Volume 3, Chapter 152 – Cheng Hongling, Are You Really His Biological Daughter?

What is a soul? The soul is half of life, forming a complete existence alongside the body, crafted by the Heavenly Dao. Whether you are born, whether you are male or female, fat or thin, tall or short—even your fate—is predetermined by the Heavenly Dao from the very beginning. This is the so-called Mandate of Heaven.

But now? The Mu Ruoyi before her eyes had actually conjured the soul of a tree out of thin air. This was nothing short of defying the heavens!

To defy the heavens is to invite punishment! Just like when a soul leaves the body.

Is this the reason why using Wood Exquisite Art comes with such severe side effects?

While still reeling in shock, Qi Huang vaguely began to piece together an answer.

Under Mu Ruoyi’s continuous infusion of energy, the ancient pine’s soul grew more complete, more vivid. Yet her delicate face paled further, her breathing so heavy that her chest rose and fell in waves.

After a moment, Mu Ruoyi reached her limit. Not daring to delay, she immediately moved to the next step.

Within Qi Huang’s divine sense, she saw a green tether suddenly extend from Mu Ruoyi’s mind, swiftly piercing into the tree trunk and connecting with the newly birthed tree soul. It looked exactly like the soul tether between herself and her main body.

At the same time, Mu Ruoyi rapidly accessed the ancient pine’s memories.

Due to her limited strength, she could only retrieve memories from within the past month—but that was more than enough.

Under a gloomy sky, a merchant convoy of over a dozen horses trudged slowly along the distant official road. At the front were two men—one distinguished and refined, appearing scholarly at first glance, yet his skin was dark and rough, clearly no stranger to hardship.

The other was a burly middle-aged man clad in soft armor, a longsword hanging at his waist, exuding an imposing aura.

Indeed, these two were none other than Cheng Yuan and Constable Wang.

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What Mu Ruoyi saw next unfolded exactly as events had transpired. Soon, a band of robbers appeared, slaughtering the entire convoy, leaving only Cheng Yuan alive—protected by his talismans.

Unfortunately, the bandits’ joy was short-lived. A clean-shaven, pale-faced middle-aged man arrived with his attendants, single-handedly beheading the robber chief on the spot. The remaining bandits, though terrified, could only lie paralyzed on the ground like insects under the crushing weight of his divine sense.

The pale-faced man smirked disdainfully before walking up to Cheng Yuan and beginning to break the shield.

Cheng Yuan, in turn, hurriedly took out a Thousand-Mile Communication Tube to notify his daughter. Just as the call ended, the ice-formed protective barrier shattered with a crisp crack.

“Hand over what you bought at the Gathering Gold Auction House”, the pale-faced man demanded openly, extending his hand.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about”, Cheng Yuan replied calmly, shaking his head.

“Didn’t your daughter ever tell you? Lying in front of a cultivator is not only pointless…”

The pale-faced man sneered before unleashing a surge of overwhelming divine sense, meticulously scouring the surroundings.

A moment later, he smirked confidently and backhanded Cheng Yuan across the face.

“…it also pisses them off!”

Cheng Yuan, a mere mortal, couldn’t withstand the blow. His body was sent flying before crashing to the ground like a ragged sack.

Without sparing him another glance, the pale-faced man strode over to one of the horses and retrieved an unremarkable wooden box from its cargo.

He opened it. Inside lay a lily—but its color was far from ordinary. Instead of white petals, the flower was pitch black, its stamens a dazzling gold that nearly blinded the eyes.

“So fragrant! Master, it’s a Black Gold Lily! This’ll save us a fortune!” the short, pudgy attendant exclaimed excitedly.

The pale-faced man smiled in satisfaction, pocketing the box before turning back to Cheng Yuan.

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By now, Cheng Yuan had struggled to his feet, blood trickling from his lips, his body covered in dust. Yet his back remained straight as a rod.

“Was it for this thing you came?”

