“What is the price?”
Under the bright sky, Gu Ze nervously wiped away a cold sweat.
Although both Lian Yue and Qing Quan were at the Gold Core Stage, she was much harder to deal with than Qing Quan. At least, for Gu Ze, that was the case.
Qing Quan was deeply obsessed with cultivation—either she’d become immortal or fall into madness.
A treasure that could help her break through her bottleneck and increase her cultivation was her lifelong pursuit.
Because of this, Qing Quan had little desire to interact with others.
But for Lian Yue, it wasn’t that she had no desire for cultivation, but she didn’t hold any particular obsession.
What she truly longed for, instead, was the human heart.
At the very least, she wanted a normal, or perhaps slightly abnormal, male friend.
To this end, she even suggested that Gu Ze, who matched neither her age nor status, become her secret confidant.
If Gu Ze couldn’t give her what she wanted, the consequences would be far more than simply being abandoned.
At the very least, this memory recording Lian Yue’s secret would definitely be cleansed by her. Or, she’d just eliminate the person outright.
Gu Ze didn’t believe a Gold Core Immortal Lord wouldn’t have such ruthless means.
He waited for Lian Yue to speak, footsteps drawing closer.
Lian Yue was barefoot, her jade feet softly stepping on the dustless ground, her delicate toes seeming to glisten with moisture.
“Look at me.” She deliberately pinched her voice, soft and alluring.
Growing up on Rou Man Peak, Lian Yue had picked up the gestures and tricks other cultivators used to charm or toy with men.
She cultivated Primordial Ether, formless and shapeless, able to imitate all things—her forte was mimicry and replication.
Gu Ze lifted his head in response, meeting those deep blue eyes once more.
This time, the shyness from their first meeting had vanished from her gaze. Lian Yue, having buried her own timidity, now radiated the dominant aura of an Immortal Lord.
Three seconds, five seconds, fifteen seconds.
Lian Yue broke eye contact, raised a hand to her chest, and exhaled a breath fragrant as orchids.
“Hoo, to last this long, I’ve really improved.” Just before fainting, she turned away at the last moment, sighing in admiration.
Gu Ze paused in surprise. So, he was just here as her practice doll?
Sensing the slight change in Gu Ze’s expression, Lian Yue said, “We’re not done. Next, try touching me. Wherever I tell you to touch, you touch. If you dare to overstep, I’ll chop your fingers off.”
Her tone was gentle, yet stern.
She lifted her arm, her sleeve slipping down a bit to reveal a wrist as pale as creamy jade.
Drawing a deep breath, Lian Yue bit her lower lip lightly, as if steeling her resolve.
“Go ahead and touch.”
With the Immortal Lord’s command, Gu Ze finally dared to reach out. He gently pinched one of Lian Yue’s fingers, or rather, just a single joint.
At the instant their fingertips met, both of them froze, tense and motionless.
“J-just this much? It’s not enough, you can be a bit bolder.” Lian Yue’s breathing was noticeably uneven, her neck twisted almost ninety degrees, yet she still forced herself to speak.
Gu Ze didn’t hold back, spreading his hand to gently clasp Lian Yue’s four fingers.
Her fingertips were warm, as soft as silk in his grasp.
In an instant, Lian Yue pulled her hand back.
“That’s enough for today.” It ended quickly, but Gu Ze had half expected that.
Lian Yue’s unique constitution wasn’t described in detail in the book; Gu Ze only knew that she would faint just by seeing anything of pure yang, including men.
Touching was something she could hardly manage.
He wondered if this brief contact had caused her any discomfort.
She couldn’t look, and even less could she touch—if someone truly became Lian Yue’s soulmate, there was no way they could find any happiness together.
Gu Ze grumbled inwardly.
Perceiving the change in Gu Ze’s mood, Lian Yue thought he was doubting her authority as an Immortal Lord.
Not wanting Gu Ze to gain the upper hand in their close friendship, she decided to put him in his place.
“Speaking of which, little brother Gu Ze, a few days ago when you returned to Biluo Peak, I secretly followed you the whole way.”
As expected, hearing this, Gu Ze immediately looked over.
“No wonder I kept feeling a chill on my back.”
“That had nothing to do with me. If a little Qi Refining stage like you could sense my tracking, there’d be ghosts in the daylight.”
“I overheard you and your junior sister getting all cuddly in the courtyard. That little junior of yours really knows how to act spoiled—using the cold weather as an excuse to get you to hold her. Didn’t think you liked that sort of thing, little brother Gu Ze~” Clearly, Lian Yue was delighted to gossip about Gu Ze.
Interrogation—must interrogate!
