Jing Li froze for a moment.
However, he soon had no time to dwell on it further.
After devouring the tribulation clouds, the necklace didn’t stop. Instead, it began to emanate a rich spiritual aura from within, immediately enveloping Jing Li entirely. The spiritual aura eagerly rushed into his body.
In an instant, Jing Li’s body was filled with pure and untamed spiritual aura, calming the previously riotous energy and guiding it through his meridians, swiftly gathering in his dantian. His meridians soon swelled slightly and continued to expand with the constant absorption of spiritual aura, as if trying to break through the bottleneck to the next realm.
Although no longer suffering from the torment of the tribulation lightning, the current situation was still precarious. Jing Li hastily gathered his focus, intending to stabilize the situation before proceeding.
Roughly an hour later, the necklace finally stopped releasing spiritual aura. The turbulence within Jing Li’s body gradually subsided.
“How are you feeling?” Hu Li, who had appeared at his side at some point, asked with concern as Jing Li finally stopped his breathing exercises. “Do you feel any discomfort?”
Jing Li looked up at him, then inwardly assessed his current state. He had successfully broken through another major realm, reaching the Nascent Soul stage of cultivation, firmly establishing himself in the middle-to-late period.
Perhaps due to the increase in his cultivation, not only did he feel no discomfort, but a sense of lightness permeated his entire being, even his spiritual soul felt more stable.
He shook his head at Hu Li. “No discomfort, I feel more energetic than ever.”
Hearing this, Hu Li examined him from head to toe, and finally, seeing that Jing Li was indeed not lying, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, a thought struck him, and he turned to Jing Li again. “What the hell was that treasure you took out earlier? It even devoured the tribulation lightning! Isn’t that too damn unbelievable?”
Hu Li’s shock caused him to swear. He eyed Jing Li with a complex expression. “So, how many secrets are you still hiding from me? Please, just tell me everything at once so I can die in peace! It’ll save me from worrying like an idiot every time you surprise me.”
Jing Li: “……”
If he said he didn’t know what was going on either, would Hu Li turn against him?
“…I’ll tell you about it later.” Jing Li deflected the question and changed the subject. “By the way, didn’t I say I’d introduce you to some other demon spirit friends? Do you have any plans coming up? If you’re free, why don’t I take you to stay with them for a while to relax?”
Hu Li stared at him intently, his expression shifting before finally settling into calmness.
Whatever, he thought. Everyone has their little secrets.
After all the shocks Jing Li had given him, even if he told Hu Li he was the Heavenly Dao’s wife, he wouldn’t be surprised anymore.
“I have to go to the company tomorrow morning, but I’m free for the next two weeks after that.”
“Alright, call me when you’re done tomorrow, and I’ll let them know in advance.” Jing Li said, relieved that Hu Li was no longer fixated on the issue. He stood up, dusted off the dirt from his clothes, picked up the necklace that had fallen to the ground and tucked it into his pocket, then grabbed the unused change of clothes and suggested as they walked out, “It’s getting late, shall we head back first?”
Hu Li had no objections and followed him out.
The two returned to their previous meeting place, where Hu Li’s car was parked on the side of the road. To avoid attracting attention, he first drove Jing Li home before returning to his own place.
After watching Hu Li leave, Jing Li remembered Gu Tingshen, whom he had seen just before leaving, and made his way back to the villa.
On the way, he reached into his pocket and traced the necklace, his thoughts wandering again.
Just who was Gu Tingshen? Why could the necklace he carried devour the tribulation lightning? And even transform it into the purest spiritual aura?
Even in the Spiritual Realm, teeming with experts, he had never heard of anyone capable of such an astonishing feat.
The tribulation lightning, in a sense, represented the laws of the world. To treat such laws as nothing—aside from Tian Dao, who established them—he could not think of anyone else.
Jing Li’s mind fleetingly reconsidered his previous joke that Gu Tingshen might be Tian Dao itself, but he quickly dismissed the notion.
Putting aside that Tian Dao would never favor a mere demon cultivator like himself, even if Gu Tingshen truly was Tian Dao, how could it have ended up in this strange world, blending into the mundane realm without a shred of spiritual aura beyond purple qi and virtue?
Moreover, based on their past interactions, Gu Tingshen clearly lacked any understanding of such matters.
He couldn’t possibly tell him that the other had fallen by accident and then lost his memory, could he?
