Chapter 863: Oathbound Alliance
"If my Senior Sister and I never manage to kill a deity, are we destined to grow old and die in this God Path world?"
"The benefits bestowed upon us by Guan Ling years ago, are they truly our ransom for survival?"
"..."
Shen Mo felt his brow furrow tightly, the impotence of being unknowingly drawn into an immortal’s game board, unable to control one’s own destiny as a mere pawn, ignited a flame of anger in his heart.
Yet both the Three-Heads Six-Arms True Immortal Technique and the mutated Soul Refining Flag had played indelible roles in his cultivation path; the Pure Jade Mantra obtained by Chen Mengze changed her destiny to an even greater extent... making him frustrated yet unable to lash out at Guan Ling directly!
Of course, they still required Death Jaw to return them to the Universal Realm, which was one of the reasons Shen Mo hadn’t confronted her.
"Not informing you of the details in advance was my fault, I hope you two fellow daoists can forgive!" Guan Ling stood up and bowed, sincerely apologizing.
Despite her words, she would not change her approach for rescuing her master.
If the truth were revealed, those cultivators who had passed the first trial would likely abandon all benefits and refuse to enter this God Path world dominated by deities.
Moreover, her actions might be discovered by her master’s enemies from when she was alive!
As for those cultivators who died in the God Path world, Guan Ling regarded them merely as unworthy failures, and as an artifact spirit whose life form was entirely different from humans, she naturally felt no pity or sympathy; only those strong like Shen Mo and Chen Mengze who succeeded in slaying deities would she reveal herself to and share the truth, making pacts with them.
Over tens of thousands of years, she had screened and recruited tens of thousands of experts on the Immortal Path, gathering newcomers who passed the first trial as well as old hands who had slain multiple deities.
However, sending cultivators into the God Path world was no easy task for Death Jaw, with terrifying consumption;
she typically spent two to three hundred years accumulating power before sending a batch of cooperating cultivators into this realm!
In the unnamed mountain village of Thorn Mountain, those "Immortal Masters" who had successfully slain a deity were not lying; they would return to the God Path world very soon, though to mortals, two to three hundred years would be far too long, across several generations.
If they hadn’t perished, it is likely they entered the God Path world alongside Shen Mo and others;
but as they didn’t appear near Qing Country and couldn’t use escape skills, Shen Mo and Chen Mengze hadn’t encountered them!
If Shen Mo and Chen Mengze lingered longer in Qing Country, they would likely encounter many foreign cultivators, as tens of thousands are scattered across hundreds of human nations here, with hundreds to thousands of cultivators likely in Qing Country alone.
Sending people in was difficult, returning them was even harder.
Only by killing a deity could Guan Ling use the scattered deity essence to send a power to reclaim her master’s corpse fragments and send successful deity-slaying cultivators back to their original world!
Moreover, according to her...
The tens of thousands of cultivators bound by oath ranged in cultivation from Spirit Sea Realm to Formless Realm, with most being at the Golden Core and Divine Bridge levels, yet none at the True Immortal level.
As the greater the realm, the higher the energy consumption for Guan Ling;
sending one True Immortal in or out could bring in hundreds of Formless or thousands of Divine Bridge cultivators;
In a God Path world where Immortal Dao cultivation cannot function, even a True Immortal is strong but far less powerful than in the immortal world, making the cost disproportionate to the gain.
By such comparison, sending in hundreds of Formless Realm experts was preferable!
This time, were it not for Guan Ling’s agreement with Hallow Venerable, she would not have even sent Hallow Venerable and Jade Spring Fairy, these two True Immortals, into the God Path world.
"To return to the Universal Realm, must we make an oath with fellow daoist Guan?"
Shen Mo and Chen Mengze exchanged a glance, using their eyes to simply communicate, then inquired of Guan Ling.
"Yes!"
"The oath is a constraint preventing you from voluntarily revealing experiences from this realm to outsiders."
"It also protects you, borrowing a thread of my power to shield your soul. Even Immortals at my master’s level cannot easily employ Soul Search on you!"
"Should the two fellow daoists agree to continue entering the God Path world before achieving True Immortal status, helping me gather my master’s remains by slaying deities, I will reward you accordingly. Additionally, if faced with irresistible dangers in the Immortal Realm, although I cannot openly aid you due to restrictions, I can protect your souls from extinction, sending you back into reincarnation."
"Of course, if you refuse, I won’t force you. However, if you do, aside from preventing Soul Search, you cannot enjoy other benefits!"
Shen Mo and Chen Mengze, by proving their worth via "slaying Martial Might God," found Guan Ling genuinely candid, laying out all pros and cons clearly.
"This matter is grave, allow us to ponder carefully!"
Shen Mo and Chen Mengze did not immediately agree but began pondering thoroughly in their hearts.
Regardless, if they wish to return to the Universal Realm, this oath must be signed;
otherwise, should Guan Ling lack assurance, they themselves wouldn’t feel secure, fearing this artifact spirit might leave them in the God Path world, or send them directly to an impending destruction in the Withering Realm!
They needed to consider whether to agree to continue entering the God Path world, slaying deities and gathering corpse fragments for Guan Ling, thereby earning respective rewards for themselves.
"According to fellow daoist Guan, agreeing would lead to entering every two to three hundred years, minimally affecting cultivation. Her offer is substantial enough, the simple protection of ensuring soul reincarnation alone is enough to drive countless cultivators mad!"
"Since Martial Might God is one of the strongest deities here, next time coming in, my skill must further progress, ensuring the difficulty won’t mirror this time."
"What’s more..."
Shen Mo’s thoughts continued swirling, then he looked at Chen Mengze who was similarly frowning deeply, using sense to communicate.
Chen Mengze’s thoughts largely mirrored his, she too leaned towards accepting this!
After consulting, they both cupped their hands together and said, "Fellow daoist Guan, the two of us are willing to make an oath, continue entering this realm to slay deities."
Guan Ling solemnly returned a salute, then gestured with a hand, conjuring an ancient, yellowed scroll faintly filled with the essence of immortality before Shen Mo and Chen Mengze, unfurling it to reveal the engraved characters.
Shen Mo and Chen Mengze scrutinized it, finding nothing amiss, then each dropped a bead of essence blood and imprinted their soul marks.
In the next moment.
They found vast information surfacing in their minds, all faithfully matching the scroll’s text;
Additionally, in their Mind Sea appeared a phantom of Death Jaw, flickering, ready to unleash its power should anyone attempt Soul Search on them, and if they perished, it could draw on Death Jaw’s strength for soul reincarnation!