once witnessed two gu masters with extreme physiques unable to do anything to an accomplished gu immortal.
The truth about the gap between the strongest mortal and the weakest immortal being as deep and terrifying as an abyss remained a discouraging constant in the Gu World.
'Only after getting this aptitude am I able to ascertain its peculiarities.'
Lo Jik smiled calmly as he walked towards Wind Cloud Manor's temporary campsite. Someone beckoned the ruthless Little Giant Emperor over.
His approach terrified and excited the gathered group of gu masters. There were several tiger beast kings and mutated tiger beasts protecting the campsite.
'I have virtually limitless stamina.'
Lo Jik could get drunk on this sensation. More than the regeneration of his primeval essence was his physical recovery. Most injuries would heal at once without the use of gu worms, and his strength surpassed ordinary strength path gu master by miles!
The stronger the gu master, the greater the effects of the extreme physique until they blew away.
Sensing all the wonderful effects, Lo Jik speculated how free Bai Ning Bing was during his last moments.
'Truly a wonder of humanity.'
Lo Jik chuckled slightly.
He halted five hundred steps from Wind Cloud Manor's temporary supply camp, waiting.
His sculpted upper body caught dim moonlight from the floating orbs. He didn't bother wearing new clothes and appeared savage. The effects of the body refinement also changed how he looked as a man. Before escaping Southern Border, he was quite toned.
Now?
He was slightly bulkier. His thicker skin sat comfortably on his muscles, masking his earlier cut and only leaving the shapes of his most prominent muscles groups. His back was thick and broad, but it didn't taper down to an impossible narrow waist mapped with a number of veins through thin skin, no. His waist was also wider.
Lo Jik looked like one of Northern Plain's brute.
A bandit.
He merely lacked bone jewelry, beast hides, and some fur to act the part.
"You survived," Lo Jik noted with a sincere smile while being internally alert. He expected this outcome, too. The Ten Ancient Sects dominated Central Continent, controlling most of its lucrative resource points. How could its elders and sect leader not possess enough foundation, including a life-saving treasure or two? Shu Zhe certainly had such treasures in spades.
Approaching Lo Jik was a bald man with sharp eyes, round nose, thick lips, and a carpet of thick curly beard growing from the underside of the jaw that covered his neck.
Who else could it be but Jiu Loong Long?
He was subjected to the use of Intense Dream Gu before being killed by Lo Jik. Unexpectedly, he survived the ordeal with the great cost of his cultivation.
The current Jiu Loong Long was no longer a gu master. He was a mortal.
"The gap between us widened more than I could have ever expected." Jiu Loong Long's voice was unpleasant. However, he maintained a sunny smile and a warm disposition despite the pitch-black night blanketing them all.
"A gap that means nothing to an opponent of your stature and determination. Even if I killed you and your brother, I could see that you bear no hatred, Elder Wisdom Carriage Master." Lo Jik praised even if his impassive gaze refused to shift.
"Wisdom Carriage Master?" Jiu Loong Long laughed calmly. "That was a name I adopted to roam the world and gain experience. That decision led to our meeting, my determination to apprehend you quickened my demise, and Jin'er's thirst for revenge caused his end. What hatred is there to bear when the consequences were but the results of our choices? Please, call me Jiu Loong Long."
Lo Jik nodded. He held similar beliefs.
Hatred was entirely useless…
There were some exceptions to the rule he wanted to overcome, but being indifferent to consequences after doing one's best was a sentiment that resonated with Lo Jik at a spiritual level.
"You asked someone to contact me, Elder Jiu. Why?" Lo Jik inquired.
"Even if I bear no hatred, it is my duty as an elder brother to help my wayward little brother."
Elder Jiu smiled and did not bother hiding his intentions.
"You see, his soul was also protected by our sect's supreme elder because Little Jin'er showed promise and would soon be accepted as a legacy disciple. However, the way of the sect is the way of contributions. Why should a supreme elder heal my little brother without an appropriate compensation?"
"And you were given a task to provide this appropriate compensation?" Lo Jik blinked.
"Indeed." Jiu Loong Long nodded. "You are Gu Yue Lo Jik, are you not?"
Lo Jik narrowed his eyes.
"I am."
"You hail from Southern Border's Qing Mao Mountain and were once married, were you not?"
"I was."
His chest unconsciously tightened.
Jiu Loong Long continued brightly despite the chill spreading throughout Lo Jik's body at his words.
"You sired a son in Shang Liang Mountain, did you not?"
