Quite different from Hu Mei Er's circumstances, Lo Jik didn't immediately fall for Xin Cheng's charms since her current position was not of her doing. The fact that her current position happened to be planting herself on Lo Jik's waist and her legs wrapping around him like a vicious snake keen on squeezing its prey made the subsequent act of peeling her off of his body and lips even more challenging, especially when Lo Jik was quite fond of Chen Jiu and his former senior's voracious body.
He held her back by the back of her collar, holding her up like a stray kitten. She was out of breath, inhaling deeply as she kept staring at Lo Jik. Her eyes were slightly wide and her gaze was eager. Her lips somewhat swelled after the act, complementing the look of arousal flashing in her pretty eyes and the attractive flush of her skin. Lo Jik instantly tried refining the gu worm before coming to a shocking realization.
"Hmm?" Xin Cheng hummed and frowned slightly as she sensed something. "Why did you just inspect my aperture? That's quite the invasion of privacy, Lo Jik. Or do you think I no longer deserve your respect now that's you're a gu immortal?"
It was Lo Jik's turn to feel slightly shaken. He swallowed thickly and met 'Xin Cheng's' gaze. Somehow, the body before him was no longer a gu worm. It was the real deal! The aperture inside no longer relied on Lo Jik's primeval essence but produced its own. And the tone with which she spoke reminded him of someone he lost around the same time as Bai Ning Bing and his family jewels.
"Chen… Jiu?"
She brightened while moving her shoulders and pulling herself away from Lo Jik's hold. She straightened her back and smoothened the wrinkles of her top.
"I am Chen Jiu." She nodded. "I am also Xin Cheng."
Lo Jik couldn't help but return to his seat.
"I'm listening," he said, his thoughts nearing a mess. This was not supposed to happen, and he had no idea what Love Gu did. However, he was thankful that Love Gu Worm's wonders did not cost him any rare material or immortal gu worms. The loss of immortal essence stones was quite acceptable to the current Lo Jik since he was rich. He believed such a favorable outcome existed due to his application of luck path and its killer moves. The fact that Love Gu Worm's activation and price was random ensured that luck path was quite effective in dealing with potential disasters tied to using this immortal gu worm.
It also meant that the current activation of Love Gu also somehow suited Lo Jik's current needs.
He quickly came to a reasonable conclusion.
Dual Cultivation.
Lo Jik greatly desired Chen Jiu's methods. Whoever created this method surely surpassed Lo Jik since he had yet to deduce a method of balancing two different paths without any conflict of dao marks. One of the reasons why he didn't achieve this was his own circumstances. Lo Jik started prioritizing his combat prowess and spent more time developing several different immortal killer moves to deal with a number of calamities. It was all due to the information he received from the dream path true inheritance that revealed itself during his ascension. This inheritance had stayed with him since the events of Ba Gui Blessed Land, its origins extremely mysterious.
"Well," Xin Cheng, no, Chen Jiu drawled with a smile and returned to her cushion. "Don't mind me. I was too excited before. I apologize if I ruined your mood by kissing you, now that you're married to several beautiful women and all. But you certainly enjoyed soiling every inch of me back in Shang Clan City."
Lo Jik, however, smiled and shook his head.
"No need to toss in bits of information to assure me of your identity, Senior Chen Jiu. I know it's you. I'm just curious what you mean by saying you are also Xin Cheng."
This was important because he had wronged Xin Cheng. What if this demon venerable's remnant clone held a grudge against him? Did he have to extinguish Chen Jiu's life with his own hands?
These thoughts were inevitable.
Though, it wouldn't be incorrect to assume he was quite happy by the fact that Love Gu hadn't fucked over Xin Cheng's mind more than it already had.
Chen Jiu fell silent and leaned back. Her shoulders sagged as she sighed sharply.
"It's like our thoughts and memories have turned into one. The current me cannot explain it properly. I'm Chen Jiu, and I'm also Su Shou. I was the same flower plucked and defiled by Shang Yan Fei. I am also the same Chen Jiu you chose to side with, forcing upon yourself a terrible fate of supreme elder Shang Mi Zhu's crazed assault. I'm the same heavenly specter that looked over you with nothing but a protective instinct, and I'm Xin Cheng, an unwilling extension of a demon venerable's remnant will."
She was a smart and brilliant women, more than capable of understanding what Lo Jik wanted to know.
"I still hate Shang Yan Fei. I also despise that Chou Jiu, who fooled me into taking a poison vow with him." She looked into his eyes, admitting plainly. "The Xin Cheng in me also detests you, for forcing her into servitude."
