Chapter 190: Chapter 174: The Cold Li Xuerou, Swearing an Oath

Lu Zhao fell silent at Li Xuerou’s words, but she continued speaking.

Her gaze was like a poisoned dagger, fixed on Lu Zhao’s face. "Elder, I ask that you refine my corpse into a Zombie! Turn me into the strongest, most ferocious Zombie you can create!"

Even with his tenacious will and worldly experience, Lu Zhao was still shaken by her request. A flicker of astonishment crossed his eyes. He was an expert in Corpse Refinement, but he had never heard of someone actively asking to have their own body turned into a Zombie!

Li Xuerou seemed to sense Lu Zhao’s shock. Before he could speak, she continued in a tone so cold it was as if she were discussing merchandise. "There’s no need to be surprised, Elder. Did you know that my Three Yin Ghost Body isn’t just a boon for practicing certain Cultivation Techniques? It’s also a Top-Grade material for Corpse Refinement!"

"Using my body as the foundation, combined with your Corpse Refining Secret Technique, creating a Tier Two Zombie will be effortless! In the future, even advancing to Tier Three—the Corpse King Realm, comparable to Core Formation—will be far from an impossible dream!"

As she spoke, a strange, tragic smile touched her lips. Paired with the dim blue light, it looked exceptionally eerie.

Lu Zhao fell silent. The air in the secret chamber seemed to freeze once more. He needed time to process this unbelievable deal. ’To have her own body refined into a Zombie? To be controlled by another? Li Xuerou’s obsession with revenge had driven her to this level of madness!’

After half a quarter hour, Lu Zhao finally spoke, his voice low. "Your plan is thorough enough. However, if you fail your Foundation Establishment and I am to refine your body into a Zombie to avenge you, I should at least know who your enemies are. Otherwise, how is this promise anything but empty talk?"

Hearing this, Li Xuerou let out a soft chuckle, KEK KEK. The sound echoed through the cold chamber, carrying a bone-chilling iciness. "It seems Elder is quite covetous of my body..."

Her smile vanished, and her expression turned serious. "Rest assured, Elder. I have already made all the necessary preparations. If I fail my Foundation Establishment, all the detailed information about my enemies—including their identities, strength, possible hideouts, and everything I’ve gathered over the years—is stored in my Storage Bag. At the same time, my entire life’s savings will also be gifted to you, Elder, as payment for refining the Zombie and carrying out my revenge."

Then her tone shifted. "Of course, if I succeed in my Foundation Establishment, then you naturally won’t need to know who my enemies are. Our deal will be limited to the Cultivation Technique and Spiritual Materials."

Lu Zhao gazed at her face, breathtakingly beautiful yet twisted with obsession and madness in the dim light. His mind raced. ’This woman is meticulous and utterly ruthless. If she can do this to herself, what wouldn’t she do to others?’

Her promise might be credible if she succeeded, but if she failed, who knew if the information in the Storage Bag was real or a trap? Still, she had leverage over him. And with the Heart Demon Vow and her own corpse as bait, her terms... for him, it seemed there was no significant loss for the time being. In fact, he stood to gain raw material for Corpse Refinement with immense potential.

Risk and opportunity coexisted. A quarter of an hour later, Lu Zhao spoke.

"Where do you plan to attempt your Foundation Establishment? Within the Marketplace?" Lu Zhao asked, tacitly agreeing to the deal.

Li Xuerou shook her head. "The Marketplace is too crowded, and too many people are watching. My constitution and identity are rather sensitive, after all."

"I’ve already found a desolate location with a Tier One High-Grade spiritual vein. I will set up a Tier Two Gathering Spirit Array there to forcibly raise the Spiritual Qi concentration to a level approaching Tier Two Middle-Grade. It won’t last long, but it should be enough to support one attempt at breaking through to Foundation Establishment."

After saying this, she walked to the door. "Elder, please follow me. My life and death hang on this single attempt."

Lu Zhao rose and followed in silence.

The two left the cold, underground chamber, returned to the corridors of the Black Market, and slipped out of the Marketplace. By now, it was late at night. The wilderness outside the Marketplace was shrouded in a thick darkness, with only the faint light of a few scattered stars overhead.

Li Xuerou slapped her Spirit Beast Bag. A ray of golden light shot out, transforming into a magnificent golden bird with an immense wingspan of nearly seven meters. She leaped lightly onto its back and said to Lu Zhao, "Elder, please keep up."

Lu Zhao nodded, and Magical Power circulated within him as he silently activated the Thousand Waters Spirit Transformation Escape. A faint blue Water Light enveloped him, and his figure blurred, as if transforming into a flowing current. He sped silently across the ground, his speed no less than that of the golden bird in the sky.

One chasing the other, they sped away from Bixia Marketplace under the cover of night. Li Xuerou was clearly familiar with the route; the golden bird carried her, weaving nimbly between the rolling hills. The current of water that was Lu Zhao followed close behind, gliding over the rugged terrain as if it were level ground.