“You think I’d bother with worthless cargo?” the pale-faced man retorted. Then, to his pudgy disciple, he ordered, “Xiao Zhi, kill the bandits.”

“Got it! I love slaughtering livestock!” Xiao Zhi’s face twisted with excitement as he drew a dagger and advanced on the paralyzed bandits.

Grabbing one by the hair, he yanked the man’s head up and pressed the blade to his throat. Slowly, deliberately, he sawed back and forth like a butcher. Blood gushed out like a fountain.

The bandit’s face contorted in terror. He wanted to struggle, but under the crushing divine sense, he couldn’t move a muscle. He could only watch as the sharp blade slit his throat inch by inch.

“Whether someone can become a cultivator is one hundred percent determined by bloodline. I thought the father of the Honghua Sect’s top genius would be a dragon among men. Turns out, it’s just trash like you.”

The pale-faced man studied Cheng Yuan with disdain.

Cheng Yuan chuckled. “Ever heard the saying, are kings and nobles born to their thrones? Bloodlines aren’t ranked by nobility.”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t waste time being stubborn. I’d be checking whether that daughter of yours is really mine,” the pale-faced man advised mockingly.

“No need. I trust my wife,” Cheng Yuan refused flatly.

“Trust solves nothing. Aren’t you afraid you’ve been raising another man’s genius daughter? Once her real father shows up, all your effort goes up in smoke.”

The man’s tone dripped with pity.

“You think my bond with my daughter relies solely on blood? How pitiful you are.”

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Cheng Yuan’s lips curled in a faint sneer.

“So you and your daughter are close, huh?” The pale-faced man’s expression turned thoughtful.

By now, Xiao Zhi had finished slitting every bandit’s throat. Wiping his blade, he sauntered back.

“Master, let me kill him too. If Cheng Hongling shows up, things’ll get messy.”

“Suddenly, I don’t feel like killing him.”

The pale-faced man’s eyes burned as he stared at Cheng Yuan.

“Why?” Xiao Zhi blinked.

“If father and daughter are so devoted, why not keep him as a hostage? From now on, whatever we want, we just extort it from his daughter. To keep her dear old dad alive, Cheng Hongling would be more than willing to serve us, don’t you think?”

A cruel smile played on the man’s lips.

“Master, you mean… a long-term scheme?” Xiao Zhi’s eyes gleamed.

“Not entirely stupid, are you? Cheng Hongling is, after all, a Unity Realm cultivator. Now that we’ve got her father, why waste him? We’ll squeeze out every last drop of value first.”

Greed flickered in the man’s gaze.

“After we’ve drained her dry, there’s still her body. They say Cheng Hongling is a peerless beauty, one of the Twin Moons of the Western Radiance Dynasty alongside the Holy Maiden of Shuiyu Valley. Master, d’you think she’d trade some… favors to save her father?”

Xiao Zhi leered.

Smack!

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The pale-faced man cuffed him lightly, laughing. “You’ve got quite the imagination.”

“Don’t worry, Master! Your disciple may not have many talents, but I know my filial duties. You’ll have first pick, of course!”

Xiao Zhi rubbed his head, grinning obsequiously.

“Good. At least my teachings weren’t wasted.”

The man nodded in approval.

“So, Master, what now?” Xiao Zhi pressed.

“Take Cheng Yuan back to Haomeng Inn first. If we’re going to extort Cheng Hongling, we’ll need a solid plan.”

The pale-faced man made his decision.

“You think you can use me to blackmail my daughter? Did you even ask me?”

Cheng Yuan laughed coldly. In one swift motion, he drew a dagger from his robe and stabbed toward his own heart—

But the moment the tip touched fabric, his hand froze. It was as if an invisible force pinned him down. He couldn’t move a muscle, not even to blink.

“Trying to kill yourself? Did you ask me?”

The pale-faced man’s lips curled in contempt.

“From today onward, you live only if I allow it. You die only if I permit it. Understood?”