30: Indestructible Body, Gold-Devouring Beast Wife

Inside the bedchamber, the lingering scent of intimacy had not yet fully dissipated.

Su Xuanchen stood by the bed, his gaze sweeping over the disheveled brocade quilt with a hint of lingering desire, his mind still replaying the hearty "battle" that had just taken place.

It had to be said, an Empress was indeed an Empress.

Even in such matters, she possessed an unyielding spirit; that sense of contrast as she vacillated between shame and compliance was simply addictive.

"Have you seen enough?"

A voice as cold as frost interrupted his reminiscence.

Gu Lingshuang was already fully dressed.

Although that intricate phoenix crown and ceremonial robe had long since been torn to shreds, she was currently wearing one of Su Xuanchen's spare white robes. The oversized garment hung loosely on her, instead making her figure appear even more slender and moving.

She sat before the dressing table, holding a jade comb, staring coldly through the bronze mirror at the disheveled man behind her.

Su Xuanchen glanced down at himself.

His chest was bare, marked with several fresh scratches—the handiwork of a certain little wildcat in her moment of desperation.

It was indeed... a bit unseemly.

*Cough.*

Su Xuanchen cleared his throat lightly, but showed not a hint of embarrassment.

With a thought,

*Hum!*

Starlight swirled.

The messy inner garments vanished instantly, replaced by a pristine starlight robe.

His ink-black hair was bound in a crown, and a jade belt adorned his waist.

The rogue who had been like a wolf or tiger on the bed just moments ago instantly transformed back into the peerless Saint who sat high above the Nine Heavens, looking down upon all living beings.

Between his brows, there was both the high-spiritedness of a youth and the settled depth of ages past, along with the confidence of one who controlled everything.

This outward appearance was indeed extremely deceptive.

Gu Lingshuang watched this scene through the bronze mirror. The hand holding the jade comb paused slightly, and an imperceptible look of distraction flashed through her eyes.

Even if she hated this man to the bone,

She had to admit,

This bastard's looks were truly the finest among all the men she had seen in both of her lives.

"What? Are you mesmerized by your husband's heroic bearing?"

Su Xuanchen walked up behind her, leaning his hands on the back of the chair as he looked at the beauty in the mirror, a playful smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

Gu Lingshuang instantly snapped back to her senses.

She suppressed that slight, inexplicable throb in her heart, her face hardening as she turned around coldly.

"Su Xuanchen, I have serious business to discuss with you."

"Speak."

Su Xuanchen reached out and curled a lock of her black hair around his finger, playing with it nonchalantly.

Gu Lingshuang took a deep breath, her gaze becoming sharp.

"Undo the Seal on my cultivation."

"I want to Cultivate."

Though her voice was weak, it carried an unquestionable firmness.

As the former Myriad Tribulations Empress who had once ruled the heavens, being reduced to a powerless Mortal felt worse than death.

Especially when she had to be... "No."

Su Xuanchen refused cleanly and decisively, without even a second of hesitation.

Gu Lingshuang's phoenix eyes narrowed instantly, a cold light flashing within them.

"Why?"

"Since you have already had my body and I am already the Matriarch of the Su Family, are you still afraid I will run away?"

"Run?"

Su Xuanchen chuckled softly, his fingers sliding down her hair before gently pinching her exquisite chin.

"I am certainly not afraid of you running."

"The entire Northern Wilderness, and even the whole Sacred Ruins Continent, is under my control. Where could you possibly run?"

He leaned in close, his warm breath fanning across her face.

"I'm not undoing the Seal for your own good."

"And for the future of our Su Family."

Gu Lingshuang's brows furrowed, her face full of disbelief.

"What do you mean?"

Su Xuanchen released her and straightened up, saying unhurriedly:

"First, your temperament is currently too wild. If your cultivation is restored, you'll surely turn the Su Family upside down."

"Second..."

His gaze landed on Gu Lingshuang's flat lower abdomen, his eyes turning somewhat meaningful.

"The higher a Cultivator's cultivation, the lower the chance of conception."

"If you restore your cultivation, when on earth will I be able to hold a son?"

"So, whenever you conceive and whenever the child is born, that's when I'll undo the Seal for you."

*Boom!*

Gu Lingshuang felt a rush of blood go straight to her head, her whole body trembling with rage.

This bastard!

Not only did he treat her as a plaything, he also wanted to treat her as a breeding tool?!

"Su Xuanchen! In your dreams!"

She gritted her silver teeth, squeezing the words out from between them.

"Even if I die, I will not bear a child for you!"

Su Xuanchen shrugged, looking completely indifferent.

"Then we'll just wait it out."

