Spiritual Energy Revival (19): 

“Master, thank you for your kind words.” Gu Juntian happily sent Master Rongfu off.

What Master Rongfu had said was wonderful—fated by heaven. He and Zhou Qinghao were indeed fated by heaven.

He felt that the reason he came to this world was Zhou Qinghao.

Now that he had regained his youth, he could stay by Zhou Qinghao’s side more often, letting the people around them gradually and subconsciously accept their relationship.

Right, from now on, Zhou Qinghao mustn’t call him foster father anymore, lest others misunderstand their relationship.

That same night, Gu Juntian brought this up to Zhou Qinghao.

Naturally, Zhou Qinghao agreed.

He didn’t want to call Gu Juntian “foster father” either. Back then, he had been too young to understand his feelings, and only under the instigation of others did he recognize a foster father… but he had already regretted it seven years ago!

Although Gu Juntian and Zhou Qinghao had made plans for their future, for the time being, they had no time to deal with this matter.

When Daoist Guanyun’s interrogation of the Ghost King and Demon King didn’t go smoothly, Gu Juntian stepped in to help.

He forcibly enslaved the Demon King and Ghost King, binding them so they could only speak the truth, and from their mouths he learned much.

The titles Ghost King and Demon King were self-proclaimed. They had gathered many subordinates, intent on ruling the entire country and enslaving its billion-plus inhabitants.

From them, Gu Juntian also learned that many monsters had infiltrated the country, and that foreign dark forces had already made contact with the Ghost King and Demon King.

Now, the Ghost King and Demon King bitterly regretted everything!

They shouldn’t have come to watch the commotion. If they hadn’t, once they learned of Zhou Qinghao and Gu Juntian’s advancement to Nascent Soul, they could have fled the country.

Even if they didn’t flee, they could have allied with foreign dark powers to stir up chaos domestically.

In the early years, the monsters abroad weren’t very strong and mostly stayed in their own lands, not extending their reach elsewhere. But now things were different.

Their own countries had already been devastated, and by eating humans, many demons or ancient creatures had strengthened themselves to the Golden Core or even Nascent Soul stage.

These beings had long cast covetous eyes on Gu Juntian’s country, only hindered by distance and inconvenience.

After learning this, Gu Juntian realized that for the near future, romance would have to wait.

He had too much to do.

As director of the Bureau of Demon Control, he had to ensure peace and stability for the citizens.

He planned to wipe out the hidden demons within the nation and set up detection formations along the borders, preventing foreign demons from slipping in to cause trouble.

That octopus demon Zhou Qinghao had killed not long ago had, in fact, “smuggled” itself in from abroad.

Because their country hadn’t fallen into chaos, domestic monsters couldn’t openly slaughter and eat humans, so their strength remained limited.

But abroad it was different. In some places, demons freely devoured humans to strengthen themselves, and many had now reached Nascent Soul.

Even with his and Zhou Qinghao’s great power, they couldn’t watch over the entire nation. If a strong demon sneaked in to eat humans, they might not notice in time, and the result could be catastrophic.

Once Gu Juntian gathered enough information, he and Zhou Qinghao split up, each handling different regions to eliminate monsters and set border formations.

His formations could block demons below Golden Core from entering. Those at Golden Core or Nascent Soul could still slip through, but the formation would trigger an alert, allowing him to respond in advance.

Naturally, they weren’t working alone—others from the Bureau, as well as people from the Daoist sects, joined to help.

In the early days of spiritual revival, some domestic Awakened had longed for the life abroad, where “superpowered beings” could freely lord over and enslave mortals.

Many secretly left the country.

Most ended up dead or returned defeated.

At home, life was stable, with no lack of food, entertainment, and safety. Abroad, things were very different.

While some powerful Awakened did seize territories and act as overlords or even slave masters, the vast majority were nothing more than meals to the demons.

For example, in one country, a powerful rat demon loved eating Awakened. Leading its army of rats, it hunted them everywhere, consuming its prey down to the skin and bones… such a place was unlivable for ordinary people.

Although one couldn’t act with complete freedom at home, at least it was safe.

And now, with two Nascent Soul cultivators, it was safer still.

By Gu Juntian’s side, many people gathered. Daoist Guanyun busied himself constantly, openly treating himself as Gu Juntian’s disciple.

Seeing this, Gu Juntian simply accepted him as a disciple and guided his cultivation.

In teaching, many new ideas arose in his mind—it was rather good.

When he eventually mastered the “Shrinking the Earth into Inches” technique, allowing him to travel a thousand miles in a day, he could spare time to dual cultivate with Zhou Qinghao.

As their strength grew, though separated by great distances, they could still be together every night, fully enjoying married life. It was truly wonderful.

Gu Juntian had a large entourage around him, and Zhou Qinghao likewise had many people following him.

Thus, they both remained busy for half a year.

Half a year later, at the Bureau of Demon Control:

“The Director and Captain Zhou are coming back!”

“I’ve been in the Bureau six months, and I’ll finally see them in person.”

“They’re my idols!”

…

People cheered, but someone brought up a matter: “I heard Captain Zhou is the Director’s foster son? Always obeys him completely?”

At those words, the others fell silent.

After a while, someone whispered, “Don’t say that. I heard the two of them broke off.”

“Yes, before Captain Zhou always called him foster father, but now he just says Director Gu, even calling him by name at times. He’s also clarified many times that they were never truly father and son.”

“Director Gu also said so—that he never actually raised Zhou Qinghao, it was just a joke back then.”

“Some of Captain Zhou’s trusted men have all been transferred to Director Gu, and Director Gu even planted his own confidants at Captain Zhou’s side, clearly guarding against him.”

“These past six months, they haven’t seen each other, nor even contacted each other.”

“In truth, Director Gu never treated Captain Zhou well. Back when they were both in the Bureau, the Director always sent him on missions.”

“Captain Zhou respected him then, but now… Captain Zhou has changed too…”

…

As the chatter went on, people sighed.

The country’s two Nascent Soul experts seemed to be on bad terms.

Gu Juntian had no idea about these rumors. No one dared to gossip in front of him.

And he had, in fact, done things like pulling away Zhou Qinghao’s subordinates to his own side.

He had no choice! By chance, he discovered that several people around Zhou Qinghao—including Su Xuancheng—liked him.

Zhou Qinghao was his, and he wouldn’t let those people stay close, so he simply took them away.

Now that the country had been swept clean and the border formations were all in place, there was little left to occupy him.

Upon returning to the Bureau, Gu Juntian sent out invitations nationwide, inviting countless law-abiding experts to attend his and Zhou Qinghao’s Daoist couple ceremony.

Those who thought he and Zhou Qinghao were estranged: “???”

Daoist couple ceremony?

Weren’t you two not on good terms?

Even if you are close, weren’t you foster father and son before?

You city folks really know how to play!