Kind Master, Respectful Disciple

Inside Gu Palace.

The head of the scaleless serpent emerged completely from the darkness.

It was not a snake's head at all, but a human head.

Had Fang Shu been here, he would have recognized him at a glance. This man was none other than his amiable second senior brother—Hao Junliang.

And the serpent body below Hao Junliang's head was none other than the Mangy Snake that had once coiled upon the shadow wall of Venom Hall.

Hao Junliang gazed in the direction Fang Shu had vanished, murmuring, "Master, only Little Junior Brother remains of our sect now. Could you spare him a path to live for the sake of our bond as master and disciples?"

"A path to live?"

At those words, Long Gu's gaunt face immediately twisted into a sneer. "When I gave others a path to live, did they ever give one to me!?"

Her eyes flew wide as she stared fixedly at Hao Junliang's head. Her features contorted, and laughter like an owl's hooting burst from her throat.

"Besides, I am your master. How could I possibly take your lives? Good disciple, don't you agree? Without your master, how could you have broken through your shackles, gained such a Foundation Establishment body, and had your wish fulfilled?"

Hearing this, pain immediately surfaced in Hao Junliang's eyes.

Within Gu Palace, Long Gu stopped laughing and ordered coldly, "I merely had Fang Shu gather herbs for me. What sort of person do you take me for?"

But immediately after, her tone shifted, and she said through gritted teeth, "Who would have thought that a casual move I made back then, merely to preserve my looks and patch up some of my foundations, would become my only hope today."

As she spoke, the old woman stroked her utterly withered