Ethereal World: Vicious Cannon Fodder's Immortality Road novel Chapter 918

Chapter 918: The Price Is Your Absolute Loyalty

[Immortal Realm, Forgotten Domain, Ember Dune Desert]

Outside the borders of the Sacred Land, chaos reigned in wild abandon. Every contracted beast and ally of Shenlian Yingyue felt their cultivation skyrocket; realms fractured, breakthroughs exploded like firecrackers, and power surged through them in an unstoppable wave.

The shockwaves reverberated across the Ember Dune Desert, upending dunes and razing everything in their path. Many attempted to flee, seeking remote seclusion to regulate the sudden influx of spiritual energy, but before they could stabilize, they were silently whisked away by an invisible force.

"Brother Yun! What’s happening?!" Their voices echoed in alarm. One moment they were teetering on the brink, the next, they were yanked away almost violently.

They reappeared within the Sacred Land’s borders as abruptly as they had vanished, voices ringing with confusion and awe. Their presence here, summoned so effortlessly, sent a powerful message about the one who had summoned them: Xiao Yun.

"He bypassed all cosmic laws, effortlessly," they breathed, struck by the raw authority in his act. Xiao Yun, their silent guardian and executor of cruel fate, had once again turned reality on its head. It was one thing to send power; it was quite another to manipulate existence itself.

"Master ascended again!" exclaimed Xiao Li, his emotion raw, half ecstasy, half terror. Xiao Mei and Lu Long matched his enthusiasm, each struggling to catch their breath. The rest of the group trembled in vibrant excitement; magical power hummed in the air around them.

But Xiao Yun’s face was inscrutable. He raised a hand, cool and composed. "Do not disturb Master," he said softly, gesturing toward Shenlian Yingyue, who sat radiating calm power. "Return to the Ethereal Small World and stabilize your cultivation."

A hush fell. The assembled cultivators bowed and, like wisps of smoke drifting upward, vanished in turn.

Only four remained near Shenlian Yingyue, Xiao Yun and Qing Luan: Qing Long, Bai Hu, Xuan Wu, and Zhu Que. With new torrents of spiritual energy flooding their beings, they sank onto the ground in perfect lotus posture. Their eyes closed, bodies quivered, but they were steady, attuned. They had been fed a fountain of power; now came the consolidation, the churning of might into balance.

In the silent aftermath, only Shenlian Yingyue, Xiao Yun and Qing Luan remained in the Sacred Land. The world had reset itself, leaving those two as witnesses to the upheaval below.

"Your Boundless Majesty," Qing Luan ventured, voice even but tinged with deference. She approached, eyes focused on Xiao Yun’s calm form. "May I ask, is she, does she belong to Shen clan?"

Xiao Yun’s gaze pivoted slowly toward her. He didn’t answer her question directly; instead, he spoke plainly, his tone measured and cool. This was the side he reserved for all but his master: distant, cold, calculating.

"I can restore you to your immortal body," he said.

Qing Luan inhaled sharply; she didn’t expect this.

He continued, voice unwavering, "But the price is your absolute loyalty. You must serve her, bind your soul contractually, and vow allegiance, eternal. To protect her with your life. To sacrifice everything for her. No longer Qing Luan of Qing clan. From this point, you are her partner."

Qing Luan’s heart thudded. The truth of her existence, a shattered soul, a stolen identity, an immortal body stripped away by betrayal, flashed before her eyes. The life she once led was gone. A vengeful, fire-hot ambition burned within her veins. Coming back, here, with this kind of power, she would rebuild.

Yet, at what cost? She couldn’t reclaim everything. She swallowed. There was freedom in nothingness; servitude felt like chains. But the alternative, ceasing to exist, was untenable. To be reclaimed by the void, to vanish entirely, she could not allow it.

"Your Boundless Majesty," she said, her voice throbbing. "I will serve her. I swear on my soul, unwavering loyalty. I will protect her with my life." Her words trembled through the night air like sacred oaths. She fell to her knees, head bowed.

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