Chapter 38: The Villainous Junior Sister Who Dug Out the Protagonist's Bone
"Master Gu, let's talk this through. We bear no grudges, there's no need to kill me."
"As long as you spare me this once, whatever pill you want refined in the future, just say the word."
Xiao Yi didn't know why Gu Qing had dragged him into the flying vessel's secluded chamber, but since he wasn't immediately killed, there was still a glimmer of life. That alone let him breathe easier. He quickly opened his mouth to beg for mercy.
It wasn't so much begging as bluffing, since he gave no concrete promises—just empty words. Gu Qing didn't need to ask; he knew if he ever asked Xiao Yi to refine pills later, the cost would be outrageous, and most likely a trap.
Seeing Gu Qing remain silent, Xiao Yi hurried to sweeten the bait.
"Master Gu, in truth, my pill success rate is ninety percent. In the future, I'll surely become a seventh-, eighth-, even ninth-rank alchemist."
This wasn't false boasting. To refine fourth-rank pills at the Profound Core Realm was already a rarity across the cultivation world.
"More than refining pills, I'm more interested in refining you."
Gu Qing's lips curled into a mocking smile.
A protagonist was still a protagonist—facing death and still dreaming aloud.
"You… what did you say?"
Xiao Yi's forced smile froze, terror rising in his heart. Refine him? Was it the kind of refining he imagined? Could it be this true disciple of the Starry Sky Temple practiced some demonic art?
"You'll soon find out."
Gu Qing formed seals, mysterious Dao aura surging around him. Light gathered and wrapped Xiao Yi, condensing into a treasure bottle.
"Ah… so comfortable…"
Xiao Yi moaned involuntarily, as if returned to the womb—warm, peaceful, serene. But quickly, horror struck.
He couldn't move. His body no longer felt like his own. He watched helplessly as his flesh began to disintegrate.
"Master! Save me!" he screamed, soul quaking in terror.
"Sigh…"
The old man in the ring let out a heavy sigh. "Youngster, this old man is the Alchemy King Xuanqing. Could you grant me this one favor and let him go?"
"Heh…"
Gu Qing sneered. A favor? Did this remnant soul think himself important? Even if Xuanqing were at his peak, before the Starry Sky Temple he was just a slightly larger ant.
He had no such face to speak a single word and decide life or death.
"Youngster, if you release my disciple, I'll owe you a great favor. How about that?"
Xuanqing's tone grew heavier. A ninth-rank alchemy king with countless pill recipes and secret arts—surely Gu Qing would be tempted.
He didn't expect an immediate agreement, only that Gu Qing would set conditions. Right now, conditions didn't matter—keeping Xiao Yi alive did.
"Master, I can't hold on, save me…"
Xiao Yi was collapsing. Half his flesh had already melted, his body a mangled mess.
"How do you expect me to save you?"
Hearing the pitiful cries, the old man finally erupted in anger. His own survival hung by a thread, entirely in Gu Qing's hands.
Reaching this state was entirely Xiao Yi's own doing. What should have been simple was ruined by his endless blunders.
Now, despite his efforts to salvage the situation, Xiao Yi still demanded more. Was he supposed to burn his very soul and die in front of his own disciple?
"I…"
"Master Gu, please, spare me! If you let me live, I swear, whatever you command, even if it means fire and death, I'll never refuse."
The terror of death overwhelmed Xiao Yi. Pride, defiance—everything was thrown away. He only wanted to live. With life, there would always be hope.
"Tut, no more clever tricks now?" Gu Qing mocked, his hands never stopping.
At this point, both Xiao Yi and the old man knew Gu Qing's killing intent was unshakable. Their hearts sank to the bottom.
The old man hesitated, then chose to burn his soul. Useless though it might be, he refused to sit and await death.
Even if he perished, he would not let Gu Qing refine them both.
A fine plan, but he overestimated himself.
Together, they couldn't withstand the Star-Seizing Hand. How could they break free of the Chaos Treasure Bottle Seal?
The moment he appeared, the old man was bound, turned into fish on a chopping block.
His soul was no longer his own, as if fused into the Chaos Treasure Bottle Seal itself.
"What kind of sorcery is this…"
The old man in the ring had seen countless things, but never such a bizarre method.
"No, this isn't sorcery. This is the power of the Great Dao."
The power of the Great Dao had fused with him, but the one who controlled it was Gu Qing, which meant Gu Qing now controlled their life and death.
In an instant, despair swallowed them both.
"No, I can't die. Xun'er is still waiting for me. I haven't married her yet…"
Xiao Yi's eyes turned blood-red, regret and unwillingness flooding his heart.
If he could go back, he would never have offended Chu Yao over a handful of spirit stones, nor risked his life on so-called fortune through danger.
Too many times he had cheated death, always finding survival in despair, and he forgot that once he failed, death was real.
But it was too late for regret.
