Chapter 248: The Unfinished Task Has Its Reasons; The Covenant Between Human and God Is Thus Established

Weiyang Palace.

Inside the palace hall where Liu Che was located.

In just the time it takes to brew half a cup of tea, accompanied by rising wondrous sounds and purple-green clouds, the Queen Mother of the West returned from the Youming Underworld and reappeared.

She was all smiles, her eyes full of mirth, clearly in an excellent mood. "Senior—" Liu Che, seeing the Queen Mother of the West's expression, felt his heart sink and forced a smile: "It seems, Senior has achieved what you wished for."

His smile carried a hint of bitterness. Although he did not know what the agreement mentioned by this person was, he could guess with his toes that it must require the Han Court, or even the Human Race, to pay something.

The Queen Mother of the West flicked her brocade sleeve and said lightly: "It was already expected, nothing worth mentioning. As for the specific details, let your ancestor explain them to you!"

As she spoke, her gaze could not help but glance at Liu Che several times, her eyes filled with deep meaning.

After speaking, seeing Liu Che's expression change instantly and his eyes grow unfocused, she knew that his ancestor had already begun to contact him.

She immediately sat back on the cloud bed, using the mortal tea brewed by Dongfang Shuo, and waited quietly for Liu Che to wake up with an elegant posture.

"Sure enough, just as I expected!"

This time, she had gained a huge advantage.

The Queen Mother of the West thought to herself, compared to the current Human King himself, temporary gains and losses were nothing to the Han Court or even the Human Race.

After all—

Even if the Yang World Enlightenment Path were severed, by virtue of the Human King Karma attained by this Son of Heaven of the Han Court, and that Dragon Qi that surpassed his father and ancestors, once his soul returned to the Youming and he followed the Nether Han Dragon Court Dharma, his achievements would not be small. At the very least, he would be a Great Luo Seed, with the possibility of glimpsing the Great Luo.

And a Great Luo, even for the entire Human Race with its vast family business, was not something that could be easily ignored; its weight was not small at all.

No matter how large the family business, no one would ever feel that their own strength was sufficient.

In fact, precisely because the family business was large, more manpower, more elites, and more power were needed to protect this inheritance.

Yet—

Liu Che, this current Human King, out of pride in his heart and to prevent damage to the Great Han National Fortune.

Took all the backlash and all the curses brought by deposing the gods of the nation upon himself, thereby becoming overwhelmed and falling into an extremely dangerous situation.

How serious was it? With all kinds of backlash and curses added to his body, not only was he exhausted and his Yang lifespan depleted, but once he passed away, even his soul would dissipate.

That is to say, without external help, it would be a luxury for Liu Che to even follow the Nether Han Dragon Court Dharma after death.

It can only be said that this current Human King was still too young and not mature enough in considering some matters.

Although his original intention was good, the losses caused to the Han Court and even the Human Race were much greater than if he had let the Great Han National Fortune Dragon Qi offset the backlash and curses.

Yes, indeed—

To save the current Human King, it was not as if she absolutely had to provide the Flat Peach in her hand.

In this world, although Innate Spiritual Roots were not many, it was not as if the Human Race could not come into contact with other Innate Spiritual Fruits.

Moreover, the Purple-Veined Xiang-Kernel Pan Peach she brought out was a product of the Innate Ren Shui Pan Tao Tree after differentiation, not even counting as an Innate Spiritual Fruit. It could only be said to be a unique treasure among acquired spiritual fruits.

But when it came to curative effects, no other heaven-and-earth treasure was as gentle, simple, and direct as the Flat Peach.

Do not forget, although the Human King had a great future, while on the throne, despite ghosts and gods avoiding him, he was merely a mortal flesh and blood body without cultivation.

One might ask, among the various rare spiritual fruits in the world, few could be like the Flat Peach, allowing a mortal to ascend to the heavens in one step? There were very few.

Those that could do so were all much rarer than the Flat Peach.

The rest all required the consumer to have a certain level of cultivation. To be used on the Human King, they often required various acquired preparations.

Of course—

The Nether Han Dragon Court, or rather the Human Race, could choose other methods, such as asking capable people to take action.

