The day before the full moon.
Feng Jiuli's forbidden curse flared up once again.
This time, it was far more violent than any previous episode.
The dark red runes frenziedly multiplied from her collarbone, instantly covering her entire face before viciously creeping downward—spreading across her neck, her shoulders, her arms...
"Ah—!"
She let out a suppressed, agonizing scream, her body trembling violently as she curled up on the hard stone bed.
Gu Changyuan rushed forward, completely at a loss for how to help her.
He could only grasp her hand tightly, letting her know that someone was right there beside her.
"Feng Jiuli! How are you holding up?!"
"The forbidden curse... is out of control..." Feng Jiuli's voice was broken and breathless. "Time... is running out..."
Gu Changyuan's heart sank heavily.
Watching Feng Jiuli writhe in such sheer agony, watching those dark red runes relentlessly devour her skin, his heart was consumed by burning anxiety.
"Can you hold on until tomorrow?"
"I... I don't know..." Feng Jiuli gritted her teeth, dense beads of cold sweat breaking out across her forehead. "Maybe... maybe I can't..."
Gu Changyuan's expression changed drastically.
If she couldn't hold on until tomorrow, the Soul Pact couldn't be formed. If the Soul Pact couldn't be formed, the forbidden curse couldn't be suppressed. And if the curse wasn't suppressed... Feng Jiuli would die.
"No. We have to think of something."
He abruptly stood up and paced back and forth inside the cave, his mind racing as he desperately searched for a countermeasure.
"Is there absolutely any way to temporarily suppress the curse?"
"There is..." Feng Jiuli forced the words out. "But it requires... a massive amount of spiritual energy..."
"How much?"
"At least... the spiritual energy of a Foundation Establishment cultivator..."
Gu Changyuan's heart plunged into an icy abyss.
He was currently only at the Ninth Level of Qi Condensation, still one step away from Foundation Establishment. Even if he transferred every last drop of his spiritual energy to Feng Jiuli, it wouldn't be nearly enough.
"Is there any other way?"
"There is..." A violent struggle flashed through Feng Jiuli's eyes. "Form the Soul Pact... early..."
"Form it early?"
"Yes..." Feng Jiuli gasped. "Once the Soul Pact is formed... I can borrow your soul power... to suppress the curse..."
"But... the risks are astronomical..."
"What risks?"
"Tonight is not the night of the full moon... The Origin Energy of Heaven and Earth is not dense enough..." Feng Jiuli explained with immense difficulty. "Forcing the formation... might result in failure..."
"What are the consequences of failure?"
"At best... severe soul damage... At worst..." She paused. "...Our souls will shatter and disperse."
Gu Changyuan fell dead silent.
Souls shattering and dispersing.
Those words were far more terrifying than simple death. It meant complete erasure from the cycle of reincarnation.
"Are there any other options?"
"No..." Feng Jiuli closed her eyes in despair. "Either... we form it early... or... I wait for death..."
Gu Changyuan looked at her, his heart torn by a violent struggle.
Forming it early meant risking the complete annihilation of his soul. Not forming it meant Feng Jiuli would undoubtedly die.
Both choices led to a dead end.
But at the very least, forming it early offered a razor-thin sliver of survival.
"We will form the Pact."
He made his decision.
Feng Jiuli's eyes snapped open, staring at him in shock.
"Are you... certain?"
"I am certain," Gu Changyuan's voice was eerily calm yet absolutely unwavering. "Rather than sitting here waiting for death, it is better to risk everything in one final gamble."
"Besides, I promised I would help you."
"I, Gu Changyuan, always keep my word."
Looking into his eyes, Feng Jiuli saw profound sincerity, she saw immovable resolve, and she saw an indescribable, piercing warmth.
She had lived for thousands of years, yet no one had ever risked such absolute annihilation for her sake.
"Gu Changyuan..."
"Save your breath," Gu Changyuan cut her off. "The most important thing right now is forming the Soul Pact. We can talk about everything else later."
He bent down and gently helped Feng Jiuli up from the stone bed.
"Can you walk?"
"Barely... I can manage..."
"Then let's go." Gu Changyuan supported her weight as they walked out of the cave. "To the cliff."
The cliff in the back mountain.
The moon wasn't completely full yet, but it was already exceedingly bright. Silver moonlight cascaded over the precipice, dyeing the entire world in a layer of ethereal silver.
The sea of clouds churned violently beneath their feet, and the night wind howled, bringing with it a biting chill.
Gu Changyuan supported Feng Jiuli as they stood at the very edge of the cliff, facing each other.
"Are you ready?"
Feng Jiuli nodded. Although her face was deathly pale, her eyes were resolute.
"Let's begin."
She extended her right hand, palm facing upward.
Gu Changyuan also extended his right hand, pressing his palm firmly against hers.
"To form the Soul Pact, both parties must circulate their spiritual energy simultaneously and fuse their soul power together," Feng Jiuli explained softly. "During the process, you will feel my soul."
"Do not resist it. Let it fuse naturally."
Gu Changyuan nodded.
"I understand."
The two closed their eyes simultaneously and began to circulate their spiritual energy.
Gu Changyuan circulated the Heaven-Burning Art. Golden-red flames erupted from his body, flowing through his arm and into Feng Jiuli's palm.
Feng Jiuli circulated the Divine Phoenix Art of the Nine Li. A faint, sacred golden light poured from her body, completely intertwining with Gu Changyuan's flames.
The two distinct powers fiercely collided and fused between their palms.
