CHAPTER 528
The Princess Worth a Few Hundred Coins
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Dongfang Jue naturally said she wanted to stay with her two brothers, but in their eyes, it was all nonsense.
Survival was the only thing that mattered.
And she hadn't even fetched a single tael of silver. She, the daughter of the Human Emperor, the personally trained third disciple of Lingxian Hall, had sold for a mere few hundred coins…
She had just learned that after appraisal, her looks weren't even worthy of warming a bed or warming feet.
Dongfang Jue didn't know if these few hundred coins could keep her two brothers alive, but she still gave them the money she had earned by selling herself.
After all, this was a blessing others could never beg for. Even if it was a disgusting job too vile to speak of, it was still a way to survive.
As for her two brothers…
Dongfang Jue hoped these few hundred coins could save her brothers. They had promised to come find her, but Dongfang Jue knew full well those were merely words to comfort themselves.
Dongfang Jue only intended to visit briefly before leaving. After all, she had no real desire to engage in such repulsive work.
She couldn't defile herself—that was her bottom line.
Sooner or later, she would return to Lingxian Hall. Dongfang Jue could imagine that by then, she would be different from who she was before.
But this change would never be like this.
Dongfang Jue climbed into the carriage—a rare luxury, both the horse and the vehicle itself.
Two unfamiliar girls were also in the carriage. Dongfang Jue casually asked them a few questions and gained some understanding of their work.
Even among commoners, these two women were considered quite attractive, yet they still performed the same degrading work as her, treated as less than human.
Still, having food to eat was enough.
At that moment, Dongfang Jue could only wonder what kind of breathtaking beauty the bed-sharing maid truly was.
Yet often, things turn out contrary to one's wishes.
Before Dongfang Jue could reach the mansion, she found herself alone.
Blinding white light engulfed the heavens and earth. In the deafening silence, Dongfang Jue realized she couldn't cast her immortal arts to escape. She could only watch helplessly as the white light swallowed her whole.
That blinding light was all Dongfang Jue saw. Even as a cultivator at the Soul Transformation Stage, even though she was far from the light's center, Dongfang Jue was still gravely injured.
When Dongfang Jue opened her eyes, she saw nothing but a blood-red void before her. Beneath her feet lay charcoal-black earth, and beside her, utter emptiness.
As if struck by a divine technique, a circular pit gouged into the ground, with Dongfang Jue perched precariously on its edge.
Even with her divine sense, she couldn't detect the location of the core.
After swallowing several pills, Dongfang Jue immediately began channeling her energy to heal her wounds. Since emerging from that secret realm in the Eastern Domain, this was the first time she had sustained such severe injuries.
She had to crawl a long way just to retrieve her severed left leg…
She was covered in wounds, her meridians severed. Anyone else, even a great cultivator at the Soul Transformation Stage, would likely have perished by now.
The agony nearly brought tears to her eyes, but with her master absent, who would she cry for?
The mountain peak was leveled in an instant. Before her and behind her lay nothing but charred, fresh earth.
With restrictions binding her body, Dongfang Jue could only stagger away from this place of calamity, seeking a way to tend to her wounds first.
The distance wasn't great—just over ten miles—a range her divine sense could normally cover. Yet now, it felt like an eternity to traverse.
It felt like wandering through a desert. All Dongfang Jue could see was barren wasteland, utterly devoid of anything.
Only after trudging for over half a month did Dongfang Jue gradually begin to discern scattered vegetation and piles of debris.
Trees, soil, and stones lay heaped together, mixed with fragments of houses, piled dozens of feet high like a mountain of rubbish.
From this vantage point, the path they had traversed resembled the divine arena enclosed by these earthen mounds.
So far, aside from that white light, Dongfang Jue had neither seen nor heard any signs of divine power in the surrounding area.
Dongfang Jue couldn't tell whether the divine competition had ended or if it hadn't yet begun. Regardless, this was no place to linger.
Thinking this, she couldn't help but feel fortunate to have survived. A divine power with such a vast coverage area was something even she had never witnessed before…
However, Dongfang Jue had heard Ye Qinghan and Chu Youwei mention that Master's Heaven-Splitting Sword Strike and Gu Ai's Snow-Shattering Sword Strike possessed even greater power than this!
Especially Chu Youwei—she claimed to have witnessed the existence of a world-binding restriction, shattered by Lord Gu Ai's Snow-Shattering Strike!
Dongfang Jue speculated that perhaps some Valkyrie had unleashed a massive attack, and the shockwaves had reached her by accident?
Or perhaps Master or Lord Gu Ai was currently engaged in battle with a formidable foe?
Regardless of the cause, he had no intention of going to watch.
It was truly a case of mortals suffering when gods clash. If it was indeed as she suspected—a battle between his Master or Lord Gu Ai—standing by would make him nothing more than a mere mortal.
As Chu Youwei had recounted, the Master's aura had penetrated the barrier erected by another God-King, inflicting internal injuries upon her.
She'd been skeptical at first, but now, nearly crushed to dust from hundreds of miles away, disbelief was impossible…
Climbing over the mountain of debris, Dongfang Jue found a concealed spot before beginning meditation to heal his wounds and restore his spiritual energy.
However, the spiritual energy outside was nowhere near as dense as that within Lingxian Hall. With injuries this severe—missing limbs and broken bones—he doubted he could heal anytime soon. Dongfang Jue felt utterly cursed…
Meanwhile, a peculiar incident unfolded within Lingxian Hall.
Half a month earlier…
"Miaomiao, Master said Shiyao isn't allowed to show the cultivation technique to anyone!"
On the small lawn before the Kitchen Hall, Li Shiyu crossed her arms and firmly refused Miaomiao. Even if the cultivation technique contained not a single legitimate divine ability, Master's words could not be ignored.
Though usually bold, Li Shiyu dared not defy her master's explicit prohibition.
"Besides, didn't Master give you your own cultivation manual too? Why aren't you practicing yours? Why do you want to look at Senior Sister's instead?"
Miaomiao now resembled a drowned kitten, clasping her hands together with a look of utter helplessness. She truly didn't know what to do…
Master had told her to figure it out herself, but she couldn't very well snatch Second Senior Sister's cultivation technique to read!
Even if she wanted to, with her current cultivation level, she wasn't even worth Second Senior Sister's trouble!
"Senior Sister, Miao Miao has a difficult situation…"
"Miaomiao, Senior Sister has her own reasons too. Besides, unless you want to become a scholar, this cultivation technique won't do you any good anyway."
Miaomiao suspected this technique was meant to be shared between them!
But Miaomiao couldn't say that. After all, Second Senior Sister's description of the cultivation technique was also very vague. She had just mentioned that the Master had also forbidden her from revealing any details about the technique.
Li Shiyao stuffed two spirit fruits she'd just fetched from the kitchen hall into Miaomiao's hands. Without another word, she turned and walked toward the Main Hall.
Miaomiao had possessed the cultivation technique for some time now. Observing her senior sisters, none seemed to have begun practicing it.
The eldest senior sister, lacking any cultivation technique, naturally had no need to practice. Her daily routine consisted solely of sword training and beating up Li Shiyao.
The second senior sister, aside from getting beaten, did occasionally cultivate. However, Miao Miao could tell she was still practicing the original cultivation technique.
Chu Youwei was much the same. The group seemed to be living much as they had before receiving the cultivation techniques.
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