Transmigrated As A Cannon Fodder Sacrifice, I Tricked An Evil God Into Becoming My Live-In Husband - Chapter 16

The air in the Cave Abode wasn’t merely still it was dead.

Every speck of dust hung suspended in mid-air, motionless, refusing to settle.

The primordial pressure, originating from the chaos itself, didn’t just weigh down on their bodies it burrowed into their marrow and seeped into their divine souls.

Zhao Long and his lackeys were experiencing a new form of existence living specimens.

Their vaunted Golden Core Stage cultivation was utterly insignificant before this power—less than a fart in the wind.

No, not even the methane molecules within a fart.

They were mere zeros—pure, meaningless, and easily erased.

Zhuohuo didn’t open his eyes.

He didn’t even alter his breathing rhythm.

This cataclysmic pressure was merely an instinctive protective reaction from the depths of his divine soul.

Like a person swatting at a mosquito bite without thinking.

And Zhao Long was that clueless mosquito.

The pressure homed in on the nearest source of threat.

Like a gentle tide, it surged toward Zhao Long, who was still frozen in his lunging posture.

Crack!

A crisp, bone-snapping sound echoed through the cave.

Zhao Long’s thick arm bent backward at an impossible angle, defying all anatomical logic.

The stark white bone fragments pierced through his greasy flesh, exposed to the air.

Then, as if kicked in the chest by an invisible giant’s foot, his body instantly arched into the shape of a cooked shrimp.

His feet left the ground as he was sent flying backward.

He smashed through three stone stalagmites, each as thick as a man’s embrace, with dull thuds.

Finally, he splattered against the deepest wall of the Cave Abode like a human meat patty.

He slid limply down, leaving a long trail of bl00d and a shallow, human-shaped dent in the wall.

A puddle of mangled flesh.

A torrent of bl00d stained the ground beneath him crimson.

He lost consciousness instantly, without even a scream.

The remaining followers’ minds snapped like taut strings.

One collapsed to his knees, a large wet stain spreading rapidly across his crotch, filling the air with the stench of urine.

Another’s eyes rolled back, his mouth emitting guttural heh-heh sounds as saliva drooled from the corners of his mouth, as if seized by an epileptic fit.

They fled in terror, their souls scattering like shattered glass.

They didn’t even dare look back to see what had happened.

Driven by primal survival instincts, they scrambled on all fours toward the wall.

Two of them hoisted the unconscious Zhao Long, limp as a noodle, between them.

In their panic, their grip slipped, and Zhao Long’s head slammed against the ground with a sickening thud.

They didn’t even pause.

Not even a parting threat like You’ll pay for this! escaped their lips.

Like rats whose nest had been kicked open, they fled the Listening Rain Pavilion in utter disarray.

It was as if some invisible, peerless beast with jaws dripping crimson hungered to devour their very souls.

The oppressive aura had arrived swiftly and vanished just as quickly.

As the threat dissipated, the suffocating force receded like a tide.

Within the Cave Abode, tranquility soon returned.

Only the wreckage and the freshly carved human-shaped crater in the wall remained, silent witnesses to the cataclysm that had just transpired.

Lin Yue’er slowly opened her eyes.

She gazed at the shattered stones littering the floor, the bloodstains on the wall, and that… crater.

Then, her gaze drifted blankly toward the Cold Jade Bed.

The man remained still, his eyes closed in peaceful slumber.

His long, silver hair cascaded across the Cold Jade Bed, pristine and untouched by the slightest speck of dust.

It was as if the cataclysmic scene that had just unfolded had nothing to do with him.

Lin Yue’er’s gaze slowly shifted from stunned disbelief to awe.

Finally, it transformed into a bone-deep terror.

Zheng Qiuyu ignored her.

She immediately rushed forward and leaned over to check on Zhuohuo’s condition.

She reached out, her fingertips cautiously approaching the center of his brow.

Just as her fingertips were about to touch him,

a fleeting, almost imperceptible chain composed of countless black runes flashed across Zhuohuo’s forehead.

It vanished so quickly it seemed like an illusion.

But Zheng Qiuyu had seen it clearly.

At the same moment,

the System, silent for so long, blared a piercing, unprecedented red alert in her mind.

Warning! The Heavenly Dao Affection Gu Lock has triggered a stress response due to the Host being threatened!

Warning! The Evil God’s instinct to protect his master will accelerate the fusion of the Gu poison with his divine soul. Each activation of this passive defense deepens the Gu poison’s hold. Once all nine locks fully merge, he will be completely consumed by his destructive urges. The first person he will seek to kill is the one he loves most and desperately wants to protect—you!

A series of warnings, like a bucket of ice water, poured over Zheng Qiuyu’s head, instantly sobering her from the fleeting satisfaction of wielding borrowed power.

Her heart sank, bit by bit.

This most powerful talisman…

Was also the most lethal death warrant.

She could no longer naively treat him as a mere tool to ward off disaster.

Each time she exploited his power, she was pushing both him and herself toward the abyss of destruction.

Just as Zheng Qiuyu’s mind was in turmoil, torn between conflicting impulses, a voice suddenly echoed from outside the Cave Abode.

The voice carried a hint of barely suppressed urgency, coupled with a cautious reverence.

Great Master Zheng! Zhang Xuan of Pill Peak seeks an audience on a matter of grave importance!

It concerns the life of my Dao Companion. I implore you, Great Master… to lend your aid!

It was Elder Zhang.