There were no "ifs" in this world.
Gu Qing drew out their memories, seizing their alchemy knowledge, along with the old man's techniques, divine abilities, and pill formulas.
Without exaggeration, he now stood as a true master alchemist.
With the Chaos Treasure Bottle Seal supporting him, Gu Qing had confidence he could refine divine pills with pill patterns.
Spirit pills were divided into inferior, middle, superior, and supreme, with pill-patterned pills above all.
The higher the grade, the less pill poison.
Supreme pills carried no side effects at all.
As for pill-patterned pills, they were treasures, carrying Dao laws and life force, able to absorb spirit energy on their own, even evolving into lifeforms.
Legend said the founding ancestor of the Divine Pill Sect was once a nine-patterned divine pill that gained form and ascended.
Any pill with even a single pattern was a divine pill, capable of helping one comprehend the Dao, break through realms, heal, awaken constitutions, and improve talent.
"Every child of fate and child of fortune is my foster father…"
Gu Qing digested their memories and sighed from the heart.
These children of destiny and fortune were simply too rich in opportunity. Each one could grant him unimaginable benefits.
He took a deep breath and began to absorb and cultivate.
Profound Core seventh level.
Profound Core eighth level peak…
"System, summon my status panel."
[Name]Gu Qing
[Realm]Profound Core Realm, peak of eighth level
[Constitution]Supreme Dao Bone, Chaos Star Body (evolving… 27%)
[Innate Talent]Born Dao Seed, peerless through the ages
[Fate Pattern]Variable
[Fate]Unknown
[Fortune]Three hundred twenty-one thousand
[Innate Divine Abilities]Chaos Treasure Bottle Seal, Yin-Yang Wheel, Star-Seizing Hand
[Divine Abilities]Minor Thousand Sword Art
[Treasures]Reincarnation Halberd, Heaven and Earth Sword
[Innate Spiritual Root]Nine-Colored Soul Lotus
[Cultivation Method]Chaos Undying Sutra (nascent creation)
"My constitution only increased by five points… the evolution is so slow."
The further one went, the harder evolution became.
The golden gourd was still more reliable.
The beast blood and spirit herbs refined into liquid held the purest life essence and could also evolve his body.
Thinking of this, Gu Qing began to sort through his spoils.
"Broken king artifacts, damaged treasures, fragments of divine metal, black-veined immortal gold, pills and medicines…"
"So fat."
Sold, these alone could take a body refiner all the way to the Void Dao Realm.
He took out jade slips, copying down the old man's pill formulas, techniques, and divine arts, intending to sell them all to Chu Yao.
They were useless to him anyway.
The only exception was Xiao Yi's main cultivation method, the Burning Art.
It was a miraculous technique without fixed rank, able to devour all strange flames. As it absorbed them, the method would advance on its own, generating new stages.
It even had the ability to refine any flame.
Naturally, Gu Qing would never sell such a thing.
He planned to merge it into his Chaos Undying Sutra.
Perhaps with its power, his sutra could one day devour techniques and evolve endlessly.
Of course, this was only a hopeful fantasy. He knew it was unlikely.
Strange flames contained Dao laws, seeds of the path of fire. To devour them and derive new cultivation was reasonable.
But techniques were not Dao seeds, nor did they hold Dao laws.
Still, fusing with the Burning Art would certainly make future integrations easier.
…
"Sister Su, it's been five days. When do you think Master Gu will leave seclusion?"
Chu Yao sipped tea, resting her cheek on one hand, fox-like eyes narrowed, her voice soft and teasing.
Today she wore a long black gauze dress, her figure perfectly outlined, her toes hidden.
Her faintly revealed skin glowed like jade snow.
Her long, round legs flawless as carved white jade, half-veiled beneath the flowing gauze.
"What a seductive little vixen…" Ji Ning thought to herself.
She sat quietly to the side, her body shrouded in divine light. On the surface she seemed calm and detached, but beneath that veil her eyes flickered, secretly observing the two of them.
Su Qingyue was as aloof as ever, wrapping herself tightly in her cold aura, her temperament noble and untouchable, like a celestial who had never touched mortal dust. In contrast, Chu Yao was alluring and fiery, yet somehow their clashing temperaments formed a natural harmony, beautiful to behold.
"This little vixen keeps calling her 'sister'… could it be she has her eye on Gu Qing? Of course. When a woman's interested, her tone and manner always change."
"Tsk, tsk. The vixen and the little deviant—three days and nights together, it won't be long before they produce a little life…"
Both women frowned, turning back at once toward Ji Ning. They could feel a burning gaze crawling over their bodies from behind. Yet when they saw Ji Ning sitting steady as a mountain, expression calm as stone, they began to doubt themselves. Surely it was just imagination. After all, what kind of person was Ji Ning? A human supreme, ruthless and taciturn—how could she possibly be staring at them?
