Chapter 123: A Summons from the Northwest

The air around them suddenly stagnated. Wisps of black, thread-like gas emerged from the ground, slowly converging to seal Gu Qiu and the other two in the center.

Gu Qiu’s expression turned solemn. He stopped in his tracks, keeping a sharp eye on the movements around him. The ice shards appeared in his hands once again, and one could see the wisp of demonic energy within them pulsing as if it possessed a life of its own.

When Gu Qiu mentioned the northwest direction, the first thing that came to Ji Yao’s mind was the Demon-Sealing Land. Her intuition told her that this so-called "Demon Devourer" had likely originated from there. Now that Gu Qiu had sealed a fragment of it, the main entity must have been injured, which would explain why it was heading toward the northwest. If Gu Qiu followed this trail and it led directly to the Demon-Sealing Land, should she go or not? If she didn't go, she would have to remain at the Xuanji Sect waiting for his return. If she did go, she would have a legitimate excuse to follow him. However, Ji Yao dared not gamble on whether Gu Qiu’s sharp mind might discern her true motive for wanting to go to the Demon-Sealing Land.

Regardless, she would take things one step at a time. She had to go northwest—not only because of the mission, but also because of the unsolved mystery regarding her own origins.

As for the matter of He Xiuyuan, she had originally thought that handing him over to the Nine Buddhas Temple would suffice; after all, it made no difference if they took in one or two. Having He Xiuyuan accompany Juechen would make the Pure Yang physique seem less rare. Furthermore, He Xiuyuan himself deeply understood the pros and cons of this physique; having experienced the mortal world before entering the monastic life, he hardly needed any special training.

The Nine Buddhas Temple had sacrificed a drop of Nine-Heart Lotus Dew and half a Bodhi seed, restoring him to his original state in just one day. The first time Ji Yao saw him after his recovery, she couldn't help but admire his handsome appearance. He truly looked the part, easily capable of deceiving many a woman's heart. Seeing He Xiuyuan’s actual face and then looking at Juechen, a thought kept echoing in Ji Yao’s mind: the difference between having hair and being bald is truly significant; a shaved head is the ultimate litmus test for a handsome man’s true looks.

However, Ji Yao finally understood why Gu Qiu had spoken to her the way he did upon meeting their group. Men with the Pure Yang physique seemed to possess an innate, special charm that made it difficult for ordinary people not to fix their attention on them. But no matter how good-looking they were, it no longer had anything to do with them. He Xiuyuan owed a debt to the Nine Buddhas Temple, which meant he had to fulfill his earlier promise; soon, he and Juechen would be addressing each other as fellow disciples.

He was placed under the tutelage of Master Wushi and given the dharma name "Jueyuan," as the elders of the Nine Buddhas Temple believed that Master Wushi had more experience in guiding such disciples. Ji Yao had no interest in whose name he was under, but she chuckled to herself at the name. "Jueyuan" sounded suspiciously like "insulation," as if they were clearly telling He Xiuyuan that he had no hope of ever leaving the Nine Buddhas Temple in this lifetime.

Speaking of which, there had been a small interlude. Ever since meeting Gu Qiu again, He Xiuyuan—for reasons unknown—had transformed into Gu Qiu’s number-one fan. Right before his tonsure, he had whimsically asked Gu Qiu to teach him swordsmanship. This incident left Ji Yao and Ling Ru snickering for a long time, until Gu Qiu’s face turned as dark as it could possibly be, and he unceremoniously grabbed He Xiuyuan and tossed him back to Juechen. After that, when they heard the dharma name "Jueyuan," they felt the underlying meaning was even more obvious.

On the day the three of them were set to depart, Juechen had wanted to join them. However, the moment his newly appointed junior brother Jueyuan appeared, Gu Qiu flatly refused Juechen’s request to accompany them.

"Second Senior Brother, you have absolutely no grace!"