Lo Jik lowered his gaze and nodded.
"I see. And what now?" He asked. Chen Jiu had no gu worms. She couldn't lie to Lo Jik. And he knew her enough to realize that she did not plan on lying because despite being manipulated by many, Chen Jiu had yet to lose her critical thinking. Unlike other erratic demonic gu masters, Chen Jiu was quite sharp and maintained a moral compass unique to herself.
"Now?" She hummed with a coy smirk. "I will honor our deal. No matter how things ended, you merely schemed against Xin Cheng. It's quite a complicated feeling, but I believe it's easier to let go of anger nursed by Xin Cheng than the hatred in Chen Jiu's bones."
Lo Jik exhaled softly.
"The deal, huh… that is to be expected." He smiled shamelessly. "I meant what are your plans from now on? Where do you plan on living?"
She rolled her eyes.
"Oh, don't be so ridiculous, Fickle Consort. We've done the deed and have had a rather straining dispute. You are an otherworldly demon, and strangely enough, I think I can relate to this aspect because of Xin Cheng. I have all of Xin Cheng's memories and understanding. And Xin Cheng possesses all my memories and remorse. What can't we get past at this stage?"
Lo Jik chuckled, stating with slight disbelief in his voice. "Is that your plan? To marry me?"
Chen Jiu smiled calmly.
"Well," Lo Jik conceded with another bout of shamelessness. "That's quite a brilliant plan."
There was a moment of silence between them before Chen Jiu stood up and walked towards him. The earlier urgency in her actions faded, leaving behind the same sensuality that Chen Jiu revealed during the night Lo Jik obtained his first set of platinum achievements in the gu world. A lot had happened since then, but she walked over just like before, without Lo Jik prompting her into action this time around. She sat on him, her arms looping around his neck.
"I've seen you at your lowest." She leaned down and whispered against his lips before planting a chaste peck. "You are truly too brilliant to hate, Lo Jik. More skilled than I could ever hope for—more courageous and able, and even more resilient. You are truly beautiful."
She let out a shuddering sigh as he reciprocated with his hands pulling her close.
"Just you wait," she promised. "I shall refine my wisdom path body refinement set yet again and have you at my mercy."
"You do know I'm a gu immortal with Great Strength True Martial physique, yes?" Lo Jik smirked thickly. "Endurance and stamina are my greatest suit. You'd have an easier time ascending as a gu immortal than wearing me down."
"Mm-hmm." Chen Jiu didn't refute and kissed him deeply. This time Lo Jik had no reason to struggle or pull back as he wondered what was Love Gu smoking these days. What was even the point of creating Xin Cheng when it was going to achieve this?
'Could it be due to my recent breakthrough in luck path? I've spent a long time strengthening my luck. It finally showed a qualitative change after enough accumulation. But I didn't have such a deep understanding of luck path when Love Gu acknowledged me inside Reincarnation Battlefield.' Lo Jik felt his guess was close to the truth.
<<<>>>
Lo Jik studied the sleeping Chen Jiu. This was the final act. If her earlier declarations was her way of pacifying Lo Jik's doubt, then this was his method of getting rid of the remaining traces of reservations. He didn't just observe the blissfully tuckered out Chen Jiu visually but also used several gu worms to confirm her state of being, marveling at what she had become. He had to do this. Even if Chen Jiu were to be awake despite the hours they spent together, he would still do this in front of her.
'Amazing.' He sighed in admiration. Chen Jiu once cultivated wisdom and rule paths. It was her inheritance, something she didn't quite recall. Even now, what she knew was the same as the time in Shang Clan's city. Love Gu did not remove the effects of the killer move that tampered with her memories. She still did not know how she obtained her inheritance and what truly occurred in the unnamed blessed land where she encountered Shang Yan Fei for the first time. All she remembered was being nurtured in the unnamed blessed land, getting tricked by Chou Jiu, then meeting Shang Yan Fei before they left the blessed land and returned to the Shang Clan.
As for why Lo Jik sighed in admiration?
He had inspected her aperture before.
It was no longer an ordinary aperture. Not only did Love Gu use Thief Gu Worm's body as a base for Chen Jiu, but it also recovered Chen Jiu's true aptitude!
Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence physique!
'A rank 5 gu master with an extreme aptitude for metal path. Chen Jiu has no foundation in metal path. Furthermore, her current vital gu is none other than rank 5 Thief Gu. What is more impressive is her soul.'
