By the time Ximwood recovered from the dizziness, it was too late.
The Quetzalcoatl, using its flight ability combined with its authority over plants, had temporarily sealed Ximwood's authority over flight.
Yes, it was only a temporary seal.
For Ximwood, the Sky Demon, flight was an innate authority. It was impossible for the Quetzalcoatl to completely take it away with a mere curse, let alone possess the courage to do so.
Setting aside other matters, to maximize the curse's power, the Quetzalcoatl had to completely relinquish its own authority. The more it relinquished, the greater the curse's power.
However, the Quetzalcoatl still harbored a sliver of hope and did not fully relinquish its power. Instead, it temporarily sealed two of its own authorities in exchange for the sealing of one of Ximwood's.
Seeing this, Bai Qi's lips curved slightly. He reverted to his original form, grabbed Ximwood by the scruff of his neck, and tossed him aside. Then, he approached the Quetzalcoatl.
Even with its trump cards revealed, the Quetzalcoatl remained defiant in the face of Bai Qi.
It was gambling, betting that Bai Qi was unaware of the side effects of its curse.
As it had anticipated, Bai Qi's tone softened considerably when speaking to it.
Bai Qi began to negotiate with the Quetzalcoatl, offering to let it leave unharmed if it handed over its inner fire and solar authority. Otherwise, Bai Qi vowed to keep it here, even if it meant bearing the curse.
The Quetzalcoatl pondered for a moment, calculating the pros and cons.
Its trump cards were spent, its strength greatly diminished. Given the disparity in their power, escape was impossible. If it were to resist, its life would surely be forfeit against the opponent's strength. Ultimately, the Quetzalcoatl had no choice but to compromise and agree to Bai Qi's terms.
"Wait!"
At that moment, the Quetzalcoatl interrupted Bai Qi's actions, asking, "You speak so kindly, but how can I be sure you won't go back on your word after the transaction is complete? How can I be sure you won't kill me?"
Bai Qi's lips curved slightly. "You should know, I, the Holy Lord, am a demon of my word. How could I possibly break my promise?"
"Don't," the Quetzalcoatl quickly said. "I know all of you eight demons are the same, unreliable. Unless you can make me believe you, I won't hand over what you want, even if I die. And I promise, you won't get it even if you kill me."
It was evident that this god of harvest had zero trust in Bai Qi.
Bai Qi understood that the Quetzalcoatl was not bluffing. If it wished, it had countless ways to prevent Bai Qi from obtaining its inner fire.
It was precisely because of this that Bai Qi had not acted directly from the beginning, but instead had allowed the weaker Ximwood to make the move. This was partly to guard against the Quetzalcoatl's trump cards and partly to avoid pushing it too hard, leading to a mutual destruction.
When the Quetzalcoatl raised its concerns, Bai Qi stepped in to address them.
Bai Qi extended his right hand, and a contract scroll, notarized by dark energy, appeared before the Quetzalcoatl. Bai Qi inscribed his name on the contract through magic and then presented it to the Quetzalcoatl.
Seeing the notarization by dark energy and after checking for any textual traps, the Quetzalcoatl accepted the contract. After repeated verification, it signed its name.
Once both parties had signed, the contract flew into the air and burned, forming two streams of dark energy. One stream entered Bai Qi's body, and the other entered the Quetzalcoatl's.
Under the influence of the dark energy, the Quetzalcoatl's inner fire and solar authority were stripped away and absorbed by Bai Qi.
As a result, Bai Qi not only replenished all the lost inner fire from Zhong Su but also improved it. More importantly, he acquired a formidable authority.
Stripped of its inner fire and authority, the Quetzalcoatl fell into a state of unprecedented weakness. It staggered to its feet and looked at Bai Qi, saying, "Demon, our transaction is complete. I wish to leave."
With that, it turned to depart.
However, after taking only a couple of steps, the Quetzalcoatl froze in place.
It wasn't that the Quetzalcoatl didn't want to leave; it was that Bai Qi had immobilized it with his telekinesis.
The enraged Quetzalcoatl struggled to turn its head, glaring fiercely at Bai Qi. "Demon! Do you intend to break your promise? Are you not afraid of punishment from the World Will?"
As soon as the Quetzalcoatl finished speaking, what it saw next left it speechless with shock.
The dark energy that had entered Bai Qi's body after the contract took effect actually floated back out, dissipating into the heavens and earth as if it had never existed.
Don't be ridiculous. What was the relationship between Bai Qi and the dark energy? Could a mere Quetzalcoatl compare?
The current situation was that when the contract began, it had indeed affected both Bai Qi and the Quetzalcoatl. However, now, due to the dark energy mother's behind-the-scenes manipulation, no, its overt manipulation, the contract on Bai Qi had been automatically dissolved. The only one truly bound by the contract was effectively the Quetzalcoatl.
"Wait." Although it didn't know what method Bai Qi had used, the Quetzalcoatl was truly panicking now. It had just lost its last bargaining chip.
Bai Qi paid no mind to this. With a wave of his hand, shadowy ninjas wielding freeze guns appeared from all directions, surrounding the Quetzalcoatl. At Bai Qi's command, the freezing rays shot out, instantly encasing the Quetzalcoatl in a block of ice.
"Send him to Laboratory Number One."
Bai Qi's objective was simple: to extract every last drop of value from the Quetzalcoatl.
As an ancient being, the knowledge stored within the Quetzalcoatl's mind was its most precious asset. Bai Qi intended to extract all the knowledge and magic from its mind, especially the curse the Quetzalcoatl had used on Ximwood. Though it was a move that harmed both sides, this rule-based curse was undeniably terrifying. Furthermore, the two authorities that had been temporarily sealed due to the use of the curse would also need to be somehow extracted from it once they were unsealed.
Even though these two authorities were not of high rank, who would complain about having too many authorities?
After the Quetzalcoatl was taken away, Bai Qi turned around. Imitator Master quickly stepped forward to report, "My lord, the demon Ximwood has just escaped. We were unable to stop him. I am sorry."
"It's alright. He is a Sky Demon, after all. It's not like you could have stopped him."
Bai Qi looked at the disheveled Imitator Master, offering a few words of comfort. "For the next few days, you should rest well. After some time, I will assign you a more important task. I hope you will not disappoint my expectations."
"Yes, my lord."
As Bai Qi had said, for the following period, Bai Qi assigned Imitator Master no tasks. The only request was for him to rest well.
However, Imitator Master dared not slack off in the slightest. During this period of rest, he went to the magic academy's library, found a private room, and began to frantically cram magical knowledge.