Hong Ling took her orders and withdrew, leaving the altar in silence. Only Chen Zhou, Jian Huaishuang, and the snoring pink nightmare remained.
"My Lord, I have fortunately not failed your command."
Jian Huaishuang took a step forward, knelt on one knee, and raised his hands.
A ball of light floated quietly in his palm. It was the 【broken divinity — deception】 obtained from the Bedfellow.
Chen Zhou nodded slightly, his face hidden in the shadows. He did not immediately take it.
"Jian Huaishuang," he spoke, his voice flat.
"Your subordinate is here."
On this mission, Jian Huaishuang had first led the paper person army to stabilize the situation in Lantao City, then decapitated the Bedfellow and intercepted this divinity. His contribution was immense.
Chen Zhou never mistreated his own people, especially a subordinate as capable and loyal as this.
As the only Ghost General and the only Saint under him, Jian Huaishuang was qualified to directly fuse with the divinity and move toward a higher level.
Ghost Generals and Ghost Attendants were different from Ghost Servants.
They were extensions of Chen Zhou's will and the true cornerstones of the City of the Wrongfully Dead.
In Chen Zhou's planning, each one would be an agent wielding power over a specific domain.
The deception divinity was indeed eerie and excelled at manipulating hearts.
However, eroding a soul as tough as iron—and one absolutely loyal to Chen Zhou—was no easy task for it.
Furthermore, Jian Huaishuang was no longer human. Deception could not twist his mind; it would only be driven by his powerful obsession and become a tool.
"Take this and fuse it into yourself," Chen Zhou ordered directly, without saying more.
"Yes."
Jian Huaishuang did not hesitate for a moment, nor did he ask about the characteristics or risks of this divinity.
He never questioned Chen Zhou's decisions; he only executed them.
Chen Zhou's will descended, and the 【deception】 divinity drifted up, coming to rest before Jian Huaishuang's brow.
"You do not need to suppress it, much less fear it. You only need to master it, to domesticate it."
"Use your sword to tell it."
"From this day forward, your deception shall also exist for the sake of protection."
"Buzz—!"
The 【deception】 divinity instantly vanished into Jian Huaishuang's forehead.
In that instant, Jian Huaishuang felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and his entire body froze in place.
Countless false memories, infinite malicious conjectures, and tens of thousands of reasons for betrayal flooded into his sea of consciousness like a tide.
Vision after vision flashed before his eyes.
He saw himself using a secret technique, damaging his foundation to protect mortals who then betrayed him. He saw the sword sect master he trusted most only treating him as a vessel to be cultivated. He saw his former fellow disciples hurling abuse and making things difficult for him in every possible way.
He even saw the Lord on the throne looking at him with cold, murderous intent...
Countless distorted shadows and heart-confusing whispers tried to drill into his sea of consciousness, desperate to find a single crack to drag this resilient soul into the abyss of lies.
However, Jian Huaishuang's sea of consciousness was like a ten-thousand-year-old glacier. At its core, there was only one thought—
Protect the God, execute his will, and level all obstacles.
The deceptions he had already experienced were nothing more than passing clouds; he had long since let them go.
Jian Huaishuang's body began to tremble slightly. On the surface of his skin, one false face after another continuously bulged, trying to break out.
But he only slowly closed his eyes.
"My sword..."
He murmured in a low voice.
"...exists only for the Lord."
The only obsession in this life was his dao heart. It was something that had remained unchanged—becoming even purer—after experiencing the betrayal of White Jade City, the destruction of his body, and his reconstruction as an evil spirit.
He used his thought as a sword, forcibly constraining and domesticating the power of the divinity, binding it tightly and forcing it to submit to his will.
His sword intent stood quietly in the center of his sea of consciousness. No matter how the waves of deception surged, the sword intent remained as immovable as a mountain.
Jian Huaishuang suddenly snapped his eyes open, a cold light exploding from them.
"You, too, are my sword."
The sword of obsession struck down with a roar.
"Ah—!"
Countless false faces let out unwilling shrieks before shattering one after another.
Jian Huaishuang's aura violently surged at this moment, breaking through the shackles of the fifth stage.
The paper armor on his body shattered inch by inch, only to regroup in an instant. In the gaps of the armor, illusory reflections faintly flowed.
【Your Ghost General Jian Huaishuang has fused with the broken divinity — deception】
【Jian Huaishuang has completed the first transformation of eerification】
A prompt popped up in front of Chen Zhou.
Jian Huaishuang's aura stabilized. He knelt on one knee as paper snow drifted around him.
His original 【Paper Snow】 domain had completely evolved.
"This subordinate thanks the Lord for granting this power."
Chen Zhou nodded slightly and used the Bone Incarnation on Jian Huaishuang.
A 【Perfect Vessel】 was indeed convenient; he could see everything himself.
Within the domain, there were still sheets of white paper fluttering everywhere, but every piece of paper reflected an illusory shadow.
Chen Zhou checked the abilities of the Lie Sword Domain.
【Paper Snow Sword Domain】
【1. death qi assimilation: Those wounded by the paper swords will be infected with death qi and assimilated into white paper.】
【2. Lie Sword Domain: For any attack launched against Jian Huaishuang or his designated protection target within the domain, the damage will be deceived by the domain, with part or all of it reflected back onto the attacker.】
The first trait was likely there originally, while the second was a later evolution. Reflecting damage was quite good.
