Chapter 600: The Southern Xinjiang Goddess Kneels in Surrender!
Shen Anyu pointed to the ground in front of him, signaling Wu Shenyun to kneel.
He had no intention of humiliating Wu Shenyun; how could a bet that was lost be elevated to humiliation? The aftermath of their cataclysmic clash hung heavy in the air, a silence more deafening than any explosion. The sky above was still bruised with the echoes of displaced power, and the very ground beneath their feet seemed to hum with residual energy. This wasn't about spite. It was about conquest. To conquer a woman as strong and domineering as Wu Shenyun, a queen who looked down on all living beings and disregarded the world, required a specific approach. Neither the fawning of a sycophant nor the gentle warmth of a kind man would ever breach her defenses. Even a dramatic, staged rescue of a damsel in distress would only earn her contempt. The only path to her heart, the only way to truly subdue a spirit like hers, was to be more powerful, more absolute, more unyielding, forcing her to bow her head in genuine acknowledgment of a superior force.
But simply forcing her to bow her head through brute strength would never work. A woman like Wu Shenyun would absolutely not agree, preferring a glorious death over a coerced submission. Her pride was the bedrock of her existence; to shatter it with simple violence would be to destroy the very thing that made her who she was.
This was why Shen Anyu had orchestrated this moment with the precision of a master strategist. His plan had been a three-pronged assault on her body, mind, and soul.
First, he had invaded her spirit with the Dream of Love Illusion. Across thousands of lifetimes, through countless cycles of reincarnation, he had woven himself into the very fabric of her being, leaving an indelible mark deep within her heart. The result was a connection she couldn't sever, a psychic resonance that made her heart boil with an uncontrollable storm of emotions whenever she saw him. It was a seed of obsession planted in the most fertile ground.
Then, he chose the perfect moment for a direct confrontation. He waited until she had broken through to the Land Immortal realm, a pinnacle of power unseen in Yanxia for a century. He let her reach the apex of her ambition, her spirit soaring with the confidence of her newfound strength, believing herself to be invincible. And at that exact moment, he descended upon her with the weight of a collapsing mountain, crushing all her resistance with overwhelming, obvious force. He didn't just defeat her; he displayed a level of power that made her own prodigious breakthrough seem like a child's first step, demonstrating a strength so unparalleled it bordered on the divine.
Finally, the bet served as the stepping stone, the final, elegant checkmate. It was a clause she had agreed to in the height of her arrogance, a chain she had willingly placed around her own neck, never once imagining he could pull it taut. It transformed her defeat from a simple loss in battle into a binding oath, a matter of honor that her proud spirit could not easily dismiss.
"A bet is a bet. You wouldn't go back on your word, would you?" Shen Anyu's eyes flickered with a faint, golden glow. A calm, almost gentle smile played on his lips as he looked at Wu Shenyun, yet that smile held the crushing weight of a victor's prerogative.
Wu He and the other powerhouses of the Shaman God Cult watched this unbearable tableau unfold, their expressions a twisted canvas of warring emotions. Shock was the primary color, so profound it left them numb. Dread followed, a cold serpent coiling in their guts. Disbelief warred with the stark reality before their eyes, creating a cocktail of confusion, anger, and a terrifying helplessness.
They could not process it. How could this be? Their supreme Venerable, the untouchable Southern Border Goddess, Wu Shenyun, had actually been defeated. And now, she was being commanded to kneel in submission. The very concept was anathema, a tear in the fabric of their reality.
It felt like only yesterday that Wu Shenyun, while physically residing in Hangzhou, had remotely commanded the entire, sprawling Southern Border through the iron will of the Shaman God Cult. Her word was law. No one dared to disobey. Those foolish enough to try were not just eliminated; they were utterly crushed, their factions dismantled, their legacies erased in rivers of blood that served as a stark warning to all others.
The Southern Border was a complex and brutal land, a jagged tapestry of warlords, gangs, ancient sects, and shadowy forces. Its territory spilled across the borders of Yanxia into neighboring countries, creating a chaotic, unregulated zone where the only law was the law of the jungle. It was a place where strength was the only currency that mattered.
