Zhu Qinglan leaned forward slightly, her movement utterly graceful. The crystal pearls on her phoenix hairpin trembled gently, and the scent of spiritual flowers suddenly became sharper. Her gaze pierced the exhaustion and blood soaking Zhi Xuan's robe, going straight to the core of the young cultivator's resolve.

  The air in the elegant pavilion thickened with unspoken spiritual pressure, holding Senior Brother Qin in place. Zhu Qinglan slowly raised her hand and delicately touched the pearl-accented veil covering her mouth and nose.

  "Tao Protector," Zhu Qinglan repeated, her voice smooth, yet the words carried thousands of immeasurable weights. She spoke with the tone of a goddess considering the qualifications of an insect. "You, who were just struck nearly to death by my guard, offer yourself to become a Tao Protector for me, who has reached the Five Elements."

  She paused, allowing her words to sink in. She ignored the obvious insult to her power, focusing only on the calculation. "Do you know the meaning of the words you speak, Black-Haired Devil?"

  Zhu Qinglan gave a short, airy chuckle—the sound was captivating, but its effect on Zhi Xuan was chilling. She was not mocking his words; she was assessing the value of his spirit.

  Zhi Xuan met the gaze, the pain in his ribs used as a reinforcement of his will. He knew that if he showed the slightest doubt, his offer would become a joke and his punishment would be much heavier.

  "I know," Zhi Xuan countered, his voice hoarse. "A Tao Protector is not an obedient slave, but two souls that grow together, who will eventually be able to pierce the Heavens and the Earth."

  He placed a cold emphasis on the word soul, implicitly rejecting the role of a slave. Although he knew this was a desperate move to be released, Zhi Xuan had to survive with this chance.

  "I am worthless today," Zhi Xuan continued, acknowledging the reality of his crushed strength. "But I have capital. Five hundred thousand spiritual jade coins. And more importantly, I possess a Dao that will never kneel before the strong, even before Holy Fairy Zhu."

  Zhi Xuan forced his crushed body to slightly lift his shoulder, refusing to kneel, even though the Spiritual Binding Rope tightly held by Junior Brother Liu felt like slicing his skin. His pale left eye dimmed to grayish, but his sapphire blue right eye stared straight, radiating a controlled cold threat, promising a future explosion of cruelty.

  "Release me today, in the future. I will repay Holy Fairy Zhu's generosity. But if Holy Fairy forces the issue, then I will consider this an eternal vendetta."

  A thick silence enveloped the Zhu Pavilion. Senior Brother Qin and Junior Brother Liu stared at their Holy Maiden, unable to believe that a dying Divine Wheel cultivator dared to issue such an arrogant threat—even a threat of eternal vendetta—to a future Emperor candidate.

  Zhu Qinglan returned Zhi Xuan's gaze. The boredom that had previously adorned her eyes was now completely gone, replaced by a sharp and slightly amused light. This was not just entertainment; this was the challenge she sought.

  She slowly leaned her body back onto the silk cushion, her elegance absolute, but her tone changed, providing a dramatic pause that made everyone hold their breath.

  "Interesting," Zhu Qinglan whispered. "A threat that comes from a blood-soaked rat. That threat has a thousand times the value of the flattery I hear every day."

  She stretched out her hand once more, but this time, her hand did not emit Five Elements Essence. Instead, she pointed toward Senior Brother Qin.

  "Qin, release the spiritual rope. Give him a spirit recovery pill and return him to that Shoutuo city."

  The decision struck Senior Brother Qin like a Consciousness Transformation blow. He flinched, his stiff, cold eyes widening in near-disrespectful disbelief.

  "Holy Maiden!" Senior Brother Qin exclaimed, his voice filled with shock and disagreement. "He showed arrogance! He... he threatened you! And he soiled the pavilion with mortal blood!"

  "I know, Qin," Zhu Qinglan countered, her tone soft, her voice containing an authority more deadly than an outburst of anger. "And I have accepted his offer. The fragile arrogance smeared with the blood of an eternal vendetta... that is an interesting game."

  Zhu Qinglan looked at Zhi Xuan, and this time, her gaze contained a sharp fire—the fire of genuine interest.

