97: Chapter 97 Emotional Value Exchange and Divine Might Like Hell

Just as Su Changge was feeling moved in his heart, the System's notification sounds exploded in his mind, washing over him like a waterfall from the Nine Heavens.

【 Ding! Intense emotion fluctuations detected! 】

【 Remorse points from Qin Wudao + 99999! 】

【 Adoration points from Xia Yunxi + 99999! 】

【 Fear points from Ling Tian + 99999! 】

【 Shock points from Cultivator Zhang San + 88888! 】

【 Adoration points from Cultivator Li Si + 99999! 】

...

A series of notifications almost drowned out his consciousness.

Su Changge maintained that inscrutable posture, his eyelids lowered as if nothing in the world occupied his heart, but his consciousness had long since plunged into the System panel.

The numbers representing emotion points were jumping frantically at an inconceivable speed!

Ten million...

Thirty million...

Seventy million...

In the blink of an eye, it had broken through the one hundred million mark!

Moreover, the growth momentum of this number showed no signs of weakening at all.

Rich.

This wave was a huge profit!

Indeed, wealth is sought amidst danger!

The suffocating feeling of being "exposed" in public by Ling Tian had not yet fully dissipated, but it was now completely washed away by this overwhelming wealth.

Crisis is Opportunity!

The System's so-called "Special Effect 2.0 version" was simply a stroke of genius, directly turning a desperate situation into a legendary performance.

This feeling was more thrilling than the most exciting roller coaster in the Mortal kingdoms.

Su Changge suppressed the surging waves in his heart; he knew very well that the stage had been set, and he, the protagonist, had to finish the play.

Now that the persona was established, he had to act out the whole set.

With a slight movement of his thoughts, he called up the System shop.

The over one hundred million emotion points gave him unprecedented confidence.

The top priority was to fix his biggest weakness—Cultivation detection.

The previous 【 Myriad Laws Immunity (Pseudo) 】 special effect was clearly not stable enough and could drop the chain at any critical moment.

He had to solve this problem once and for all.

His gaze swept rapidly through the dazzling list in the shop.

Soon, a passive skill flowing with seven-colored Dao Rhyme seized all his attention.

【 Permanent Passive Skill: Dao Mist 】

【 Effect: Using the supreme Dao Rhyme to transform into mist, it completely masks the Host's heavenly secrets and bones. Any exploration by techniques, Divine Abilities, or Magic Treasures will fall into the mist and never see the true appearance. The higher the Cultivator's cultivation level and the deeper their obsession, the more outrageous the results they imagine will be. This effect ignores all Laws and is permanently solidified. 】

【 Exchange price: 30 million emotion points. 】

This is it!

This is simply a divine skill tailor-made for him!

Su Changge could even imagine the comical scene in the future where some peerless expert used a detection technique on him, only to end up seeing a pig dancing.

" Exchange. "

His thoughts settled, without a moment's hesitation.

【 Ding! Exchange successful! Permanent passive skill "Dao Mist" equipped! 】

An indescribable, profound aura instantly enveloped Su Changge's entire body, then completely vanished as if it had never appeared.

From this moment on, he became an existence that was truly "impossible to look at directly and impossible to describe".

With the major worry removed, Su Changge turned his gaze to the one-time item cards.

The sense of security brought by the "True Damage Conversion Card" was still fresh in his memory; one could never have too many such life-saving trump cards.

His gaze finally locked onto a card as black as an abyss.

In the center of the card, only a lonely, golden eye looking down indifferently at all living beings was depicted.

【 One-time Deterrence Card: Eye of the Heavenly Emperor 】

【 Effect: After activation, the Host can borrow the supreme will of the "Ancient Heavenly Emperor" for an instant to gaze. Wherever the gaze lands, it can cause irreversible mental collapse and Dao Heart breakdown (no physical damage) to a single target. Let them feel the ultimate fear of being dominated by the Dominator of Heaven and Earth from the depths of their Soul. 】

【 Exchange price: 10 million emotion points. 】

Good stuff.

This is a top-tier item tailor-made for an "actor" like himself.

Physical damage is meaningless, but "Dao Heart breakdown" is more cruel to a Cultivator than having their Divine Soul destroyed.

" Exchange. "

Forty million emotion points were spent like flowing water, but Su Changge felt incredibly at ease.

This was the most secure investment.

After doing all this, he withdrew his consciousness from the System and refocused on the real world.

He took a step, slowly walked down the steps, and sat back on that unremarkable stone stool.

In everyone's eyes, this action contained the supreme Concept of "seeing through the prosperity and returning to simplicity".

He could clearly sit on the throne of the Nine Heavens and be worshipped by all demons, yet he chose a mundane stone stool.

What a breadth of mind! What transcendence!

For a moment, the reverence in everyone's hearts climbed to a new peak.

Su Changge's gaze swept indifferently across the audience.

Finally, his line of sight landed on Ling Tian, who had been frightened unconscious and then revived, and was currently paralyzed on the ground, trembling like a sieve.

That gaze clearly had no pressure, yet it made Ling Tian's blood freeze.

He shuddered, ignoring his disheveled state, and crawled on his hands and knees to kneel before Su Changge, kowtowing with all his might.

His forehead collided with the bluestone slab, emitting a dull "thud, thud" sound.

