After Saving the Immortal Sect, I Became a Heartthrob - Chapter 24

【Ding! Confirming activation of privilege: 8D Reading of the Original Novel!】

【Ding! Current Host redemption value is 30%, points are 280! Confirmed access to enabled storylines: Shen Mu, Zhong Ming.】

Gu Congxing frowned, discovering that the stone tablet displayed the names of six people: Shen Mu, Zhong Ming, Gu Congxing, Si Junjian, Lan Jue, and Xiao Wangyou. However, only the first three were illuminated.

“Why can I only access the storylines of Master and Little Junior Brother?”

【Available storylines are related to the Host’s redemption progress.】

Gu Congxing furrowed his brows. It seemed his redemption progress wasn’t high enough yet.

He replied noncommittally, “Fine. Then enable all currently readable storylines.”

As soon as he spoke, he felt a silver light swirling around his body from bottom to top, bringing with it an arcane sensation.

Gu Congxing’s consciousness seemed to be dragged into darkness. Within the chaos, a point of light suddenly appeared, growing larger and larger, unfurling an endless scroll of imagery before him—

Gu Congxing opened his eyes again to find he had become a transparent spiritual entity, floating in the air, looking down upon everything.

He tried to touch the trees nearby, but his fingers passed right through them.

It seemed that within this “plot,” he could only watch, unable to change even a fraction of what was occurring.

A boy with refined features appeared before him. He had black hair, crimson eyes, and a golden spiritual marking on his forehead. His clothes, however, were filthy and muddy, and he looked quite disheveled.

—This was the protagonist of Phoenix Call, Xiao Wangyou.

Gu Congxing thought he looked quite different from the black-haired, black-eyed, cold-hearted version he knew now.

In his youth, he seemed… more… magnificent?

Gu Congxing tried to stand beside him, but Xiao Wangyou clearly couldn’t see him, simply running toward the cave ahead with an expressionless face.

“Immortal Venerable, thank you for saving me!”

The youthful Xiao Wangyou held out the spiritual fruits and food from his arms, offering them to a pair of slender, fair hands.

Gu Congxing looked over, his expression freezing.

It was Master!

Master? How could he have met Xiao Wangyou so early?

“No need. I have long since achieved inedia (fasting from food).”

Shen Mu’s tone remained cold and detached, returning the spiritual fruits to Xiao Wangyou.

“Why were those cultivators chasing you?”

Xiao Wangyou remained silent, his eyes flickering before he finally shook his head.

Looking at him, Gu Congxing thought that since Xiao Wangyou was about his own age—looking only thirteen or fourteen here—and was being hunted for his life, he must have already suffered the tragedy of his clan being wiped out.

Shen Mu’s ice-blue eyes silently examined Xiao Wangyou for a moment without forcing him to speak.

He set his long sword aside and began to meditate.

Xiao Wangyou silently ate the spiritual fruit in his arms, but Gu Congxing noticed he didn’t eat the one Master had returned to him.

Is he afraid of being poisoned?

Having suffered the annihilation of his clan and being hunted, Xiao Wangyou was likely like a “bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring,” possessing extreme vigilance.

After finishing his food, he stole a few glances at Shen Mu and asked, “Immortal Venerable, may I ask your name?”

“Qingxuan Sword Sect, Shen Mu.”

Xiao Wangyou’s eyes widened abruptly.

“Could it be that you are the Zhuoguang Sword Venerable who captured the Northern Border Demon Flood Dragon not long ago?”

“Indeed.”

Xiao Wangyou’s expression brightened, his voice rising a few notches: “Your name has shaken the world in recent days! I know you! I, actually I…”

Xiao Wangyou stood up abruptly, the spiritual fruits in his arms tumbling to the ground. He rushed forward anxiously, but accidentally stepped on one of the fruits and tumbled to the ground.

By extreme coincidence, as he fell, his hand touched Master’s sword tassel that golden feathered spiritual artifact forged from a phoenix plume.

In an instant, all the color drained from Xiao Wangyou’s face.