  "You are free, Black-Haired Devil. Today, I return it to you. Take your capital, heal yourself, and... Come to me when you have reached a realm higher than Five Elements. If you do not appear by then," Zhu Qinglan smiled, a small smile hidden behind the crystal pearls. "I will consider the eternal vendetta you spoke of to be nothing more than the babbling of a dying rat."

  Senior Brother Qin tried to control his shock, but his eyes radiated clear dissatisfaction. He turned to Junior Brother Liu. "Liu, release his bonds, now! And give him a Low-Grade Spirit Recovery Pill, as per the Holy Maiden's command!" he ordered, his voice filled with suppressed anger.

  Junior Brother Liu, still gripping the Spiritual Binding Rope tightly, immediately loosened the bonds. The silver rope slid from Zhi Xuan's wrists. Although the rope was gone, the residual Consciousness Transformation aura still felt heavy, and Zhi Xuan felt his body nearly give up, now restrained only by pure resolve.

  Senior Brother Qin stepped forward, his hand producing a small, pale green jade bottle. It was a Low-Grade Spirit Recovery Pill, a priceless pill for a Divine Wheel cultivator. This pill could stabilize internal injuries and accelerate organ recovery.

  "Take this, rat," Senior Brother Qin hissed, dropping the bottle onto the ground in front of Zhi Xuan's knees. "This is the Holy Maiden's grace. Next time, if you dare to look at her with that disgusting gaze, I will pluck out your eyes myself."

  Zhi Xuan did not move. He briefly lowered his head, picked up the pill bottle with trembling hands, and then, with a slow and vigilant movement, he raised his head, letting that cold and flat gaze glide toward Senior Brother Qin.

  "Thank you for your generosity, Senior," Zhi Xuan countered, his voice hoarse, but his cold composure remained unchanged. He showed no fear or gratitude, only silent acceptance.

  Zhu Qinglan nodded slightly, satisfied with the spectacle. "Take him out, Qin. Do not let him bleed here any longer. And Qin," she added, her voice now icy cold. "If he dies on the way, I will take your life instead. I wish to see him grow."

  The threat made Senior Brother Qin flinch, his shock now replaced by deadly vigilance. He knew that, to the Holy Maiden, his life was no more valuable than the entertainment Zhi Xuan provided.

  Senior Brother Qin no longer used the Consciousness Transformation aura. He approached Zhi Xuan with a disgusting carefulness, half-dragging, half-supporting Zhi Xuan's tattered body out of the Zhu Pavilion.

  Junior Brother Liu guided them back to the main gate. Outside the marble gate, Zhi Xuan took over, walking alone although his steps were shaky and his body trembled violently. He knew that showing weakness in front of the Zhu Clan was an invitation to be killed.

  "You are lucky, Little Devil," Junior Brother Liu hissed, leading the way. "The Holy Maiden is bored. Next time, you will be the dust we sweep from this Pavilion."

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  Zhi Xuan ignored him, forcing his attention onto the Spirit Recovery Pill in his hand. As soon as they passed the illusion formation enveloping the hill and returned to the dark path, Zhi Xuan took the Spirit Recovery Pill from its bottle.

  The pill glowed softly in his palm. The scent of pure herbs immediately entered his injured lungs. He wasted no time. Quickly, he swallowed the pill.

  As soon as the pill entered, a pure warmth spread from his abdomen. The pill's spiritual essence immediately found the cracks in his fractured ribs and his bruised internal organs.

  The sharp pain subsided into a dull ache. The pill did not heal completely, but it stabilized Zhi Xuan, giving him time to use his own Taiyin Essence.

  'Ruo, I need time. This pill only stops the internal bleeding,' Zhi Xuan said in his Sea of Consciousness, while his body gradually felt lighter.

  'I know, monkey. Now, focus your Taiyin to bandage your torn lungs. The Zhu Clan will not give you a ride back to the city,' Ruo Xianxue countered, her tone returning to a demanding knightly tone.

  They arrived at the border of the illusion formation. Senior Brother Qin stopped there, letting Zhi Xuan stagger out of the Zhu Clan's spiritual boundary.

  "Go, Little Devil. Never approach or dare to look at the Holy Fairy with that disgusting gaze," Senior Brother Qin hissed, with disgust. "Otherwise, I will make sure you fall before the Holy Maiden even has a chance to see you."

  Junior Brother Liu laughed scornfully. They did not wait for a response. They turned and disappeared into the illusion formation, leaving Zhi Xuan alone in the darkness shrouded by the mountain mist.

