Chapter 83: Doesn't Your Conscience Hurt?
"Who is your sister?"
Seeing Liu Ruyan remain silent with her world-weary expression, Gu Qing pressed on.
"She… she is a demon."
At the mention of the word "sister," the long-buried memories surged into Liu Ruyan's mind. Her face turned pale, her body trembling like a wounded little beast.
Seeing this, Gu Qing didn't continue asking.
His curiosity, however, only deepened. What kind of person could make Empress Ruyan tremble in fear just from hearing a name?
It seemed he had encountered another vicious villain.
Changing the subject, Gu Qing said, "Would you like to join the Star Temple? It's the sect I belong to."
"The Star Temple inherits teachings from the ancient era, possessing countless divine arts and treasures beyond measure…"
"How do I join?"
Liu Ruyan swallowed the refusal that had risen to her lips and asked eagerly.
She didn't lack divine arts or cultivation guidance, and she despised the major powers of the world, having planned long ago to be a solitary cultivator.
But… when it came to the Star Temple, she couldn't refuse.
"I'll recommend you."
"I'm going into seclusion for a while — I'll leave piloting the ship to you."
Gu Qing tossed her the coordinate.
Such a useful helper shouldn't be wasted; there was no way he'd be someone else's bodyguard for free.
With all the divine techniques He Ni had given him, merging them would strengthen his foundation even further.
"Alright…"
Liu Ruyan happily accepted and inserted the coordinate into the ship's control console, experimenting with various commands.
Although she was mature for her age, she was still a young girl.
Seeing such an advanced flying treasure, she couldn't contain her excitement and flew around wildly.
After a full day of flight, her excitement faded into exhaustion, and she suddenly came to her senses.
"Wait a minute — wasn't my master supposed to have Gu Qing look after me? Why does it feel like I'm the one taking care of him?"
Liu Ruyan frowned deeply.
Piloting the void ship consumed both effort and energy, and after joining the Star Temple, Gu Qing probably wouldn't have to care for her at all.
She shook her head, realizing she was overthinking things. Gu Qing probably gave her control of the ship because he noticed how much she liked it.
Joining the Star Temple would bring her immense benefits — perhaps even help her restore the source of her Divine-Demon Dao Body.
…
In the seclusion chamber, Gu Qing calmly studied the techniques left by He Ni.
They were all extremely advanced, with several reaching the level of Immortal King scriptures.
Visions flickered in his eyes as he rapidly deduced the Dao texts, merging them with the Chaos Undying Sutra.
His primordial spirit sat upon the Nine-Colored Soul Lotus, whose radiance filled the Purple Mansion with profound Dao essence.
His soul power and physical cultivation advanced swiftly.
Time passed, and half a month went by in the blink of an eye.
Gu Qing fully integrated all the techniques into the Chaos Undying Sutra and broke through to the Second Layer of the King Realm.
"System, display my attribute panel."
[Name] Gu Qing.
[Realm] King Realm, Second Layer.
[Physique] Supreme Dao Bone, Chaos Starry Body, Dao Eye, Xuanhuang Undying Blood (2%).
[Talent] Innate Dao Seed, Unparalleled Through the Ages.
[Fate] Variable.
[Destiny] Unknown.
[Fortune] 773,000.
[Innate Divine Arts] Chaos Vase Seal, Yin-Yang Wheel, Star-Plucking Hand, Chaos Return Ruin Sword Technique, Star-Shattering Finger, Star-Fight Divine Fist, Divine Prison.
[Divine Arts] Devastate Eight Wastes (minor attainment), Spatial Shift (minor attainment), Reincarnation Divine Eye.
[Treasures] Reincarnation Divine Halberd, Golden Gourd, Xuanhuang Pearl, Spatial Divine Rune, Sun Mirror, Cosmic Tower, Void Airship.
[Symbiotic Treasure] Calamity Black Dragon.
[Heavenly Flame] Heart of Ice and Fire.
[Innate Spiritual Root] Nine-Colored Soul Lotus.
[Skillbook] Chaos Undying Sutra.
"A few months passed, yet the improvement is minimal," Gu Qing sighed.
Now he finally understood why people said cultivation was harder than ascending to the heavens.
Before, he could leap entire realms within months, but now he had only broken through a single minor stage.
And this was merely the King Realm — at the Venerable and Saint Realms, even minor breakthroughs would likely take years.
Thinking so, Gu Qing consumed vast amounts of spirit liquid.
Though refined from spirit stones and inferior to true treasure liquid, it was still one of the finest cultivation resources in existence.
Utilizing his unique physique, he constructed an inner cosmic cycle, running the Chaos Undying Sutra while cultivating with dual focus, steadily raising his realm.
This constant cultivation method had been created jointly by him and He Ni.
Though not as effective as full meditation, it achieved nearly half the effect — already extraordinary.
When Gu Qing exited seclusion, he found Liu Ruyan and the Thunder Eagle slumped weakly at the console, their eyes dim and exhausted.
"What happened to you two?" he asked, puzzled.
"You've got the nerve to ask?"
Seeing Gu Qing's bright complexion and spirited demeanor, Liu Ruyan's temper exploded.
After the ship's spirit stones ran out, she and the Thunder Eagle had been burning their own cultivation to keep it flying.
Meanwhile, Gu Qing had been comfortably cultivating in peace, improving his strength.
Was this how he fulfilled the task of taking care of her after accepting Yang Dieyi's favor?
She was only at the Divine Sea Realm, yet Gu Qing had drained her strength — didn't his conscience hurt?