He kept his head lowered, so from Shen Mu’s perspective, he naturally couldn’t see the change in his expression.

But Gu Congxing saw it clearly.

Xiao Wangyou’s face first went blank, then filled with disbelief, followed by tears welling up in his eyes, before he desperately squeezed them shut.

After much deliberation, he managed to restore his composure. But when he looked up again, there was no light in his eyes; they were utterly gray.

“…Sword Venerable, why did you save me?”

Shen Mu glanced at him without paying much heed, then closed his eyes to meditate and regulate his breath.

He replied with an indifferent tone: “You carry a strange treasure that others covet. But your root bones are excellent; you should not perish here.”

“…I have a disciple about your age.”

Gu Congxing felt a stir in his heart, a trace of sourness rising.

But Xiao Wangyou turned even paler. He curled up in a corner and let out a bitter laugh.

“So, Sword Venerable saw at a glance that I possess a strange treasure and excellent root bones.”

A sense of foreboding suddenly rose in Gu Congxing’s heart.

“…Sword Venerable, do you intend to take me away?”

Gu Congxing shouted an internal “no!”—if Master answered yes, Xiao Wangyou would surely conclude that Master intended to take him back only to seize his spiritual treasure and root bones.

Shen Mu remained silent for a while, as if thinking of something, before speaking: “If you are willing, I can take you back to the Qingxuan Sword Sect.”

Xiao Wangyou squeezed his eyes shut and said nothing more.

Gu Congxing’s heart sank as well.

After a long time, the fire in the cave gradually died out, plunging them into darkness.

Just as Gu Congxing thought there would be no more conversation between the two, he heard Xiao Wangyou speak again.

His voice trembled, carrying a hint of struggle: “May I ask Sword Venerable, when did you defeat that Division Spirit Realm Demon Flood Dragon?”

The question was abrupt. Shen Mu paused for a moment before answering: “About a month ago.”

Xiao Wangyou sank into utter silence.

Listening to their conversation, Gu Congxing suddenly remembered the function of the Phoenix Plume.

It was said that every member of the Kong clan possessed only one such secret treasure, which could increase one’s power significantly in a short time, regardless of one’s current realm, allowing one to break through boundaries instantly. Thus, it was a priceless treasure for many cultivators.

The higher a cultivator’s realm, the more difficult advancement became. Therefore, the Phoenix Plume was a supreme treasure even for high-level cultivators.

And before Master came to the Gu clan, he had indeed gone to the Northern Border to capture the Demon Flood Dragon, a feat that brought him great fame and that period was shortly after the Kong clan was wiped out.

No wonder Xiao Wangyou asked this.

It seemed that by deducing the timeline, he had confirmed that Master had increased his cultivation after using the Phoenix Plume, which allowed him to capture the Demon Flood Dragon alive—even within the same Division Spirit Realm, the Demon race’s strength far exceeded human cultivators due to their innate techniques.

And Master’s previous words, in Xiao Wangyou’s ears, meant he intended to take him back to the Sword Sect to strip him of everything he had.

Gu Congxing’s heart plummeted inch by inch.

It was likely after today that Xiao Wangyou began to view Master as the enemy who annihilated his clan.

…Wait!

Today?

Gu Congxing suddenly looked up. He looked at Xiao Wangyou, still a youth, and felt a cold sweat break out all over his body.

He was seventeen when he was reborn, but this scene of Xiao Wangyou meeting Master clearly occurred before his rebirth!

That means, in this life I have been reborn into, these events have already happened!

That’s right! No wonder when I asked Master if he knew Xiao Wangyou or had ever seen a black-haired, black-eyed cultivator with excellent root bones, he denied it.

Because the Xiao Wangyou before him had never told Master his name, nor did he have black eyes!

Horror gripped Gu Congxing’s heart. He stood up abruptly, but a mystical feeling swirled around him, and the scene before his eyes began to shift again.

When it refocused, it was Lan Jue’s face.

