After Being Struck By The Love Gu, I Reached A Happy Ending With My Frail Best Friend - Chapter 8

The winter wind that had raged freely for nearly three hundred years swept mournfully southward, rolling across the bleak, pallid expanse of Two Realms Mountain and stirring the dry dust around the travelers’ feet.

Stars filled the sky beneath a lone suspended moon. The cold penetrating the heavens carried a faint trace of killing intent.

On the seemingly endless wilderness path, a horse’s hoof suddenly came down.

Pale fingers tinged with an unhealthy whiteness lightly clasped an old divination rod. Xie Guiwan sighed and carefully put it away.

“Still no result this time?”

Shen Fangzhou tugged slightly on the reins and brought her horse alongside Xie Guiwan’s. Curiosity showed on her face, and she naturally leaned closer, displaying an intimacy she made no attempt to conceal.

Xie Guiwan’s gaze skimmed across Shen Fangzhou like a dragonfly touching water.

She nodded.

“Mm. But the hints given by the Heavenly Dao are becoming clearer. Perhaps in another half month, this divination will reveal something.”

“I hope it’s something good.”

Shen Fangzhou leaned leisurely back on her horse.

“Maybe it’s a sign telling you to stay at the Sword Pavilion a little longer.”

Xie Guiwan laughed softly and raised an eyebrow at the person beside her.

“What makes you say that? If the omen is unfavorable, would Sword Venerable Shen drive me away?”

Shen Fangzhou immediately pretended to beg for mercy.

“Please don’t. When that happens, the sect master will probably kill this unfilial disciple for failing to take proper care of you.”

In truth, Shen Fangzhou was not particularly concerned with the divination rods in the female lead’s hand.

The original novel had described this divination many times.

Three years earlier, Xie Guiwan’s master had sacrificed her life to glimpse the heavenly secrets hidden within it. She had calculated that the sole chance of survival for all living beings lay in Shu, which was why she had instructed Xie Guiwan to stay at the Sword Pavilion.

Unfortunately, perhaps because the proper time had not yet arrived, Xie Guiwan had failed to gain even the slightest new insight no matter how she interpreted it over the past three years.

With her late master’s final instruction hanging over her, leaving the Sword Pavilion was naturally out of the question.

As they spoke, their horses continued forward at a steady pace.

The team of eleven had nearly reached the edge of the demon realm.

In other words, they were already close to their target—the demon race’s young princess, Zhou Xu.

“The strange restriction within Two Realms Mountain allows only those below the Golden Core realm to enter. For some reason, Zhou Xu’s cultivation differs greatly from the Demon Lord’s. She’s only at Foundation Establishment.”

Shen Fangzhou looked into the distance and shook her head.

Ning Ruyue sighed.

“Why do you sound as though you pity her? Isn’t it more convenient for you if she’s only at Foundation Establishment?”

“But Shen Fangzhou, are you really planning to take Zhou Xu hostage? She may carry all sorts of priceless treasures given to her by the Demon Lord.”

“And besides, why did you bring us? What use could we possibly be against Golden Core cultivators?”

Of course they were useful.

The demon realm’s Boundary Monument was not merely a single monument.

More precisely, it was a formation made up of ten ancient tombstones.

It was also where immortals had fallen during the first war between immortals and demons.

Among the demon race, rumors claimed that the Sword Pavilion’s founding ancestor had been buried there—the person who had truly been the greatest beneath heaven in that era.

The power of immortals was impossible to predict.

Thus, some believed that beside the Sword Pavilion ancestor’s remains lay a divine artifact rarely seen anywhere in the world.

Because of this, Demon Lord Zhou Han had used her sword to establish the Ten Eternal Hatreds Formation, preventing anyone from accidentally entering and losing their life after becoming entangled with the divine artifact.

When Zhou Xu sealed the monuments, she would first extend the duration of the Ten Eternal Hatreds Formation, then spread the deadly poison Buzhanyi around the Boundary Monuments.

Due to the secrecy required for the sealing process, the Golden Core guards would retreat a considerable distance.

Ning Ruyue listened in complete confusion.

“Wait. I understand your plan to use a Breath-Concealing Talisman to ambush Zhou Xu.”

“But what exactly are the rest of us supposed to do?”

“Destroy the Boundary Monuments.”

“Destroy the Boundary Monuments?”

Shen Fangzhou nodded.

“While the Ten Eternal Hatreds Formation is being extended, the person repairing it is protected by the formation and cannot be harmed by blades or swords.”

“That is precisely why the Golden Core guards dare to move far away.”

“So I asked Huizhou City to lend me ten Foundation Establishment cultivators. Each of you will destroy one of the ten Boundary Monuments that now serve as the formation’s foundation.”

Destroy the Ten Eternal Hatreds Formation.

For the first time in a long while, Xie Guiwan’s expression shifted slightly.

She turned toward Shen Fangzhou and asked in a naturally puzzled tone,

“But Zhouzhou, the ten Boundary Monuments have been tempered by demonic energy for countless years and are as solid as stone. How do you intend to destroy them?”

“It’s extremely simple.”

Shen Fangzhou shook her head and spoke almost in unison with the system in her mind.

“A Boundary Monument is still only something stuck into the ground.”

“If it can’t be destroyed, we can simply push it over.”

For several hundred years, no one had ever considered that although the monuments could withstand a strike from a Golden Core cultivator, their bases had merely been hammered into the soil.

