Gu Jue grunted in agreement. "There are loose ends to tie up."

He didn’t seem inclined to explain how, so Lu Sangjiu didn’t press the matter.

’Well, the whole thing was a bit convoluted, and I didn’t manage to make Gu Jue owe me a favor like I’d planned, but... we’re comrades who’ve faced life and death together, right?’

With that, Lu Sangjiu comforted herself and committed fully to her "innocent maiden" act.

Her face was pale and weak, but her expression was filled with gratitude. "Thank you so, so much. I’ll never forget your kindness... May I know your name?"

But Gu Jue flatly refused. "There’s no need. We’re even."

Lu Sangjiu: "..."

’This guy... I really want to punch him!’

But she gave up. She really couldn’t stand this taciturn, hopelessly blunt man, so she couldn’t be bothered to play games with him any longer.

So she put on a disappointed expression. "If you don’t want to tell me, then never mind... In that case, farewell."

Just as she turned away, a cold gust of wind blew past, provoking a violent coughing fit from Lu Sangjiu.

Gu Jue had been about to leave, but he stopped when he heard the sound. Lu Sangjiu’s earlier words echoed in his mind... she had said she might not have long to live.

Thinking of this, he suddenly felt that perhaps he had been a bit too harsh just now.

And so, after Lu Sangjiu had taken a few steps, she suddenly heard the man behind her say a single name. "Gu Jue."

Lu Sangjiu froze, turning back instinctively. "What?"

Gu Jue pressed his lips together, seemingly unaccustomed to being stared at directly. He lowered his gaze to the ground and repeated, "Lingjian Sect. Gu Jue."

With that, he cupped his hands in a brief salute and turned to leave without waiting for her reply.

Lu Sangjiu raised an eyebrow. ’Hiss... What a strange guy.’

After that whole ordeal, time had flown by, and it was already dark.

Lu Sangjiu no longer had to worry about how to kill time. She obediently went to the city gate to meet up with the others.

The group had spent the entire day rushing around the city, but the results were utterly disappointing.

"Don’t be discouraged. We still have two days. We’ll try again tomorrow."

"Even if we don’t find it in the next two days, we can still try our luck at the Secret Realm. There are four of us—one of us is bound to get in."

"Besides, the Sect Leader also told the other disciples that if they come across Hell Grass, they must bring it back. All in all, the chances of finding Hell Grass this time are very high."

Li Qiancheng and Luo Linlang boosted everyone’s morale with their words of encouragement, and the group returned to their camp to rest.

Perhaps because they had scared her the other day, Ye Zhiyao had been quiet for the past few days and hadn’t approached their group.

Soon, three days had passed. The group still hadn’t found any news about the Hell Grass or the Fiend Burning Pill, but the gate to the Secret Realm had finally opened.

Countless Cultivators had gathered outside Sky Curtain City, creating a rare and spectacular scene.

The Seven Emotions Sect and the Lingjian Sect were both among the Four Great Sects, and their designated areas were right next to each other. The two Sect Leaders were even huddled together, exchanging pleasantries.

Lu Sangjiu easily spotted Gu Jue, dressed all in black, among the Lingjian Sect disciples.

’It seems he didn’t get his wish of quietly serving his time in jail after all. I guess after that Nascent Soul Elder recognized him, his master must have fished him out.’

Speaking of his master... Lu Sangjiu’s gaze fell upon an old acquaintance.

Sword Bu Gui was one of the few people in the Cultivation World she had actually found agreeable. Moreover, he was completely engrossed in the Sword Dao and had achieved a high level of mastery, a fact that in itself was worthy of admiration.

A hundred years ago, he was just a minor Nascent Soul Cultivator. Seeing him again now, he was already at the Late-stage of Divinity Transformation.

With his talent, she figured he would soon break through to the Body Integration Realm.