"I have plenty of time anyway. Time reveals a person's heart; sooner or later, you'll agree."

He placed a special emphasis on the word 'time'.

Gu Lingshuang instantly understood his underlying meaning. Her fair face flushed crimson, filled with shame and indignation.

"Shameless! Vile!"

She grabbed the rouge box from the table and threw it at him.

Su Xuanchen caught it easily and set it aside. The playful expression on his face gradually faded, replaced by seriousness.

"Alright, stop messing around."

"Besides the matter of having children, I have an even more important reason for not letting you restore your cultivation right now."

Gu Lingshuang snorted coldly and turned her head away, clearly not wanting to hear his nonsense.

Su Xuanchen wasn't annoyed, simply tossing out a sentence calmly.

"There is a problem with the Cultivation Technique you practice."

Gu Lingshuang whipped her head back, her eyes full of mockery.

"What a joke!"

"I... what I practice is an Ancient Emperor's Scripture. You're just a mere Saint; what do you know of Emperor's Scriptures?"

Although she was currently like a tiger in the lowlands, she had absolute confidence in her knowledge of cultivation.

Su Xuanchen shook his head at her proud little expression.

"The Emperor's Scripture is decent."

"But in your pursuit of speed, you have forcibly overdrawn your potential. Your Foundation is as flimsy as bean dregs."

"Following your previous cultivation path, at most you would reach the Yutian Realm before your Meridians snapped inch by inch, unable to withstand the scouring of spiritual power."

"When that time comes, forget about attaining the Dao and becoming an Emperor; you'd be lucky just to keep your life."

He hit the nail right on the head.

The mockery in Gu Lingshuang's eyes instantly froze.

She stared fixedly at Su Xuanchen, waves of shock crashing through her heart.

How did he see it?!

This was her greatest secret!

Indeed, the technique she practiced in this life was a fragment she had obtained from a Forbidden Ground in her previous life.

The progress of this technique was extremely fast in the early stages, but the side effects were immense.

The reason she dared to practice it was because she had her own trump card.

"What do you know?"

Gu Lingshuang took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

"This was merely an expedient measure."

"I originally planned to quickly advance to the Yutian Realm, then use the power of the Lightning Tribulation to activate my special Physique."

"Once my Physique was activated, I could discard my cultivation and re-Cultivate, reshaping my Foundation to be even stronger than in my previous life!"

At this point, a flash of pride and resentment crossed her eyes.

"If it weren't for you intercepting me halfway and sealing my cultivation, I would have succeeded in another three years!"

Hearing this, Su Xuanchen's eyebrows rose slightly.

A special Physique?

He activated the System's investigation function.

[Ding! Investigating target: Gu Lingshuang.]

[Physique: Myriad Tribulations Indestructible Body (Unactivated).]

[Physique Rating: Top-tier Saint Body (Golden Legend).]

[Physique Traits: Indestructible through myriad tribulations; reaches Major Achievement only after enduring all hardships. Once activated, guaranteed to become an Emperor, with hope of ascending to immortality!]

[Activation Conditions: 1. Experience a true life-and-death tribulation (99% mortality rate). 2. Devour a massive amount of Heaven And Earth Treasures to reshape the Physical Body.]

Su Xuanchen's pupils suddenly constricted.

The Myriad Tribulations Indestructible Body!

This was one of the legendary top three strongest Physiques!

No wonder this woman could become the Myriad Tribulations Empress in her previous life; she had such a Heaven-Defying trump card.

But... Su Xuanchen looked at the activation conditions displayed by the System, his brow furrowing even deeper.

"Myriad Tribulations Indestructible Body..."

He whispered the name softly.

Gu Lingshuang's delicate body shuddered, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"You... how do you know?!"

This Physique was extremely well-hidden; before activation, it was no different from a Mortal body. Not even a Saint King expert should be able to see through it!

Su Xuanchen didn't explain.

He looked at Gu Lingshuang, his gaze becoming somewhat complex.

"You wanted to use the first method to activate it?"

"To find life within death?"

Gu Lingshuang fell silent.

After a long while, she nodded, her voice low.

"I had no other choice."

"The Gu Family was destroyed. I carry a blood feud, with no resources and no background."

"To seek revenge, to return to the Peak, I could only gamble with my life."

"As long as I could survive the Lightning Tribulation, I could achieve Nirvana and be reborn."

Her tone was very calm.

But Su Xuanchen could hear a heart-wrenching resolve within it.

In her previous life, she must have done exactly that, right?

All alone, facing a narrow escape from death in the Lightning Tribulation, trading her life for power, eventually walking that path of an Empress who was the enemy of the entire world.

How much despair, and how much desolation must that have been.

