EHRPS CH206

“That whatever-his-name-is disciple of yours came by earlier.”

Tu Tianba, who had been hanging upside down from the tree for quite a while, nimbly flipped his body and landed on the ground without making a single sound.

He clasped his hands behind his head and walked toward the wooden cottage alongside Nie Wuhui, suddenly dropping this remark out of nowhere. Before Nie Wuhui could react, he continued:

“Met him while I was picking flowers.”

“I don’t know why, but when I took the initiative to speak to him, he looked really angry. He told me that ‘Master’ wouldn’t like such cheap and lowly things, and then he stormed off.”

“Did I do something wrong?”

Entering the cottage, Tu Tianba scratched his cheek, looking completely baffled. “By the way, he left too fast, he didn’t even tell me his name.”

Tu Tianba’s logic was crystal clear: Even though he already knew from the book that the person was named Gu Chen, not saying it meant not saying it. Those were two entirely different matters!

How could he be so discourteous to his grandmaster!

Tu Tianba condemned him fiercely in his heart, yet outwardly just laughed a “haha” and said, “But it’s fine, he probably just thinks I’m not good enough for you.”

Finally, he tossed out his last sentence with breezy nonchalance: “I really envy him for having such a good master.”

“…”

Hearing these words, Nie Wuhui unsurprisingly furrowed his brow. Even with that exceptionally good-looking face marred by a frown, Tu Tianba merely let out a careless, light chuckle. Beating him to the punch, he interrupted:

“Who knows how long those righteous path people are going to meet for. The spiritual qi here is abundant, and I still have many top-grade spirit crystals left. Do you want to continue cultivating?”

Nie Wuhui stared at him, remaining silent for a long time.

Tu Tianba scratched his face again, tilting his head as he looked back at him.

Abruptly, Nie Wuhui leaned forward, rubbed his forehead against Tu Tianba’s, and said softly:

“Ming Xiu, I really like the flowers you gave me, just as you cherish the knots I gave you. Do you remember what I told you…”

Tu Tianba immediately picked up where he left off, “I remember, sincerity doesn’t care about rank or worth.”

He puffed out his chest confidently, his voice ringing clear and loud, “The matters between us lovers are for us to decide. We don’t need outsiders sticking their beaks in!”

As his voice fell. Nie Wuhui nodded. “Exactly.” “But since Gu Chen treated you this way,” he paused, suddenly changing his tone, “The next time he comes to Lingzhao Peak, I will…”

Tu Tianba hurriedly cut him off, waving his hands as he said: “You don’t need to bother with this. If you scold him, wouldn’t that make me look petty and gossipy, talking bad about him behind his back?”

“He’s your disciple. Loving you means loving everything connected to you, so of course I won’t be mad at him,” he said, wrapping his arm around Nie Wuhui’s waist and leading him toward the bed. “Don’t take it to heart either!”

Following Tu Tianba’s gentle force, Nie Wuhui easily let himself be laid down, though his brows remained slightly furrowed. “But…”

Tu Tianba hovered above Nie Wuhui. Supporting his weight with one hand on the bed, his other hand gently stroked the man’s cheek. His fingertips kneaded the base of Nie Wuhui’s ear before slowly trailing down to his lower lip… Further down was an elegant, slender neck.

Tu Tianba’s fingertips flicked open the collar of his robes. “No buts.”

Nie Wuhui gazed at the expression on the youth’s face—a rare moment of utter blankness, like a meticulously carved crystal, freezing cold to the core. Yet those eyes reflected his own face, like a thawing spring lake.

He said, “At a time like this, you should only be thinking of me.”

Nie Wuhui’s breath hitched. He couldn’t resist raising his arms to wrap around the youth’s neck, gently pulling him down. “…How could I dare not comply?”

· Inside the system space.

The white orb watched the host deliver a seamless, flawless combo, then stared at the mosaic-blurred light screen in silence for a moment before blurting out a compliment: “Holy crap.” “He actually learned the essence of it.”

