Chapter 96: The Price of a Dao Source Body

Bai Zhileng froze. A soft laugh escaped her lips, as though she had just heard the most outlandish joke imaginable.

“Junior Sister Zhaoqing, are you jesting with me? This particular joke is far from amusing.”

She shook her head, her voice imbued with the weary affection of a senior addressing a misguided junior. “The Azure Water Cold Pool is the very core of this plague. Its inherent laws have been utterly corrupted and eroded by demonic energy, rendering it fraught with unimaginable dangers. It’s not just you; even I, in my peak condition, would never dare to trifle with death by entering it.”

“I am not going to my death,” Shen Zhaoqing interrupted, her voice firm. “My constitution can suppress the plague, can it not?”

Bai Zhileng’s pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.

“Therefore, I intend to use myself as the core of an array, establishing a suppression formation within the Azure Water Cold Pool.” Shen Zhaoqing continued, speaking as if the matter held no personal significance for her.

“This will, at the very least, temporarily contain the plague’s origin, halting its further spread. It will buy time for the sect, and for those among you with genuine capabilities, to discover an antidote. Isn’t that precisely what you all wish to see?”

“Since it’s all about sacrifice, what exactly are you so afraid of?”

Within the courtyard, the gentle flames of the alchemical furnace flickered softly, emitting faint crackling sounds.

Beyond that, profound silence reigned.

The smile had utterly vanished from Bai Zhileng’s face. Her beautiful countenance, usually as tender as water, was now covered with a layer of frost. She gazed at Shen Zhaoqing, her eyes filled with an unbearable complexity.

“You’re insane!”

She finally lost her composure, her voice suddenly rising, imbued with a hint of urgency and loss of control that even she hadn’t detected. “Do you even comprehend what you’re saying?! Using yourself as the array core? Is your meager vitality even enough to fill a single tooth gap for the plague energy in the Azure Water Cold Pool? That’s not suppression; that’s suicide!

“The moment you step into the cold pool, all your life force will be drained, your Divine Soul annihilated, leaving not even a complete corpse behind!”

Her emotions were clearly agitated, her chest rising and falling subtly.

‘Heh, she’s panicking.’

‘She’s panicking.’

Shen Zhaoqing scoffed inwardly.

‘Look,’

‘Didn’t her pretense just crumble?’

‘What ‘benevolent physician’s heart,’

‘What ‘compassionate spirit,’

‘The moment it concerns the quality of her ‘precious medicinal ingredient,’

‘Her true colors are immediately revealed.’

“I know.”

Faced with Bai Zhileng’s almost undignified ‘admonishment,’ Shen Zhaoqing’s reaction remained calm, a calmness that bordered on cold indifference.

“I know I will die.”

She spoke flatly. “But this is the only method available right now. It is far better than having the entire Qingyun Sect, and the billions of lives at the foot of the mountain, perish alongside me.”

Her words were spoken with such righteous conviction, so full of integrity, that if Sect Master Xuanweizi were present, he would likely be moved to tears on the spot and pass the position of sect master to her.

Yet, Shen Zhaoqing herself knew that she was not so noble.

‘What ‘common folk,’

‘What ‘morality and righteousness,’

‘What do they have to do with her?’

She simply no longer wished to see that perpetually icy face turn as pale and lifeless as paper.

She simply no longer wanted to be the useless one who could only hide behind others, watching helplessly as they shielded her from blades, fought desperately for her, and exhausted their Divine Souls because of her.

‘And Junior Sister.’

‘How could Li Wuxia be an accomplice? Even if she were, she must have been coerced, forced to act under duress.’

‘Truly despicable!’

Ever since her junior sister was injured, she hadn’t tasted her homemade osmanthus cakes, nor had she drunk her osmanthus wine.

“A method?

“This isn’t a method; this is utter foolishness!”

Bai Zhileng took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She once again adopted that expression of profound anguish, earnestly advising:

“Zhaoqing, listen to me. Things haven’t reached that point yet.”

“As long as you return to Penglai with me, my master, Holy Master Yaoguang, will surely have a way to resolve this plague. Moreover, only in Penglai can I guarantee the complete eradication of the hidden dangers within your body. This is the perfect solution that benefits everyone. Why do you refuse to understand?”

‘Here we go again.’

‘She’s starting her ‘I’m doing this for your own good’ gentle brainwashing again.’

“Go to Penglai?” Shen Zhaoqing looked at her, a curve of mockery twisting her lips. “And then what? Have me thoroughly cleansed and packaged, delivered to your master’s alchemy furnace to become the primary ingredient for that legendary ‘Nine Revolutions Soul-Returning Pill’?”

“You—!”

Bai Zhileng’s face instantly turned ashen.

‘She… how could she possibly know?!’

“It seems I guessed correctly.”

Witnessing Bai Zhileng’s reaction, Shen Zhaoqing’s last shred of doubt vanished into thin air.

She slowly took a step forward, closing the distance to Bai Zhileng, who was rigid with shock.

The two stood incredibly close.

Shen Zhaoqing could even discern the pleasant, cool medicinal fragrance emanating from her, and clearly see the tumultuous waves of alarm churning within those beautiful, autumn-water eyes.

This was the first time she had held such absolute dominance in a confrontation with these top-tier powerhouses.

It felt rather satisfying.

“Don’t be so surprised, Holy Maiden.” Shen Zhaoqing’s voice was soft. “To keep a secret, one must not act. Do you truly believe everyone else is a fool, oblivious to the schemes of your Penglai Immortal Palace?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Bai Zhileng snapped back to attention, her gaze instantly sharpening. The gentle aura around her dissipated completely, replaced by the chilling, powerful pressure of a Soul Transformation Realm expert.

That immense pressure descended upon Shen Zhaoqing like an invisible mountain. If an ordinary Qi Induction Realm cultivator were subjected to such terrifying coercion, they would likely collapse to their knees on the spot, perhaps even bleeding from their orifices and suffering damage to their mind.

But Shen Zhaoqing simply stood there, without even a blink of an eye. Her Dao Source Body, as if sensing its host’s will, spontaneously circulated a faint yet resilient wisp of vitality. Like a warm stream, it silently dissipated the mountain-like pressure into nothingness.

Bai Zhileng’s pupils contracted once more.

“Holy Maiden, don’t waste your effort,” Shen Zhaoqing said flatly, as if seeing through her thoughts. “And stop acting with me. I’m tired, and I’m sick of it.”

She lifted her head, meeting Bai Zhileng’s icy, piercing gaze, and spoke each word distinctly.

“My plan is the best choice for you, for me, and for the Qingyun Sect.”

“I will go to suppress the plague’s origin, facing near-certain death. If I die, you gain nothing. Your mission fails, and your master’s elixir goes to waste.”

“Therefore, you must save me.”

“You must unleash the true capabilities of Penglai Immortal Palace, exhausting every possible means to preserve my life. Because a living Dao Source Body is far more crucial to you than the outcome of a mere plague in Qingzhou.”

Shen Zhaoqing revealed a smile that could only be described as malicious.

“The Holy Maiden’s ultimate goal is to bring a *living* Dao Source Body back to Penglai, not a corpse, isn’t that right?”

Bai Zhileng parted her lips, gazing at the seemingly weak, ant-like girl before her, who was now terrifyingly calm.

The initiative had already shifted.

“You’ve grown up, haven’t you?” Bai Zhileng managed a smile.

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