Qin Junche didn't finish his sentence.
Gu Tang had already grabbed his hand, tilted her head slightly, and kissed him.
He reached out and grabbed Qin Junche by the back of the neck.
As if using all her strength, she kissed Qin Junche's lips heavily.
His kiss was so forceful, so greedy.
Even the composed and calm Qin Junche felt his mind go blank in that instant.
He lowered his eyes and looked at the young man in front of him.
Gu Tang's eyes were wide open, and his bright eyes held a complex emotion that even he couldn't understand.
“Nine… um…” Qin Junche’s brows finally furrowed.
His hand was already on Gu Tang's chest.
A single breath of spiritual energy would be enough to severely injure this suddenly crazed youth.
"Heh..." Gu Tang released his grip on Qin Junche's nape at this moment.
He squinted and stared at Qin Junche for a moment.
Then, he moved closer to Qin Junche again.
"You can try killing me with one blow," he said coldly. "Let's see if I'll let go."
He reached out and hooked his arm around Qin Junche's waist, while his other hand gripped the back of Qin's neck even tighter.
An even more passionate kiss sealed Qin Junche's lips.
They exchanged breaths, the sound of the sea breeze in their ears seemingly drowned out by the increasingly loud heartbeats.
A sigh escaped, silently carried away by the sea breeze.
Qin Junche slowly closed his eyes.
Chapter 53 The Imperial Preceptor's Unparalleled Brilliance (The End)
Only when Gu Tang tasted the salty, fishy flavor of blood in his mouth did he finally release Qin Junche.
He slightly separated the two of them, lowered his forehead, and rested it on the other person's shoulder.
The rough blue robe rubbed against his skin, causing him to feel a moment of disorientation.
Gu Tang curled his lips into a smile and took a few steps back.
"I'm sorry." He lowered his eyes, not wanting to meet Qin Junche's gaze.
Then he turned around, took a few steps forward, and sat down on the sea with his knees bent.
The longsword, formed from condensed spiritual energy, disappeared the moment it pierced the serpentine beast's body.
Gu Tang slightly raised his hand and drew a long sword from the spiritual energy in his palm.
He held the hilt of the spiritual sword for a moment, then threw it far away, watching as the dark blue sword vanished completely before hitting the sea.
That's stupid!
He knew he had just acted incredibly stupidly.
Not only is it stupid, but it's also incredibly childish.
Having cultivated for ten thousand years, he thought he had long forgotten everything.
I never expected that just seeing someone who looks similar would make me completely lose my composure.
Qin Junche stood there for a moment, then walked over to Gu Tang's side.
There was still a trace of blood on his lips.
It's unclear whether it belongs to him or to the young man sitting somewhat willfully on the sea with his back to him.
"Your Highness, Ninth Prince." Qin Junche bowed slightly.
He simply didn't want to deal with it anymore.
But he couldn't just leave Gu Tang there unattended.
“Let’s go back.” His voice remained gentle. “Let’s pretend what happened just now never happened.”
Qin Junche gently comforted Gu Tang, "If you continue cultivating, you'll find that these things will become unimportant..."
"No, that won't happen." Gu Tang interrupted Qin Junche somewhat rudely.
If continuing his cultivation would be useful, he wouldn't be sitting here.
He should have already successfully transcended the tribulation and broken through the void to reach another realm.
"Ninth Prince." Qin Junche was speechless, having been cornered.
But after a moment of silence, he continued gently, "Look at you, you were previously deemed incapable of cultivation, yet you have successfully advanced to Rank A. Nothing in this world is difficult..."
“You don’t need to worry about me.” Gu Tang interrupted him again.
Qin Junche: "..."
Looking at this stubborn, unyielding young man, he felt a headache for the first time.
Sensing his silence, Gu Tang turned to look at Qin Junche instead.
He tilted his head back, looking down at the young man who was barely able to maintain his smile.
Gu Tang suddenly found it somewhat amusing.
"I once liked someone," he said softly, turning around.
Qin Junche: "..."
It seems like I was the one who was forcibly kissed just now, so is Gu Tang confessing his feelings to my face?
“He’s so good, so kind, so gentle. When I was lost and helpless, when I was being bullied by everyone, he was the one who appeared in front of me,” Gu Tang said almost in one breath.
Let it get out of control.
Since things have already spiraled out of control, let's just go all out this time.