" Dao Ancestor, spare me! Saint, spare me! "

" This Junior had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai, I deserve to die! This Junior is not a human! "

" I beg the Dao Ancestor, considering that this Junior's cultivation was not easy to attain, please spare this Junior's dog life! "

While kowtowing, he slapped his own face, left and right, making "slapping" sounds, and soon beat himself into a bloody, unrecognizable pig's head.

The whole place was deathly silent.

Everyone held their breath, their hearts in their throats.

They were all waiting, waiting to see how this unfathomable Dao Ancestor would deal with this audacious offender.

With the power of a Saint, perhaps a single thought would be enough to completely erase Ling Tian and the Central Plains Ling Family behind him from this world.

Su Changge looked at the pig-headed Ling Tian, his heart without a ripple.

Kill him?

The method is too low-level, the scope is too small.

It would also leave him with a reputation for being "vengeful", which did not fit his image as a compassionate Master.

What he wanted was to kill and punish the heart, to use both kindness and authority, and to completely turn the group of people before him into his most loyal believers.

After pondering for a moment, Su Changge's vast and ethereal voice, which seemed to come from the source of the Dao, sounded again.

" Do you know your crime? "

Upon hearing this, Ling Tian kowtowed even louder, and the ground was stained with mottled blood.

" I know my crime! This Junior knows my crime! This Junior's greatest crime is using a mundane heart to presumptuously speculate on the Saint's realm and question your supreme Dao! "

Su Changge nodded slightly, his voice revealing neither joy nor anger.

" Although your words were offensive, your original intention was to seek the word 'Truth'. "

" The Dao is long, and it is full of mist and divergent paths. Without a heart that questions, how can one talk about seeing through illusions and attaining the true self? "

Once these words were spoken, the whole place fell silent.

Dao Ancestor... Is he not planning to pursue this?

Not only did he not bring down thunderous divine punishment, but he actually affirmed Ling Tian's original intention of "seeking truth"?

What a vast and boundless breadth of mind!

Ling Tian was also stunned; he lifted his face, which was already unrecognizable as human, his eyes filled with confusion and disbelief.

Only to hear Su Changge's voice continue:

" However, while the death penalty can be avoided, living punishment is unavoidable. "

" Your Heart Demons are rampant, and arrogance has blinded your Dao Heart; you need to be well-tempered. This seat shall punish you... to sweep the floor outside the gate of this Taixuan Sect for ten years. "

" Within ten years, whenever you sweep away the dust and prejudice in your heart, that is when your sentence is served. "

" Are you convinced? "

Sweep the floor for ten years?

Hearing this "punishment", everyone was completely petrified.

This... is this considered a punishment?

For a Cultivator who often goes into seclusion for a hundred years, ten years of time is but a fleeting moment.

Moreover, this is at the feet of the Dao Ancestor, sweeping the floor in this Daoist field that has just transformed into a Saint's realm on earth!

Every blade of grass, every tree, every breath here contains supreme Dao Rhyme. Sweeping here for ten years is better than a hundred years of bitter cultivation in any blessed land!

Where is this a punishment!

This is clearly a great Opportunity! It is the Saint's enlightenment!

Ling Tian himself was also completely dumbfounded.

He had imagined ten thousand ways to die, but he had never imagined that this would be the result awaiting him.

At the end of the abyss of despair, it was actually a supreme immortal Opportunity leading straight to the firmament!

Huge ecstasy overwhelmed his reason. After he realized it, he trembled all over with excitement and kowtowed heavily to Su Changge, his voice hoarse and distorted from excitement.

" Convinced! This Junior is completely convinced! "

" Never mind ten years, even if it is one hundred years, one thousand years, this Junior is willing! "

" Thank you, Dao Ancestor, for the grace of not killing! Thank you, Dao Ancestor, for the grace of rebirth! "

This maneuver left everyone dumbfounded, and then, a monstrous wave of admiration surged in their hearts.

High!

It is truly too high!

Not suppressing the Physical Body with worldly Divine Abilities, but transforming the Soul with a supreme breadth of mind.

Not only did he punish the offender, but he also demonstrated the Saint's magnanimity, and conveniently sold a huge favor to the behemoth that was the Central Plains Ling Family.

This maneuver of using both kindness and authority was simply like an antelope hanging its horns—leaving no trace to be found, yet it was exquisite to the peak!

Qin Wudao watched from the side with tears in his eyes; the adoration for Su Changge in his heart had reached an insurmountable level.

This is the true Saint's method; this is the true supreme scope!

Even if he studied for another ten thousand years, he feared he could not learn even one ten-thousandth of this!

Su Changge felt the almost fanatical adoration in everyone's eyes, and the taut string in his heart finally relaxed a little.

Fortunately, I managed to bluff my way through again.

He was just pondering what excuse to find to end today's "preaching" so he could go back and check the final earnings.

Xia Yunxi, who was kneeling in front, raised her head again at this moment.

In her clear and beautiful Phoenix eyes, a light more intense than ever before flickered—a complex look mixed with adoration, faith, and desire.

She gazed at Su Changge and spoke softly in the most respectful tone:

" Dao Ancestor, you have finished testing our Dao Hearts. "

" I wonder... if you could continue to open the altar and preach the Law for us dull people, to save all living beings? "