Duan Ze watched the person plummeting straight down. Before his mind could react, his body moved first. By the time he grabbed the person’s belt, he had already saved them.

He hadn’t intended to save anyone.

Duan Ze checked his body internally and found nothing wrong. Eventually, he focused his gaze on the furball.

Was the problem here?

With one hand, he lifted Xiao Wuchen, first attracting those mermen to the outer sea. Once they entered the water, they moved even faster, and countless water columns shot towards him. Duan Ze used Xiao Wuchen as a shield, then cast a barrier on himself to block all scents.

Without the scent, the mermen gradually regained their senses, one by one emerging from the sea and softly singing again.

After confirming that these mermen wouldn’t come ashore, Duan Ze turned and flew with the now-soaked Xiao Wuchen to a secluded mountain peak of the Hunling Sect. With a thought, the barrier around him expanded to cover the entire mountain.

He casually tossed Xiao Wuchen aside, tying him securely with the Binding Rope, and then turned his attention back to the furball in his hand.

Duan Ze used his divine sense to examine the furball. It wasn’t a living thing, and he wasn’t sure why it was stuck to his hand. It seemed to contain something inside.

With his free hand, Duan Ze snapped his fingers, igniting a flame that instantly reduced the furball to ashes.

What remained in his hand was a pebble-sized stone and a scratch from the furball, which had already stopped bleeding.

That furball had been stuck to his hand, even disturbing his mind, and yet its true form was so ordinary?

Can iron trees grow stones?

If they can bloom, then stones should be possible too.

If he buried the stone in the ground, would it grow into another iron tree?

Duan Ze shook his head, dismissing the random thoughts, and examined the stone again. Its dark purple outer layer was extremely hard and dense, impenetrable even to his divine sense. It could attract those sea-dwelling mermen into a frenzy, so it must be something extraordinary.

“Uh…” Just as Duan Ze placed the stone into his storage ring, he heard a muffled groan of pain.

Instinctively, he stepped back and looked at the source of the sound—it was Xiao Wuchen.

At some point, Xiao Wuchen had woken up and was struggling to stand.

In the darkness, Xiao Wuchen’s face was pale, his entire body trembling. Duan Ze hadn’t been gentle earlier, and the man’s face was half-pressed against the ground, covered in dirt, his clothes smeared with mud and grass, his hair dripping with water. It was hard to tell if it was sweat or seawater, and he looked quite disheveled.

“Ugh.” Xiao Wuchen convulsed, gritting his teeth, the veins on his neck bulging. He looked up at the high and mighty Duan Ze, his eyes red, his entire being radiating demon qi, “Release… Benzun.”

“Release you so you can kill me?” Duan Ze looked down at him, his gaze cold.

Xiao Wuchen cursed under his breath, his body curling up in pain.

Golden patterns on the red horns at the sides of his forehead flickered, slowly spreading down to cover half of his face. In an instant, the demon qi around Xiao Wuchen intensified, his eyes glowing a sinister red, and the Binding Rope showed signs of breaking, “Ahhhhh—”

Duan Ze was startled by the scream.

What was with this transformation and upgrade look?

Suddenly, he felt a sense of danger, and he quickly slapped a few talismans onto Xiao Wuchen. But the talismans shattered the moment they touched him.

In the next moment, the Binding Rope restraining Xiao Wuchen snapped. Duan Ze hurriedly retreated a few steps, readying his exquisite fan for any attack.

The situation was unclear, and attacking rashly might put him at a disadvantage.

However, Xiao Wuchen didn’t charge at him as expected. Instead, he seemed to muster all his strength to stand up. By now, his tied-up hair had come loose, his long black hair catching the moonlight, creating a mosaic of light.

He reached back to gather his hair, revealing a face covered in golden runes, flickering in and out of view, not at all out of place. Xiao Wuchen’s features were already deep-set, and this only added a touch of mystery and sanctity.

Golden runes are usually for protection. Why does Xiao Wuchen have them?

Duan Ze looked at the person standing opposite him with a hint of curiosity.

Xiao Wuchen exhaled slowly, clenching his fists, his body still trembling uncontrollably. The demon qi he had been suppressing was now completely out of control, running rampant. As soon as he opened his mouth, blood trickled down his lips. His eyes seemed to contain tiny golden runes. He wiped the blood from his lips, his Adam’s apple bobbing, but he couldn’t utter a word.

He barely managed to take a step towards Duan Ze before collapsing with a “thud,” unable to get up again.

Duan Ze watched Xiao Wuchen in agony, using his divine sense to probe. The other didn’t resist his divine sense, possibly because he was too weak. Duan Ze discovered that Xiao Wuchen’s internal energy was in chaos, with two foreign energies inside him.

One came from the fruit, which was repairing Xiao Wuchen’s body. The other seemed like a creature residing within him.

After focusing, Duan Ze came to a conclusion—it was a Gu?

“Need my help?” I’m quick, I promise it’ll be painless.

Duan Ze approached, knowing Xiao Wuchen was enduring immense pain, a thousand insects gnawing at his bones, a pain incomparable to anything else.

Was this karma?

But with his cultivation, who could have placed a Gu on him?

“Benzun doesn’t need it.” Xiao Wuchen glanced up at him, sneering. The smirk barely reached his lips before fading.

Xiao Wuchen’s gaze was already blurred with pain, but he had only groaned a few times, suppressing the rest, probably not wanting to show weakness in front of his nemesis.

This time, he had been careless. He had finally encountered a spirit fruit that could suppress the Gu, only to have it trigger an early backlash.

