A Pawn's Passage

The Heluo God was extremely cautious. Instead of setting out a few broad terms, she first defined exactly what it meant to leave the Spirit Realm and what constituted freedom. She then specified the state in which she had to leave the Spirit Realm for it to truly count as leaving. It would not count merely because a part of her had made it outside. The Heluo God had to leave in her entirety for the condition to be considered fulfilled.

Since they had agreed upon the complete Heluo God, missing even a fragment of her soul or a portion of her body would mean she was no longer the complete Heluo God.

In short, the Heluo God painstakingly explained and defined every last detail, though it was unclear whether she had learned this from the Fallen Apostles.

If Qi Xuansu hoped to exploit a loophole by taking a severed piece of tentacle outside and claiming that he had fulfilled the contract, he could forget about it.

Qi Xuansu was equally wary of traps hidden in the wording, so he had no choice but to scrutinize the contract word by word, not daring to be careless in the slightest.

In the end, Qi Xuansu pointed out one or two clauses that he found inappropriate. After extensive negotiations and bargaining between the two sides, they finally reached an agreement.

The contract also specifically stipulated that if special circumstances arose that required a drastic sacrifice, or if there were any other matters not covered by the existing terms, then any amendment or supplementary clause could only be made after consultation and mutual consent.

Throughout the entire process, the Guizang Lantern, which was now sufficiently replenished with “lamp oil,” gave no warning.

Only then did Qi Xuansu press the point of light into the space between his eyebrows.

With that, the contract was formally established.

Qi Xuansu could sense that an invisible connection had formed between himself and the Heluo God. It seemed faint, yet was actually unbreakable. This was the power of the contract.

The Heluo God then began fulfilling her obligations under the contract by bestowing power upon Qi Xuansu.

Since Qi Xuansu had once served as a vessel for True Lord Ziguang, he was already quite familiar with the process.

There was actually no need for any ceremony. Certain religious sects merely made such proceedings deliberately elaborate to create a lofty and sacred atmosphere to attract more followers. It could also be because deities used such rituals as a means of maintaining authority over their subordinates.

The Heluo God wrapped one of her tentacles around Qi Xuansu and pulled him toward the Toad Palace.

The Guizang Lantern gave no warning, and with the contract binding them, Qi Xuansu was not worried that the Heluo God would eat him. Thus, he simply allowed her to pull him into the Toad Palace.

The Toad Palace itself was not the Heluo God’s body. Her body consisted of those ten tentacle-like bodies and a single head. However, the Toad Palace had indeed become integrated with the Heluo God. It was rather like someone using mechanical talismans to install an additional pair of wings onto themselves, which could be understood as a kind of prosthetic body. In addition to her original body, the Heluo God had incorporated the Toad Palace as a special prosthetic extension.

Upon entering the Toad Palace, Qi Xuansu did not find the corpses or pieces of flesh that he had imagined. Instead, there were ornately carved beams and beautifully painted rafters, just like a true Moon Palace.

The humanoid insects who had been swallowed earlier were nowhere to be seen. Most likely, the palace had two different settings that could be switched at any time. One was its current form, which was as magnificent as a Moon Palace and intended for receiving guests. The other was probably a horrifying place of flesh and blood, resembling the insides of a gigantic beast, intended for feeding.

Deep within the Moon Palace stood an ornate throne decorated with blood coral, luminous pearls, and other treasures. Rather than the throne of a Moon Goddess, it looked more like the throne of a Dragon King.

At this moment, the figure of a beautiful middle-aged woman manifested upon the throne. Her attire was rather daring, exposing her shoulders and chest, reminiscent of the Qi Dynasty’s fashion. She was exceptionally beautiful, though her face was expressionless and even her entire body seemed somewhat stiff, as though she was not used to assuming a human form.

The woman looked at Qi Xuansu and managed to force a smile. This time, instead of communicating directly through their minds, she spoke in perfectly articulated Central Plains tongue. “How should I address you? Sage Qi?”