Without even needing to use the power of a Hunyuan Saint, the Karma Fire Red Lotus of Minghe Laozu, the Merit Golden Lotus of the Brahma sect,... and many other Spirit Treasures and figures could all solve the problems on the current Human King.

Et cetera, et cetera, too numerous to mention.

"But—"

"Their asking price might not necessarily be as kind as my Heavenly Court."

In the end, for the Human Race, Liu Che was indeed important, but not to the point where he was indispensable.

The Human Race would not pay any cost for him without counting the price.

"The Human Race is not stupid. After various comparisons, in the end, the Flat Peach in my hands requires the least cost!"

Thinking of this, the Queen Mother of the West could not help but feel happy in her heart.

What is called sitting at home and having good fortune come from the sky? This is it! This matter was not something she had planned in advance. There was no calculation in this—it was completely an unexpected, sudden situation.

At the very beginning, no one expected that the current Human King would encounter such a Calamity.

After all, who knew that this Son of Heaven of the Han Court was actually a hothead! Clearly lacking the ability, yet insisting on showing off.

However, if one looks at it solely from the perspective of motivation and heart, no one could truly blame this current Human King. After all, he made this choice firmly, knowing he would have to risk his life.

This determination alone is worthy of affirmation.

One can only blame him for not having a clear understanding of his own value.

Making the Human Race pay quite a bit for nothing.

Collecting her various thoughts, the Queen Mother of the West looked up at the dazed Liu Che, her eyes becoming increasingly gentle; she had gained no small benefit because of this Human King this time.

"I presume His Majesty the Human King has already received the voice transmission from your ancestor?"

It took Liu Che quite a while to come back to his senses; the news he received from his ancestor's transmission was simply too unexpected.

He smiled bitterly: "I know."

The Queen Mother of the West said with a smile: "I will not bully a junior! Here—you eat the Flat Peach first and solve your own problems."

She pointed her hand, and those few Purple-Veined Xiang-Kernel Pan Peaches, which ripened once every nine thousand years, swayed and rose, turned around, and landed in front of Liu Che.

Liu Che did not act coyly; he picked up a Flat Peach and swallowed it into his belly.

Things had reached this point, there was nothing to hesitate about; this Flat Peach had already been paid for by his own side, so he had no psychological burden eating it.

Of course, this was only because his ancestor Liu Bang was afraid that if he knew the ins and outs of the matter, he would have obstacles in his heart, which would be detrimental to his future development, and did not tell him the whole truth.

Otherwise, he would probably have had a different mindset long ago!

……

As a Purple-Veined Xiang-Kernel Pan Peach, ripened once every nine thousand years, fell into his belly, a vastness of primordial energy, difficult to imagine, immediately filled Liu Che's body.

Before his own swirling Human King Dragon Qi could even wear it down, it transformed into a thick, unimaginable vitality that permeated his entire body.

This vitality surged along a mysterious trajectory, and in the process of surging, it gave birth to a mystical power that washed over everything.

The damage Liu Che had suffered from the backlash was mended, and all the curses he had been tainted with were also continuously dissipated during this process.

One after another—despite the fact that under the constant wearing down of the Dragon Qi that Liu Che himself reacted with, the consumption of four Purple-Veined Xiang-Kernel Pan Peaches did not allow him to step into the transcendent realm.

Yet the backlash and curses he had been tainted with were continuously dissipated during this process.

He could feel throughout his entire being that within his body, a boundless and immeasurable vitality was surging forth continuously, feeling incomparably comfortable and at ease.

He had finally recovered his depleted primordial energy, feeling his own essence, energy, and spirit to be incomparably full; it was not the outward strength masking inner weakness brought about by forcibly stimulating oneself with harsh medicines, but a solid and substantial recovery.

Liu Che had intended to stop there, but unexpectedly, the Queen Mother of the West said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, eat one more Pan Peach—"

He had no choice but to comply, and once again picked up a Purple-Veined Xiang-Kernel Pan Peach.

Afterward, Liu Che opened his eyes and saw the Queen Mother of the West looking at him, her brows furrowed, as she said with no small amount of regret: "What a pity—"

"In the end, there is still a remnant that has not been eliminated."

