The Floating Life of a Door

Gu Changyuan's gaze fell on the two women, and he raised an eyebrow slightly.

He knew the personalities of these two disciples of his very well.

They were incredibly obedient in front of him, but behind closed doors, it was hard to say.

If he took them out, there was no telling what kind of trouble they might cause.

"Fine," he nodded. "But you must follow orders and not act recklessly."

Mo Yingluo and Mo Yingyue immediately raised their hands as if making a vow:

"Rest assured, Master. We are so obedient, how could we act recklessly? We will absolutely follow your every command!"

Their movements were perfectly synchronized, and their expressions were full of earnest conviction.

Gu Changyuan glanced at them, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

As if I'd believe you.

But it didn't matter. With his current strength, even if they really did cause trouble, he could handle it.

"When we leave later, you two will return to the Holy Land with me."

"Yes!"

The two women's faces immediately broke into radiant smiles, their hearts filled with joy.

After that came idle chatter among the disciples.

An hour quickly passed.

Suddenly—

An aura descended upon the sky above the Heavenly Demon Sect.

The aura was vigorous and profound, carrying a faint, chilling coldness. However, it did not feel vicious; instead, it exuded a blend of tranquility and chaos.

A figure slowly materialized in the void.

It was a man.

He had a slender build and a gaunt face. His skin was so pale it was almost transparent, with a faint, ghostly light flowing beneath it.

He wore a long black robe, its hem embroidered with dark silver cloud patterns.

Sensing that familiar aura, Yin Wugou was the first to speak:

"Men Fusheng? Why are you here again? You certainly picked a good time today."

His tone carried a hint of teasing, clearly showing that he was quite familiar with the newcomer.

Mu Qinghe nodded:

"But looking at the date, it is indeed about the right time for him to come."

Gu Changyuan, harboring both doubt and curiosity, cast his gaze upon the figure.

He could sense that the other party bore no ill will, so he did not intervene.

Seeing this, Mo Yingluo took the initiative to explain:

"Master, this ghost is named Men Fusheng, from the Nether Ghost Clan.

He basically comes to the Heavenly Demon Sect once every half a year to fight one of us disciples in order to consume his own nether miasma."

Mo Yingyue chimed in:

"He has a Dao companion, but because she was cursed, she has been in a coma, her life force continuously slipping away.

To keep his Dao companion alive, he must infuse her with his own demonic energy to sustain her life, but doing so infects him with nether miasma.

Therefore, he needs to burn off the miasma through battle, otherwise it will erode his own Dao foundation and endanger his life."

Although the two women had no interest in any man other than their master, they still held a degree of respect for someone like Men Fusheng, who would give up everything for his Dao companion.

Nine Faces added from the side:

"Every time, we choose one disciple to help him fight, and he provides corresponding compensation. Moreover, when the disciples of the Heavenly Demon Sect are out gaining experience, they have received a lot of care from him."

He paused:

"We previously invited him to join the sect and become an elder. However, he refused because he needed to take care of his Dao companion."

After listening to their explanations, Gu Changyuan nodded slightly.

So that was how it was.

He was indeed a man who valued love and loyalty.

His gaze fell on the figure suspended in the sky, and he asked indifferently:

"So, whose turn is it this time?"

As his voice fell, all the disciples blanked for a moment.

Then—

Everyone's eyes uniformly turned toward the seventh disciple, Xie Yunjie.

Feeling the stares of several pairs of eyes, Xie Yunjie was slightly taken aback before carefully recalling.

A moment later, he nodded:

"It is indeed my turn."

The corners of Gu Changyuan's mouth curled up slightly:

"Go ahead. It's a good opportunity to let your junior brothers and sisters experience a battle of this caliber."

He paused, his gaze falling on the figure, a flash of interest in his eyes.

Not only that, he also wanted to see with his own eyes just how strong this Men Fusheng was.

As for that curse...

In Gu Changyuan's eyes, there was no curse in the Nine Heavens Realm that he could not break.

When the time came, he could help the man break it and invite him to become a sect elder, which would also earn him another portion of cultivation feedback.

Xie Yunjie bowed slightly, saluting Gu Changyuan. Then he stood up, gently patted the wrinkles on his robe, and his expression gradually became serious.

He reached out with his right hand, took down the inkless writing brush hanging at his waist, and lightly twirled the brush shaft between his fingertips a couple of times.

His original gentle aura, like that of a frail scholar, instantly faded away, replaced by the biting demonic energy unique to the Seventh Demon Ancestor of the Heavenly Demon Sect.

His cultivation at the seventh level of the Half-Immortal realm was fully revealed, yet he deliberately restrained it greatly, firmly suppressing it to the fourth level of the Half-Immortal realm to match Men Fusheng.

"Yunjie obeys."

As his words fell, his figure vanished from the hall.

The next instant, in the sky above the Heavenly Demon Sect.

Xie Yunjie's figure materialized out of thin air, facing Men Fusheng from afar.

Gripping the brush in his right hand, he opened his left hand, palm facing upward, and made a gesture of invitation.

"Fellow Daoist, please."

Seeing that the newcomer was Xie Yunjie, the Seventh Ancestor of the Heavenly Demon Sect, a look of understanding flashed in Men Fusheng's eyes, and he took a deep breath.

Raising his right hand slightly, a surge of nether chill gathered, and a quaint, long tachi sword appeared out of nowhere, grasped firmly in his hand.

The moment the long sword appeared, the aura around him suddenly skyrocketed, and his cultivation at the fourth level of the Half-Immortal realm was completely undisguised.

The sword was about five feet long, its blade slender and slightly curved, exhibiting a dark, deep purple hue all over.

Above the long sword, countless phantom illusions of ghosts began to surface.

These ghosts had blurred faces and twisted forms, slowly rotating around the blade and letting out silent shrieks.

At the same time, a layer of pale black ghost mist emerged around Men Fusheng. Countless ghosts shuttled through the mist, faintly forming a nether phantom with a terrifying momentum.

"Your Excellency, pardon my offense!"

As his voice fell—

His figure instantly shot forward.

The speed was astonishingly fast, tearing a long rift through the void itself.

He raised his sword and slashed straightforwardly. Wherever the blade passed, those ghost phantoms simultaneously let out shrill screams, as if cheering him on.

Xie Yunjie's expression remained unchanged as he reacted immediately. He raised his right hand, and thick demonic ink instantly surged from the tip of his inkless brush. With a light flick of his wrist, the demonic ink rapidly sketched in the air.

A vigorous and powerful black character for Defend instantly took shape, landing steadily in front of him.

Boom!

A black, semi-transparent barrier suddenly emerged, acting like a giant shield that firmly blocked the path in front of Xie Yunjie.

Men Fusheng's tachi viciously slashed against the barrier, bursting forth with ripples of black, yet failing to shake the barrier in the slightest.

The ghosts on the blade crashed into the barrier and instantly dissipated into black smoke.

Xie Yunjie's ability was precisely Words become Law—he could use any brush to turn his demonic energy into demonic ink. The words he drew would directly manifest into reality, possessing the power inherent in the words themselves.

The brush here was in a broad sense; even a tree branch or a strand of hair could be used as a brush as long as he wished.

And this inkless brush in his hand was a magical treasure gifted to him by Gu Changyuan when he accepted him as a disciple back in the day.

Not only could it greatly amplify the intensity of his demonic energy, but it could also accelerate the condensation of demonic ink and the speed at which words took shape.