Qin Junche: "..."
Gu Tang didn't even look at him and continued, "He took me in, taught me cultivation, accompanied me to learn all kinds of techniques, found spiritual herbs and pills to treat the internal injuries I had in my early years, took me to kill strange beasts and eliminate powerful enemies... little by little, he cultivated me into one of the strongest cultivators in the world."
“I thought…” Gu Tang’s expression softened considerably as he spoke of the past, “He liked me.”
Qin Junche: "..."
He had a vague feeling that Gu Tang wasn't talking about him, but just now...
"So on the day I successfully advanced to the same level as him, I confessed my feelings." Gu Tang chuckled softly.
His laughter was tinged with sarcasm: "I was overjoyed when he agreed to become my Daoist partner. Such a refined and elegant person, countless cultivators would want to become his Daoist partner. But he didn't agree to anyone else, only to me. I think he must like me."
Qin Junche followed Gu Tang's example and sat down on the sea.
His expression changed slightly from before.
The gentleness faded from his eyes, leaving a dark shadow hidden deep within them.
"And then?" he asked Gu Tang casually, "How did you find out that he didn't like you?"
“He said it himself,” Gu Tang said. “He only forms relationships for cultivation purposes; he could never be involved in romantic love in his life. If I wanted romantic love, I would rather find someone else.”
Gu Tang smiled again: "But he told me that with cultivation as a companion, why bother with love? As long as I follow this great path forward, I will eventually find my own laws and enter a higher realm. At that time, I will understand that love is all an illusion, and only cultivation is the right path."
As Gu Tang spoke, he turned to look at Qin Junche: "Then I entangled with him for three hundred years."
He said, "I pursued him with all my might, using every method I could think of, just hoping he would respond to me in the slightest. That unwillingness to accept not getting what I wanted made me feel like I was bewitched, and I almost went mad in the end. It was he who pulled me back."
Qin Junche was stunned.
He stared blankly at Gu Tang's face.
The usually calm and aloof young man's face now held a hint of madness he had never seen before.
“He took a huge risk, sacrificing his cultivation to stabilize my realm,” Gu Tang slowly continued. “Then, after confirming my safety, he said he couldn’t continue to mislead me like this. So he chose to undergo tribulation.”
Gu Tang looked up at the clear blue sky: "Of course, it was a failure. The tribulation lightning of the nine heavens struck him and his soul was scattered, his three souls and seven spirits scattered throughout the world. It took me seven hundred years to collect his soul fragments one by one and then help him be reborn."
"You..." Qin Junche slowly opened his mouth, but his voice was so hoarse that even he was a little scared.
“I sealed away my feelings and his feelings together.” Gu Tang no longer looked at him. “We calmly became the most ordinary Daoist partners, with only cultivation in our eyes. Then we spent thousands of years together and finally reached the peak of the Great Dao together.”
"Stop talking!" Qin Junche's hand suddenly trembled.
Not just hands!
He was trembling all over.
The green robe glided across the sea, and the sleeves were even soaked by the rolling waves.
"Isn't this what you wanted to know?" Gu Tang seemed completely oblivious.
He looked at Qin Junche's face, a face that was already etched in his heart, in his very bones, a face that had never changed.
He smiled and said, "You've caused all this trouble just to find out this, haven't you?"
“Gu Tang…” Qin Junche reached out, wanting to press down on Gu Tang’s shoulder.
Gu Tang looked up at the sky: "When he failed his tribulation and was about to be destroyed, I asked him if he regretted taking me in. If it weren't for me, a rational person like him wouldn't have been disrupted and would have just continued on his way. I think he will eventually reach the realm he expects and ascend to heaven after his tribulation."
His smile was somewhat melancholic: "But he said he never regretted it."
“Qin Junche.” Gu Tang stood up.
He reached out and gently stroked Qin Junche's hair: "My failure to transcend the tribulation was actually within my expectations. Thousands of years ago, I already had a deficiency in my Dao. But alas..."
He put his hands behind his back and looked up at the distant horizon: "I promised him that I would go and see that place."
"So, give up," Gu Tang said calmly. "Before my tribulation, I broke the seal and returned the last fragment of my soul to you. As long as you continue your cultivation, you can reach the pinnacle of the Great Dao, you can..."
The sea breeze blew, and his figure suddenly began to sway.
I felt as if I were floating on air, about to be blown away by the wind.