Chapter 697 - 698: Reward

Chapter 697: Chapter 698: Reward

Chu Xingchen listened to the chains rattling continuously and watched Donggua’s pupils dilate with terror.

He said calmly: "No need to be this happy, right?"

Li Yingling stood behind her master. She had been able to keep a straight face through the earlier not-so-nice words, but this one made her unable to hold back:

"Does this look like happiness? She’s clearly about to die of fright!"

Chu Xingchen glanced back at his great rebellious disciple, his tone certain:

"It’s definitely happiness. Haven’t you heard—life is precious, but freedom is worth more?"

"If Donggua goes out, at worst she’ll get some attention from Xu Linglong, but what she gains is freedom! How could that not be happiness?"

Li Yingling pointed at Donggua, who, after hearing her master’s words, had already started imagining life after release and was beginning to twitch:

"Junior brother... if you say a few more sentences, her life will truly be free."

At this moment, Li Yingling also had a realization. She roughly understood why Donggua hated Cui Hao so deeply.

Her master’s hand was definitely involved in this. Cui Hao’s confusion and incomprehension back then had a real reason.

If it came to attracting hatred, her master was truly the best of the best.

No wonder master had to pretend to be Cui Hao and say something like—when debts pile up, they’re no longer debts.

Now it seemed... there was some truth to that nonsense.

Just looking at Donggua’s current reaction, even if Cui Hao had really saved Donggua’s life several times, it probably wouldn’t eliminate her desire to kill him.

Seeing this, Chu Xingchen summoned a water ball and threw it at Donggua’s head, his tone calm:

"Donggua is a legendary demon with deep cultivation. How could she break down that easily? This is just excessive happiness. A little water will fix it. See, she’s recovering, right?"

Li Yingling was rather speechless, turning slightly to look at her second junior brother.

Li Xingtian, who usually wore an expressionless face, was also slightly frowning at this moment.

Her second junior brother, besides his spiritual energy being a bit red like an evil cultivator, didn’t act like an evil cultivator at all.

Her master, besides his spiritual energy and the purpose of his actions resembling a good person, acted quite like an evil cultivator in his methods.

Chu Xingchen slowly walked up to Donggua, his tone teasing:

"So, you should understand now, right?"

Donggua gasped heavily, her vision somewhat blurred as she looked at the face of "Cui Hao" before her. She opened her mouth but found she couldn’t say anything.

It wasn’t that there was some restriction—it was that she had lost the ability to speak.

Perhaps from terror, perhaps from anger.

Chu Xingchen naturally continued:

"I guess what you want to say is understand what, right?"

"You demons always like pretending to be confused when you understand perfectly, insisting on keeping that tiny sliver of hope."

"I’ll be direct. If you leave Tianyan Sect and leave us, Xu Linglong will absolutely deal with you in ways a thousand to ten thousand times more terrifying than anything you can imagine."

"The reason is simple. Betrayal is a plague—it spreads to those with weak resolve. To prevent it, you can only use death to prevent it, drawing a safety line that no living being dares to cross."

"Right now, you are that safety line."

"You just need to think about what would be done to a betrayer."

"Value is everyone’s last trump card, and you’ve already easily handed yours over."

"You’ve lost your choices. Now, every word I say is the only path you can take."

"Donggua, it’s time to give up your fantasies."

Donggua stared at the face of "Cui Hao" before her, as if trying to memorize every detail of it.

The silence was long.

Donggua’s voice was still hoarse:

"I’m still a demon in the end. In the end, it’s still a dead end. You won’t let me go."

Chu Xingchen’s tone was sincere:

"Yes, but at least you can choose a death you like, and it doesn’t have to be so painful. If you absolutely need a sliver of hope, you can hope that after the Celestial Demons are dealt with, we’ll have a change of heart and decide to coexist peacefully with you."

Donggua laughed at this, but the laugh was somewhat desolate.

