Chapter 83: Pledge of Allegiance
Wang Gangjian and Tang Jinchuan stood anxiously outside the Haotai Hotel, where the mist churned incessantly as if concealing a frenzied dragon. This was their fifth attempt in recent days to summon the immortal residing within. Sadly, there had been no response; their calls had sunk like stones in the ocean. Yet, they could not afford to give up.
Wang Gangjian was acutely aware that the lives of hundreds from Black Blade rested upon the shoulders of its few superhumans. If they did not strive and fight, all would inevitably perish.
"Immortal, please assist us," Wang Gangjian pleaded with all his might, his voice earnest. "The mushrooman are too numerous, we are powerless against them. Whatever you desire, if it lies within our power, we will deliver it to you."
His plea was made without the aid of loudspeakers or recordings, spoken each time from his own lips, lending the appeal a grave sincerity.
The mist continued to swirl silently. The immortal did not appear.
Tang Jinchuan's face was etched with bitterness. "Let's go, boss..."
Wang Gangjian sighed and turned to leave. As they turned, they were startled to find a figure standing behind them. Black hair, black eyes, clad entirely in black—it was the immortal!
Wang Gangjian and Tang Jinchuan were simultaneously shaken and elated. "Immortal!"
Chu Xuan inquired calmly, "You just said you could give me anything I want?"
They nodded vigorously without hesitation.
Chu Xuan's smile hinted at irony. "What if I wanted you to become zombies, would you agree to that too?"
The two exchanged a glance, seeing the fear in each other's eyes. But after a moment of fear, Wang Gangjian and Tang Jinchuan solemnly nodded again.
"We would," they affirmed. "If our lives could save the hundreds in Black Blade, we would sacrifice ourselves willingly."
Chu Xuan said no more. Silence fell between them for a moment.
Eventually, Chu Xuan spoke nonchalantly, "The leaders of the mushrooman are dead, and the rest pose no threat. You need not worry any longer."
Wang Gangjian and Tang Jinchuan were stunned, their eyes wide with immense relief. The leaders were dead? Truly?
Instinctively, Wang Gangjian wanted to voice his inquiry but then realized the immortal had no reason to deceive them. He immediately felt at ease.
"Thank you, Immortal!" The two bowed deeply to Chu Xuan.
"Do not rush to express gratitude; there are matters I require your assistance with," Chu Xuan said casually.
Wang Gangjian responded solemnly, "Please command us, Immortal! Black Blade is ready to serve at your beck and call!"
"I need you to gather intelligence, the more the better," Chu Xuan stated calmly. "From Linjiang Province, Hanhai Province, even to the Han Country. All information on supernatural beings is what I seek."
Although he could control the flying sword to search for supernatural beings, just Linjiang Province alone was vast enough to compare with nearly half of Wu Province. It was preferable to obtain intelligence beforehand, and then proceed with the hunt, thus saving time.
Most of his time was devoted to cultivation, to breaking through to higher realms. Such time should not be wasted lightly.
Such tasks, if given to the original corpse puppets, were slightly troublesome. Only corpses like Long, Hu, and Bao possessed the intelligence akin to normal humans.
Lower-ranked corpse soldiers lacked brain capacity. They were not suitable for such tasks.
Chu Xuan felt that the few from Black Blade Security were quite capable. Wang Gangjian and Tang Jinchuan were of superior mind and reliable.
"We are willing!" Upon hearing this, Wang Gangjian and Tang Jinchuan were delighted and immediately nodded.
To serve the Immortal was an immense honor.
"To serve me is to never rebel, for all eternity," Chu Xuan said indifferently. "Should there be any betrayal, let your bodies be devoured by a thousand corpses, and your souls barred from reincarnation!"
Wang Gangjian and Tang Jinchuan shuddered. Such words from another might be dismissed as bravado. But coming from the Immortal, they believed he truly possessed such powers!
Both took a deep breath and declared solemnly, "We are at the Immortal's command!"
Chu Xuan nodded slightly, flicking his finger lightly.
Two psionic cores landed precisely in front of them.
"Swallow them," Chu Xuan said.
"This..." Both Wang Gangjian and Tang Jinchuan were taken aback at the psionic cores, the size of pigeon eggs.
Such large psionic cores... surely they were at least third-level. Could we consume them?
Consuming a psionic core required choosing one that matched or was lower than one's own level. Forcing a higher-level psionic core could greatly increase the risk of failure. One might be normal one second, and a bloodthirsty monster the next.
Wang Gangjian swallowed hard, "Immortal, we cannot simply consume Psionic cores; it could be lethal."
Chu Xuan looked at him and calmly stated, "With me here, you will not die."
Wang Gangjian and Tang Jinchuan exchanged a glance, reassured by his words. Wang Gangjian gritted his teeth, picked up the third-level Psionic core, and shoved it into his mouth.
Crunch!
His teeth crushed the core as if it were candy, quickly transforming into dense Psionic energy that surged through his limbs and body. The violent foreign Psionic rampaged within him like a wild buffalo.
In the blink of an eye, blood seeped from every pore on Wang Gangjian's body. Veins on his forehead bulged as he clenched his teeth tightly, a look of intense agony on his face. His eyes bulged out like those of a goldfish, streaked with blood as if he were about to turn into a zombie.
Tang Jinchuan watched in utter fear, convinced his friend was turning.
Chu Xuan observed Wang Gangjian thoughtfully. His condition resembled that of a cultivator who had deviated during practice. For cultivators, such deviation meant bleeding from every orifice and potentially bursting apart. For superhumans, it meant complete zombification.
To alleviate a cultivator's deviation, one needed to inject external Spiritual Qi to clear their blocked meridians. Presumably, the process was similar for Superhumans.
Moreover, Psionic energy was inferior to Spiritual Qi. Chu Xuan only needed to intervene slightly to resolve Wang Gangjian's current condition.
Watching the pained Wang Gangjian, Chu Xuan unleashed his spiritual sense, enveloping him. In an instant, he saw a massive accumulation of Psionic energy in Wang Gangjian's chest.
He flicked his finger. A strand of Spiritual Qi burst forth, piercing directly into Wang Gangjian's chest and breaking the blockage.
At that moment, it was as if the skies had cleared. The Psionic energy quickly dispersed, flowing to where it should naturally go—his organs, bones, blood, and muscles.
Within a minute, the agony on Wang Gangjian's face visibly eased. Soon, he lay quietly on the ground, feeling the Psionic energy transform his body.
This spectacle left Tang Jinchuan wide-eyed and profoundly shaken.
Immortal... this truly was the work of an Immortal!
Did this not mean that from now on, as long as they collected enough Psionic cores, they could advance to higher levels without any danger?
No other supernatural had such a privilege!