The Word of Heaven

Chapter 201 The Devil
At this moment, the whole world seemed to be on fire.

The dark clouds in the sky had not yet dispersed. They were as thick as a black cotton robe. Countless water drops were wrung out of them and fell to the earth, becoming rain in people's eyes.

The rain met the tiny sun falling on the wasteland and was evaporated into thick mist in an instant.

The thick fog did not turn pale, because the flames burning along the red line had not yet gone out. Infinite light and heat were still being released, without any sign of decay, bringing a sense of red warmth.

People here feel as if they are in the most magnificent sunset.

Everything is on fire as far as the eye can see.

The land softened by the rainstorm was drying up again, and the yellowed wild grass dripping with raindrops was turning into ashes. The horses that had been placed in place in advance were extremely frightened and fell to the ground like paralysis, not daring to move...

Just when the practitioners in the caravan thought they were about to die in this horrific fire, they suddenly discovered that the flames led by thousands of red lines did not burn towards the camp. Instead, they only brought them light and heat, and a cage that they could not leave for the time being.

And all this happened in the blink of an eye.

When people came to their senses and realized that their lives were not in danger for the time being, they heard an extremely shrill scream - from the female cultivator in the wedding dress from the Chiyin Sect.

Facing the edge of Zhexue's sword, she looked extremely miserable at this moment.

Her once flawless face had turned into charcoal, and her eyes had apparently been thoroughly roasted as well. If they were touched even lightly, they would burst directly, just like the food called the Lantern.

Her skin was burned and cracked, revealing her true appearance, which was shocking.

Hundreds and thousands of different pieces of human skin were sewn together and eventually became her fur coat, which was why the beautiful white skin was revealed earlier.

At this time, after being roasted by the flames, these human skins actually emitted a beautiful golden luster.

As for the red thread that was separated from the wedding dress, it had already been burned to ashes in the fire. It was miserably reduced to its original shape, and now hung on her body like a few pieces of cloth.

At this moment, she really looked like a girl who had been bullied.

However, no one had such an idea.

As the red line receded, the flames went out and the night sky of the wasteland was no longer bright.

A moment ago, the sun seemed to be just an illusion.

No one knew where Zhexue was going.

There was a sound of wailing.

"you……"

For some reason, the female cultivator's voice suddenly stopped, as if someone had said something to her.

The next moment, she shouted hoarsely with pain in her body: "How could you break up a couple like this?!"

After hearing these words, many people actually breathed a sigh of relief, because they could hear that the voice was getting farther and farther away.

This obviously also means that the wedding dress nun chose to leave.

When she got into the big red sedan again and disappeared into the dark night, everyone in the camp almost instantly lost their strength and fell to the ground.

The earth still had some residual warmth from its previous time, which made people feel uncomfortable, but no one cursed it.

On the contrary, some people even lowered their heads and kissed the burnt dry soil carefully, as if they were kissing the fire.

The bonfire had gone out. The leader of the caravan raised a new torch and searched for a while before discovering that the spark stone had disappeared. Perhaps it had served as fuel for the previous fire?
Then he ordered his men to relight the campfire, take stock of the losses caused by tonight's battle, and collect as much as possible of the ashes left by the dead - the previous fire burned everything outside the camp, both enemy and friend.

After everything was arranged, he went to the carriage again and asked seriously in a low voice.

“Will she make a comeback?”

"do not know."

The swordsman paused and said, "But her injuries won't heal in ten days or half a month, so you don't have to worry."

After a moment of silence, the merchant leader sighed and said, "That's good."

After saying this, he lowered his head and left silently, thinking that the person who drew the sword earlier was not you.

Thinking about the request to return the money, the caravan leader's expression became more and more complicated. He felt that there must be a deeper meaning behind it, which should not be what he understood now.

Could it be that he heard it wrong?
Just then, a familiar voice sounded in his ears.

"Don't forget the matter."

The merchant leader was slightly startled and subconsciously turned around to look back.

Gu Zhuo just sat there.

The merchant leader was a little bit incredulous. He walked up to him and asked after hesitating for a moment, "Do you want to return the money?"

Gu Zhuo said: "Yeah."

At this point, the merchant leader no longer had any doubts and said respectfully, "Is there anything else you want me to do?"

Gu Zhuo shook his head and said, "Just keep it as it is."

The merchant leader understood the meaning of keeping a low profile and immediately prepared to leave.

However, halfway through the journey, he couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "You actually had enough energy to kill that Chi Yin Sect elder before, right?"

Gu Zhuo nodded gently and said calmly: "Yes, I can kill him, but I don't want to."