Su Qingyue pulled her gaze away and said coldly, "Fox spirit, stop calling me sister. I don't know you."
Chu Yao chuckled. "Hehe, Su sister, don't be so unfriendly. The more friends you have, the wider your road. If you ever need help in the future, you can always come to me."
"Who needs your help?"
"Don't speak so absolutely."
"A cultivator's path is filled with endless trials. Who can guarantee a smooth journey?"
"I am the Saintess of the Starry Sky Temple."
"Even so, you can't stay nestled in the temple forever, can you?"
"Tap, tap."
Gu Qing deliberately made his footsteps heavy as he approached.
"Senior brother."
"Master Gu, you've finished your seclusion."
Chu Yao's smile blossomed, every motion filled with natural charm and allure.
Gu Qing gave a short nod. "Did you bring the beast flesh?"
"I brought some from the nearby continents. But it's only a portion."
"The Five Domains of the Archaic World are vast without limit. To gather everything in full would take at least three years."
Gu Qing nodded. The world was simply too large. Even with Wanbao Tower working at full effort, using teleportation arrays, time was needed to collect it all.
"Sell all these things for me, and as usual, exchange them for beast flesh and low-grade spirit herbs."
"Alright."
Chu Yao agreed without hesitation. With a sweep of her divine sense, she caught sight of the broken great bell in his possession and instantly understood. Xiao Yi had indeed dug his own grave. She wondered whether the mysterious powerhouse backing him had already been slain by Ji Ning.
"Senior brother, are we still going to train outside?"
Seeing Gu Qing had finished, Su Qingyue quickly spoke up, casting a proud glance at Chu Yao.
So what if Chu Yao was wealthy? In the end, she could only trade with Gu Qing.
She and Gu Qing shared the same sect. One day, they might even become Dao partners for life.
"Do you want to go?" Gu Qing asked instead of answering.
In truth, he wanted to return to the Starry Sky Temple. That supreme treasure trove was waiting to be developed—techniques, divine abilities, secret arts, cultivation insights. If he could merge them all into his Chaos Undying Sutra, his foundation would surpass all before him, and his path would shine bright.
But this wasn't only about him. Su Qingyue needed to go out and train.
"I don't want to."
Su Qingyue shook her head. To her, so-called training was nothing more than sightseeing, making friends, and gaining life experience. As for secret realms, they couldn't compare to those within the Starry Sky Temple. She guessed Gu Qing felt the same, eager to leave this place and return to the temple.
Her smile bloomed, eyes sparkling. "Of course, wherever my senior brother goes, I will follow."
"Then let's return."
Gu Qing smiled faintly. "I just received a message from master. She has taken another junior sister. Do you know who she is?"
"I don't."
"I do."
Chu Yao cut in. "She is the Ninth Princess of the Divine Phoenix Empire in the Eastern Domain. Her name is Luo Li, and she carries the Phoenix bloodline."
"I heard she even dug out her fiancé's Supreme Bone."
"Really?"
Both froze in shock, staring at Chu Yao in disbelief.
"Of course. The information is accurate."
Chu Yao nodded firmly. "I even met her fiancé once. He is the only son of the Northern King. His talent was monstrous, but such a pity. With his Supreme Bone taken, he is now a cripple, forever cut off from the Great Dao."
The Supreme Bone—this was something equal to a top-tier divine body, with the potential to evolve into a Supreme Divine Body.
"This…"
Gu Qing's expression grew odd.
Wasn't this exactly the template of a child of destiny?
"His surname isn't Shi, is it?"
Chu Yao blinked, confused at the strange question. She shook her head. "His surname is Ye. Ye Hao, eighteen years old. Why? Could it be you know of another with a Supreme Bone, surname Shi?"
"No."
Gu Qing was now certain. This Ye Hao was without doubt a child of destiny. From his name to his identity as the Northern King's son, everything fit the protagonist's mold.
Which meant his new junior sister Luo Li was destined to be the villainess.
At that thought, Gu Qing itched to return to the Starry Sky Temple at once, just to meet this Luo Li.
"Senior Ji, this junior wishes to go to the Starry Sky Temple to take a master. May I ask you to carry me along?"
Chu Yao suddenly bowed deeply to Ji Ning. She had long wanted to apprentice at the temple.
After all, it was an immortal Dao lineage from time immemorial, with countless techniques, divine arts, treasures, secret realms, and sacred medicines. To join was to guarantee becoming strong.
But there was a price.
Competition was merciless.
Within the temple, geniuses and monsters gathered. Even an outer disciple there would be a peerless prodigy outside.
With her special status, joining rashly could mean suppression, even being forced into slavery. Not even the Chu clan could protect her then.
But now she had obtained a divine ability from Gu Qing, her foundation and power had grown.
And since she had formed ties with Gu Qing, bound by interest, surely he would not let her die without lifting a hand.
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