They traveled like this for a full day and night, crossing countless barren mountains and wildlands, before finally stopping in front of a small, unremarkable, grey-brown hill with sparse vegetation.

"This is the place," Li Xuerou said, recalling the golden bird and pointing to the hill before them.

Lu Zhao deactivated his Escape Technique, and his form reappeared. His Divine Sense swept over the hill like a tidal wave. Just as he suspected, the hill’s surface was shrouded in an exceptionally clever Illusion Array. Beneath it, the pure aura of a Tier One High-Grade spiritual vein faintly emanated. If not for his powerful Divine Sense and deliberate probing, he would have likely missed it.

"This place was originally the lair of a pack of Iron-Backed Apes. Their leader was close to the Tier One Peak," Li Xuerou said, her tone flat, as if she were discussing a trivial matter. "It took me some trouble to clear them out."

Lu Zhao’s heart tightened at her words. A pack of Demon Apes led by a Tier One Peak Demon Beast was not to be underestimated. For her to annihilate them with only her Peak Qi Cultivation, she must have not only possessed extraordinary means but also paid a steep price.

Li Xuerou walked to an unremarkable rock face at the foot of the mountain. She formed a series of hand signs, and streams of Spirit Light shot into the stone. The rock face rippled like water, revealing an opening just large enough for a single person to pass through. A dense wave of Spiritual Qi immediately washed over them.

"Elder Lu, please," she said, stepping inside first.

Lu Zhao followed her into the cave. As his gaze swept across the interior, he saw that the tunnel was short, opening into a natural grotto about thirty meters in diameter. In the center of the grotto floor, an incredibly complex Gathering Spirit Array Map was inscribed, shimmering with a faint silver light. Several Middle-Grade Spirit Stones were embedded in the Array Hub.

The source of the Tier One High-Grade Spirit Vein was located directly beneath the Array Map. It was currently being forcibly drawn upon and gathered by the Array Power, causing the Spiritual Qi concentration inside the grotto to slowly climb, gradually approaching the threshold of Tier Two Middle-Grade.

"Elder, please make the Heart Demon Vow here." Li Xuerou stood at the edge of the Array Map and turned to face Lu Zhao. Her eyes were placid, as if she were not the one about to face a battle between life and death.

Looking at her expression, as if she were already facing death, Lu Zhao felt a complex emotion stir within him. He no longer hesitated. Stepping forward with a solemn expression, he used his finger as a brush, drawing upon his own Essence Blood and Divine Sense to sketch out arcane Runes in the empty air. At the same time, he proclaimed his vow in a clear voice:

"By the Celestial Dao above and the Heart Demon as my witness! I, Lu Zhao, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, hereby swear this oath: If Fellow Daoist Li Xuerou fails in her attempt to reach Foundation Establishment and her life is forfeit, I shall refine her corpse into a Zombie using a Secret Technique. I will spare no effort in nurturing it. When the day comes that my cultivation and strength are sufficient, I will command this Zombie to extinguish Li Xuerou’s blood feud, ensuring all her enemies are slain and every blood debt is paid in blood! If I break this vow, may my Dao Foundation crumble and a Heart Demon devour my soul!"

As the vow was sealed, the blood-red Runes in the air flared brightly before transforming into two streaks of light. One shot into the space between Lu Zhao’s eyebrows, the other into Li Xuerou’s. At the same moment, both felt their Spiritual Souls tremble as an invisible, binding force took hold.

Feeling the power of the vow within her Spiritual Soul, Li Xuerou’s face finally broke into a smile—one of both relief and infinite desolation.

The smile bloomed across her exquisite face. Illuminated by the ever-brightening glow of Spiritual Qi within the grotto, it possessed a heart-stopping, tragic beauty.

"Thank you, Elder." She gave Lu Zhao a deep bow, then turned and walked with resolute steps toward the Gathering Spirit Array Map in the center of the grotto, which now shone with an intensifying light.

"Elder, I am going now. This array can be sustained at full power for three months. After three months, the outcome will be clear." As her voice faded, she had already seated herself cross-legged upon the Array Hub. Forming a hand sign, the Magical Power around her began to fluctuate violently.

BOOM!

As Li Xuerou poured all her effort into the Technique, the entire Gathering Spirit Array Map erupted in a blinding silver light! The dense Spiritual Qi in the grotto was drawn by an unseen, colossal force, converging madly upon Li Xuerou at the Array Hub. It formed a visible Spiritual Energy Vortex that slowly engulfed her graceful figure.

At the center of the vortex, her aura began its final, desperate assault on the barrier to Foundation Establishment!

Lu Zhao stood at the edge of the grotto, his eyes profound as he watched the figure enveloped in the raging Spiritual Qi. With a wave of his hand, he set up several warning Restrictions, then silently retreated to the cave entrance and sat down cross-legged.

In the dim grotto, only the whistling roar of surging Spiritual Qi remained.

Three months. Success or failure. Life or death. A new deal, or the beginning of a Corpse Refinement. The answer would soon be revealed.

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