When I Mistook My Arch-Rival for My Dao Companion - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

“Huh?”

Being greeted in such a way, Fu Guzhou was confused. This development was quite different from what he had imagined.

The situation was urgent back then, and he knew his Dao companion would surely be reluctant to abandon him and escape alone. Thus, he could only resort to such an inferior tactic. Who would have thought he would hear such a “polite” greeting instead?

Soon, Fu Guzhou understood why the other person had raised such a question, simply because a terrifying pressure had suddenly and completely enveloped this place. To be honest, Fu Guzhou’s legs almost went weak.

Wenren Qian, at the very center of this pressure, remained calm and unruffled. His hair moved without wind, and a blood-red mark appeared on his brow because of it; even his eyes turned into a deep sea azure.

Exotic, eerie, and carrying an inexpressible shock, it made one want to submit to him even more.

Under such demonic suppression, the demonic beasts that were rampant just a moment ago were now suppressed to the point of being unable to move, prostrating themselves on the ground.

Wenren Qian, playing with the two items in his hand amidst a pile of flesh and bone, asked with a smile: “Does the Immortal Venerable think this seat is a demon who would seek death? Since this seat dared to act, then naturally, I fear no obstacles.”

While Fu Guzhou stared with wide eyes, he finally remembered a term in the demonic world called “bloodline suppression.”

Bloodline suppression is not something any great demon can achieve. After all, if any powerful monster could do it, how would the Four Demon Emperors maintain their status? To achieve this level of bloodline suppression, one must either possess truly noble blood or have strength so formidable that it crushes everything in all aspects—like the Four Demon Emperors—or be the king of that specific race.

Fu Guzhou’s mind raced, wondering exactly why the other could achieve this. Could it be that the suppression here had no effect on him?

Countless possibilities formed in his mind and were then ruled out. Just as Fu Guzhou felt he was about to figure out the result, a change occurred.

As mentioned before, besides the poisonous creatures, the weird vines buried deep underground and the Nether Ghost-Flame Flowers also coveted these two items.

After the demonic beasts failed to block them, these plants began to strike. It was clear that since Wenren Qian was a demon in human form, his suppression of these plants was somewhat lacking; it only stunned them at the start, and soon these little plants began to move.

Vines suddenly erupted from the ground. Those vines, thicker than several men’s combined embrace, were terrifying. Only now did Fu Guzhou realize how “small and cute” the vines left outside before were.

That wasn’t all. Since the vines had acted, how could the famously prestigious Nether Ghost-Flame Flowers not perform as well?

Those small purplish-black flowers immediately uprooted themselves, dancing joyfully around the two of them.

Fu Guzhou gave a dry cough and asked politely: “Demon Sovereign, surely you aren’t afraid of these weeds and tree roots either?”

“Do you want to take a guess?”

“……I don’t really want to guess; I only want to hear a definitive answer.”

“Then do you see them moving?”

Fu Guzhou observed carefully. Indeed, though the vines and flowers looked as if they were glaring like tigers at their prey, it was only scary to look at. Both had clearly set up their attacking stances, yet not a single one struck.

“Because they are wary of this Wind-Fire Infant-Washing Grass,” Fu Guzhou realized.

At the same time, he felt their situation was becoming more dangerous. How long could the suppression from the Wind-Fire Infant-Washing Grass last? Right now, they hadn’t left, so these things were merely surrounding them. Once they intended to leave, he believed these fellows wouldn’t mind paying a small price to keep them here forever.

This was a stalemate.

Fu Guzhou moved closer to Wenren Qian and asked: “What do these things want?”

“In short, they won’t be interested in the Wind-Fire Infant-Washing Grass that is monopolizing the Spirit Fire Earth Essence.”

That meant the Spirit Fire Earth Essence.

To covet this thing only meant that these fellows were all fire-system plants.

Fu Guzhou pondered for a moment, then suddenly struck out and snatched the Spirit Fire Earth Essence from Wenren Qian’s hand. The previously dormant vines and Nether Ghost-Flame Flowers erupted instantly, surging madly toward Fu Guzhou.

The best thing about a cultivator specializing in the wind system is that they are quite fast when escaping. In an instant, he shifted and moved several miles away, leading these things toward the place with the “different aura” he had mentioned earlier.

Countless vines nearly pierced his vital points, but Fu Guzhou acted as if he couldn’t feel it, running incredibly fast. This feeling was somewhat familiar, as if he had once risked his life for something before, but he couldn’t remember clearly—this suggested it wasn’t something he had done recently, but something the “pre-amnesia” him had done.

Fu Guzhou used to think that the closer one got to the brink of death, the more the mind would go blank. However, he was constantly thinking of ways to dodge, and even that sense of familiarity became a distraction in his evasion.

Fu Guzhou suddenly dove into the area filled with the other aura and was stunned. If they were previously in a secret realm filled with ghostly energy, then Fu Guzhou now felt as if he had stumbled into the “Grotto-Heaven” or blessed land of some fellow Daoist. Here, white mist drifted, spiritual energy was abundant, and there were waterfalls and cranes—it looked nothing like a place suitable for ghost cultivators.

“Eh?” At the same time Fu Guzhou was confused, someone else also uttered a sound of confusion.

Fu Guzhou looked toward the source and found the voice appeared out of thin air. When he looked again, he saw a child less than a meter tall standing on a snow-white longsword.