Lo Jik was now a gu immortal and could completely inspect the soul path killer move hindering her memories. It was simply too exquisite! It was only eclipsed by the rank 9 immortal killer move on his own soul when it came to how meticulously it was designed.
'What a killer move.' Lo Jik blinked, already seeing-through a few of its functions. 'This killer move prevents wisdom path effects from recovering one's memories. Furthermore… this style…' His gaze flashed coldly. 'There is a trap in this killer move. Ordinarily, such a killer move will be extremely difficult to unravel. One needs to have high attainment in soul, rule, and wisdom paths to even begin deducing its counter. Naturally, deducing a counter of a killer move is more challenging without knowing the exact workings of the killer move. Shang Clan's gu immortals decided to take things slow with Chen Jiu for their reasons. But unraveling this killer move would reveal its true purpose!'
Why would the creator of this killer move let Chen Jiu and Shang Yan Fei live if they wanted to keep certain memories and secrets hidden? It was counterproductive. The true danger was in the killer move itself. If the killer move's complexity intimidated other gu immortals then well and good. Else, unraveling the killer move would release its true might and instantly dissolve Chen Jiu's soul!
Lo Jik did not touch Chen Jiu's soul. Even more disheartening was the fact that cultivating her soul would further strengthen this killer move. Its style resembled Lo Jik's Fake Soul Gu. Whoever planted this killer move on Chen Jiu undoubtedly possessed an adequate attainment in refinement and human paths.
'However, her soul is fine aside from this issue. She is truly Chen Jiu and Xin Cheng.'
Lo Jik sighed.
This made things slightly more complicated.
'Chen Jiu had a good foundation in wisdom and rule paths. She's a great healer. Meanwhile, Xin Cheng is an extension of Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable. But she isn't the true venerable or she would be a theft path and space path supreme grandmaster. Every venerable is recognized to be supreme grandmasters of their corresponding paths. Xin Cheng, on the other hand, is barely a theft path grandmaster and a space path quasi-grandmaster. Now, Chen Jiu is all these things while possessing Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence physique.'
Lo Jik thinned his lips.
How could he let Chen Jiu waste her potential again? For some reason, she did not even possess her extreme aptitude after leaving the unnamed blessed land where she encountered Shang Yan Fei.
This was certainly an unusual situation, but it wasn't something Lo Jik couldn't handle. It would be the best if Chen Jiu ascended as a theft path gu immortal. That way, Lo Jik can help nurture her blessed land and reap several theft path immortal materials. He also had several theft path immortal gu worm recipes. Chen Jiu could refine one or two of them, instantly bolstering Lo Jik's range of abilities.
After a moment, Lo Jik inspected her luck.
This was the final observation.
Luck revealed many things ordinary investigation gu worms were unable to ascertain.
Chen Jiu's luck was like a glowing golden hand. This hand did not extend to an arm and other body parts and floated in isolation, its four fingers and one thumb curled into a tight fist. Several pitch-black chains pinned into the surface of the golden hand through large needles. Lo Jik observed carefully and realized that the color of the chains was not the same as the darkness threatening to consume Shu Zhe's luck. The latter indicated a fatal threat, and the former revealed the hidden dangers in Chen Jiu's soul.
Inside the curled fist glowed a source of bright light. Light escaped from the gaps between the fingers and the thumb, treating the black chains and corroding them ever so slightly.
Lo Jik inspected his luck.
Similar to before, it was still an ancient tree, towering and massive. A seventh branch grew from this tree with a strange peach blossom on its end. The flower had golden petals and a bluish core. From the flower grew out countless pitch-black thorns that stabbed into the branch, affecting Lo Jik's luck negatively.
However, his luck was extremely sturdy. It was no longer a desolate scene. The branches earlier were without a single leaf. Now, however, the entire tree exuded life. Countless lush-green leaves grew on the tree, providing a protective shade to all of the peach blossoms. Even more outstanding was another aspect of his luck!
The flower representing Feng Jin Huang's luck had already transformed a small part of his luck. Beautiful pink veins covered the branch where a dreamy peach blossom bloomed and exuded an alluring fragrance. The leaves on this branch were all light-pink and illusive, revealing their connection with dream path.
'Feng Jin Huang's luck is simply too impressive. I cannot compare to her luck even when using mortal gu worms. However, things will change once I get my hands on luck path immortal gu worms. Her luck is supporting my luck in the same way my luck supports Shu Zhe's grim luck and Chen Jiu's luck filled with hidden dangers. Connecting our luck would balance everything, but it would also lower Feng Jin Huang's accomplishments. That will be an upsetting result.'
