Beyond The Primordials - Chapter 24 Dao Oath

Su Jia listened attentively as Yin Hui recounted the events at the Scattered Leaf Village. However, he did not mention the capture order or his status as a runaway slave from the Tang Clan. Because he technically wasn’t lying by not revealing these details, Su Jia’s spiritual sense did not detect anything.

“I see. Given the Tang Clan’s nature, there’s no doubt that a capture order would’ve been placed on you two shortly after you escaped. No wonder you’re hiding out in forests rather than the nearby settlements.” Su Jia’s playful demeanor vanished. Her cuteness, which was originally the foundation of her charm, was now replaced with a gentle elegance.

Yin Hui kept a calm demeanor after telling the story of their previous exploits. The only thing he could do now was pray that Su Jia was not affiliated with the Tang Clan. Given their brief fight moments earlier, if she wanted to turn them in, he would not be able to resist.

“So what’s your plan now that you’re on the run? Where are you going and what are you relying on over there to protect you?” She asked.

“We’re planning to journey to the neighbouring Storm Province. Once there we plan to join the Striking Thunder Sect and stay under their protection.” It pained Yin Hui how detailed Su Jia’s question was. Confessing to her that he was planning to join the sect of a neighbouring province was basically signing a death warrant. It didn’t matter if she was with the Tang or the Yan, neither of them would allow a cultivator from the province to turn traitor.

“The Striking Thunder Sect? That sect is the ruler of the entire Storm Province! How do you have to qualifications to join them? Never mind that, a demonic cultivator like you would be spotted instantly!” Su Jia was shocked. These two weaklings were planning to join the strongest sect of the Storm Province.

“The Striking Thunder Sect is the ruler of the Storm Province? What made Lady Yu think we would be able to get into a prestigious sect like that? Just what position does this Master Tempest have?” Yin Hui pondered. Yu Mingxi did not tell him any details concerning the Striking Thunder Sect. Now that he knew they were the Storm Province’s overlord, he was doubting whether they would be able to get in.

“Yes we’re planning on joining the Striking Thunder Sect. Now that I’ve told you everything what is your decision?”

Su Jia sat on a nearby log contemplating everything she had just heard. After a long pause, she came to a decision and stood up.

“Li Feng, Xiao Yu, luckily for you two I’m not affiliated with the Tang Clan. You two seem to be good people and I have a feeling you will play a key role in this province someday. Li Feng, since you’re not satisfied with my gift, I’ll add a bit more to it and also help you get to the Storm Province!” Su Jia declared.

Yu Zhuwa’s eyes widened. He could hardly believe it. Was Su Jia really going to help them escape the Tang Province?

On the other hand, Yin Hui’s reaction was less obvious. To him, there was no such thing as a free handout in this world. Therefore, there must be some sort of catch in Su Jia’s offer.

“I thank you for not turning us in, but why are you helping us. There must be something you need right? Something that you need our help with that is also on the way to the province’s borders.” Yin Hui was extremely blunt with his response. He did not trust Su Jia, so while he thanked her for the offer he still questioned her intent.

“Leaving the country will not be easy. The Tang have left some of their most loyal subordinates guarding the border. My goal is to flatten one of their subsidiary outposts and create some panic for the Tang in the outer regions. If you help me do this and we succeed, a gap will be opened for you to escape into the Storm Province.”

“Alright, we will help you. However, we are leaving right after the outpost is under your control okay?”

“Not an issue. We’ll make a dao oath to seal the deal and prove our sincerity.” Su Jia nodded and extended her hand towards Yin Hui.

“Dao oath?”

Su Jia rolled her eyes.

“Sigh. I forgot that you were a new cultivator with no knowledge or experience. A dao oath is a promise using your soul as the foundation. If you break it you will leave a hole in your soul which will hinder your future cultivation. It can also leave an irreparable mark on your soul which will never heal if broken.”

“Very well, I accept this dao oath. My side is complete when the outpost is clearly under your control. Your side is complete once the both of us take one step into the Storm Province.”

“Deal.”

Yin Hui linked his hand with Su Jia and formed a dao oath. Wisps of qi swirled around their hands as a piece of their souls emerged and linked together. Afterwards, the qi dissipated and their hands disconnected.

When they broke the connection, Yin Hui felt like a seed had been planted within his soul. Within that seed was the terms of his oath to Su Jia. Even now, he felt a subtle desire gnawing at him to go and destroy the outpost Su Jia mentioned.

