Slender willows sway in the breeze

Chapter 277 Gathering
Gu Changzhou buried his head in Liu Sijun's shoulder and remained silent for a long time.

Liu Sijun held him quietly, feeling his body trembling.

After an unknown amount of time, Gu Changzhou slowly raised his head. His eyes were red, but his gaze gradually hardened.

“Jun’er, you’re right. Father certainly doesn’t want me to be tormented by hatred.” Gu Changzhou took a deep breath and said, “But the pain in my heart can’t be dispelled in a short time.”

Liu Sijun looked at him tenderly: "I will always be with you."

Gu Changzhou gripped Liu Sijun's hand tightly: "With you here, I have support. We have more important things to do, and we can't let these things affect us too much."

"By the way, what happened to Master's matter?"

Liu Sijun briefly recounted to Gu Changzhou what had happened in the sect over the past few months.

After they parted ways that day, she took Xu Hechen and Li Qing back to Yougu Palace. No sooner had they arrived than people from Piaomiao Palace and Yaohua Palace followed.

Naturally, they brought up Xu Hechen.

"It is true that my master was bewitched by the Demon God's heart before, but he deserves great credit for sealing the Demon God's heart this time. I would not say that his merits and demerits cancel each other out, but his sins do not warrant death."

Peng Yuanhui, the Grand Elder of Yaohua Palace, snorted, "Who knows if it's really sealed! If he can be bewitched by the Demon God's Heart once, there's a possibility that he could be bewitched two or three times. What if he tampered with the sealing process? Wouldn't that cause a disaster?"

"Elder Peng, you're a classic case of getting the benefit and then complaining."

Liu Sijun retorted without any politeness: "When Tianxu Palace was using the Demon God's Heart to do whatever it wanted, Yaohua Palace did nothing. Now that my Yougu Palace has cooperated with the Great Yu and Fenglei Kingdoms and gone through countless hardships to seal the Demon God's Heart, you suddenly jump out and question it. If you had doubts, why didn't you go with us in the first place?"

"You, you are not worthy to speak to me."

Ji He coughed and said, "Her words are exactly what I wanted to say, and they also represent the sentiments of all the disciples of Yougu Palace."

Liu Sijun continued to berate, "We just sealed the Demon God's heart and arrived at the palace gates, and you arrived right after us. If you weren't monitoring our Yougu Palace, who would believe it?"

"What are your intentions in monitoring the Hidden Valley Palace?"

"If we fail to seal the Demon God's heart this time, are you planning to throw all the blame on our Yougu Palace?"

Peng Yuanhui's face flushed red: "You're really quick-witted."

He looked at Di Sheng of the Misty Palace, "Elder Di, don't you have anything to say?"

Di Sheng was unwilling to come in the first place. Peng Yuanhui, relying on his position as the Grand Elder of Yaohua Palace, did whatever he wanted while Palace Master Teng Lihui was in seclusion, putting pressure on Piaomiao Palace and threatening to hold Yougu Palace accountable together.

The palace master did not want to offend Yaohua Palace, nor did he want to make things difficult for Yougu Palace, so he sent him along.

He was thoroughly fed up with Elder Peng.

"Elder Peng, Elder Xu did make a mistake, but he tried his best to make amends. Why don't we..."

Merit is merit, and fault is fault.

Standing behind Di Sheng, Chu Yanming muttered under his breath, "If you want to cause trouble, just say so. Why make it sound so righteous, like you sealed the Demon God's heart?" Peng Yuanhui shot him a glare, but Chu Yanming remained unfazed.

"All right!"

Ji He spoke up: "It is a fact that our elder from Yougu Palace made a mistake, and we cannot refute it. However, considering that he has made amends, this matter still needs to be handled with caution."

Di Sheng said, "Palace Master Ji is quite right. This visit is not entirely about Elder Xu. Our Palace Master's idea is that, while the Demon God's heart is sealed and the Heavenly Ruins Palace is severely weakened, it would be best to take advantage of this opportunity to destroy the Heavenly Ruins Palace in one fell swoop to eliminate future troubles."

As for Xu Hechen, since he was still needed to help in the siege of Tianxu Palace, he was punished by being struck by three bolts of heavenly lightning at the Siguo Cliff in Yougu Palace.

Xu Hechen's injuries had not yet fully healed, and he was struck by three bolts of heavenly lightning.

Liu Sijun took care of him for more than a month before his health gradually improved.

And just then, she showed signs of a breakthrough in her cultivation.

So it took me more than two months to have time to see him.

After hearing this, Gu Changzhou said, "The three bolts of heavenly lightning cancel each other out. I believe that after this incident, Master's Dao heart will be more steadfast."

Just then, a guard rushed over, knelt on one knee, and reported: "My lord, my lady, news has come from various sects that they are ready to besiege Tianxu Palace at any time, and are just waiting for your orders."

Gu Changzhou nodded slightly, a hint of authority in his eyes: "Have them prepare according to the original plan. We will assemble in front of Tianxu Palace in three days."

"Yes!" The guard acknowledged the order and quickly withdrew.

Gu Changzhou turned to look at Liu Sijun: "As long as Tianxu Palace is not eliminated, the world will never be at peace. We must do everything in our power to completely eradicate this scourge."

Liu Sijun nodded firmly: "Okay, we'll face it together. However, we must prepare well in the next few days and not slack off in the slightest."

For the next three days, Gu Changzhou and Liu Sijun were both busy with their own things.

Gu Changzhou redeployed the Molin Army, trained soldiers, and prepared supplies for the battle; Liu Sijun returned to Yougu Palace and studied the Tianxu Palace's formations and evil arts with the sect disciples, searching for a way to defeat the enemy.

Three days passed quickly, and the cultivators from various sects gathered in front of the Heavenly Ruins Palace as agreed.

Gu Changzhou, clad in battle armor and wielding the Molin Sword, stood at the front of the group, his gaze fixed firmly on the gates of Tianxu Palace.

Liu Sijun stood beside him, the Taixu Spirit Crystal emitting a soft light. She embedded the Taixu Spirit Crystal into the Tianxu Palace topographic map, and golden patterns spread across the map like blood vessels.

When the Eye of the Void was activated, the pupil reflected a three-dimensional image of the labyrinth beneath the Heavenly Ruins Palace: "According to Master's information, the evil heart of the Heavenly Ruins Palace is at the bottom of Buzhou Mountain, where there is an altar left by an ancient demon god."

Gu Changzhou frowned slightly, looking in the direction Liu Sijun pointed. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "The altar left by the ancient demon god must be extremely dangerous. Although Tianxu Palace is now severely weakened, it must have set up many defenses. We cannot attack rashly and must proceed with caution."

Liu Sijun nodded, a resolute glint in his eyes: "I have studied the formations and evil arts of Tianxu Palace with the disciples of Yougu Palace. They have set up the 'Demon Shadow Soul Devouring Formation' around the altar. This formation can manipulate people's hearts, amplify their inner fears, and thus trap them in an illusion, causing them to lose their fighting ability. If we want to destroy Tianxu Palace, we must first find a way to break this formation."

At this moment, Li Qing stepped out from the group, his Netherworld Purifying Flame burning fiercely in his palm, illuminating his resolute face: "Sister, brother-in-law, I once heard Master say that the Netherworld Purifying Flame has a restraining effect on evil magic, perhaps we can give it a try."

Tong Lei stepped forward, and the golden roc phantom behind him spread its wings as if about to take flight, emitting a sharp cry: "Lord, I think we can have the disciples of Wuji Tower assist us. We can use the Golden Roc's Evil-Breaking Technique to disrupt the operation of the formation and create an opportunity for you."