Chapter 531: No Way Back?
Chapter 531: No Way Back?
...
Gu Changsheng was visibly stunned by the words.
He immediately waved his hands in protest: "Ancestor, this isn't appropriate! We're both men!"
As he spoke, he kept backing away until one foot sank into the riverbank.
Chen Huaian: "..."
"Shut up! Stay right there if you want to live!"
The threat worked instantly.
Gu Changsheng froze in place.
Yet confusion swirled in his mind.He wasn't injured or poisoned - how could he die?
Unable to see details on the Sect Summoning Token's character card, Chen Huaian pondered briefly before taking out his phone to open the Electronic Girlfriend game.
The game assistant had a scan function.
Activating it brought up a camera interface similar to QR code scanners.
The scan feature claimed to identify all things.
Any real-world object could be analyzed this way.
Though checking item details directly in the inventory had similar effects.
But he couldn't exactly stuff Gu Changsheng into the character inventory, could he?
That functionality didn't exist.
So he tried scanning Gu Changsheng experimentally.
[Scan Successful]
[Name: Gu Changsheng Cultivation: Half-step Void Refining]
[Characteristics: Emotionally volatile]
[Status: Healthy, Contaminated with Reincarnation Energy]
...
"Just as I thought." Chen Huaian's expression darkened.
Why?
This wasn't his first time summoning disciples to Earth Star.
Previous summons like Su Qinian, Liu Yuanqing, and Yue Qianchi showed no such condition.
Only Gu Changsheng carried this gray contamination - what made him special?
Unless...
Was Gu Changsheng also a transmigrator?
"Gu Changsheng!" He suddenly looked up.
"Your disciple is here!"
"Odd changes, even remains?"
"Eh?" Gu Changsheng blinked blankly. "Ancestor, what nonsense are you muttering?"
Chen Huaian studied him carefully.
No reaction, no guilt - clearly not a transmigrator.
Then what was going on?
"Did anything unusual happen during your fight with that monk and female cultivator today?"
"Unusual..." Gu Changsheng stroked his chin thoughtfully before shaking his head. "Nothing, Ancestor. Everything felt completely normal, utterly unchallenging. Just as Pavilion Master Su said - the cultivators here are pathetically weak."
Chen Huaian: "..."
"Think harder! There must be something strange. If you can't remember, prepare for wall-facing meditation when we return!"
Complying reluctantly, Gu Changsheng racked his brain.
Reviewing every combat detail, he suddenly brightened: "Ancestor! There was something! When fighting that monk, he pulled out a serpent-headed staff against me. I snatched and snapped it in half instantly."
"Normally a monk's magical implement shouldn't be so fragile. That staff felt completely powerless, like a child's toy."
Chen Huaian suspected the staff was key.
Likely Monk Faming's countermeasure against Cangyun Realm cultivators.
He recalled Faming's words during the beating:
"You're the variable! Aren't you!"
So Faming had prepared this contingency.
The gray contamination was his doing.
"Ancestor? Why so grim?" Gu Changsheng's heart sank as he wailed: "Don't stay silent! Am I really going to die?"
"Quiet." Chen Huaian scowled.
This was critical.
The gray energy must be the Celestial God Clan's method.
Perhaps contamination enabled their control?
Hence Faming's scheme.
But now he needed to understand - what happens when this reaches Cangyun Realm?
Would it spread to others?
Gu Changsheng would return when the summoning ended - unavoidable.
"Heaven's Calculation! Analyze Gu Changsheng's gray energy!"
He hadn't used this ability in ages.
But hadn't forgotten this trump card.
[Calculating! Today's first use - free!]
[Calculation Complete!]
[Target: Moon Shadow Sect disciple Gu Changsheng! Result: No Record Found!]
Chen Huaian: "?"
What?
No record?
Because he's currently summoned here?
"Ancestor? Ancestor! ANCESTOR—!"
Gu Changsheng dropped to his knees.
Tears and snot flowing: "I haven't seen our sect flourish! Haven't seen you marry and have children! I don't want to die!"
Chen Huaian sighed but dared not cancel the summoning early.
Pacing thoughtfully, he wrestled with the problem.
Gu Changsheng's hope dwindled by the second.
In growing despair, he took out a jade slip to record final words.
"Junior brothers, sisters... When you read this, I'll be gone. Don't grieve. Beneath the tree outside my cave are love letters I wrote for Ancestor Qingyun - please burn them..."
Time ticked relentlessly.
The summoning duration finally expired.
Yet...
Gu Changsheng remained.
He hadn't returned to Cangyun Realm.
Chen Huaian stared dumbfounded at the weeping disciple at his feet.
The gray energy had trapped Gu Changsheng on Earth Star?!
But why could Old Zhang...
Chen Huaian realized.
Old Zhang had crossed over originally - now he too couldn't return to Cangyun Realm without the Black Scales Sword as conduit. Meaning currently, he and the Electronic Girlfriend system were the only bridge between worlds.
Only he could traverse both.
Once contaminated, Cangyun Realm cultivators couldn't return.
Unless they had special status like Old Zhang's sword spirit form.
Understanding dawned.
He gripped Gu Changsheng's shoulder: "You're not dying. I've decided your talent deserves nurturing here. You're staying permanently."
"Tell me what you need brought over - I'll fetch it personally."
Though guilty about stranding Gu Changsheng in this reincarnation crisis,
What's done was done - pragmatism prevailed.
The downside was obvious - facing certain death.
The upside...
Earth Star's future resources would surpass Cangyun Realm's.
With only two Heaven's Wells open, spiritual energy already neared parity.
Ignoring mortality, staying offered Gu Changsheng better prospects - plus valuable assistance for him and Old Zhang!
"Ancestor... What?" Gu Changsheng pocketed the jade slip, eyes wide. "You're keeping me here? As your right-hand man?"
"Exactly!" Chen Huaian raised an eyebrow. "Problem?"
"None at all! Hahahaha!"
After momentary shock, Gu Changsheng erupted in joyous laughter.
"A new world!"
"Here comes Gu motherfucking Changsheng! Hahaha!"
...
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