Gu Ze couldn’t hold back—his old face flushed red. He wanted to explain, but feared the more he said, the darker it’d get.
“As your confidant, your big sister who knows your heart, let me remind you: even rabbits don’t eat the grass by their own burrow.”
“You can flirt with anyone, but you must never touch Qing Quan’s disciples. If she gets angry, there won’t be anywhere for you to hide—even I can’t protect you.”
“You may seem like a nobody, but you’re secretly protected by Heavenly Protection. Otherwise, how could you have ties to Li Xunmiao, that child of destiny, and even me?”
“You should look further ahead. There are still quite a few single Gold Core cultivators in the Immortal Pavilion, you know.”
She acted as if she’d seen through everything. As soon as her words fell, Gu Ze quietly asked, “By single Gold Cores, do you mean… yourself?”
Three seconds later, a shooting star shot off from the top of Rou Man Peak, drawing the attention of many cultivators, who turned their eyes upward to divine its meaning.
“From the direction of the Peak Lord’s chambers—could it be a visit from one of her Dao partners?”
“He runs so handsomely—no, so fast! Not even a shadow left behind.”
Inside her chamber, Lian Yue remained with her hand raised, cheeks puffed as she stared at the human-shaped hole in her wall.
Her pretty face was red, even her ears tinged with blush.
That hateful Gu Ze! How dare he tease her—next time they meet, she’d make him her personal chair and punish him severely!
Gu Ze, transformed into a shooting star, vanished over the horizon in an instant.
***
Beneath the clear sky, Bai Yazhi was sweating nervously.
She hid deep in the woods of Rou Man Peak, suppressing her aura as she fled.
Exposed! Everything was ruined! She never imagined that the punishment for dual cultivation on Rou Man Peak would be so severe.
At first, she’d only meant to take a sip, but the sensation of absorbing someone else’s cultivation was simply too pleasurable—once started, it was impossible to stop.
Even when Discipline Hall came for her, she still clung to a shred of hope, thinking she could bribe her way out with a magic treasure.
But when the verdict was handed down and Bai Yazhi knelt on the ground, dazed and desperate, she realized it was too late.
Fortunately, she’d knocked out the two senior sisters who were escorting her with a treasure, and managed to flee into the mountains.
Now that she’d burned her bridges with Rou Man Peak… she had to make one last stand.
She pulled a Spirit Pill from her storage pouch. Under the revelation of Bai Yazhi’s unique innate talent, the pill’s treasure-light soared into the sky.
It was a gift from a Dan Yin Peak Foundation Establishment alchemist she’d dual cultivated with. That person had been secretive and hadn’t explained the pill’s effects, but Bai Yazhi knew it was a rare and precious medicinal pill.
She tilted her head back and swallowed it; the medicine turned to spiritual energy and instantly filled her belly.
Bai Yazhi’s eyes suddenly shone with vigor.
“Once I refine this pill’s power, there must be a way out—a path to escape!”
Hidden.
Tears.
The gentle medicinal force flowed through her limbs, and her body gradually grew hot.
She didn’t know how much time had passed—her body was burning with unbearable heat, her mind growing dizzy.
“This… is this a dual cultivation supplement for Foundation Establishment? That damned Dan Shi! He’s cut off my escape!” She howled skyward, caring nothing for concealment.
Now, with desire raging through her, unable to vent, her every want was magnified infinitely.
Thinking back on everything that had happened—on Biluo Peak, hearing those words, “Your fate is at Songhuo Peak”—it had to have been Gu Ze’s doing.
From the very start, he hadn’t let her go.
From the day she joined, he’d been her nemesis.
“Why? Gu Ze! Li Xunmiao! Why did you destroy my path to immortality!” Tears of blood squeezed from her eyes as lust grew too strong to be contained.
She screamed, hysteria in her voice.
“Found her—so she was hiding here. By the looks of it, she’s taken a forbidden pill—probably won’t last much longer.” Another group of Discipline Hall disciples soon found her.
They surrounded the frenzied Bai Yazhi, trying to subdue her.
Suddenly, a soothing fragrance swept through the air, and a woman with sky-blue cloth over her eyes appeared before them.
One sharp-eyed disciple dropped to one knee, “Greetings, Peak Lord.”
“Greetings, Peak Lord!”
Invisible pressure radiated outward, then focused directly on Bai Yazhi. She immediately collapsed, unable even to open her mouth.
“You all may leave. I’ll handle this personally.”
The Peak Lord’s orders were not to be disobeyed; the crowd quickly withdrew.
Once the forest was quiet again, Lian Yue raised her hand and, with a wave, tore space open and pulled Gu Ze over once more.
