At those words, the man narrowed his eyes dangerously. “Continue!”
The force abruptly vanished, and Shen Yuexi fell to the ground. Despite having no spiritual power whatsoever, she remained calm and confident. “My blood can purify your demonic qi.”
Seeing that the man did not believe her, Shen Yuexi picked up a sharp stone and cut open her wrist. The moment her crimson-gold blood emerged—
The surrounding demonic qi scattered rapidly, as though it had encountered its natural enemy!
“There’s too much demonic qi in your body. I can’t purify it completely in one go.” Shen Yuexi held her wrist to the man’s lips. On the surface, she appeared wholly intent on helping him, but inwardly, she began silently reciting a spell.
To guard against him going back on his word and killing her to silence her, she had to leave herself a way out.
As long as he drank her crimson-gold blood, the power of her bloodline could form an equal pact. He would be unable to harm her for a short period of time; otherwise, the demonic qi within his body would immediately run rampant.
The man’s sharp brows drew tightly together. Cold and indifferent, his peach-blossom eyes churned with killing intent. In the end, he did as she asked.
His cool, thin lips pressed against her warm wrist. The two of them were extremely close, and even the rhythm of their breathing gradually fell into sync.
The crimson-gold blood slowly entered his body. In an instant, the demonic qi within him reacted like sheep seeing a wolf, and before long, a considerable portion of it had been purified.
As the crimson-gold blood gradually took effect, most of the demonic qi in Di Yao’s body was purified. The demonic qi throughout the entire Soul-Devouring Abyss was purified as well, replaced by dense dragon qi. Just as—
A crimson-gold radiance descended from the heavens and enveloped the two of them. A massive, ancient formation rose beneath their feet, and the might it released shook heaven and earth!
Shen Yuexi’s brows drew tightly together. What?!
It was clearly supposed to be an ordinary equal pact. How had it suddenly become a natal contract?!
Only humans and spirit beasts could form a natal contract.
Could it be…?
With a frown, she looked at him in astonishment, only for him to seize her by the throat!
“Since you seek death, I shall grant your wish!”
His cold, severe voice rang out, filled with fury. Having sensed the additional contract space within his body, Di Yao no longer restrained the Heavenly Dao laws in his hand. The entire space began to twist!
She had dared to form a natal contract with him while he was falling into demonic cultivation.
A scheming human like her truly deserved to die!
“The natal contract is already in effect. You may as well see for yourself whether you can kill me!” Shen Yuexi was held by the throat in his grip, while the Heavenly Dao laws suppressed her hands and feet so thoroughly that she could not move at all. Yet she showed not the slightest trace of fear.
The natal contract formed through the Primordial Phoenix bloodline was far more domineering and overbearing than ordinary ones.
It did not merely entrust their lives to each other and make their survival interdependent—it also fused their souls and linked their senses!
At her words, Di Yao was just about to annihilate her when a tremendous feeling of suffocation suddenly struck his throat!
Why was he suffering just as she was?
Their fates were not merely one. Even their senses were connected.
The Primordial Phoenix bloodline was truly mysterious and unfathomable!
The pressure around her throat eased. Catching sight of his dark, sullen expression, Shen Yuexi said coldly, “The contract wasn’t formed intentionally, but now that it’s complete, if you use the Heavenly Dao laws to annihilate me, then even if your cultivation has reached the Transformation Realm, you’ll still die with me. Why don’t we make a deal?”
“What could a good-for-nothing possibly trade with me?” A cold, gloomy shadow spread across Di Yao’s handsome face.
After he released her, he clearly felt the suffocating sensation disappear, and the demonic qi within his body settle down as well.
Shen Yuexi took a few breaths to steady herself, then straightened her back. “I’ll purify your demonic qi in exchange for the natal contract. Your cultivation has already reached the Perfection Realm, and you’ve fallen too deeply into demonic cultivation. It’s impossible to purify it all at once. Give me enough time, and I can guarantee that I’ll purify all the demonic qi in your body.”
“How can you guarantee that?” Di Yao let out a cold laugh, his indifferent, frigid peach-blossom eyes looking down at her.
“With the natal contract between us, I can’t escape your grasp no matter when or where. I’ll wager my life on it: within three years, I will definitely purify the demonic qi in your body.” Shen Yuexi’s phoenix eyes were calm, and absolute confidence and certainty shone through her words and actions.
Before Di Yao could answer, a powerful surge of spiritual power swept over and interrupted their conversation.
“Lord.”
In an instant, a person in white appeared beside the ice bed and knelt on one knee before Di Yao, their expression solemn.
“Why have you come to the Lower Realm?”
Di Yao swept a glance at Lan Yu, his anger dissipating considerably.
The moment Lan Yu arrived, they caught sight of the stunning young woman. They immediately lowered their head and spoke honestly. “Reporting to Lord, the spies in the Northern Frontier have sent word.”
They then presented the letter with both hands.
