***

One week later.

Gu Qinghe slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was not the sky, but Saint Yue’s face.

When he tried to get up, his body felt stiff and sore. Every time he moved, his joints ached as if thousands of blades were stabbing into them.

Noticing that Gu Qinghe had woken up, Saint Yue immediately turned her attention to him.

She lowered her head and looked closely at his face, her eyes glistening with emotion.

"You’re finally awake, Qinghe."

Gu Qinghe gave a faint smile, then looked around.

He and Saint Yue were in the middle of the light-element stone altar, which had once been badly damaged but was now restored to normal.

He saw yellow fairies flying everywhere, but not a single one landed on his body anymore.

That clearly confused him.

Saint Yue helped Gu Qinghe sit cross-legged, leaning against one of the pillars of the light altar.

"Try cultivating, Qinghe," she said.

He nodded lightly, raised one hand, and activated the seal of his cultivation technique to absorb natural qi.

Only a few seconds after he started, Gu Qinghe suddenly coughed up blood.

He caught the blood in his hand. There was more than before, accompanied by a sharp pain in his heart.

What... happened to me?

Gu Qinghe felt puzzled. He closed his eyes and let his consciousness sink into his dantian sea.

When he arrived and opened his eyes, something even more shocking appeared.

There were two souls formed in his dantian sea, the Nascent Soul and the Primordial Soul.

The Nascent Soul was bound to Gu Qinghe’s body, while the Primordial Soul was bound to Yun Tian.

This is impossible! I thought that breaking through to the Nascent Soul would restore my primordial soul.

This... is clearly a heavenly punishment!

Even so, he had reached Early Nascent Soul. However, because of the dual dominant souls, he could not cultivate.

The risk would be enormous if he continued. One of the souls could be destroyed.

If the Nascent Soul was destroyed, his cultivation would be permanently stuck at Golden Core.

But if the Primordial Soul was destroyed, all of Yun Tian’s techniques and memories would disappear.

He would remain as Yun Tian, with memories partially carried by the Nascent Soul, but he would lose the highest level of understanding he had once reached as the Heavenly Emperor Yun Tiansheng.

"I don’t understand... who exactly was that man earlier?" Saint Yue asked.

"An envoy from the Cultivator Alliance, an Immortal of Heavenly Punishment," Gu Qinghe replied softly.

"That only happens... when a cultivator deviates from the path of heaven’s destiny."

"The path of heaven’s destiny? Does that mean going against heaven?" Saint Yue asked.

Gu Qinghe fell silent, only responding with a quiet hum. What Saint Yue said was correct.

If he sought a solution to this problem, then indirectly, he would already be choosing a cultivation path that defied the heavens.

Brutal. Dangerous. Full of deadly risks. And destined to be walked alone for life.

"There are two souls residing in my dantian. I can’t cultivate because the Nascent Soul has already formed."

"There’s a clash of qi flows. If I force it, it could destroy my meridians and collapse my cultivation," Gu Qinghe added.

"Is there a solution? Maybe I can help you," Saint Yue asked.

Gu Qinghe stayed silent for a long time, his mind running through every possible outcome.

It was risky to ask her to dual cultivate. He was worried it might not solve the problem at all.

His attention shifted to the side, not seeing Gu Qingyin.

"That woman already left after she managed to activate natural qi in her body. She’s searching for other fairies," Saint Yue answered.

"What about you?" Gu Qinghe asked.

"Me? I don’t plan on moving to another cultivator."

"My condition is unstable. My cultivation is at Nascent Soul, but there’s a very small chance I can get out of here."

"Without cultivation, I’ll be as weak as a mortal."

Saint Yue smiled and held Gu Qinghe’s hand tightly. "You’re unique. From the first time I saw and felt your spiritual qi, I already knew you weren’t ordinary."

"I’ll stay with you even if you end up dying here," she said.

Gu Qinghe paused for a moment, resting his head against the stone pillar of the light altar.

He listened carefully to her words, finding them interesting.

"Die?" Gu Qinghe asked, his gaze sharp.

"Yes. I’m ready to spend my time staying with you until you die here."

Slowly, a wide smile spread across Gu Qinghe’s face, followed by loud laughter. Saint Yue panicked, completely confused by the sudden change in his behavior.

"HAHAHAHA!"

"I know how I won’t die here!"

Saint Yue stood there in confusion, unsure of what he was planning.

But from his expression, she could tell he had come up with something related to his current situation.

He remembered the Blood Essence Orb he possessed, a powerful source derived from a cultivator’s soul essence.

Unlike spiritual qi or natural qi, the dark qi within the blood essence orb was far more aggressive and dominant.

However, because of its defiant nature, dark qi could be used to temporarily supply energy to his body.

The results of absorption could vary, but the dominant effect would heavily impact Gu Qinghe’s condition.

His killing intent would grow denser. His empathy would erode. His power would increase drastically. It was even possible that his cultivation would surge.

He tapped his bag of holding and summoned the blood essence orb into his hand.

Saint Yue was slightly shocked, because dark qi was completely different from natural qi, which focused on balance and harmony.

"What are you doing, Qinghe?"

"If spiritual qi or natural qi can’t help me, then the only option is to use dark qi!"

Without considering Saint Yue’s warning, Gu Qinghe crushed the blood essence orb and absorbed the dark qi inside it.

The wounds on his body began to heal. Even his clothes returned to normal.

Gu Qinghe felt no turbulence in his body, only a sense of relief, lightness, and strength.

A burst of red qi exploded outward, sending powerful waves in all directions.

Saint Yue stepped back, shocked that Gu Qinghe would actually use dark qi.

Changes began to occur as the dominant dark qi took over his body.

His clothes turned black like demonic armor. Veins across his body glowed red in several places.

His eyes emitted a strong crimson light. His cultivation rose to Mid Nascent Soul.

"Gu Qinghe?" Saint Yue called.

Gu Qinghe grinned widely, stretching his body while enduring the pain in his joints.

He still retained his consciousness. But his emotions had become far more extreme.

Even a slight anger could trigger an overwhelming killing intent within him.

"This is much better!" Gu Qinghe said, his voice much heavier.

"Let’s go, Yue!"

"Where?" Saint Yue asked, afraid.

Gu Qinghe turned and gave a wide, sinister grin, "Of course, to kill the demon at the sixth peak!"