202: Chapter 202 Quasi-Emperor Dao Foundation, Holy Maiden Submits!

The next day, early morning.

Sunlight pierced through the ten-thousand-foot gale, passing through the glazed windows and spilling into the side hall of the Lingxiao Heavenly Palace.

Mu Shuangyue opened her eyes; the pain within her body had subsided by seventy percent.

She stood up and pushed open the door.

Outside the door, that Primordial Moon-Howling Mastiff named 'Yousheng' was sprawled by the railing, gnawing on an unknown beast bone.

Hearing the movement, it lifted its eyelids to sweep a glance at Mu Shuangyue before retracting its gaze.

Mu Shuangyue took a deep breath and walked along the corridor toward the main hall.

If she owed a favor and did not repay it, a flaw would be left in her Dao Heart.

She knew even better that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

Gu Changsheng had not hesitated to offend the Western Desert's Golden-Winged Roc Clan to save her; he must have secretly marked a price.

The doors to the main hall were wide open.

Gu Changsheng sat on a broad red sandalwood chair, flipping through a book scroll in his hand.

Mu Shuangyue stopped in the middle of the hall and gave a slight bow.

"I have noted yesterday's kindness, Mu Shuangyue remembers it."

Gu Changsheng didn't even lift his head, his gaze still fixed on the Jade Slip.

"I want to know Saint Gu's true purpose in saving me," Mu Shuangyue's voice was cold and clear, getting straight to the point.

"The Mystic Ice Sacred Palace has been destroyed. Aside from my life, I have nothing worth the Daoxuan Immortal Sect's coveting."

Gu Changsheng put down the Jade Slip.

He did not answer Mu Shuangyue's question but instead stood up and walked slowly to the window.

Outside the window, a sea of clouds churned.

"What do you plan to do next?" Gu Changsheng asked with his back to her, his voice flat.

"Wanted posters from the Golden-Winged Roc Clan are everywhere in the Middle Heaven and Western Desert. You can run for a while on your own, but you can't run forever."

Mu Shuangyue fell silent.

These words struck her most vulnerable nerve.

Her Sect was destroyed, her Revered Master died a tragic death, and she had been fleeing in a pathetic state for months.

If Gu Changsheng hadn't acted, she would have either died or been captured yesterday.

After a long silence.

"I don't know," Mu Shuangyue's voice was somewhat lost.

"But I will never let Revered Master die in vain. I will definitely reclaim the blood debt owed by the Golden-Winged Roc Clan."

"Reclaim it?" Gu Changsheng turned around.

He looked directly into Mu Shuangyue's eyes; there was no emotional ripple in his deep pupils.

"With your current broken Mystic Phoenix Divine Body, or with your insignificant cultivation?"

Mu Shuangyue gritted her teeth and did not retort.

This was the truth.

Gu Changsheng took two steps closer.

"I can give you something."

His tone was flat, without any fluctuation.

"This thing will allow you to cultivate to the Quasi-Emperor level with one hundred percent certainty."

Mu Shuangyue thought she had misheard.

She froze for two seconds, then let out a cold laugh.

"Quasi-Emperor?" Mu Shuangyue's chin tilted slightly, a flash of mockery in her eyes.

"My Revered Master was brilliantly talented and exhausted a lifetime of effort, yet only barely stopped at the Late Stage of the Guixu Realm. In the entire Xuantian True Domain, the number of Quasi-Emperors definitely does not exceed ten!"

She stared at Gu Changsheng, her gaze sharp.

"Saint Gu, you are a Cultivator at the Early Stage of the Celestial Phenomenon Realm, yet you tell me you can guarantee I'll reach the Quasi-Emperor Realm? Do you think I've been chased so much by the Golden-Winged Roc Clan that I've lost my mind and will believe any nonsense?"

Gu Changsheng did not get angry.

The questioning of an ant required no words to refute.

He turned his palm upward and flipped it slightly.

Within the System space, the hongmeng dao axis map shook violently.

Buzz!

A vast purple light erupted from Gu Changsheng's palm, filling the entire main hall.

An ancient scroll floated in mid-air.

The surface of the scroll was blank, but dense golden Great Dao runes moved across it.

Every rune constantly leaped and shifted, emitting a terrifying aura that suppressed the ten directions.

This aura had no destructive power, yet it carried a high-and-mighty majesty.

The cold sneer on Mu Shuangyue's face instantly froze.

Her pupils dilated suddenly.

Boom!

Deep within her spiritual sea, the Ice Phoenix phantom that had been curled up in a corner shivering now let out an extremely high-pitched cry.

The Ice Phoenix legacy blood within Mu Shuangyue's body boiled uncontrollably, frantically crashing against her Meridians, producing an instinctive desire from the depths of her Bloodline for this purple-light scroll.

That desire almost tore her rationality apart.

"What is this thing..." Mu Shuangyue's voice was filled with shock.

She had grown up in the Mystic Ice Sacred Palace since childhood. As the Saintess, she had read the Sacred Palace's secret records and seen accounts of countless ancient treasures.

But no Magic Treasure, no Opportunity, could make her Bloodline produce such a strong, such a frantic resonance.

Gu Changsheng watched Mu Shuangyue's shocked and discomposed state and closed his fingers.

