Chapter 804: Chapter 797: Reaching an Agreement
"Returning to Emperor Qingmu? If you’re dead, what are you worth!"
"Some people, just won’t give up until they reach the Yellow River, or hit the southern wall before they know to turn back."
"Since you’re so eager to die, I’ll grant your wish!"
...
With a face full of disdain, Chen Hai sneered.
Originally, the dozen or so tendrils that had pierced Qingmu, the emaciated elder, under his control, had ceased to continue devouring the elder’s blood and flesh essence.
But now, after receiving Qingmu’s ruthless curses in response to his goodwill, the devouring power within those tendrils surged once again.
Qingmu’s sliver of consciousness had been cursing non-stop, but as his essence of flesh and blood continued to drain away, those curses gradually became almost inaudible.
From the look of things, within the span of a single breath, this consciousness would completely dissipate.
At that point, if he wanted to communicate with Chen Hai again, unless he had the ability to break through the layers of coldness sealing him, he wouldn’t be able to escape his thread of consciousness.
But relying on his own strength alone, it’s clear he wouldn’t achieve this, otherwise, this sliver of consciousness wouldn’t be faltering, unable to sustain due to the loss of flesh and blood essence.
Of course, Chen Hai, who had been watching Qingmu’s sliver of consciousness, was naturally fully aware of its impending collapse.
In the Primordial Land, it is only the strong ones at the Quasi-Saint level who are qualified to crown themselves with an Emperor’s title.
Previously, Chen Hai had speculated that Qingmu’s strength should be at least above the Daluo Realm.
Upon hearing this person claim to be Emperor Qingmu, he realized that this person, at their peak, was actually a Quasi-Saint strong!
But so what? Even if his strength was a bit more formidable, wasn’t he still at his mercy now, able to kill or let live as he wished?
To truly devour such a Quasi-Saint strong just like this? Despite his usual demeanor of integrity and righteousness, at this critical moment, Chen Hai felt a bit of reluctance in his heart.
"Old man, let me ask you one last time, are you willing to submit to me? To serve me?"
Stopping the devouring of Qingmu’s essence of flesh and blood, Chen Hai tentatively asked.
He wasn’t doing this out of an overflow of compassion, he mostly felt that simply devouring Qingmu wasn’t worthwhile, the benefits gained would not compare to the enormous gains of subjugating Qingmu.
Because of the impending collapse of that sliver of consciousness, Qingmu had already stopped cursing.
Facing Chen Hai’s kindly inquiry, he seemed not to hear, giving no response.
"To cultivate to the Quasi-Saint Realm, I believe that Qingmu, you’re definitely not a fool."
"Surely, you understand the concept that it’s better to live poorly than to die, because if life is gone, then everything is gone; anyway, as long as you live, anything is possible."
"To be my chauffeur? I know you can’t let go of your dignity, let go of your face. Look, I’ll compromise, you need not serve me your whole life, just work for me a thousand years, and I’ll save your life!"
"This is my utmost sincerity. What do you think of my proposal?"
Furrowing his brows, Chen Hai pondered for a moment, then opened his mouth again to speak.
For ordinary people, a thousand years is enough to complete the replacement of dynasties.
But to someone like Qingmu, a Quasi-Saint strong, such a short time is negligible, possibly, a deep closed-door cultivation could see a thousand years gone by.
"This..." With his extremely weak voice, Qingmu finally responded.
However, he hesitated and stammered, never giving Chen Hai an exact answer.
It appears that merely serving Chen Hai for a thousand years was indeed a tempting condition for him.
"Even if I die, I absolutely refuse to be a chauffeur!" Qingmu finally spoke again after a long silence.
Though he continued to reject Chen Hai’s proposal, there were obvious hints of compromise in his words.
"Not a chauffeur? Fine."
"With your strength, being my guard is definitely qualified, what do you think?"
Picking up on the change in Qingmu’s tone, Chen Hai lightly laughed, then promptly altered his offer.
In his eyes, whether it was a chauffeur or a guard, they were completely unimportant, as long as Qingmu agreed to serve him, willing to obey his commands.
"No way, being your house guard, I also refuse."
"At most, I’ll only bow to the position of housekeeper in your house, and serve you for a thousand years!"
The housekeeper undoubtedly has more power than a guard; Qingmu is still somewhat ambitious, now fixating on his chosen position, he quickly gave Chen Hai his answer.
"Fine, housekeeper it is!" Chen Hai agreed instantly without much deliberation.
Seemingly plain and calm, without any dramatic response, but within, he was actually overjoyed.
Of course, despite his inner elation, he didn’t lose his senses: "Qingmu, although we’ve reached an agreement, how will you ensure that once I rid you of the coldness, you’ll uphold your promise and be loyal to me?"
Agreements, by nature, can be overturned, otherwise, there wouldn’t be the term "break one’s word."
If Qingmu couldn’t assure he would keep his promise, Chen Hai would rather devour him directly than go through great lengths to save him only to be later betrayed.
"I call upon heaven and earth to witness, as long as this person before me is willing to help me expel the Extreme Yin Mysterious Qi and save my life, I, Qingmu, vow to serve him as master, become the housekeeper in his home, and serve him for a thousand years!"
"Should I break this, may my Taoist Fruit shatter, heart demons abound, and my strength forever stagnant!"
...
Facing Chen Hai’s doubts, Qingmu candidly began to pray to heaven and earth, reciting word by word.
Although the language from his mouth was entirely unfamiliar, Chen Hai was certain he hadn’t encountered it before, but as the syllables fell into his ears, he naturally grasped the meanings contained within.
Once Qingmu finished speaking, Chen Hai felt an obvious tremor in heaven and earth, as if some subtle connection had formed between him and Qingmu.
"Sir, this is a Heavenly Dao vow."
"Us cultivators act in accordance with heaven; breaking a vow to the Heavenly Dao causes heaven and earth to scorn, besmirching the Spiritual Pearl and bringing calamity."
"With this vow as assurance, it should adequately demonstrate my sincerity!"
His voice faint, Qingmu’s consciousness seemed to weaken further as he explained to Chen Hai.
"Qingmu, I’ve felt your sincerity!"
"Don’t worry, I’ll help you expel the coldness now; when those tendrils pierce your body, just remember not to resist!"
Nodding with a smile, besides driving those dozen tendrils to madly devour the coldness within Qingmu’s body, countless more tendrils surged from Chen Hai’s body, aiming straight for Qingmu’s form before him.
Unfortunately, the robustness of a Quasi-Saint’s physical form made it difficult for the Devouring Touch to pierce despite Qingmu lowering his defenses.
Left with no choice, Chen Hai had to use the Golden Jiao Scissors again to cut open slits, then with grimacing pincers on the tendrils, stabbing directly into the flesh within the slits.
Only after driving over a hundred tendrils into Qingmu’s body did Chen Hai finally stop, putting away the Golden Jiao Scissors.