Her voice was also that of a mature woman, sounding somewhat alluring.

Although the two had already established a contract, such contracts clearly had nothing to do with signatures or a name. After all, the name Qi Xuansu had been given to him by Madam Qi and was not even his birth name.

Qi Xuansu replied, “You can call me by my courtesy name, Tian Yuan.”

“Very well, Tian Yuan.” The Heluo God readily went along with it. Then you need not call me Heluo God either. Just call me Heluo.”

As she spoke, the Heluo God gradually became accustomed to her human form. Her expression was no longer stiff, and a hint of seductive charm appeared on her face.

Although the Heluo God was somewhat domineering when negotiating terms, she was quite different from Madam Qi. Madam Qi was the sort who made people itch to grind their teeth in frustration, while the Heluo God was the sort who made their hearts itch with desire. Where exactly the itch was made all the difference.

Yet Qi Xuansu remained completely unmoved. It was not simply because he possessed extraordinary self-control. More importantly, after seeing the Heluo God’s true form, it was difficult for him to entertain any other thoughts. Besides, this kind of golden body could be freely altered. The Heluo God had undoubtedly drawn upon the humanoid insects’ memories to create such a perfect body. It was all artificial and could not be taken at face value.

Qi Xuansu got straight to the point. “Let’s begin. I shouldn’t stay here for too long.”

“Tian Yuan, are you really that impatient?” The Heluo God spoke with a deliberate double meaning as she shifted her posture, reclining against the armrest of the throne with her legs crossed, revealing her long, fair legs and bare feet.

Qi Xuansu did not even glance at her legs. He merely looked into the Heluo God’s eyes and said seriously, “If we delay any longer, my subordinates will report my disappearance to Danxiu Mountain, and the Great Sages of the Western Daoist Order will begin taking action. Heluo, since you possess the humanoid insects’ memories, you should know what the Great Sages of the Western Daoist Order represent. They won’t be nearly as easy to reason with as I am.”

The Heluo God blinked, a green gleam flashing through her eyes. She acknowledged Qi Xuansu’s point and extended her right hand, where a pearl-like sphere of light slowly rose into the air.

This was not a real pearl, but rather a manifestation of the Heluo God’s power.

Qi Xuansu made no attempt to hide what he was doing and directly took out the Guizang Lantern. The lantern floated into the air on its own and radiated seven-colored light. Even the Heluo God could not see through it in the slightest.

A trace of surprise flashed through the Heluo God’s eyes. It’s actually an immortal object! I suppose it’s expected of a successor whom the Daoist Order was devoting considerable resources to cultivating. His reputation is well deserved.

Qi Xuansu solemnly prayed to the Guizang Lantern. Old buddy, I’m counting on you.

The Guizang Lantern flickered several times but did not reveal any vision of the future.

Based on Qi Xuansu’s experience, the Guizang Lantern generally would not reveal visions of the future unless his own safety was threatened. That was why Qi Xuansu regarded it as a means of warning him of danger. Since the Guizang Lantern showed no vision this time, it meant that the sphere of light posed no threat to him.

Only then did Qi Xuansu take the sphere of light and press it into his chest.

That was where the Longevity Stone Heart was located. Even if the Guizang Lantern failed him yet again, Qi Xuansu believed that the Longevity Stone Heart would still be able to handle it. The pinnacle of craftsmanship produced by the creation project had not earned its reputation for nothing.

The Heluo God said nothing. She merely rested her chin on her hand and watched what Qi Xuansu was doing. One could never be too careful.

Qi Xuansu had originally expected his Spiritual Statue to undergo another transformation. To his surprise, it was his Corpse Liberation Incarnation that began to change.

The Heluo God explained, “Your Spiritual Statue is far too jumbled and already has four ‘residents.’ I decided not to join the crowd, so I had no choice but to find another path.”