The thought made Lu Sangjiu a little bitter. A hundred years ago, she could have beaten Sword Bu Gui as if it were child’s play, but now the roles were reversed, and she was the one looking up to him.

She stared at Sword Bu Gui, lost in thought for a moment, and only snapped out of it when he met her gaze.

’He’s an elder of the Lingjian Sect,’ she thought. ’Even if he’s displeased by my staring, he won’t lower himself to my level.’ She prepared to feign fear to bluff her way through.

However, before she could arrange her expression, Gu Jue also seemed to sense something and looked over at her.

When Gu Jue saw her, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

He moved his lips as if he wanted to say something, but Sword Bu Gui suddenly started walking toward Lu Sangjiu!

Lu Sangjiu: ???

’What is he doing? Don’t tell me this old geezer thinks I was the cause of his disciple’s rampage in the dungeons the other day and now wants to settle the score?’

She was instantly on guard. Seeing his master walk over, Gu Jue followed suit.

Few people may have seen Gu Jue in person, but his name was renowned throughout the Cultivation World.

Just then, a disciple from the Seven Emotions Sect recognized him and let out a low cry, "Look, it’s Gu Jue!"

"Oh my god, is he the genius who was born with a sword heart?"

"I never thought he’d be not only powerful but also so handsome..."

"But don’t you all think his master, Sword Master Bu Gui, is even more handsome?"

The corner of Lu Sangjiu’s mouth twitched as she listened to the group of female disciples whispering among themselves.

Then, in a flash, she saw Ye Zhiyao not far away, staring unblinkingly at Gu Jue, her eyes filled with an unconcealable look of stunned admiration.

’...Well, I’ll be. So the reason Ye Zhiyao likes Gu Jue is that simple? Purely lust at first sight?’

’Come to think of it, Gu Jue is indeed a bit more handsome than Qin Yu and Bai Heng.’

But what Lu Sangjiu hadn’t expected was that Ye Zhiyao didn’t just look. Seeing them approach, she actually went right up to greet them.

Stepping in front of Sword Bu Gui, she gave a graceful salute and said, "I am Ye Zhiyao, disciple of Sword Master Bai Heng of the Seven Emotions Sect. I have long admired Sword Master Bu Gui’s great name and have come especially to pay my respects."

As one Sword Cultivator paying respects to another, her actions were reasonable enough.

Too bad... she didn’t know that of everyone in the Seven Emotions Sect, the one Sword Bu Gui disliked the most was Bai Heng.

So, when faced with Ye Zhiyao, he merely grunted a flat "mm," showing no intention of engaging with her further, and continued walking straight ahead.

Ye Zhiyao froze, looking awkward and at a loss.

Seeing Gu Jue follow his master and walk past her, Ye Zhiyao couldn’t help but call out to him.

"You must be Senior Brother Gu Jue, right? I’ve heard for a long time how powerful you are. I’m a Sword Cultivator as well. If there’s an opportunity, I hope we can have a friendly spar."

As the story’s heroine, Ye Zhiyao’s beauty went without saying.

Any normal man, when faced with a beauty like Ye Zhiyao, would have taken the opportunity to chat with her for a bit.

But Gu Jue... was not a normal man.

Seeing that his master had already reached Lu Sangjiu and stopped, Gu Jue had no patience to exchange pleasantries with Ye Zhiyao.

Thus, his steps only faltered for an instant before he impatiently continued onward.

He merely tossed a single word over his shoulder at Ye Zhiyao: "Fine."

Ye Zhiyao: "..."

That was probably the shortest reply she had ever received in her entire life.

When she turned around and saw both Sword Bu Gui and Gu Jue stopped in front of Lu Sangjiu, a flicker of surprise flashed across Ye Zhiyao’s face.

She then couldn’t help but bite her lip as a wave of indignation and embarrassment washed over her.

’They’re all Sword Cultivators; they should have more to talk about with me.’

’So why did they go straight to Lu Sangjiu? Could it be... they already know each other?’