A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu had quite a headache over how exactly to negotiate, but there was nothing he could do about it.

There was no doubt that the Heluo God had plenty of skeletons in her closet, so cooperating with her would expose Qi Xuansu to considerable moral risk.

However, the Heluo God was extremely cunning. She adamantly refused to admit any wrongdoing, insisting that the humanoid insects had done all those things behind her back.

After all, she had been trapped within the Spirit Realm, completely cut off from the outside world. She knew nothing about what had happened.

The Heluo God had evidently grasped the true essence of Taiji. She did not issue any policies. Instead, she left everything to those beneath her to carry out and contend over. If they did something right, she would approve it. If they did something wrong, the responsibility belonged entirely to them. Nothing could compare to remaining silent. With any statement, so long as one did not say it aloud, one would still have the power to correct things.

If the humanoid insects caused trouble, then they had done it all behind her back. The passages to the Spirit Realm had been closed, so when had anyone ever seen her send down a divine descent incarnation? When had anyone ever seen her issue a divine oracle? Never. She merely ate the humanoid insects. At most, she could be held responsible for failing to supervise them properly.

Naturally, she had learned this from humans, the art of rulership.

Since Qi Xuansu also could not control everyone beneath him, he was just as guilty of poor oversight. Thus, making him and the Heluo God no different from each other.

As for whether the hidden harm caused by Daoist priests running unchecked was greater or whether the immediate harm caused by the humanoid insects was greater, that was a subject best left unexplored at this time.

Just as benefits could endure for generations, so too could calamities. Some forms of harm might seem insignificant at the time, yet leave endless troubles for generations to come. They could kill without drawing blood and bring about destruction without using a blade.

High-ranking Daoist priests knew how to bend when necessary and were especially adept at fighting from a disadvantageous position.

Qi Xuansu was the same. At times, he knew how to bend, prioritizing his own survival rather than choosing mutual destruction.

Just as Qi Xuansu himself had said, he always had to make a choice. There was no such thing as a dilemma that conveniently resolved itself.

Qi Xuansu could only bend once again. Although this carried moral risks and would invite considerable criticism if word got out, it was still better than being killed on the spot by the Heluo God.

Since the moral risk would only arise if the matter became public, then he simply had to find a way to keep it from becoming public.

The Heluo God said, “A life for a life. That is only right and proper. The humanoid insects committed evil deeds, so they deserved to be exterminated. I have no objections whatsoever. Now we can properly discuss our cooperation.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “Heluo God, how do you intend to cooperate with me? How exactly do you intend to lend me a helping hand?”

The green sphere of light flickered. “I can see the power of multiple deities within you. At least four of them.”

Qi Xuansu said nothing, but he had to admire the Heluo God’s discerning eye. Besides True Lord Taiyin, Himiko, and True Lord Ziguang, the Heluo God had probably also regarded the power of the Emperor Willow as belonging to a deity.

As for Izanagi and Wu Luo, Qi Xuansu had only obtained their divine powers, without acquiring their corresponding Spiritual Statues.

The Heluo God continued, “But these four deities are far too stingy. They have only lent you a tiny fraction of their power, barely even scratching the surface.”

Qi Xuansu did not refute her.

However, it was not that these deities were stingy. Rather, the circumstances were unusual. True Lord Taiyin was already gone from this world, and her legacy had been inherited by Zhang Wuhen, while Himiko was a deity from an enemy faction. Qi Xuansu had essentially obtained these two Spiritual Statues by chance, almost as though he had stolen them. Having them at all was already fortunate, so he could hardly ask for more. True Lord Ziguang had given him quite a lot, but it was largely unrelated to combat power and was mainly intended to resolve other problems like divination.

Then there was the Emperor Willow. If Little Yin herself were the Emperor Willow, she would not mind giving Qi Xuansu a little more, if only to honor their father-daughter bond. Unfortunately, the Emperor Willow had never developed a consciousness of its own. Or rather, every consciousness it produced would leave and become an independent individual. The Emperor Willow itself remained without awareness or consciousness, so its power could only be drawn out through certain opportunities. Consequently, the amount Qi Xuansu had obtained was also limited.

These Spiritual Statues had indeed given Qi Xuansu many options, but it was also an indisputable fact that each provided very little power. In principle, every Spiritual Statue should constitute a complete system encompassing all aspects and possessing a full array of divine powers and spells. Yet every one of Qi Xuansu’s Spiritual Statues was incomplete. In the end, they had been stitched together into the peculiar Celestial Phenomena Spiritual Statue, which still could not compare with the Heavenly Emperor Spiritual Statue.

The Heluo God said, “I can give you more, far more than they have. I can even allow you to control the humanoid insects. But first, we must establish a contract.”

To be fair, setting aside the Heluo God herself, the offer was extremely tempting.

Qi Xuansu roughly understood the principle behind it. It was essentially the same system used for the chosen servants. Ixchel already had Utu and Unulatu under her command, while True Lord Ziguang had numerous Star Lords beneath her. Their available positions had long since been filled, so they could not give Qi Xuansu much more. The Heluo God clearly had no such problem. She was all alone. Even though she was no longer at her peak, she still had more than enough power to satisfy Qi Xuansu’s needs.

However, Qi Xuansu was not so blinded by the prospect of gain that he lost his judgment. He immediately asked, “Then what is the price?”

