I, Su Jiu, will spare no effort and stop at nothing to protect Su Ji's spiritual root.

Su Jiu watched as the demonic deity known as Su Ji slowly advanced toward her.

And the root of it all was simply because...

She had failed to warn him sooner about the sect's tradition of discarding "useless" spiritual roots.

Absurd...

A tide of despair drowned her.

She didn’t want to die at the hands of such a monster.

To become yet another twisted face among the countless souls woven into the banner behind Him.

With trembling hands, Su Jiu drew the gleaming sword at her waist.

She pressed the blade against her snow-white neck.

Fine.

Better to die by her own hand than...

Su Ji stared at Su Jiu’s actions, momentarily stunned.

Wait...

Was the act too convincing?

Why was she about to slit her own throat?

Her mental resilience was truly lacking.

"Keh keh keh..."

The terrifying phantom behind Su Ji continued its maniacal laughter.

Its ghastly skeletal left hand slowly rose.

With precision, it intercepted the blade in Su Jiu’s grip.

No matter how hard she strained, the sword didn’t budge.

Su Jiu’s eyes snapped open.

What... did He want?

Was He even denying her the right to end her own life?

"Keh keh keh..."

The laughter echoed again.

"Junior Sister, am I really that frightening?"

The phantom and Su Ji’s true form spoke in unison, their voices overlapping.

Su Jiu replied with defeat: "Senior Brother Su Ji, considering I’ve never wronged or harmed you..."

"Grant me a dignified death, won’t you?"

Su Ji, now amused, leaned into the role: "Keh keh keh, Junior Sister, I too once pleaded—yet the only answer I received was my own echo!"

Su Jiu had no rebuttal: "I see."

Seeing her resignation, Su Ji sighed and dropped the villainous act.

The overwhelming malice enveloping Su Jiu receded like a tide.

Though his appearance remained unsettling, it no longer shattered one’s spiritual resolve at a glance.

"Junior Sister, stop seeking death."

Su Ji’s voice returned to normal.

"Didn’t you ask earlier if I wanted to live?"

"Then let me ask you."

"Do you want to die?"

Su Jiu’s head jerked up.

Behind her fox mask, her beautiful eyes widened in shock.

He... wasn’t going to kill her?

Why?

Wasn’t he infamous for despising female cultivators?

Su Ji’s destined future—that line of 【Sever love, sever emotion... sever the heart! Sever the sword!! Ahahahaha!!!】—clearly stated he would slaughter all female cultivators.

And here she was, a living, breathing female cultivator.

Shouldn’t she have been torn apart instantly, then woven into his banner with that eerie laughter?

Su Ji could guess her thoughts.

He exhaled, his expression turning complicated.

"Junior Sister, you’ve seen my future self, haven’t you?"

Su Jiu nodded numbly.

"Honestly, it’s powerful."

"But I refuse to become that monstrosity."

"Junior Sister, you wouldn’t want me to turn into that either, right?"

She stared at him blankly.

Could the course of fate truly be altered by mere desire?

"Of course not, but..."

"There are too many things in this world beyond our will to..."

Su Ji cut her off: "Then if I asked you to help me try and change it, would you—"

The phantom behind him shifted, its gloomy single eye scrutinizing Su Jiu.

Before he could finish, Su Jiu blurted: "I will!"

"I will!"

Even her tails wagged excitedly like a puppy’s.

Su Ji doused her enthusiasm: "Don’t celebrate yet. I don’t trust you."

"Once we leave this secret realm, my strength will be pitiful—easy for you to crush."

"How can you prove yourself trustworthy? How can I believe you’ll genuinely help me protect... it?"

His gaze flicked downward.

"Convince me, and I’ll let you leave here alive."

These words were carefully weighed.

No matter how fiercely he wielded his borrowed future power now, it was all an illusion.

Once the Heavenly Dao’s secret realm closed, he’d revert to his true self—

A penniless, weak Qi Refining cultivator who could barely protect even his own kin.

Su Jiu’s strength outside the realm was unfathomable to him, but undoubtedly formidable.

She was his most crucial—perhaps only—ally in surviving the "Spiritual Root Severing Tribulation."

Su Jiu fell silent, dissecting every word.

Could someone truly forsake an unfathomable future of divine ascension... for something as trivial as a "spiritual root"?

At Su Ji’s future level, reshaping flesh or crafting new roots would be child’s play.

He could even create countless superior replacements.

That phantom’s skeletal form wasn’t due to unhealed wounds or an irreparable root—

It was simply His preference.

Roots were replaceable... but the path of divine sacrifice was rare!

Was preserving that thing more important than ruling existence itself?

She didn’t understand.

But Su Ji’s absolute power left no room for games.

Cooler-headed now, Su Jiu grasped at the slim hope: "In our current states, ordinary Dao Heart oaths hold no weight."

"I vow by my Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox bloodline."

"A life oath, sealed with blood and soul."

As she spoke, her finger pressed to her heart.

A drop of crimson blood, flecked with gold, floated into the air.

"I, Su Jiu, swear to exhaust all means—even unscrupulous ones—to ensure Su Ji survives the ‘Spiritual Root Severing Tribulation’ and safeguards his ‘root.’"

Su Ji studied the strangely hued blood. Though unfamiliar with fox blood oaths, he sensed his phantom nodding faintly.

"Good. I accept."

Su Ji nodded as well.

Su Jiu exhaled in relief.

With a flick, the blood split—

Half merged into Su Ji’s spiritual root.

Half settled below her eye as a teardrop-shaped mark.

A peculiar bond formed between them.

The moment the oath took hold,

The raging malice behind Su Ji visibly lessened.

The phantom’s crazed gaze toward Su Jiu softened slightly.

The predetermined future seemed... genuinely nudged.

Except...

The vibe was still off.

Other future prodigies had "Protectors" standing behind them.

But Su Ji’s was called...

"The Root Keeper"?