Why Did You Leave Me Behind...

Gu Yi and the other two exchanged a glance, then carefully climbed out of the hollow tree and quietly followed the men in black.

They dared not make a sound, afraid they would be discovered.

Just then, on their way to reinforce Chu Jing, the men in black unexpectedly ran into the injured Lin Ning and Xiao Cheng as they fled.

Lin Ning looked terrified. Carrying the unconscious Xiao Cheng on her back, she struggled to run forward, murmuring incessantly, "Eldest Senior Brother, you have to hold on! I'll take you to Miss Yezi right away. She'll definitely have a way to save you!"

Gu Yi and the other two froze at the sight.

"Eldest Senior Brother, don't fall asleep! It's all my fault. If it weren't for me, how could you have gotten hurt? Little Yuan wouldn't have been trapped by them either." Tears slid down her cheeks and dripped onto the ground.

"Eldest Senior Brother, please say something to me! As long as you wake up, I'll do anything." She herself was already covered in blood, her voice thick with sobs.

Just then, several dark figures appeared ahead, blocking her path. Lin Ning looked closely and realized it was another group of men in black. Despair instantly filled her eyes, but anger soon replaced it.

"You again!" she said through gritted teeth. "Even if I die here today, I'll protect Eldest Senior Brother."

"Young Master Lin Ning!" Following behind the men in black, Gu Yi also spotted her and Xiao Cheng.

"Damn it!" Seeing this, Xie Wenyun and Jiang Lingzhou charged at the men in black without another word.

They absolutely could not give them a chance to send reinforcements, much less let them kill anyone from the Qingling Sword Sect.

Gu Yi helped Lin Ning move Xiao Cheng aside and checked his injuries. "Young Master Lin Ning, Young Master Xiao's condition doesn't look good. Why weren't you with Miss Yezi?"

Lin Ning seized Gu Yi's hand and said agitatedly, "Miss Ye, my little brother... he hasn't come back yet... It's all because of me... It's all my fault..."

Gu Yi turned his hand over and held her shoulder, comforting her softly. "Don't panic. Take your time. What happened to Lin Yuan?"

Tear tracks covered Lin Ning's face as she choked out, "Eldest Senior Brother was badly injured saving me, and Little Yuan succumbed to demonic corruption..."

Before she could finish, Gu Yi stood and looked at her gravely.

Lin Yuan succumbed to demonic corruption?

Was he turning evil?

No, I can't let him turn evil now...

For some reason, when Gu Yi heard that Lin Yuan had succumbed to demonic corruption, he felt as though something had bitten a piece out of his heart. It hurt a little.

He turned around and saw that Jiang Lingzhou and Xie Wenyun's fight against the enemy was nearing its end.

Perhaps it was because the sudden appearance of the three of them had caught the enemy off guard.

"Senior Brother Xie! Not bad!" Jiang Lingzhou kicked a man in black away and winked at Xie Wenyun.

Xie Wenyun frowned and drove his sword through a man in black behind Jiang Lingzhou who had been trying to ambush him. "Don't get distracted!"

Fortunately, there weren't many men in black, and their strength was only average. They were no match for the two of them at all. Gu Yi finally relaxed.

"Senior Brother! Junior Brother Jiang! I'll leave this to you... I'm going to check on Young Master Lin!" With that, Gu Yi hurried off in the direction Lin Ning had come from.

"Miss Ye... thank you..." Lin Ning sat on the ground holding Xiao Cheng, her tears pattering onto his face. "Eldest Senior Brother, I was wrong... I'll never slack off again. I'll listen to you. I'll cultivate properly..."

In his anxiety, Gu Yi threw caution aside and switched straight to the cultivation technique he had originally practiced, hurrying away.

By the time he found Lin Yuan, Lin Yuan was already at the end of his strength. Unleashing his inner demon had hurt the enemy at a heavy cost to himself. His own spiritual power was unstable, let alone sufficient to fight Chu Jing.

Just as Chu Jing was about to stab between Lin Yuan's brows, Gu Yi's Empty Wall Spell arrived.

"Firm Shield Protect the Body, guard my form. Demonic Power Converges, Barrier Forms on Its Own."

