Chapter 1319: Gu Junye and the Mastermind Behind the Scenes

After finishing a day's work, Gu Junye returned to his cave dwelling.

Dim candlelight flickered, barely illuminating the entire cave dwelling; a water pool had been opened in the center, where lotus flowers were planted, and his calligraphy hung on the walls—ancient and grand—beside which stood bookshelves displaying ancient texts.

The whole cave dwelling exuded ancient elegance, resembling the style of antiquity, yet with some differences, for it was designed by Gu Junye himself.

He took off his shoes, stepped into the lotus pool, and sat cross-legged on a green lotus; the lotus blossomed, emitting a soft glow that made him appear profound and inscrutable.

This was Gu Junye's cultivation routine; although the newspaper office was a holy land of red-dust cultivation, merely contemplating the red dust was insufficient—he also needed to cultivate.

One flower, one world; one leaf, one bodhi. Gu Junye sat cross-legged on the green lotus, closed his eyes, and at this moment he felt he was not sitting on the lotus but dwelling in the supreme height of all heavens and myriad worlds—one flower, one drop of water each a world, the myriad heavens revolving around him; his fate was closely linked to the Cultivation Realm, and as he grew stronger, so too would the Cultivation Realm.

A black silhouette appeared silently in the cave dwelling, frowning as it watched Gu Junye cultivating.

The mastermind behind the scenes had observed for a long time but still could not confirm whether Gu Junye was the person he sought.

He had feigned death with great difficulty, everything settled, the Cultivation Realm opened, everyone lived in harmony, joy abounded; if he acted rashly, he would likely shatter this state, again entangling with the Immortal of Eternity and Yun Zhi, causing trouble.

He was not the type to provoke trouble; if he had known earlier that the Immortal of Eternity's death would cause so much trouble, he would have chosen another way to deal with him no matter what.

Thus, if unnecessary, he would not act again.

But he could not determine Gu Junye's identity—this was a loophole requiring personal probing.

"Kid, do you know who I am?"

The cave dwelling, meant only for Gu Junye, suddenly echoed with a stranger's voice; anyone would panic, merely a matter of degree, yet Gu Junye showed no trace of alarm.

He slowly opened his eyes, seeing a pitch-black figure of unknown identity—the mastermind behind the scenes—his expression unchanged, and said:

"You finally came."

The mastermind behind the scenes was startled—really that person?

Hearing the tone, had he regained all his memories? How could this be? His current cultivation was insufficient; could it be that the effect of the embryonic Reincarnation Dao Fruit differed from his expectations?

Immediately, the mastermind behind the scenes shifted from shock to delight—it seemed Gu Junye's identity was nearly certain; he could just act to resolve it, but to be safe, he still needed confirmation.

"Do you know who I am?"

Gu Junye chuckled lightly, as if mocking the mastermind behind the scenes for asking a foolish question.

"You already have the answer in your heart, don't you?"

The mastermind behind the scenes caught his breath—Gu Junye had hit the mark; seeing his composure, only a reincarnator who had regained past-life memories could display such a state.

He had actually already confirmed Gu Junye's identity.

Gu Junye made the orchid finger with one hand, the corner of his mouth bearing a mysterious smile, like the Buddha holding a flower and smiling: "I thought I had traversed reincarnation, could sever karma, and start anew, but I did not expect the karma between us to be so deep that even traversing reincarnation cannot sever our prior bond."

Gu Junye looked at the mastermind behind the scenes and sighed long: "Ah, you value karma so greatly—how can you advance further?"

The mastermind behind the scenes' heartbeat skipped a few beats—he had not expected Gu Junye to say this; it seemed Gu Junye knew more than he thought.

Was he suggesting actively severing their karma? "You mean you won't expose my identity, and you don't blame me for seizing your body?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Junye clapped and laughed loudly, tears streaming: "Seizing a body? Merely being trapped by my past-life corpse!"

"You imprisoned yourself here, unable to escape, already punished—why should I quarrel with you?"

The mastermind behind the scenes' body trembled—he had not expected seizing a body to be understood this way; upon reflection, Gu Junye's words made perfect sense.

Could it be that after nine lifetimes of reincarnation, he had reached the unknowing state of seeing through everything?

If we swapped positions—if I were in Gu Junye's place and cultivation, and Gu Junye in mine—could I handle affairs as calmly as he does?

The answer is no; his mindset entirely relies on his cultivation.

The mastermind behind the scenes felt ashamed and unable to hold his head up before Gu Junye.

In terms of cultivation, he was far above Gu Junye by unknown levels, but in mindset, he lagged behind, while Gu Junye surpassed him greatly.

The mastermind behind the scenes envied Gu Junye's mindset—this great freedom and ease unbound by cultivation—was not this exactly what he had pursued all his life?

How could one attain such a mindset? Perhaps only after obtaining the embryonic Reincarnation Dao Fruit, undergoing nine lifetimes of reincarnation, perfecting the Dao Fruit, would the mindset naturally mature?

In other words, did he need to die nine times?

Seeing the mastermind behind the scenes lost in thought, Gu Junye knew what he was thinking: "If you have nothing to do, why not go see Xuanyuan Sword Master? He is now shielded by the Veil of Knowledge Obstruction, refusing to stir past memories; you and he had a good past-life relationship—if you appear, you might help him perfect his cultivation."

The mastermind behind the scenes froze—what did this mean?

"Wait a moment—you think I am who?"

"The one you secretly love has placed her heart in me, rejected your affection, and at a critical moment blocked a fatal blow for me, perishing with jade-like beauty; though that was an accident no one wished to see, you have always blamed me, ambushing me during my Tribulation Crossing and seizing my broken body."

No mistakes, no omissions, not a single character missing—look!

"Great Sovereign of the Netherworld, I would rather not mention this—why must you ask?"

Mastermind behind the scenes: "..."

No, who the hell is the Great Sovereign of the Netherworld?!

What nonsense is this?!

The mastermind behind the scenes realized he had been bluffed by Gu Junye and deceived terribly.

He stared fixedly at Gu Junye, emitting an extremely terrifying aura, the entire cave dwelling space trembling.

The mastermind behind the scenes panted, his face ferocious, torn between simply killing Gu Junye.

"Kid, you're not bad!" These five short words squeezed from between his teeth, killing intent unprecedentedly approaching Gu Junye.

Killing Gu Junye would indeed be easy, but it would also expose the fact that he was still alive, rendering all his efforts futile.

His hand bones clenched tightly, creaking, and he finally decided to let Gu Junye off.

He now only wanted to slap himself—damn it, why did he come here to suffer? Wouldn't it be better to follow Lu Yang and watch the fun?

The mastermind behind the scenes refused to stay another moment; he snorted coldly and vanished, as if he had never appeared.

Gu Junye remained seated cross-legged on the lotus, his gaze dazed, especially puzzled.

"Strange—I wasn't I cultivating? How did I break off cultivation and open my eyes?"

"Ah, it must be that my mindset hasn't been cultivated enough—I still need to continue cultivating."

He closed his eyes again, quickly entered deep meditation, immersed in the atmosphere of one flower, one world.

(This chapter ends)