The host might be a bit crazy, like a faulty old appliance that short-circuited from time to time, but his sheer brilliance made up for it! “…”

Meanwhile. Main Peak, inside the Main Hall.

The righteous assembly was in full swing. Especially after learning that any disciple who participated in the Immortal Sect Grand Competition might have been implanted with an inner demon, everyone’s expressions turned exceedingly grim.

In recent years, the fallen disciples from various sects hadn’t been limited to those who joined the Grand Competition. Many were outer sect disciples with shallow cultivation, which was why it hadn’t caused massive waves. The sects had kept the matter quiet, resolving it behind closed doors.

But the nature of the situation had changed. One had to know, the disciples sent to participate in the Immortal Sect Grand Competition were the most promising talents of their respective sects, the future leaders of the righteous path. The consequences couldn’t be described as anything less than severe.

The annihilation of the Xuanxu Sect was the prime example!

After a long while, someone finally spoke up: “How that demonic cultivator concealed her tracks and the methods she used to plant inner demons remain unclear for now, making this a truly thorny issue.” “My sect captured two fallen disciples. They spend their days in a stupor, unable to utter a single word, filled only with resentment and fury. The others have vanished without a trace…”

These missing disciples were also among the unresolved problems. Soon after, someone pointed out the crux of the matter, “Only Wei Rong regained her clarity and broke free from the inner demon’s control.”

When the speaker finished, the hall fell into another silence. No matter how they looked at it, It seemed demonic cultivators understood the methods of demonic cultivators best.

However, everyone harbored deep misgivings about demonic cultivators. It was one thing to maintain an uneasy peace with a disguised Tu Tianba, but to ask him for help…

As the discussion drew to a close, everyone looked at each other in dismay. Ultimately, Gu Fengji pondered for a moment and took it upon himself to send a message to Lingzhao Peak, seeking a solution. “…”

When the message arrived, Nie Wuhui hadn’t yet begun his breath regulation and cultivation. He pushed against Tu Tianba, who was clinging to him as if he had no bones, and said softly: “Just as you said, the Sect Leader has sent a message.”

They had discussed this possibility earlier and weren’t surprised. But Tu Tianba acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing. Still resting his head on the man’s supple thigh, he recited with a solemn expression, “Awake, I grasp the power of the world—”

As he spoke, his hand was inside Nie Wuhui’s robes. Nie Wuhui: “Get up first.”

Tu Tianba didn’t move, reciting the next line of the poem, “Drunk, I lie upon a beauty’s lap—” Nie Wuhui: “…”

Nie Wuhui calmly pinched the tip of the youth’s ear. Tu Tianba glared fiercely: “What are you doing…!”

Nie Wuhui’s fingertips moved down, rubbing Tu Tianba’s earlobe a few times. It felt soft and cool. Tu Tianba: “Hehe.”

Before long. The two appeared together in the main hall of the Main Peak, making a grand entrance under the scrutiny of the crowd, like distinguished guests who were fashionably late.

Quite exceptionally—everyone’s gaze brushed past Nie Wuhui and landed squarely on the black-clad youth beside him.

Tu Tianba acted oblivious. He took a seat beside Nie Wuhui, placed exactly next to Sect Leader Gu Fengji. After a moment of thought, he dragged his chair slightly closer to Nie Wuhui, close enough to casually tug at the man’s sleeve.

Witnessing this series of actions, the crowd fell silent. “…”

Tu Tianba found it quite novel. This was his first time sitting with so many righteous figures without hearing them curse him as a demon or drawing their weapons. He cleared his throat and took the initiative: “I heard you guys think my medical skills are good and want me to treat your sect disciples?”

Yao Lan from the Wondrous Immortal Sect: “…”

Tu Tianba chuckled amiably, affirming himself: “My medical skills are indeed excellent. If you don’t believe me, ask what’s-her-name… ah, Wei Rong. She tried it, and said it was great!”