An invisible barrier appeared in front of Lin Yuan, enclosing his entire body.

Phew-

Good thing I made it. I'd been worried Lin Yuan would turn evil and start killing people, but this wasn't him turning evil at all. He'd nearly been stabbed to death...

He casually pulled out a mask and put it on before revealing himself.

After fighting Lin Yuan earlier, Chu Jing was down to his last breath as well. Gu Yi sent him flying with a single palm strike.

"Ugh..."

Just then, Lin Yuan, who was holding Gu Yi, suddenly gave a muffled groan and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Gu Yi hurriedly asked, "You're so badly hurt. Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Why did you... leave me behind?" Lin Yuan rested his chin on Gu Yi's shoulder, still refusing to let go.

Gu Yi: "..."

"Is this the only way I can see you? I know you're only my inner demon, but I want to see you..."

Hearing Lin Yuan's words, Gu Yi smacked his forehead. He had nearly forgotten that Lin Yuan had succumbed to demonic corruption...

He struggled out of Lin Yuan's arms. "Lin Yuan, why haven't you gotten rid of your inner demon?" If he eliminated it, he would certainly be able to reach Nascent Soul.

"I can't..." Lin Yuan stubbornly refused to let go. His eyes were closed, yet a smile appeared on his face. "Only with my inner demon here can I see you..."

Gu Yi: "..."

He pressed his forehead against Lin Yuan's. "Lin Yuan, relax. Let me in, all right?"

He wanted to examine Lin Yuan's inner demon, but Lin Yuan's brows furrowed slightly, as though he were resisting his divine sense.

Or rather, his inner demon was resisting.

"Little immortal lord... be good..."

Leaving the inner demon unchecked would bring endless trouble. He had to enter Lin Yuan's sea of consciousness and take a look.

With a muffled groan from Lin Yuan, Gu Yi entered his sea of consciousness.

Although they had practiced soul cultivation together many times inside the barrier before, it had always been Lin Yuan entering Gu Yi's sea of consciousness.

This was Gu Yi's first time entering Lin Yuan's sea of consciousness, and he was speechless the moment he entered.

He nearly turned around and left... How was this a sea of consciousness? What the hell was this?

It was a pitch-black place, with only a round, glass-ball-like object in the center, emitting a gentle light like sunlight.

Gu Yi was inside the sphere. There was nothing in it except a man sitting quietly, dressed in a white fox-fur cloak and wearing a mask.

And that outfit was clearly how he had dressed when he was the Demon Venerable.

"You're the inner demon?" Gu Yi raised his eyebrows, a trace of curiosity and wariness in his gaze. Looking at the figure before him, he could not help feeling puzzled.

Why did Lin Yuan's inner demon take this form? It was completely unlike the darkness and hideousness he'd imagined. Instead, it looked more like him during his time as the Demon Venerable???

"Are you here to eliminate me too?" The inner demon's voice was exactly like Gu Yi's, but with an added seductive charm that involuntarily drew one in.

He smiled faintly, a crafty gleam flickering in his eyes.

"That's right. You can't stay inside him." Gu Yi's gaze sharpened as he prepared to attack at any moment. Whatever the inner demon looked like, all that mattered was eliminating it.

"You can't eliminate me, Gu Yi. The little immortal lord will protect me." The inner demon smiled calmly.

"Do you know how I came into being?" the inner demon suddenly asked. He straightened his clothes unhurriedly, as though showing off his beauty.

"When he advanced to Golden Core, you were the one on his mind... Yet you abandoned him and ran away." The inner demon's words pierced Gu Yi's heart like blades, and his expression instantly stiffened.

So that was when the inner demon had formed. That meant it had already existed for three years...

He had clearly gone back to look for Lin Yuan then, yet he hadn't detected the inner demon's presence...

"Later, he had many chances to eliminate me, but he never did. Do you know why?" The inner demon covered his lips and smiled. "Because he couldn't bear to part with me~ Only I can let him see the Gu Yi he longs for day and night~"

"Shut up. You're only saying all this because you don't want me to eliminate you." Gu Yi stopped listening to the inner demon and reached out to seize him.