Immortal Paladin

352 The Taint of Life and Death

"Stand down," I ordered, and the Guardians immediately obeyed, lowering their weapons and retreating several paces. The tension that hung in the air dissipated slightly, though the reek of blood and scorched qi still clung to the hall like a shroud. "What do you think, Nongmin? Alice?"

Nongmin was the first to step closer, inspecting the corpse. "This is indeed Yi Qiu, the Master of the Martial Alliance. I can recognize his vigor anywhere." His blindfold shimmered faintly with gold lines as he tilted his head. "Though, now, he's no more."

Alice knelt beside the corpse, flipping Yi Qiu onto his back with a sweep of her sleeve. Her eyes flickered with cold crimson light as she pressed her palm against his chest, scanning the remnants of his essence. The smell of burnt iron and corruption filled the air. "He's dead."

"Way to say the obvious," I muttered, leaning on my throne's armrest. "But it seems when he said the Heavenly Temple stabbed them in the back, he didn't mean it literally. That's no stab wound." I gestured at the charred imprint just above his heart. "That's… one nasty palm technique."

Through my Divine Sense, I examined the mark closely. The qi residue was vile, sticky, black, and sluggish. Once a cultivator expended quintessence, it usually returned to the ether as clean, neutral energy, but this 'thing' clung stubbornly to the body like rot, refusing to fade. I'd studied thousands of combat techniques through my clones for the past half a year, even some that tampered with the essence of life and death, yet this corruption was something else entirely.

"Is this familiar to you, Nongmin?" Alice asked without looking up.

The former Emperor furrowed his brow. "I sense… death qi, yes. But also something else. If I must describe it—" he hesitated "—it feels like sickness."

"I feel the same." Alice stood, brushing her hands on her robes. Her tone was grave. "However, I believe there's more. This isn't something we should discuss in front of others."

I nodded and turned to the still-hovering Guardians. "Leave us at once."

They hesitated, exchanging glances, then bowed and filed out, sealing the great doors behind them. Silence filled the chamber, save for the faint crackling of lingering embers as Yi Qiu's body began to burn again. His flesh liquefied, flames searing with molten intensity. Lava-like blood dripped onto the marble floor, hissing and smoking.

"I guess I should deal with this first, huh?" I sighed.

Cultivators of a higher realm often returned to nature upon death, their bodies collapsing into the very elements they mastered. Given Yi Qiu's alignment with fire and earth, it wasn't surprising his death was threatening to erupt into a volcanic tantrum.

I raised my hand and called divine power to my voice. "Divine Word: Life."

A surge of radiant green light enveloped Yi Qiu's corpse. Veins of emerald life qi spread through his charred form, knitting together ruined flesh and bone.

"Blessed Regeneration."

His lower body regrew in moments, though the sight wasn't exactly pleasant. I grimaced as his bare form lay sprawled and quickly wove robes around him with a flick of quintessence. Even so, the black palm mark near his heart remained, pulsing faintly like a living brand.

"That looks really bad…" I frowned, feeling a rare twinge of uncertainty. "Even my divine skills aren't doing anything. Is it the work of an Immortal Art?"

Alice's gaze deepened. "Highly likely. In my time within the False Earth, I experimented with plagues, but never reached this complexity. My expertise on the matter is limited… but if my eyes aren't deceiving me, that mark is alive."

The words made my stomach twist. I crouched beside Yi Qiu again, studying the pulsing brand. "Alive, huh?" I gave his cheek a few light slaps. "Hey, wake up."

Nongmin flinched slightly. "Da Wei, isn't that a bit disrespectful?"

"He'll be fine," I said, still smacking Yi Qiu lightly. "But I can't say the same for that thing on his chest."

I extended my Divine Sense deeper, tracing the root of the corruption. What I found made me uneasy, since the mark wasn't just energy. It was breeding. Each pulse of Yi Qiu's heart spread faint, microscopic flickers of qi into his system. Despite the healing aura I wrapped him in, something kept devouring it.

His vitality was too strong to be human anymore. But even so, I doubted he'd wake up soon.