The leader of the merchants was very puzzled and thought that if he didn't remove the roots of the problem, wouldn't he be asking for trouble?
Of course he didn't dare to say this out loud, because he knew he was not worthy, so he prepared to leave in silence.

Gu Zhuo took the initiative to give an explanation.

"Because I have no interest in rooting out problems for others."

……

……

What he said was true, Gu Zhuo did not lie.

Just like the nun in her wedding gown, every word she said was meant seriously.

That's why he didn't want to break up the couple.

Although he did not like Zen Buddhism and was quite prejudiced against monks, he actually agreed with one of the monks' views - it is better to demolish ten temples than to break up a family.

Of course, this saying may not have come from a monk.

Thinking about these things, Gu Zhuo's mood became better and better.

Then his eyes fell on a place in the camp, on a female cultivator named He Tinghe. Thinking that she had been arm in arm with another man not long ago, he couldn't help but shook his head.

……

……

The next morning, when it was just getting light, the caravan set out again.

No one complained, because no one wanted to see the followers of the Chiyin Sect again, and they just wanted to complete the rest of the journey as quickly as possible.

The leader of the merchants was not questioned in private, and most people thought that the sword last night came from the swordsman in the carriage.

This saved him a lot of energy. He didn't have to think about how to keep Gu Zhuo's identity low-key. He began to ponder another question - who was the groom hiding in the caravan.

At some point, he thought about whether he should ask Gu Zhuo, but ultimately gave up.

What if the groom is Gu Zhuo...it would be too embarrassing.

……

……

The same sky.

A carriage was driving alone on the wasteland, passing by the land from last night and stopped.

Chu Jun lifted the curtain and walked out of the carriage, sensing the breath lingering in it, his brows furrowed.

"They are from the Chiyin Sect."

The voice of the Taoist Zizai sounded slowly: "Among the many evil demons in the wasteland, the most stinking one."

Chu Jun asked in confusion: "Why is it called the best?"

Taoist Zizai shook his head and said, "It's hard to explain in a few words, because the Chiyin Sect has done too many disgusting things. If I have to sum it up in one sentence, it's that the Chiyin Sect focuses on playing with the soul."

After hearing this, Chu Jun was even more confused, thinking, what evil sect doesn't like to play with souls?
Isn't it true that every demonic sect is good at refining evil objects like the Ten Thousand Souls Banner?
——The exception is the Tianming Sect, which originated from Taoism.

Taoist Zizai guessed her thoughts, and after a moment of silence, he gave a more clear explanation.

"Why does the Chiyin Sect call itself a sect? Because that crazy sect leader watched the battle between Taoist Yingxu and the former Sizhu many years ago, and then... he fell in love with Taoist Yingxu."

"In order to become Taoist Yingxu's wife, he spent a lot of effort to give himself a chance to meet her."

"Needless to say, the result of that chance encounter was rejection."

"Since then, that person has gone crazy and used all means to continue this...marriage."

The more Chu Jun listened, the more confused he became. He asked, "What's the problem?"

“There are problems everywhere.”

Taoist Zizai recalled those secret things and felt disgusted again. He said with disgust: "First, the madwoman was not a woman but a man, which made his disciples follow suit. Secondly, the practice method of the Chiyin Sect is to plant the devil seeds in the soul of oneself and others at the same time, so as to establish an indelible connection like a haunting dream, which makes people unconsciously close to each other until the two sides are completely intertwined."

Chu Jun was silent.

Taoist Zizai walked out of the carriage, looking expressionlessly at the traces left by the battle last night, and said in an extremely cold voice: "In the end, the two of them devoured each other's flesh and blood and even their souls, leaving behind only the so-called pure love."

Chu Jun suddenly asked: "During this process..."

"you guessed right."

Taoist Zizai sneered and said, "Every Chiyin believer will love their so-called fiancé wholeheartedly, regardless of the danger and cost, just to stay together forever."

Chu Jun didn't know what to say.

Even among those practitioners of the same evil sects, I think few people can accept this strange entanglement.

No wonder the Chiyin Cult has such a bad reputation.

Taoist Zizai stopped laughing, handed her a bamboo hat, and said, "Qingjing Temple is naturally not afraid of such evil demons, but if you can avoid them in the wilderness, you should avoid them. There is no need to cause trouble."

Chu Jun agreed very much.

She took the hat and put it on with some discomfort.

Then she raised her head slightly, her gaze fell on the empty north, and asked, "How long will it take before we can see the mountains?"

Taoist Zizai said, "The next day."

……

……

The day after the two people at Qingjing Temple was the same day as the caravan that Gu Zhuo was in.

In the evening, as the sun sets, the mountains slowly rise from the horizon.

