Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 160: Extreme Negotiation

A certain floor of the Disaster Relief Tower

Cen Ling yawned and pulled up his loose sleeve. Beneath it, another bagua symbol appeared. He had easily cleared the seventh ritual. No one survived but him.

It was a pity he couldn’t bring these powers to the mortal realm. Even if he had free access to the E’s sealed in the Shrine of All E’s, power was always something worth accumulating.

After confirming everything, he strolled over to the offering table, casually pricked his finger, and drew talisman patterns on its surface. As the blood-formed talisman was completed, countless streams of yin energy flowed toward his fingertip, absorbed into his soul.

Cen Ling quite enjoyed this feeling—outside the tower, he could also draw yin energy from it, but absorbing it directly within the Tower felt entirely different. It was like drinking iced cola straight from the bottle versus sipping it through a straw on a hot day.

Time to replenish…

…Huh?

Cen Ling wasn’t happy to find that his icy cola was nearly gone. The yin energy was thin and sluggish, like flat sugar water left at room temperature.

The Underworld interference? Did they catch on? Cen Ling’s expression suddenly darkened.

Knock knock.

There was a hesitant knock at the door. Cen Ling wiped the blood away from the table with a flick, and by the time he opened the door, his face wore a cheerful smile.

“Y-yes, it’s me, sir!”

A skinny paper figure stood outside. Its eyes wrapped around its entire face in a neat circle—fourteen in total. All fourteen pupils focused squarely on Cen Ling.

“Mr. Dian, what’s the matter?”

“Well… let’s see… Lady A’Shou asked us to notify everyone,” the paper figure said timidly. “Something went missing inside the Tower recently so she’s very angry.”

“She’s going to restructure the Tower, which may cause the yin energy inside to fluctuate. Recently… recently, metaphysical practitioners should be extra careful. The yin energy will become extremely thin…”

After speaking, it stole a quick glance at Cen Ling before lowering its head again. “This won’t affect normal people much, but since you’re someone of the metaphysical path, I thought I should be clear…”

“Thank you.” Cen Ling patted the paper figure’s head.

So that was it.

The missing Immortal E from the Shrine of All E’s had finally been discovered. It was sooner than expected. It seemed that ghost immortal A’Shou was quite competent.

It wasn’t surprising that she was strengthening the Tower’s security by adjusting its structure. That explained the yin energy disruption. The fact that he could still draw some proved the karmic ties left by the Hierarch weren’t yet severed.

It was a pity she hadn’t waited until he left the Tower to start meddling.

After closing the door, Cen Ling shook his head. He picked up a jade pendant and placed it reverently in the center of the offering table before bowing deeply.

As a successor of the Guishan Sect, he knew well that the Hierarch had prepared the Immortal Encounter E just for him. It was hidden within Xushan, like a seed full of vitality.

That seed had been personally documented and preserved by one of his ancestors. It was linked to him by karma, flowing in his bloodline.

He also knew the “Immortal Encounter E” was registered in the Underworld and, in theory, could be destroyed.

But by now, with or without its help, it no longer mattered much to him.

The God of Xushan above… He would not allow their plan to be exposed to any risk.

“All is ready, only the east wind remains,” Cen Ling prayed softly. “The momentum is in place. Once the eighth ritual ends, my final wish shall be granted.”

“Return, return…”

Right, he might as well tell the paper figure. For the eighth ritual, he wanted to be in the same session as Fang Xiu.

He needed to personally draw the perfect ending to this great work.

……

“I want to be in the same ritual as Cen Ling.”

At the breakfast table, Fang Xiu mumbled the request with a bun in his mouth. After last night’s vigorous activity, he felt he could eat half a cow. While his two teammates stared at him in shock, Fang Xiu stuffed food into his mouth nonstop, still whispering to the paper figure beside him.

As for Bai Shuangying… the seductive ghost sat right next to Fang Xiu, occasionally feeding him soup dumplings with unwavering focus.

Dian’er was certain something fishy was going on between those two, but it firmly held back its questions. “Yes, the eighth ritual is the most special one. It’s not that flexible. But since you asked, of course I’ll report it.”

Fang Xiu nodded. “Perfect. I also have a few participants I’d like to assign…”

The paper figure’s face collapsed. “Ancestor, the eighth ritual isn’t simple. Every participant must be chosen personally by the ghost immortal guarding the Tower.”

“Even if you’re the strongest Disaster Resolver, you still have to follow orders. Getting a quiet slot reserved for you is already Lady A’Shou’s way of showing favor for your efforts…”

While the paper figure was still pleading, A’Shou materialized behind it like a ghost, her blood-stained wedding robe fluttering despite the still air.

“Who do you want?” she asked, voice slightly hoarse.

The paper figure’s whole body crumpled in fear. It slowly turned and unfolded itself, trembling. “L-L-L-Lady—”

Fang Xiu gulped down the bun and half a bowl of soy milk from Bai Shuangying’s hand before standing up. A’Shou didn’t bother with ceremonial formalities. She just stared at Bai Shuangying sitting there, and her thousand-year-dormant stomachache returned with a vengeance.

Right. That’s a Corner of Heaven’s Will, that’s a Corner of Heaven’s Will, that’s a Corn… Fucking hell! Who was she kidding?! That guy looked exactly like a seductive ghost!

Bai Shuangying glowed with energy, radiating Fang Xiu’s unique scent. He looked no different from those fox spirits who gorged themselves on mortals after a night together. Clearly satisfied. Clearly stuffed.

She was furious. She wished she didn’t understand what she was seeing. She didn’t know if Fang Xiu had gone mad, if the Corner had gone mad, or if she had gone mad herself. If she had to choose, she sincerely it her.

