"A Soul Pact?"
Gu Changyuan's brows furrowed slightly.
Although his meridians were destroyed, he had been the number one genius of the Profound Heaven Sect three years ago; his knowledge was naturally vast. He had, of course, heard of a Soul Pact.
It was an ancient contract that permanently bound the souls of two individuals together. Once established, the two parties could never lie to one another, they could sense each other's emotions, and even their very lives and deaths would be tethered together.
This kind of absolute contract was usually only formed between life-and-death comrades or Dao companions.
Yet, he didn't even know the name of the woman sitting before him.
"You want to form a Soul Pact with me?" His voice was perfectly calm, betraying no emotion. "We have only just met."
"I know," Feng Jiuli said, leaning weakly against the stone wall, her face dreadfully pale. "But I have no other choice."
"The forbidden curse will continuously devour my lifeforce. In three days at most, I will die." Her voice was soft, yet it carried a heavy sense of absolute resolve. "The only way to suppress the curse is through a Soul Pact."
"A Soul Pact can bind two souls together, allowing me to borrow the soul power of another to temporarily suppress the curse."
Gu Changyuan fell silent.
Looking at Feng Jiuli's pale face and the dark red rune constantly creeping across her collarbone, his heart wavered slightly.
But he didn't agree immediately.
"Who are you?" he asked. "Where are you from? Why did you fall from the sky?"
Feng Jiuli was silent for a moment.
"My name is Feng Jiuli," she finally said. "I come from... a place very far away."
"As for why I fell from the sky..." A flicker of intense pain flashed through her eyes. "Because I was framed."
"Framed?"
"Yes." Feng Jiuli closed her eyes. "Framed by the people I trusted the most."
She didn't elaborate further, but Gu Changyuan could hear the profound agony and furious resentment bleeding through her tone.
The feeling of being utterly betrayed by one's closest kin... he was all too familiar with it.
Three years ago, he too had been framed and ambushed, leading him to this miserable state.
"I understand your predicament," Gu Changyuan said slowly. "But a Soul Pact is not a child's game. Once formed, it is a matter of a lifetime."
"I know." Feng Jiuli opened her eyes and looked straight at him. "Which is why I will not let you help me for nothing."
"What do you want?"
Gu Changyuan raised an eyebrow.
"Your meridians are destroyed," Feng Jiuli stated. "But I have a way to help you repair them."
Gu Changyuan's pupils shrank violently.
"What did you say?"
"I said, I have a way to help you repair your meridians." Feng Jiuli's voice remained calm. "Where I come from, there are countless cultivation arts and secret techniques that do not exist in your world. Repairing shattered meridians is not difficult for me."
"Of course, the prerequisite is that I survive."
Gu Changyuan plunged into a dead silence.
Repairing his meridians.
No one knew better than him exactly what those words meant.
For three years, he had tried countless methods to fix his ruined meridians, failing every single time. He thought he was doomed to be a piece of trash for the rest of his life, never to cultivate again.
But now, someone was telling him she could fix them.
"How can you prove it?" he asked softly.
"I have no way to prove it right now," Feng Jiuli admitted frankly. "You can choose not to believe me. But if you do, I can swear an oath that once I recover my strength, I will definitely repair your meridians."
"Once the Soul Pact is formed, I will be incapable of lying to you. You can take this oath as absolute truth."
Gu Changyuan stared deeply into her eyes.
Those phoenix-like eyes were as cold as frost, yet they carried an indescribable, piercing sincerity.
He didn't know if he should trust her.
Three years ago, he had also trusted someone unconditionally. And the result? His meridians were completely shattered, and his master died a tragic death.
Ever since that night, he had stopped trusting anyone.
"I need time to consider," he said.
"Fine," Feng Jiuli nodded. "But you had better decide quickly. I can hold on for three days at most."
Gu Changyuan walked out of the cave and stood on a large rock near the entrance.
The rain had finally stopped, and the first light of dawn was breaking over the horizon. The air in the back mountain was crisp and damp, carrying the scent of wet earth and vegetation.
He took a deep breath, Feng Jiuli's words echoing relentlessly in his mind.
A Soul Pact.
Repairing his meridians.
Neither of these were trivial matters.
Once the Soul Pact was formed, he and Feng Jiuli would be permanently bound together, sharing life and death. If she turned out to be wicked, he would be completely doomed.
But if what she said was true, he would finally have the chance to rebuild his meridians and step back onto the path of cultivation.
He looked down at his right hand.
The old scar on the webbing of his hand looked exceptionally glaring in the morning light.
Three years.
Three years of utter humiliation. Three years of silent endurance. Three years of agonizing waiting.
He had been waiting for an opportunity—a chance to turn his life around.