Gu Ze patted the dust from his clothes, sighing, “First time flying so fast—faster than my Immortal Boat!”
“Hmph.”
Clearly not in the mood for jokes, Lian Yue pointed to Bai Yazhi before them, “This woman harvested cultivation from her peers, damaging their Dao Foundations. If she isn’t punished severely, Tiangui won’t permit it. Whatever you want to do, do it now. Afterward, I’ll have someone deal with her.”
Bai Yazhi heard Gu Ze’s voice—it was engraved in her very bones, hatred flooding her heart.
“Gu… Ze.” Though her teeth couldn’t part, she forced out two muddled syllables.
Gu Ze glanced at her, seeing that her eyes still burned with the fire of vengeance.
Bai Yazhi wasn’t completely gone yet.
“Lian Yue, could you help gather the disciples she harvested from?”
“I, a dignified Immortal Lord, and you want me to run errands?” Lian Yue frowned, pointing at herself, “But… I already anticipated this. The victims—I had them brought together.”
Getting a dignified Immortal Lord to help was not without price. Lian Yue licked her lips, waiting for Gu Ze’s reply.
Gu Ze scratched his head, “If Immortal Sister helps me to the end, whatever you need from me in the future, I’ll do it all.”
“That’s more like it.” She formed a hand seal, as if sending a message somewhere.
Listening to the conversation, Bai Yazhi gradually understood her predicament and whimpered in despair.
All she could see were Lian Yue’s feet; the pressure weighed on her so heavily she couldn’t lift her head.
Why? Why could Gu Ze receive the favor of Gold Core cultivators? Li Xunmiao’s master was also at the Gold Core Stage.
But when she’d first entered the sect, she too had caught the eye of a Biluo Peak Gold Core elder.
If not for her own jealousy and hatred leading her down this path, if she hadn’t been so greedy, would that Gold Core master now be stroking her head and praising her progress?
Alas, there are no what-ifs.
A commotion sounded overhead. As an Immortal Boat landed, Lian Yue vanished from Bai Yazhi’s sight.
“This… isn’t this Junior Sister Bai?!”
The disciples brought here recognized Bai Yazhi at once.
“Damn you, Bai Yazhi! My cultivation still hasn’t recovered. After you harvested me, I can’t even look at women anymore without feeling sick!”
“I didn’t notice at first, but then my cultivation stagnated. She must have damaged my foundation.”
Everyone around glared at her, spitting curses.
Bai Yazhi, grasping at her last hope, dragged her heavy body forward on the ground, “Save me! Please spare me! I’ll be your Dao companion, no, your maid—serving you! Senior Brother Chen, Senior Brother Wang! Didn’t you two love Yazhi the most?”
“Slut, get lost.” The response was nothing but a cold, disgusted voice from the male cultivators before her.
Gu Ze stood at the back of the crowd, silently witnessing it all.
Bai Yazhi’s eyes lost their shine—there was no hope for her now. This was the perfect opportunity.
“Use reward—plunder Bai Yazhi!” he thought to himself.
[Plunder]!
[Ding~ Congratulations to the host for successfully plundering Bai Yazhi’s talent: Pixiu True Gold Eyes]
Pixiu True Gold Eyes: One of the bloodline talents of the Pixiu, allows heavenly fortunes to be revealed and auspicious signs to be seen.
Those with this talent can sense the precise location of all non-hidden treasures in the area—the rarer the treasure, the stronger the sense.
Negative effect: Under the influence of the Pixiu bloodline, you will instinctively seek rare treasures, value profit above all, and desire to possess everything precious.
[Ding~ Anomaly detected. Negative bloodline influence has been removed for the host.]
No wonder Bai Yazhi was so selfish—she was a Pixiu descendant who only took, never gave.
Good system! Gu Ze almost wanted to clap.
When the negative effect popped up, his heart had nearly sunk—he’d feared ending up like Bai Yazhi.
Thankfully, the system was reliable.
He looked back toward the mountaintop chamber on Rou Man Peak, hidden amidst the evening clouds, and waved his hand.
Without waiting for a reply, he boarded his Immortal Boat and, riding the evening breeze, set out for Biluo Peak.
***
Within her chamber, Lian Yue leaned back in her chair, removing the cloth from her eyes, muttering under her breath.
“To break Bai Yazhi’s Dao heart, he actually asked for my help. For this, he was willing to promise me—whatever I ask next time, he’ll grant it.”
“Hehe, I’m looking forward to it.”
As Gu Ze sat contentedly aboard his Immortal Boat, basking in the cool breeze, his neck suddenly felt a chill—he shivered for no reason at all.