Lo Jik's mind buzzed. A tide of emotions surged from the depths of his heart as he watched two specters of familiarly unknown origins form behind Jiu Loong Long. One of the specters displayed a thoroughly ruined body of a mature woman. Her skin was flayed from several regions, hanging down from her body in gruesome strips. Her hair was in a disarray and the loving eyes that once reflected Lo Jik's smile were gouged from its sockets.
He made sure not to implicate them. But still…
Man proposes and heaven disposes.
"Sister Bai Lin…" Lo Jik whispered, prompting Jiu Loong Long to smile widely and nod.
"Yes! Her. You have a heart indeed. Sigh. You must have already realized the fate they suffered, right? By 'they,' I mean Bai Lin and her children. Of course, among the three children, the youngest belonged to you."
Lo Jik's lower lips wobbled as he observed the state of the second specter.
His son.
He looked worse. The last time Lo Jik looked at him was when he was in Bai Lin's arms while removing their shared blood connection.
Even then, it wasn't hard for a gu immortal to discover the traces connected with Lo Jik once they knew where to look.
And how did they do that?
"I infiltrated Shang Clan's Feng Yu Manor as Kau Long. Unfortunately, I was soon discovered. Your actions caused the clan to strengthen their defenses to a ridiculous degree. Did you know, I was soul searched brutally before Lord Heavenly Informant and the gu immortals from Shang Clan began their communication? The price of healing my little brother was to locate as many clues about you as I could after Lord Heavenly Informant bestowed me some initial clues. After I was caught, I was kept under by Shang Clan's Supreme Elder's emotion until a few minutes ago. It was quite the surreal experience."
He wasn't flayed. What stood besides a ghastly Bai Lin was an unrecognizable body. However, Lo Jik knew at once he couldn't just forget this child.
What he sought to suppress resurged with more intensity.
This specter was strangely broken but human. His young flesh was entirely stripped, floating a few centimeters above disconnected bones, tendons, organs, and other makings of a human body.
This specter was kept alive as someone deliberately tore him apart inch by inch, broke and separated him by the bones.
He was forced to stay awake and alive, to experience this brutal pain.
"I'm quite impressed, Disciple Gu Yue Lo Jik," said Jiu Loong Long. "You clearly understand the way of cultivation. As such, your heart must have remained bereft of hatred even after hearing what happened to your child, right? Your conduct is exemplary and a source of guidance for all of us to follow."
"Father…"
A faint voice whispered in Lo Jik's ear.
"Are you my father?"
There was confusion in the young voice, but Lo Jik could see the image of that youthful brown-haired innocence on this unrecognizable specter.
To Jiu Loong Long's shock and great fear, Lo Jik smiled eerily as his eyes glistened with warmth.
"Yes…" Jiu Loong Long heard the man agree. "I'm you father."
A strange chill spread in Jiu Loong Long's heart as Lo Jik calmly moved past the former.
"Why?"
Lo Jik's breathing grew ragged.
"Why did you have to appear before me right now? A few more days. Just a few more days."
He gritted his teeth.
"A few more days and this wouldn't have mattered!"
"And how long did you plan to string yourself and all of us along?" Bai Lin's voice emerged from the other side, cold and detached, unlike her usual maternal charm. She didn't sound angry but disappointed. Lo Jik could feel her contempt.
"Just a few more days." Lo Jik growled with more conviction.
"Then ignore us."
A proud voice interjected as Lo Jik looked sideways. By now, his odd reaction caught everyone's interest. Shu Zhe felt desperate as she watched Lo Jik turn sideways. She knew what was to come. However, her expression remained infuriatingly out of control and rigid!
"Hehehe! To think he would go crazy!" Shang Mi Zhu laughed softly, his gaze brightening.
"Hmph. That's how most demonic gu masters end up. Insane." He Bang snorted coldly before he glanced at Tian Zhenli, who nodded slightly.
Mi Yao's and Bai La's expression twisted with shock and fury.
"How dare you!"
They screamed, instantly attacking the formation when every other gu immortal stepped up, neutralizing their attacks.
"Watch your hope and dreams crash, Shitty Bai!" He Bang let out a cold hiss, his sharp eyes momentarily turning dark as everyone felt a shift in pressure within the formation.
A low hiss spread throughout the campsite and every disciple felt their skins crawl with fright!
"Please! Stop him! You have to stop him!"
Qin Juan bawled her eyes out as Feng Jin Huang couldn't respond. The shock from Lo Jik's strange reaction was only surpassed by the great enemy she witnessed around the campsite. The investigation method the trio observed from belonged to gu immortals. They already noticed Gu Immortal He Bang's method. He was an enslavement path gu immortal who was an expert in raising snakes.
"Ignore you?"
Lo Jik turned sideways, meeting Bai Ning Bing's proud gaze.
