# 1837
Chapter 1837: Exchange
As An Qingyu's voice fell, the remaining twelve drops of Divine Beast blood on the surface of the Gate of Truth seeped inward through the portal and vanished without a trace.
In the next instant, countless tentacles flowing with starlight extended from the gaps of the Gate of Truth.
These tentacles were composed of something unknown, like condensed fragments of an boundless universe, grand and vast. They passed through the dense fog and slowly reached toward An Qingyu standing beneath the portal.
An Qingyu stood motionless at the scene, without the slightest intention of dodging, allowing the starlight tentacles to wrap around him.
These tentacles circled around him as endless whispers filled the heavens and earth. One of the slenderest starlight tentacles swept slowly downward from the top of An Qingyu's head...
It paused briefly at his brow, then moved to before that pair of gray eyes. The sharp tentacle tip pressed against the surface of the eyeball—if it advanced even slightly, it could gouge out those eyes without effort.
The gray eyes clearly reflected the shadow of the tentacle, betraying not the slightest trace of fear. An Qingyu remained motionless like a stone statue.
But the tentacle hesitated for a moment and ultimately chose not to pluck out those eyes. Instead, it continued downward...
Ears, nose, mouth, throat—
Perhaps it deemed the price insufficient, or perhaps for some other reason, the tentacle circled around An Qingyu's body and returned to his brow.
As the tentacle tip gently tapped his brow, a ethereal soul body was drawn out from within.
The moment the soul body appeared, several other tentacles coiled around it. An Qingyu's body shuddered violently as his face turned deathly pale.
"The price is 'emotions,' then..."
For the first time, emotion flickered across An Qingyu's face. His brow furrowed tightly, as if hesitating.
But in the end, he made up his mind.
"Very well. We have a deal."
As the words fell, the tentacles coiled around his soul body began to suck forcefully, as if something was being drawn out from the soul body, flowing through the tentacles into that sky-reaching portal.
A look of agony spread across An Qingyu's face.
Lin Qiye's expression changed slightly. He deepened his voice and said:
"The Gate of Truth isn't something from this world. Are you certain that the price it offers is reasonable?"
"Nothing is closer to absolute fairness than the Gate of Truth," Fish Two replied.
"But even if surrendering your emotions can bring Jiang Er back... by then, you won't be able to feel love's existence. Have you considered—suppose she truly revives, what would she think seeing you like this?"
Fish Two and Fish Four fell silent simultaneously. After a long moment, Fish Four slowly said:
"This is none of your concern."
Lin Qiye's brow furrowed. Just as he was about to say more, a闷哼 came from midair.
The starlight tentacles surrounding the soul body had mostly dispersed. The translucent soul body fell weakly back into An Qingyu's body. The latter opened his eyes, revealing unprecedented emptiness and exhaustion.
An Qingyu lowered his head to look at his hands. His pale face was full of unfamiliarity, as if seeing his own body for the first time.
"So this is what it feels like to lose emotions," An Qingyu murmured to himself.
He raised his head to look at the Gate of Truth. At this moment, those starlight tentacles that had devoured An Qingyu's emotions still hadn't left. Instead, they lingered persistently around him.
They seemed to be scrutinizing An Qingyu, wanting to see what else of value remained on him.
An Qingyu's brow furrowed tighter and tighter.
"You've taken my emotions. Is that still not enough? What else do you want?"
One of the tentacles lifted and pointed in sequence at An Qingyu's eyes, ears, nose, mouth...
An Qingyu's eyes narrowed slightly. Only now did he understand the true intent behind those tentacles sweeping across his face at the start.
From the very beginning, they weren't deliberating over which part to take as the price—they were evaluating whether all of it combined would be enough to pay the price.
In their view, to resurrect a Jiang Er who had dispersed into a magnetic field soul four years ago, offering only "emotions" was far from sufficient.
An Qingyu stared at the starlight tentacles before him, his fists clenching. After a moment, they slowly relaxed.
Now, he had lost all emotions. He didn't even know—if he still possessed emotions, would he feel rage toward the tentacles before him?
This time, he stood silently for a full ten seconds.
In the end, he closed his eyes again.
"Take whatever else you want. Just remember to leave me my life... I still have some matters left undone."
Having obtained An Qingyu's permission, those starlight tentacles immediately grew active again, swarming toward An Qingyu's body!
Just as they were about to touch An Qingyu, a crisp blade cry rang out!
Clang—!!
A blade light pierced through voidness, accurately severing the tips of the foremost tentacles, slicing off large chunks!
Mysterious starlight flowed from the wounds. After this strike, all the tentacles simultaneously turned, locking onto that crimson figure at the edge of Erhai Lake.
Lin Qiye gripped White Slash in his hand, staring fixedly at the midair tentacles. His eyes were full of fury.
Fish Two and Fish Four seemed not to have anticipated Lin Qiye's sudden intervention. Only now did they react, the lightning around them blazed anew as they teamed up to charge toward the blade-wielding Lin Qiye!
Lin Qiye had no intention of entangling with them. A flicker of faint light passed through White Slash's blade. The latter immediately decomposed into mysterious purple light, absorbed into his body.
King's Authority!
Before the two artificial gods could even touch Lin Qiye, he pierced through space and vanished from where he stood.
When he appeared again, he was already above An Qingyu. The grand, massive Gate of Truth stood imposingly before him. Countless starlight tentacles were angrily gathering together, seemingly preparing to teach this meddler in the "exchange" a lesson.
An Qingyu raised his head to look at him and spoke lightly:
"Why did you interrupt me?"
"At this point, what's the difference between you and a fish on a chopping block, waiting to be cut?" Lin Qiye said heavily. "The moment it tried to take your emotions—it was trying to deprive you of the ability to feel anger. Only then could it smoothly devour everything you have piece by piece..."
"You wouldn't understand." An Qingyu shook his head. "The Gate of Truth is an absolutely fair and neutral existence. The prices it demands are all equivalent to the goal of the exchange."
"Then did it tell you where the upper limit of this price lies?"
"...What do you mean?"
"It informed you the price was insufficient only after it had already taken your emotions, didn't it?" Lin Qiye retorted. "What if you give it everything except your life now, and then it tells you the price isn't enough? What would you do then?
But by then, you'd have already lost everything. Would you give your remaining life as the price? What if that's still not enough? You'd be dead, yet the exchange wouldn't be complete. Who do you think would be the final beneficiary?
Even if the prices it demands are absolutely fair, the method it uses to extract those prices—isn't it no different from a scam?"