The Substitute Female Supporting Character Sees the Bullet Screen

"I'm not angry, you can focus on your seclusion in peace."

Gu Jiang did not appear, only these words drifted over before silence returned. Nie Yinzhi followed the sound but found nothing. This small secret realm was tiny, just a small space encircled by fir trees, not requiring much spiritual energy to sustain. That was why it had survived in the wild until now.

Nie Yinzhi felt that Gu Jiang had left the secret realm, leaving her alone here.

His absence made it impossible for her to calm down and focus on her seclusion. Nie Yinzhi gritted her teeth and, even though she knew he couldn't hear her, asked into the empty space, "I'm going to use Empathy."

This derivative technique under the Symbiosis Curse was meant to monitor the emotions of the person bound by it. Even if she used it, Gu Jiang wouldn't notice, but Nie Yinzhi had grown accustomed to informing him every time before she did.

The moment Empathy took effect, a burning sensation surged from the golden bud's leaf, causing Nie Yinzhi to cry out in pain. It felt as if she had been thrown into a raging fire. Instinctively, she hugged her arms, momentarily convinced that her skin had been scorched and torn.

She almost reflexively stepped into the water.

No, this wasn't her imagination—this was what Gu Jiang was feeling right now.

Nie Yinzhi clutched her chest and knelt by the water's edge, her forehead drenched in sweat, her hair clinging to her temples. Sensing his emotions, she couldn't help but laugh bitterly, "Gu Jiang, if it's this unbearable, can't you think of something else…"

It took her a while to break free from the burning sensation. She severed the Empathy connection and sat blankly in the water as the lingering emotions slowly faded. Nie Yinzhi wiped her face, stood up, and walked back to the small wooden cabin.

She meditated for nearly an hour before finally calming down. She then retrieved the Symbiosis Curse scroll from her storage pouch.

Outside the secret realm, in the desolate forest, spiritual mist seeped into the cracked ground like sweet dew after a long drought. Withered shrubs, stunted trees, and hidden creatures all drank deeply from the mist.

In just a day, new greenery sprouted in the forest. Gu Jiang noticed a red fox that had been drawn to the area, its tail tucked as it cautiously observed him, taking a few steps before pausing to watch. The fox's eyes lacked wariness, instead filled with a naive innocence—it was a young fox.

Gu Jiang beckoned to it.

The fox tilted its head, its amber eyes fixed on him. After hesitating for a while, it tentatively took a few steps closer.

Gu Jiang leaned against a tree, one leg bent, his hand resting on his knee. The tree behind him, revitalized by the spiritual mist, had regained its vitality, its canopy now providing shade.

His fingers brushed against something wet—the fox had licked them.

He turned his head slightly, lazily opening his eyes. The fox cautiously nudged his fingers with its nose, and when he didn't react, it circled around and lay down beside him.

Once the fox grew accustomed to his presence, Gu Jiang reached out and stroked its fur. The fox let out a soft whimper.

"You must be bored staying with me," Gu Jiang murmured. He concealed a strand of his divine sense within the fox's fur and waved his hand, creating a small portal. Through the portal, lush greenery and the sound of flowing water could be seen.

The fox looked around curiously before finally stepping through the portal, which then closed behind it.

Nie Yinzhi, exhausted from depleting her divine sense, was lying on the ground resting. Sensing a disturbance in the secret realm, she suddenly sat up and ran outside. Instead of seeing Gu Jiang, she found a small red fox rolling in the grass.

The fox was soaking wet, clearly having just played in the water. Startled by Nie Yinzhi's sudden appearance, it retreated into the grass, only its round, curious eyes peeking out.

Nie Yinzhi stared at it for a moment before smiling. She took out a plate of beef from her storage pouch and placed it on the steps, then retreated inside to meditate and recover her divine sense.

It only took one plate of meat to win the fox's affection. From then on, the little fox followed her everywhere, even rolling onto its back to let her rub its belly.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

When Nie Yinzhi, exhausted and drained of divine sense, fell asleep holding the fox, the strand of Gu Jiang's divine sense hidden in its fur emerged and gently brushed against her unaware face.

Though the consequence of this was that he had to endure an intensified burning sensation.

Nie Yinzhi wanted to separate her seven emotions. With no test subject available, she could only experiment on herself. Instead of isolating one emotion from a rich tapestry of feelings, it was simpler to lock them all away first and then release and identify them one by one.

The moment Nie Yinzhi locked away her seven emotions, she felt a hollow numbness. Even thinking of Gu Jiang brought her no emotional response. To her, he was no different from the fox by her side or the stones in the grass.

So, why was she going to such lengths for him?

As this doubt arose, a mantra activated, wrapping around the golden bud and sending a burning sensation from the leaf into her heart.

A voice she had left in her spiritual consciousness spoke up, "Don't waver. You're doing this for him. Don't overthink it—just do it."

Along with the burning sensation came Gu Jiang's current emotions.

Nie Yinzhi glanced at the fox, realizing his divine sense was hidden in its fur.

The fox rolled away from her, its eyes meeting hers. It tilted its head back and forth as if it didn't recognize her, then whimpered and retreated outside, hiding in the fir forest.

It had to be said that animals were remarkably sensitive to human emotions.