It was like the countless things in this world that appeared as unshakable as Mount Tai.

With the gentlest push, they could prove so fragile that nothing remained.

Ning Ruyue made a surprised sound.

“Now that you say it, that actually makes some sense—wait, Shen Fangzhou, how did you know that?”

“I naturally have my own brilliant methods.”

Shen Fangzhou blinked, deliberately acting mysterious.

Before she even finished speaking, the so-called “brilliant method” eagerly claimed credit inside her mind.

“Well, Zhouzhou? I can occasionally reveal some genuinely useful information, can’t I?”

“Putting everything else aside, I need to confirm this one more time.”

Shen Fangzhou was always afraid something might go wrong, and her tone became serious.

“System, are you certain there is nothing beneath the Ten Eternal Hatreds Monuments? Even if we push them over, it won’t affect the direction of the story at all?”

The system spoke with the conviction of someone preparing to die, shouting at full volume,

“Of course it won’t! The logic and core setting of this lousy little book never even mentioned this thing!”

Only after the system repeatedly guaranteed that nothing would be affected did Shen Fangzhou feel safe carrying out the plan.

The group soon crossed the mountain range.

When they looked up again, the demon realm lay in the distance, covered in scorched earth and overflowing with demonic energy.

Farther away, ten pitch-black stone monuments could faintly be seen, each as large as a city gate.

Dark clouds pressed down above them, interspersed with explosive cracks of lightning.

The sight alone was enough to terrify ordinary mortals who had never entered the path of cultivation.

At this distance, danger was already close.

The nine Golden Core demon generals guarding the area could vaguely detect the presence of living beings.

If Shen Fangzhou’s group made even the slightest mistake, all of them would face certain death.

Shen Fangzhou stopped thinking further.

She had already taken out the Breath-Concealing Talisman given to her by her master.

For an occasion like this, she had no choice but to use a high-grade Daoist talisman.

But before she could inject spiritual power into it, a hand caught the talisman between two fingers.

Xie Guiwan lightly suspended the Breath-Concealing Talisman in midair.

Her hands slowly formed a seal.

With a crisp chime, the talisman shattered.

A barrier wider and more powerful than the original gradually descended, enclosing everyone completely.

Meeting Shen Fangzhou’s stunned gaze, Xie Guiwan’s face showed a pallor caused by the fluctuation of spiritual power.

She coughed softly several times, though her expression still held a smile.

“I keep telling you not to be so courteous with me. Something like this is easy for me—”

Xie Guiwan’s movements abruptly stopped.

Because Shen Fangzhou had nearly wrapped her in an embrace.

“Sect Master, don’t speak yet.”

Amid the deathly, murderous silence, Xie Guiwan caught a clear yet faint fragrance.

Warmth like a blazing furnace surrounded her.

She lowered her eyes slightly, her lashes nearly brushing against the pale neck that had leaned toward her, white and delicate as porcelain.

Shen Fangzhou’s complaining voice lingered beside her ear.

Xie Guiwan had burned hundreds, perhaps thousands, of calming incenses over the years.

Yet at this moment, her memory failed her completely.

She could not distinguish what kind of fragrance Shen Fangzhou carried—

what fragrance could be so effective,

so capable of making her intoxicated.

Shen Fangzhou remained completely unaware of the thoughts in the other woman’s mind.

Frowning tightly, she pulled back Xie Guiwan’s loose crane-feather cloak and began fastening its clasps with exceptional care.

“All right.”

Shen Fangzhou let go.

Only after confirming that the sect master was thoroughly wrapped from head to toe did she finally relax.

Then she earnestly began reasoning with her.

“Sect Master, there is absolutely no need to trouble you with such a minor matter.”

“Your own health is far more important.”

Xie Guiwan raised her eyes.

Every unusual emotion within them had already vanished without a trace.

She merely curved her lips as usual and agreed with a smile.

The system watching from the side: “…”

Shen Fangzhou, do you think I’m dead?

But there was no time to argue with its host about this.

The moment for Zhou Xu to seal the formation was approaching, so the system could only urge them onward.

With the enhanced Breath-Concealing Formation, Shen Fangzhou’s group moved almost without a sound.

They quickly slipped past the outermost guards, who were enjoying a rare moment of leisure.

This was a crucial border stronghold of the demon realm and was regarded by the demon race as something close to sacred ground.

No one would imagine that humans could be so daring as to charge straight toward its deepest section beneath a concealment formation.

For the first time, the rest of the team found themselves this close to demon generals approaching the peak of Golden Core.

Unlike Xie Guiwan, they could not remain calm.

As they passed another Five-Legged Horse demon general, Ning Ruyue’s face turned as pale as paper.

If even the faintest trace of their aura leaked from the Breath-Concealing Formation, the eleven of them would not survive even four exchanges against these demon generals.

While fear lingered in her heart, Ning Ruyue suddenly felt someone pat her shoulder.

She turned.

Shen Fangzhou stood there with one eyebrow raised, holding a piece of malt candy commonly sold to children throughout Huizhou City.

Before Ning Ruyue could react, Shen Fangzhou placed the candy into her hand and winked at her.

Her voice carried a smile.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

The malt candy had melted slightly, but it was still sweet.

Ning Ruyue chewed it in a daze, staring at the swordswoman who had already moved ahead to clear the path after giving her the candy.

She thought she finally understood why rumors claimed that Sect Master Xie had fallen for the Sword Pavilion’s chief disciple.