Su Xi listened to the monk Zhiyuan's words, her eyes constantly scrutinizing him as she rapidly processed her thoughts.
He had wanted to kill her before, and now he suddenly stopped, wanting peace instead. Was that not too ridiculous?
She had only ever seen such preposterous plots in poorly written novels and television dramas, and now she had encountered it in real life.
Under Su Xi’s suspicious gaze, the monk Zhiyuan did not flinch. Instead, he puffed out his chest and met her eyes, appearing very candid.
After all, he had already decided to pledge his allegiance to Su Xi, so he had no reason to hesitate or fear her interrogation.
If he couldn't defeat a powerful enemy, forcing the issue would only bring him endless trouble. Therefore, to avoid trouble, peace was the most sensible choice.
Su Xi observed the monk Zhiyuan for a while, her mind made up. She withdrew her gaze and said, "Alright, I believe what you're saying. However, to show your sincerity, you must first dismantle the formation."
One must always be on guard; she needed to see some concession.
Upon hearing Su Xi's words, the monk Zhiyuan did not act immediately. A hint of hesitation crossed his face. "It's not that I don't believe you, but the cultivation world is too perilous. Releasing you is not a problem, but you must promise me one thing."
"What thing?" Su Xi looked at the monk Zhiyuan, seemingly having anticipated that he wouldn't easily let her go.
"Swear by the Heavenly Dao that if I release you, you will not seek revenge on me later." Monk Zhiyuan looked at Su Xi, awaiting her response.
The Heavenly Dao was the ultimate authority, impossible to defy. If anyone dared to violate a Heavenly Dao oath, they would face its punishment, leading to utter annihilation and eternal damnation.
Thus, no one in the cultivation world dared to break such an oath. If Su Xi swore it, she would be bound by it.
Without a second thought, Su Xi raised her hand and took the oath.
Currently lacking spiritual energy, escaping the Ten Thousand Ghosts Devouring Soul Formation was extremely difficult. To continue resisting within the formation would only be detrimental to her.
Hearing that Su Xi had sworn the oath, Monk Zhiyuan was finally at ease. With a wave of his hand, he dismantled the formation.
Maintaining such a powerful formation for an extended period was taxing, even for him at his peak Golden Core stage cultivation. By dismantling it now, he could also gain favor.
After dispelling the formation, Monk Zhiyuan turned to Su Xi and said enthusiastically, "Now that we've met under less than ideal circumstances, and I know you're looking for the sacred artifact of Penglai Mountain, why don't I escort you?"
If he could align himself with Su Xi, his future would be much easier, and he might even have access to cultivation resources from the Upper Realm, leading to rapid advancement.
Su Xi ignored Monk Zhiyuan and spoke in a low voice to an empty space beside her.
"What are you saying?" Monk Zhiyuan looked at Su Xi, indicating he hadn't heard her clearly and didn't understand her mumbling.
Su Xi heard his question and a knowing smile spread across her face. "I was just asking for help."
"Asking for help?" Monk Zhiyuan looked around, wondering if Su Xi had been scared senseless by his ghosts, causing her to speak nonsense.
The surroundings were empty, with no one in sight.
Just as Monk Zhiyuan was about to question her further, he suddenly heard a voice in his ear, "Are you looking for me?"
"Who is speaking?" Monk Zhiyuan felt a chill crawl up his spine upon hearing the voice so close.
He looked in the direction of the voice but saw nothing. The area was completely vacant.
Just as he suspected it was his imagination, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he was astonished to find a gaping wound in his chest, from which blood was gurgling and dripping. His body began to cool rapidly.
"What is this?" Monk Zhiyuan looked at Su Xi before him, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Su Xi had broken her Heavenly Dao oath so quickly and attacked him. Wasn't she afraid of retribution?
Su Xi looked at Monk Zhiyuan's questioning gaze, raised her hands, and said helplessly, "Don't look at me. I didn't do this. Since I swore the oath, I won't act."
There was an unspoken subtext: while she wouldn't act, it didn't mean the Heavenly Gang True Lord beside her wouldn't.
Whatever the Ancestor Master wanted to do was not her concern. After all, she was just a junior and couldn't dictate the Heavenly Gang True Lord's actions.
"You little punk, you can't take a loss, can you? Attacking sneakily." Monk Zhiyuan looked in horror at the profusely bleeding wound in his chest, filled with regret.
Why hadn't he acted sooner? He had given Su Xi an opportunity to strike, leading to his own injury.
He had deliberately said those things earlier to deceive Su Xi, making her lower her guard so he could attack.
He hadn't expected Su Xi to have the same idea and strike first before he could even make a move.
Su Xi glanced at Monk Zhiyuan and chuckled. "Do you believe that yourself when you say it?"
Having experienced so many life-and-death trials, she was certainly not that naive. Although Monk Zhiyuan had shown no killing intent before, she had already sensed something was amiss.
If Monk Zhiyuan had truly intended to surrender, he wouldn't have waited to release her before quickly dismantling the formation. Furthermore, her supercomputer indicated that the Ghost King, which she had been on the verge of defeating within the formation, was continuously repairing itself.
All these actions pointed to Monk Zhiyuan's ill intentions.
Su Xi didn't have the mental energy to decipher whether Monk Zhiyuan truly intended to harm her. Thus, she paid the price of a meal and requested the Heavenly Gang True Lord's intervention.
Overthinking was too much of a strain on her brain; it was better to cut through the Gordian knot swiftly.
Killing was better than being ambushed.
At least, based on the current outcome, her guess was correct. If she had truly believed Monk Zhiyuan, she would have met her end today and faded from the protagonist's narrative.
Monk Zhiyuan was furious, seething with anger that someone could be more cunning and ruthless than him.
However, his severe injuries rendered him incapable of any further action. He collapsed to the ground, his eyes filled with resentment. As he fell, the soul tablet bearing Monk Zhiyuan's name at the Enforcer's Alliance headquarters instantly shattered.
The guardian of the soul tablet was startled and rushed to inform the responsible captain.
The captain frowned upon seeing this. He had initially thought dealing with Su Xi, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, would be a simple matter. He hadn't anticipated such a complication.
Their Enforcer's Alliance had lost a Golden Core expert.
Su Xi was indeed peculiar.
"Issue an order: elevate Su Xi's danger level by one notch and increase the bounty by five hundred spirit stones."
"Yes." The subordinate disciple received the order and immediately relayed the notification.