Jing Li shook his head with a self-deprecating smile. He was more inclined to believe Gu Tingshen had simply come across the necklace by chance.
“Er Shao, you’re back.”
The sudden voice interrupted Jing Li’s thoughts. Following the sound, he raised his head to find himself already at the entrance.
“Yeah.” Jing Li responded, entering the foyer and changing his shoes as he casually asked, “Is Shen-ge still in the study with my brother?”
“…You mean Mr. Gu?” The servant hesitated, glancing at him before replying, “Mr. Gu hasn’t come to the house. And Da Shao left half an hour ago after receiving a phone call. He said to tell you to rest early and not to wait for him.”
“You’re saying Gu Tingshen didn’t come?” Jing Li paused, and seeing the servant’s affirmative nod, he couldn’t help but wonder.
He had indeed seen Gu Tingshen at the gate, about to ring the doorbell. Why didn’t he come in? Surely he didn’t come specifically for Jing Li?
Recalling the necklace Gu Tingshen had casually removed, Jing Li tried to convince himself it was likely just a temporary decision due to his condition, but he couldn’t help his quickening heartbeat.
He quickly changed his shoes, took out his phone, and dialed Gu Tingshen’s number, intending to clarify the situation. After a moment’s thought, he hung up and sent a WeChat message instead.
[Jing Li: Shen-ge, are you busy?]
Gu Tingshen didn’t reply, likely occupied. Jing Li waited a while before putting away his phone and returning to his room to wash up.
However, even after showering, arranging plans with the chrysanthemum spirit of the Green Forest, and eventually falling asleep, he received no response from Gu Tingshen.
The next morning, Jing Li woke up close to noon. Lying in bed, he collected himself and immediately reached for his phone on the nightstand.
However, Gu Tingshen still did not reply, and their chat history ended with Jing Li’s unanswered question.
Jing Li frowned, unable to recall a time when Gu Tingshen had taken so long to respond.
Just as Jing Li considered calling to inquire, a call came through—it was Hu Li.
Jing Li answered, learning that Hu Li had finished work and was on his way. After agreeing to meet at the gate, he hung up.
This time, they planned to stay a few extra days in the Green Forest as a vacation. Jing Li thought for a moment, then sent Gu Tingshen another message, saying to contact him when free, as he wanted to have a proper conversation.
After waiting without a reply, Jing Li figured that Gu Tingshen might indeed be busy with something. He didn’t want to disturb him further, so he packed a few changes of clothes and left to meet Hu Li at the gate.
*
After leaving the Jing family villa, Gu Tingshen returned directly to his car but did not immediately drive away.
The hurried expression on Jing Li’s face as he left was imprinted in Gu Tingshen’s mind, causing him a vague sense of worry. Especially the clearly disordered mist above Jing Li’s head reminded him of a scene he had witnessed in the film city before.
“So he’s facing another tribulation?”
Gu Tingshen’s brows furrowed deeply, his worry intensifying. His hands unconsciously tightened on the steering wheel, yet in this situation, there was nothing he could do for Jing Li except wait.
As he sat there anxiously, he suddenly felt something unusual in the sky. However, before he could look up to observe carefully, he felt a sudden, intense pain in his back, as if struck by lightning, his bones seemingly shattered to pieces.
Gu Tingshen groaned in pain, his face turning deathly pale in an instant.
But the agony did not pass. After catching his breath, the intense pain struck his entire body again, this time even more severe than before, making it almost unbearable. He collapsed over the steering wheel.
His blood seemed to burn, every inch of his body throbbing as if slashed by countless blades. Yet, when he looked, his body remained intact, showing no signs of change.
Gu Tingshen panted heavily, instinctively aware that he must endure this anguish. Steadying himself against the steering wheel, he focused his mind, struggling to remain conscious.
……
In wave after wave of excruciating pain, he relied on the last shred of willpower to keep himself from collapsing.
He didn’t know how much time had passed, but finally, the pain subsided. He took a moment to breathe, and just as the pain was no longer so intense and darkness threatened to overtake his vision, a glimpse of the Jing family villa’s gate brought him back to alertness.
No, he couldn’t let Xiao Jing see him like this when he returned.
With that thought, Gu Tingshen mustered the strength to get up, called his driver to take him home, instructed the servants not to disturb him in his room, and then made his way back to his room with difficulty.
As soon as the door closed behind him, he collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.
After a long while, his phone in his left pocket chimed with a new message, but its owner had already lost consciousness.
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