Chapter 155: Intimidation

"You... you use a Heavenly-grade spatial spiritual treasure to store food?" Lü Fubao said in astonishment.

In Fan Li's hand was a sandalwood box, its grade far superior to her own Sumeru ring. Any spatial spiritual treasure above the Earth grade already contained a trace of a faint temporal law. Any object stored within it would immediately have its time frozen. Therefore, the steamed eight-treasure pig that Fan Li finally served up was still giving off wisps of heat.

"Everyone, the sandstorm has merely paused. Hurry up and eat, or else we'll be dining on sand," Fan Li said, directly tearing off a pig's trotters with his bare hands.

Zhuge Liang, Zhou Yu, Guo Jia, and Yan Yuan were all refined gentlemen. They forced back their hunger while striving to maintain their poise and manners. But seeing Fan Li eating with such uninhibited abandon, they exchanged glances and finally rolled up their sleeves, diving in with both hands and mouths!

The Holy Lord of Golden Virtue sat alone to the side. Knowing full well that she and Fan Li were enemies rather than friends, she lacked the face to beg for food at a time like this. Fan Li ignored her completely, chatting idly with Yan Yuan and the others while they ate.

"Mmm, delicious! This tastes even better than the culinary artistry of the Great Chu imperial palace's royal kitchen!" Lü Fubao was the most enthusiastic eater of all. With a wine flask in one hand and a glutinous rice dumpling in the other, she had gone a whole day without food and never imagined that Fan Li was essentially a walking restaurant.

Once they were well-fed and watered, the group buried their leftover food scraps in the sand.

"Why didn't you bring out the food and water during the day?" Lü Fubao asked curiously.

"Because the Crown Prince of Wanli was still around."

With that, Fan Li cast a sideways glance to steal a look at the Holy Lord of Golden Virtue. Unfortunately, he hadn't managed to shake her off.

As the night deepened, the chill intensified. Fan Li produced several blankets and distributed them to the group to keep warm. That night passed far more comfortably than they had anticipated.

...

When dawn broke, they resumed their journey.

Having experienced the previous night, everyone shared a tacit understanding. They simply kept their heads down and marched in silence. By the time darkness fell, Fan Li estimated their progress; they had covered at least another seventy miles today.

That night, he took out the food and water as usual.

"Fan Li! What is the meaning of this?!"

The Holy Lord of Golden Virtue was furious. She had gone two days without a single drop of water or morsel of food, yet Fan Li had pushed forward at a blistering pace during the day, completely disregarding her condition. At this moment, she was on the verge of a breakdown.

"Huh?"

Fan Li replied with a cold smile, making no move to accommodate her. He even deliberately tossed a half-eaten chicken leg aside, letting it slowly become buried by the shifting sands.

The Holy Lord of Golden Virtue trembled with rage! Given her willpower, she could normally have held out for yet another day. But provoked by Fan Li right now, she finally snapped.

"Why won't you give me anything to eat?!" she demanded spitefully. "Fan Li, don't forget, the Pure Land and Chu are allies!"

Fan Li sneered again. "Allies? Imprisoning the Emperor of Great Chu—since when has the Vatican Sound Pure Land ever been an ally?"

These were words that tore away all pretense, not easily spoken aloud. Zhuge Liang, Zhou Yu, and Guo Jia all wore looks of deep concern. From their perspective, they feared the rupture of the alliance, which would allow Great Ming to exploit the situation. Yet, putting themselves in his shoes, if Cao Cao, Liu Bei, or Sun Quan were imprisoned by the Vatican Sound Pure Land, their own alliances would shatter instantly as well.

Right in front of the Holy Lord of Golden Virtue, Fan Li poured himself a full cup of mountain spring water. To someone who hadn't tasted a drop of water in two days, an ordinary cup of spring water was sweeter than nectar and ambrosia.

The Holy Lord of Golden Virtue stared at the cup, involuntarily swallowing hard. Yet, she couldn't produce even a single drop of saliva, resulting in a dry, painful gulp.

*Gulp...*

Fan Li drank half the cup of spring water. The remaining half was casually tossed aside, splashing uselessly onto the sandy ground.

"Ah?!"