Su Xuanchen's heart throbbed inexplicably.

He took a step forward.

Under Gu Lingshuang's stunned gaze, he pulled her into his arms.

"You..."

Gu Lingshuang was about to struggle, but she felt a large hand gently press against the back of her head, pushing it against that broad, warm chest.

"Silly girl."

Su Xuanchen's voice carried a tenderness it had never held before.

"From now on, there's no need to gamble with your life."

"With me here, you don't need to go through any life-and-death tribulations."

Gu Lingshuang completely froze.

By her ear was his powerful heartbeat; around her nose lingered that faint scent of starlight from his body.

This was a feeling she had never experienced before.

A sense of security.

Ever since the night the Gu Family was destroyed, those words had completely vanished from her dictionary.

She was used to calculating, used to risking her life, used to dancing on the edge of a blade.

But now... this man who had destroyed her Family and forcibly taken her body was holding her and saying she didn't need to gamble with her life anymore?

"You... let go of me..."

Gu Lingshuang's voice trembled slightly, carrying a hint of weakness she didn't even notice herself.

She wanted to push him away.

But her hands pressed against his chest simply couldn't find the strength.

"I won't."

Su Xuanchen held her a bit tighter.

"You are my woman. I will help you settle your feuds."

"I will pave your path for you."

"I won't let you suffer that kind of pain again."

Gu Lingshuang's eyes suddenly felt a bit sore.

She bit her lip hard, desperately trying not to let the tears fall.

This is hypocrisy!

He must be trying to trick me into trusting him!

Gu Lingshuang frantically warned herself in her mind.

But that heart, which had long been frozen, unhelpfully cracked open a tiny fissure within this warm embrace.

A long time passed.

Gu Lingshuang took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the churning emotions in her heart.

She suddenly used her strength to break free from Su Xuanchen's embrace.

She retreated two steps, turning her back to him, not wanting him to see her slightly reddened eyes.

"That sounds nice."

Her voice returned to its cold hardness, even taking on a hint of sarcastic mockery.

"Do you know how many resources are needed to activate the Myriad Tribulations Indestructible Body?"

"It's an astronomical figure!"

"Even if you sold your Su Family, it might not even cover a tenth of it!"

"If I'm not to die, then money must be burned."

"A massive amount of money!"

She turned around and looked at Su Xuanchen with a cold smile.

"Great Saint Su, are you willing?"

In her view, although Su Xuanchen was a Saint, the Su Family's Foundation was ultimately too shallow.

To activate her Physique, it would require at least the equivalent of the combined treasuries of three top-tier Sects!

Such a price would make even those Holy Lands with ten thousand years of heritage bleed with pain; they would never produce it for a single woman.

However,

To her surprise,

Su Xuanchen not only didn't show any sign of difficulty,

Instead... his eyes lit up.

Like a hungry wolf seeing a piece of tender, juicy fat meat.

Or like a miser seeing a mountain of glittering gold.

That look was filled with greed and excitement.

"Resources?"

Su Xuanchen rubbed his hands together, the tenderness on his face instantly transforming into a kind of feverishness that made Gu Lingshuang's skin crawl.

"As long as it's a problem that can be solved with money, it's not a problem!"

Investing in Gu Lingshuang?

This wasn't burning money!

This was simply a super financial product with a thousandfold return!

Once the Myriad Tribulations Indestructible Body was activated, combined with the System's assistance, his Su Family would have an additional combatant at the level of an Empress in the future!

Furthermore, just how high would the talent of any children they had be?

He'd struck it rich!

Su Xuanchen approached Gu Lingshuang step by step, the light in his eyes frighteningly bright.

"How much do you need?"

"A billion Spirit Stones? A hundred Saint-grade Herbs? Or a Divine Gold Mine?"

"As long as you want it, as long as I have it!"

"I'll give it all to you!"

Gu Lingshuang was frightened by his appearance.

She subconsciously backed away until her back hit the cold wall, with nowhere else to retreat.

"You... don't come over here..."

She felt an inexplicable chill.

What was wrong with this man?

He was just so affectionate a moment ago; how did he become so... perverted the moment resources were mentioned?

That look in his eyes was as if he wanted to swallow her whole, skin and bones.

"Wife."

Su Xuanchen leaned his hands against the wall on either side of her, trapping her in his embrace, a brilliant smile appearing on his face.

"Since we don't have to die and we're not short on money,"

"Then shouldn't we talk about..."

"The matter of conceiving a child first?"

"After all, it would be such a waste not to pass down such a good Physique!"

Gu Lingshuang: "..."

"Su Xuanchen! You beast!!"

"Get out!!!"