And then, Gu Changyuan felt it.
He felt Feng Jiuli's soul.
It was an unimaginably proud, yet profoundly lonely soul.
She stood high above the clouds, looking down at the countless living beings beneath her, yet she couldn't find a single person she could truly trust.
She had been ruthlessly betrayed by her closest kin and violently cast down from the absolute pinnacle, yet she absolutely refused to bow her head.
She was afraid. Afraid of being betrayed again. Afraid of placing her destiny into the hands of another.
But she had come anyway.
Because she had no other choice.
Feng Jiuli...
Gu Changyuan called out softly within his heart.
He wanted to tell her that she was no longer alone. He wanted to tell her that he would help her. He wanted to tell her that he would never betray her.
But he didn't say a single word.
Because he knew that words were pale and utterly meaningless.
Only actions could prove everything.
At the exact same time, Feng Jiuli also felt Gu Changyuan's soul.
It was an incredibly resilient, entirely unyielding soul.
He had once stood at the peak of his peers, only to be violently dragged into the deepest abyss overnight.
He had endured three years of suffocating humiliation and torment, yet he had never once given up.
He didn't trust anyone, because he too had been deeply betrayed.
Yet, he still chose to help her.
Because he simply couldn't bear to watch another person die right in front of him.
Gu Changyuan...
Feng Jiuli called out softly within her heart.
She suddenly understood exactly why Gu Changyuan was helping her.
It wasn't for benefits. It wasn't for a transaction.
It was because they were the exact same kind of people.
Both abandoned by destiny. Both struggling desperately in the abyss of despair. Both completely refusing to accept defeat.
Perhaps...
She thought silently in her heart.
Perhaps, I truly can trust him.
The two souls intertwined and seamlessly fused within the void.
The golden-red flames and the sacred golden light coiled around each other, forming a bizarre, magnificent pillar of light that shot straight into the firmament.
Fierce winds howled across the cliff, and the sea of clouds churned frantically.
The Origin Energy of Heaven and Earth madly surged toward the two of them, rapidly absorbed by the pillar of light.
"It's working..."
Feng Jiuli could vividly feel the erosion of the forbidden curse slowing down.
The Soul Pact was successfully forming.
But right at that critical moment, disaster struck.
RUMBLE—!
A terrifying bolt of heavenly lightning suddenly plummeted from the sky, violently striking the pillar of light.
"Oh no!"
Feng Jiuli's expression twisted in absolute horror.
Because the Origin Energy of Heaven and Earth wasn't dense enough tonight, the forced formation of the Soul Pact had triggered an anomaly. That bolt of lightning was the Heavenly Dao's violent backlash against the forced pact!
"Gu Changyuan, watch out—!"
She tried to push Gu Changyuan away, but it was already too late.
The lightning ruthlessly pulverized the pillar of light, and the terrifying shockwave blasted both of them away simultaneously.
"Ah—!"
Both let out agonizing cries as they slammed heavily onto the rocky surface of the cliff.
The Soul Pact... was violently interrupted.
"Cough... cough..."
Gu Changyuan struggled to crawl to his feet, a trail of fresh blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
He looked desperately for Feng Jiuli and found her lying motionless a short distance away.
"Feng Jiuli!"
He stumbled and crawled over to her, frantically pulling her into his arms.
"How are you?!"
Feng Jiuli slowly opened her eyes, her face as pale as a sheet of dead paper.
"It failed..." her voice was incredibly weak. "The Soul Pact... failed..."
Gu Changyuan's heart plummeted into an icy abyss.
It failed.
The Soul Pact failed, meaning the forbidden curse could not be suppressed.
Was Feng Jiuli... going to die?
"No..." He gripped Feng Jiuli's hand tightly. "There has to be another way."
"There isn't..." Feng Jiuli closed her eyes in despair. "Tonight... the Origin Energy isn't enough... Tomorrow... I won't make it to tomorrow..."
Gu Changyuan looked at her, his heart consumed by suffocating despair.
He didn't want to give up.
He absolutely refused to watch Feng Jiuli die right in front of him.
But there was absolutely nothing he could do.
"Wait..."
He suddenly remembered something.
The Heaven-Burning Art.
The Heaven-Burning Art could incinerate absolutely anything—even the very laws of the Heavenly Dao.
If he used the overbearing power of the Heaven-Burning Art to assist the formation of the Soul Pact, could he forcibly neutralize the backlash of the Heavenly Dao?!
"Feng Jiuli, try one more time."
"What?"
"Try one more time." A flash of absolute, terrifying resolve ignited in Gu Changyuan's eyes. "This time, I will use the Heaven-Burning Art to assist."
Feng Jiuli stared at him, a flicker of profound shock in her eyes.
"You're insane... The power of the Heaven-Burning Art is too overbearing... If you lose control..."
"I won't lose control," Gu Changyuan cut her off decisively. "Trust me."
He gripped Feng Jiuli's hand tightly, his gaze burning with unwavering determination.
"We are the same kind of people."
"I will not let you die."
Looking into his eyes, Feng Jiuli saw profound sincerity, she saw immovable resolve, and she saw an indescribable, piercing warmth.
She fell silent for a long moment.
And then, she gave a gentle, solemn nod.
"Alright."
"One more time."
The silver moonlight flowed like water, spilling across the desolate cliff.
The two of them once again reached out, pressing their palms tightly together.
This time, there was absolutely no retreat.
Success, or death.
Those were the only two options left.