Chapter 91: The Dao Source Body and a Grim Bargain

“Sect Master, Elders.”

Her voice, deep and solemn, addressed True Monarch Xuanqing and the other elders. Bai Zhileng turned to Xuanweizi, bowing profoundly.

“What I am about to say may sound alarming, but…” Her voice lowered, fraught with a heavy significance. “It is the only hope to save Qingzhou, and to save your esteemed sect.”

Xuanweizi trembled slightly, his gaze fixed upon her. After a moment, he merely nodded.

“Please speak, Holy Maiden.”

Bai Zhileng straightened, her eyes sweeping over every person present before finally settling back on Shen Zhaoqing.

“Do you all know what kind of physique Junior Sister Zhaoqing possesses?” Without waiting for an answer, she answered her own question. “The outside world widely believes it to be a Charm Spirit Physique, capable of stirring human desires. That is entirely mistaken!”

Her voice abruptly rose, echoing through the hall.

“Junior Sister Zhaoqing’s physique is known as the Dao Source Body!”

“Dao Source?” Several disciples of lower cultivation, utterly bewildered, exchanged confused glances.

“When the Heavenly Dao collapsed, and all laws withered, a primordial trace of life, a fragment of the Dao’s essence, fell into the mortal realm and was reborn as a human.” Bai Zhileng’s voice held a trace of fervent reverence, as if she were recounting a sacred legend. “This is the Dao Source Body! It does not incite lust; rather, its very existence draws all things and all Great Daos to it with intimacy and longing. It can complete cultivation techniques, nourish the Divine Soul—it is, in essence, the unformed Dao of the world’s primordial life itself!”

When her words finished, a profound silence descended upon the hall.

Everyone stared at Shen Zhaoqing, utterly dumbfounded.

Shen Zhaoqing remained impassive.

‘I don’t believe a word of your nonsense.’

“Holy Maiden, do you mean…?” Xuanweizi, as the Sect Master, was the first to recover. A terrifying glint erupted in his eyes as he fixed them on Bai Zhileng. “That Zhaoqing… she can cure this plague?”

“Yes, and no.” Bai Zhileng shook her head, the compassion on her face deepening. “Although the Dao Source Body is the primordial essence of the world’s life force, Junior Sister Zhaoqing’s cultivation is still shallow. The Dao essence within her body remains dormant, like a mountain of gold filled with infinite treasures, yet sealed away. Let alone purifying the law-tainted lands of an entire province, she would struggle even to protect herself.”

The flickering hope that had just ignited in everyone’s hearts was instantly doused with cold water.

“However.”

“My Penglai Immortal Palace possesses an ancient divine artifact called the Longevity Cauldron. This cauldron can connect with heaven and earth, stimulating the vitality of all things. If… if we can bring Junior Sister Zhaoqing back to Penglai Immortal Palace, and use her as a guide, leveraging the cauldron’s power to awaken the Dao Source energy within her to its utmost limits…”

She paused, as if the words that followed were difficult to utter. “At that time, we could refine a nascent form of the legendary ‘Nine Revolutions Soul-Returning Pill’—the ‘World-Purifying Azure Lotus Pill’.”

“Once this pill is manifested, the laws will be reshaped, and the plague in Qingzhou will be shattered in an instant. Even Immortal Gu’s damaged Divine Soul might be completely restored.”

Restore Gu Chang’an’s Divine Soul?! Every breath in the hall hitched at that moment.

“Holy Maiden, do your words hold true?!” An elder, overcome with excitement, found his voice trembling.

“I guarantee it with Penglai’s ten-thousand-year reputation.” Bai Zhileng declared, her tone resolute.

“Then… what about Zhaoqing?” Xuanweizi spoke with difficulty, his gaze complex as he looked at the numb Shen Zhaoqing.

He was no fool. He understood what phrases like “using her as a guide” and “awakening to its utmost limits” truly implied.

Bai Zhileng’s eyes instantly reddened. She turned away, unable to meet Shen Zhaoqing’s gaze, her voice filled with profound anguish and struggle.

“This act is akin to draining a pond to catch fish, or burning firewood for a brief warmth.”

“Junior Sister Zhaoqing’s Dao Source energy would be instantly depleted, and her life force would be reduced to less than one-tenth.”

“At best, her cultivation would be utterly crippled, turning her into a mortal with severely diminished lifespan. At worst… at worst, her lamp of life would extinguish, and she would perish on the spot.”

Her voice grew softer and softer, the last few words as light as a breeze, yet as heavy as a mountain, pressing down on everyone’s hearts.