The child had white hair, white clothes, and even his eyebrows were white. At this moment, seeing him, the child wrinkled his face and said in an old-fashioned tone: “What are you doing coming here randomly when you aren’t dead? Isn’t it a waste of this old man’s time?”

After sensing something, the look of disdain suddenly changed. The child jumped down from the sword, smiling with eyes curved like crescents: “But who told this old man to be an easy-going ghost? Why don’t you die first, and then this old man will teach you supreme mystic arts.”

Fu Guzhou had rarely met someone whose face changed faster than flipping a book. He was slightly dazed for a moment, then said: “Thank you for your kindness, Senior, but my Dao companion is still outside, I’m afraid I cannot……”

Before Fu Guzhou could finish, he was interrupted by the white-browed child: “You’re just a kid, only so big, why are you looking for a Dao companion? Cultivating properly is the right path. Come, listen to this old man—die once first. This old man can tell by your face that you’re a good seed for practicing the sword. Right now, your natal spiritual sword happens to be missing.

As long as you convert to a ghost cultivator first, this old man will teach you how to use the sword that only dead people can use. This old man’s sword has none of those fancy tricks; there is only one strike, but this one strike is enough for you to benefit until you reach the pinnacle and ascend.”

After finishing in one breath, the white-browed child slowed down slightly: “Tempted?”

“Tempted,” Fu Guzhou nodded sincerely.

That white longsword stuck in the ground was indeed very tempting. However, the reason such a sword was white, and even slightly ethereal, was because it was a sword that only dead people could use.

The white-browed child laughed because of Fu Guzhou’s cooperativeness: “Good boy, this old man indeed didn’t misjudge you. Then go die. Rest assured, with this old man protecting you, I can surely make it so that you die one moment and convert to a ghost cultivator the next.”

Fu Guzhou shook his head: “Although what Senior says is indeed very tempting, my Dao companion is still outside; he will definitely be worried about me.”

The white-browed child frowned, looking distressed: “Dao companion, what do you want a Dao companion for? Your sword is your Dao companion. Why are the sword cultivators nowadays so poorly behaved?”

Though complaining, the white-browed child continued to guide him patiently: “Very well. This old man won’t stop you if you want to find your Dao companion, but don’t you want to become stronger in front of him? Don’t you want to possess the power to protect your Dao companion? Boy, come learn this old man’s sword. If I were to say my name, it would scare you to death. If you hadn’t happened to find me, you might never have had the chance to witness what a matchless sword truly is.”

Fu Guzhou asked politely: “Since Senior is so powerful, why is your remnant soul still trapped here?”

The previously profound white-browed child immediately jumped in anger: “Brat, do you know how to talk? This old man is clearly being envied by others to end up in such a state. Don’t you think—if I hadn’t ended up like this, do you think someone with your aptitude would even meet me?”

Fu Guzhou nodded in agreement: “Junior’s aptitude is mediocre. Senior should find another talented person. Junior will head out first, haha.”

Leaving was impossible. The white-browed child frowned at Fu Guzhou: “Heh, you’re just in a hurry to go out and see your Dao companion, aren’t you?”

Fu Guzhou smiled brightly: “Senior, you are truly clever. I am naturally in a hurry to see my Dao companion.”

Before the white-browed child could get angry, Fu Guzhou added: “Actually, I probably recognize you, Senior.”

“Oh?” The white-browed child was instantly interested: “Tell me about it.”

Fu Guzhou retracted the smile on his face and spoke in a flat voice: “When I was young, I heard of a sword cultivator senior who asked the heavens and earth with a single strike—how carefree and unfettered he was. This senior had a strike that drove away demons, slew ghosts, and settled evil; he was the undisputed number one sword cultivator of that time. It’s just that heroes have a hard time passing the gate of beauty.

Senior, you fell in love with a female ghost cultivator. The sword in your hand could no longer slay ghosts, and how could a sword that cannot slay ghosts be called an Evil-Settling Sword? From then on, your sword-heart was unstable. In a bout of cultivation deviation, you finally slew your beloved with a single strike—the once world-renowned Lady Xiyun of the ghost realm.”

The white-browed child suddenly burst into laughter: “Xiyun. Originally, this old man thought we loved each other. For her, even if I discarded my Daoist path, what of it? One lives a life to live it freely.”

The white-browed child laughed until even tears came out: “But who could have thought that Xiyun didn’t love me at all? All the coincidences I believed in were merely her deliberate approach. I loved her beyond recovery, yet from the moment we met, it was nothing but a meticulously planned scheme. Seven hundred years. I sealed my sword for her for seven hundred years, yet those seven hundred years were nothing but a joke.”

“So Senior, your sword changed. The Evil-Settling Sword became a sword that only dead people can use. And how can a dead person use this Evil-Settling Sword? Isn’t this… a trap for people?” By the end of his sentence, Fu Guzhou’s tone carried a faint trace of condemnation.

“This old man has comprehended the sword for many years and considers himself a rare genius in the Way of the Sword. In those years, sword geniuses appeared in succession, yet I could still become the leader among them. If not for Xiyun, if not for Xiyun, I would have ascended long ago. How could I have been trapped here by obsession for thousands of years?”

The white-browed child’s tone was becoming increasingly frantic. Fu Guzhou, however, immediately caught the most critical point: “Senior, exactly what place is this?”

The white-browed child’s smile paused, then he smiled gloomily again: “Naturally, it is a place that only dead people can leave.”

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