Chapter 461: Chapter 60: I Am Destiny
The Pure Holy Spirit and the Master of Greedy Banquet. Both were heavyweights, and both would disregard anything and everything for the sake of their own obsessive desires for pleasure.
On top of that, both were hopelessly obsessed with good looks. The Pure Holy Spirit was a given; fawning over beauty was practically her core programming. Anise was no better. The lavish banquets she so enjoyed required exquisite eye candy to adorn them... and who could be more suitable than the Pure Holy Spirit? Besides, one could consider them both a type of Succubus. Wasn’t it perfectly normal for them to be drawn to each other?
’What a pair of truly awful people.’
A certain Duke Qinghui conveniently ignored his own past actions, placing himself on the moral high ground.
"I was worried about how you two would get along, but it seems you’re doing just fine."
Westheid said, prying the White-haired Holy Spirit off his face where she was nuzzling him.
Anise opened her arms wide, took a deep breath, and said in rapture:
"This is much better than I imagined. I was planning to throw a fit if the conditions weren’t to my liking, but the atmosphere here... Mmm, it’s just right. So utterly extravagant and debauched, with no limits whatsoever."
"..."
’How slightly irritating.’
Westheid said, pressing a hand to his forehead:
"You can have as many supplies for your banquets as you want. You can be extravagant all day long. Just don’t drag all of Su Yue into it. This sort of thing is best enjoyed within a small circle."
"Tch. Just in this tiny little place? It’s practically house arrest. How infuriating."
Anise shrugged. "I heard rumors that Duke Qinghui often holds victory banquets. And victory banquets are the absolute pinnacle of parties. I was all prepared to absorb that kind of joy, but it seems there aren’t any for me."
"...If you’re not satisfied, you can go throw parties elsewhere later. Qinghui Territory has plenty of cities for you to try something new."
After some thought, Westheid relented, saying:
"But in return, you have to do some work for me. You can’t just freeload."
"I actually have to work? Oh, very well. It’s good to get some exercise now and then. Go on, what is it?"
Westheid said, "Don’t make it sound like I’m oppressing you. It’s nothing major. Your standing duty will be to help me guard Su Yue. I spend too much time away on campaigns and am rarely here. And as for the Holy Spirit Ancestor... I don’t fully trust her to handle it."
Normally, a Holy Spirit guarding their own Holy Land should be an absolutely impregnable defense. Even if she wasn’t a Demigod, her power would be nearing that level. It was hard to imagine any threat in the Mortal World capable of reaching Su Yue.
But with the Pure Holy Spirit, all bets were off. This was a Holy Spirit who didn’t even flinch when the Dirt World Desolate God was practically standing on her face, wailing on her. The memory made Westheid laugh so hard his stomach ached. What was with her? ’In an adult manga,’ he thought, ’she’d be the timid, busty older sister who gets easily blackmailed by some scrawny kid. It just makes you want to teach her a harsh lesson!’
This useless creature, upon hearing Duke Qinghui disparage her so, didn’t get angry at all. Instead, she tugged on Anise’s sleeve and nodded in vigorous agreement.
Westheid was so angry he didn’t know where to start, but he just smiled and said:
"And you, my dear Ancestor. You won’t be sitting idle, either. You’ll work with Anise. I’m going to install the [Thousand Laws Ceremony] in Purity Forest, and then I will centralize all of its authority under my control. During that time, I will completely master the [Thousand Laws Ceremony] and make it my own."
"And then... I will naturally step into the Demigod Realm and begin planning the next phase."
The Pure Holy Spirit tilted her head. "The next phase... Oh, you mentioned that before. You still haven’t given up on it, have you?"
"Ascending to godhood... I’ve heard you say it before, but it sounds just as strange every time."
Anise swirled her empty wine glass, her eyelids drooping slightly as she spoke:
"Ever since the history of the Celestial Gods became known to the world, countless people throughout history have tried to ascend to godhood. But in the end, every single one of them failed. In this day and age, very few still harbor delusions about that path. Do you know why?"
Westheid exchanged a look with the Demon Maiden, who said indifferently:
"It isn’t because too many have failed, nor is it due to the suppression and judgment of the Realm of Order. It’s because the world has come to understand that so-called ascension is a matter of destiny. Every Celestial God was fated to become one. For any other Holy Spirit, if they lack this destiny, no amount of effort will bear fruit. It is all in vain."
Anise stretched languidly. "I hear you’ve been busy trying to do just that. Look, I’m not trying to be a downer, but you’d best be prepared. Know when to stop, and don’t drag everyone down with you when you fail. This place of yours is rather nice. I like it. Make sure nothing happens to it. I really don’t want to deal with that sort of trouble again."
It sounded incredibly fatalistic, the kind of statement that made one instinctively want to argue back.
But in this world, what Anise had said was an undeniable truth.
The great Divine Ancestor of Supreme Heaven was a being who was, is, and ever shall be. The existence of the Celestial Gods was certainly a product of their own efforts—each one possessed incredibly precious qualities and Talents, making them heroes in their own right.
But in reality, those efforts were just a bonus. As a hardcore veteran player of Poem of Destiny, Westheid understood the fundamental logic of this world’s operation all too well.
From the primordial sea of Chaos Undivided, an isolated island known as the Mortal World was separated. This Mortal World could then connect to [Supreme Heaven], the reflection of the Sea of Chaos.
The Sea of Chaos is boundless, the true, original face of this world. Supreme Heaven is the other side of the same coin. The more the sea is defined by its state of Chaos Undivided, the more the sky is defined by perfect Order. Order and Chaos: two adversaries from a single source.
Comments