The dim sunlight fell on the highest points of the mountains, and the snow that had accumulated for countless years seemed to be burning, striking the eyes of everyone who witnessed it with a heroic attitude.

When people try to pull their eyes away from it, they will find that the mountains stretching from sky to sky are casting endless shadows on the earth, like an unimaginable and terrifying monster that wants to swallow the whole world into its belly.

The scene is spectacular.

Even though many people in the caravan had been to the depths of the wilderness before and it wasn't the first time they had seen such a view, they were still shocked. "This time we're going to go down the mountain."

The leader of the merchants said to everyone: "But there is no need to enter the mountain, we just need to stay for about seven days..."

Gu Zhuo was not listening because he was going to the mountains, which was the real depths of the wilderness.

The mountain is now in front of us. No matter how hard we try, we won’t be able to survive for many days.

Everyone realized this, and they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as they thought they were about to arrive at the human world's outpost at the forefront of the wilderness, and that they no longer had to worry about being threatened by evil spirits.

However, the caravan still did not travel at night that night, and there was no celebration around the bonfire. This was related to the fact that people did not dare to let their guard down, but the more important reason was undoubtedly that too many people died.

Because he was in a good mood, Gu Zhuo sat by the fire tonight and barbecued very seriously.

He had almost no experience in this area, so he looked extremely focused.

He Tinghe sat down next to him and asked in a low voice: "I have something to tell you. Who do you think... is the one that the Chiyin Sect elder wants to marry?"

Gu Zhuo didn't even raise his head, his eyes still focused on the piece of meat, wondering whether to sprinkle some more spices on it.

Just when He Tinghe thought that he still wouldn't get an answer and smiled awkwardly, wanting to say something else worriedly, he suddenly heard three simple and direct words.

"It is you."

He Tinghe was stunned and thought, aren't you practicing a technique similar to silent meditation?

Gu Zhuo took the piece of meat out of the fire, wondering if it was too hot, and said nonchalantly, "You should have guessed it yourself, right?"

He Tinghe finally realized what she had heard. She opened her eyes wide, her face turned extremely pale, and she shook her head and said, "I don't understand what you are talking about."

Gu Zhuo comforted her and said, "It's okay. I didn't understand it at first either."

"Although I didn't understand it at the time, it was largely because I respected everyone and didn't want to pry into other people's secrets."

He said: "But it has already happened, so I should get the truth out."

He Tinghe took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and said, "Do you have any evidence?"

"No."

Gu Zhuo said without thinking: "But this doesn't require evidence. She can recognize you anyway."

He Tinghe smiled sadly and said bitterly: "So you want to throw me out to satisfy the appetite of the Chiyin Sect?"

I don't know when this conversation started, but it was overheard and attracted a crowd of onlookers.

There was silence in the camp.

Gu Zhuo didn't say anything because he had more important things to do.

——The meat is not so hot anymore.

He took a bite with anticipation, then his expression changed slightly and he thought that he shouldn't have added too much salt.

He Tinghe was still looking at him, as if he must get an answer.

Gu Zhuo said: "You really want an answer?"

He Tinghe said seriously: "This is about my innocence."

Hearing the word "innocent", everyone present immediately recalled the female cultivator in the wedding dress, and their mood became very subtle.

"That's easy."

Gu Zhuo said, "I am going to the mountains next. You can follow me and go to the gate of the Chiyin Sect to find out everything."

As soon as the words fell, there was an uproar in the room.

He Tinghe was silent for a moment, then said, "Don't you think this sentence is particularly ridiculous, particularly unreasonable, and also has a serious logical problem?"

Gu Zhuo said casually: "Really?"

As he spoke, he took out another piece of beef and continued his experiment.

He Tinghe looked at his profile and said softly, "I know you are only at the Yang Shen realm, so...with your realm, why do you have the confidence to take me to the Chi Yin Sect?"

Without waiting for Gu Zhuo to speak, her voice rang out again, with extremely complicated emotions.

"There is only one answer, that is, you are the groom. This is the only explanation."

The merchant leader had already thought of this possibility. When he heard the inference in the words, his face turned pale and his eyes almost turned black.

The piece of beef on the slab was still being fiddled with, the fat bursting with the temperature, giving it a nice feel.

"like……"

Gu Zhuo thought about it and said, "This inference makes sense."

Everyone thought, is this an admission?

Why does it sound like there is no such intention?
in the carriage.

The swordsman was frowning and thinking, wondering if this was really the case, could he make a fortune from it?
He Tinghe seemed reluctant and said in a trembling voice: "Why did you do this? Do you know how many people died because of you? How can you still have the leisure to barbecue here?"

Gu Zhuo was still in a good mood, even though everyone in the caravan had their eyes on him and might do something at any time.

