291: Kneel down!

The Barefoot Girl seemed a little disbelieving of what she had heard, and it took her a moment to react after a brief A moment of daze:

“Gu Liangyuan, you’re going too far!”

The Barefoot Girl’s face was filled with shame and indignation!

In terms of age, she was already over six thousand years old, many times older than Gu Liangyuan.

In terms of seniority, she was even half a head taller than Yang Yijia of Tai Shang Sect’s Wo Niu Peak.

For her to acknowledge a junior as her father was an immense insult to her!

Gu Liangyuan did not reply, but the hand pulling the bowstring instantly released three fingers, leaving only his thumb and index finger still gripping the bow, as if they were about to let go at any moment.

The Barefoot Girl listened to the humming of the bowstring, her eyes resolute, and her Aura slowly rising.

Gu Liangyuan could see that she was preparing to fight to the death.

Suddenly, Gu Liangyuan put away his longbow:

“I consider your cultivation not easy; give me a wisp of your Divine Soul and acknowledge me as your Master, and after three thousand years, I will return your freedom.”

Gu Liangyuan’s words made the Barefoot Girl’s rising resolve to die waver again.

Gu Liangyuan’s voice continued:

“Three.”

The Barefoot Girl knew this was Gu Liangyuan’s countdown.

Isn’t cultivation all about being free and unrestrained?

To be controlled by someone like this, she was truly unwilling.

But if she didn’t do this, wouldn’t her thousands of years of arduous cultivation be in vain?

“Two!”

Listening to Gu Liangyuan speak again, the Barefoot Girl’s thoughts changed once more.

If I am controlled by him, I will regain my freedom after three thousand years. I am a female, he can’t castrate me, right?

Looking at it this way, it’s more acceptable than the demand to acknowledge him as my father.

“One!”

“I am willing!”

The Barefoot Girl spoke, her expression changing, as she reached out and touched her glabella, enduring the pain to separate a wisp of her Primordial Spirit and send it towards Gu Liangyuan.

Gu Liangyuan reached out and took the Primordial Spirit into his hand.

Looking at the Barefoot Girl’s loyalty value, which had increased to twenty, he was satisfied.

All of the Barefoot Girl’s thoughts were within Gu Liangyuan’s calculations.

As the art of war also says, “besiege three, leave one open.”

This means that when surrounding an army, if you completely trap them, knowing there is no escape, they will fight like cornered beasts.

However, at this moment, if you open an exit for them, the army’s morale will instantly collapse, and they will only care about escaping.

The strategist can set up an ambush on the inevitable escape route and successfully capture them.

Gu Liangyuan could foresee that if he directly proposed taking the Barefoot Girl as a slave, she would certainly be unwilling.

So, he first made a difficult and unacceptable demand to break through the Barefoot Girl’s psychological defenses, and then, at her moment of despair, offered her a retreat, which seemed much more acceptable compared to the previous humiliation.

Furthermore, Gu Liangyuan used a countdown to exert pressure, not giving the Barefoot Girl a chance to react, thus successfully achieving his goal.

By the time she realized what was happening, it was already too late!

After receiving the Primordial Spirit, Gu Liangyuan’s body swayed, shrinking to the size of a normal person.

He took a step, and endless Qi of wind and clouds gathered, forming a gray cloak, resplendent with flowing light.

The large cloak fell upon Gu Liangyuan, barely covering his bare upper body, leaving his chest exposed, where his undulating abdominal muscles were faintly visible.

Gu Liangyuan stood before the Barefoot Girl:

“Kneel!”

Though his voice was not loud, it carried an undeniable authority!

The Barefoot Girl bit her lip, sensing the gazes of the surrounding onlookers, and her heart was once again conflicted.

Ultimately, she still knelt upon the auspicious clouds:

“Jiang Wei greets Master.”

Jiang Wei spoke these words with her head lowered, expecting humiliation from Gu Liangyuan, but to her surprise, Gu Liangyuan reached out and gently helped her up:

“From now on, you will be the Grand Elder of my Forgetting Love Peak. If you perform well, I will honor our agreement after three thousand years.”

Listening to Gu Liangyuan’s gentle words, Jiang Wei’s nose suddenly felt a little sore, and she felt like crying, though she didn’t know why.

