Chapter 718: The Survival Ritual

Finally got rid of them…

Maintaining his conspirator persona, Li Ang kept his hands behind his back and gazed indifferently as the Dream Realm sealed shut; only after all twenty thousand Wealth Goddesses had vanished completely did he finally exhale a deep, genuine breath.

The Clearance Bureau's work is truly unfit for humans—even Senior Emma, with her formidable skills, was crushed, and even when she dragged Senior Tang Mu, another Level One, to rescue her, they nearly perished together at the hands of the Descended Wealth Goddess.

Hmm…

Or maybe it wasn't this dangerous to begin with, but the sheer bad luck of me and Senior Tang Mu—two beings the World's Will despises—clashing together caused our misfortune to multiply exponentially, summoning a Wealth Goddess who shouldn't have come at all.

After silently warning himself to avoid sticking close to Senior Tang Mu in the future, Li Ang hurried to Senior Emma's side, unfastened the top button of her collar to ease her breathing, then slung her onto his back and struggled up toward the valley's peak.

…

"Wake up!"

"Slap! Slap!"

"Senior Tang Mu! Wake up!"

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

"Ugh…"

Woken by the sharp pain on his cheeks, the pale, lethargic young man blinked, looking utterly bewildered:

"I…"

"You passed out."

After uttering a useless remark, Li Ang, who had just violently slapped Tang Mu awake, pointed toward the half-buried trident with a serpent's tail in the valley and replied vaguely:

"The Wealth Goddess seems to have run into trouble—suddenly stormed into the Dream Realm… Forget her for now, let's get out of here. Have your bones regrown yet? Can you move?"

To avoid the risk of the Wealth Goddess still being nearby and hearing his explanation, then suddenly turning back to kill them, Li Ang didn't reveal what had just happened.

The lethargic young man, having regained consciousness, strained his neck to lift his head—but quickly collapsed back, shaking his head in frustration:

"Not yet… your bandages are still too slow. My leg bones haven't stirred at all—only a bit of my coccyx has regrown."

"…"

"Ugh… by the way, why does my face hurt so much? And my lips…"

"Uh… I called you for ages with no response, so I had to resort to physical methods. Sorry…"

Looking at the lethargic young man's swollen cheeks and the three or four fingernail marks on his philtrum, Li Ang apologized:

"Senior Emma's injuries are too severe—she won't wake up anytime soon. I had offensive talismans and charms, but the Wealth Goddess confiscated them all. My current defensive options are insufficient.

Outside, besides the Chengjin Jiao followers, there are probably eighty to ninety church personnel and at least two Hierarchs. If I just carry you both out directly, I don't feel safe, so I thought I'd wake you up first and ask if you have any ideas.

Do I have any ideas?

Looking at his own body, stripped of every bone and joint, the lethargic young man groaned:

"I've lost every bone and joint in my body—only my mouth and neck can move. Oh right, now I've got a butt too… With this condition, what can I possibly do?

By the way, didn't you pick up all those shell coins? Why not try saving Emma the same way you saved me?"

"I already tried. It didn't work."

Li Ang shook his head, sounding weary:

"Senior Emma's condition is complicated. The sword wound in her heart is a soul injury; both arms have been petrified into jade by the 【Green Dream】; and the Serpent Spirit has bought three hundred of her lives. These three injuries are intertwined—you can't buy just one. The shell coins aren't enough.

Also, unlike buying back your bones, 'injuries' can't exist independently of the body. To buy off Senior Emma's wounds, someone must take them on."

Raising his right hand, Li Ang showed Tang Mu his jade-green fingernails and added, still shaken: "My contamination value… uh… my Li Ang value… is far too low compared to hers. In physical condition, soul strength, and resistance to anomalies—we're on completely different levels.

What's a serious injury to her would be fatal to me. If I took even less than one-tenth of her wounds, I'd be shattered by the sword wound in her heart, turning instantly into a motionless jade statue."

"Then don't buy it…"

Looking at Li Ang's emerald-green fingernails, the lethargic young man pondered—this situation was indeed troublesome.

Although the most deadly Wealth Goddess had inexplicably fled, granting them a lucky reprieve, the Chengjin Jiao followers outside still remain.

According to the Chengjin Jiao gathering protocol, each of the three veins typically sends one Hierarch. After you killed one, there should still be two Hierarchs left, plus dozens of purified core followers with special abilities.

Although the Chengjin Jiao is a secretive cult not known for combat, their Hierarchs are terrible fighters—barely Level Two Clearance Officers, even worse than scouts like Jerry. Not hard to handle.

If either you or Emma were functional, killing those two Hierarchs would be effortless—probably under thirty seconds. But now Emma is unconscious, you're paralyzed, and Li Ang—the only one still whole—has lost his primary anomaly weapon. He might not make it past these Chengjin Jiao followers.

If I survive the True God only to die at the hands of a few pathetic Hierarchs, I'd never close my eyes in death…

…

"How about… you just stab me to death."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry—it's my trump card."

In Li Ang's bewildered expression, the lethargic young man explained:

"When we first entered, didn't I set up three rituals beforehand?

The first two rituals have already been triggered: the first, using five metals, was to steal money from the Chengjin Jiao's Cat Spirit; the second, using mercury, sulfur, and salt, was to negate the influence of the Serpent Spirit's secret shrine. The third ritual was meant for resurrection.

"Resurrection?!"

"Yes. That ritual's effect is resurrection—or rather, it activates automatically after I'm killed, restoring me to the exact moment I set it up."

Glancing at Li Ang's stunned face, the lethargic young man spoke with pride:

"The six materials of the Return Ritual form three opposing pairs: matches and amber represent eternal stasis and fleeting ash; a child's fingernail and an elder's last letter signify bodily growth and death; horns and tails stand for beginning and end—each pair achieving perfect balance.

If I'm killed, it means the match of my body is extinguished, the elder of my soul has departed, and my life has reached its end—the balance is shattered. Then, the other half of each symbol activates and begins to reconstruct me.

Afterwards, my body will be eternal like amber, my soul will sprout anew like a child's, and my life, having ended, will begin again—I will be resurrected."

"I'm telling you, this is my best ritual—I survived the True God thanks to it. So just stab me already. One thrust, and I'll be back on my feet… wait a second!"

Seeing the blood-red wolf tooth club studded with barbs in Li Ang's hand, the lethargic young man flinched in terror and instinctively pulled in his newly regrown coccyx.

"Wait—I told you to stab me, but you're going to use THIS?"

(End of Chapter)