From her perspective—

She saw that the current Liu Che was full of vitality, his essence and energy complete, having recovered from all his injuries, no longer as withered and exhausted as before.

Even the sickly pillar of Dragon Qi above his head was being continuously refined by the effects of the Pan Peach; the mottled blue-black was being washed away bit by bit, as if the rain had cleared and it had returned to a state of clarity. However, the task was not yet fully accomplished.

One could see that within the golden, awe-inspiring Dragon Qi, there was a faint, almost invisible trace of blue-black, swirling and flowing, revealing a sense of ceaseless corrosion.

No matter how the power brought by the Pan Peach washed over it, this trace of blue-black was like a maggot on a tarsal bone, firmly stained within the Dragon Qi above Liu Che's head.

It could not be eliminated.

It had already deeply permeated his destiny; under the Dragon Qi's wearing down of the Pan Peach's medicinal efficacy, even consuming more Pan Peaches would be of no use.

Furthermore—

The clouds above the Queen Mother of the West swirled, suddenly forming a mirror; within the golden-patterned mirror light, matters concerning the past and future of the Great Han emerged one by one, visible down to the finest detail.

In the future, a Han Court emperor who would carry on the past and open up the future had already emerged in the unseen, and his destiny was inextricably linked to that of Han Wudi.

It was precisely this influence exerted by the future upon the present that made this final trace of corrosive intent impossible to eliminate with the Pan Peach.

Therefore, this was as far as it could go.

It was not that she truly had no way at all. In fact, whether it was her or those great beings of the Human Race, they could help him completely remove this influence without paying much of a price.

This was different from before; previously, Liu Che was terminally ill, and many methods could not be used on him.

But now, with him having recovered ninety-nine percent, the level of difficulty had dropped sharply, and it was no longer the same situation as before.

But the key was that if she did that, this future that had already emerged in the unseen would have to change, which would very likely affect that future wise ruler of the Han Court.

After all, the future is ever-changing.

In the long river of time, the past is constant; even if various peers engage in all sorts of Dharma battles and occasionally alter the past, after the battles end, it often returns to one, forming a past that most people recognize.

But the future is different; in the downstream of the ceaseless long river of time, tributaries are generated every moment, infinite and endless.

Even if the past and present remain unchanged, there are countless possibilities. Let alone making slight changes in the current space-time? I fear that as soon as Han Wudi makes a move, that wise ruler of the Han Court who is still in the future would have a great possibility of being dissipated right then and there.

Clearly, the Human Race would not agree to that.

One must know that while that future wise ruler of the Han Court might not compare to Han Wudi, he is not far behind.

In any case, the current Han Wudi has already escaped the fate of having his soul scattered and ceasing to exist on the day of his death. After his soul enters Youming, he can embark on the Underworld Dragon Court Dharma.

There is no need to worry about the Human Race losing such a Great Luo Seed.

As for that insignificant obstruction, compared to a rare wise ruler of later generations, it really counts for nothing.

The upper echelons of the Human Race naturally want to achieve the best of both worlds!

The Queen Mother of the West pointed her hand, put away the remaining Pan Peaches, looked at Liu Che, and with an increasingly kind gaze, said: "Your Majesty, the transaction is complete—it is time to fulfill our agreement!"

Liu Che asked in surprise: "Senior, are you certain?" He had seen the Queen Mother of the West's words and actions just now.

"That little flaw is a problem of your own, Human King. It has nothing to do with this palace—"

"Senior, you—"

Liu Che still wanted to argue, but suddenly stopped and accepted it, saying: "I understand!"

The Queen Mother of the West smiled faintly, knowing that this was his ancestor in the Underworld transmitting a message for him to accept it.

Seeing that he had accepted it, the Queen Mother of the West nodded, and immediately, with a casual wave of her hand, she used the void as paper, cut it to a foot in length, wrote the talisman in vermilion seal script, and followed it with black ink characters, flowing and elegant.

It was clear and radiant, with divine light shimmering.

One could see the archaic characters, numbering in the thousands, evolving the sun, moon, stars, mountains, the Four Seas, as well as wind, rain, thunder, the mountains and rivers, the Tai Sui, all the gods of the world, and so on, all contained within.

One sheet of a thousand words, encompassing everything.