“Who placed the Gu on you?” Maybe the author feared the villain’s popularity would affect the plot, so Xiao Wuchen’s personal matters weren’t detailed in the book. Given his character, he wouldn’t expose his weaknesses to others, so no one knew about the Gu. This was a blank spot in the story.

Xiao Wuchen gasped in pain, one hand clutching his storage ring, most of his consciousness alert to Duan Ze. Even if others saw Duan Ze as a gentleman, Xiao Wuchen knew it was all a facade. During his Gu attacks, Duan Ze would definitely make a move.

“Why do you ask… to mock me?”

Before this, he had always endured his Gu attacks in his palace. He never expected it to happen in front of Duan Ze.

Blood continuously flowed from Xiao Wuchen’s mouth. He tried to draw a teleportation array with his blood to return to the demon realm, but his consciousness was fading.

Damn.

“Get lost!” Xiao Wuchen bit his tongue to stay conscious, then threw a dagger from his storage ring at Duan Ze, who easily deflected it with his fan.

Duan Ze picked up the dagger, twirling it skillfully.

In that moment, Duan Ze had made up his mind. Xiao Wuchen couldn’t even stand, yet he still wanted to kill him. Instead of getting entangled with Xiao Wuchen later and being constantly on guard, it was better to kill him while he was weak. In the cultivation realm, things were handled according to the rules.

Having steeled himself, Duan Ze prepared to slit Xiao Wuchen’s throat. This way, even if someone examined the wound, it would be with Xiao Wuchen’s dagger. And with the Gu attack, Xiao Wuchen was already weak, and others could have killed him too.

The demon realm wouldn’t suspect him.

Duan Ze thought a lot, and just as he crouched down to act, Xiao Wuchen suddenly lunged at him. Duan Ze, caught off guard, instinctively stabbed back. The sound of the blade piercing flesh was sharp, but Xiao Wuchen didn’t attack him. Instead, he clung to him, his breath hot and filled with the scent of blood.

“Aze, it hurts…”

“What?” Duan Ze sat on the ground, his free hand supporting him to avoid hitting his head. Blood from Xiao Wuchen stained his hand, hot and sticky.

He tried to push Xiao Wuchen away but found he couldn’t. Probing with his divine sense, Xiao Wuchen was unconscious, yet his grip was tight, as if afraid Duan Ze would escape.

What did Xiao Wuchen just call him?

‘Aze?’

Duan Ze’s goosebumps returned.

He used his spiritual power to pry Xiao Wuchen’s hand off, pushing him away. But Xiao Wuchen, like he had radar, immediately clung to Duan Ze’s waist again.

Blood still flowed from Xiao Wuchen’s stabbed abdomen, yet he seemed oblivious to the pain, gradually leaning against him, “It hurts…”

Duan Ze: “…”

Does Xiao Wuchen have a screw loose? What is he trying to do?!

“Hey, wake up.” Duan Ze patted his face, feeling like he was touching an ice block, not the warmth of a living being.

Is he dead?

Duan Ze’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly reached for Xiao Wuchen’s neck, but before he could touch it, his wrist was grabbed. The supposedly unconscious person opened his eyes again, filled with murderous intent, yet surprisingly muddled.

“Wake up and let go of me.” Duan Ze looked at him, opening his fan, a sharp spiritual qi forming on the fan blade, aimed at Xiao Wuchen.

Xiao Wuchen seemed unable to hear him, staring blankly at Duan Ze’s face. After a couple of breaths, he released Duan Ze’s hand and hugged his waist again, “So it’s Aze.”

Duan Ze: “…”

“You damn well get up!”

“Boom—” A thunderbolt struck Duan Ze’s barrier, shattering his persona.

Duan Ze pulled the dagger from Xiao Wuchen’s abdomen, ready to slit his throat.

“Boom—”

This time, the thunderbolt shattered his barrier, then struck a pit at his feet.

Heaven was warning him.

Duan Ze looked down at his nemesis, pale and clinging to him, “I can’t kill him?”

He put down the dagger, and the thunder indeed stopped. Duan Ze tried picking up the dagger again.

“Boom—”

“…Alright.” He karate-chopped Xiao Wuchen, knocking him out, then freed himself from the strange man’s grip and walked away.

Xiao Wuchen had already been stabbed. In less than an hour, he’d die from blood loss, achieving Duan Ze’s goal.

Xiao Wuchen had once nearly destroyed a small world while in his body. Now, this was his atonement.

But it was Duan Ze’s first time killing. Even though the other wanted him dead, he felt he’d have nightmares.

Duan Ze stood up, took a step, “Boom—”

“…What do you mean? I can’t kill him, and I have to save him?” Duan Ze pointed at the sky, questioning.

“Boom—” This time, the thunder didn’t strike, just flashed in the clouds, lighting up the world.

Duan Ze had a feeling if he left, he’d be struck like Xiao Wuchen.

According to the original character, Duan Ze was cold and obsessive, but only about his cultivation. He was actually righteous, or he wouldn’t have dueled the Demon Lord for Cangyu Sect after his weak period, leaving him with a chronic illness.

Seeing his nemesis so injured, the original wouldn’t ignore it.

“I give up.” Duan Ze looked at the person in the blood, feeling annoyed yet inexplicably relieved.

Author’s Note: Duan Ze: “Sentenced to a loveless life.”

(Killing Xiao Ze is stressful)

——

There should be one more chapter, probably.

——

Thanks to the little angels who voted or donated nutrient solution from 2020-09-16 20:36:36 to 2020-09-17 20:00:57~

Thanks to the little angel who threw a landmine: Orange Fatty 1;

Thanks to the little angels who donated nutrient solution: The World is Attack, Sheep 5 bottles; Wine Six 1 bottle;

Thank you all for your support, I’ll keep working hard!