He acted playful and cheeky, playing dumb. The moment anyone subtly brought up the Heaven Slaughtering Sect or related issues, he would say, ‘Oh, eh? What are you talking about? I don’t know anything about that? What could a humble little medical cultivator with superb medical skills possibly know?’ His eyes were incredibly innocent.

Everyone present: “…”

With his overbearing, sinister demonic aura completely concealed, the crowd finally noticed that this person’s face was particularly youthful, his words and actions exuding a sense of pure, unadulterated foolishness.…Could it be a deliberate disguise meant to make people lower their guard?

But they had to admit, his behavior actually made everyone secretly breathe a sigh of relief. When Tu Tianba burst onto the scene all those years ago, he forged many deep-seated grudges with the righteous path during the decade he roamed the Divine Continent. There were too many scores to settle.

Fortunately, in the three hundred years since, he rarely showed himself, his tracks only appearing in major secret realms. Otherwise, the righteous sects wouldn’t have waited until the Xuanxu Sect incident to discuss a joint crusade against the Heaven Slaughtering Sect.

At today’s righteous assembly, everyone learned that the Xuanxu Sect incident had nothing to do with Tu Tianba, and that he was deeply tied to the demonic cauldron—his personal survival even impacting the entire world… They couldn’t fight him, yet they shared old grievances.

Listening to his mouth full of jests and banter, the crowd remained silent for a moment before playing along. They quickly agreed to have the disciples who participated in the Immortal Sect Grand Competition brought to the Guiqing Sect for him to ‘diagnose and treat.’

Tu Tianba had no interest in the other matters. Bouncing up abruptly, he grabbed Nie Wuhui and left. Nie Wuhui also let the youth hold his hand and lead him out.

The people inside the hall were secretly astounded, rendered speechless.

Once outside the main hall, Nie Wuhui gave the youth’s hand a firm squeeze. “You’ve worked hard. I know you don’t care about the righteous or demonic paths and have always acted as you please. You only did this today for my sake…”

Tu Tianba glanced back at him, “Not entirely.”

He turned his face, his head slightly lowered. The upper half of his face was cast in shadow, his lips curving into a sinister, predatory smile. “Jie jie jie—their expressions were hilarious. Especially that fierce woman from the Wondrous Immortal Sect—”

Tu Tianba truly never felt wronged. After all, he always retaliated on the spot. Anger from the previous second would never be carried over to the next. …But, there was no need to say that out loud.

Nie Wuhui smiled, knowing that his bizarre laughter and weird words were all meant to put his mind at ease. He added, “You see… you are not as intolerable as you make yourself out to be, nor have you brought me any inconvenience.”

Tu Tianba also smiled, nodding: “Mm.”

In his ear, the inner demon sneered, “Both of you know perfectly well that the righteous path won’t continue crusading against you now, but that’s only because you are a shackle on the Soul-Refining Cauldron!” “Do you think they really see you as a medical cultivator?” “They fear you, and suffer because they cannot kill you!” “Do you dare tell Nie Wuhui, tell those righteous cultivators—that after the heavenly lightning tribulation, your fusion with the Soul-Refining Cauldron deepened even further, and that the moment you die, the ancient demonic resentment within the cauldron will perish alongside you?!”

The inner demon’s laughter grew increasingly arrogant, “Hahaha, you wouldn’t dare, would you!” “You’re afraid that Immortal Lord Wuhui, who holds the peace of the world in his heart, wouldn’t choose you. If that happened, you would feel a fate worse than death—worse than your past, a thousand times! A million times over!”

Tu Tianba’s expression didn’t change in the slightest, though his fingers curled slightly, a movement that went unnoticed by Nie Wuhui.My hands are itching.I want to slap something.

At the same time, Tu Tianba also knew… The inner demon was right. He simply didn’t want Nie Wuhui to know this. Not because he feared death, but because he feared that one day in the future, Nie Wuhui truly wouldn’t choose him.

For some reason. Tu Tianba always felt… This exact scenario seemed to have happened before.