Duan Chen had no time to react; his eyes felt a searing pain.
It was like the tearing agony before awakening the God's Eye.
"Wu Suowei! What the hell are you doing!" Duan Chen roared, clutching his eyes.
"You don't need to copy this ability, I'll give it to you," Wu Suowei stood with his hands behind his back, his sleeves gently fluttering.
Swish—!
A surge of energy overflowed from Duan Chen's left eye. The pain quickly vanished, replaced by a burning luminescence.
"Before, you called this eye technique [Soul Sight]," Wu Suowei said calmly.
"Before? What before?" Duan Chen panted, his expression strange.
This eye technique was his first awakening; it couldn't have existed before.
"Nothing," Wu Suowei smiled faintly.
Duan Chen looked again at Zhen Youdu, who was kneeling, and saw a wisp of a soul within him, shaped like a white chess piece.
"White piece??"
Upon hearing the word "white piece," Bai Ye's ears perked up instantly.
The secret hidden deep within Zhen Youdu's soul was revealed under Duan Chen's [Soul Sight]—
"It is unknown who spread the rumor that Mount Yin was located at the center of the earth's veins, blessed by the mountain spirit. Cultivating here, one could transcend the mortal world and ascend to immortality."
"The imperial family throughout the ages was obsessed with eternal life. Upon hearing this rumor, the court immediately dispatched an elite force, intending to excavate Mount Yin and seek the mountain spirit."
"To their surprise, they discovered that the small Zhen Family Village was prosperous, with every household possessing immense wealth. Priceless bronze artifacts and jewels were casually placed at the village entrance and in front of temples, with everyone living in wealth without realizing it."
"This seemed to further confirm the mountain spirit's blessing, and Zhen Family Village was indeed the golden land hidden deep in the mountains."
"As the village chief of Zhen Family Village, I naturally welcomed the imperial emissaries with warmth and expressed my willingness to cooperate. Thus, tunnels and altars were built, to offer sacrifices to the mountain spirit and to excavate treasures within Mount Yin, searching for the true trace of the mountain spirit."
"However, the times were turbulent, and chaos reigned. Foreigners, hearing the rumors of Zhen Family Village from some unknown source, set their sights on the mountain spirit."
"Foreign soldiers, armed with firearms, launched a massive assault on the mountain. I led the defending army in a tenacious resistance, but it was like an egg hitting a rock, resulting in heavy casualties. We repeatedly requested aid from the court, but received no response."
"The once glorious and prosperous Zhen Family Village was destroyed. The foreigners committed all manner of atrocities, plundering our wealth, beheading statues, defiling women, and slaughtering children! They even set fire to the mountain and deliberately detonated explosives, attempting to force out the mountain spirit. We, amidst the raging flames, looked up at Mount Yin with hearts like dead ashes."
"The next day, heavy rain poured down, and thunder struck the mountain. All thirteen hundred and fifty-two souls of the village, alive or dead, knelt at the foot of Mount Yin. The living wept tears of blood, praying for the mountain spirit to appear, willingly offering their souls and burning their flesh to become vengeful spirits to protect their homeland."
"Through the curtain of rain, a young man suddenly emerged from Mount Yin, like a god descending to earth."
"I made a deal with him, willing to be eternally imprisoned within Mount Yin to guard a gate for him. In return, he granted me unparalleled divine power to obliterate all invaders."
"Invaders, kill without mercy!!"
"Though we may die, we are ghosts of our homeland, not slaves of a conquered nation."
"The rain transformed into mudslides, and the mudslides became swamps, burying countless cannons and corpses. The deity spared all the villagers, guiding them to reincarnation. I merely kept their physical bodies, personally hollowing out their chests to become the undead, forever guarding Mount Yin."
"And I, too, lay within the spirit cage formation, day and night guarding the restless evil spirits beneath, waiting to be awakened once more..."
[Soul Sight] ended. The white chess piece shimmered faintly.
Duan Chen tentatively extended his hand.
He actually grasped Zhen Youdu's soul!
Zhen Youdu offered no resistance, merely accepting it obediently.
A faint smile seemed to linger on his lips.
"To witness my descendants in such a state proves our sacrifice was not in vain. Home is guarded. It's just a pity..."
Zhen Youdu cast a final glance at the scattered wreckage, closed his eyes, and spoke no more.
A sacred white light descended, and his burly body gradually dissolved, ultimately turning into a handful of dust, vanishing into thin air.
Immediately, a white chess piece appeared in Duan Chen's hand.
Bai Ye, with his sharp eyes, exclaimed in shock, "It's actually a white piece! I've never seen one before."
Duan Chen looked at the white piece in his hand, radiating potent spiritual energy, and couldn't help but frown. "This is... a chess piece?"
Wu Suowei nodded.
"Yes, it is the power of eternal life that I bestowed upon him. He, in turn, promised to guard this abyss for me. This is the deal between us."
"Deities never bestow favors without reason. Every fate has its price. Transactions are only valid when both parties willingly agree."
Duan Chen immediately recalled the cup of plain water he had bought for 900,000 yuan, his expression souring.
"Then why did you personally let him out?" Bai Ye looked at the broken chains. "He should have stayed in this abyss forever, as per your agreement."
Wu Suowei chuckled nonchalantly. "Centuries have passed, it's time he was free. A god cannot keep milking the same sheep forever; someone must inherit this faith of protecting the home and nation."
Duan Chen twitched his lips. "When you say that, can you not look at me?"
"Hmm? Don't you want to take this white piece?"
"Heh, go ahead, how much is it this time?" Duan Chen sneered.
"It's free."
Duan Chen eyed him suspiciously. Previously, a cup of water cost 900,000, and a divine bean cost 1,000,000. This seemingly important chess piece, and he wouldn't ask for money?
There's a trap.
Yes, a deep trap.
"You give it to me, and I just take it? Who knows what's wrong with this chess piece."
Duan Chen threw the chess piece in his hand back to Wu Suowei.
Wu Suowei looked surprised. Bai Ye was even more astonished. "Duan Chen, do you know what this represents?"
"It means I have to 'guard the gate' for the recently deceased Zhen Youdu, becoming the next sheep for Wu Suowei to fleece," Duan Chen said calmly.
"...I truly suspect you can already see through my thoughts. This pair of eyes is indeed quite troublesome," Wu Suowei smiled.
"What? So this is how gods operate? Humans chosen by gods actually refuse the authority bestowed by gods. With it, you possess supreme power, wealth, divine strength, destiny... You actually refused so easily. Ah, so you intend to join the evil gods? Paradise always welcomes you, Duan Chen."
Bai Ye's interest in Duan Chen grew even stronger. That sweet and alluring blood; with just one bite, he would become his follower...
But that bite of blood was not easily obtained.
"See? Free things aren't as appealing."
Wu Suowei flipped his hand, and the white piece vanished without a trace. "Next time, it won't be at this price."
He revealed a foxy smile that made Duan Chen feel uneasy.
"What lies beneath the abyss?" Duan Chen walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down.
The bottomless darkness was like a deep well that even Bai Ye's crows could not approach.
When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.
Duan Chen averted his gaze.
"It's a gate."
"What's behind the gate?"
"A wisp of the evil god's soul."
Duan Chen narrowed his eyes, recalling the gate that had appeared in his illusions.
Could that also be a gate?
But why would a gate exist within my consciousness?