Information from the unseen radiated from this Imperial Edict document, transforming into a trickle that flowed into Liu Che's heart.

"This is?" Liu Che could not help but raise his eyes to look at the Queen Mother of the West.

The meaning of this Imperial Edict document, with its thousands of words and dense content, when gathered together, was—

The Human Race and the Heavenly Court swear an oath to unite, to jointly restrain the conduct of immortals and gods, suppress the ways of shamans and ghosts, expel demons and monsters, and sweep away evil sects and heterodox paths.

Of course, this was only the general meaning; specifically, this document revolved around this, written at great length, covering who knows how many detailed articles.

For instance, the Heavenly Court recognizes that the Human King can confer gods or destroy gods with a single word; at the same time, the Human King must also recognize that all who hold the Heavenly Court's Imperial Edict Order Talisman are legitimate gods and may not be demoted or dismissed without cause.

Another example: the Human King and the Heavenly Court swear an oath that all those in the Divine Dao not recognized by both parties, regardless of their origin, are wild gods and illicit cults.

And there is more,...

It was extensive and detailed to the point of subtlety, with hundreds or thousands of articles, if not more.

Liu Che was stunned as he read it; rather than calling this an alliance, it would be better to call it a code of divine law.

And contrary to what he had imagined, this alliance did not overly infringe upon the interests of the Human Race, but was entirely biased toward the Heavenly Court's side.

At most, it is a six-to-four split. It even standardizes the rights and obligations of both parties. Among them, there is no lack of goodwill from the Heavenly Court.

For instance, the Heavenly Court will open the promotion channels within its own system to the deities enfeoffed by the Human King, treating them equally.

Moreover, to show sincerity, the Heavenly Court permits all successive Human Kings to have the Hundred Gods Protection and the Ten Thousand Spirits Mutual Protection.

This is equivalent to adding an extremely strong layer of defense on top of the Human King Dragon Qi and the Human Dao fortune, which can be described as icing on the cake.

Liu Che suddenly became anxious about gains and losses; it was truly too good compared to what he had imagined~

So good that he could not even believe it.

"If the Human King has no objections, then please, Your Majesty, affix your seal!"

Queen Mother of the West looked at the momentarily dazed Liu Che and said with a beaming smile.

The contents of this covenant are not false, but that does not mean she is truly that kind-hearted.

The Heavenly Court's gains in this covenant are not small; after all, cooperation benefits both sides!

But those many favorable conditions for the Human Race are mostly just fragrant bait that can be seen but not reached.

One can see it, smell it, but cannot eat it~

It is just drawing a cake! As if anyone wouldn't know how to do that~ She believes that Jiyang, this Red Emperor Divine Son, and even the high-level figures of the Human Race behind him, are not unable to see through it.

But they must have absolute confidence in themselves and do not think they will be unable to swallow the bait she has thrown out.

This is a protracted game of chess.

After the alliance between humans and gods, wanting to seize enough benefits through this covenant can only be said to depend on one's own means.

Liu Che came back to his senses and did not hesitate any longer; after all, it had been verified by his own ancestors, so he immediately took the Imperial Jade Seal and pressed it heavily onto the covenant.

He left his own mark, representing the Human Race in signing this covenant with the Heavenly Court.

Roar—

As Liu Che lifted the Jade Seal and signed this covenant, suddenly, vast Dragon Qi erupted, emitting an earth-shattering long howl, carrying a sense of joy.

Clearly, for the Han Court Dragon Qi, signing the covenant with the Heavenly Court did not cause any damage; on the contrary, it was highly beneficial.

At least in the short term, this is indeed the case~

A special fluctuation arose from the void, resonating with heaven and earth; this is the covenant having received the witness of heaven and earth.

Then, this covenant shook gently, dissipated into a five-colored radiance, plunged into the void, and disappeared.

The covenant has officially taken effect~

This specific matter was also immediately revealed in the Heavenly Secrets.

Anyone with a sense for Heavenly Secrets now knows that the current Human King has signed a covenant with the Heavenly Court on behalf of the Human Race.

At the same time, the relevant contents of this covenant have also been made clear to all.

For a time, clamor arose throughout Honghuang.

(End of this chapter)