"No… father… go away… leave me… behind…"
The pleading, weak groan of the little girl, still held up by the neck by the old man, echoed through the air.
She struggled against the hand crushing her throat, but there was no plea for herself in her blue, pain-clouded eyes—only for her father.
Liu Shun'an's eyes grew even redder as he saw his daughter in that state and could do nothing, forced to remain still and watch. He, who once believed himself invincible, now felt more than ever the sensation of being weak and powerless.
"Akh!!" Rihai struggled a little more as she felt her neck being squeezed again.
"When adults are talking, obedient children stay quiet," Luo Tianhao spoke calmly, while his actions were extremely cold and cruel.
Liu Shun'an growled fiercely at the old man who was hurting his daughter again, grinding his teeth.
"ENOUGH!!" he shouted, and strong waves of killing intent surged from his body. "If you kill her, I swear I will hunt every one of you down and kill you in the cruelest way possible! I will torture your souls and deliver them to demonic cultivators to feast on!" he threatened, his eyes consumed by crimson, the veins on his hands and neck bulging with pure fury.
He had never felt so much hatred in his entire life as he did in that moment.
Luo Tianhao stopped squeezing and looked calmly at the man who seemed on the verge of going insane.
"Liu Shun'an, you still don't understand your position here. We will die in about a thousand years anyway, perhaps even less—whether by your hands or not. You are the only one who has something to lose here, not us. Now choose: swear upon your soul to surrender and obey us, and we will let your daughter live. Refuse, and I will crush her throat here and now, and you will have no more burdens keeping you from leaving this world, thereby fulfilling the will of the heavens."
The old man gave the ultimatum with composure. His twenty associates were already at his side, staring at the man who carried the title of strongest in the world—who never knew fear and always remained calm—but who now looked like a crazed, cornered beast.
"Luo Tianhao, what do you know about the will of the heavens?! There is no real purpose driving you or these people beyond your selfishness and fear of death! Just because I was born with a Divine Physique, I am obligated to become a shortcut for your ascension instead of living my own life the way I want?!"
Liu Shun'an was furious, but his fury was powerless in the face of his daughter's state.
Luo Tianhao listened without being impressed.
"A fine speech. Now choose," he said simply, completely ignoring the opponent's argument, plunging the atmosphere into heavy silence.
Then Rihai's pained groans suddenly began to intensify as the pressure on her throat increased.
The Liu patriarch began breathing heavily, sweating from anxiety. He needed to save his daughter no matter the cost.
"STOP!" he shouted, breaking the silence. Gritting his teeth, he nodded. "I will swear!"
Old Luo Tianhao loosened his grip again.
"Cough! Cough!" Rihai began coughing as the pressure on her throat eased.
"I can't say it was an intelligent choice. But this is fine," Luo Tianhao mocked lightly, still without much expression.
"Father… no… don't swear!"
The old man's gray gaze fell upon the little girl in his hand, who stared at him with anger as she weakly struggled.
"I'm sorry, girl, but you can only blame yourself and your father for being too weak, too confident. Even when he suspected the auction might be a trap, he brought no reinforcements. Or if he had simply arrived earlier and inspected the area more thoroughly, perhaps he wouldn't have been ambushed. It's a pity how arrogance can bring downfall," Luo Tianhao said, shaking his head.
Rihai, who had been struggling weakly, froze upon hearing that. Her blue eyes widened, and tears began to fall uncontrollably as realization struck.
All because on that day, her father wanted to leave earlier to go to the auction, but she noticed there was still plenty of time and couldn't put down the book she was reading. Her father didn't insist when he saw her like that and, always patient, waited while watching her with a smile.
'If I hadn't insisted on coming… if I hadn't delayed… If I had gone with him instead of staying in the auction's VIP box reading… any one of these could have changed everything, but I had three chances to change things, and each time I failed. It's all my fault!'
These thoughts swirled in her mind, and the guilt was more agonizing than the hand crushing her throat.
Luo Tianhao merely glanced at the crying girl and didn't bother to understand the reason. Perhaps he simply assumed she was afraid.
The old man's gaze returned to his true target.
"Patriarch Liu, enough hesitation. Now swear upon your soul that you will obey us and offer no resistance," he commanded.
But to the man's displeasure, Liu Shun'an firmly shook his head as he clenched his teeth upon seeing his daughter crying, for he knew her well and could imagine the reason.
'Silly girl, if your father had insisted even once, I know you would have put the book down and come without hesitation. In the end, it's all your father's fault for being so arrogant.'
But it was not the time to comfort his daughter with the enemy demanding his surrender.
"I will only swear once you and your men swear first that you will let my daughter go without harming her. Swear that you will not send any of your men to search for her, nor allow any of your families, associates, or powers to hunt or look for her existence. You will not reveal where she went, nor that she is alive, nor will you watch her. Swear that you will allow me to say goodbye to her and send her away. Swear, and I will swear in return," he declared firmly.
