Chapter 242: The Twenty-Eight Mansions

"One million?"

Kamikawa Mitsu frowned slightly. Conjuring a living being at the Second Step of the Divine out of thin air cost far more plot points than expected—especially considering that exchanging for a Second Step of the Divine 【Sacrificial Master】 character had only cost him 150,000 plot points.

150,000 versus 1,000,000—the latter was six to seven times the former.

Thinking it over carefully, Kamikawa Mitsu could also accept why it was one million.

The former was an exchange, the latter was the creation of a living being—the essential difference between the two was that the former bestowed strength, combat power, and the like upon an existing being, whereas the latter did not even have a physical body for the being. The difference was somewhat like when Kamikawa Mitsu had used Master Konghai to "resurrect" Higio Hisato and the others back then.

Having thought through the reason, Kamikawa Mitsu looked at the corpse of the Nether-Eroding being on the table.

"System, spend plot points and check—using this being's corpse as a base, to modify this being, replicate its original strength and soul, and make this being 'live' again, how many plot points are needed? The replicated soul has no original memories; I will add the memories myself."

To make the other worlds aware of the strength of the Primordial World, relying on Kamikawa Mitsu alone, he felt, was far from enough.

It would be better to create some servants who obeyed him completely, deploy them to other worlds, and spread word of the Primordial World to the beings of those other worlds—wouldn't that be much faster?

He himself would be busy in the Primordial World and in the other worlds invading the Primordial World, while the manufactured servants would be busy in other worlds.

This was something Kamikawa Mitsu had learned in his previous life, called "blooming in two fields at once."

Very quickly, Kamikawa Mitsu spent plot points and received feedback from the system.

Using this Second Step of the Divine Nether-Eroding being's corpse as a base to create a Second Step of the Divine being would cost 100,000 plot points.

100,000 versus 1,000,000—a tenfold difference.

The reason for such a gap, Kamikawa Mitsu knew very well, lay in the corpse itself. This corpse had been a Second Step of the Divine existence in life, so the system did not need to create a Second Step of the Divine being's body, and its soul was likewise Second Step of the Divine.

To put it simply, this was a modification—replicating the original soul of a corpse, but without needing its soul memories, only its soul intensity, then replicating its strength in life. That was sufficient; it was about the same as exchanging for a character.

Kamikawa Mitsu himself was a vessel, and so was the corpse.

"100,000 each, I currently have 3,900,000 plot points—if the corpses are enough, I could make 390 servant beings at the Second Step of the Divine."

Deep-set eyes, a flash of keen light—Kamikawa Mitsu could not help but grin.

A Second Step of the Divine powerhouse was no weakling; possessing 390 such powerhouses, sweeping through several other worlds would be no problem.

Grin as he might, Kamikawa Mitsu had no intention of actually doing this. After all, there weren't enough corpses, and there was no need to make that many. In the end, they were only Second Step of the Divine—making so many was useless. It would be better to save them for the future, when he obtained corpses of beings at the Third Step, Fourth Step, or even Seventh or Eighth Step of the Divine, and use those to manufacture such powerful beings.

Additionally, he had to reserve plot points for use in the plot.

"What a pity—I blasted the Azure King to ashes. Otherwise, using his body to create a Second Step of the Divine being, the strength should have been close to the Third Step of the Divine. It seems I'll have to find opportunities in the future to get more powerful being corpses—the stronger the better."

As he spoke, Kamikawa Mitsu once again spent plot points to ask the system: if this corpse were used as the base, how many plot points would it take to create a Third Step of the Divine being?

The next second.

The system fed back information.

Upgrading from a Second Step of the Divine being's corpse to the Third Step of the Divine, plus creation, would cost 1,000,000 plot points. If multiple corpses were used as the base for creation, the cost would be less—the specific expenditure depending on the physical strength, bloodline, and so on of the multiple corpses.

Then Kamikawa Mitsu began to create godlike powerful servants.

"System, spend plot points, take this being…"

Following the modification thoughts in Kamikawa Mitsu's mind, a mysterious and unfathomable divine-light shroud enveloped the being's corpse.

The corpse was changing, altering in accordance with Kamikawa Mitsu's thoughts.

Reversing the rotting, foul-smelling corpse, surging waves rippled like ripples on water.

When the halo dispersed.

What appeared within was no longer that being's corpse—its appearance and bloodline had undergone a tremendous change.

What now stood before Kamikawa Mitsu was a burly man with closed eyes, a face full of vigor, and a resolute bearing, dressed in the Ashiya House onmyoji attire designed by Kamikawa Mitsu. Normal onmyoji attire was white-based, but the Ashiya House's was black-based.

But for now the burly man was still merely a corpse—Kamikawa Mitsu had only modified its bloodline to that of a human, and altered its appearance, granting it the strength it possessed in life; the soul had not yet been infused.

Kamikawa Mitsu continued to spend plot points, replicating the soul intensity the corpse possessed in life.

Then came the shaping of memories.

Setting the memories: the burly man was a household servant of the Ashiya House, never to betray the Ashiya House, swearing to serve unto death the future heir of the Ashiya House, Kamikawa Mitsu.

Personality: resolute, bold and open-hearted, unyielding before power, desiring to guard the Ashiya House for all eternity.

He was born in the world where the main branch of the Ashiya House was stationed. At birth he was abandoned by his parents, but fortunately was picked up by a passing Ashiya House transcendent who took him in as a disciple. From childhood he was raised under the Ashiya House's teachings and feuds. Though his talent was not outstanding, he was diligent, and under the Ashiya House's cultivation, he was now 212 years old and had attained the Second Step Realm of the Divine.

Having been taught by the Ashiya House since childhood, he knew well that the Ashiya House was not as simple as it appeared on the surface, possessing a powerful side unknown to outsiders, and he held a deep, fanatical worship and awe of the Ashiya House.

This time he had left the world where the main branch of the Ashiya House was stationed in order to track down ten experimental beings that had escaped from an experimental world kept by the Ashiya House—beings that were evil and delighted in killing—and incidentally to scout whether other worlds had suitable talents to cultivate into subordinates who would serve the Ashiya House, fight for the Ashiya House, and fight for the Primordial World.

As for his name and specific identity within the Ashiya House.

Name: Ashiya Dou, one of the twenty-eight powerful servants of the Ashiya House known as the "Twenty-Eight Mansions," bearing the title "Dou," one of the seven mansions of the Northern Black Tortoise among the Twenty-Eight Mansions.

At the same time, Kamikawa Mitsu implanted into Ashiya Dou the relevant memories of the Ashiya House's "Twenty-Eight Mansions."

The "Twenty-Eight Mansions" were composed of twenty-eight powerful servants. The Eastern Seven Mansions were the strongest, the Northern Seven the weakest, but even the weakest had stepped into the Second Step of the Divine. These beings had all fought on the Primordial Battlefield and had been baptized in the blood and fire of the Primordial Battlefield, surviving as powerful beings.

Precisely because they fought on the Primordial Battlefield, the personnel of the Twenty-Eight Mansions often changed—one died and a new one took its place. The selection condition was fighting on the Primordial Battlefield, but only the Eastern Seven Mansions had never had personnel changes, simply because they were powerful.

Their strength was far beyond what the other Twenty-Eight Mansions could compare to.

Hiss!

A mysterious light flared, and on the burly man's upper chest, an ancient Twenty-Eight Mansions emblem was branded and engraved. The Northern Black Tortoise's seven mansions on the emblem glowed faintly, like resplendent stars, with the character "Dou" inscribed among them.

……