'As for Chen Jiu, she truly harbors no malicious intentions towards me. Instead, there is something else going on. Despite improving my luck, there had been some dark clouds gathering above the crown of the tree. All these clouds now moved and transformed into these thorns. What does this mean?'
Lo Jik narrowed his eyes.
'Does it mean that whoever planted the killer move on Chen Jiu's soul is the same person who holds malicious intentions towards me? Who is this stranger and why would they want to harm me?' Lo Jik thought of another possibility. 'Could it be that there are no threats yet but this luck is an indication of future perils? If so… who is this individual and what would cause us to be at odds?'
Lo Jik licked his dried lips before closing his eyes and resting.
Still in his arms, Chen Jiu eventually stirred awake and blinked slowly.
"Oh… so it's real. I truly thought I was dreaming."
She sighed.
She was free.
She was free from the Shang Clan.
She was free from Shang Yan Fei!
"I wouldn't say you're free. You're not free from the burdens of cultivation." Lo Jik chuckled.
"Burdens?" Chen Jiu scoffed. "I would bear those burdens willingly. How can the chains I adorn be burdens? Remember? They are decorations!"
Lo Jik's smile froze as Chen Jiu giggled and hugged him happily.
"How about dropping that saying entirely?" Lo Jik groaned and rolled his eyes. "It doesn't fit the setting."
"Oh, it does! I'm just not beating another gu master and grinning crazily, but it does! Hehe! Ah, my beautiful decoration~!"
Lo Jik deadpanned slightly and wondered if he should also try shaving her head.
"You'll do just fine with Hu Mei Er." He grunted. "This decoration of yours is going to enjoy you very thoroughly."
"Hu Mei Er, eh?" Chen Jiu smirked. She was there when Hu Mei Er tried controlling Lo Jik and held no pity for the woman. Instead, she looked forward to their further encounters.
"So, I have Thief Gu as my vital gu worm… and I have 100% primeval essence capacity for some reason," she spoke after a moment, believing Lo Jik already knew about these things. In reality, she would have done the same thing in Lo Jik's position, just to be sure that he did not hold any ill-intentions towards her. How else could she truly show her partner affection after such a series of strange events?
Gu masters and gu immortals like them were not heartless demons but their naiveté had also been cruelly refined and purified by the dangers of the gu world. They had long shed away such vulnerable mindsets.
"We'll do something about that," Lo Jik replied candidly. "I have a method of dealing with the dangers of an extreme physique. It's better for you to ascend as a theft path gu immortal. What do you think?"
Chen Jiu blinked.
"But isn't it too much of a waste to ascend as a theft path gu immortal when my extreme physique belongs to a different path?" She was not under the effects of any killer move and did not even hesitate to disapprove of the idea. Lo Jik merely chuckled.
"Oh," he assured confidently. "I have a way."
Chen Jiu simply didn't know just how deep Lo Jik's ambitions ran. Why would he ever waste an extreme physique's potential?
***
Alternate Title: Love Gu: See? I can do good stuff! *Also Love Gu: Takes Lo Jik's left ball the next time cause it watched Dan Da Dan*; Love Gu just needs to revive Nina to get in Lo Jik's grace; Nina watching everyone revive around Lo Jik while still inside his soul: Dafuq, I'm the waifu— *Male Dragonman BNB: Hush now, we all know who the real waifu is*; Love Gu fusion af; The Vegito of the gu world; Gu Immortal Chen Jiu about to pull up on Shang Clan with extreme prejudice in the chaotic war; Chen Jiu's outstanding potential; Understanding gu masters; Another peak ass returns; Lo Jik genuinely defying heaven's will at this point; Chen Jiu and Hu Mei Er acting like Fickle Consort's secret forces; Lo Jik's greatest confidante; Chen Jiu: Kisses Lo Jik *Xin Cheng: Turns around and pegs Lo Jik for some payback*; Lo Jik sleeping with a venerable after all?; The other remaining THDV wills feeling a bone-numbing chill run up their spines as Xin Cheng gets the full length of the Little Giant; Chen Jiu hating on everyone but sweet boi Lo Jik; Marriage is a wise choice indeed; Love Gu is finally satisfied; Love: Lo Jik's little voyeuristic hype gu worm all the way; Love Gu shedding white tears after watching Lo Jik boning a mess of a Xin Cheng and Chen Jiu
***
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