Seeing A’Shou rub her eyes through her veil, Fang Xiu cleared his throat.

“Not just the people. I want to choose the location and content of the eighth ritual as well.”

This wasn’t just overstepping. It was like tearing down a temple to build a mall. Dian’er made a string of strange choking noises like a strangled chicken.

A’Shou tilted her head ninety degrees, deliberately not looking at him. “That’s not why I’m here.”

“I haven’t forgotten. You wanted to know the truth about the knocking and how I summoned Bai Shuangying.”

Fang Xiu grinned. “Well, this is how I’m telling you. Do as I say, and you’ll see the answer with your own eyes.”

A’Shou finally looked at him, her voice lower than before. “Mortal, my patience is limit—”

Bai Shuangying also turned his head, staring directly at her. His white eyes didn’t blink.

“…Unlimited.” A’Shou swallowed her irritation. She felt like she’d been baited and couldn’t back out. “We agreed to cooperate. I’m not your subordinate. Show some sincerity.”

Dian’er looked from Fang Xiu to A’Shou with question marks all over its face. Its entire paper body seemed to fade in confusion.

“Sincerity…” Fang Xiu tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table. “I thought you’d already figured it out.”

“Figured what out?”

“You said earlier the knocking had no spell traces. But it could control the Six Ghost Remnants during the Grave-Sealing Ritual and locate the Immortal Encounter E during its own ritual. The answer is right in front of you.”

“I’m just a mortal. I don’t use complicated tricks. Most magic, when you know how it works, is pretty simple.”

The answer is in the question itself?

A’Shou frowned.

She had confirmed Fang Xiu was a complete mortal. The Six Ghost Remnants had no prior contact with him. After being tormented by the Guishan Sect, those spirits only had one obsession—an insatiable craving for “E’s”.

When it came to the Immortal Encounter E, Fang Xiu had claimed his knocking was like “echo location”. But without a similar power, reacting to an E was no different from reacting to rocks and grass.

Then just now, Fang Xiu had boldly demanded control over the eighth ritual’s setting and rules.

…Wait.

“You possess an E the Underworld doesn’t know about.” A’Shou said slowly, “I don’t know how you managed it, but you’re able to use its power to some extent.”

Dian’er gasped, almost at a lost for words. “Impossible! Fang Xiu didn’t carry anything! Even if the ritual happens in the mortal realm, if an E’s influence reached that far, the Underworld would have noticed—”

“That’s why I want you to see it for yourselves.”

Fang Xiu opened his hands innocently. “Some things can’t be explained with words. You’ll understand when you see them.”

“And besides, if the eighth ritual proceeds normally, we’d have to worry about unknown E anyway. I just want to throw the enemy into my home field… That’s why I’m asking to cooperate with you, A’Shou Jie.”

Dian’er was stunned. “Cooperate? Cooperate how? What are you two talking about…”

Its odd eyes darted between Fang Xiu and A’Shou, but when it saw that even Fang Xiu’s teammates looked equally lost, it finally relaxed a little.

A’Shou pressed her hand to her forehead. Her sigh lifted the corner of her veil.

Having a Corner of Heaven’s Will at one’s side—even if not fully unsealed—was already cheating. Now Fang Xiu wanted to fight using a familiar “E” as well? It was excessive.

But Bai Shuangying had been summoned properly. And resolving am E was part of the ritual process. Technically, all of it followed the rules.

This kid had planned it out, hadn’t he?

“You might think I’m being overly cautious,” Fang Xiu continued. “But after all this time, I don’t believe the Guishan Sect is following Zhuang Guiqu’s plan to the letter. They must have added their own agenda.”

“That’s why I can’t let Cen Ling obtain a wishing slot.”

“You’re underestimating—hmm?”

A’Shou glanced at the calm Bai Shuangying beside him.

No matter how outrageous the sect’s plan was, teaming up with a Corner of Heaven’s Will was like using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken.

“Not really.” Fang Xiu smiled even more brightly.

“Because while I’m dealing with the Guishan Sect, I also have to deal with Heaven and the Underworld.”

“You think if I just say, ‘Bai Shuangying is cute and harmless and I want to take him with me’, you’ll all happily let us go?”

As he spoke, Fang Xiu’s black eyes peeked out from beneath his messy bangs. His gaze sliced through A’Shou’s veil like a blade.

His smile was soft and obedient, but there wasn’t a trace of warmth in his eyes.

Caught off guard, A’Shou was momentarily stunned. She never expected Fang Xiu to say something so absurd right to her face.

“Real gods” and “those who encounter an Immortal E” weren’t the same thing. If the Corner of Heaven’s Will had been suppressed once, it could be suppressed again.

Dian’er was terrified by the whole exchange. It tried to curl into a ball and pretend it hadn’t heard anything. But before it could flee, A’Shou pressed it down with one hand.

“You’re insane. There’s no formal magical contract between us.”

A’Shou’s voice was cold as ice. “I can break this off right now and summon an Immortal to deal with you. Even if you kill me here, the noise will draw attention from the Underworld.”

Fang Xiu finished the last soup dumpling and licked the juice from his fingers.

“You won’t, A’Shou Jie.”

He said, “You know the truth. You’ve seen Bai Shuangying’s wrath… You’ve witnessed the tragedies of a world in chaos. That’s why you chose to cooperate with me—to fight the Guishan Sect together. No true strategist starts a war lightly.”

A’Shou said nothing.

Staring into those pitch-black eyes, she felt like she had walked into a trap and couldn’t pull herself out.

“Continue,” she said through clenched teeth.

“The eighth ritual,” Fang Xiu said, seeing her give way, “I’ll show you how I plan to bring ‘real stability’ to the mortal world.”

“If you’re still not satisfied after it’s over, you can expose me then.”

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