The Holy Lord of Golden Virtue let out a cry of shock, instinctively lunging toward the spot where the water had been spilled. At this moment, she was reduced to a mere mortal; how could she possibly be fast enough?

She jerked her head up, her bloodshot eyes glaring viciously at Fan Li.

"Food, I have."

"Drink, I also have."

Ignoring her murderous gaze, Fan Li remained utterly calm and composed. "Want some? I can give you some, but there is a condition."

The Holy Lord of Golden Virtue slowly rose to her feet, her voice forced out through clenched teeth: "What condition... speak..."

"You must swear by the Heavenly Dao that you will never make a move against me for the rest of your life."

The Holy Lord of the Blood Phoenix, the Holy Lord of Golden Virtue, the Holy Lord of Cold Moon—these powerful women had all once posed a lethal threat to Fan Li. Among them, Cold Moon had nearly succeeded. Fan Li loathed his own lack of strength, which was why his other four physical avatars toiled day and night in the Dragon God Palace. Yet grueling cultivation alone was not enough! On this trip to Mount Yunmeng, the Holy Lord of Golden Virtue had already made a move once. With his meager cultivation, he truly couldn't guard against such a dangerous woman. The Mount of Flames had unexpectedly created a golden opportunity for him to ensure his own survival!

"And if I refuse?!" the Holy Lord of Golden Virtue gnashed her teeth. She had been consumed by hatred. How could a dignified generation's Holy Lord of the Vatican Sound Pure Land suffer humiliation at the hands of someone in the Foundation Establishment realm? Once they left the Mount of Flames, she might well disregard all consequences and kill Fan Li!

"Refuse?" Fan Li sneered. "Then I can kill you right now."

"You dare?!" she cried out in shock.

But as she looked left and right, she finally realized something was amiss! Yan Yuan and Lü Fubao stood silently behind Fan Li. Meanwhile, Zhuge Liang, Zhou Yu, and Guo Jia had stepped back, clearly intending to stand by and watch without interfering!

After two days of trekking, the Crown Prince of Wanli and Zhang Juzheng had long since been left far behind. Without powerful enemies surrounding them, the alliance between the Pure Land and the four nations proved astonishingly fragile; instead, the relations among Chu, Wei, Han, and Wu seemed far closer!

"If I kill you now..."

"First, to avenge your sneak attack in the misty illusion array."

"Second, to settle our old accounts."

Fan Li spoke fiercely, looking as though he might strike at any second. He was well-fed, well-watered, and brimming with energy. The Holy Lord of Golden Virtue, by contrast, was severely overdrawn and completely exhausted. The outcome of a life-and-death struggle was beyond doubt!

"No... no... I'm willing to swear!"

At the instant she felt the threat of death, she finally relented. In front of everyone, she swore an oath by the Heavenly Dao: never to raise a hand against Fan Li for the rest of her life, or else the Heavenly Dao would perceive it and shatter her soul into oblivion!

"Very good."

Fan Li's expression shifted in an instant. The ferocity vanished, replaced by a warm, amiable smile.

"The Holy Lord has had a hard couple of days. Please, partake in the food and wine."

He produced a flask of wine and several small dishes of food, placing them on the sand right in front of her.

Discarding all remaining pride, the Holy Lord of Golden Virtue grabbed meat in one hand and the wine flask in the other, gulping it down ravenously.

Late into the night.

Before everyone fell asleep, Lü Fubao quietly crept over to Fan Li's side.

"Hey? Are you asleep?"

"Asleep."

"Hmph, annoying, you're not asleep at all!"

"Spit it out."

"Why do you hate the Holy Lord of Golden Virtue so much, yet instead of killing her, you forced her to take an oath?"

Fan Li gave Lü Fubao a helpless look. *Women really are born with a love for gossip, aren't they?*

"The Mount of Flames is a grand array set up by Guiguzi."

"Everything within the array blurs the boundaries between truth and illusion."

"What if we fundamentally cannot kill anyone inside this array? What then?"

Lü Fubao widened her eyes in disbelief.

"You were bluffing her?"

"Gosh, you're so wicked!"

"No wonder you tricked me into marrying Xiang Ning..."