Qiangu Dongfeng clenched his fists tightly, veins bulging across the backs of his hands.
He knew full well that he had no ground to stand on in this matter—especially with Leng Yaozhu openly shielding this child.
Eventually, he loosened his grip and turned to Gu You.
"I'll agree to your request. But only under one condition."
"Condition? You're still trying to set terms?" A sharp aura radiated off Gu You's body.
"It's nothing outrageous. Just a simple one." Qiangu Dongfeng was unfazed by Gu You's pressure.
"Hah, so not only am I getting short-changed, I'm also expected to accept your terms? What kind of twisted deal is that?" Purple energy swirled in Gu You's eyes.
"I apologize for this situation. But the condition is non-negotiable." Qiangu Dongfeng stood firm.
"Let's hear it." Gu You's voice was indifferent.
"You must never enter the Spirit Soul Platform again."
'Never enter again?'
Gu You smirked. 'No need to fall out with him now. The Qiangu Clan still has three demi-god-level powerhouses. If it was just this guy alone, I would've fought him already.'
'Besides, once the Spirit Pagoda no longer belongs to the Qiangu Clan, what's to stop me from entering again? Or better yet, when I shake the continent with my strength, I could wipe the Qiangu Clan off the map with a flick of my fingers.'
"Fine. Take me to the stele." Gu You agreed. His expression was stern, as if he genuinely meant it.
Qiangu Dongfeng glanced at him.
"Follow me."
Gu You gave Leng Yaozhu a look, a silent gesture to reassure her.
'Who's worried about him?' Leng Yaozhu felt a little annoyed. 'Typical self-important man.'
A flash of intense light enveloped Gu You and Qiangu Dongfeng. The next instant, they were descending, surrounded by a soul power barrier.
Gu You could sense that they were moving deeper underground.
Eventually, the barrier faded, revealing the environment before him.
Stone merged with metal in the construction around him. All sorts of containment devices were lined up, many filled with strange fluids. Upon closer inspection, some even contained living beings.
Soul beasts.
Crammed into every tank. So many, Gu You couldn't begin to count.
He swallowed hard and followed Qiangu Dongfeng.
There were no staff underground, just the hum of machinery. Everything was fully automated.
The underground space was massive. After walking for nearly four minutes, they were only halfway through.
Qiangu Dongfeng summoned a dark stone-colored card and scanned it across a detector on a massive metal door ahead.
White vapor hissed from the door's edges. Shhhh! The machinery groaned as it moved.
The door wasn't just thick—it stood nearly seven meters tall. It took several seconds to fully open.
When the mist cleared, Gu You stepped inside—and instantly felt a connection deep in his bloodline.
When he finally saw the object he had longed for, he couldn't help but freeze.
'This isn't a stone stele… it's more accurate to call it a bone stele.'
It was a massive rectangular prism, bone-white, with countless metallic tubes piercing into its surface.
Gu You stepped forward and laid his hand on it.
The moment his hand touched it, a flood of images surged into his mind.
'The Dragon God had nine sons… the Violet Dragon gathered three Sovereigns…'
In his vision, a pale silver-gray dragon appeared. It was being severed into three pieces by the Dragon God. Its head and tail were obliterated by a divine blast, only the torso remained.
That piece of spine fell from the divine realm to the mortal world.
How many eons ago had this been? Before even the Dragon God's final fall, back when the Dragon Clan still flourished.
Time passed. The glow of divinity faded from the bone fragment, eroded bit by bit. When even the last shred of godhood vanished—
Magnetic forces beneath the earth caused a convergence. The bone solidified into a stele.
Gu You felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. Unconsciously, tears welled in his eyes.
'Does this have something to do with me?' He touched his chest.
Suddenly, everything returned to him.
'Stars… the Star Dragon Sovereign…'
Once, it had been the companion dragon of the Violet Dragon God—so powerful that even entire planes couldn't bear its presence.
In the end, it split its power into three parts, birthing three Dragon Sovereigns: Star, Earth, and Ocean.
But the incomplete histories and the wars between Dragon Gods had long since been forgotten by this world.
Gu You let out a long sigh.
'Not even a dragon soul remains… the Star Dragon truly can't be revived.'
"What's with you?" Qiangu Dongfeng asked, puzzled by Gu You's reaction. 'Didn't he want this thing? Why's he standing there, not doing anything?'
"Just remembered something, that's all." A faint dragon pattern glimmered on Gu You's forehead, shining with purple-gold light.
With a flash, the two-to-three-meter long, one-meter thick dragon bone stele was drawn directly into his mindscape.
Qiangu Dongfeng was stunned.
'What kind of freak is this kid? He just absorbed a massive, sacred object like it was nothing.'
He had expected Gu You to struggle with transporting it, given its weight and size.
Not to mention they were underground. How would he get it out?
He had hoped to use this issue to change Gu You's mind or negotiate for something else.
'Never imagined it'd turn out like this…'
He even briefly considered trying to keep Gu You here by force.
But then he thought of Leng Yaozhu. And backed down. 'She values this kid too much. No way I can make a move.'
Back in the Spirit Pagoda hall, the others were still waiting.
"Pay up," Leng Yaozhu said emotionlessly, looking at Gu You.
"Pay what?" Gu You scratched his head.
"Half the value of the soul spirits you obtained from the Spirit Soul Tower," she said flatly. Apparently, Gu Yue hadn't explained this to him at all.
"But I thought it was free!" Gu You turned to Gu Yue—who was already hanging her head in shame.
"So… how much?" Gu You asked carefully.
"Since you're my disciple, I'll be generous. Just four trillion federal credits." Leng Yaozhu smiled.
"Four… four trillion?!" Gu You's face went pale instantly.
Even selling himself wouldn't cover that amount. He knew soul beasts were rare, but he hadn't expected the cost of two hundred-thousand-year soul beasts plus an unknown number of ten-thousand-year ones to reach this price.
"You can't pay?" Leng Yaozhu's voice grew cold.
"I want to… but I really don't have that kind of money." For the first time, Gu You experienced the true fear of debt. Four trillion? That was more than some third-tier cities were worth!
'How the hell am I supposed to afford this?'
He scratched his head in panic.
'Guess I'll just give them everything I have right now and pray it's enough to buy time…'
(End of Chapter)
---
This Fanfiction Has Been Completed on Patreon.
Support me if you like this Fanfiction.
Patreon,com/Fallen_Archangel_
(Remove comma for dot.)
Leave a 5 star Review and a Power Stone.