He had actually returned.

And his demeanor… it was as if he had become a completely different person.

Shouldn’t he be on his mountain peak, cradling his shattered pill furnace and weeping?

Zheng Qiuyu composed her chaotic emotions, adopting her usual enigmatic expression. She glanced at Lin Yue’er, who was still in a daze.

Trembling, Lin Yue’er scurried to the cave entrance and soon ushered Elder Zhang inside.

The Zhang Xuan standing before her was a completely different person from the arrogant old man she had encountered in the assessment hall.

His hair was as disheveled as a bird’s nest, his eyes sunken and bloodshot, and his entire being radiated the exhaustion of days without sleep.

Only his eyes burned with an unsettling intensity.

Gone was the previous scrutiny and suspicion, replaced by a bl00d-red, feverish fervor and desperate hope.

As he entered the Cave Abode, his gaze first fell upon Zhuohuo, lying on the Cold Jade Bed.

His expression wasn’t that of someone looking at a gravely injured man.

It was the gaze one reserves for a deity.

Filled with reverence, and a hint of barely concealed fear.

Only then did he turn to Zheng Qiuyu, and without a word, he bowed deeply to her, a full ninety-degree bow.

I was blind to your true greatness before, Great Master Zheng, and deeply offended you. I beg your forgiveness!

The title Great Master was uttered with genuine sincerity, his voice ringing with heartfelt sincerity.

This complete about-face in attitude instantly diluted Zheng Qiuyu’s lingering annoyance with a strange sense of satisfaction.

It seemed her earlier barrage of chemical knowledge had struck with remarkable effectiveness.

Elder Zhang, there’s no need for such formality, Zheng Qiuyu said coolly, her voice carrying just the right note of aloofness.

Zhang Xuan straightened up and, without further preamble, drew a roll of animal hide from his robes.

The beast hide was even more ancient than the Heavenly Return Pill formula, its edges frayed and the writing faded, radiating an aura of decay.

Great Master Zheng, I won’t hide the truth from you. A century ago, my Dao Companion fought a fierce battle with a demonic fiend, damaging her divine soul. Her condition has been deteriorating ever since, and she’s only clinging to life thanks to medicinal pills.

His voice trembled, as if he were grasping at his last straw of hope.

This Ancient Soul-Nourishing Formula is my only hope. Yet after a century of research, I’ve not only failed to refine it successfully, but each failed attempt has worsened her condition…

Great Master Zheng, since you could see through the Soul-Locking Fiend at a glance, I beg you, please save her!

Zheng Qiuyu’s scalp buzzed with panic.

What kind of cosmic joke is this?!

That last one was a complete fluke!

It was like mixing toilet bowl cleaner with bleach—of course it would go wrong!

But this is a real pill formula to save someone’s life! What do I know about this?!

If I mess this up, my great master facade will be stripped bare, leaving me with nothing but my underwear!

Forcing down her panic, she reached out and reluctantly accepted the tattered beast hide formula.

She pretended to study it intently, while her brain raced at CPU-melting speed.

What do I do? What do I do? What do I do…?

Suddenly, her gaze fixed on a few lines of the Pill Formula.

Several familiar medicinal ingredients were listed alongside descriptions of refining techniques she couldn’t understand.

Wait… this combination…

She remembered.

In modern chemical experiments, extracting these substances using high-temperature co-heating was absolutely forbidden.

Their boiling points and properties differed significantly. High temperatures would directly destroy the crucial active components and produce toxic byproducts.

The correct method was fractional distillation, controlling the temperature in stages to extract each component separately.

A bold idea sparked in her mind.

Zheng Qiuyu feigned deep contemplation for an agonizingly long time, until sweat began to bead on Zhang Xuan’s forehead.

Finally, she spoke slowly, her voice tinged with regret.

The problem with this formula… is even more complex than the Heavenly Return Pill.

Zhang Xuan’s heart leaped into his throat.

It’s not that the ingredients are toxic, Zheng Qiuyu shook her head.

The refining method is fundamentally flawed.

She gazed at Zhang Xuan’s eager face and laid her cards on the table.

Your traditional alchemy methods are too crude. You simply mix all the medicinal properties together haphazardly and force them to fuse. This not only causes the various properties to neutralize each other, but it can even produce adverse effects, worsening the damage to the divine soul.

I possess an ancient secret technique called the Nectar Condensation Art.

This method allows me to isolate and condense the purest essence from medicinal ingredients into dew-like droplets, ensuring they remain separate and unadulterated. Then, following the principles of monarch, minister, assistant, and envoy, I fuse them in precise sequence.

However, this technique…

She paused deliberately, feigning a hint of exhaustion.

…demands immense energy from the practitioner.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xuan trembled with excitement, his face flushing with renewed hope. The light of possibility rekindled in his despairing eyes.

Without hesitation, he retrieved a piece of jade from his storage ring. The jade radiated a gentle, moonlit glow, its warmth seemingly raising the temperature of the entire Cave Abode.

He presented the jade with both hands, his posture humble as dust.

This is my treasured Soul-Nourishing Jade, which I’ve preserved for years! It has miraculous effects on nourishing the divine soul!

If Great Master Zheng is willing to intervene, regardless of success or failure, this jade will be yours!

Moreover, from this day forward, all resources of Pill Peak will be at your disposal!

Zheng Qiuyu’s heart stirred at the sight of the jade.

Could this… be useful for Zhuohuo?