In the corner.
Su Wanyin's originally pale face revealed a trace of unprecedented disgust and contempt.
"Pah!"
She propped herself up, leaning against the rock wall, and viciously spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva that landed squarely at Ye Guhong's feet.
"Ye Guhong, you dare call yourself a member of the righteous path?"
After cursing, she turned her head and looked calmly at Gu Yang.
There was no begging for mercy, no attempt at seduction, not even the slightest hint of fear.
She adjusted her disheveled collar. Even though her robes were torn, exposing a large expanse of skin, her straight back exuded an awe-inspiring, inviolable pride.
At this moment, this demoness of the Joyous Union Sect looked more like a true cultivator than that genius of the righteous path.
"Fellow Daoist."
Su Wanyin's voice was weak, but every word was clear, neither humble nor arrogant.
"The victor becomes king, and the loser a bandit. Falling into your hands today simply means my skills were inferior.
"Since Fellow Daoist used poison instead of dealing a killing blow right away, you must be seeking wealth rather than making enemies."
She looked straight into Gu Yang's cloudy eyes and calmly analyzed:
"Ye Guhong is a genius of the Heavenly Sword Sect. He has a soul mark on him. If you kill him, the Heavenly Sword Sect will definitely hunt you down to the ends of the earth. But I am different. The internal competition of the Joyous Union Sect is cruel, and the position of the Holy Maiden belongs to the capable. If I die, I simply die.
"Let me go, and the Great Sun Heaven Burning Sutra in my storage bag is yours, plus I will owe you a favor.
"If Fellow Daoist insists on driving me to extermination... I won't let you off even if I become a ghost."
Reasonable, beneficial, and principled.
How ironic.
The righteous sect had no bottom line.
Yet the demoness of the demonic cult possessed an iron will.
"Indeed."
He first glanced at Ye Guhong, who was paralyzed on the ground like a dead dog, and then turned to look at the resolute Su Wanyin.
"According to the rules of the cultivation world, and according to the most rational choice..."
Gu Yang spoke slowly, his voice hoarse and devoid of any emotion.
"I really should kill you."
He pointed at Su Wanyin.
"By killing you, I can get the Great Sun Heaven Burning Sutra, gain a free favor, and receive a promise from a true disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect. With a bit of luck, I could even taste the Holy Maiden of the Joyous Union Sect, just as the great genius Ye suggested.
"This is the choice that maximizes benefits, isn't it?"
Hearing this, a light of hope burst forth in Ye Guhong's eyes, and he nodded desperately: "Yes! Yes! Fellow Daoist is wise! As long as you do it, I, Ye Guhong, swear to the heavens..."
Su Wanyin smiled tragically and closed her eyes.
The cultivation world had always been like this.
Profits came first, and human lives were like grass.
She didn't blame anyone, only her own inferior skills and bad luck.
"Do it."
Her voice was cold and clear, like a snapping jade hairpin.
Seeing this, Ye Guhong hurriedly urged, "Fellow Daoist, strike quickly! This demoness is full of tricks; a delay may bring changes! Kill her, and all her treasures are yours!"
"Noisy."
Gu Yang frowned slightly and backhanded Ye Guhong across the face.
Slap!
The crisp sound of the slap echoed in the empty karst cave.
Ye Guhong was beaten dizzy, half of his face swelling up instantly, his eyes full of disbelief.
"Did I say I was going to kill her?"
Gu Yang squatted down, his line of sight level with Su Wanyin.
He looked at this woman who kept her back straight even when trapped in a desperate situation.
In those stubborn eyes, he seemed to see himself back on Cold Moon Peak, despised by everyone, drowned in despair, yet still gritting his teeth and refusing to bow his head.
"In the cultivation world, true villains are common, but hypocrites don't die nearly enough."
Gu Yang's voice was very soft, but every word was like a nail driven into Su Wanyin's heart.
"Compared to the orthodox sects whose mouths are full of benevolence and morality, but who act like thieves and whores.
"Compared to the hypocrites who preach benevolence and morality, wanting to play the whore while erecting a monument to their own chastity.
"I actually feel that a 'demoness' like Fairy Su, who dares to love and hate and acts openly, is more like a real human."
Su Wanyin suddenly opened her eyes.
At that moment, her originally dead heart was like a lake into which a stone had been thrown, rippling with layer upon layer of waves.
She looked at the sallow, ugly rogue cultivator in front of her.
Under that unfamiliar face, there seemed to be a soul that was completely out of tune with this cold world.
Gu Yang remained crouched, his gaze level with hers.
Up close, he could clearly smell the scent on her body, a mixture of blood and a faint fragrance.
It was a kind of dying, decadent beauty.
"Su Wanyin, you are very stupid."
Gu Yang looked into her eyes, his tone flat. "But you have a strong backbone."
"In this man-eating cultivation world, those who are too clean don't live long, and those who are too dirty, I disdain to associate with. Only those struggling in the mud, trying to live like a proper human..."
Gu Yang stretched out a rough finger, gently lifted her bloodstained chin, and looked into those eyes that had rekindled a flame.
"...are worthy of being called kindred spirits on this path."
Su Wanyin's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Kindred spirits on this path.
These words were like a clap of thunder, fiercely splitting the hard ice covering her heart.
She was the Holy Maiden of the demonic sect, an enemy to the whole world.
She had a human cauldron physique, coveted by everyone.
No one had ever told her that they were of the same kind.
"Give me the item."
"Not killing you is my whim. But the item is the money to buy your life."
This time, Su Wanyin didn't hesitate at all.
She struggled to move her fingers, untied the storage bag at her waist, and placed it in Gu Yang's palm.
"The Great Sun Heaven Burning Sutra is in the third compartment. There is a restriction on the jade slip. The incantation is 'The fire of desire burns the heavens, finding life in the face of death'."
Gu Yang sent his divine sense inside.
Ding, successfully intercepted the purple opportunity - the Great Sun Heaven Burning Sutra.
Great Sun Heaven Burning Sutra, Volume One: True Fire Chapter...
...
Confirming it was correct, he had no time to look closely.
Gu Yang put away the storage bag, stood up, and patted the dust off the hem of his robes.
"The transaction is settled."
After saying that, he turned to leave.
Just after taking two steps, as if remembering something, he stopped and fished out a pitch-black pill from his robes.
"Open your mouth."
Gu Yang turned around, looking down at her from above.
Su Wanyin was slightly startled, then obediently tilted her head back, slightly parting her bloodstained red lips.
Her eyes were clear, without a single trace of suspicion as to whether this was poison.
Gu Yang held the pill between his fingertips and slipped it into her warm mouth.
The pads of his fingers inevitably brushed against the soft tip of her tongue and her moist lips.
A strange sensation transmitted over.
Two unnatural flushes of red instantly appeared on Su Wanyin's pale cheeks, but she gritted her teeth tightly, not making a sound, as her throat bobbed and she swallowed the pill.
"This is the antidote."
Gu Yang withdrew his hand and casually wiped off non-existent moisture on his robes.
He glanced at Ye Guhong, who had fainted like a dead dog nearby, and a meaningful curve formed at the corner of his mouth.
"The medicinal effect of this Spirit-Scattering Powder lasts for half an hour.
"But this antidote will let you recover your spiritual energy in a quarter of an hour."
Su Wanyin's pupils shrank abruptly.
She instantly understood Gu Yang's meaning.
In a quarter of an hour, she would recover her strength.
Meanwhile, Ye Guhong would still be lying on the ground like a dead fish for another full quarter of an hour!
A quarter of an hour was enough for a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator like her to kill Ye Guhong a hundred times over!