The hongmeng dao axis map instantly turned into a stream of light and vanished into his palm.

The purple light dissipated, and that terrifying Great Dao aura withdrew along with it.

The boiling sensation within Mu Shuangyue's body vanished abruptly, replaced by an intense sense of emptiness.

She stared fixedly at Gu Changsheng's hand, her breathing rapid.

"This is the Ice Phoenix Dao Foundation."

Gu Changsheng held his hands behind his back, his voice ruthless.

"It can level all talent barriers, ensuring you can definitely step into the Quasi-Emperor level."

He looked at Mu Shuangyue and stated his condition.

"The Dao Foundation can be bestowed upon you."

"But the price is that your life will henceforth be under my control."

Gu Changsheng took a step forward, looking down at her from above.

"Everything you have belongs to me. If you receive this gift, your life and death will be decided by a single thought of mine."

"Even if a thought of betraying me flashes through your mind for just an instant."

"You will die."

Every word pierced her heart, heavy as a thousand pounds.

Mu Shuangyue froze on the spot.

Expressions shifted frantically across her face.

Shock, hesitation, struggle, anger.

She was naturally proud, the pure and noble Mystic Ice Saintess of the Western Desert.

Handing over her Divine Soul and giving her life entirely to a man was a hundred times more painful than killing her directly.

The pride in her bones resisted desperately.

But...

Mu Shuangyue closed her eyes.

What flashed through her mind was the day the Sect's great array was broken.

The image of her Revered Master being torn apart by three Demon Kings of the Golden-Winged Roc Clan while covering her escape.

Blood filling the sky, the screams of her fellow disciples still ringing in her ears.

Without giving up everything, what did she have to take revenge with?

Relying on herself to cultivate toward that illusory Guixu Realm?

Even if she really reached it, the Golden-Winged Roc Clan had deep foundations with two Return to One Realm Old Ancestors presiding; going there would just be seeking death.

The flames of revenge completely consumed that pitiful bit of pride.

As long as she could destroy the Golden-Winged Roc Clan, she would never regret it.

Mu Shuangyue snapped her eyes open.

The struggle and anger in her eyes faded completely, finally settling into a state of extreme determination.

She looked at Gu Changsheng, her voice without a hint of trembling.

"If I agree."

Mu Shuangyue stared intently into Gu Changsheng's eyes and asked word by word: "Can you help me destroy the Golden-Winged Roc Clan?"

This was her last shred of hope.

Gu Changsheng turned around and walked slowly back to the broad red sandalwood chair.

He sat down, leaning back slightly against the chair's back.

"Help?"

Gu Changsheng shook his head gently, the corners of his mouth curling into a lazy and extremely dangerous arc.

"I never help people."

His gaze pierced through the doors of the main hall, looking toward the endless void in the distance.

"I only kill those who block my path."

Gu Changsheng retracted his gaze, looking at the thin but stubborn figure standing in the hall.

"As for the Golden-Winged Roc Clan..."

Gu Changsheng's fingers lightly tapped the armrest of the chair as he uttered three words.

"Watch your performance."

These words shattered the last line of defense in Mu Shuangyue's heart.

She knew she had no room to bargain.

The methods and confidence this man displayed were enough for him to act without restraint in the entire Xuantian True Domain.

Mu Shuangyue took a deep breath and lifted her skirt.

Her knees bent.

Thud.

The crisp sound of kneeling echoed in the empty main hall.

The Mystic Ice Saintess, once the most unattainable favored daughter of heaven in the Western Desert.

At this moment, she lowered her proud head.

"Mu Shuangyue is willing to serve Saint Gu as Revered Master." Her forehead pressed against the cold white jade floor tiles, her voice low and carrying a decisive resolve.

"If I violate this oath, may my soul be extinguished, never to be reincarnated."

Gu Changsheng finally showed a satisfied smile.

He pressed his fingers together like a sword, drawing a drop of dark golden Origin Essence Blood from his fingertip. With a flick of his finger, he simultaneously cut Mu Shuangyue's palm.

The moment the essence blood fell into Mu Shuangyue's wound.

In mid-air, the purple light flared up once again.

That blank ancient scroll appeared out of thin air, and the dense Great Dao runes on its surface began to frantically reorganize.

In just two breaths.

A deep blue rune emitting an aura of extreme cold peeled away from the scroll.

The moment this rune appeared, the temperature in the main hall plummeted to the freezing point.

"Go." Gu Changsheng flicked his finger lightly.

The deep blue rune turned into a stream of light and shot directly into Mu Shuangyue's forehead.

Boom!

The instant the rune entered her body, Mu Shuangyue jerked her head up.

Her eyes instantly turned a pure icy blue, her pupils vanishing.

An extremely terrifying polar storm exploded outward with her as the center, blasting toward the surroundings.

Deep within her spiritual sea.

The ice chains that had troubled her for years and locked her Mystic Phoenix Divine Body at the lowest level shattered inch by inch the moment they touched this rune.

Skree...!

A clear, piercing phoenix cry exploded deep within her soul.

The Ice Phoenix phantom, having regained its freedom, directly swallowed this Great Dao rune into its belly. Then, its body began to expand frantically, erupting with a dazzling icy blue divine light.