She paused for a moment. “You are a strange one. Not only are your Spiritual Statues and divine powers a jumbled mixture, but you also possess so many different lineages at once, all of which are merely superficial. At your core lies the power of an Ancient Great Witch. How fascinating!”

Qi Xuansu said nothing and summoned his Corpse Liberation Incarnation.

This time, the incarnation no longer needed an external object to serve as its vessel. It could simply manifest out of thin air at the cost of some divine power, similar to a Divine Descent Incarnation.

This could hardly be called a Corpse Liberation Incarnation anymore. Instead, it was more like a special existence combining the Heavenly Immortal’s Three Corpse Incarnation, the Godly Immortal’s Divine Descent Incarnation, the Corpse Liberation Immortal’s Corpse Liberation Incarnation, and the Ghostly Immortal’s Yang Spirit Incarnation. Manly Immortals only had body spirits and no incarnations. Earthly Immortals likewise had no incarnations, except for certain forms of the Five Innate Tais.

This incarnation possessed four forms.

The first was the Heluo God’s human form, which was the form currently sitting before Qi Xuansu. This form specialized in support spells.

The second was the Heluo God form, which was the true form Qi Xuansu had seen when he first arrived. This form primarily utilized the Spiritual Statue divine powers inherent to a deity.

Another form was that of a half-human, half-Guhuo Bird maiden, with wings in place of arms. It was extraordinarily fast and specialized in swordsmanship, surprise attacks, reconnaissance, and stealth.

The final form was the nine-headed Ghost Bird, which excelled in close combat.

But none of that was the most important part. The key was that this incarnation possessed combat power at the Pseudo-Immortal level, making it a standard chosen servant of a deity.

Although the power was not bestowed directly upon Qi Xuansu, the incarnation was still under his control. Besides, bestowing the power directly upon Qi Xuansu would have been a waste. After all, he would soon begin absorbing the second piece of Xuan Jade given to him by Sage Donghua. It was only a matter of time before he reached the Pseudo-Immortal stage.

Qi Xuansu was still at the Zaohua stage, so the Divine Descent Incarnation had only just entered the Pseudo-Immortal stage and was probably around the same level as Hun Ahau. Once Qi Xuansu himself became a Pseudo-Immortal, there would still be room for the incarnation to grow stronger.

In essence, the Heluo God had used Qi Xuansu as an anchor and his Corpse Liberation Incarnation as a vessel to establish a highly unusual, permanent Divine Descent Incarnation.

Since the Corpse Liberation Incarnation was not a true physical vessel but something that was half-illusory, and Qi Xuansu himself could not serve as the vessel, maintaining this incarnation required Qi Xuansu to expend a certain amount of divine power. The Heluo God would then pour her power into it. It was like a partnership in which Qi Xuansu provided the land while the Heluo God built the house upon said land.

The Heluo God said, “Let me remind you of one thing. Under normal circumstances, you will naturally control your incarnation yourself, and I will not interfere. Therefore, the power the incarnation can exert will be relatively limited. You should know that when a deity personally takes control of an incarnation, it can exert power reaching the Immortal level.”

Qi Xuansu’s heart stirred. “You mean...”

The Heluo God continued, “If you deem it necessary, I can also send a wisp of my divine soul into your incarnation. That would allow the Divine Descent Incarnation to exert its power to the fullest extent.”

Exerting its power to the fullest extent meant reaching the level of Wu Luo when she sank the Yinglong Warship, True Lord Ziguang when she suppressed the Eunuch Ancestor in Wuxing Mountain, or True Lord Siming when he descended upon Jinling Prefecture.

Although people like Hun Ahau and Utu were useful, they could not follow Qi Xuansu back to Jade Capital. An incarnation that could be summoned whenever needed was far more reliable.

The key issue was that it required divine power. Fortunately, the “shareholders” backing Qi Xuansu were all quite powerful, so this was not much of a problem.

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