  Zhi Xuan waited until he was sure the Consciousness Transformation aura had completely disappeared. Then, he allowed himself to collapse. His body slumped onto the cold, damp ground with a muffled CRASH. He no longer cared about appearances. The pain suppressed by the pill immediately surged back as its effects began to fade.

  "My karma... I had no other choice, I need to survive," he murmured, his hoarse voice barely audible.

  Within his Sea of Consciousness, the Heavenly Samsara Wheel spun slowly. The Taiyin Essence energy, which was usually pure and cold, was now tinted with the pale gray of his wounds. He focused the remaining restorative effects of the pill in his abdomen, directing it toward his fractured ribs and torn lungs.

  The pain was brutal, but he ignored it. He used every fragment of his spiritual essence to bandage himself, resisting organ destruction. In the darkness of meditation, Zhu Qinglan's face appeared.

  Zhi Xuan realized he had made his offer in the midst of mortal pain. Now, Zhi Xuan's karma was tied again to a single person with an aura far stronger than his.

  'Tao Protector. That is a heavenly promise. If I break my promise to the Holy Maiden, my Dao will be shattered,' Zhi Xuan thought, coldness running through his bone marrow.

  On one hand, he had gained war capital and his life. On the other hand, he had sold a piece of his Dao's freedom to the most arrogant and powerful woman he had ever met.

  He recalled the light gray gaze filled with boredom—eyes that saw him not as an enemy, but as an interesting spectacle. That was Zhu Qinglan's greatest weakness, and now, it was Zhi Xuan's lifeline.

  'We will meet again tomorrow, at the Silver Moon Auction.' Zhi Xuan muttered in his mind. 'And thank you, for your grace.'

  Zhi Xuan immersed himself in intense meditation. Although painful and nearly organ-damaging, the Heavenly Samsara Wheel was able to overcome the less severe damage with the help of the freezing and forced healing Taiyin essence mixed with the Spirit Recovery Pill.

  On the other side, Zhu Qinglan sat gracefully on the silk cushion. Her face was calm and elegant, the pearl-encased veil lightly clanging, radiating unmatched majesty and beauty.

  One of the maidservants poured tea into a spiritual cup in front of Qinglan. "Holy Maiden, why... did you bind your karma with that fragile youth?"

  Zhu Qinglan raised the white jade cup to her hidden lips, sipping the spiritual tea aroma. Silence lasted for a moment, the sound of the spiritual fountain outside the pavilion being the only thing breaking the quiet.

  "Binding karma?" Zhu Qinglan repeated, her voice gentle, but containing a quiet cruelty. "I did not bind karma, Ling'er. I planted a seed."

  She placed the cup down with an incredibly graceful movement. Her light gray eyes shifted to the window overlooking the illusion formation, where Zhi Xuan had just been released.

  "He is not fragile. He is newly tempered steel, struck by Qin's sledgehammer. The steel is wounded, fragile on the outside, but the core of his resolve... it is ancient, strong, and full of vendetta. That is not the Dao of an ordinary Divine Wheel cultivator," Zhu Qinglan explained.

  "All cultivators in this continent kneel. They offer praises, flattery, and treasures I already possess. It is boring. I know every step they take before they take it," she continued, her tone returning to her characteristic boredom, but this time adorned with a hint of hidden excitement.

  "But he, the Black-Haired Devil, he looked at me with hatred and arrogance. He threatened me with eternal vendetta while he was dying. That is the purest commitment I have ever seen. And more importantly, he refused to beg me to heal him; instead, he made an offer."

  Zhu Qinglan smiled, a small smile that was clearly visible this time behind the pearl veil.

  "I freed him today, not out of kindness. But because I want to see where that eternal vendetta will lead him. If he can surpass the Grand Path of that push of hatred and arrogance, then he is truly worthy to be my Tao Protector."

  "If he fails, if he dies as a 'rat' as Qin put it, then it is brief entertainment. And Qin's life will only be a small price for the spectacle," Zhu Qinglan concluded, her tone so light as if she were discussing the weather.

  The maidservant, Ling'er, trembled, understanding that the Holy Maiden had created a dangerous game, tying her fate to a hypothesis—the hypothesis that vendetta and arrogance could surpass talent and resources.

