Chapter 27: Baleful Qi in This Place, Myriad Thoughts Become Evil…

To head to the Mortal Realm, they had to traverse tens of thousands of li through mountains and forests, then travel south from the Xinnan Immortal Sect, crossing more than half of the Cultivation World.

The fastest route to the Mortal Realm would still take over ten days.

The journey was tight.

Deep down, Gu Changhuai felt that the Enforcement Elder had quite the flair—chasing after Xue Lao Er in a fit of rage, hurrying for over half a month to the Mortal Realm to exorcise demons and protect the righteous path.

…Only to go missing along with his disciple.

If he wanted to exorcise demons, why not go to the Demon Realm?

Blood Night City was crawling with Demon Clansmen. It would be great to wipe out those disgusting nine-headed snakes and insect people—then the streets would look a lot cleaner.

The trip proceeded smoothly.

Red Feather Manor lay in the south. Flying on swords without rest for three or four days, they finally arrived. The others were fine, but Xuan Yao, the young manor lord who had rarely endured hardships, looked utterly fatigued.

Before parting, he turned back to Gu Changhuai and said solemnly, “Once my family matters are settled, I’ll come find you.”

Then, Xuan Yao glanced toward Gu Changhuai’s front, seeming to hesitate because Rong Ye was present. His mouth opened and closed a few times, but he didn’t voice what he wanted to say.

It probably wouldn’t have been anything good.

“…” Gu Changhuai smiled mildly, but his words were ruthless. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

Xuan Yao refused to accept it. “Why? You don’t like me?”

Gu Changhuai was baffled. “We’re not close. Why would I like you? You’re being unreasonable.”

Xuan Yao declared righteously, “This young lord is the reason.”

Well-founded and shocking.

Gu Changhuai was momentarily speechless, then countered, “Then why do you like me? Because of my face? That’s pretty shallow of you.”

He didn’t even appreciate his interesting soul!

Shallow!

Now it was Xuan Yao’s turn to be at a loss for words. He looked at Gu Changhuai with proud defiance in his expression, but grievance flowed in his eyes, giving him the stubborn look of someone discarded.

From childhood to now, nothing he set his sights on had ever slipped away!

Gu Changhuai felt a chill under his gaze and patted Rong Ye’s shoulder. “Quick, let’s run.” He urged in a low voice, “He’s got issues. We shouldn’t play with him.”

Rong Ye lowered his eyes slightly, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “Alright.”

*

The remaining journey was long. After leaving Red Feather Manor’s territory, they had to cross tens of thousands of li of rugged mountains and forests—an area commonly known as Immortal Crossing Ridge.

Flying on swords high in the sky, they looked down to see a slender river channel winding through treacherous mountain gorges, ancient trees with twisting roots everywhere.

With no rest during the sword flight, standing for so long grew uncomfortable. Gu Changhuai tentatively used Rong Ye’s shoulder as a pillow and found no displeasure from the other man, so he fully relaxed and rested his head there, letting out a deep sigh. “Sigh…”

With Rong Ye’s cultivation level, he could shatter the void or use Earth Shrink to save time, yet he insisted on sword flight.

Even so, he kept Pei Tianyi and Kong Huai far behind. Gu Changhuai twisted to look back and saw only two black specks on the horizon, swords trailing after them.

He maintained a distance that allowed Pei Tianyi and Kong Huai to keep up without being left behind.

“Will the Enforcement Elder really not die?” Gu Changhuai reminded him tactfully. There was a group of people urgently waiting to be rescued.

Rong Ye’s voice came from ahead, deep and cold. “The one who tied the bell must untie it. They won’t endanger their lives just yet. Relax.”

Gu Changhuai didn’t fully grasp Rong Ye’s meaning, but it seemed he knew everything clearly, so he said no more.

In the blink of an eye, another seven days passed flying in the sky.

After Immortal Crossing Ridge came the Mortal Realm. The spiritual energy thinned immediately, mixed with demonic qi and countless resentments—things ordinary people could hardly sense.

Rong Ye held the Compass to lead the way, skirting several towns to avoid causing panic. They finally landed outside a remote mountain village.

“Buzz—”

“Buzz buzz—”

The Compass vibrated nonstop.

Gu Changhuai leaned over for a look and peered in the direction it pointed, toward the village. “Hm? Did the Enforcement Elder and the others disappear in this village?”

It was an utterly ordinary village. A sweep of divine sense revealed scarcely any inhabitants.

Rong Ye said flatly, “Baleful qi gathers in this place.”

“Oh?”

At those words, Gu Changhuai smiled as he gazed at the village with its scattered rooftops in the distance, raising an eyebrow slightly. He tucked his hands into his sleeves and drawled lazily, “Nurturing baleful qi with human lives—such vicious intent deserves death.”

The so-called Myriad Thoughts Become Evil required at least ten thousand deaths to condense such massive baleful qi. Even the Demon Clan’s most brutal Asura Path wouldn’t target innocent mortals in the Mortal Realm.

Yet this tiny village had neither cultivators nor Demon Clansmen. How could it have killed ten thousand people?