After reading it, Di Yao’s expression became cold and indifferent. His words made the air seem to plunge into an icy abyss. “The Northern Frontier should be destroyed.”
He had slept beneath the Demon-Sealing Mark for no more than a thousand years, yet someone was already unable to hold themselves back.
In that case, he could no longer tolerate them!
But…
Di Yao’s gaze returned to the young woman. Her pretty face was pale, and although her clothes were tattered, they could not conceal her delicate, breathtaking beauty. Most striking of all were the resolve and composure in her phoenix eyes, as though even Mount Tai collapsing before her could not stop her in the slightest.
A good-for-nothing had become his vital weakness, threatening his life and death. It was truly absurd.
For a Chaos spiritual root and the Primordial Phoenix bloodline to appear in someone incapable of cultivation was rather interesting.
Besides, what she had said was not without reason.
As long as the demonic qi remained in his body, any outbreak would become a grave threat.
She truly could not die.
But she was as weak as an ant. Taking her back and imprisoning her would be the safest option.
Shen Yuexi seemed to have guessed what he was thinking immediately and said bluntly, “I have a grudge to avenge. I, Shen Yuexi, am not someone willing to be kept as a caged songbird. Otherwise, I’d rather bash my head against a wall and die.”
Di Yao narrowed his peach-blossom eyes, and a dangerous aura erupted from him. “You dare threaten me?”
Shen Yuexi raised a brow and flashed him a captivating smile. “Shen Yuexi cordially invites Lord to die together with her.”
At her words, Di Yao’s expression darkened.
She was the first person who had ever dared to threaten him.
Shen Yuexi shrugged, calm as though she were discussing an ordinary household matter. “Fine, then. I’ll kill myself first, and you’ll immediately be buried with me. When we die together, I can at least say that I died beneath a peony, and even as a ghost I’ll remain a romantic. To be able to travel to the underworld with a beauty like you and become a carefree pair of illicit lovers, I’ll come out ahead no matter what.”
“Impertinent!”
Even Di Yao, normally cold and detached, saw his expression darken like thick ink when he heard the words “illicit lovers.” A trace of red rose to his earlobes.
He had slept for a thousand years, yet the woman of the Lower Realm had become so shameless!
She could actually say such things as casually as breathing!
Lan Yu was so shocked that they could not help raising their head to look.
In all the tens of thousands of years, this was the first woman to appear at Lord’s side—and she already dared to defy and threaten him so recklessly, even teasing him until the tips of his ears turned red!
Even more inconceivably, she was still standing there alive and well!
Di Yao remained silent for a long while before slightly parting his thin lips. “When will the next purification be?”
Hearing this, Shen Yuexi knew he had tacitly agreed. She answered, “Half a month from now. Otherwise, I won’t be able to suppress it.”
“My name is Di Yao.”
His low, cold voice rang out, and the scene before her immediately left Shen Yuexi stunned.
With a light sweep of his fingertip, three thousand Heavenly Dao laws instantly coiled around him. He directly tore open a black hole and stepped into the void with Lan Yu, moving with the ease of a leisurely stroll, cold and noble.
Immediately afterward, the black hole vanished, as though nothing had happened.
Tearing through space and traversing planes!
Even at the height of her former power, she had never dared imagine tearing through space.
No wonder he had agreed. To him, the three thousand worlds were no different from one another.
Shen Yuexi gazed in the direction he had left, a fervent yet resolute light flashing in her phoenix eyes. Only sufficient strength could provide the greatest confidence!
The next morning, at dawn.
“Phew… ninth-tier Spirit Adept!” Shen Yuexi let out a long breath of foul air, feeling a faint surge of joy in her heart.
After Di Yao left the previous day, she discovered that some dragon qi remained in the Soul-Devouring Abyss. The dragon was an ancient symbol of auspiciousness, and dragon qi was highly beneficial to cultivators. Even mortals could extend their lives by inhaling a single breath of it.
The speed at which a Chaos spiritual root absorbed spiritual power was something no other spiritual root could compare with. After a night of circulating and absorbing spiritual power, she had directly broken through to the ninth tier of the Spirit Adept realm!
The cultivation levels of the Lingtong Continent were divided into Spirit Adept, Spirit Warrior, Spirit Master, Great Spirit Master, Spirit General, Spirit Venerable, Spirit King, Spirit Sovereign, and Spirit Emperor. Each level was divided into tiers one through nine. After reaching the ninth tier, one would break through to the next level.
Jiuyang Sect was an extremely small sect, and its overall strength was not particularly high. Shen Yuexi remembered that Song Qiqi was precisely a ninth-tier Spirit Adept, while Song Chengning was a third-tier Spirit Master.
“Rustle…”
Just as Shen Yuexi was getting to her feet, she heard the sound of fabric brushing against grass and trees. Alert, she hid behind a huge tree.
Several young men’s voices immediately reached her ears—
“That good-for-nothing Shen Yuexi has brought shame upon the sect and even upset the Little Junior Sister. She completely deserves to die. It isn’t worth risking our lives just to find her!”