Had she not feared disturbing his cultivation, she would have banged down the door long ago.
"I see…"
After listening to her rant, Gu Qing merely smiled and tossed her ten thousand top-grade spirit stones.
"This…"
Liu Ruyan's eyes widened, her heart pounding violently.
Ten thousand top-grade spirit stones?
It was common knowledge that the exchange rate of spirit stones was ten to one.
However, when it came to top-grade spirit stones, the difference was not merely in quantity but in quality.
Top-grade spirit stones contained flawless, pure spiritual energy that could be directly absorbed. They also carried a trace of spiritual resonance, similar to divine elixirs, providing great assistance in breakthroughs.
Of course, this applied mainly to cultivators of lower realms.
Even so, it was enough to show just how precious top-grade spirit stones were.
Ten thousand high-grade spirit stones could not even exchange for a single top-grade one.
And yet, Gu Qing had just handed her one hundred thousand of them.
Was she dreaming?
"Not enough?"
Gu Qing smiled faintly and tossed her another hundred thousand top-grade spirit stones. "Now is it enough?"
"Enough! More than enough!"
Liu Ruyan nodded repeatedly, quickly pocketing the two storage rings, her resentment instantly fading away.
She thought to herself — how could someone like Gu Qing ever exploit her?
He was simply too accustomed to wealth and probably didn't even consider such trivial matters.
Still suspicious, Liu Ruyan sent her divine sense into the storage rings again to verify their authenticity.
After a while, she hesitated but couldn't help asking, "You… you have so many spirit stones? Do all disciples of the Star Temple have this much wealth?"
"Of course not."
"I've never taken a single spirit stone from the Star Temple."
"Then how…"
"I took them."
"What?" Liu Ruyan was stunned. Could Gu Qing be some great demonic villain who plundered the world?
"What are you thinking?"
Gu Qing pinched her soft, round cheek and said with a grin, "The world runs on strength. The weak are prey, and the strong rule. Obviously, I'm the strong one."
Was two hundred thousand top-grade spirit stones a lot?
Certainly — most holy lands couldn't even produce that amount.
But for him, it was a trifle. Whatever he desired, he could obtain.
When he grew strong enough, even if he claimed the world as his own, no one would dare oppose him.
The Chu Clan, for instance, had once given him all their demonic beast flesh in exchange for a single divine-grade cultivation method. Converted to spirit stones, the value was unimaginable.
But the truth was, the divine-grade technique wasn't worth nearly that much.
Yet some things simply couldn't be measured by worldly value.
Even after obtaining a divine-grade scripture, the Chu Clan had still chosen to make the trade.
That was the importance of strength.
As long as one possessed sufficient power, the entire world would bow before them.
"Oh…" Liu Ruyan slapped away his hand and nodded, half understanding, half confused.
"Now, focus on recovering your cultivation." Gu Qing handed her a few bottles of top-grade pills.
"Gulp…"
"Gu Qing… why don't I take you as my master?"
Liu Ruyan was completely stunned by his generosity.
Only now did she realize that a true golden thigh was right beside her.
Gu Qing was already at the King Realm — in any holy land, that would qualify him as a Grand Elder.
For him to take her as a disciple would be her fortune.
As for Yang Dieyi, she had told Liu Ruyan upon leaving that if she met a worthy expert, she could take them as her teacher — but she must never mention anything about her master.
"You wish."
Using a few insignificant items to maintain goodwill with Liu Ruyan was fine, but taking her as a disciple would mean real responsibility — guidance, resources, time.
That was no different from taking on a dependent.
He had no interest in becoming anyone's master.
If he had the time, he'd rather find another wife.
"Alright then…"
Liu Ruyan's eyes dimmed with disappointment.
She fed the Thunder Eagle a pill and took one herself, quickly restoring her cultivation.
Gu Qing then poured one hundred billion high-grade spirit stones into the ship's core, taking control of the airship. Before long, they reached the border city of the Great Qing Empire.
"Go and buy a coordinate map for the Eastern Region. I'll wait here," he instructed.
The world was vast — without coordinates, one wouldn't even know where to fly.
"…"
Liu Ruyan fell silent.
Why did it suddenly feel like she was his servant?
Illusion. It must be an illusion.
Shaking her head, she left the ship and flew into the city.
As she walked through the streets, her face remained cold and distant, but her eyes darted curiously around, fascinated by everything she saw.
Her appearance was a mix of icy elegance and innocent charm.
…
"Second Princess…"
On the city wall, a middle-aged cultivator trembled as he looked at the spiritual compass in his hand.
He carefully examined Liu Ruyan's face — it was unmistakably her.
Her appearance was nearly identical to when she was seven, only slightly matured.
The compass carried Liu Ruyan's aura, and it matched perfectly.
At once, the man transmitted her image to Liu Ruyi's subordinates.
"Finally found you, my dear little sister."
In the imperial palace, Liu Ruyi murmured with excitement, her smile slowly turning dark.
"Your Highness, shall we report this to His Majesty?"
Xu Jing bowed deeply, glancing at Liu Ruyi. For some reason, she suddenly felt that the princess's smile was… unsettling, almost deranged.
An illusion, surely. She quickly dismissed the thought.
After all, everyone knew Liu Ruyi was the reincarnation of a divine maiden — the auspicious star of the Great Qing Empire.
Noble and pure, compassionate to all beings.
"Go ahead," Liu Ruyi said softly. "I will personally welcome my sister home."
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