With Zhou Mengyao as a cautionary example, Qi Xuansu had learned a profound lesson about debts being collected after the fact, especially when the price had already been secretly marked from the very beginning. He did not want any hidden price tags. He wanted everything made clear beforehand. Who knew what the Heluo God might ultimately demand? Nothing was more expensive than something offered for free, because debts of favor were the hardest to repay.

The Heluo God did not beat around the bush and said directly, “I want to leave the Spirit Realm.”

Everything had its advantages and disadvantages. The Heluo God’s Spirit Realm had been sealed off, which had indeed allowed her to evade the Daoist Order’s pursuit, but it had also left her trapped within her own prison.

If it were another Immortal, even setting aside Heavenly Immortals who could roam freely between different worlds, the simplest solution would be to ascend directly. Yet for all the advantages Godly Immortals possessed, there was one major drawback. Godly Immortals—or deities—could not ascend, or rather, it was exceedingly difficult for them to do so.

One option was to ascend together with their divine kingdom, which required an enormous amount of divine power that ordinary deities simply did not have, as it was something only colossal organizations and world powers like the Holy Court and the Daoist Order could afford. Alternatively, they could change their cultivation lineage. Becoming a Heavenly Immortal was naturally the best option, while a Ghostly Immortal was the least desirable. For deities with powerful physical bodies, converting to the Manly Immortal lineage was also possible. An Earthly Immortal was neither particularly good nor bad. After changing their lineage, they could ascend normally.

Back then, it was through the Daoist Order’s arrangements that True Lord Taiyin converted to the Heavenly Immortal lineage and ascended normally. This was why True Lord Taiyin left behind the Palace of Cold Light as her legacy, which was later stolen by Zhang Wuhen.

Since they were going to establish a contract, Qi Xuansu could not make empty promises that might become hidden traps for himself. He had to seriously consider what was actually feasible.

There were only two ways for the Heluo God to leave the Spirit Realm.

The first was to undergo a heavenly tribulation, after which there would be a hundred-year window. That was not even worth considering because Qi Xuansu did not yet know how he himself was supposed to undergo his heavenly tribulation.

The second way was ascension, which had two possible approaches. The first of those was likewise out of the question. Though the Daoist Order could provide that much divine power, those resources belonged to the organization as a whole, not to Qi Xuansu personally. Even if he became Grand Master, he could not simply do whatever he pleased with them. Even if all that divine power belonged to Qi Xuansu and he were free to squander it however he wished, he still would not do it. It would simply be far too costly.

That left only the path once taken by True Lord Taiyin, which would be considerably less costly.

In this regard, the Zhengyi Sect was an expert. They had experience, having already successfully guided True Lord Taiyin through ascension.

After careful consideration, Qi Xuansu said, “I can only promise to help you leave the Spirit Realm. As for anything beyond that, I make no guarantees.”

“That will be enough.” The Heluo God could barely conceal her eagerness.

Then the Heluo God seemed to remember something and added, “Of course, to prevent you from playing word games, we will add several detailed clauses that must be confirmed by both of us. If you are thinking of claiming that my corpse leaving the Spirit Realm also counts as me leaving the Spirit Realm, I suggest you abandon that idea right now.”

Qi Xuansu said, “I would never burn down a bridge after crossing it. You can rest assured.”

The Heluo God’s enormous green eye stared at Qi Xuansu for a while longer, seemingly unable to detect anything amiss. Only then did she say, “Then I will begin drafting the contract.”

Naturally, an Immortal’s contract was not something written on paper. Rather, it existed in a form resembling an invisible talisman and was exceedingly complex.

Qi Xuansu waited patiently while silently going over everything in his mind once more, checking whether there was anything he had overlooked.

The Heluo God was afraid of being tricked, and so was Qi Xuansu. Both sides were afraid of the other.

With the Heluo God’s divine powers, creating a few illusions should not be difficult. Even small-scale time loops or spatial loops should be within her capabilities. If the Heluo God used some trick to deceive Qi Xuansu into signing a false contract, he would have nowhere to turn for redress.

Such stories were common in myths and legends. Someone would accidentally release a demon because they believed the one-sided account of an imprisoned demon or fell for its cunning scheme. In other stories, someone would set out to vanquish demons and uphold the righteous path, only to be completely manipulated by the demon. They would merely kill a false demon within an illusion and still believe they had achieved a great victory.

Fortunately, Qi Xuansu was not a fool. He had plenty of treasures at his disposal. At this moment, he remembered the Guizang Lantern. While the Heluo God was drafting the terms of the contract, he hurriedly replenished the Guizang Lantern’s “lamp oil” in secret, hoping that this immortal object would warn him in time and prevent him from being deceived by the Heluo God.

Qi Xuansu looked up again at the enormous green eye. Perhaps because the Heluo God was concentrating intently, the radiance within it had condensed without dispersing. The green light no longer illuminated the entire Toad Palace, instead contracting to within one meter around the green sphere. Her tentacle-like bodies also swayed idly through the void, their tail fins clearly visible.

After roughly an hour, the Heluo God finally finished drafting the contract. It first manifested as a one-meter-long beam of spiritual light before continuously shrinking, eventually splitting into two tiny points of light, each roughly a centimeter wide.

Qi Xuansu received one of them but did not immediately press it into his forehead. He waited for a while, but no warning came from the Guizang Lantern. He silently told himself to trust the Guizang Lantern one more time and steeled his resolve as he “read” the contents of the contract.

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