Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

"You weren't even born when I was drinking."

Leaving behind a seemingly arrogant remark, Gu Xingzhuo downed the entire glass of wine in one gulp.

Just as Zhang Ruoxue was marveling at how ruthless her fourth senior brother was, Gu Xingzhuo quietly uttered, "But I'm a dead man now, so I won't get drunk."

Zhang Ruoxue's eyes lit up: "Then we can drink it all the time?!"

"It doesn't have much flavor. Although some of the taste is retained, it's not very pronounced, so it's not very refreshing to drink, let alone give you that lightheaded feeling after getting drunk."

Gu Xingzhuo gave a wry smile. Perhaps the sip of wine had slightly stimulated his remaining taste buds. He exhaled a breath of stale air and then said to Zhang Ruoxue:

"My teacher used to say that I was a very timid person... a very cowardly person..."

"But I think my senior brother has been very calm all along..."

“It’s different.” Gu Xingzhuo shook his head: “I always want to escape reality… This was true after accepting the inheritance of the impermanence of life and death, and it was also true after learning of Xiaomo’s death…”

"After I was resurrected, I was afraid of being separated by the yin and yang worlds. The difference between the dead and the living made me afraid to see Xiao Mo, and even more afraid to know anything about her. I was afraid that she had found a Daoist partner, afraid that she would not accept me, and afraid that she would forget me."

"After Xiao Mo died, I seemed to have no attachment to the mortal world anymore. I wanted to fall asleep and never wake up... to be forever immersed in that dream where she was."

“The teacher said that I have been running away... Since the moment I was resurrected, I have never looked directly at my death and her death.”

“But I really don’t have the guts. I’m just an ordinary person, a fisherman from a cold fishing village… but that can’t be a reason to run away.”

"That's why I envy you, junior sister."

Gu Xingzhuo gripped the wine glass, his pale right hand trembling slightly.

He stared intently at Zhang Ruoxue, whose expression was slightly sorrowful, and said with a touch of emotion, "You have the courage to sever your arm and cripple your cultivation in front of the two major sects in Jinglin City, the courage to accept that your younger brother is a Heavenly Demon, the courage to seek revenge against the Jin Yao Dao Alliance, and the courage to pursue the Demon Lord..."

"And me... after Xiao Mo died, I didn't even have the courage to think about who killed her. I just indulged in that snowy day and hoped to dream about her."

"You're quite timid, aren't you...?"

Zhang Ruoxue did not answer Gu Xingzhuo's question.

She didn't know how to answer, even though she did feel that Gu Xingzhuo at that time was indeed different from herself.

If it were her, she might desperately search for the person who killed Wang Xiaomo, twist off their head, and then offer it as a blood sacrifice to Wang Xiaomo.

But Zhang Ruoxue understood the sorrow of losing a loved one.

She's been through it, and more than once.

She scratched her head, seemingly feeling a bit annoyed, then sighed and asked directly, "If you were to encounter Wang Xiaomo again, Senior Brother... what would you do?"

— Zhang Ruoxue had asked this question once before in the Deadwood Forest.

But because of the sudden attack by the wolf pack, she was unable to hear Gu Xingzhuo's reply.

The white-haired boy was startled, paused for a moment, and then turned his head away, only allowing his junior sister to see his profile.

"I don't know... Maybe I'll let her go peacefully, or maybe... I'll just ignore it?"

At this point, Gu Xingzhuo seemed to suddenly remember something.

He turned back to Zhang Ruoxue and threw the question at her: "So... if Junior Sister Ruoxue, one day your younger brother suddenly comes looking for you, how would you react?"

"younger brother?"

Zhang Ruoxue looked down at the elixir that was slowly shimmering in her palm, her eyes suddenly filled with tenderness.

She smiled gently, as if she could see the little kid who used to follow her around like a shadow through the elixir: "Who knows~ Maybe I'll be so happy I could fly~ and then I'll make him show me what he looks like as a puppy again~"

Gu Xingzhu smiled knowingly. He had already heard Zhang Ruoxue talk about Zhang Xiaohan many times before.