Especially since the paper people commanded by Jian Huaishuang were not afraid of death, making it quite terrifying.
Releasing the incarnation, Jian Huaishuang quietly retreated to his original position, his aura withdrawn. He bowed to Chen Zhou again, everything understood without words.
Chen Zhou withdrew his gaze with satisfaction and turned to look at the pink piglet at his feet. It was sound asleep while hugging the 【Dream-Weaving Shuttle】, drool pooling on the ground.
This little guy had contributed greatly to this dream battle.
Chen Zhou grabbed a handful of Flesh-Reconstitution Pills and stuffed them into the nightmare's mouth.
The nightmare was half-awake, instinctively chewing the food in its mouth.
Under the infusion of a large number of Flesh-Reconstitution Pills, its aura abruptly climbed, and its body swelled slightly. it successfully stepped into the fifth stage.
However, its small eyes were still full of ignorance as it happily rolled around on the ground. Clearly, its intelligence had not grown much with its level.
It was already at the fifth stage, yet the nightmare was still so thick-headed. He wondered when it would truly develop intelligence and transform into a dream fiend.
"Oink! Oink!"
The piglet felt itself getting stronger and was very happy.
It excitedly held the 【Dream-Weaving Shuttle】 in its mouth and spun around twice in the air before flying in front of Chen Zhou, affectionately rubbing against his black robes.
It hesitated for a moment before opening its mouth. A strand of crystal-clear light slowly drifted out from its body.
This was its origin dreamlight.
It was actively offering this origin to Chen Zhou.
Chen Zhou's movements paused.
"You want to follow me too?"
The nightmare's intelligence was not high, but it knew who was good to it, who gave it delicious food, and who could make it stronger.
It called out happily, its little head nodding non-stop.
"Fine, I'll give you a position too."
Chen Zhou took the strand of origin dreamlight and opened the shop.
"Exchange for Ghost Attendant Population Expansion Voucher."
【Ghost Attendant Population Expansion Voucher (10,000 points)】: Use to increase the Ghost Attendant population by one.
【Voucher has been used, Ghost Attendant population limit +1】
After using it, Chen Zhou turned around and pressed the dreamlight onto the General-Summoning Platform.
Another hideous bone pillar on the base of the General-Summoning Platform collapsed.
The Withered Bone Knocking Decree was activated.
【You consumed one portion of the target evil entity's origin.】
【You obtained one stage-5 Ghost Attendant — Nightmare】
【Current Ghost Attendants: 3/3】
The moment the contract was established, the pink piglet gave a cheer, feeling an unprecedented sense of security wrap around it.
For a time, dreamlight flourished across the entire Bone Altar.
The 【Dream-Weaving Shuttle】 spun at high speed in the air, weaving that overflowing dream power into a brilliant river of stars.
The light was dazzling, completely drowning Chen Zhou's vision.
Light.
In the void of darkness, there was only a cold, illusory dreamlight.
Plague Rat felt himself sinking into this sea of light, his body slowly rotting and festering.
He was dead.
In the inner city of Lantao City, he had perished along with his nemesis, the Plague-Eating Stove.
Yet, he seemed to still be alive.
He could feel his core consciousness being eroded by decay.
That was the 【broken divinity — decay】.
The spoils he had swallowed before dying were now trying to completely assimilate him, turning him into a monster that knew only how to spread pestilence.
His soul was like a piece of rotting wood. Every erosion from the divinity brought him to the brink of collapse.
But whenever his core consciousness was about to completely fester, he always managed to luckily avoid it.
The power of decay always slid past the edge of his core, only rotting his body while never truly touching his soul.
Plague Rat struggled in the sinking.
He vaguely saw that at the end of this void dream, there seemed to be a pair of bright eyes always watching over him.
Those eyes... were very familiar.
It was that brat at the Heart's Desire Hall who had stubbornly pulled on his sleeve and said he would lend him his luck.
Plague Rat cursed in a low voice: "Idiot."
A golden light came from nowhere, wrapping his festering soul tightly.
That was the blessing from the auspice.
He, a fifth-stage fiend and the incarnation of plague, was actually recognized by the heaven-blessed auspice.
Plague Rat felt this was all beyond absurd.
The decay divinity crazily battered that layer of golden light but could never break through.
At the same time, a whisper echoed in the depths of his soul.
"What of demons? What of fiends?"
"If I say you are an auspice, then you are!"
That was the Lord's voice.
The decay divinity continued to frantically erode his body, but under the deflection and enhancement of the golden light, it could never truly extinguish his soul's core.
His consciousness drifted in pain, yet because of it, he was clearer than ever before.
"Lord Rat... is an auspice..."
In the depths of his consciousness, Plague Rat stubbornly repeated these words.
"I say."
"You are!"
The words of the god were like a divine decree, and the golden light instantly became blinding.
The divinity of decay gradually faded. Under the forced suppression of the Heaven-Blessed Dragon Carp, it actually began to be domesticated and absorbed by Plague Rat piece by piece.
Plague Rat's consciousness slowly reshaped within the golden light.
"The Lord is right. With the god's word and the heaven's recognition, if I'm not an auspice, then who is?"
He was still that rat.
But from this day forward, he was an auspice.
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