"Patriarch Liu, you are not in a position to make demands of us. But don't worry, we have no interest in harming a useless little girl unnecessarily," Luo Tianhao denied.
"Yes, you will swear, or we will perish together, and I will send you directly to keep me and my daughter company in the underworld. I will not entrust my daughter's well-being to a group of cowardly old men who gang up to take a child hostage."
Liu Shun'an growled and did not back down.
He was not foolish. His daughter had a Divine Physique. If the enemy had not been so focused on him and ignoring Rihai, they might have already discovered it. But when the battle ended and he made the oath, if she remained there, the odds of them finding out were not small.
There was also the risk of them killing the girl simply for convenience.
His words made the previously indifferent faces of those cultivators darken, and a trace of anger flashed through their eyes.
They did not want to swear. Cultivators hated making soul oaths, for aside from having their actions restricted for life, there was always the risk of accidentally violating the oath, which would kill them.
Neither side took a step back, and both stared coldly at each other.
Rihai began to groan in pain again, for the old man was squeezing her neck once more.
Liu Shun'an did not dare look, keeping his eyes fixed on Luo Tianhao's, but as his daughter's suffering grew and her pained cries echoed, pure and vivid hatred burned brighter within the patriarch's red eyes.
Rihai saw the world blur and darken. Her throat burned and throbbed as if it were about to burst, her face turning purple and bloodless. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.
Her blue eyes, now bulging, made her feel as if they were about to pop out of her skull from the pressure. All she wished for in that moment was to die, so the suffering would end and her father would not have to obey those villains, allowing him to escape.
Liu Shun'an's hands trembled as he heard his daughter's whimpers, and dread filled his stomach, but he remained firm. If his daughter died, he would avenge her in the cruelest way possible, and then follow her afterward.
But he had to stay firm now, betting that this might be the only chance for his daughter to live. If he surrendered now, the probability of her dying would be much greater than the gamble he was taking.
And he was right. When cracking sounds began echoing from his daughter's neck and she was moments away from losing her life, the damned old man loosened his grip.
"HUFF!! HUFF!! HUFF!!" Rihai began gasping desperately.
As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, she could go a long time without air by relying on her spiritual energy, but she panted now due to agony, a crushed neck, and the close encounter with death she had just endured.
"Very well, Patriarch Liu, you truly have resolve when you make a decision. I admire that," nodding, Luo Tianhao, without turning around, calmly called someone else. "Fellow Daoist Dong, please, come closer."
As if understanding what he meant, one of the twenty men stepped out from the group. He appeared no older than twenty, with a gloomy, irritated expression. He approached and rudely grabbed Rihai's blond hair, holding her head with his fingers positioned like a claw.
Liu Shun'an's expression darkened, and the small hope of saving his daughter from Luo Tianhao and escaping safely vanished.
With everything in place, the old man in gray began.
"I, Luo Tianhao, swear upon my soul and cultivation, that so long as Liu Shun'an swears upon his soul to obey me and my fellow daoists gathered here, I will release his daughter safely, and will not watch, hunt, send, notify, or actively give any clue to the location of Liu Shun'an's daughter, nor order anyone to hunt her."
"I swear that I will say she died, without revealing her real situation, and I swear that I will allow her to say goodbye to her father before he sends her away, so long as Liu Shun'an makes his oath."
When his words fell, his energy and soul entered a slight frenzy, which lasted only an instant before returning to normal.
The young man beside him gave a mocking look to the dark-faced patriarch Liu, guessing that the man wanted to wait until the oath was made to take advantage of the brief moment of Luo Tianhao's destabilized energy to rescue his daughter and flee. Unfortunately, they had already predicted this, and with him also grabbing the girl, such a rescue was impossible.
With Luo Tianhao's oath complete, the young man removed his hand from Rihai's head, having fulfilled his purpose, and also swore:
"I, Dong Zhenye, swear upon my soul…"
And then came the others.
"I, Gu Yuanzi, swear upon my soul…"
"I, Wen Xingdao, swear upon my soul…"
"I, Tan Jie…"
Slowly, one by one, they repeated the exact oath spoken by Luo Tianhao.
When the last one finished, the old man in gray stared at the patriarch.
"Your turn."
The patriarch Liu took a deep breath and clenched his fists.
"I, Liu Shun'an, swear upon my soul, that as long as you allow me to send my daughter away safely, I will obey any order that Luo Tianhao and the other twenty venerables here give," clenching his fists in humiliation, he swore.
But in his heart, he sighed bitterly, as the fleeting effects of the soul oath stirred within him.
"Good, say your goodbyes quickly. Enough wasting our time."
The despicable old man simply threw Rihai—who was almost unconscious—toward him.
Patriarch Liu leaped forward and carefully caught his daughter in midair, casting a dark glare at Luo Tianhao before returning his attention to the girl in his arms.