  "Then, the Silver Moon Auction tomorrow, Holy Maiden?" Ling'er asked. "Are we still planning to drain the Poison Sect?"

  Just then, a slow movement came from Zhu Qinglan's side. Another maidservant came after briefly retiring to receive her task. The maidservant lowered her head, which was Zhu Qinglan's personal attendant, and spoke up.

  "I have brought news, Holy Maiden."

  The maidservant who brought the news, known as Mei, was Zhu Qinglan's eyes and ears in the outside world. She sighed, her face slightly flushed.

  "That fragile youth has a grudge against Young Master Gu," Mei said, in a careful voice. "The Dragon Fang Arena was his first rebellion, and I also obtained information that the youth is on a mission to protect his village—a mission that somehow involves a secret scroll and local mortal sects."

  Mei lowered her head deeper, avoiding Zhu Qinglan's gaze, which was now much sharper. "And... His left eye is not actually blind, only temporarily disabled. And, he possesses something mysterious... Like, he truly is a Black Devil walking among White Swans."

  Zhu Qinglan returned Mei's gaze with light gray eyes that now flared with analytical light. Mei's revelation—that the youth had a grudge against Young Master Gu, was on a mission to protect his village, and most interestingly, that his left eye was not blind but temporarily disabled—was the most crucial piece.

  "A grudge against Young Master Gu," Zhu Qinglan repeated, her voice smooth, yet containing a cold cruelty. "Interesting. I am tired of seeing Gu try to win my attention with cheap gifts. A rat fighting Gu is a much better spectacle than Gu himself."

  She shifted her gaze away from Mei, and her view was now fixed on the spot in front of her, where Zhi Xuan had been moments ago, staring at her with coldness and a threat of vendetta.

  "Village," Zhu Qinglan murmured. "A mission to protect mortals. That is a fragile Dao. But the courage to place a mortal promise above one's own life... is rare in a cultivator his age. It shows a pure will, even if foolish."

  She let out a barely audible sigh. "And his eye... I already knew. The essence in his left eye is too ancient to be a regular blind defect. It is a hidden power he conceals, a secret he protects with blood and lies."

  Zhu Qinglan took her spiritual tea cup again, ignoring the tension enveloping her two maidservants, Ling'er and Mei. Her mind returned to the moment she saw how Zhi Xuan turned his face away, refusing to be mesmerized by her Five Elements art.

  "Holy Maiden," Ling'er called out when she saw Zhu Qinglan lost in thought. "Y-you are not truly thinking about that youth, are you?"

  Zhu Qinglan, whose mind had just returned from a deep analysis of Zhi Xuan's pale jade eye, flinched softly—a movement that was barely visible but extremely rare. A faint hint of pink rose to her snow-white cheek, a fleeting blush that she quickly controlled. It was a reaction far more human and embarrassing than she had ever shown in front of her guards.

  However, in just a blink, Zhu Qinglan mastered her emotions. Her absolute elegance returned, and the color on her cheek immediately faded, as if swallowed by cold Taiyin essence.

  "What are you talking about, Ling'er?" Zhu Qinglan countered, her voice returning to being flat and smooth, as if the question was as boring as Young Master Gu's flattery. "I am not 'thinking' about anyone. I am merely analyzing the Silver Moon Auction for tomorrow."

  She lifted her spiritual tea cup, but did not immediately drink from it. Her light gray eyes swept over her two maidservants, Ling'er and Mei, with a gaze full of authority and warning.

  "Focus your attention on the auction, not on rats dragged out of the mortal arena. We will drain the Poison Sect and Young Master Gu's allies. This preparation is more important than the games of fragile rats."

  "Yes, Holy Maiden," Ling'er and Mei replied in unison, bowing deeply, understanding that they had touched a boundary that must not be crossed.

  At the cold mountain border, Zhi Xuan forced his crushed body to enter forced meditation. His decision to surrender and negotiate was a gamble. If Zhu Qinglan had only intended to kill him, the Spirit Recovery Pill would have been merely a final mockery. But the Holy Maiden's threat to Senior Brother Qin to keep him alive was proof that Zhi Xuan now had time.

  'Beautiful women are indeed very dangerous,' Zhi Xuan thought, forcing the Taiyin Essence to freeze the area around his fractured ribs, preventing bone fragments from piercing his organs.