"Heart Demon Oath?"
"The one where you're plagued by heart demons after breaking the vow?"
Upon hearing Lie Xinyuan's roar, Qin Xuan slowly halted his sword moves.
He had seen this Heart Demon Oath in an ancient text within the imperial treasury. It was a vow made by a cultivator, using their own cultivation as a catalyst.
If the vow was broken, the cultivator would be plagued by heart demons, unable to advance their realm or cultivate further.
For a cultivator, advancing their realm was undoubtedly their lifelong pursuit, and cultivation was the channel to enhance their lifespan.
With both these paths blocked, a cultivator would have little meaning in their life.
However, despite the severity of this oath, Qin Xuan was still not satisfied.
If Lie Xinyuan, behind his back, were to slaughter his family, friends, or even the entire Dragon Country, what did it matter if he could no longer cultivate?
Could his family and friends be brought back from the dead?
Would Lie Xinyuan, who broke the oath, suffer eternal torment?
Clearly not.
At most, he would live out his six hundred years of lifespan in a daze, unable to cultivate or advance, merely existing.
Was this a punishment?
Perhaps for Lie Xinyuan, but not for Qin Xuan.
Thus, after a moment's hesitation, Qin Xuan once again raised his sword, preparing to strike Lie Xinyuan down, to prevent him from causing future trouble.
Qin Xuan raised his sword, and Lie Xinyuan panicked.
Since the other party knew how vicious the Heart Demon Oath was, yet still insisted on killing him.
It seemed Qin Xuan also harbored fears about his current cultivation.
Then it was over.
The Heart Demon Oath was not agreed upon, and he had nothing else to prove his loyalty.
Did he really have to cripple his Golden Core, cultivated over a hundred years with great effort, before the other party would let him go?
Gritting his teeth, Lie Xinyuan ultimately could not bring himself to utter the words "cripple my own cultivation."
After all, he had painstakingly cultivated for over a hundred years. To have a century of cultivation dissipated in an instant, that feeling was worse than dying on the spot.
"If you want to live, are you willing to do anything?"
To Lie Xinyuan's surprise, after raising his divine sword, Qin Xuan unexpectedly paused for a long time before bringing it down.
After a moment, the other party frowned and spoke first.
This was precisely what Lie Xinyuan wished for.
He had only just managed to break through to the Golden Core stage, and hadn't even enjoyed it yet. How could he be willing to die like this?
Nodding vigorously, Lie Xinyuan no longer possessed his former dignity.
"Alright then, I can give you a chance to continue living."
Seeing how afraid of death the other party was, Qin Xuan felt a touch of disdain.
However, fearing death was a natural human emotion.
If he were in such a situation one day, he might act the same way.
So, with a slight curl of his lips, he spoke again, revealing his intentions to the other party.
"I have encountered a peculiar method of swearing, called the Heaven and Earth Oath. Once the oath-taker violates the vow, they will be instantly erased by the will of the Heavenly Dao of this world."
"If you wish to live, I will teach you this method of swearing. If you think it's not acceptable, then we have nothing more to discuss."
"The, the Heaven and Earth Oath?"
Upon hearing Qin Xuan mention the Heaven and Earth Oath, Lie Xinyuan fell into deep thought.
As his cultivation increased, he became more aware of the mysterious nature of the world's power.
Since the Heaven and Earth Oath carried the words "Heaven and Earth," it naturally implied some connection with this world's natural order.
If he were to comply with the other party and take this oath, then from this moment on, his life and death would no longer be his own to control.
He looked up at Qin Xuan, who stood proudly not far away, then down at his own scarred body. Lie Xinyuan was filled with internal conflict, yet he had no choice but to nod with a bitter smile.
At this moment, he had no right to choose.
Either he would die later, or he would die now.
Faced with such a simple binary choice, Lie Xinyuan knew how to choose.
Upon receiving an affirmative reply, Qin Xuan nodded with satisfaction.
With a light tap of his finger, he transmitted the scene of Chen Xuan taking the oath for the first time to Lie Xinyuan.
Lie Xinyuan followed suit, tracing a peculiar symbol in the air.
Immediately, the sky changed drastically, and explosive thunder suddenly rumbled in the air. A pressure originating from the depths of the world instantly enveloped the entire small barrier.
"What, what is this?"
"Could it be that that young fellow named Qin Xuan is about to undergo a lightning tribulation?!"
Sensing this inexplicable pressure from the Heavenly Dao, the Golden Snake Old Monster and others, unaware of the situation, were instantly greatly alarmed.
According to ancient texts, cultivators only underwent the baptism of lightning tribulations when they crossed the Golden Core stage and refined their true Nascent Core.
The intensity of lightning tribulations varied, depending on the talent of the person undergoing the tribulation.
The current sensation, with the pervasive might of heaven, undoubtedly indicated that a cultivator with exceptionally strong talent was about to face tribulation.
Lie Xinyuan was already a Golden Core stage cultivator, so it couldn't be him undergoing tribulation.
Therefore, by deduction, only Qin Xuan met all the conditions for undergoing a lightning tribulation.
But he was only in his early twenties!
To be able to summon a lightning tribulation and achieve Golden Core at such an age?
How strong must his talent be?
After achieving Golden Core, how powerful would he become?!
At this thought, the Golden Snake Old Monster immediately approached Ke Wudi and Zheng Wanqing, who looked worried, bowed with cupped fists.
Then, amidst their surprised gazes, he expressed his willingness to be officially recruited.
Ke Wudi and Zheng Wanqing's attention was not on him at all. Upon hearing that the other party was willing to be recruited, they were first stunned, then vaguely agreed.
The Golden Snake Old Monster knew that they couldn't attend to him at the moment, so after a few polite words, he turned his gaze back to the scene a thousand meters away.
The thunderous rumbling lasted for several minutes.
But to the Golden Snake Old Monster's surprise, the dark clouds in the distance only produced thunder, with no lightning tribulation descending.
As the sun gradually reappeared, he felt a pang of regret, realizing he had been too impulsive.
Fortunately, although his actions were swift, there was still room for correction.
He subtly shifted to the side, his gaze fixed intently on the two figures in the distance.
He had thought it through clearly: if Lie Xinyuan returned unharmed, he would immediately attack and severely injure Ke Wudi and Zheng Wanqing.
And if Qin Xuan returned first, he would immediately pledge his allegiance to Qin Xuan.
This way, he could advance or retreat freely.
Regardless of who emerged victorious between the two, he could secure a period of peace for himself.
Seeing the Golden Snake Old Monster's actions, several other rogue cultivators who had suddenly understood also woke up.
However, the thunderclouds had already dispersed, and the two figures in the distance seemed to have quietly stabilized their positions.
At this point, to act like the Golden Snake Old Monster and be a fence-sitter carried too much risk. It was better to remain in place and quietly await the final outcome.
They did not have to wait long. With the sound of breaking air whistling past, two familiar figures returned to their side, one after the other.
Upon seeing Lie Xinyuan return first, the Golden Snake Old Monster immediately activated his cultivation technique, preparing to attack!
Fortunately, Qin Xuan's figure also suddenly appeared behind him, forcing him to forcefully suppress the vital energy that had already been circulated, preventing him from revealing his true intentions.