Chapter 405: Love Gu

Lu Sangjiu was speechless.

She suddenly regretted being so clever a moment ago.

’Does the Cultivation World need me? Not really, no.’

’If I’d known, I would have just stayed put and waited for Xie Ningyuan to rescue me!’

But now, with this damn thing inside her, what did her temporary freedom matter? If she didn’t want to die, she still had to do as she was told!

Though she was filled with resentment, she also knew that if Cangming had truly wanted to keep her, he would have used this thing on her sooner or later.

’I just wonder if it’s really like he said—that no one but him can remove it?’

She was in a terrible mood, but what was done was done. Lu Sangjiu had no other choice.

Giving Cangming a long, deep look, she said coolly, "I will take the news of your agreement to a truce back with me. However, the specific negotiations will have to be conducted by you directly. I will notify you once a time is set."

"When this is all over, I will come back with you."

Cangming watched her intently. "Fine."

Lu Sangjiu said no more and turned to leave.

Just as she reached the door, she suddenly heard Cangming call out to her. "Gu Huang."

Lu Sangjiu turned back. "Is there something else?"

Cangming’s gaze now seemed to hold a torrent of emotion, making it strangely difficult to meet his eyes directly.

He said, "Was there ever a moment, even just for an instant, that you considered truly forgiving me?"

Lu Sangjiu froze. She stood there for a long moment, thinking, before finally nodding. "I have. But it was only for an instant. After thinking it over, I realized I still want to kill you more."

Cangming suddenly let out a wry laugh. "I understand."

What he understood, Lu Sangjiu didn’t know, nor did she have any interest in knowing. She simply pushed the door open and strode away.

Cangming’s gaze followed her the entire time, but she... never once looked back.

Seeing Lu Sangjiu emerge alone, Fa Shan hurried to meet her.

Lu Sangjiu didn’t say much, only, "Let’s go."

Hearing this, Fa Shan couldn’t help but glance back. Cangming hadn’t followed them out.

His eyes filled with even more astonishment and confusion. "He... just let you go like that?"

Lu Sangjiu hummed in affirmation. "Let’s go. We’ll talk when we get back."

Fa Shan could only suppress his questions for now and led Lu Sangjiu back to the Divine Tomb Sect.

Realizing they had returned to the Divine Tomb Sect, Lu Sangjiu was a little confused. "...Why did you bring me here?"

Fa Shan looked at her with a worried expression. "It won’t be convenient to talk once we leave."

"Palace Master, what exactly happened? From what I know of Cangming, he... he wouldn’t let you leave so easily, would he?"

Lu Sangjiu sighed helplessly. "You’re right. It wasn’t easy at all."

"Since we’re back, could you take a look for me? He said it’s a Love Gu, and that no one but him can remove it."

After she gave Fa Shan a brief account of what happened, his expression grew grim, and he quickly examined the Love Gu for her.

Normally, with his power as a Body Integration Realm expert, even if he couldn’t completely destroy it, he should have at least been able to affect the Love Gu to some degree.

However, he discovered that the tiny Gu Worm seemed to be immune to all Spiritual Energy and Demonic Qi. No attack had any effect on it; instead, it only caused Lu Sangjiu pain.

After several attempts that left Lu Sangjiu’s face pale with pain, Fa Shan didn’t dare try again.

He wiped the sweat from his brow, his expression full of shame. "I’m sorry. I’ve heard of Love Gu before, but those were just ordinary Gu Worms. This one is different."

"I’ve never heard of a Love Gu like this, and I have no way to remove it."

"But when you return to the Cultivation World, you can ask for help from the Transcendance Tribulation Stage experts in your Cultivation Sects. They might have a solution."

When it came to the Dao of alchemy, Demon Cultivators had never been a match for Immortal Cultivators. Since the Demon Cultivators had no solution, perhaps the Immortal Cultivators really could do something.

Lu Sangjiu comforted herself as well as Fa Shan, then said, "In that case, I’ll have to trouble you to send me back."

"When the talks are settled and the Immortal and Demon sides formally declare a truce, I will inform you."

As another major power in the Western Demon Realm, even though Fa Shan had been passive throughout the affair, he would definitely need to participate in the truce negotiations.

Lu Sangjiu contacted Xie Ningyuan, and they agreed on a meeting point. Soon, Lu Sangjiu was escorted out of the Western Demon Realm.

Seeing Lu Sangjiu return safe and sound, the great weight in Xie Ningyuan’s heart was finally lifted.

He rushed forward a few steps and asked nervously, "How did it go? Did you suffer at Cangming’s hands?"

Lu Sangjiu shook her head. "Don’t worry. Things went rather smoothly. My last words were all for nothing."

Xie Ningyuan shot her a glare. "Last words? Stop talking such nonsense!"

Lu Sangjiu stuck out her tongue. "Alright, alright. Let’s go to their meeting place first and tell them the good news. Maybe we can still turn the tide."

She didn’t mention the Love Gu, not because she intended to hide it, but because she wanted to wait until she had an answer from the Cultivation World’s side.

Otherwise, no one would have time for her right now, and she would only make Xie Ningyuan worry for nothing.

The Gu Worm’s presence wasn’t visible from the outside, so Xie Ningyuan had no suspicions. He just nodded and led her away.

After her ordeal in the Western Demon Realm, by the time she arrived, the meeting had already been going on for a while.

To make her story more credible, Duan Xingyun and the others, who had nothing better to do, decided to go along as witnesses.

By now, Hua Jianzhi and his group had already explained the whole situation to everyone. The Sect Leaders from the various sects who had come to attend the meeting held different opinions and were currently arguing.

"Even if it seems someone is stirring up trouble, the enmity between us Immortals and Demons is irreconcilable! Sooner or later, we must fight to determine a winner!"

"The Western Demon Realm took the initiative to provoke us, even destroying the physical body of the Seven Emotions Sect’s Ancestor! If we back down now, won’t they just come back next time to destroy someone else and get away scot-free?"

"If you ask me, Demon Cultivators are savage and ambitious! We must take a hard line on this matter!"

"That makes sense. Besides, the Demon Cultivators haven’t even offered a truce. Are we supposed to be the ones to propose it? They’ll probably think we’re afraid of them!"

There were many voices of opposition, while most of those who agreed remained silent.

It was at this moment that Lu Sangjiu and Xie Ningyuan arrived.

"Seniors, the Western Demon Realm has already agreed to a truce. As long as our side agrees, the two parties can meet in person for negotiations. I am certain we can reach an outcome that satisfies everyone."

The arguing crowd fell silent, their heads swiveling in unison to look at Lu Sangjiu.

Many of the people here recognized Lu Sangjiu, but some did not. Seeing such a junior suddenly appear, they were momentarily stunned. "Who are you?"

Lu Sangjiu bowed to the crowd. "This junior is Lu Sangjiu, a Red Peak Disciple of the Seven Emotions Sect."

She paused, then added, "I am also one of the people involved in the recent incident with the Ten Thousand Buddha Sect."