"What value do I still have? I’ve told you everything I know."

Chu Xingchen said calmly: "Whatever value we find for you is the value you have. I just think you’ll trust us more easily when we reach a common understanding."

"Donggua, beating a dog when it’s down is indeed immoral, but it’s also the most convenient time."

"And falling into the water was your own carelessness—you can’t blame me."

"Hearing what I just said, you should also understand that neither you nor I are moral people. So there’s no morality to bind either of us."

"Now, your answer will decide whether you get packaged and sent to Xu Linglong, or whether you get to briefly live for yourself for a while."

"At the very least, you can be the last demon to die."

Donggua sneered: "Such high-sounding words. Isn’t it just because you’ve got me cornered that you’re here saying all this to me?"

"Choices? When did I ever have choices?"

Chu Xingchen nodded lightly:

"Then hello, Donggua. Welcome to abandoning darkness for light. Welcome to joining the human family."

Donggua exhaled heavily. She had no strength left to respond to this, instead asking:

"So, can you tell me now what you want me to do?"

Chu Xingchen turned and walked away leisurely:

"Haven’t figured it out yet. Gotta research ways to prevent you from giving up on yourself. It’d be better if you could voluntarily provide ideas."

"But in light of your abandoning darkness for light, congratulations—your treatment has been upgraded."

"No need to thank me. This is the reward for making the right choice."

"See you later, Donggua."

Donggua watched "Cui Hao" turn and leave without a trace of attachment.

Li Yingling and Li Xingtian also didn’t say much and left together.

Then the cell door closed, and everything returned to silence.

After a moment,

Donggua was also somewhat dazed—had everything that just happened been an illusion? Had it not happened at all?

After an unknown amount of time,

the dull sound of a door pushing open rang out again.

A Mahayana cultivator from Tianyan Sect responsible for guarding her walked in, raised her hand, and withdrew the chains wrapped around Donggua’s body.

Donggua fell to the ground accordingly.

She skillfully stood up, extended both hands, and brought both feet together.

The Mahayana cultivator’s gaze swept over her coldly, her tone icy:

"Not needed this time."

Donggua looked at her in surprise.

The Mahayana cultivator turned: "Follow me."

Donggua instinctively stepped forward.

She climbed the stairs, walked across flat ground, and headed up a slope.

Until a ray of noon sunlight shone on Donggua’s face.

Only then did Donggua realize—this was all real.

This was the first time since entering Tianyan Sect that Donggua had walked on her own, without any restraints on her body.

The warm noon sun seemed to penetrate Donggua’s body.

Donggua narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath.

This meant.

What she had agreed to with "Cui Hao" was real.

And she...

was about to step onto a path with no turning back.

The sunlight at this moment was a reward.

But it was also the final reward.

[

Dear Readers,

I hope you are doing well. Things are genuinely tough right now, and I need your help to keep going.

My financial situation is the worst it has ever been. Despite this, I am still posting multiple high-quality, human-polished Chapters every single day. I love doing this and do not want to stop, but I cannot do it alone for much longer.

If you enjoy the story, please consider supporting the release schedule to unlock massive advanced Chapter buffers:

$6 Tier

* Read 20+ Chapters Ahead (High-speed daily updates!)

$8 Tier

* Read 40+ Chapters Ahead

* Access to exclusive character images

$10 Tier (Best Value)

* Read 60+ Chapters Ahead

* Access to exclusive character images

* Access to Patreon Community Chat

Special Note: Every tier receives 150 Chapters across all fics per month! On top of that, these Chapter counts are guaranteed minimums—because of my rapid update schedule, you will often get even more!

Important: If you are on iOS, please subscribe via your web browser (Safari/Chrome) instead of the Patreon App to avoid Apple’s 30% fee and payment delays.

Even a small contribution or sharing my work makes a real difference. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for keeping these daily releases going!

Support Here: [patreon.com/Alex_Cruise]

]