But then, the Southern Border Goddess Wu Shenyun had emerged from the chaos like a phoenix from the flames. She became the undisputed ruler, the absolute sovereign of that savage land. Her decree was simple and absolute: those who followed would prosper beyond their wildest dreams, and those who defied would perish without a trace.
Did anyone dare to question her authority? All they had to do was look at the severed head of the Blood Gu Sect's Master, a terrifying Heavenly Gu Master in his own right, which was said to still be preserved as a trophy. That single act had cemented her reign.
What's more, just the day before yesterday, the Southern Border Goddess had ascended to an even higher plane. She had shattered her limits and broken through to become a Land Immortal—a legendary figure, a being of power Yanxia had not seen in a hundred years. What prodigious talent! What astonishing, world-shaking brilliance! Her followers had believed her to be invincible, a true goddess walking the earth.
And just moments ago, they had witnessed that power firsthand. Her every move stirred the celestial phenomena. A casual wave of her jade hand had summoned colossal water spouts that connected the raging river to the heavens, a display of the mighty and terrifying power that only a Land Immortal could command.
But now… now she stood defeated. A thin trickle of blood, stark crimson against her pale skin, escaped the corner of her mouth. Her breath was ragged, her aura, once a blazing sun, was now a flickering candle in the wind. She was facing the ultimate choice, a choice that would define her entire existence.
Submission, or death?
These powerhouses of the Shaman God Cult, these hardened warriors and cunning masters who had bowed to her supremacy, now held their breath, awaiting her decision. If she chose to fight to the death, then this tranquil lakeside would erupt into a maelstrom of chaotic battle. But a chilling question hung in their minds: could so many of them, even all of them combined, possibly be a match for that impossibly handsome First Young Master who stood there with that faint, unnerving smile?
For a long, agonizing moment, raw despair and primal fear flashed in the eyes of many of the Shaman God Cult members. They were survivors, pragmatists who had joined her because she was the strongest. Their loyalty was to power, and the balance of power had just seismically shifted. Others, however, those who had been saved by her, those who owed her a debt of gratitude that transcended mere power, prepared to die. Their hands tightened on their weapons, their killing intent locking onto Shen Anyu. They would gladly burn their life force to protect their goddess's honor.
'The people's hearts are scattered…'
Wu Shenyun's gaze, sharp as a hawk's, swept over the faces of Wu He and the other cult powerhouses. She saw the fear, she saw the loyalty, and she saw the wavering doubt. She sighed faintly in her heart. Most of these followers were recently subdued, brought into her fold through a careful combination of overwhelming might and calculated kindness. They were effective tools, but their loyalty was fundamentally tethered to her formidable, unconquerable strength.
Now that she had been so thoroughly and publicly defeated, their hearts were in turmoil. If even she, their pillar of strength, felt her resolve cracking, how could she expect them to remain steadfast?
Wu Shenyun's phoenix eyes, now filled with a profoundly complex light, settled on Shen Anyu. A sliver of regret pierced through her. Why had she been so arrogant? Why had she made such a bet: the loser kneels in submission? She was not someone who couldn't accept defeat. If she lost, she lost. She could have accepted that, moved on, and planned for the future. But the bet… the bet added an unbearable layer of personal subjugation.
She could tell, with the instincts of a true expert, that Shen Anyu had held back. If he had truly intended to kill or cripple her, she wouldn't just be lightly injured. Her wounds would be far, far more severe. The thought was both infuriating and terrifying.
'Shen Anyu, the First Young Master of Yanxia's Shen Clan… the world sees him as nothing more than a hedonistic playboy, a profligate heir. They say that although he is handsome, he is all flash and no substance, a hollow shell with no special talents.'
'But in reality… how could the world possibly imagine the truth? How could they know that this same Shen Anyu not only possesses psychic abilities of an extraordinary and terrifying power, but also an indestructible Steel Body, physical strength refined to an inhuman degree, a formidable spirit that can invade dreams, and a host of mysterious techniques… He has reached the Land Immortal level, a peak that allows him to look down upon the entire current era. In this age, who could possibly be his equal?'
'Shen Anyu… you've hidden yourself far, far too deeply…'
Wu Shenyun pursed her lips, her eyes flickering with a faint, uncertain glow. After her people finally tracked down the man from her dreams, confirming he was indeed Shen Anyu, the First Young Master of the Shen Clan, she had naturally dispatched her best agents to investigate his background.