“Now that the oath has been made we can rest easy knowing we can trust each other. I’ll tell you the details of the invasion tommorow. There’s a couple things we need to do before we attack. Now that all the serious stuff is dealt with, let’s eat! I believe I have fully established myself as a guest now!” Su Jia returned to her mischievous and playful demeanor. It was as if her earlier attitude was merely a mask donned for the moment.

Yin Hui sighed, but did not get angry. He cooked a few wild animals he caught earlier in the day and distributed it among the three of them. As they were eating, Su Jia began to make weird faces in between bites.

“Hey Su Jia what’s wrong?” Yu Zhuwa asked. He no longer called Su Jia elder sister because he knew that their friendship was not as deep as he initially thought. He understood at that point that they were just associates with common goals and that he probably wouldn’t see her again if they manage to leave the province.

“Mmm… Your food isn’t bad Li Feng, but is this really all you have? Don’t you have anything better.” Su Jia complained.

Yin Hui rolled his eyes.

“This is all we have. If you don’t like it then don’t eat it, no one is forcing you to you know?”

“So cold, so cold Li Feng. Is this really how you treat an esteemed guest such as myself?” Su Jia whined.

“Don’t worry Su Jia. If your unsatisfied with Brother Li Feng’s cooking we have some fruits too.” Yu Zhuwa tossed Su Jia a ripe red apple with a beaming smile on his face.
for visiting.

Su Jia gave Yu Zhuwa a cute wink while sticking her tongue out at Yin Hui. Yin Hui merely scoffed and ignored her.

“Anyways, Xiao Yu I’m afraid your cultivation is too low for you to be useful in the attack on the outpost. If you want to stand a chance you’re going to need to at least be in the Spirit Waking realm. Since you’ve been so nice to me, I’ll help you out!” Su Jia reached for her bag of holding behind her waist and took out a purple pill.

“This is called the Body Tempering Pill. It’s very useful for Impurity Cleansing cultivator’s and can really speed up the progression of their purification. Here take it.”

Before Yu Zhuwa could receive the Body Tempering Pill, Yin Hui swiped it first.

“Li Feng! What are you doing? That pill is useless to you, give it to Xiao Yu!”

Yin Hui examined the pill with his spiritual sense. Only after he found no detectable traces of poison within the pill did he pass it to Yu Zhuwa.

“Li Feng! We made a dao oath and you still do not trust me?!” Su Jia said angrily.

Yin Hui gave a cold stare to Su Jia, the dao oath only involved raiding the outpost so a poisoned pill would not be breaking the rules. However, with his skill in recognizing emotions, he could tell that Su Jia was genuinely angry about what he did.

“I’m sorry, I was just being cautious. Xiao Yu, you can take the pill.” Yin Hui tossed the pill to Yu Zhuwa, who ingested it immediately and began cultivating. Yin Hui then turned to Su Jia with the intent of apologizing, but she jerked her head to the side and walked into their camp tent.

“If you want to apologize then do it by sleeping outside for the night!” She called out from inside the tent.

“What a pain…” Yin Hui muttered.

zzt~

After a short moment, Yu Zhuwa’s entire body trembled. Black liquid began to leave his body and he was covered in a warm golden glow. When the light subsided, Yu Zhuwa looked much healthier then he did before. His complexion was full of color, his body looked sturdier, and his overall presence was much more defined.

“Whoa, that Body Tempering Pill was amazing. The speed I could purify my body was multiplied by 10 under its effects. Yes! Big Brother Li Feng, I’m now at the peak of the Impurity Cleansing stage!”

Yin Hui was amazed. Although Yu Zhuwa’s body was already 90% purified, in such a short amount of time he already managed to purify the rest. With his spiritual sense he could determine that Yu Zhuwa’s body was 99% pure. While Yin Hui himself had a 100% pure body, it was not worth the effort for Yu Zhuwa to push that far. He remembered how his ancestor Yin Tou said that a person could dedicate their whole life to purifying their body, but still not reach 100% purity.

“Elder sister Su Jia thank you! Now that my body is 99% cleansed, I could breakthrough to Spirit Waking at any time!” Yu Zhuwa was ecstatic. He was so grateful to Su Jia he started calling her elder sister again.

“Big brother Li Feng, maybe sister Su Jia isn’t that bad after all!”

Su Jia peeked her head out from behind the camp tent when she heard this. She had a very smug look on her face that was directed straight at Yin Hui.

Seeing her expression, Yin Hui let out a deep sigh. As much as he wanted to deny it, the pill Su Jia gave helped Yu Zhuwa greatly.

“I guess she’s a bit bearable.”