He Tinghe looked at him and asked word by word: "I only have one question for you now, which is whether you knew about the existence of this matter in the beginning?"

Gu Zhuo said: "Do you have anything else to ask?"

"That's enough of the question."

He Tinghe shook his head and said, "If you knew nothing beforehand and only discovered the truth on the way, then I can understand that you didn't mean to hurt anyone, and you are also a victim of the Chiyin Cult, but you..."

She didn't say anything else, but everyone present understood the unfinished meaning in her words.

If it is the latter case, whether it is for the dead companions or for the anger in the heart... things will go to extremes.

Gu Zhuo smiled and said, "What about you? Did you intend to harm others?"

"I?"

He Tinghe sighed and asked, "Have you regarded your suspicion of me as the last straw?"

Having said this, she seemed to recall the scenes from the past few days on the road, and her eyes became moist.

She shook her head in extreme disappointment and said to herself, "The answer to this question doesn't make any sense."

Gu Zhuo readily followed the advice and said no more.

He Tinghe stood up and walked in the opposite direction of the campfire.

However, after walking a few steps, she suddenly stopped and said slowly: "Or, you can leave."

"I still believe that you didn't mean it, and you are also a victim, because I have talked to you before, and I know that you are actually a very gentle person, so I don't believe that you would actively hurt others."

Her voice was filled with emotion, as if she had experienced it firsthand: “This is the best solution.”

After hearing this, the caravan members who were quietly gathered around the campfire exchanged glances and all felt that this was the best way to deal with the situation.

Killing Gu Zhuo could certainly be a form of revenge, but who knew if the female cultivator from the Chi Yin Sect would go crazy because of this?
If they are targeted, how will they be able to travel across the wilderness and do this lucrative business?

The best way is to let Gu Zhuo leave on his own initiative.

The merchant leader remained silent, recalling the details of the battle, and felt that there were indeed many strange things in it.

How could a cultivator at the Nourishing Spirit Realm strike out with such a terrifying sword strike that could cause serious damage to the evil cultivator at the Returning to One Realm?

No matter how you think about it, this must be some kind of special method, and it is even very likely a life-saving method bestowed by the elders.

They were willing to pay such a heavy price, and in the end all they asked was for him to return the money?
Even if the amount of money is not a small amount, it is still unreasonable.

Guilty conscience seems to be the best explanation.

……

……

The beef is cooked.

Gu Zhuo sprinkled salt and picked up the chopsticks again.

This time he grilled the meat very well, the taste was perfect to his needs, it was impeccable.

This made him very satisfied. He was so comfortable that he took out the wine jug and took a sip, with his eyes slightly lowered.

It's like entering a deserted place.

After a moment, Gu Zhuo put away the wine jug.

At the same time, he did one more thing.

A flash of sword light appeared in everyone's eyes and disappeared in a flash.

Blood flowers bloomed.

Four.

All of them came from He Tinghe.

To be precise, it came from the joints of her limbs.

It all happened so fast that no one could react, not even the swordsman at the Guiyi Realm sitting in the carriage.

When everyone in the camp came to their senses, all they could hear was He Tinghe's screams and the blood splattering on his face.

There was dead silence.

"you……"

Someone recognized the flying sword and said in fear, "Are you the swordsman from last night?!"

Gu Zhuo didn't say anything. He picked up the hat placed aside and put it on again.

Then he looked at the leader of the merchants and said, "Money."

The merchant leader dared not disobey and immediately asked people to prepare.

He Tinghe fell to the ground, her clothes were soaked with the blood that had overflowed from her body, making her cheeks look so pale.

But she bit her lower lip very tenaciously, not letting any sound come out of her lips, giving people a feeling that she would never give in.

Gu Zhuo turned his back to her and said, "Prepare another carriage for me. I will leave with this man."

As soon as he finished speaking, He Tinghe was suddenly stunned.

A young practitioner could not help but curse, "You have gone too far, haven't you? She has clearly exposed your identity, but she still believes that you are kind and begs us to let you go. Now you want to attack her again. How can you be so cruel?!"

"Is that right?"

Gu Zhuo seemed surprised and said with emotion: "I thought she knew I could kill everyone present so she didn't dare to say anything harsh to me and tried every means to make me leave. It turns out that there is such a good intention behind it. I wrongly blamed her."

As he spoke, he stood up leisurely, walked to He Tinghe's side, squatted down and asked curiously: "Do you think what this person said is right?"

He Tinghe raised his head with difficulty, stared into Gu Zhuo's eyes, and said word by word: "You are a devil!"

Gu Zhuo thought about it and gave a very honest answer.

"I don't mind you scolding me, but the word 'devil' is too derogatory of me."

(End of this chapter)