A pool of fresh blood congealed into the shape of a blood - clay figure. Its limbs propped on the ground as it crawled out of the tree hole.
The bloody facial features were all stuck together. Its mouth seemed to be glued shut. When it opened its mouth and roared forcefully, long strands of flesh were pulled out, looking both bloody and terrifying.
Dozens of such blood - clay figures crawled out of the gurgling coffin.
Finally, Xun Mengsheng emerged. His face was also a mess of flesh and blood. The flesh - colored muscle texture was blurred, and there were no distinct facial features. Blood dripped from his faceless head, forming a pool of blood on the ground.
Every step he took left a blood - filled pit on the ground, from which white smoke hissed.
As he slowly walked out of the tree hole, his body began to change. He actually grew skin. At this moment, Xun Mengsheng's upper body looked very burly.
When the skin spread to his lower body, Gu Yuan frowned, raised his sleeve to cover my face and didn't let me look anymore.
I wasn't a child. Of course, I knew why he didn't let me look. I immediately turned my head and obediently turned my back to Xun Mengsheng.
After a while, Gu Yuan finally let me turn back.
I turned my head slightly and saw Xun Mengsheng in front of me. He had already dressed himself. He was wearing a light - blue long gown, in the Central Plains style. His black hair cascaded down half - covered, and he had a bun at the back of his head. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and his bronze - colored skin made him look very manly.
This was not at all the appearance of a ghost. If he was a ghost, he would be a romantic one who could charm thousands of girls.
Was Hu Qingluan blind? With such good looks, she still didn't take a fancy to him. In the end, she forced him to die for love.
"He's not scary at all. He's even quite good - looking," I murmured softly.
Gu Yuan lowered his eyes and said unhappily, "The one without skin is his real form."
I thought of the skinless form I had just seen. Even though he could transform into a good - looking appearance, the previous image had left a shadow in my heart. No matter what pose he struck, he still looked terrifying to me.
Just thinking about it made me shiver, and goosebumps rose all over my body. Seeing my state, Gu Yuan turned his face away in satisfaction.
He said coldly to Xun Mengsheng, "Xun Mengsheng, you should know why I'm here."
Don't be deceived by Gu Yuan's young age. His aura was even more powerful than the cold and gloomy wind outside.
Even Xun Mengsheng, a powerful Corpse - Raising Ghost, was not as intimidating as Gu Yuan.
Xun Mengsheng was stunned when he saw Gu Yuan. Then, seeing Gu Yuan was young, his fear of him lessened a lot.
"Are you the helper the Hu family found? Has the Hu family run out of people? Sending a young boy with milk on his lips to challenge me."
"I'm not here to be your enemy this time. I just want you to lift the Lover's Gu on Hu Qingluan and cut the red thread between you two."
"She once promised to be with me through life and death and agreed to marry no one but me. But when I proposed to her, she left without saying goodbye. I tried to persuade her to come back, but she refused to go with me no matter what. In the end, she said that if I kept pestering her, she would kill me with her own hands."
"Only the person who cast the Lover's Gu can lift it. The red thread links the lives of the two people, and the Gu poison keeps the person. With these two double - insurance measures, they only saw the Gu worm but didn't notice the red thread. Forcibly removing the Gu will only trigger the hidden Lover's Gu in the red thread, causing the Gu poison to flare up faster. This is the consequence of the Hu family's attempt to remove the Gu by force."
"Since she wants me to die, I'll grant her wish. If I die, she won't be able to live either. Everything is going in a good direction now. It won't be long before she comes back to me."
"Everything is developing in a good way now. Why should I lift the Lover's Gu and cut the red thread?"
"Now I'm very powerful. I can protect her. So I don't want to give up."
Xun Mengsheng spoke casually, but he was extremely selfish, willing to do anything to get what he wanted.
"The two of them have no feelings for each other anymore. Why be so stubborn? Even if you force her to stay by your side, with two different hearts, what's the meaning of being together?" I stood beside Gu Yuan and said to Xun Mengsheng.
Xun Mengsheng sized me up and down with his dark eyes, and finally his gaze stopped on my left hand.
He was the one who tied the red thread, so he must be able to see it.
"So the red thread is tied to you. No wonder it was broken. It was tied to the two of you. It seems that the two of you are deeply in love," Xun Mengsheng said with a half - smile, and it was hard to tell if he was being sincere.
"You have to cut this red thread for us too," I said coldly to Xun Mengsheng.
Gu Yuan turned to look at me in confusion after hearing what I said.
I didn't dare to look into Gu Yuan's eyes. I felt very sad. I didn't know what came over me at that time, but I just agreed right away.
Later, I remembered that this body wasn't mine. It was Chi Yu's, and Chi Yu would die soon. If Chi Yu died and the red thread was still there, wouldn't it drag Gu Yuan to death with her?
So this red thread couldn't stay. We must make Xun Mengsheng cut it.
"Hahaha, another heartless woman. Young man, you see, there's not a single good woman in the world. If you're not reluctant now, I'll help you cut this red thread. How about it?"
Gu Yuan's eyebrows furrowed, and it seemed that he was really angry.
I pulled his arm to make him relax, but it had no effect.
"Be sensible and cut the red thread between us and release Hu Qingluan, or you'll bear the consequences."
I was the one who first proposed to cut the red thread, but when I heard him say it again, I felt a little sad. I bit my lower lip and lowered my head dejectedly.
"I've said that I'll never let go," Xun Mengsheng said as soon as his voice fell.
Gu Yuan waved his arm and drew a barrier in front of me. With a gentle sweep of his other sleeve, the water puddles on the ground splashed up a large amount of water droplets.
The water droplets hovered in the air and quickly condensed into ice cones. As Gu Yuan flicked his hand and transformed them into a silver long sword, those ice cones flew towards Xun Mengsheng and the blood - clay figures like raindrops.
Xun Mengsheng was greatly shocked. He didn't expect that a young boy like Gu Yuan could turn water into ice and use it as a weapon. This wasn't something that just any horse - riding immortal could do.
Although the blood - clay figures had some skills, they couldn't dodge the ice - cone attacks at all.
The ice cones passed through their bodies and instantly turned into a pool of blood that flowed on the ground.
Xun Mengsheng had quite a high level of cultivation and could transform a sharp shield on his own to block the ice - cone attacks.
The ice cones hit the shield, making crisp sounds like the clashing of weapons.
Xun Mengsheng raised his other hand and swung the long - cone chain in his hand forcefully.
It rushed straight towards Gu Yuan. Gu Yuan's long sword was like a blue dragon, carrying a silver sword aura towards him.
The chain cone wrapped around the blade of Gu Yuan's long sword and forcefully pulled Gu Yuan towards him.
Gu Yuan slid towards Xun Mengsheng as if he was stepping on a skateboard. There was a greedy smile on Xun Mengsheng's face. At this moment, he clearly had the upper hand.
I stood in the barrier, sweating for Gu Yuan. I wanted to go out and help him.
"Don't come out," Gu Yuan shouted at me.