He still had his elegant and refined appearance, nodding to Xiao Wangyou in front of him and conversing while walking side-by-side.

Listening to their conversation, Gu Congxing realized they were currently in a massive ancient secret realm.

Xiao Wangyou now had the black hair and black eyes Gu Congxing was familiar with, and the golden-feathered, red-patterned earrings at his temples swayed gently.

They seemed much more familiar with each other than they were in the present life.

Gu Congxing listened to their dialogue for a long time, only then learning that they had supported each other within the Dream Demon’s illusion, which had fostered a sense of camaraderie.

Perhaps it was because Gu Congxing himself had joined the illusion in this life that the two hadn’t grown quite as close.

Gu Congxing felt a secret sense of relief.

But at that moment, an accident occurred.

A bloodthirsty demon beast at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm suddenly lunged from the shadows of the trees, striking directly at Lan Jue’s back!

Gu Congxing was startled, subconsciously moving forward with his sword, but the monster passed through his transparent body.

In the next moment, it was Xiao Wangyou who blocked the attack for Lan Jue.

He sprayed a mouthful of blood, clutched his heart, looked at Lan Jue, and collapsed.

Lan Jue’s eyes were filled with shock. He wounded the beast’s claws with his sword, and taking advantage of its howling retreat, he immediately whisked Xiao Wangyou away on his sword.

Gu Congxing looked at their retreating figures, feeling that something was wrong.

Is Xiao Wangyou the type of person who would sacrifice himself for a casual friend?

The scene shifted again to the Qingxuan Sword Sect.

It turned out that in order to treat Xiao Wangyou’s injuries, Lan Jue had brought him directly back to Qingxuan.

That made sense; although the Qianyuan Sect where Xiao Wangyou resided was powerful, they were mostly sword and body cultivators, lacking the alchemists with the skills found among the masters of Qingxuan.

Gu Congxing pondered, his gaze deepening.

Could it be that Xiao Wangyou’s injury was a ruse to gain entry to the Qingxuan Sword Sect?

No, I fear it was more than that.

Closing the distance to Senior Brother must also have been one of his goals.

Gu Congxing watched Lan Jue run back and forth between Zhuoguang Peak and Muze Peak to treat Xiao Wangyou, knowing he must be filled with guilt.

Furthermore, the Senior Brother of his past life, having failed to protect his junior brothers within the Dream Demon’s illusion and having watched three disciples perish before his eyes, already carried deep psychological scars.

Xiao Wangyou had deliberately sacrificed himself before Senior Brother; what a masterful stroke of psychological warfare.

Gu Congxing narrowed his eyes, watching Xiao Wangyou and Lan Jue grow increasingly intimate, even practicing martial arts together from time to time. Although far from “intimate,” they were certainly companions who had endured hardship together.

Not long after, even when Lan Jue was absent, Xiao Wangyou could move about Zhuoguang Peak on his own.

This time, he happened to encounter Zhong Ming.

Gu Congxing watched Zhong Ming struggling and howling in the spring, his heart tightening once more.

It was the bloodline awakening period.

Come to think of it, his Little Junior Brother’s bloodline awakening in the past life had been clearly later, when he was already seventeen or eighteen.

Why did the bloodline awakening in this life advance?

Could it also be related to me?

Gu Congxing watched Xiao Wangyou approach with an expression of astonishment. He whispered softly: “Surprisingly… also… bloodline…”

His voice was too low; although Gu Congxing concentrated to listen, he caught only those few scattered words.

Afterward, Xiao Wangyou’s expression grew stern. He solemnly approached Zhong Ming, observing the boy roaring and struggling in the spring water in detail.

Zhong Ming also saw the black-clad figure standing before him. His golden pupils had already turned into vertical slits, and he stared at Xiao Wangyou, hissing and growling.

“Get out!!”

Xiao Wangyou stepped forward instead. He remained silent, but in the blink of an eye, he had already drawn his sword and stabbed toward Zhong Ming!

“Pfft”

Author’s Note:

Scum Author: Long blades warning in the next chapter.