Restrictions and Leng Yaozhu's Punishment

Restrictions and Leng Yaozhu's Punishment

When he woke again, he had returned to the sleek, high-tech Spirit Pagoda.

It was a lounge.

Leng Yaozhu sat nearby, watching him with concern. When she saw him wake, she asked, "Wuji, how are you feeling? Is anything still bothering you?"

"Anything bothering me?"

Qiangu Wuji carefully checked how he felt. His face scrunched up as his stomach began to rumble.

"I'm hungry... Really, really hungry. I feel like I could eat a whole cow."

"Hungry?"

Leng Yaozhu nodded calmly, clearly unsurprised by the result. She had expected it.

She got up and turned to give a few instructions to the Spirit Pagoda staff.

Before long, several young women came in carrying large trays piled with meat dishes.

Qiangu Wuji's mouth watered at the sight, and he tried to sit up. But as soon as he moved, a wave of weakness washed over him.

"Don't move. You're very weak right now. I'll feed you."

Leng Yaozhu stopped him, took a plate and knife and fork from one of the women, and carefully cut up the steak. Then she said, "Bloodline Power is also known as Bloodline Power. Normally, using it consumes your vital energy. You used it recklessly just now. Even if you didn't feel it at the time, your body must have been pushed past its limits."

She cut off a small piece of steak and held it to Qiangu Wuji's mouth, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you going to show off again?"

Qiangu Wuji shrank back a little. He knew he was the one who'd broken their agreement this time.

But hearing her explain his condition made him curious.

"Mom, you think this happened because I overused my power? Then why didn't I feel anything before?"

"Mm~"

As soon as he finished speaking, Leng Yaozhu popped the steak into his mouth.

"I've never seen a case like yours, but based on my guess, your Bloodline Power is unusual. It seems to use your physical strength and life force as its main fuel. As long as your life force hasn't run out, it should be able to keep you at your peak."

"Use my life force?"

Qiangu Wuji froze, his expression turning strange. Wasn't the God of Phoenix immortal, able to be reborn from the flames? How could using fire consume life force? Wasn't that a contradiction?

As if she could tell what he was thinking, Leng Yaozhu put another piece of steak into his mouth before explaining.

"Even the True Phoenix isn't truly immortal. Didn't it die at the hands of the Dragon God, according to the legends? I think being reborn from the flames means that no matter what damage it suffers, fire can heal it. But if its life force is completely exhausted, then it will truly die."

Leng Yaozhu's explanation made everything clear to Qiangu Wuji.

Right. With that explanation, the legend made sense.

Being reborn from the flames didn't mean it could never die.

Simply put, unless it was killed in a single blow, it could recover from any amount of damage.

Once he understood that, Qiangu Wuji couldn't help getting excited. It was a shame that he wasn't immune to death, but this ridiculously powerful healing ability alone was enough to let him run rampant across the continent.

With the Heavenly Six Eyes and this incredible healing ability, it was like having vision across the whole map and running around with the fountain's protection. If someone somehow managed to land a hit on him, so what?

"By the way, where's Gu Yue?"

After a brief moment of excitement, Qiangu Wuji suddenly remembered the complicated look in Gu Yue's eyes before he'd passed out.

What had she thought of at the time?

"Gu Yue said she'd realized something and needed to go back for a while."

As she spoke, Leng Yaozhu stood up.

"Eat quickly. You'll still have to be punished afterward."

"Punished?" Qiangu Wuji stared at her in confusion. "What punishment?"

Leng Yaozhu looked at him calmly, smiling faintly.

"Have you forgotten what you promised me before you went in? Have I gone too long without teaching you a lesson? Have you forgotten that I'm your mother?"

"Ah!"

Qiangu Wuji let out a cry.

He was in for it now.

Aolai City was a small coastal town on the East Coast, facing the sea. Most of its residents made their living fishing.

By then, dusk had fallen. The setting sun dyed much of the sky red, and the fishing boats that had been busy all day were returning to the harbor.

On a beach beside the harbor, Gu Yue walked barefoot across the soft sand. A black-clad woman with purple hair walked beside her.

"Your Majesty, you summoned me so suddenly. What are your orders?"

The two walked one behind the other. Passersby on the beach kept glancing curiously at the strange pair.

Gu Yue looked around, her delicate brows knitted together. After a moment's thought, she finally spoke softly.

"We need to speed things up. When you return, tell Di Tian to join the search. Find my other half as soon as possible. I can feel that my other half is in this world, and not far from me."

The purple-haired woman looked surprised. The Silver Dragon King's other half had to be the Golden Dragon King.

Only by merging the two could the complete Dragon God be restored.

What had happened? What could possibly require the Dragon God to act?

"Your Majesty, what happened? Why the sudden urgency? Weren't we going to wait until we'd taken control of the Spirit Pagoda before starting? This isn't part of the plan."

Gu Yue looked at her calmly. After a long pause, she rubbed her brow and said, "Do you remember the talented human I told you about last time?"

"You mean the young master of the Spirit Pagoda?"

Gu Yue nodded.

"Yes. His situation has turned out rather differently than I expected. He awakened Jiuyi's True Phoenix Bloodline."

"What! The True Phoenix Bloodline!"

The purple-haired woman was shocked. The True Phoenix was different from the True Dragon. There had only ever been one True Phoenix, the God of Phoenix, an existence on par with the Dragon God.

The young master of the Spirit Pagoda actually possessed a bloodline of that level? Didn't that mean he had the potential to reach the same heights as their lord?

"Your Majesty, should we kill him and eliminate the threat for good?"

After a moment of dismay, the purple-haired woman narrowed her eyes, killing intent showing clearly in them.

Soul Beasts were all on the Dragon God's side. If Qiangu Wuji became the God of Phoenix in the future, then he would inevitably be their enemy.

"No need. The Dragon God and the God of Phoenix may have been enemies in the past, but fundamentally, they both belonged to the Beast faction. The Beast faction is already oppressed by the Human Gods. Starting a civil war now would be no different from bringing about our own destruction." Gu Yue waved a hand, then continued confidently, "Besides, so what if he reaches the heights of the God of Phoenix one day? If he lost to me once, he can lose to me again—as long as I merge with the Golden Dragon King's power."

As she spoke, she turned to look at the purple-haired woman.

"So your most urgent task now is to find my other half."

"Understood, Your Majesty."

The purple-haired woman nodded. Without another word, she turned into a wisp of purple mist and vanished into the air.

Only after she was gone did Gu Yue turn her gaze back to the sunset in the distance. For a moment, she saw once again the figure standing between her and danger.

"The God of Phoenix? Did you choose him, or is he you...?"

Murmuring to herself, she looked away and prepared to leave.

But just then, a familiar voice came from beside her.

"Gu Yue, is that you?"

Hearing the voice, Gu Yue turned to look. On the beach beneath the setting sun, Tang Wulin stood barefoot a short distance away, holding an iron bucket.