"Daoist Friend Li, I fear you only have the option to trust me." Lei Dong's hand tightened slightly, grasping Li Chuchu's neck deeply. This action plunged Li Chuchu into despair, her face helpless and shadowed with gloom. For the first time in her life, she had developed such a strong feeling for a man of the opposite sex; for him, she was willing to discard her reputation, her dignity, even deceive her great-grandfather. Who would have thought that such sincere devotion would ultimately result in this? She had become a mere pawn in his hands, a piece to threaten her great-grandfather—a pawn he could crush with a casual squeeze.

Watching her reaction, a pang of pain and reluctance struck Lei Dong's heart. However, the thought of Mu Yanmei, the Heavenly Demon whose life or death remained uncertain, hardened his gaze with absolute ruthlessness. "I have always been a man of my word. Otherwise, the Phoenix Emperor and the Ghost Emperor would not regard me with such esteem. If I manage to obtain the Divine Light Water, and if I secure more than one bottle, one of those bottles will belong to you, Daoist Friend. If I fail to retrieve it, I ask Elder Li not to blame me too harshly, because by then, Lei will surely have lost his life within the Sacred Domain of Light, fighting to the death—there will be no third outcome. If I die, Daoist Friend Li, you can only blame your own bad luck."

"Hiss~" Elder Li also sucked in a sharp breath. The vast majority of cultivators, due to their immense power, exalted status, and lifespans far exceeding mortals, cling fiercely to life. The stronger they are, the more they treasure their lives. He observed that this young man surnamed Lei, though already at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, could not be very old. Such youth, such cultivation—truly boundless prospects lay ahead. He should have been someone who cherished his life, yet unexpectedly, he was resolved to venture into the Sacred Domain of Light for the Life Divine Water. The weight carried by the phrase "fighting to the death" was chilling.

For some inexplicable reason, Elder Li's intuition, honed over seven or eight hundred years of life experience, was telling him this young man was trustworthy. He closed the eyes of the puppet and sighed, "Daoist Friend Lei seems extremely determined, willing to stake even his life. Very well, I shall gamble on this with you. As you surmise, the Life Divine Water is of immense use to this old man."

The Life Divine Water was the rarest and most valuable spiritual medicine in the Sacred Domain of Light. Its greatest effect was nourishing and repairing the Divine Soul. The Nascent Soul, being a stage-specific form of the Divine Soul, could naturally also be nourished and mended. The Heavenly Demon Mu Yanmei had fallen into a coma precisely because her Nascent Soul suffered a massive trauma; if not for the continuous life support from the Yaksha Clan's ultimate treasure, the Soul of Separated Water, her Nascent Soul would have long since disintegrated, leading to her demise. Furthermore, the Divine Light Water greatly benefits the strengthening of the Divine Soul, making it a remedy few cultivators could refuse. Its efficacy far surpassed treasures like Soul Fruits or Heart-Washing Fruits, possessing the dual effect of nourishing the Nascent Soul or Primordial Spirit and extending one's lifespan.

Whether human or any other race, lifespan is inherently finite. This is because all things in the universe perform according to cycles of flourishing and decay. The cosmos itself operates this way, and sentient life forms follow suit. For human cultivators who reach the Nascent Soul level, the composition of their lifespan splits into two: the lifespan of the physical body and the lifespan of the Nascent Soul.

Theoretically, the aging speed of the Nascent Soul is slightly slower than that of the physical body. To compensate for the slowing physical decay, cultivators often use the life essence within their Nascent Souls to frequently nourish their bodies. In this manner, the two reach a state of equilibrium; without a breakthrough, they will ultimately perish together, and often the Nascent Soul decays before the physical form completely fails.

This implies that if the Nascent Soul were separated and existed purely in that form, its lifespan would be longer than in the normal state. However, for an Elder like Li, at his age, separating his Nascent Soul to merge with a puppet, even with an extended lifespan, the increase is severely limited—perhaps only a matter of a few decades at most.

But the Life Divine Water is precisely a fluid that can slow the aging of the Nascent Soul, and even nourish it to some degree, rejuvenating it. If Elder Li can obtain even one bottle of Life Divine Water, it can extend his lifespan by at least two to three centuries. This illustrates the immense, even fatal, attraction this item holds for Elder Li, who now possesses only his Nascent Soul. Moreover, due to various circumstances, he was left with no choice but to trust Lei Dong and enter into this transaction.

"Good, very good. Then our deal is settled." Lei Dong let out a breath of relief from the bottom of his heart. His original intent in coming to the Myriad Puppet Sect in Great Qian Continent was merely to seek assistance in repairing his Soul Transformation Puppet. But after experiencing all these twists and turns, how could Lei Dong settle for just a repair? He decided to push the negotiation to its limit and directly acquire the Soul Transformation Puppet Art. Lei Dong was acutely aware of how beneficial this technique would be for him. Setting aside the two composite Soul Transformation Puppets he already possessed that needed fixing, how many damaged Soul Transformation Puppets lay silently waiting for him within the Underworld King's Palace?