That demonic hound that charged straight into the Jin Yao Alliance... was indeed a remarkable figure.

And it was at this moment—

crunch.

The outer door was suddenly pushed open.

Fang Yan, who was carrying a helmet, looked at the two people who were smiling and looking at each other, seemingly having a pleasant conversation. He paused for a moment, then asked apologetically, "Did I disturb you?"

Gu Xingzhuo looked at Fang Yan and shook his head: "That's not true—more importantly, General Fang has reached a conclusion in his negotiations?"

"We have the results."

At this point, Fang Yan's expression clearly showed some excitement.

"We may have found a way to resolve the threat of the Four Blood Inferno."

Zhang Ruoxue and Gu Xingzhuo's eyes lit up simultaneously, and they asked in unison, "What method?"

"Among the cultivators who came to support us from Sansang City, there are quite a few who specialize in array formations. If we add the array formation masters who came from the Empire, we might be able to cast a teleportation array."

Gu Xingzhuo frowned: "Teleportation? You mean you want to teleport the Four Blood Purgatory away?"

If the Four Blood Purgatory were to be transferred, the fundamental problem could indeed be solved.

However, Fang Yan shook his head: "No, that's impossible... Unless a dozen array masters capable of constructing ninth-order arrays act at the same time, given the special nature of the Four Blood Purgatory, it's simply impossible to teleport to a place dozens of miles away."

What we need to do—

Fang Yan pointed to the ground, his expression slightly serious.

"It teleports the entire Shattered Wood City away."

16. Things have gone awry.

"So you plan to move the entire city when the Demon Dynasty launches a full-scale invasion of Broken Wood City... and then use the Living Buddha's relics buried beneath Broken Wood City to purify those demons and demonic cultivators?"

A powerful punch swept through the air, striking from the side in an arc.

The other party did not use any spiritual energy, but even so, the solemn-looking black-haired, black-eyed youth still had to take it seriously.

He lowered his body, his legs as stable as two mountains. His left arm stood upright, blocking the heavy punch, while his right leg kicked out fiercely. He did not use spiritual energy, but simply used his physical body to deliver a side whip kick.

Zhang Ruoxue remained calm and composed. She raised her left knee, receiving the whip kick while simultaneously thrusting it diagonally downwards. Her left leg forcefully locked onto Fang Yan's knee joint. At the same time, she shifted her weight forward, her right hand forming a claw to grab Fang Yan's forearm. She quickly turned to the side, using her waist, legs, and arms to exert force in stages, transforming herself into a rushing mountain as she leaned towards Fang Yan.

The immense force struck, causing Fang Yan to lose his balance and stagger backward several steps before finally managing to stop.

He shook his aching arms, inwardly marveling at the terrifying power of Zhang Ruoxue's body, and once again strode towards Zhang Ruoxue.

The two engaged in close combat again, their punches whistling like a hurricane.

At the same time, Fang Yan did not forget to answer Zhang Ruoxue's question:

"If we use the relics that Buddhist and Taoist saints turned into after their death, then the entire formation can not only teleport Broken Wood City out, but also purify the attacking demonic cultivators completely."

"If both the physical body and the soul are purified and then annihilated into ashes, even the Four Blood Purgatory will not be able to absorb them."

"I see!"

As soon as those two words were uttered, Zhang Ruoxue lunged forward, her fists raining down like a storm. The sound of air being cut and torn apart echoed throughout the entire courtyard. Her fists were so fast that their trajectory and direction were impossible to see. What appeared before Fang Yan were countless afterimages.

Fang Yan's eyes were momentarily dazed, and he could only retreat continuously, relying on his fighting instincts to block most of Zhang Ruoxue's attacks.