And now, the opportunity had fallen right into his lap.
But he couldn't be certain if this was a heaven-sent opportunity, or a deadly trap.
"Master... what do you think I should do?"
He muttered to himself, his gaze drifting toward the distant sea of clouds.
His master didn't answer him.
His master had been dead for three years.
Inside the cave, Feng Jiuli leaned against the stone wall, resting with her eyes closed.
Her injuries were catastrophic, and the forbidden curse was still relentlessly devouring her lifeforce. With every passing moment, she felt herself taking another step closer to death.
But she didn't show it.
She was the Goddess of the Phoenix Clan. Even in such a miserable state, she would never show weakness in front of a stranger.
Will he agree?
She asked herself silently.
She didn't know.
She knew absolutely nothing about this man named Gu Changyuan. All she knew was that he was a piece of trash with ruined meridians, the lowest servant disciple of this insignificant sect.
Yet, it was this very piece of trash who had dragged her from the jaws of death on that stormy night.
He hadn't taken advantage of her perilous state, nor had he lusted after her beauty. He had simply sat quietly by the fire, guarding her until she woke up.
This surprised Feng Jiuli slightly.
She had lived for thousands of years and seen far too many people. The way those people looked at her was always filled with either greed, jealousy, or sheer terror.
But the way Gu Changyuan looked at her was entirely calm.
That profound calmness reminded her of herself from a very, very long time ago.
Before she had become the Goddess of the Phoenix Clan, before she was worshipped by millions... she used to have that exact same calm in her eyes.
"Cough..."
A sudden, violent surge of agony erupted from her collarbone, forcing a pained cough from her throat.
The forbidden curse was flaring up again.
The dark red rune began to spread rapidly, extending from her collarbone to her neck, and then creeping slowly toward her jawline. With every fraction of an inch it moved, she felt as if a raging hellfire was actively incinerating her soul.
"Mgh..."
She gritted her teeth so hard they nearly cracked, a dense layer of cold sweat breaking out across her forehead.
She couldn't die.
She still had a blood debt to collect, and the truth to violently rip out into the open.
Heavenly Lord Feng, Feng Wuji... she swore to make them pay the ultimate price.
When Gu Changyuan returned to the cave, this was the exact scene he saw.
Feng Jiuli was curled up on the hard stone bed, trembling violently, her face as pale as a sheet of paper. The dark red rune on her collarbone had already spread across half of her neck, looking utterly horrifying.
"What's happening to you?"
He quickly rushed to her side, completely at a loss for how to help her.
"The forbidden curse... is flaring up..." Feng Jiuli's voice was broken and breathless. "I'm fine... I just need to endure it..."
But her current state clearly showed she was anything but "fine."
Gu Changyuan crouched beside her. Watching her writhe in such sheer agony, a sharp pang twisted in his heart.
He thought of himself three years ago.
That night, when his meridians were forcefully shattered, the pain was so excruciating he begged for death. His master had charged in to save him, only to be heavily wounded by that same terrifying power.
"Changyuan... run..."
Using the last of his strength, his master had shoved him out of the seclusion chamber before collapsing in a pool of his own blood.
That suffocating agony, that absolute despair—he would never forget it for the rest of his life.
And now, the woman right in front of him was enduring the exact same kind of torment.
"I agree."
He heard himself say the words out loud.
Feng Jiuli's head snapped up, her phoenix eyes widening in pure shock.
"What did you say?"
"I said, I agree to form the Soul Pact with you," Gu Changyuan's voice was remarkably steady. "But not right now."
"You are far too weak right now. Forcing a Soul Pact in this state could be extremely dangerous," he said seriously. "Wait until your injuries stabilize a little more. We will form it then."
Feng Jiuli stared at him, a myriad of complex emotions swirling in her eyes.
"Why did you change your mind?"
"I don't know," Gu Changyuan shook his head. "Maybe because... I simply refuse to watch someone die right in front of me again."
He paused for a second before adding, "Or maybe it's because... I also want a chance to turn my life around."
Feng Jiuli fell silent.
After a long moment, she gave a slow, solemn nod.
"Alright."
Her voice was faint, yet it carried an indescribable, earth-shattering weight.
"Gu Changyuan, I, Feng Jiuli, never owe anyone a debt."
"You saved my life; I will repay you with a lifetime."
Gu Changyuan looked into her eyes, but didn't say a word.
He didn't know if this woman's words were true or false, nor did he know what terrifying storms the future held.
But he knew one thing with absolute certainty: from this moment onward, their destinies were inextricably intertwined.
Outside the cave, the morning sun finally broke free of the horizon, casting brilliant golden rays into the dim cavern.
A brand-new day had begun.