"This is troublesome," I muttered. "Is this… germs or something?"

Nongmin broke the silence, his tone cautious. "What did you mean by 'alive,' Alice? Surely you don't mean that literally."

"I do," she replied flatly. "This isn't merely a curse or technique. I can feel very small organisms inside the taint… parasites, perhaps, though not in the physical sense. They've fused with the qi itself, feeding on his essence."

She crossed her arms, her expression tightening. "Only Yi Qiu's ferocious fire qi kept them from spreading. Now that he's unconscious, they'll spread soon enough."

The Holy Ascension Empire was still young, fragile in its splendor. We'd risen from the ashes of the Grand Ascension Empire, but smaller sects, clans, and city-states still refused to acknowledge our sovereignty. I had planned to win the acknowledgment of the Martial Alliance and the Union, since their endorsement would have elevated us, making the Holy Empire a peer to what used to be the Three Great Powers. Yet now, everything had shifted. The Union had grown restless, resorting to harassment and border skirmishes. And the Martial Alliance… well, judging from the broken man before me, it was no longer its own. The Heavenly Temple had absorbed it whole.

"Divine Word: Rest."

Divine power spread from my palm, enveloping Yi Qiu's mangled form. His expression eased, breath slowing into the deep rhythm of dreamless slumber. Whatever pain had tormented him faded beneath the divine glow.

The timing couldn't have been worse. The heavy doors to the throne room groaned open, and my next guests forced their way inside. Dave, in his radiant Holy Spirit form, led the way, his white armor shining with faint silver lines, and beside him strode Joan, her golden eyes narrowed in irritation.

"What is the meaning of this, Voice?" Joan's tone carried that familiar priestly command, though I'd long grown used to her attempts at guilt-tripping me. "I heard an intruder broke through your palace wards, and now this?" She gestured toward Yi Qiu's motionless body.

I sighed. Joan had begun calling me Voice ever since she gained her freedom from the Nameless City. For a Priestess from LLO, she'd developed quite the temper, and I suspected that was entirely Dave's fault.

Dave's form shimmered faintly as he spoke. "Apologies, My Lord. Joan has grown impatient with our delay in returning to Losten. The Great Enemy still stirs beyond the veil."

I gave a weary smile. "I apologize for the lack of progress, but as I've said before, we still have no reliable method to leave the Hollowed World. The black veil remains… persistent."

That, of course, was a lie.

I shifted my gaze toward Dave and sent a whisper through Qi Speech. "Dave, forgive the pretense. I do have a method to leave this world. I learned it from Jia Sen when I used Divine Possession on him. But the cost… it's too great. The only way is to accept a Patron from the Greater Universe… and I doubt either of us would like that bargain."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Dave's reply in Qi Speech was immediate, calm as always. "I would not take another Patron, My Lord. Not while you remain mine."

It was strange sometimes, conversing with what was once my game character, the reflection of who I used to be. Now, he stood before me as a divine entity in his own right, yet still bound to my will.

I turned my gaze to Yi Qiu again, still slumbering on the polished stone floor. Nearby, Nongmin and Alice stood silently, both observing the guests with veiled curiosity. I had Jia Sen and Bai Rong imprisoned in the lower sanctum, their souls intact, waiting to be of use again. Divine Possession made torture obsolete; I could simply read them, and that was enough. Execution was wasteful when knowledge was far more valuable.

A delicate cough interrupted my thoughts. The second group of guests had arrived.

"Greetings, Father," Gu Jie began, her tone carefully formal yet carrying warmth. She wore dark robes embroidered with crimson serpents, and her dark hair was tied up neatly, much like her mother's used to be. "Have you been well? Did you try the armor I sent your way?"

I couldn't help smiling faintly. "Not yet, daughter. The opportunity hasn't presented itself."

That wasn't a lie. I was too strong now, far too strong for armor to matter. With the Hollow Star embedded in my brow, my body was already a fortress. What would I do, test the armor on a mountain? Challenge an ocean? It would only cause unnecessary disasters. Not to mention, the armor's main feature was its durability, not offense. Perhaps I should throw some techniques at the sun to test it… though I doubted angering the sun would end well for any of us.

