“Lord Xiude.”
After Xiude, who held a pure white shield, bowed and greeted Chen Xu, Netherx, standing beside Chen Xu, also bowed to Xiude.
Xiude nodded casually and then looked up at Kunpeng in the sky.
It was hard to imagine that this Lord of the Undead—whom the Lord of Heaven had described as having shallow foundations—actually possessed such a formidable subordinate.
To fight many alone within the Eternal tier... in all these years, Heaven had only produced ten Titled High Priests, with the eleventh only appearing recently.
He had rushed over immediately upon receiving the distress signal from Saint Wings Fortress, arriving just in time to witness Kunpeng defeat—or rather, massacre—four Hell Archdukes.
Even if it was through some secret technique to summon ancestral phantoms, the ability to call for backup was a skill in itself.
If there were a Great Dao called “Face” in this world, and reaching its peak allowed one to summon Dao Lords from the myriad worlds, no one would say that wasn't one's own power.
Xiude gazed at the colossal Bone Kun, feeling as though he were looking at a rising star.
After a brief moment of reflection, Xiude became somewhat troubled.
Four Hell Archdukes... what kind of return gift would be significant enough for Heaven to offer to match that?
Xiude frantically recalled all the information the Heavenly Pantheon had recently collected regarding the undead, trying to find something Chen Xu might care about.
While he was thinking, three more beams of Saint Light descended behind him.
“Lord Xiude!”
Two of the beams contained ordinary priests like Netherx, while the third was a human infant with tiny wings—the True Spirit of this fortress.
The fortress spirit flapped its wings and landed on Xiude's shoulder, speaking a rapid string of words.
“Little Xiude, you're so fast! Too bad the Hell Archdukes were already beaten by that big guy. That big guy is amazing; those two phantoms he summoned took down those demons in an instant. With that kind of strength, he could probably trade blows with Lord Justice.”
Then, the fortress spirit raised a small hand and patted Xiude's pauldron, speaking with the air of an elder.
“You need to work harder and try to move up a few more ranks. As a priest I watched grow up with my own eyes, you'd give me a lot of face when I visit Heaven and see the other fortresses.”
The spirit of Saint Wings Fortress seemed very familiar with Xiude, and based on its form of address, its seniority appeared to exceed his.
Xiude shook his head helplessly, took a peculiar fruit from his storage space, and handed it to the spirit on his shoulder.
“Oh, a Myriad-Flavor Fruit!”
The fortress spirit snatched it and took a big bite.
Xiude looked at Chen Xu and asked respectfully.
“Lord of the Undead, I wonder if you have time to be a guest in our fortress? You have cleared the demons occupying the Saint Wings World. As a member of this world's living beings, I have prepared a grand gift, which will be delivered shortly.”
“A grand gift?”
Instantly, Chen Xu's interest was piqued.
Originally, he had planned to decline the invitation and return to the Undead Dao Court after watching the skeleton heroes' performance.
But at the mention of a grand gift, Chen Xu was suddenly wide awake.
He had been worrying about the lack of loot since Kunpeng had been so heavy-handed; if Heaven was willing to sponsor him, that would be perfect.
Thus, a warm smile spread across Chen Xu's face as he looked at Xiude.
“Since the Guardian Priest has invited me, how could I possibly refuse?”
“You are too kind. Your presence is an honor for both me and Saint Wings.”
The fortress spirit, halfway through its fruit, added another comment.
“Mhm, mhm! In all my long life, I've only hosted big shots like you twice. Once was Father, and the other was the Lord of the Crafts Sect. If you come, I'll be a fortress that has hosted three big shots! Three! That'll put me in the top five among all fortresses. Hehe, next time I go to Heaven, I'll have to find the other guys and brag about it.”
Although Chen Xu didn't quite follow the fortress spirit's logic, he could sense a simple joy in its innocent tone.
He sent a message to Bone Guard One and then followed Xiude into the fortress.
Along the way, the fortress spirit mostly introduced the various features of the fortress to Chen Xu.
Meanwhile, Xiude was secretly scouring Heaven's information and resource databases to see what he could give as a gift.
This world was known by Heaven as the Saint Wings Great World, one of the earlier worlds to join after the Lord of Heaven founded the Heavenly Pantheon.
Later, when the rare feather fruit was discovered here, the Heavenly Pantheon increased its investment in this world.
However, news of this somehow reached Hell. Demons descended, and the world was plunged into war.
To ensure that the production of feather fruit was not affected, the Lord of Heaven paid a high price to commission the Lord of the Crafts Sect to build this fortress, then personally enlightened its spirit and named it Saint Wings Fortress.
The Heavenly Pantheon had many fortresses like Saint Wings; most were core worlds of Heaven that had been invaded by Hell.
Once Hell obtained a world's coordinates, it would face constant harassment from demons unless the Lord of Heaven spent enormous energy to move the world to a different location. Otherwise, they would have to face constant demonic harassment.
Building fortresses had become the more cost-effective option.
Besides the rare feather fruit, the Saint Wings Great World had also produced many outstanding talents. For instance, the Titled High Priest beside Chen Xu hailed from this very world.
Soon, led by the fortress spirit, Chen Xu took a whirlwind tour of the fortress and received five feather fruits.
The fruit was covered in a layer of pure white feathers and felt very soft to the touch.
Chen Xu didn't plan on eating them. Instead, he wanted to take them back to the Undead Dao Court to see if he could use the power of creation to deconstruct them and make something interesting.
The fortress spirit led Chen Xu to the reception hall and seated him in the place of honor.
“Respected Lord of the Undead, I wonder if you would mind if I painted your portrait? Just like those two lords over there.”
The fortress spirit pointed a small hand toward two portraits hanging on the wall.
One was of the Lord of Heaven, whom Chen Xu recognized. The other was of an old man with sharp features, likely the Lord of the Crafts Sect.
This fortress spirit was truly strange; while others would avoid Dao Lords at all costs, this spirit was eager to keep their portraits.
Conveniently, the Guardian Priest Xiude had gone to fetch the gift and asked him to wait. With nothing better to do, he decided to let the spirit paint his portrait.
Chen Xu nodded. The fortress spirit clapped its hands excitedly and produced a large sheet of paper and a pot of ink from somewhere.
Chen Xu adjusted his posture, exuding the aura of a high-ranking ruler.
The spirit painted incredibly fast; in five minutes, it made the final stroke.
“Mm, a masterpiece!”
The fortress spirit nodded in satisfaction and flew toward Chen Xu with the painting.
Chen Xu took a look; the artistic skill was indeed extraordinary, capturing his handsome features in a lifelike manner.
Having received Chen Xu's approval, the fortress spirit framed the painting and carefully hung it on the other side of the Lord of Heaven's portrait.
Just then, Xiude walked in from outside, followed by a large group of attendant angels.
He glanced at the fortress spirit hanging the painting and sighed helplessly.
Then he looked at Chen Xu and spoke respectfully.
“Lord of the Undead, to thank you for driving the demons out of the Saint Wings World, these are my gifts of gratitude. Ten cubic meters of soul particles, some space fragments, and a large number of star-related items. In addition to these, there are one hundred and eight stars that Heaven seized from the Ancient Gods long ago and has kept in its collection ever since.”
Hearing the first few items, Chen Xu remained unmoved. Soul particles and space fragments were outdated needs; Big Boss only had the Wanbao Pavilion continue purchasing them just in case he needed them in the future.
But when he heard about the star-related items, especially those one hundred and eight stars, Chen Xu's eyes instantly lit up as he looked directly at Xiude.
“Hahaha! Lord Xiude, you are far too kind!”
Rate on N.U.