Gu Jiang's divine sense returned to him, and from a distance, he watched Nie Yinzhi sitting stiffly in front of the scroll.

He wanted to enter and see what Nie Yinzhi was up to, but the secret realm was sealed. In his current state, it would likely collapse within moments if he forced his way in.

Nie Yinzhi began releasing her seven emotions one by one. Negative emotions were easier to identify, and her alternating anger and sorrow startled both Gu Jiang and the fox, making their fur stand on end.

Gu Jiang, restless outside the secret realm, let his primordial spirit leave his body and enter the realm. Nie Yinzhi was sitting with her eyes closed, her fingers forming a seal, her brows slightly furrowed in unease.

He crouched nearby, watching her, not daring to disturb her. The Symbiosis Curse scroll lay on the ground, surrounded by papers filled with spell runes. Gu Jiang scanned them several times but could only vaguely understand the symbols.

When Nie Yinzhi finally opened her eyes, he frowned and asked, "What exactly are you doing?"

Nie Yinzhi had just isolated the emotion of love. The moment she saw him, her mind buzzed, and she clung to him with deep affection, pressing herself against his primordial spirit. Her only thought was to merge with him, to be with him forever.

Gu Jiang felt her soft lips brush against his ear, then trail down his neck and jaw, lingering near his lips.

"Gu Jiang, I missed you so much. I like you so much. If my blood burns you away, wouldn't that mean we'd be together forever, never to part? I think that would be good. Let me burn you away, okay?"

"Nie Yinzhi…" Gu Jiang's primordial spirit couldn't withstand her serpent-like entanglement. Feeling his body beginning to change, he tried to push her away slightly, but she only clung tighter. "Is it okay? Brother, do you want to be with me? Let's never part, okay? Answer me."

"Okay," Gu Jiang agreed softly, humoring her. The moment he responded, Nie Yinzhi opened her spiritual consciousness, pulling his primordial spirit into it, her divine sense wrapping around him.

Gu Jiang shuddered, taking several deep breaths to steady himself amidst the intoxicating allure. He slowly disentangled himself from her physical and spiritual grasp. Nie Yinzhi was clearly not in her right mind, and he couldn't accept her invitation under these circumstances.

Nie Yinzhi tilted her head, her eyes filled with infatuation. "You're rejecting me?"

"Nie Yinzhi, I'll agree to anything you want, but only when you're fully conscious," Gu Jiang said gently but firmly as he pulled away.

"I want to become one with you," Nie Yinzhi insisted, clinging to him relentlessly.

Gu Jiang, unable to shake her off, retreated into the fox's fur, which was peeking in from the doorway. Seeing Nie Yinzhi slump to the ground in confusion, he instinctively moved closer.

The red fox felt an itch on its neck, squatted on the ground, raised its hind leg, and began scratching frantically.

Gu Jiang flicked away the fox's black paw with a snap of his fingers.

Nie Yinzhi closed her eyes, and the figure that had stirred her heart disappeared. The intoxicating sensation within her faded, and she finally regained some clarity. She returned to her room, meditated for a long while, and managed to calm herself down before attempting again.

Gu Jiang, hiding within the fox, watched her for a moment before exiting the secret realm.

The Red Leaf Blade was plunged into the ground of the desolate forest, where he set up a barrier, locking the dense spiritual energy within. Gu Jiang forcibly suppressed the impulses in his body, closed his eyes, and sank his consciousness into himself. The cracks on the Blood Moon Shadow Lake, which he had forcefully smoothed over, had split open again.

This time, it was worse than before. The cracks spread outward like vines, their snow-white lines starkly visible against the predominantly black and red hues of the space. Even the mist rising from the lake couldn’t obscure them.

The first wisp of demonic energy seeped out from the cracks, and a black-red shadow floated out from the Blood Moon Shadow Lake. It repelled the surrounding spiritual energy, oozing out from the fissures. Gu Jiang opened his eyes, reached out, and caught the escaping wisp of demonic energy. However, the Blood Moon Shadow slipped through his fingers without hesitation.

This wisp of demonic energy was no longer under his control.

The righteous cultivators waiting to ambush at the Ten Thousand Demons Cave had yet to detect any movement. Luo Sheng’s Hidden Wing Butterflies flew out from the Ten Thousand Demons Cave in all directions, searching for any trace.

The transparent butterflies concealed themselves within the golden autumn sunlight, following the subtle fluctuations of spiritual energy to this location. Through the Hidden Wing Butterflies, Luo Sheng saw a particularly lush oasis where spiritual energy sank into the ground, revitalizing the surrounding desert.

A few wisps of demonic energy escaped through the barrier of the blade’s light, dissipating into the void. One of them was devoured by an insect hidden within the rocky soil.

Gu Jiang was beginning to lose control of his demonic energy.

Even without their interference, Gu Jiang was weakening.

The person in the oasis raised their eyes, looking directly at him.

Luo Sheng’s heart skipped a beat, and the Hidden Wing Butterflies vanished into thin air.

*The Seven Emotions are defined as follows: What are human emotions? Joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hatred, and desire—these seven are innate and do not require learning.—"The Book of Rites: The Conveyance of Rites"