The intelligence reports she received painted a picture of a figurehead, a pampered young master whose greatest achievements were seducing women and spending money. That man was a world apart—a universe apart—from the invincible, god-like being standing before her.
Wu Shenyun knew Shen Anyu had hidden secrets; otherwise, he couldn't have entered her dreams to torment and toy with her. But she never, in her wildest nightmares, expected him to possess this level of raw, overwhelming power. She had assumed he was a cunning trickster with some strange, esoteric methods. She never expected him to be a prehistoric beast in human skin, an unstoppable force of nature.
But.
Was she really going to fulfill the bet? Was she, Wu Shenyun, the goddess of the Southern Border, truly going to kneel and submit to a man?
The arrogant, strong, and domineering Wu Shenyun was caught in a dilemma that tore at her very soul. She had proposed such a bet because she had been utterly convinced that she could never lose.
In the thousands of reincarnations within her dream, the only two actors on the stage had been her and Shen Anyu. He had already carved a place for himself in her heart, an indelible brand that commanded her intense, unwilling attention.
This time, Wu Shenyun had no intention of killing him. She had wanted to capture him, to make him submit, to humiliate him in the same way he had humiliated her in her dreams. He thought he was having fun? She wanted to show him what real fun was. She wanted to get even, to win back her pride with interest.
But now, she had lost. Completely and utterly.
"Shen Anyu, I'll give you a hundred tons of gold, you…"
"Refused."
Wu Shenyun deliberated for a long, agonizing time before finally speaking, preparing to buy her freedom with a king's ransom. Having built her empire on the countless corpses of the former Southern Border overlord, the Blood Gu Sect, she possessed a truly immeasurable fortune. Gold, jewels, cash, and real estate—all in astronomical quantities. As long as Shen Anyu could grant her freedom, she was willing to discard these external possessions. They were meaningless without her pride.
But before Wu Shenyun could even finish her sentence, Shen Anyu interrupted her directly. The light smile never left his face as he looked at her.
"You and I made a bet: if you lose, you kneel and submit. Do you think my, Shen Anyu's, demand for submission is only worth a hundred tons of gold?"
Wu Shenyun gritted her silver teeth, her jaw tight with suppressed fury. She made her final, most desperate offer.
"What about the Shaman God Cult? I will hand over the entire foundation of the Shaman God Cult to you!" she said, her voice resolute.
"The Shaman God Cult now governs the entire Southern Border. It is the undisputed, strongest overlord of the region, possessing countless wealth and manpower. As long as you show mercy and release me from this bet, I will give you the entire Shaman God Cult."
Wu He and the other cult powerhouses were stunned into silence, their astonishment absolute. They, more than anyone, understood the immense foundation of a behemoth like the Shaman God Cult. Though it hadn't existed for long, it had snowballed in power, absorbing countless forces and experts in the Southern Border who had been oppressed by the old Blood Gu Sect. After annihilating its predecessor, its growth had become even more robust and terrifying.
Currently, under its banner were over ten Grandmasters, seventy to eighty Masters, more than a thousand Innate realm cultivators, and tens of thousands of Houtian realm disciples, not to mention countless other individuals with unique and valuable skills. Its power was formidable enough to challenge a small nation.
And now, all of it was to be handed over?
Wu Shenyun clenched her jade fists so tightly her knuckles turned white. Of course, she was reluctant. This was the foundation she had painstakingly built with her own hands, her capital for dominating an entire region. But now, for the sake of her freedom and her pride, she had no choice but to give it up.
'To gain, one must first give.'
With her strength as a Land Immortal, she believed she could eventually rise again, start anew.
"If you submit to me, wouldn't the Shaman God Cult simply be a subordinate force of my subordinates? If even you are mine, what more the Shaman God Cult?" Shen Anyu smiled, watching Wu Shenyun's struggling expression with keen interest, and leisurely said:
"Moreover, I don't care about the Shaman God Cult; you are more valuable than the Shaman God Cult."
"Wu Shenyun, you wouldn't want to be someone who goes back on her word, would you?"
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