Behind Gu Jie were two familiar figures: Ru Qiu, dressed in deep black robes that rippled like smoke, and Hei Mao, his red scarf standing out against the same shade of darkness.

"Ru Qiu. Hei Mao," I greeted, straightening on my throne.

Hei Mao bowed deeply, his expression softening. "Master," he said warmly. "It has been too long."

I nodded, allowing a rare smile. Hei Mao had always been the steady one among my disciples, fierce in battle, but calm in spirit. His loyalty was the kind that didn't need words.

As for Ru Qiu, the so-called Heavenly Demon, he simply smirked. "We've come, Holy Emperor," he said, his tone dripping with lazy amusement. "I suppose it is time the promise with me shall be fulfilled by your daughter."

"Fuck off."

"What did you say?"

"Please," begged Gu Jie as she held out a hand. "There's a time and place for everything."

Gu Jie turned warily toward the new arrivals, her crimson eyes narrowing in cautious curiosity. Across from her, Joan met the look with equal scrutiny, her golden gaze sharp and unwavering. For a heartbeat, neither woman moved nor blinked. The faint hum of power in the air grew heavy, and even Dave, radiant as ever in his Holy Spirit form, seemed to sense the brewing tension. He gently took Joan's hand, his calm presence steadying her.

"So," I began, leaning back on my throne with an exaggerated sigh, "what do you guys want? I'm really busy, you know?"

Gu Jie inclined her head with graceful restraint, her voice cool but polite. "Since they arrived before us, should my group leave first, Father?"

I frowned. This was awkward. Why in the heavens was I receiving two separate groups at the same time? The palace attendants must have panicked when they heard someone had breached the throne room… can't blame them, I guess. Still, the timing couldn't have been worse. I glanced at Yi Qiu's unconscious body lying peacefully near the steps, still glowing faintly from my divine spell. How he managed to crawl here in that state remained a mystery.

"I don't think you guys mind, right?" I turned to Joan and Dave. "Joan? Dave?"

"We don't," Joan answered sharply, her tone crisp as glass. "They are allies to us as much as they are friends to you, Voice."

Dave nodded once. "Same."

Ugh… The air was getting thicker by the second. These two groups had almost no direct history with each other, and it showed. Joan's coldness was understandable, since her entire existence in this world had been twisted by her missions. She came here to save LLO, but all she'd found was chaos, gods, and politics. Meanwhile, her glare toward Alice was hard to ignore. Those two had history too, the kind that didn't end with smiles. Ever since the Summit, they'd taken different paths.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Are you two… cool?" I asked, glancing between Alice and Joan. "Because, honestly, it feels like the temperature in here just dropped a few degrees."

Alice didn't even meet my eyes. Her voice was steady, but cold. "Just get on with your duty, Your Holy Majesty. Whatever you're imagining… it's just that. Please, proceed."

Ouch. She didn't even call me David anymore.

I swallowed the small sting of that and forced myself to keep things moving. "Right, fine. Let's keep this civil." I turned toward Joan's group first. "So, Joan, Dave… what brings you two here?"

Joan's reply was immediate. "Permit us leave."

I blinked. "Wait, what? It's not like I'm imprisoning the two of you. Dave literally has the Egress Skill, and you have Teleportation. With Dave's Divine Possession, he can access all his Legacy Skills freely. You're both more than capable of traveling on your own. You don't need to make it sound like you're asking permission to breathe."

Dave glanced at Joan before answering, "We wish to embark on a quest to search for methods of leaving the Hollowed World. However," he hesitated, "that's Joan's wish alone."

Joan's eyes widened in disbelief. "Dave… didn't we already talk about this?"

Her voice cracked ever so slightly, and the sudden silence that followed made it worse. Dave's shoulders stiffened, guilt written all over his face. Joan's hand slipped from his grasp, and she took a step back, her expression unreadable.