She wasn’t sure if it was from grievance or gratitude.

Thousands of words ultimately condensed into a single “Mm.”

After comforting Jiang Wei, Gu Liangyuan made a gesture, and Li Wuyan’s Green Cicada Jade Flute and other items were all collected by him.

After doing all this, Gu Liangyuan spoke loudly:

“Everyone has seen it; it’s not that I, Gu Liangyuan, don’t follow the rules; it’s that their Great Lu acted first.”

“Right, everyone?”

Although what Gu Liangyuan said was true, everyone felt that something was amiss.

They had attempted to ambush your disciple, and they hadn’t even succeeded.

Yet you, on the other hand, directly annihilated their entire Sect!

But imagining Gu Liangyuan’s Aura of wiping out an entire Sect at the slightest disagreement, how could anyone dare to say no?

And so, they all nodded, acknowledging Gu Liangyuan’s statement.

Only Due Holy Master and the Envoy of Gu Mo had ashen faces.

The two wanted to say something more, but then they heard a clamor of shouts and killings.

Looking down, they saw Song Xianer and the other four, leading a three-million-strong army, crossing the Azure Dragon Pass and marching towards Great Chu.

Due Holy Master’s expression changed. At this time, Chen Kingdom had not yet fully allied with Great Wei, leaving no room for retreat.

With Azure Dragon Pass breached, Great Wei would directly confront Great Abyss.

Now, Great Wei was isolated and without aid; if things went wrong, it might even be erased from the map.

Due Holy Master dared not be careless. Without even a word, his figure flickered and he headed straight for Great Wei.

From his appearance, he seemed to be going back to deploy ahead of time.

Seeing this, the rest of the people also dispersed.

After dispersing, some immediately went to the Gathering Treasure Pavilion to place bets on Gu Liangyuan.

Before this battle, the impression of Gu Liangyuan throughout the Five Continents was that of an unparalleled Prodigy, a rising star.

After this battle, his reputation changed again.

Making Gu Liangyuan a recognized Great Divine Power practitioner!

After arranging for the Elders of the Tai Shang Sect to raid the Sects of the Anti-Yuanyuan Alliance, Gu Liangyuan then arranged for Lü Qingmei to handle the aftermath, and then, taking Jiang Wei with him, his figure vanished.

Some were happy, some were sorrowful. Compared to the joy on the Tai Shang Sect’s side, Lü Emperor in the Dayuan Imperial Palace was furious, smashing things around the palace.

After a burst of venting, Lü Emperor immediately summoned a purple-robed Elder.

It was unclear what was said, but Lü Emperor’s face showed a fierce expression and gnashing teeth as he spoke.

The purple-robed Elder sighed faintly after listening:

“This is the last chance for me to act that I promised you. Are you sure you want to use it on this?”

Lü Emperor nodded: “Indeed!”

Receiving Lü Emperor’s affirmation, the purple-robed Elder slowly vanished, leaving only a voice echoing:

“After this, this old man and Great Lu will owe each other nothing.”

Looking in the direction where the purple-robed Elder disappeared, Lü Emperor’s eyes still held fierce light, and he did not reply.

On a square outside the Dayuan Imperial Palace, six thousand Core Formation cultivators sat astride black tigers.

Behind the black tigers, fifty thousand cavalry were neatly arranged.

Above the cavalry, three thousand giant eagles formed a square formation, suspended in the air.

Everyone looked resolutely towards the Imperial Palace, seemingly waiting for something.

Inside a bedchamber within the Imperial Palace.

Qianqiu stood there with her lotus-like arms outstretched, her clothes removed, leaving only a pair of Phoenix bellybands worn close to her body.

Beside her, two Foundation Establishment realm maidservants stood one on each side.

These two maidservants were helping Qianqiu put on her armor.

One of the maidservants, looking at the two Phoenixes embroidered on Qianqiu’s bellyband, said with an envious and fawning tone:

“Your Majesty, your bellyband is truly beautiful.”

Hearing the maidservant mention the bellyband, Qianqiu’s mind drifted, and Gu Liangyuan’s figure suddenly appeared in her thoughts.

Speaking of which, it had been a long time since she had seen her Master.