Chapter 88: Rather Die That Being a Puppet

Chapter 88: Chapter 88: Rather Die That Being a Puppet

According to the information they had gathered, the fruit was one of the key materials needed to stimulate the growth of a Celestial Core. It was also an essential ingredient in the refinement of a 6th-Grade elixir called the Life’s Essence Pill.

The elixir was said to purge hidden ailments from the body and restore the vitality of its cells, allowing the body to recover from injuries and conditions that ordinary treatments could not resolve.

She and her husband had hoped to obtain the fruit for their daughter.

They could either give it to Mira directly or pay a master alchemist to refine it into a Life’s Essence Pill. Either option offered a chance to reverse the disturbing decline in their daughter’s strength.

For the past six months, Mira’s cultivation had been deteriorating instead of improving.

Her parents had desperately searched for a way to help her, and the Divine Grace Fruit had seemed like their best hope.

Unfortunately, they were not the only ones who discovered it.

After locating the fruit, the couple encountered a martial artist whose cultivation had reached the peak of the Spirit Platform Realm.

There was only one fruit, and neither side was willing to surrender it. A fierce battle followed.

Her husband had reached only the 6th-Level of the Spirit Platform Realm. Against an opponent at the peak of the same realm, the difference in their strength proved overwhelming.

The couple ultimately lost the fight. Her husband suffered devastating injuries and died while they were retreating from Mistfall Forest.

She, too, was badly wounded and remained unconscious for a long time before finally managing to escape the forest.

Barely able to keep herself alive, she contacted the Sinclair family and asked them to send people to help her and her husband.

What happened next was a betrayal she would never forget. The people the family sent did not come to rescue her. They came to kill her.

She managed to escape by a narrow margin, despite her injuries.

Knowing that she could trust no one, she secretly returned to Valemont to see her daughter and consider what to do next. She had hoped to recover quietly and find a way to survive.

Instead, she fell into the hands of the Dolly Bridle Evil Faction. Its members kidnapped her and intended to use her as a sacrifice in their rituals.

She had tried every means available to escape during her imprisonment, but none of her efforts had succeeded.

By that point, she had endured so much that she had almost stopped hoping for a way out.

Today, however, she had received news that crushed what little hope remained.

The black robed priest who had been holding her captive informed her that she was going to be handed over to the Bloodshadow Cult.

She knew the name well. The Bloodshadow Cult was a notorious organization of assassins, and its members were hardly the sort of people who would show mercy to a helpless captive.

At first, she could not understand why the Dolly Bridle Evil Faction would trade her to such an organization. Then she learned the reason.

Her daughter was involved.

The realization filled her with such fury that her entire body began to tremble.

Selene, the deputy sect leader of the Bloodshadow Cult, had just finished exchanging information with the black robed priest.

Judging by her relaxed expression, the negotiations had gone smoothly.

Seeing the captive’s reaction, Selene decided to explain the situation herself.

"Still wondering why you’re being traded?" she asked with an amused smile. "It’s because of your daughter, of course."

Mira’s mother stared at her in disbelief.

"You probably haven’t heard yet, but Mira has awakened the Frost Phoenix Bloodline," Selene continued.

The revelation struck her like a thunderbolt. Her daughter had awakened a divine physique?

Before she could fully process the news, Selene continued, her tone dripping with contempt.

"The Sinclair family knows what that means," she said.

"They’re afraid of the consequences, so they’ve decided to offer Mira to the young master of the Lindsay family as his mistress." She paused briefly, enjoying the captive’s horrified expression.

"But the Lindsay family doesn’t trust the Sinclairs to handle the situation properly. They want to make certain your daughter has no choice but to obey, so they hired my Bloodshadow Cult to find you. Once you’re in our hands, we’ll use your life to force Mira into submission."

Mira’s mother’s face drained of color.

Selene leaned closer, lowering her voice as she delivered the final blow.

"And the Lindsay family has offered us a very interesting condition," she said.

"Once the young master grows tired of your daughter, she’ll be handed over to me." Her smile widened. "I intend to devour her myself."

Selene’s explanation was meant to be reassuring, but it had the opposite effect on Mira’s mother.

Helena was overwhelmed by two conflicting emotions: joy at hearing about her daughter’s breakthrough and fury at the people who had driven her family to ruin.

Mira had awakened the Frost Phoenix Bloodline!

For a moment, that was the only thing Helena could think about.

Her daughter had finally gained something extraordinary, something that could change her future. If circumstances had been different, Helena would have celebrated the news with tears of happiness.

But there was nothing to celebrate here. The Sinclair family had betrayed her and her husband, leaving him dead and forcing her to flee for her life.

Now, the same family was willing to sacrifice Mira to protect its own interests. And the Lindsay family was no better.

As one of the most influential families in the southern provinces, the Lindsays possessed wealth, power, and countless martial artists.

Yet they had chosen to exploit a young woman rather than treat her as a person deserving of respect.

Then there was Selene. The deputy sect leader of the Bloodshadow Cult intended to devour Mira after the young master of the Lindsay family had finished using her.

Helena couldn’t believe how twisted everyone involved was!

A furious cry tore from her throat.

"Ahhh!"

Her voice was hoarse and broken, more like the roar of a wounded animal than the cry of a human being.

She wanted to curse them all, to demand how they could be so heartless, but rage had robbed her of the ability to form coherent words.

Then, as quickly as her anger had surged, it began to subside. A terrible realization had taken its place.

The Sinclair family, the Lindsay family, and the Bloodshadow Cult all wanted to use her to control Mira.

Her daughter had become their target because of her newly awakened physique, and Helena was the weakness they intended to exploit. As long as she remained alive and in their hands, Mira would never be free of their threats.

Helena’s expression changed. She would rather die than become the reason her daughter was forced to submit to those monsters.

Without warning, she summoned what little strength remained in her battered body and hurled herself toward a sharp rock beside the road, intending to smash her head against it.

Unfortunately for her, Selene was no ordinary martial artist. Having reached the peak of the Spirit Platform Realm, the deputy sect leader reacted almost instantly.

"You fool! You really think I’ll let you die that easily?" Selene said, moving to stop her, intending to strike the back of Helena’s neck and knock her unconscious before carrying her away.

But just as Selene reached out, a powerful sense of danger erupted in her mind. Her instincts screamed at her to retreat.

She abandoned her attempt to seize Helena and immediately tried to pull back.

Her reaction was fast, but not fast enough. The air around her seemed to freeze.

Before she could complete her retreat, a man appeared directly in front of her, his face carrying a cold, intimidating expression.

A long sword crackling with lightning rested in his right hand. In his left, he held up a single index finger.

The weapon’s flickering light illuminated his figure against the darkness surrounding Eastwood Mountain.

Selene’s heart lurched. An enemy had ambushed her!

She tried to move backward, only to discover that her body had stopped responding to her commands. Her legs refused to move, her arms remained frozen, and she could not even turn her head. Only her eyes could shift.

"What... what have you done to me?" she gasped, terror overwhelming her as she struggled helplessly against the invisible force restraining her.

She had never encountered anything like this before.

She could not understand what technique her attacker had used or how he had immobilized someone of her cultivation.

Unfortunately, she would never discover the answer. A flash of deep violet lightning burst before her eyes. The next instant, her vision tilted violently.

The ground seemed to rise toward her as the world spun out of control.

Only when her head struck the ground did she realize what had happened. Her body remained standing for a brief moment, but her head was no longer attached to her neck.

Selene, the deputy sect leader of the Bloodshadow Cult, was dead.