Silence.

‘Ha!’ Shen Zhaoqing applauded Bai Zhileng inwardly. ‘A perfect combination of moves, interlocking flawlessly, leaving no room for escape.’

First, she cast despair, then offered a single, ethereal hope. Then, she pushed Shen Zhaoqing, the ‘antidote,’ to the forefront, and finally, completed the moral blackmail with the notion of a ‘great sacrifice.’

Now, if Shen Zhaoqing dared to utter a single ‘no,’ Bai Zhileng wouldn’t even need to act. These ‘pillars of righteousness’ from the Qingyun Sect would tear her apart on the spot.

She would become the sinner of the entire Qingyun Sect, a selfish villain who watched others die.

“No!” An elder in charge of the Medicine Hall, his eyes red, stood up.

“I disagree.” Elder Wang, who had previously taken Shen Zhaoqing’s pulse in the Calm Heart Hall, gasped for breath. “Junior Niece Shen is still a child. We are a righteous immortal sect; how can we perform such a sacrificial act, akin to the demonic path?!”

“Junior Brother Wang, watch your words!” Another elder immediately reprimanded him. “This is for the sake of all living beings, for the greater good of the sect. How can it be compared to the demonic path?”

“All living beings? The greater good of the sect?” Elder Wang let out a bitter laugh. “Then I ask you, if it were your direct disciple lying on that bed today, and another innocent child was needed for sacrifice, would you still utter such high-sounding words?!”

The elder was choked into silence, his face flushed crimson.

“Enough!”

Xuanweizi’s low roar halted their argument. He closed his eyes, his aged face etched with pain. After a long moment, he slowly opened them, and in those turbid depths, only a dead, resolute stillness remained.

He looked at Shen Zhaoqing, his lips parting and closing several times before he finally managed to utter the words.

“Zhaoqing… you…”

“Sect Master!”

Bai Zhileng suddenly interrupted him, stepping towards Shen Zhaoqing. To everyone’s astonishment, she gently clasped Shen Zhaoqing’s cold hand.

“Junior Sister Zhaoqing, I know this is too unfair, too cruel to you.” Bai Zhileng looked at her, her eyes filled with genuine apology and pleading. “I shouldn’t have proposed this method. I would rather die myself than have you endure all of this, but… look at them.”

She raised her other hand, pointing to the Qingyun Sect disciples, lying on the ground or leaning against walls, their eyes devoid of anything but despair.

“Look at this mountain, look at the myriad lights of the homes below. They are innocent. Immortal Gu fell protecting all of this; we cannot let her sacrifice be in vain.”

Her voice, tinged with a sob, was filled with an alluring, almost demonic, power.

“Junior Sister Zhaoqing, please… please save them.”

“I promise you, I, Bai Zhileng, swear upon my Dao heart that as long as I draw breath, I will never let you fall. I will use all of Penglai’s secret arts, exhaust my life’s learning, even my lifespan, to do everything in my power to preserve your life!”

As she spoke, she slowly began to bend her noble knees towards Shen Zhaoqing.

The Holy Maiden of Penglai was about to kneel before a mere registered disciple of the Qingyun Sect.

“Holy Maiden, you must not!” Xuanweizi cried out in alarm, lunging forward to support her with his spiritual power.

All eyes once again converged on Shen Zhaoqing.

Shen Zhaoqing slowly raised her head. She looked at the ‘heroic’ Bai Zhileng, at the ‘resolute’ Xuanweizi, and at her ‘helpless’ fellow disciples surrounding her.

Suddenly, she found it all incredibly ludicrous.

She slowly withdrew her hand. As Bai Zhileng watched, stunned, Shen Zhaoqing curled her lips into a faint smile.

“Alright,” she said. “I’ll go.”

Just two short words, yet the entire world seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief. Xuanweizi closed his eyes, two lines of old tears tracing paths down his wrinkled cheeks. The disciples, whether sitting or standing, erupted in a joyous frenzy, as if having escaped a great catastrophe.

Bai Zhileng’s eyes flashed with a hint of joy, but it was immediately swallowed by an even deeper sorrow. “Junior Sister Zhaoqing…” She stepped forward, seemingly intending to take her hand again.

“Don’t touch me.” Shen Zhaoqing stepped back, her gaze cold. “I have one condition.”

“Please speak, Junior Sister,” Bai Zhileng immediately responded. “Anything I can do.”

“From now until we reach Penglai Immortal Palace, I don’t want to hear another word from you,” Shen Zhaoqing stated. “I find you… dirty.”