"Back then, Shen Cui said there was someone else aside from Mo Yan and herself. Sister Bai Lin and…"
He glanced at the haunting specter. Lo Jik wasn't aware of his son's name.
"Are you worth learning his name?" Bai Lin's voice ridiculed coldly.
"Yeah." Bai Ning Bing laughed. He didn't care about Lo Jik's emotional state. "Your sister Bai Lin and your kid arrived not too long ago. Heh! How pathetic can you be? It's just one child. We killed many more, remember?"
"Every man or woman we killed was somebody's son or daughter."
But there was a more powerful voice inside Lo Jik—one capable of outshining Bai Ning Bing's ruthless reasoning.
"Father… you caused me so much pain. Mom… please save her. Brother Sheng and Sister Hua are crying. We are in so much pain…"
"Stop listening to that punk!" Bai Ning Bing roared. "Get a grip, asshole! I didn't die and save you just to watch you wallow! Move on!"
"I'm trying!"
Lo Jik roared, his eyes turning bloodshot!
"If you're going to be a bitch about it then help me again! What should I do? Why can't I just do it?!"
"Who is it?"
Feng Jin Huang's heart shuddered when she heard Lo Jik turn to the pitch-black sky, screaming his lungs out.
"Ahhh! I can't stand it! What is going on?! It's all a mess! But I cannot stop it!" His words were exactly the same as Qin Juan's ravings from earlier.
Lo Jik's expression turned cruel as he laughed loudly, no longer confident and collected.
"I don't want to!" He howled, venting the source of his inability to move past. For some reason, he didn't want to! He glared at the sky.
"Do you hear me?! Nothing works! How should I stop? Tell me! TELL ME!"
Above him floated impassive Shen Cui and Mo Yao.
He was surrounded.
No enemy in this formation could take him down. But what caught up to Lo Jik was his own past.
"Just what changed?!"
He roared before turning sideways and glaring at the smugly smirking Bai Ning Bing.
"You!"
Bai Ning Bing grinned.
"Me."
Lo Jik's vision was suddenly consumed by a gaping mouth as massive as a hill. A beast with strength beyond a Beast Emperor shot out from the darkness, consuming him and Jiu Loong Long whole!
"It's done."
First Supreme Elder sighed as she watched the desolate beast Shadow Scale Tiger Cobra consume Lo Jik.
'No mortal can escape the need for its amusement.'
Her gaze traveled far before landing on that strange rock.
*Drr*
It trembled still.
'It's not done?' First Supreme Elder blinked, truly surprised for the first time. Even Lo Jik's earlier madness did not move her. She had many complete records of the 'pranks' love played on its victims. Showing one's beloved's specters while inducing guilt was quite a common tactic. Of course, First Supreme Elder couldn't witness these specters herself. Even if she had a method, she wouldn't interrupt love's fun.
But this experience itself dictated things should end by now.
'So, what is going on?'
First Supreme Elder's brows wrinkled with slight confusion.
She commanded her subordinate gu immortals to hold stead and maintain the status quo.
***
Alternate Title: True Ichigo Treatment: Awesome Entry Before Being Shat On By Op Opponents; Immaculate Drip Before Breakdown; Lo *Savage Drip* Jik; Lo Jik Big Muscles: Reckless is Proud; Lo Jik Big Strength: Reckless is Even More Proud; Lo Jik Becomes Insane: Reckless Blanks Out Before Leaving for Milk; Karma; Own-Tasting Medicine; Jiu Loong Long's Reversal; Jiu Loong Long AF: Hey, You Said it. Not Me; Lost Family; Lost Love; Love's Plaything; Attracting Love's Mischief; Fate and Love; Father; Tortured; Surprise!; Swallowed Whole; Immortals Make a Move; Toys; Love's Strings; Incapacitated Shu Zhe and Qin Juan; Every Head Must Bow; First Supreme Elder's Reasons; The Truth Behind Lo Jik's Madness; Lo Jik Loses his Aura; Bai Lin's Death; Cruel End; Confusion; Coming Terms With Reality; With Love, From Shang Clan; Lo Jik: Hold My Extreme Physique *Love Gu: Hold For My Amusement*; Love Gu Really Set Up the Entire Volume, Kekekeke; Lo Jik's One True Weakness, Not Soul Path, But His Lack of Understanding of Self; Shu Zhe Feeling Like Walt Trying to Warn Hank; Qin Juan and Shu Zhe Watch the Future Events; Shu Zhe and Qin Juan Get Spoiled By Love Gu; Love Gu: Relax, Gro. It's a Prank *The Prank: Rank 9 Curse*
***
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