I could practically feel the emotional explosion waiting to happen.

"Calm down, please…" I raised both hands, half in prayer, half in panic. "This isn't the place for a lovers' quarrel, alright? Can the two of you maybe, I don't know, talk it out privately before deciding anything drastic?"

The two of them exchanged a silent glance, and I could feel the faint ripple of Qi Speech between them. Their lips didn't move, but their eyes said enough.

They had both been practicing the Longevity Method for some time now, and from the looks of it, their progress had been remarkable. Dave's advancement didn't surprise me; he was my Holy Spirit, a being molded from my own essence. But Joan? She hadn't even been free from the Nameless City for a full year, and she was already capable of using Qi Speech. That was something only cultivators deep into the Mind Enlightenment Realm could do.

Hmmm… maybe the two of them were dual-cultivating? The thought crossed my mind unbidden, and I immediately frowned. That would be strange, considering Dave was currently in his spirit body, an incorporeal form. How would that even work? Was it soul-based? Energy resonance? Ugh, my curiosity was starting to sound perverse. Best not to dig too deep into that.

Dave broke the silence first. "We are in disagreement on how to move forward," he said calmly. "Since she only has one body, we can only do so much."

I raised a brow. "I can provide you a body, you know. You could've just asked."

Dave smiled faintly, shaking his head. "I appreciate your generosity, My Lord. However, I intend to walk the same path you once did… to see the world through my own eyes as I please. I wish to cultivate the Six Paths to achieve both Transcendence and Longevity. I believe the way to do this is by spreading your faith as the Great Guard. As a Priestess learned in divine ways, Joan would be the perfect vessel of faith. I, a Paladin blessed with that same power, would serve as the perfect instrument to raise the Great Guard's name."

His words carried conviction, his tone steady. I could sense the faint glimmer of divinity in his soul, a reflection of my own once upon a time. The way he spoke reminded me of myself, back before I wore the Hollow Star, when faith was still something pure.

But before I could respond, Joan countered sharply, "It would be great to raise our individual prowess, but right now, the people of Losten are suffering from the Great Enemy's offensive. For all we know, they might have perished already in the past hundred years."

Her voice trembled slightly, the weight of helplessness pressing through her composure. "This uncertainty… this fear… it's driving me mad. We must find a passageway from the Hollowed World to the outside so that we can return to Losten. With Alice's profound planar spell, it should be possible, as long as we can leave the veil."

She turned to me, her eyes fierce, burning with equal parts conviction and accusation. "There is so much for the Empire to gain if you, the Voice, secure the resources and warriors that my world can offer. Skills. Items. Champions. You know their worth better than anyone. If you still care about us, then find a way."

That last line struck deep. It was provocative, deliberate even, but she wasn't wrong. I did care, though not in the way she seemed to think. The reality was that every step I took was for survival… mine, theirs, and the Empire's.

I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose again. "Why don't we do both?"

They blinked in unison, confused, their attention snapping toward me.

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. "Listen. Instead of choosing between two different quests, why not make it into a single quest? Say, a pilgrimage? You'd still be moving constantly, gaining strength, exploring the unknown. The only difference is purpose. You wouldn't just be chasing knowledge or escape… you'd be walking a path of meaning, building faith along the way."

Joan tilted her head slightly. "A pilgrimage?"

"Yes," I said, nodding. "You, Dave, and whoever else you decide to bring. Spread the Great Guard's name, discover new routes beyond the Hollowed World, and seek divine resonance with the heavens while you're at it. It's everything you both want… growth, exploration, and purpose… all in one journey."

Dave's eyes glimmered faintly, a flicker of approval breaking his usual stoic calm. Joan, however, still looked torn between skepticism and hope.

I smiled faintly and added, "And don't worry about the logistics. I wouldn't even spare the expense to support your endeavor. Supplies, blessings, scrolls, divine marks… you'll have everything you need. Think of it as the Empire's first sanctioned pilgrimage."

They glanced at each other again, and though they said nothing, I could feel the faint thread of understanding forming between them.

Maybe this would work.