Besides, the price Lei Dong was paying for this transaction was minimal. The peak-grade spiritual ghosts were things he could refine casually. As for the Life Divine Water, although it was incredibly precious and rare, that was predicated on the condition that he survived to return and obtain it. If everything went smoothly and he acquired a surplus, parting with one bottle would be no great matter.

Elder Li was also quite satisfied with the outcome, as the price he paid was merely a duplicate copy of the Soul Transformation Puppet Art. Not only did he obtain a treasure like a peak-grade spiritual ghost, but he also held the future possibility of acquiring Life Divine Water, even if he estimated the probability of success at less than thirty percent. But that was enough; a thirty percent chance was sufficient for him to take the gamble.

What followed was a meticulous and cautious exchange. Both were cunning veterans of the cultivation world, so they ensured the process and details of the transaction were exhaustive, binding themselves with oaths and agreements, scrutinizing every textual detail. For cultivators at the level of Lei Dong and Elder Li, their reverence for the universe far surpassed that of lower-tier cultivators. As the saying goes, the more one knows, the more insignificant one feels. They treated the matter of oaths with extreme seriousness. Otherwise, whether Heaven and Earth would punish them for breaking an oath was uncertain, but the inner demon would certainly cause trouble—a terrifying prospect, especially when attempting to ascend to higher realms.

After the transaction concluded, Lei Dong smoothly obtained the Soul Transformation Puppet Art, although it was a duplicate that would self-destruct after only three uses. Before that, Lei Dong had been granted permission to use his divine sense to perform a rough perusal of the original Soul Transformation Puppet Art jade slip. Subsequently, he activated the jade slip for the first time, spending several days meticulously reviewing it, effectively memorizing the entirety. He was confident that any attempt by Elder Li to play tricks would prove exceptionally difficult. Moreover, Lei Dong could confirm that Elder Li had not attempted any deception. Clearly, Elder Li also hoped that Lei Dong would significantly boost his strength and successfully retrieve the Divine Water from the Sacred Domain of Light, thereby greatly increasing his own chances of acquiring the Life Divine Water. If Lei Dong dared to violate the agreement, the price he would pay would not be small; Elder Li could take the recorded details of their covenant and publicly announce Lei Dong's betrayal to the world, dealing a heavy blow to Lei Dong's future development.

Once everything was satisfactorily concluded, Lei Dong finally displayed a look of satisfaction. He glanced at the utterly dejected Li Chuchu, then bowed slightly to Elder Li. "Daoist Friend Li, please arrange the narrative of 'Gongsun Dong' meeting his demise in combat. Also, Daoist Friend, please remember not to trouble the Gongsun family in any way. Otherwise, I assure you, I am not someone to be trifled with either."

"Daoist Friend Lei, rest assured. I, too, have a family and lineage," Elder Li replied solemnly. "It is precisely because Daoist Friend Lei has made such a serious promise that I trust you all the more."

"I shall take my leave with Miss Chuchu now," Lei Dong said with a satisfied smile. "Please also arrange my exit route, Daoist Friend Li. I apologize for any offenses committed these past days; please do not take them to heart."

After a round of courtesies, Lei Dong continued to hold Li Chuchu captive and smoothly exited the Myriad Puppet Sect. He moved stealthily, using his divine sense to cautiously sweep the surroundings, ensuring no one followed. To be frank, few cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage could shadow Lei Dong without being detected. After all, the intensity of Lei Dong's divine sense far surpassed that of cultivators of the same rank, only slightly trailing those in the early Soul Transformation stage. This elaborate precaution was taken purely out of extreme caution.

After effortlessly traversing ten thousand li in this manner, Lei Dong finally released the captive Li Chuchu and offered a slight bow, apologizing sincerely, "Miss Chuchu, I offer my apologies for the offense."

Li Chuchu remained silent, her spirit still dimmed.

Lei Dong sighed softly, shaking his head with resignation. "Then, Miss Chuchu, please take care of yourself. I have pressing matters to attend to and must depart." However, he felt this was the only path. If he had feigned affection for her only to steal or trick the Soul Transformation Puppet Art, it would likely have utterly ruined her life. As it stood, the blow she currently suffered could only be considered a minor lesson. Let her hate or resent him as she pleased. After all, there was no escaping the fact that he had exploited her sincere feelings.

Just as Lei Dong was about to take flight and vanish, Li Chuchu uttered the first words she had spoken in days: "Liar." Her teeth were clenched tightly, her expression filled with hatred.

"Heh heh." Seeing that she was finally speaking, Lei Dong instead chuckled. He paused his departure, considering for a moment, and pulled out some peak-grade spirit stones, offering them to her. "Liar I may be. Consider these as compensation for the deceit you suffered."

"Who wants your worthless spirit stones?" Li Chuchu swept her hand out, scattering the peak-grade spirit stones across the ground. She spat out fiercely, "Liar!"

"Uh..." Lei Dong rubbed his nose and laughed again. "Then I shall leave now. If you don't want these stones, leave them for someone fated to find them."

"Wait, you damned liar!" Li Chuchu suddenly cried out.