In a split second, he made an extremely quick decision—he took three steps back, and just as Zhang Ruoxue's fist was about to hit him, he suddenly leaned back, flipped 180 degrees to change his pivot foot, and then turned around and kicked out a spinning kick.

Faced with the dagger-like kick aimed straight at her head, Zhang Ruoxue dared not be careless. She quickly withdrew her fist and swiftly formed a claw, gripping Fang Yan's ankle.

She grinned, as if she had found a handle, and tried to fling Fang Yan away.

Before that, Fang Yan pushed off the ground with his right foot, leaped into the air, twisted his body again, and kicked Zhang Ruoxue's head from the same direction with his right foot.

This was indeed a very unexpected move.

However, Fang Yan still underestimated Zhang Ruoxue's terrifying physical body.

Faced with the whip kick that was coming toward her side, there was obviously not enough time to catch it with her left hand, so Zhang Ruoxue adopted an extremely simple and brutal solution.

She turned her head to the side and used her snow-white forehead to strike Fang Yan's razor-swift and powerful leg.

……

The next second, an extremely painful expression appeared on the face of our Protector General.

He collapsed to the ground, half-paralyzed, while Zhang Ruoxue was still holding his left ankle. Due to the intense pain, Fang Yan had almost lost the ability to continue fighting without using his spiritual energy.

He lay on the ground, glanced at Zhang Ruoxue, who had a swollen bump on her forehead but was smiling at him, and sighed with a sense of helplessness and emotion.

"I give up, I give up..."

"Hehehe~"

Zhang Ruoxue smiled with satisfaction before loosening Fang Yan's ankle.

At the same time, Gu Xingzhuo, who had been watching the battle from the sidelines for a long time, also walked slowly toward the two of them.

He handed the gourd filled with wine to Zhang Ruoxue, and after she thanked him and drank it, he reached out his hand to Fang Yan, who was lying on the ground.

Fang Yan gave a wry smile, grabbed Gu Xingzhuo's hand, and got up from the ground.

"I never imagined that after all these years... Miss Ruoxue's physical body would have become so exaggerated..."

As the guardian general of the Lantian Empire, Fang Yan was virtually invincible within the empire. With the ancient Nine Emperors Sword Technique, even Chu Xin and Chu Aotian, who were both at the peak of the Void Realm, might not be his match.

Besides, he's experienced countless things over the years: being passed on his skills by a master, surviving a fall off a cliff, obtaining mysterious techniques, and acquiring rare and precious treasures to temper himself...

He thought he was already one of the chosen ones, but he never expected that Zhang Ruoxue's growth would be even more exaggerated than his own.

Previously, Zhang Ruoxue was just an ordinary mortal with a very ordinary physical body. Without the support of spiritual energy, she was not much different from an ordinary person.

What now?

"Hehehe..." Zhang Ruoxue chuckled and touched her forehead, then continued, "After all, I've worked myself to the bone in the secret realm of the Great Wilderness Heavenly Flame for so many years... It wouldn't make sense if I didn't grow a bit."

"The Great Wilderness Flame..."

Fang Yan stared in disbelief as the redness and swelling on Zhang Ruoxue's forehead disappeared at an extremely fast speed, and could only give a helpless bitter smile in the end.

As expected of that senior's disciple...

Her unreasonable physical body alone was enough to overpower most cultivators in the Void Realm. Coupled with her increasingly refined martial arts skills—the martial arts skills she had honed over years of battles—an ordinary person would probably be stunned by the fierce killing power in her moves in no less than three moves. However, Zhang Ruoxue was completely unaffected and handled the situation with ease.

At this point, Zhang Ruoxue's tone carried a hint of pride: "Don't let my current appearance fool you, I've learned a lot from there—I even created my own set of boxing techniques!"

"Oh? Self-created?"

This was somewhat unexpected for Fang Yan.

—After all, he knew Yuntian Academy quite well, and knew that this Miss Ruoxue was known throughout Yuntian Academy for being single-minded... to put it bluntly, a bit simple-minded.